Saturn, lord of karma, turns retrograde marking a period of review concerning heavy responsibilities and issues related to the past. The regress grants opportunities to reassess obligations, say no to undue burdens, back out of or renegotiate commitments, and to improve the organizational aspects of your life or a project you may be involved with. In fact, Saturn’s backward movement is all about boundary setting and the examination of ambitious plans that may lack a solid foundation. Being impractical or impulsive at this time could result in upsetting and unexpected expenditures. You may have already felt the effects of matters slowing down or coming to a grinding halt–this isn’t the time to start new business. These retrogrades are typically marked by delays, setbacks, challenges, and multiple obstacles that require time-consuming effort for a desired goal to be achieved. It’s a lesson in hard work or working too hard when it’s not really worth it.
Saturn rules among other things, time, hardship, old persons, restriction, regulations, government, conservatism, and authority figures. Aquarius corresponds to the people, independence, freedom, rebellion, friendship, and progressive thinking. This suggests particular themes that can emerge as part of this upcoming assessment–issues of aging, old friendships, dealing with exes, restrictions on freedom, rebellion against government, breaking the rules, breaking out of poverty, governance and needs of the people, independence from parents, a focus on intellectual or humanitarian institutions and organizations, etc.
In many ways, it’s a battle to integrate the old and the new. The rewind instigates the lack of respect or resentment toward authority, the collapse of structures, and a second look at faulty protocols. The period also highlights those who have a talent for speaking out and who may use their voice with a strong sense of purpose or to align with a mission or idea.
This particular cycle places the focus on children, self-expression (in all its various forms), or the intimate partner where the consequences of recent events caused changes in the home or family and perhaps the closure of certain situations. In some instances, much labor has been applied toward achieving a particular outcome, yet produced very little. This might involve a court case or matters related to the parents’ relationship, but the implication is an attempt to establish a partnership or sever ties as a consequence to situations involving confrontation, hostility, accidents, explosive temper, or ill health.
The current conditions give you the chance to exercise leadership by conquering your fears to take decisive action, especially in support of receiving proper and due recognition. It is the frustration with delay and procrastination that serves as the impetus inspiring you to forge a new direction. In the push for a turning point and in your own self interest, the effort is to make concerns public and/or increase your visibility to the community at large with the likely result of a change in social status as well as how you’re viewed by others (either positively or negatively).
Saturn will require that you address endings, separation, or the death of an association, profession, or existing conditions with some variation of this story line according to your personal experience. In the mundane, it also fits the framework of both the Depp/Heard case and the focus on gun control in connection to the recent shootings which have dominated the media. To hone in on where any hindrances meant to spur you into action will occur in your own affairs, look to the houses of Capricorn and Aquarius in your natal chart.
Image: Saturn Devouring His Child, Giulia Lama