Amongst all the wild, wooly chaos of this week (and there’s plenty of that), planet Saturn goes direct. This Archetype of lessons and karma has been retrograde since June. Seeing as he entered Pisces in March, he only had a few weeks of direct motion. Then, we got a taste of what he was going to be about. Now, we get to see the full impact of his energy during this visit to the sign of the fish.
Hold on a second. Let's take a hot minute. What actually happens when a planet goes retrograde?
Well, they simply slow down in their orbit, appearing to go backwards. It’s like driving a car at normal speed. If the car next to us slows down, it looks like it’s moving backwards. Get it? Same, same. Symbolically - because Astrology is a symbolic language, after all - this signifies that whatever that planet represents becomes challenged, weake, less effective. At the same time, their potentially difficult qualities are highlighted. It’s not great.
Yet, there is a purpose to these retrogrades. They’re here to help us slow down, reflect, and take stock. We simply can't go, go, go all the time, now can we? If we look at the potential gifts of this time, we may even walk away with a sense of gratitude.
Saturn is the Archetypal Wise (wo)man. His highest vibration is maturity, responsibility - adulting,, really. His lowest vibration - which may come out during retrograde - is fearfulness, negativity, insecurity, limitation, restriction. The last several months may have had some of us experiencing these energies in very tangible ways - maybe through our relationships, career, home situation or finances, for example.
For some of us, those challenges have arisen in the realm of Pisces - in our addictions, escape mechanisms, our sense of faith in the Divine. Maybe we’ve jumped into codependent behaviors or self-destructive coping habits.
It’s okay, though. See, Saturn is still very fresh in the sign of Pisces. he has a long way to go. His direct motion starts at 00 degrees of this sign, so it’s a little like going all the way back to the beginning of a story. A story that began in March this year. Now, we get to continue that story and start possibly even lending from it.
What have you used to escape? Series? Relationships? Wine?
Or, have you learned that there are other, healthier escapes available. Because let’s be real here - we all need to tune out from time to time. We all need an off switch. Maybe for you, that's nature. Or music. Dancing. Making art. The ocean. Praying, meditation or doing yoga. These are all topics that come under the soulful umbrella of Pisces. They are all ways that we can enrich our spirit instead of destroying it. This Saturn retrograde may have brought up a bunch of unhealthy issues - but it also gave us the chance to start all over again.
Those most affected by his retrograde would be anyone with an important point or planet between 0 - 7 degrees of the mutable signs. Mutable signs? That would be Virgo, Sagittarius and Gemini. So, if you’ve been feeling particularly low or gloomy or slow, this would be why. But, you've also had a golden opportunity to grow and mature in ways that you perhaps never thought possible before. It hasn’t been easy, sure, but guess what? You’re almost at the end of this chapter. A few more months and you’ll be well out of the woods. You’ve already completed two thirds of this book. Well done, you.
It’s also good to note that Neptune is currently also transiting the same sign as Saturn. The difference is tha Neptune has been here for years already. The thing is, Neptune tends to obscure and obfuscate, to project a fantasy onto a thing. Saturn arrived just in time, ready to create some boundaries and discernment. Maybe we’ve had a bit of a reality check, for example, around our relationships. Maybe we’ve had a reality check when it comes to our fantasies. It’s been a rude awakening, but so very much needed. This retrograde gave us all a chance to prune and clear out the deadweight of our lives, as tough as that’s been.
So, what now? Well, now we get to integrate the lessons and the learnings. We get to move forward instead of feeling limited, held back and restricted. We get to recreate our realities in a way that will bring lasting rewards.
Here’s wrap-up of what’s wise to do, and what we should avoid during Saturn’s direct motion:
Do:
✔ Get prepared for tests of faith. How much do you believe? How much do you trust? How much can you surrender in the will of the Universe?
✔ Get a handle on your addictions. Even just becoming aware of them is a brave, bold step. The rest will fall into place. This is a marathon, not a sprint.
✔ Pray, meditate, reflect. Get intouch with what you feel is a Higher energy or source.
✔ Create. Make art. Dance. Listen to music. Be structured about it.
✔ Allow yourself time and space to integrate the lessons that may have been coming your way in the last few months.
✔ Explore healthy escapes. There are many to choose from. Slowly replace bad habits with good.
✔ Go for energy healing, if you need it. It may do you more good than you can imagine.
Don’t’s
❌ Beat yourself up if you’re falling into old habits and patterns. It takes time and patience to undo a lifetime of wounds.
❌ Fall into victim mode. This is all happening for you, not to you. There’s a big difference.
❌ Become the enabler. People can rescue themselves. You can be a compassionate support, but don’t step in unless you have no other choice. Otherwise, you strip them of their power.
❌ Hold on too tightly to any structure. The weak foundations are falling away - they have to. Trust that stronger roots will take their place, in due course.
Margarita Celeste