derrick,

i actually had a really good experience with my saturn return. i got a great job (i could see central park from my desk :)), met a lot of new people, & moved to NYC. I was a little nervous initially always hearing not so happy stories. my natal saturn/gemini/9H is pretty well aspected: sextile moon, trine chiron, trine asc... but was nervous cause i have mars opposing saturn. I have a couple of natal planets & north node in Capricorn & 4H capricorn mercury in mutual reception with 9H gemini Saturn; so saturn is a strong influence in my life. i think it is really important to look at aspects that transiting planets are forming. & i had tons of stuff happening in my chart during my saturn return.

when transiting saturn started to conjunct my natal saturn I decided to get a better job. At that time natal Saturn/Gemini/9H was conjunct transiting north node & opposite a transiting Pluto natal mars conjunction in sag/3H. I also had transiting Jupiter conjunct my cancer midheaven.

the day i was hired transiting sun & moon were conjunct in cancer 10H & opposite natal north node. At this time transiting jupiter & mars were conjunct in cancer 10H & opposite my natal mercury, jupiter, & sun cap 4H conjunction.

saturn return in 9H (higher education) could be that all those years in college paid off. i think my new job had a lot to do with jupiter & mars transiting my cancer 10H. i am not sure how the oppositions played out in my favor; especially the sun & moon opposition to natal north node. but I think the transiting Jupiter/mars 10H conjunction opposite natal sun/mercury/jupiter 4H conjunction definitely had to do with moving for career reasons. Not clear on how mutual receptions work, but I am sure there is something of importance here with my Saturn/mercury mutual reception.

~natty

Great topic! My Saturn return happened a little over four years ago. Since my natal Saturn is in my 12th, I didn't notice a huge change in outward circumstances until it moved over my Ascendant about a year and a half later. But I sure felt it...in part because it was also moving into square with my natal Sun.

A lot of circumstances fell apart in my life, and for the better; I've worked harder since than I ever knew possible! I feel like these last three years has been a time of testing and retesting my personal goals and boundaries. It hasn't always been pleasant at all (and this is an understatement) but the feeling of accomplishment I'm getting is incredible. This new sense of accomplishment is not fun or enjoyable, exactly, but it's...solid. I feel like I have a real identity now, one that I'm earning, in place of the "younger" identities that I inherited, tried on, or flirted with.

In short, facing a Saturn return is tough as hell, but the rewards are uniquely satisfying. Hang in there!

My saturn return has been a weeding out of what doesn't work in my life. Or as some may say what has kept me from god...the universe, etc. It has been painful and hard but in the end I think it has saved my life and given me the chance to start again. Saturn is he who is faithful even in darkness. There is no proof that things will work out and faith is really not based on the tangible but for only so long can we rely on old crutches before they begin to threaten the life force or take away any gifts we may have. My saturn return has taught me that believing in and trusting in the universe is my best option for survival. I used to be very cycnical and feel like life was pretty meaningless and that nothing I had to share creatively was worthy or special (my saturn is in leo) now I am finding that if I want to keep living it is my job in life to share my talents and to believe in the greater good and act upon that belief.

i'm at the tail end of my saturn return, and honestly, i still don't get it. for me it almost seems the opposite of what i would expect. every time i make practical efforts to stabilize my life, the ground crumbles beneath me. i could ride through the summers on a wing and a prayer and everything would work fine. but as soon as i tried to become practical and stable in order to move toward goals, everything would fall apart. saturn doesn't seem to like me having a job and security. some say saturn return is like a test. i haven't seen the results yet, but i'm afraid that i've failed miserably. saturn was certainly never my strongest subject.

I am old enough to have experienced two Saturn returns. At its most basic, Saturn represents time and maturity. Back in the 60s the chant was "Never trust anyone over 30." The reason is, anyone over 30 had experienced a Saturn return and was thus more focused on maturing and life goals.

A Saturn return is exact when transiting Saturn forms a conjunction with your natal Saturn. However, the return period goes on for about 2.5 years. During that time, people almost always make some kind of major change: they marry, divorce, have a child, get a new job, lose an old job, move to a new location, take on an unusually significant responsibility. What most don't realize is that during the Saturn return period, you are setting things in motion that will have a long-term impact on your life. You will see that the things you want usually require the Saturnian attributes such as discipline, duty, responsibility, growing up.

At my first Saturn return, I left Memphis, Tenn., where I was born and moved to Boston to take a job with a company that I had also worked for in Memphis. I thought that when you left the city limits of Memphis you just fell off the edge of the earth. I quit the job, moved back to Memphis, then left Memphis again to take a job that moved me back to Boston (which I adored). During the second time in Boston, I began studying astrology. I moved back to Memphis yet again, then moved to Florida, and I've never lived in Memphis since then.

What is interesting is to note the things you start under your first Saturn return. My study of astrology in Boston was the beginning of my passion for the subject.

Now when I had my SECOND Saturn return, I had to retire from the job that I loved. (Saturn return wasn't the only thing going on then. I had the prog. Sun conj natal Pluto, transiting Pluto opposing Saturn, an eclipse on my Sun/Uranus conjunction, and transiting Uranus opposing the natal Moon and squaring the natal Venus.) It was from that experience that I began doing astrology full time. I've never been happier.

I see the connections between the first Saturn return--when I started studying astrology--to the second Saturn return, when I started putting 33 years of study into practice. That's why I would advise everyone going through their first Saturn return to keep a journal. You'll refer to it often--remember, after the Saturn return, you will also have a Saturn square Saturn 7 years later, then Saturn opposing Saturn 14 years later, etc. etc. and tracking the themes that seem to dominate during those times will be very useful for you.

As a matter of fact, for your first Saturn return, look back on your life and figure out what was going on when you were about age 7 (first square of transiting Saturn to natal Saturn), about age 14 (Saturn opposing natal Saturn), and 21 (Saturn squaring natal Saturn). Even without a knowledge of astrology, those years have significant maturing effects connected with them. The age of 7 is considered "the age of reason," 14 is the onset of adolesence, and 21 is a legitimate age for a lot of things. This is what I mean about Saturn ruling time.

Hope that helps.

Michele Adler
www.micheleadler.com