Saturn Through the First

Saturn is the architect, the builder. He goes around the zodiac every 29 plus years spending 2 1/2 years in each sign in a logical sequence of development. It's like a roulette wheel when we're born. The place he stops in the individual chart is where one has concentrated building in that particular area for a lifetime. It's what the person works on through trial and error from birth to death. This is the reason the Saturn return is so important. There's always more to do no matter how much one achieves.

The passage of Saturn out of the 12th house and into the 1st is also important where the individual begins a new cycle of conscious effort, making adjustments in the whole presentation of self to the environment and then to the broader world. After Saturn leaves the 12th, dissolving boundaries and building a spiritual base, he comes through the 1st where construction begins in earnest on new defenses, an improved body and personality, and the manner in which one will protect the self as it travels through world. Many assaults come our way so we need to be fortified. An inner wall should be erected and firmly in place to defend the delicate interior world that comes with the person all the way. Sometimes an outer wall will be temporarily used until the inner boundaries are completed, and thus the feeling of isolation that sometimes happens with this transit.

With Saturn transiting the 1st the attention is entirely on the self and often relationships are secondary as a sense of urgency takes over, knowing time is limited. Unless relationships are intrinsic to self defense -- something that happens less than many realize. It is usually not time for great recognition and if it comes, there's a sense that it's not what's most important. It's really not a time to try and compromise too much with others.

This is the story. As I mentioned before, my husband died when Saturn was in my 12th, stripping my biggest defense, leaving me extremely vulnerable. When Saturn came through my 1st both my parents died completing the necessary preparation for my Aries solo life. But by this time the construction of my own defense was already underway and the exposure was becoming more manageable. The transit was not easy, but I had clear ideas of my path ahead and willingly went to work on myself to prepare. Because of my astrological knowledge I was fully cognizant of the reasons for these hardships and I had no doubt about their value.

Being an umbilically active Sun in Cancer in the 4th, this was the only way to get to my Aries. The first time I had this transit I was in India, when a radical change of course occurred rather suddenly and surprisingly. The 12th house passage was the major spiritual awakening, and when Saturn got to the 1st, I left college where I was studying to become an anthropologist and decided to become a musician instead. This was a painful break from my parent's wishes, and when the 2nd transit came 29 years later, the death of my parents freed me completely to pursue my own destiny.

Such is the nature of Saturn. Mundane difficulties designed to help people achieve the purposes of their incarnations. Other planets work in more mysterious and subtle ways, but you can rest assured that Saturn will make it obvious to you, and when you do what is required, you're able are to turn the difficulties to your advantage. All of them. None are gratuitous sufferings imposed for no reason. They have distinct purpose and there is never a logical reason to fear a Saturn transit. We are fully equipped to cope with the events that come our way, especially if we avoid the ever-so-popular path of escape. Unless Neptune's around, of course.