• Search
  • Lost Password?

Saturn Return in Sagittarius Retrospective

Saturn Return in Sagittarius Retrospective

In episode 131 of the podcast astrologers Leisa Schaim and Patrick Watson join the show to talk about some examples of Saturn returns that we have observed over the past few years as Saturn has been transiting through the zodiacal sign of Sagittarius.

Our example charts include a mixture of celebrity charts, charts of friends or people we know personally, as well as a number of examples that were submitted by listeners of the podcast who shared their stories with us and agreed to let us share their charts.

Most of these are examples of the first Saturn return, which occurs during a person’s late 20s, although we also have one example of a second Saturn return in Sagittarius that we talk about as well.

This is a followup to episode 45 on Saturn in Sagittarius, which we recorded back in 2015 when Saturn was first moving into that sign, where we talked about some themes that we expected to see during the course of that transit.

We received a lot of great Saturn return stories from listeners of the show, but unfortunately we were not able to talk about all of them due to time constraints. If you are one of those people who has Saturn in Sagittarius and you would like to share your story, we would love to hear from you in the comments section below. It would probably be best if comments were kept kind of concise, like a 2-3 paragraph summary of your Saturn return, as well as your chart placements or birth data.

You can find out more about Patrick on his website, PatrickWatsonAstrology.com, as well as his YouTube channel.

For more information about Leisa see her website LeisaSchaim.com. Leisa is presenting a webinar on Saturn returns on November 15 for Nightlight Astrology, and also has a recording the same lecture on Saturn returns and sect available on her website.

Below you will find the show notes, followed by links to download or stream the recording of this episode of the podcast.

This episode is available in both an audio version and a video version, and you will find links to both at the bottom of this page.

Show Notes

Here is an outline of some of the things we talked about in this episode:

  • Over two years since we did the Saturn in Sag podcast.
  • Return to talk about some of the stories we saw since that time.
  • Review a bit of what the Saturn return is about in theory.
  • Major keywords and themes of Saturn returns in general:
    • Major achievements
    • Major downfalls
    • Re-evaluating one’s life choices
    • Endings and beginnings
    • Hard work/persistence, testing, challenges
    • Reality principle/making things real
  • Our interpretive principles for how it will manifest:
    • The sign and degree that Saturn is in.
    • The house that Saturn is located in.
    • The two houses that Saturn rules, using traditional rulerships.
    • The sect of the chart (day vs. night).
    • Whether Saturn has any dignity or reception (see previous episode on mitigating factors in astrology).
    • Bonified or corrupted by aspects with other planets (for more see Chris’ class on bonification and maltreatment).
  • We have a mixture of Saturn return stories to talk about.
    • Celebrities, friends, clients.
    • Different perspectives are advantageous for different reasons.
  • One issue to keep in mind is that this is not the only thing happening in the chart.
    • Other timing techniques and transits going on.
    • It is just that sometimes the Saturn narrative really stands out in some charts.
  • Saturn in Sag and how that has manifested in general in the world.
    • Super literal manifestation of much of that in terms of mundane astrology.
  • We will focus on first Saturn returns, although a few second returns.
  • Saturn-Uranus conjunction for those born in 80s put a unique component on many stories.
    • Often something unexpected.
    • Unexpected disruption.
    • Unexpected reversal.
  • A lot of people who wrote in were day charts.
    • Bit easier to talk about these because they tend to be not as hard.
    • Some of the night chart ones who did write in had pretty tough stories.
    • Leisa: That is my counter argument against ‘not scaring people’ with negative stories, because often people only hear about the more positive ones and feel bad if they’re having a hard time during their own Saturn return
  • Each of the birth charts listed below were discussed in the order they are listed in:

Birth Charts Discussed

Here are PDF files of each of the charts we discussed during the episode:

More Info on Saturn Returns

Here are some relevant links for more information about our approach to interpreting Saturn returns:

Watch the Video Version of this Episode

Here is the video version of this episode:

.

Transcript

A full transcript of this episode is available: Episode 131 transcript

Listen to the Audio Version of This Episode

You can either play this episode of the podcast directly from the website or download it as an MP3 to your computer by using the buttons below:

Leave a reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

23 comments
  • My first Saturn return July 1976 endng in mid ’77 with Saturn is in the 3d house of a day chart. During this period I began going out with my future wife, applied to law school, and began attending law school in the same large metropolitan area. Very positive period of my life.

