Everything You Need to Know about Saturn Return

“Every 27 to 29 years, the planet Saturn returns to the exact degree and sign that it was at the time of your birth,” says astrologist Lisa Stardust, who is writing a guidebook on this very topic. “Saturn Return means that you’re entering what we call your entranceway into adulthood because it often happens at the end of your twenties.”

If you’re around this age range and feel like your life is falling apart, you may very well be experiencing your Saturn Return—it’s sort of like when you start to take responsibility for yourself, your actions, and your life. Sounds a bit heavy, right? Saturn Return tends to get a bad reputation because it can shake up everything in your life; however, it is ultimately good for you because it forces you to deal with things you’ve been ignoring and sets you on the right path.

Depending on where Saturn shows up in someone’s chart, it can affect people in different ways. (You can find out where Saturn is in your chart by doing an astrology reading or getting a birth chart.) “Saturn Return can impact your life in many different ways, depending on what house it’s in [on] your chart,” Stardust says. From relationships to money, there are twelve houses in every person’s zodiac chart with each one tied to a different area of your life; planets appear in both a sign and in a house. This can be a little confusing, so let’s dive in deeper.
 

The Houses

If Saturn is in your first house, Stardust says this means you need to take time to find your inner child and stop working so hard. “If it’s in your second house, it’s a wake-up call about how you’re spending your money, and in your third house it’s about how you communicate with other people.”

Then there’s the fourth house, which is all about family, including how you connect. It can also mean that you’re ready to buy a home. The fifth house can signify that you’re having ambiguity about having children. “Maybe you’re about ready to have kids, maybe you are deciding that it’s time for you to not take too many risks in your life. Maybe it’s time for you to hunker down and not go out every night drinking,” she says.

When Saturn is in your sixth house, it’s all about committing to a daily routine. Maybe that’s working out and becoming more active. “The seventh is about partnerships and relationships. Really, it’s defining who and what you commit to,” Stardust explains. Expect relational challenges, potential breakups, and the start of new relationships. Then, when Saturn is in the eighth house it’s about getting control over your personal debts, income, and finances.

Ready to go back to school or see the world? This is where the ninth house comes in; however, it also can mean that maybe you’ve been there, done that already, and you’re ready to not travel as much. A lot of people will make major career shifts when Saturn is in their tenth house, while the eleventh is about your friends. “Are they at your level? Can you trust them?” Stardust poses. And lastly, there’s the twelfth house, which is all about emotional healing.
 

The Zodiac Signs

Saturn also lands in different zodiacs. With Saturn in Aries, it’s all about commitment to the ego because Aries is all about the self. “So it’s about what you can do to make yourself feel better,” says Stardust. Saturn in Taurus is all about growing finances and relationships over time; when Saturn is in Taurus, Stardust says there’s always a hang-up about sex. “Tauruses are very sensual, so there’s always a restriction around sensuality.”

When Saturn is in Gemini, it’s about how you use your words and that you need to speak more carefully or learn to express yourself better because words have power. “Sometimes Saturn-in-Gemini people tend to be really harsh with their words. So the lesson here is to maybe not use your words so carelessly.”

If Saturn is in Cancer, it’s about understanding your emotions and learning to not be so giving. And with Leo, it’s about how you feel about yourself. “Maybe you feel like people don’t appreciate you for all of your efforts and you want more appreciation,” Stardust explains. Saturn in Virgo means that you are a little bit discerning with what you commit to, or you analyze all the factors before making decisions. Saturn in Libra is about committing to partnerships; Saturn in Scorpio is all about committing yourself only to what you love.

With Sagittarius, Saturn will ask you to see the world with a different set of eyes and gain more perspective. If it’s in Capricorn, it’s about working hard and achieving success, while in Aquarius, it’s about committing yourself to goals. Saturn in Pisces is about submitting yourself to healing, growing, and evolving.
 

Why Does This Matter

My Saturn is in Capricorn and the fourth house, meaning I need to work hard and have hope, which sounds about right, considering my family life is disjointed after I set some solid boundaries and I’m figuring out how to navigate the world as a freelancer. Though none of the changes Saturn is responsible for may be easy, they challenge us to grow in necessary ways and benefit us in the long run by helping us live fuller, more spiritually aligned lives; Stardust calls these karmic lessons, explaining that they teach us to pay attention to things we’ve outgrown and red flags so that we follow our guts better.

Plus, it’s also possible to experience Saturn returning twice at the same time because Saturn retrogrades; so Saturn can move backwards while you’re personally experiencing its return, meaning you might be challenged to learn the same lesson twice because the first time you ignored your intuition. This is ultimately a cosmic gift; whether we’re learning that a job or relationship no longer serves us or that it’s time to move somewhere new and follow a different career path, Saturn asks us to become better people.

It’s worth noting that Saturn is a very constraining planet; it’s not limitless. “So what happens with that is it really focuses on one singular thing at a time,” Stardust says. “And if we’re lucky, we’ll experience three Saturn returns in our lifetime.” The first will ask us to level up and become an adult, while the second will happen around our late 50s, asking us where we’re putting our energy around the early retirement stage. The third happens in your 80s, asking us to reflect upon where our lives have been.
 

How to Prepare

Unless you’re an astrology expert or superfan, Saturn return may seem scary, uncomfortable, and maybe even a bit ridiculous. But don’t fret, there’s a few things you can do to prepare for it better.

“Vision boarding is the number one way that I would think you can prepare for it,” Stardust says. “Expect the unexpected, you know, things will be revealed to you. You will spend a lot of time thinking and assessing when it comes to different areas of your life. You should allow yourself to change your mind and be more flexible with your mindset, and don’t put pressure on yourself.”

Nothing has to be perfect, but Saturn is a planet that wants to be perfect all the time; its return teaches us that perfection doesn’t exist, a lesson we can all benefit from throughout different stages of our lives. 

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