Saturn Transits: It’s About Time
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I was recently counseling a client through their second Saturn Return. This person described many of the usual Saturnian woes: feeling old, disheartened, tired, a little depressed. But their main complaint was being daunted at the prospect of how little time was left in life--and how much time they feared that they had wasted.
Regret over time lost and opportunities missed leads to the “3:00 a .m. demons” that can beset you during any Saturn transit. Saturn seasons prompt us to look back on our lives and to take stock. In that backward gaze, we may be horrified at perceived missteps on our path. We are confronted with the reality that there are things left undone, and time which we can never get back.
Saturn is analogous to the god Kronos, the god of time. When Saturn/Kronos comes into our lives, we have a heightened awareness of the limited time we have been given. Saturn’s presence drives us inward toward self-reflection. We may ask: Have I spent my time wisely? And if not, where have I wasted it?
In answering these questions, we may experience despair and regret. Saturn transits are often associated with these uncomfortable emotional states. But if we stop there and consider ourselves doomed, we lose the potential benefits of the transit. The next question in that list should be: How can I now make the best use of the time that I do have left?
The benefit of a major Saturn transit is that it gets us real with the passing of time. We must confront the fact that we are limited by our human life spans, by the hours in the day, and by the obligations and commitments we have made. That can all sound very depressing. But looking at it another way, these limitations serve us. They help us to remember what is important. When we have a realistic relationship to time, we are able to prioritize the things that we want to accomplish before the day is through, both literally and figuratively.
If you are undergoing a major Saturn transit (and let’s face it, Saturn is always somewhere in our chart), here are some recommendations to help you use your time to the fullest:
Pick your top three priorities. Okay, maybe three is too small a number. But sometimes it can help to get restrictive, especially during a Saturn time. You cannot do everything, and under a Saturn transit, you will not have the energy to do more than what is most important to you. So you must ruthlessly rank those things that you want to accomplish and create. Whatever is low on the list can be put aside for now.
It is time to say no more often. a.k.a. setting boundaries. You don’t have to say no every time. “No” is an uncomfortable word, particularly when you know that it’s going to be met with disappointment on the other side. But Saturn times ask you to err on the side of saying “no” to extraneous things so that you can attend to those top-of-the-list things. As Brené Brown said about saying “no” to things you don’t want to do: choose discomfort over resentment.
It is time to step into authority. Saturn is the “boss planet.” When you take the reins of your life, you create order. You are no victim to chaos. You can step into the boss role by making clear yes/no decisions. It’s time to take action on what you know you want to make happen. Authority = being the author of your own life.
And lest you think Saturn is all about doing hard and uncomfortable things:
It is time to reap the harvest. Saturn beckons us to look back. Often we see through a glass darkly, noting all that we haven’t done. But what about all that you have accomplished? Consciously focus on the things you have built, the accomplishments you’ve made, and the goals you have reached. Then, choose to enjoy the fruits of some of those labors.
It is time to take stock. The word reflection suggests a time of going inward, and seems like a merely passive endeavor. While Saturn times are often associated with work, we equally need time to rest and reflect. Only in allowing ourselves quiet time to process are we able to get our bearings. Saturn times are useful for getting re-centered.
As with any planetary transit, we can work proactively with the archetypal energies rather than being completely at the mercy of them. The planets come into our lives as teachers, requiring us to integrate their core lessons into our lives. For Saturn, reckoning with limited time is at the top of the curriculum. But when we do, we are paradoxically freed to live more in alignment with who we really are.
If you’re wondering if you are undergoing a Saturn transit, or if you’re having Saturn-related struggles as described above, you can benefit from a Special Focus Reading on the topic.
