This article was written by community partner Samantha Melitta of Hands of Mercury
Are you ready for a collective shift? On March 7th 2023, Saturn will be shifting signs according to the tradition of Tropical Astrology. Saturn is our resident task master, keeper of time, lord of Karma, and responsible for the challenges we need to move from innocence to wisdom. Saturn is famously known for the Saturn Return, a period of roughly 2.5 years at the end of our twenties, fifties, and eighties that brings major life shifts, challenges, and course correction for our path. For those with the natal placement of Saturn in Aquarius, congratulations! You’re about to graduate from the classroom of Saturn. If you have Saturn in Pisces in your natal chart, buckle up and breathe deeply as you’re about to begin this rite of passage.
Saturn in Aquarius
Saturn has been transiting the sign of the water bearer since December of 2020. In the humanitarian and future forward sign of Aquarius, we have seen Saturn engage in challenges between authority and personal autonomy. We can see this collectively with world governments navigating policies for COVID restrictions, and individuals having to navigate isolation and work from home policies. A major signature of this Saturn in Aquarius time was the Saturn Square Uranus transit that affected us all of 2021 and into parts of 2022. Government Authority (Saturn) versus Individual Freedom and Uprising (Uranus) has been a source of friction, highlighted with the January 6th US Capitol Insurrection as well as the women led revolution in Iran, Kurdistan, Baluchistan, and Afghanistan.
Aquarius is also related with technological and scientific innovation. A new era of technology and the internet sprung up in response to a changing landscape of life and work during the pandemic. Working from home and working online is now a very different landscape than a few years ago. We have seen a trend of “quiet quitting”, a term coined by Bryan Creely, where more people are taking advantage of the expansion of remote working and entrepreneurship to work with more freedom and on their own terms. We have seen revolutionary programs like ChatGPT that are integrating AI into our world sprout up during this transit, set to change many functions within society, education, and work.
On a personal level, Saturn in Aquarius has been reshaping the way we engage with organizations, community, friendships, and our niche interests and passions. On a positive note, the time in isolation created space for some of us to explore our unique interests or finally make the move to a better suited community for this chapter of life. Many woke up to the reality that we must work together to make lasting change, as well as pay close attention to the intentions and actions of our policy makers. You can also look to the house that holds Aquarius in your natal chart to see how this transit has been impacting you on a personal level.
There’s no doubt it’s been a challenging time with Saturn in its home signs and full power in both Capricorn and Aquarius for the last five years. Saturn has brought us sobering reality checks about the direction of our personal lives, our management of resources, and our direction as a species on this planet. So much has changed since the Saturn Pluto conjunction of 2020, and we have all had to face the grief and loss of life as we know it never quite truly being the same. With an incoming Jupiter ruled Saturn transit, we can hopefully find the silver lining of this time.
Saturn in Pisces
Saturn will glide into the watery domain of Pisces, ruled by Jupiter from March 7th – May 24th, 2025, and again August 31st, 2025 – February 13th, 2026. Saturn, planet of structure, form, and boundaries will have to navigate the boundless and formless oceanic energy of Pisces. Not an easy task for Saturn. Pisces is associated with spirituality, universal oneness, sacrifice, the savior, non-ordinary states of consciousness, as well as illusion, deception, and escapism. Neptune has been amplifying this Piscean energy since entering the sign in 2011. As astrologer Austin Coppock stated on a recent episode of The Astrology Podcast, Neptune has given us a beautiful psychedelic renaissance and mainstream acceptance for the healing properties of certain substances and plant teachers. On the other hand, we have seen a massive opioid and Fentanyl epidemic that has been destroying families and communities. Every sign has their gifts and challenges.
Saturn in Pisces will bring us face to face to face with the collective and personal ways we escape and avoid the pressures of life, the certainty of death. Our relationships to media consumption, substances, addiction, and the pharmaceutical industry will be up for review. If you have developed negative coping mechanisms prior to or during the pandemic, Saturn will provide the support and structure to get back on track. Pisces asks us to feel it to heal it. While this can be painful and disruptive to our day-to-day tasks, ultimately this brings us into greater unity and compassion. Jupiter will be making a supportive aspect to Saturn from the sign of Taurus for this first year of Saturn in Pisces, reminding us that our personal healing is interconnected with the healing of our natural world. Let your actions and habits bring you to a place of empowerment with both the holiness and harshness of the world.
Spiritual communities and practices will also be highlighted during this transit. Since 2011, Neptune has been expanding the global interest in spiritual pursuits and Indigenous wisdom such as yoga, mindfulness, astrology, tarot, plant medicine, mediumship, and more (Thank you Conscious City Guide for your supportive hand in this space!) On a positive note, Indigenous peoples, their lands, and their spiritual technologies like the temescal and the sacred fire are seeing more respect and reverence than we have seen in any time since colonization has occurred. More folks are becoming interested in cultivating a relationship with their soul, the earth, and the sacred found in all things outside of structured religion. On the other hand, we have seen the shadows of spirituality come forward with deceiving leaders, spiritual bypassing, and appropriation. We have already seen abuse filled spiritual spaces come to light in documentaries like Wild Wild Country, Keep Sweet: Pray and Obey, and Going Clear. Saturn in Pisces will deliver reality checks to these spaces, especially to those who claim expertise and authority in spiritual settings. Those who have been working in integrity can expect an upleveling in their work, and those who have been working in harmful ways will be course corrected and held accountable. Saturn and Neptune will be working to find common ground in Pisces before ushering in a new form of spirit and structure in our world with their conjunction in Aries in 2025 and 2026.
On a personal level, Saturn will be asking us to find more structure and discipline when it comes to our own spiritual practice. Our spiritual practice should help us to consciously face the overwhelming aspects of life with more fortitude and grace instead of escaping them. Saturn reminds us that the benefits of a spiritual practice take time to bloom, that it is normal for a spiritual practice to feel quite challenging when we begin. We will also be asked to find forgiveness for the deepest challenges from our past and even ancestrally. In what ways have we limited ourselves and our freedom by continuing to hold grudges and resentment? You can also look to the house that holds Pisces in your natal chart to see how this transit will impact you on a personal level.
While Saturn brings its challenges, it also brings us the sweet success of delayed gratification. These challenges are necessary for our growth and maturity, ultimately helping us to savor the moment we summit the mountain of our great work in this lifetime.
Do you have Saturn in Aquarius or Pisces in your natal chart? You are cordially invited to the Saturn Return Graduation and Initiation happening March 4th and March 11th. We will be honoring this sacred time with intention, reflection, and community facilitated by Samantha of Hands of Mercury.
1:1 Saturn Return Support sessions are also available if you are looking to dive into the Saturn Return journey in relation to your natal chart. If you’re not sure of your natal Saturn placement, feel free to reach out to hello@handsofmercury.com to find out.