Saturn – along with Pluto – is the most dreaded planet in astrology. And for good reason. Saturn “punishes” us when we don’t follow the rules, respect authority, or put in the hard work.
Because really – who wants to do the hard work? Who wants to follow the rules?
Do you wake up and think “I can’t wait to follow some rules today”.? “Or…
“Today I’ll do everything my manager asks, pay my taxes, and stop at every red light, even if I’m the only one on the road – yay, how exciting!”.
“Another great day to tackle tedious admin and proofread that 400-page legal document. Life is amazing!!” – said no one ever.
Let’s be honest: when we wake up, we want to feel good (Venus), safe and relaxed (Moon), optimistic and joyful (Jupiter) – and maybe even get to the gym (Mars). But who’s excited to dive into Saturn’s hard, thankless work?
We all know we have to do Saturn’s work. And deep down, we know it’s good for us in the long run. But still, it rarely “feels good.”
Will Saturn always be our dreaded companion? Will we ever get to like Saturn? To embrace it and make it part of our everyday lives?
Saturn serves a fundamental role in our life, through what I call “the 3 Rs”:
- Rings – Saturn gives us a “framework” – Saturn drawing boundaries and showing us where we can play
- Rules – Rules are needed for a well-functioning society, even if they don’t always “feel right” or “feel fair”
- Responsibility – Because that’s how we grow up. Without personal responsibility, we’re never truly empowered to make the best of any situation.
Rings
Saturn has rings. A ring is a boundary; a ring is a framework. Inside the ring – whether it’s a fence, a car, a building, or city walls—it feels safe. Within these boundaries, we don’t have to worry about survival, so we can focus on what really matters.
When you get married, you wear a ring. Sure, marriage means you’re no longer available to others, but it also brings a different kind of freedom: you know the shape of your playing field, and that clarity gives you direction. It can be incredibly liberating.
When you don’t commit to anything, you remain in a state of endless possibility, where – ironically – nothing actually happens.
To pass Saturn’s first maturity test, we all have to wear a ring at some point. To make a commitment. It could be marriage, starting a family, taking out a mortgage, or even caring for a pet.
As long as we’re afraid of commitment, Saturn will always feel heavy, restrictive, and uncomfortable.
But when we embrace commitment, we discover a new kind of freedom: the freedom that comes from living inside Saturn’s ring.
Rules
Some years ago, I attended a contemporary art exhibition in Berlin called “One on One”.
It was not your typical exhibition – it was not an open plan. To see each artwork, you had to queue and then enter a small room or cubicle, alone. One person at a time.
After the person before you left, you’d hang a “One on One” sign on the door handle and step inside by yourself. Just you and the artwork.
The intention was to create a personal, intimate connection with each piece. Because you knew your time was limited, you valued each encounter more.
So there I was, queuing outside a door. When my turn came, I entered and saw a stand with a box of Milky Way bars – open, untouched, with dozens perfectly lined up. A big sign on the stand read “Nein,” which means “No” in German. Don’t do it, don’t touch.
While waiting, I hadn’t seen anyone leave with a Milky Way bar, so I assumed the box itself was the artwork – meant to be left alone.
Still, I was tired from queuing and could’ve used a bit of sugar. But there was that big “No” warning. Or… was it?
Suddenly, I wondered: What if “No” isn’t really a rule? In this one-on-one space, do other people’s rules apply? Do they even make sense for where I am, right now?
I grabbed a Milky Way bar and left the room. As soon as I did—before the next person entered – I saw a staff member quietly replace the missing bar, restoring the box to its perfect state and “confusing” the next visitor.
It was all staged. The artwork was designed to simulate the decision-making process: how do you respond when faced with a rule, with real or perceived authority?
Saturn is not “all about rules”. It’s about rules that make sense – rules that serve a greater good, that keep you safe and happy within the ring. Knowing which rules to follow, and which to question or break, is Saturn’s second lesson.
And here comes the final one.
Responsibility
The toughest lesson of all is realizing that it’s no one’s fault when things go wrong in our lives—or when things go well, for that matter. We truly master Saturn when we accept full responsibility for ourselves. Sure, some things are beyond our control, but those don’t show up with Saturn transits.
If you’re facing a difficult Saturn transit, here’s the truth:
The bad news is, you are responsible for where you are in life. Not the government. Not your parents. Not your partner.
Here’s the good news – you are responsible for where you are in life. That means you have the power to shape your path… as long as you’re willing to own your choices.
Read part II of the Saturn-Pluto saga here Pluto – Trust, Truth, Transformation
Share this:
- Uncategorized
GREAT article- love the museum story. You are brave to take the bar! I wouldn’t have done it
I enjoyed your part where you said no one wakes up wanting to read a 400 page document to proofread it. I’m a retired legal secretary. I did enjoy the paycheck. The work was incredibly boring. But one did it because it was the job. And I was grateful for that. I’m more grateful for retirement. That Saturn too. on the boring administrative work, it’s just boring. Just life. That Saturn too.
