What Is the Saturn Return & Why Is it Important?

The Saturn Return, a period that runs from age 28-30 and again from age 57-59 is a critical moment in everyone’s lifetime. It not only marks the time when Saturn returns to the place in the sky at the moment of birth, but a symbolic transition and test of life.

“Why am I here?” … “What is the meaning of my life?” … “What do I want to be when I grow up?” These are some of the questions we may ask ourselves during the Saturn Return, particularly the first Saturn Return of age 28-30, which is the first test of our lives.

Personally, as an astrologer, I love Saturn; It reveals the structure or framework that builds our lives over time depending on the zodiac sign and house Saturn was in when you were born. This structure has a root reason or lesson. It may be to learn about faith or to build material stability or learn powerful lessons of transformation.

Saturn is the lynchpin of our lives in its totality. It’s my go-to planet in my astrology tool box in my client consultations.

Age 29 is one of the most important years of our lives. It marks the moment when we say yes to life — we say yes to the lessons and the potential of what we can build and what we can become while we are alive. Saturn then becomes the blueprint.

Why is the Saturn Return So Important?

Here’s another way of looking at it.

Before this life you made plans. It is as if you said, “I want to learn about ….” “I want to build my life around …” “I want to grow up to become …

Then, Saturn said to you, “I’ve got a life for you.”

Then you came into this life and forgot all about your plans.

But Saturn remembers. The chart remembers. And, honestly, deep down inside you remember, too.

We have these key moments in childhood of growth — age 7-8, age 14-15, and finally age 21.

Age 21 is when your life becomes yours. It’s not your parents’; it’s yours. Like getting the keys to the house of your life.

From age 21 to age 28 you’re trying out life. But it’s like living in a house that you haven’t signed for. The first Saturn Return is like being handed the contract of life — the lease, the legal document — that outlines what you promise to do, to learn, to build, and ultimately to become.

While we are here on planet earth, in a physical body, we are under the laws of Saturn … time, karma, and aging. And while you are still alive, as long as you are over 30, you are on the hook, so to speak.

Knowing where Saturn was when you were born and its positioning is one of the most important bits of information you’ll ever have access to. It helps you to be aware and to participate in the building of your life. (Book a consultation.)

Figure: Saturn’s Arc of Development

The Most Important Years of Our Lives

The events that occur between ages 28-30 are highly symbolic. They are an invisible thread that continues to wind through the different moments and chapters of our lives. Sometimes the events of ages 28-30 are a critical juncture, a turning point that defines our lives.

If age 29 is a seed, a starting point, then every 7-8 years we build upon this point. The ages 36-38 (the opening square)… ages 44-46 (the opposition) … and ages 51-53 (the closing square) are structural points that build upon the lessons or framework set by age 29. The events that mark these ages are also highly symbolic.

The second Saturn Return of age 58-60 is different for each person. It can mark a culmination of 30 years of work, a return home to the lessons set in motion and seeds planted at age 29, a milestone that marks the passage of our lives. The second Saturn Return can be an “oh shoot” moment when we realize that we’ve reached a critical checkpoint and have nothing to show for it. Or it can be a major stepping stone of achievement that takes us into the next 30 years of our lives.

Should we be blessed to reach our third Saturn Return of age 88, we can step into the wisdom of old age, enjoying what remaining years we have left, hopefully having integrated the lessons and potentials outlined at birth in our Saturn placement.

Saturn in the Signs and Houses

Saturn in Aries or the 1st House — lessons in self reliance, “standing on your own two feet”, duty, responsibility, action; growing up to become a leader, strong sense of individuality

Saturn in Taurus or the 2nd House — lessons in the material world, spending, income, value, worth; growing up to become financially stable, rooted and grounded, strong sense of self worth

Saturn in Gemini or the 3rd House — lessons in voice and communication, how you think, listen, and learn; growing up to make wise choices, use voice in a mature way, become a writer or teacher

Saturn in Cancer or the 4th House — lessons in home and family, roots and foundation, emotional stability; growing up to create a family, to find and build a sense of home, integrate the importance of connection

Saturn in Leo or the 5th House — lessons in self, identity, creativity, gifts, persona, individuality; growing up to become someone who takes themselves and their talents seriously, has a healthy sense of identity

Saturn in Virgo or the 6th House — lessons in practicality, organization, duty, health, and perfection; growing up to become someone who has mastered operations, their health, and whose life is a support for service

Saturn in Libra or the 7th House — lessons in relationship, connection and socialization with others, balance and equity; growing up to become someone who has a strong sense of negotiation and strong partnership

Saturn in Scorpio or the 8th House — lessons in death and rebirth, transformation, trust, money, power, vulnerability; growing up to become someone who has a healthy and mature relationship with power, can open up to others, stand in the threshold of life and death

Saturn in Sagittarius or the 9th House — lessons in faith, quest for meaning and purpose, philosophy and point of view; growing up to become someone with a strong sense of the world, a core philosophy, who can teach and share (Read more about Saturn in Sagittarius)

Saturn in Capricorn or the 10th House — lessons in structure, maturity, responsibility, matter and the material world; growing up to become someone with a strong sense of accountability, healthy relationship with authority, can build and construct a solid life (Read more about Saturn in Capricorn)

Saturn in Aquarius or the 11th House — lessons in friendship and social connection, equity and fairness, social issues and social causes; growing up to become someone who has a strong sense of the world and the systems that unite us as humans, who has a responsibility to community (Read more about Saturn in Aquarius)

Saturn in Pisces or the 12th House — lessons in peace and compassion, letting go and forgiveness, spirituality and intuition; growing up to become someone who has cultivated a deep sense of inner self, who has found purpose and mission, who has built compassion and understanding (Read more about Saturn in Pisces)