Saturn Retrograde ♄ 2019

Apr 29 – Sep 18, 2019

Planets in retrograde are not actually spinning backwards – it is an optical illusion as seen from Earth. Backwards motion appears to happen when Earth passes slower moving planets in the outer solar system. In astrology, this illusion manifests as a “backwards” functioning of the planetary roles. Click here to learn more about retrograde.

Saturn is a realist with no patience for inaction. Under his influence, we must be disciplined. Saturn is the architect of the solar system. His primary concerns are practicality and resourcefulness. Saturn moves slowly and deliberately, especially when retrograde. For 4.5 months out of the year, Saturn is retrograde. This transit demonstrates that nothing is worth having if it is does not take time and work. Saturn has been “at home” in Capricorn since December 2017. From this position, he operates in full force. This is Saturn at his most quintessential, moving through his own castle, his own domain.

Saturn Retrograde is when we see what we are really supposed to be learning. The retrograde is the work, the work we have to do before we devour Capricorn’s bountiful crop. We will learn to better manage our material/financial needs as we incorporate more structure, stability, security and self-control.

Capricorn represents the ancient conflict between head and heart. He is at once rational and irrational, extremely critical and exceptionally lenient. He works relentlessly, then sleeps for days. He moves and organizes with impressive speed, then lounges in catatonic stillness. He focuses his energy on what is useful and practical, then loses himself in whirlwinds of emotion, namely regret and guilt.

Collectively, as a generation, those born with Saturn in Capricorn tend to be more concerned with status and profession. Saturn expects perfection from his students. It’s true, there is something steely and prickly about Saturn in Capricorn, something that makes us feel we must perform better and harder, that we must prove ourselves. But stop talking down to yourself, goat people. How else are you going to make it through the rest of your Saturn Return?!

Saturn Return or not – have you felt pressured since Dec 2017 to get rooted and cultivate a stronger foundation in your life? Now we must face and define internal blocks concerning work or finance. This is the perfect time to take a class, get certified in a new trade or anything which builds your professional credentials. Saturn/Capricorn thrives in regulated, officious environments like school. Watch for the continued arrival of stalwart mentors.

Dates worth mentioning: May 1 (challenging), May 7 (challenging), May 11 (harmonious), May 16 (harmonious), May 31 (harmonious), June 13 (challenging), June 16 (challenging), July 9 (challenging), July 16 (challenging – also a full moon lunar eclipse!). Gold star days: Sep 1, Sep 5, Sep 6 & Sep 8.

Ok what I really want to talk about is Saturn conjunct Pluto in Capricorn, coming on Jan 12, 2020. Ever since Jan 2008 when Pluto entered Capricorn, this planet has been waiting patiently for this moment: the moment when Saturn, ruler of Capricorn, would catch up to him and expedite the metamorphosis. Who better to help Pluto in his Capricorn endeavors than Saturn himself?

What kind of Capricorn endeavors am I talking about? I’m talking about the social and economic revolution that has been gaining momentum ever since the global recession of 2008 (Pluto’s debut in Capricorn). I’m talking about the unearthing of corruption and hypocrisy in failing systems. All of the buzz around “creating the new earth” that we hear in the new age lexicon – that’s what I’m talking about.

Just to give you an idea of how rare and powerful this conjunction is: we haven’t seen a Saturn-Pluto conjunction since 1982 and won’t see another until 2053. And the conjunction hasn’t taken place in Capricorn since at least the 1700s, possibly even before.

I realize that we don’t all have the same goals and dreams for the new earth. I realize that your ambitions may be different from mine, though I hope we are becoming more aligned. What I can tell you is that I’ll be working just as hard as anyone else to manifest the vision I (we) have. We will be so dedicated, so committed, that nothing else will matter, nothing but freedom and revolution from the ground up. And we’re not just working to stay busy – neither are we working just for the sake of accumulation – we want something truly UNSTOPPABLE IN ITS GLORY.

Problems and conflicts will be eradicated with ease under the influence of this conjunction. Still, people will be grabbing for power in a mad dash, all the dinosaurs, clinging to scraps. Fearmongering and gaslighting will crescendo, but the wise know to tune out this bullshit and STAY FOCUSED.

Everything about this conjunction is motivating and encouraging. Even the fear, taken with a shaker of salt: even this can open up honest inquiry and get us moving. What we lack is a system to guide the movement. This we have to create. And the reality of having to create a global system is so daunting that millions of us sit bound up in guilt and confusion and ignorance. There will be continued chaos. It’s going to take time and generations of humans to fully complete this global Capricorn restructuring set in motion by Pluto, the most potent evolutionary force in the solar system. It’s going to take hard work and trust and a whole lot of love and sharing and remembering. And this is not a time of weakness. We will address our vulnerabilities and work with these vulnerabilities.

This is a major excavation but we’re going to survive. We all play a small but important part in the renovation. We all use different tools and different voices. With this conjunction, Saturn meets up with Pluto to remind him not to be so morbid or obsessive. We can also be more honest with ourselves about how we seek power through our career, reputation or status, yet pretend that we are not in the rat race, or pretend that we “don’t care” about these things when we really do. Say no to spiritual bypassing.

Celebrate Saturn with lists, vision boards and Capricorn Yoga. I was born when Saturn was retrograde. To find your Saturn sign and whether he was direct or retrograde when you were born, click here.

Mantra:  I am rooted

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