  • I’ve found that when transiting Saturn squares my natal Saturn, there is often a significant change or occurrence in my life. My natal Saturn is in Virgo, so Saturn in Sagittarius usually correlates with something significant. This year I took the longest jet flight in my life. And it went well!!

    • Jeffrey – I love this – so Sagittarius. And I think your comment is more to the point – that Saturn is a long cycle and the return should be seen in that context. Not sure what the point of the podcast was as we all know conditions of natal rulers, house placement, condition of natal planet experiencing a transit etc all matter and of course would play out the same way with the return. Saturn is about lessons and time and what endures. If those lessons are not learned the first time around then they will be repeated BUT within a different context – and that is important. This time around would never be the same as the last with a few exceptions – and that is where the analysis gets down to the finer pinpointing of the quality of Sagittarius and the agenda of the placement in the chart, and ability to manage that agenda by the natal sign ruler. That is a constant – what changes is where the Transiting sign ruler is during this period and where all other planets are that will affect this experience. It has to be seen within the context of the whole. Do I think the ruler. Patrick pointed out that he felt the return start with the ingress into the chart and that is a good comment – Saturn is in the house folks. But this is the same with any ingress of the slower planets as I see and have experienced it. There is also the matter of how many times Saturn crosses your natal Saturn. Is there a retrograde that will hit if off three times? This is not always true. And the generational component such as those now born around 1987 who have natal Uranus in the mix. If anyone is interested in the cycle and the larger meaning I recommend Erin Sullivan’s Saturn in Transit. This speaks to where we are as we age – and Saturn is all about effect over the long run.

      • Yes, each successive Saturn square, opposition, or return, will highlight new issues that we must deal with. Each challenge gives us the opportunity for learning and growth. Thanks, Jen, for recommending the book on Saturn transits!

  • My first Saturn return took place after Pluto conjuncted my Neptune three times. My Neptune is in a T square with opposing the moon and squaring Uranus. I have a very positive relationship with Saturn. It is for me the great Manifestor. Form and structure are essential for being ideas, visions, creative works into being. My Saturn is 0 degrees Sag in the 6th house, opposing mercury, injuncting st house Venus, squaring my midheaven, trining 2nd house Uranus . My first Saturn return I built an adult life . I came back from NYC to Santa Fe and got very involved in community, found my way into a profession that supported me, deal with with a very complex primary relationship.
    My second Saturn did not involve the Pluto transits, It has been a journey of turning back to my souls purpose. I traveled for training opening the deeply mystical shamanistic parts of my life. I began to do astrology readings . I studied with Alan Oaken in the early 80’s. Moving into manifestation of my sacred path in daily life, and being more open about my frequent mystical experiences. The big questions for this Saturn return were how do I bring this into form? What form most supports the message ? And my hunger for travel and living in other cultures is quite strong. I have little to tie me down in life. After the first Saturn return I raised children not mine. This time feels like an opportunity to build a life ,with a great deal of freedom.
    It maybe Saturn in Sagittarius that has supported me in creating a life that is not defined by culture boxes. It is an exciting time and a time of much change. It has also been quite challenging in providing deep opportunities to transform fear. Facism and government control frighten me deeply as does the environmental crisis. This has been a profound time if reaching deep within, overriding the fear engendering new feeds and finding gratitude beauty and a way forward . Saturn in the 6 th what form can i give to my work, how am I of best service to what I truly value. What contributions that are of value to me can I make?
    I had some health issues that I resolved through proper medication, herbal and vitamin supplements, the correct form of exercise and bring together intention, awareness of the many level on consciousness and harmony with the autonomic nervous system. While in the hospital on a heart monitor it kept alerting, I was told that my pulse was dropping below 50 and that was triggering the alert . I said aloud to my heart , let’s increase the pulse just a bit , it went up to 55 then back done to 49 and stabilized at 51. How much intention and conceptual structure influences what is manifested into form is my current Saturnian exploration. I look forward to my third Saturn.

