So far, in this series, I’ve talked about how the Soul (Sun) incarnates through the Mother (Moon) and develops through the stages of communication (Mercury), beauty (Venus), physicality (Mars) and the teen years of growth and expansion (Jupiter). The next stage we go through is adulthood and maturity – Saturn.
I’ve talked previously about how important the Saturn energy is, in helping us achieve our soul potential (see Living With Saturn – Turning Bad Into Best). What I’d like to cover here is how Saturn fits into the developmental process.
Saturn is the last of the planets visible with the naked eye. As everyone knows it has a distinctive ring structure around it. A such, Saturn represents the gateway between ‘normal’ development and a more spiritual focus.
After the teenage years (Jupiter) the next phase is maturity. Usually, the young person will find a long term partner (may get married, depending on cultural influences), has children, acquires a mortgage (or similar commitments) and the freedom of the Jupiter/teens settles into a more mature and stable lifestyle. This is Saturn.
While the Moon in a person’s natal chart represents the Mother (among other things), Saturn represents the Father or the paternal drive. It’s associated with disciple, crystalisation and time. As we see, these are aspects associated with a mature and responsible outlook in life.
Interestingly, the cycle of the Moon is approximately 29 days while that of Saturn is 29 years. Again, we see here the relationship between the maternal and paternal drives. As part of this process we find that critical times in the developing maturity of the person have connections to the Saturn cycle. Keep in mind that the first birthday is at the END of the first year so the 29th year is during the age of 28 years old.
We find, in many areas of developmental science, the ages of 7, 14, 21 and 28 years old seem to be particularly important. These are the squares, oppositions and returns of the Saturn cycle.
Thus, Saturn is associated with the period in our lives of stability and security, being settled and focussed on career and family building. When looking at significant times in a person’s life we often find the Saturn return to be important. (The return is when a planet is in the same position in the heavens as it was when the person was born.)
Many people will point to the Saturn return (ie around the age of 28) as a time when they were forced to ‘grow up’ either by external circumstances or by an inner drive for more stability. We find a similar process every 28/29 years.
As we’ll see in the next post, once we’ve attained this level of comfort in our lives, Uranus comes to bring change and chaos.
To find out more about how Saturn works in your personal life book a Discovery Session with Laurence (no charge) by clicking the orange button on the right. You’ll also need to send your birth details – time, date and place.