Hm.
I say Saturn is about integrity as well as rules, boundaries and so on.
I have the dredead Saturn/Pluto conjunction in Libra, 8th house, and nothing of the important stuff I have done in my relationships have ever been without integrity. You need to stay on that darned white horse with this constellation.
Also, I have the Aquarius ascendant. So my coworker is per se Saturn. That makes it even harder to go beyond the rules and if I do I feel horrible and terrible. My gratifications are always delayed, and only when I give up my optimism and just accept things as is, or work for it without expectations of the outcome, will my wishes be granted.
It’s so very annoying. I have Jupiter conjunct Sun and Venus – I am capable of conjuring my wishes…. But the fulfillment of wishes are always so darn late – sometimes too late. I blame you, Saturn.
damn those rings, sometimes he can just go and plain out suck it!
Me to me too! I have a stellium of planets in the 8th house in Libra: in order ceres, saturn, sun, jupiter, pluto. I was born in 1981. I saw fulfilling rewards to hard work up until I was about 27, then I ended up temporarily physically trapped by a man I was no longer in a relationship with and I ended up losing everything I had worked so hard to build for myself. I eventually was able to leave but after my physical and financial foundations had been started. I ended up houseless and a lot of it seemed partly due to a total and adamant refusal of my family and community to admit I was both a highly capable and hard worker and willing to get a good job.
I had to go deep within and heal myself. I did it by meditating with the mantras, “I accept myself exactly as I am with no judgement,” “I love myself exactly as I am without judging any part of my being as good or bad.” Within a few days people around me radically changed the way they saw me. I kept finding people who automatically started loving me and wanted to help me. That was after years of trying to get help through showing that I had earned it and ACTUALLY earning it, then being yelled at and being treated like I deserved to be thoroughly punished forever……for…..nothing at all that had ever happened!
After using the mantras I was recognized as being inherently deserving of good things even without work, but it was also recognized that I was a hard and worthy worker. Unfortunately this did not get me a place to live as I had developed a case of Morgellons? shortly before that. I did not know what strange illness I had but had given it to 3 people at that time (through hugging) and was afraid of infecting someone I might stay with. So I stayed living outside for about a year longer until I got a subsidized apartment of my own.
On the way to getting the subsidized apartment I dedicated myself to spiritual development, the quest for enlightenment, and practiced meditation like a hindu monk/nun. I have been healing from childhood issues related to the illness for the past year throughvself examination and meditation, and shortly before I got the apartment I did the mantra, “I am worthy of a healthy home that is to my highest good and the highest good of the Universe,” It brought to my attention that I had been unconsciously concerned about taking an apartment and someone else being houseless because of that. I recalled that God is abundant and no amount of blessings that are given to me or any other causes God to be unable to bless another with what is best for that person. So I did the mantra empowered, I felt like the fabric of reality was moving around me and I got awarded the apartment a few days later.
I am finding that as I do the mantra, “I am worthy of abundance” more and more things are coming to me- all as a gift. My sun and most of my planets are in the 8th house. Other people’s money, and personal deathlike transformation.
Saturn is conjunct my ascendant @29 degrees Virgo, and at 69, there’s no doubt how marked my existence has been by the rings, rules, and responsibilities Saturn has bestowed upon my earthly time.
In Greek Mythology [from memory so please excuse any errors – they are all mine] Saturn’s father was Uranus [God of the Sky] and his mother Gaia [Goddess of the Earth]. Gaia got fed up with Uranus constantly demanding sexual relations with her – basically they never stopped [they were peopling the Cosmos!!] – so she gave her son a Golden sickle and asked him to castrate his father while they were making love. So one night he climbed up behind his father [He was in the Sky after all] as he was penetrating his mother and cut his father’s testicles off with the sickle. Embarrassed he threw the testicles over his left shoulder without taking care where they fell. They fell into the Sea. The Sea immediately started to froth and whirl and out of the resultant Foam was born Aphrodite. Goddess of Love and above all Beauty. Aphrodite was born to Land upon a Sea Shell [see Botticelli’s famous painting/ the Esso Sign / The Shell Symbol of Santiago de Compostella]..
So to cut a metaphorically Long Story short:- Limitation begets Beauty. Contemplate also how dependent our human form is upon Gravity and our residence upon on this Earth. .
Excellent thanks for sharing
Thank you. beautiful.
My Venus is in Cap and (loosely) squared by Saturn in Aries (not an easy position for Saturn). Your story and interpretation touched me deeply. I love the Earth —but Saturn is very cold.
How does a Saturn retrograde works out .
I have a Saturn retrograde in saggitarius 24° in my 10th house