  • Additionally, in my chart Uranus has been conjuncting my Moon. I have a Moon T-square Moon in Aries sqaure Uranus in Cancer and opposing Neptune in Libra which is square Uranus. Upcoming Uranus square Uranus opposing Neptuene .
    Pluto has been trining my Sun. I have a Sun T-sqaure . Sun in Taurus square Mars -Chiron conjunction in Aquarius, Sun square Pluto Jupiter conjunction in Leo, Mars Chiron Opposing Pluto Jupiter. Perhaps in context that is why I am so fond of Saturn. Saturn is also conjunct my north node and opposes my Part of Fortune.

  • I wanted to say, Chris, that I think it is fantastic and encouraging to me to think I may still feel as excited about how astrology works after studying it as long as you have. I hear you saying “I can’t believe how literal the manifestations are of Saturn and Sagittarius!” I can’t agree more and it is constantly boggling my mind that more people don’t see how extremely obvious this stuff can be. It is a cross between extreme elation and complete frustration. Either way astrology is swiftly becoming my drug of choice. Your podcast always hits the spot.

  • Thank you Chris et al This podcast was extremely interesting as is every other one as well. Nice to see Lisa so involved. Patrick is always a hoot. Entertaining and informative. What could be better?

  • Just learning about astrology but can tell you my natal Saturn is 25 40 Sagittarius which just returned for its second visit exactly on Nov. 11. Needless to say, it has been a whirlwind time and coming up on 60 has been trying but also very cool. Lots happening–thanks for putting it into a better perspective. Only wish I’d caught this a couple of years ago so I could have been a little better prepared. BTW I have a night chart.

    Thanks again,
    Jed

  • Four days before the Challenger disaster, the satellite Voyager 1 reached Uranus, while Saturn and Uranus were in Sagittarius.

  • Loved this episode. First time commenter, longish-time listener.

    One of the things that came up deep in the episode (deep!) is that Patrick was talking about bridges… how Sagittarius is seen as a bridge-building time. He was excited about the 3-D printed bridge in the Netherlands; and mentioned that many new kinds of bridges are formed when Saturn is in Sagittarius. He also mentioned that prisons are built when Saturn is in Capricorn.

    Which made me wonder. What kinds of buildings or structures are built when Saturn is in the other Signs? I thought about some big engineer projects like the Three Gorges Dam, which set the world power record in 2014, but became operational when Saturn was in Libra. So I thought about other dams, like the Grand Coulee Dam (Operational 1942 — Saturn in Gemini) and the Hoover Dam (operational in 1935, Saturn in Aquarius and then Pisces).

    I thought about other kinds of structures, like mills or factories — the Slater Mill, the first industrial-revolution style factory in the United States, opened in 1793 — the year began with Saturn in Scorpio, then shifted to Sagittarius. When compared with the Lowell Mills, though, that didn’t seem to fit. Central Park opened in 1858 — Saturn in Cancer until July, then a shift to Leo. What about the one that Patrick mentioned, prisons when Saturn is in Capricorn? Jeremy Bentham proposed the Panopticon model of prisons in 1786-7 (Saturn in Aquarius), but I found only one example of a true panopticon as a prison, opened with Saturn in Gemini in 1796.)

    Anyway, I’m wondering if there’s a list of the kinds of new forms of public buildings or structures or institutional architecture that gets built or established during each Sign as Saturn passes through. The idea intrigues me, and I want to learn more.

  • Thank you for this episode. I have Saturn in Sag in the eleventh and experienced my second Saturn return in the last year plus. During that time I was asked to write horoscopes for the online lifestyle magazine for the online company where I work. I was
    also asked to lead a monthly astrology salon at a local divination shop in my community, and my father died.
    I really liked the examples of celebrity charts. I had never heard of Daryl Davis and I watched the documentary about him this weekend. His is an amazing story. Thank you for introducing it to me, your listeners.

  • Thank you for this episode. I am curious about any input on Saturn currently transiting the Galactic Center at 27 degrees Sagittarius. My natal Saturn is at 26 degrees and Uranus at 27 degrees Sagittarius. My spiritual growth has been skyrocketing at an extremely accelerated rate lately. It has been beautiful. This is my first Saturn return and would greatly appreciate any feedback as to how to best harness this energy. I feel as though I’m still only unfolding my purpose and finding my path, but so excited for every step of this journey.

