Astrologically Speaking: The Saturn Return

By Catherine Carlson

 The next time you talk to one of your parents or grandparents, ask them what happened to them between the ages of 28 and 30. I guarantee they will tell you about an important event in their life. If you have already reached your thirties or beyond, then you also have a story to tell—that of your Saturn Return.

Saturn’s cycle of approximately 29.5 years means about every thirty years it will return to the exact same place it was when you were born. During our lifetime, we may experience a Saturn Return between the ages of 28 to 30, ages 58 to 60, and again between 88 and 90. Saturn Returns are really passages in life—three significant transitions that we may experience.

Saturn is known as the god of time and the lord of karma, or as a teacher of mine liked to call it, the school principal who is checking to see if you are doing your homework. The Saturn Return presents us with a job that we cannot say no to. It’s a tough task master and requires us to work at something. Saturn is a planet that shows us how, and in what context, we are going to learn our lessons.

Age 28-30:

The first Saturn Return is a significant event which grows you up in some fashion. It is marked by common initiations including a change in location, the purchase of a first home, a big relationship change, marriage, career advancement, or the birth of a child. The hallmark of these events happening at this particular age is that the experience will come with challenges, often unexpected, and we are forced to face them. Before the first Saturn Return, we are still a child in many ways and afterward we have entered adulthood and begun to experience who we are becoming through a uniquely personal taste of the real world.

In her book Midlife is Not a Crisis, Virginia Bell says for most of us “the Saturn Return is a challenging but empowering period. By committing to something and following through, we learn discipline, decision making, and how to function in the world.” The period of adjustment that follows the events of your own Saturn return time period can feel like an uphill climb. When I was 29, I moved across the country and went back to school. In my mind this seemed like a natural next step and fun adventure. The reality was it was a steep learning curve including changes to the plan. Looking back, I am able to see how my lessons were unavoidable and how they formed my life path.

During Taylor Swift’s Saturn Return she broke out of her comfort zone and released her album Reputation, influenced by difficult experiences, which sold over one million copies in its first week. This followed in 2018 with four awards at the American Music Awards making her their most awarded female musician. But the really exceptional Saturnian play she made, after much strife, was to sign a deal with a new record group. Her new contract stipulated that Swift had copyright ownership on her music moving forward—an unprecedented move in the industry.

Many people between ages 28 and 30 have their first child. Astrology folks call these kids Saturn babies—perfectly wonderful children! It is the parent-child relationship where Saturn’s energy shows up and requires more effort for both parent and child to find a balance—part of the life lessons for each.

Age 58-60:

Saturn represents the archetypal father looking over your shoulder seeing if you are on task. We would all like to hear, “You’re doing a good job!” If the first Saturn return sets the stage for your lessons, the second Saturn return is the harvest. Since you were in your late twenties, life has shaped you. This second time you cross over into senior status, and with your wisdom, you are now able to help others in an authentic way.

This is the age when people often retire. Perhaps you are able to take decades of effort and turn it into something new career-wise, or finally buy a vacation property. If you have been doing your due diligence, this is a time when you can reap rewards and experience success. In 2022, at age 59, veteran actor Michelle Yeoh starred in the movie Everything, Everywhere, all at Once and earned her first Oscar for that role honoring her perseverance. Sometimes Saturn returns have a pattern. One couple I know had a son during the first Saturn Return and that son gave them their first grandchild, also a boy, during their second Saturn return.

Age 88-90:

Saturn three-peat. The first Saturn return catapults you into adulthood and the second is the return on your investment. The third Saturn Return refines our maturity even more and highlights our limitations. At the age of the third Saturn Return we are not building from the ground up as we did in our 20s and 30s, and many have long since retired. Being set in our ways is the challenge, yet we may still have a new experience that forces us into a new mold. This may be the time when you make your final move to live with your children or to a community. You may become a great-grandparent or receive significant recognition from a lifetime of work. His Holiness, The Dalai Lama, currently in his third Saturn Return, underwent knee replacement surgery last June at age 88. It was a big change requiring time and effort to heal but was also a renewal.

The good news is, because Saturn is known as the timekeeper, as we age, things tend to get easier. The high road of these turning points illuminates our mastery and teaching ability; the more difficult side can present challenges that require us to find our strength and courage such as through a loss. Saturn encourages us to adapt to circumstances, and face our tests, knowing we will come out on the other side with a greater understanding and better equipped for whatever lies ahead.

Catherine Carlson is an Astrologer who offers consultations for adults and children. She is an Ann Arbor native who enjoys living locally with her family. She can be reached at catherine-carlson.com or catenka@mac.com.

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