    Thank you so much for all your hard work. This podcast is a huge blessing to anyone seeking a deeper understanding of astrology.

  • Also, I was wondering about your statement about the “book-ends” of Saturn transits through signs beginning at the first ingress and ending at the last exit, regardless of retrograding back into previous signs. For example, my natal Saturn is retrograde at 26 degrees Sagittarius (1988). Since it had already technically begun its transit into Capricorn before retrograding back into Sagittarius, does that flavor my Saturn at all with more Capricorn energy than strictly Sagittarius energy? Or since its a natal chart, does that make the interpretation more of a snapshot of the planets exactly as they are in the sky? My Mars is also retrograde at 10 degrees Aries, and while I definitely resonate with that placement I feel like a spiritual warrior (possibly due to north node in Pisces). Thanks in advance for any feedback! Love the show!

    • I just did a bit more research and see Mars was at the beginning of its retrograde so it was in Aries to begin with, although it did retrograde all the way back to 29 degrees Pisces before stationing direct, which is interesting. I shouldn’t have even mentioned Mars, thanks Mercury rx 😉 Very curious about Saturn, though!

  • Thank you so much for this podcast! I just completed my Saturn return. I have saturn and Uranus in Saggitarius, the 9th house. Sun in Scorpio, moon in Capricorn, Jupiter in aries. It has been brutal considering Saturn transit through Scorpio as well. The beliefs I had built up over the last 30 years came up for review. I feel like a major hypocrite. I got into a huge internet mess up with cultures foreign to my own. I could never go back and fix it! I feel so horrible! This was so unexpected and I always thought to myself that how can something so small get blown out of proportion. From your podcast I learnt that saturn conjunct Uranus makes that happen. I lost my dad one month after my exact degree (18° sag) of return. I ve not been able to get back to a job since a year. Woah! I just hope I can fix my depression if not anything else. I believe a large part of my beliefs could be because of my mercury(Rx) placement in the 8th house of scorpio, which caused me immense suffering and the sad part is, I believed all of it!

    The podcast made so many things clear and gave a lot of solace knowing the stories of other people. Thanks guys!

  • This comment is awfully belated, but I’ve been catching up on episodes as a new listener.
    I have a night chart with Saturn at 6° + Leo rising, with my moon 3° from Uranus (as I typed this I thought “Hah, good band name”). It was rough.
    While my exact return was mid-November 2015, I think everything really hit the fan starting in 2016. Both of my grandfathers died. My SO’s mother was diagnosed with Cancer and passed within a year; before she died I got dumped and got kicked out, which blindsided me even though it was a toxic relationship. I moved in with a mutual friend; we went to Japan and hiked Mt. Fuji together – planned before the breakup. I tried to date new people, my ex tried to win me back and I turned him down. A new person gaslit me and got back with his ex and didn’t tell me, I found out on Christmas. Ex started dating a new girl who became besties with my roommate and every social situation turned into me being bullied by mean girls. I stopped caring about a lot of things and stopped wearing a helmet snowboarding, while also getting really good at it since it was the only thing keeping me sane – enough so that I heard about it from other folks I didn’t ride with (it was a small ski town). I moved again some months later, into my own space. Met some good folks who made me feel not so bad about being shunned by mutuals.
    Met my current SO and started a long-distance relationship in 2017 after going on a road trip with a mutual friend, stopping through Montana where he lived. We were originally just going to hang out a day or two before going to Canada and looping back to Washington, but we got denied at the border because they found a taser I forgot about in one of my bags (my entire car was searched, my friend is Native and this was Alberta). We got turned around and passed through his hometown (for his dad’s wake, of all things) on the way to Yellowstone and back before heading home.
    Honestly, I think work was the most stable part of my life the entire time.

    Anyway, I’m very grateful for this podcast, I have learned so much, and so far I am only on episode 145 in tandem with new episodes. It honestly feels like a layer of reality has been peeled back and I can see further into the cogs and gears of whatever it is I’m experiencing. Thanks again.