Saturn Return in Capricorn Part Two – Lena
“The person you choose to partner with for life is one of the most important decisions you will ever make. Your choice of life mate will impact every aspect of your being,” author, therapist, and marriage counselor Susan Blackburn once said. Through the lens of astrology, this decision in life is even more significant and imperative for those individuals who were born with the ruling planet of their Ascendant in the seventh house of their nativity.
Love affairs are matters of the fifth house, but once a commitment is made, we look to the seventh house. The reason this house is of greater importance for individuals with this scenario is that the partner influences greatly the shape the identity of the individual will take. The individual is deeply entangled with their partner, and the individual’s identity is shaped and conditioned by the partner’s decisions, choices, mindset and beliefs. If the ruling planet of the chart is a supporting planet in the 7th house of the natal and well aspected, the individual may find the experience with partners as a powerful and supportive part of their adult living experience. Keep in mind that the evolutionary intent of the soul may be aligned with a focus on the partner, so it is not a negative positioning, but the choice of a partner and how the individual is balanced with their partner simply takes on a higher level of importance.
Consider the metaphor of a strong dance couple: each partner must have a solid and strong frame for the other to create a dance with flow and artistry. What we see in the beautiful flow of ballroom dancers is the strength and support of both dancers’ body frames. Recall the scene from the movie Dirty Dancing where Johnny teaches this important component of good dancing to Baby.
Lena’s Saturn is in the first house of her natal chart. Her Saturn return will be focused on how her relationships shape her identity. With Saturn conjunct Venus in Capricorn, her Saturn return will have themes of experiences with family and her child, as Venus rules her 4th and 5th houses. Venus also rules the sign of Libra; however, in her chart Libra is intercepted in the 9th house. Intercepted signs are a quadrant house system concern and appear when the cusp of a sign in the natal chart is sandwiched between two other signs on the cusps of two houses. Astrologer Joanne Wickenburg wrote a book about signs in interception. For Libra (which means that Aries is also intercepted oppositely), Joanne says for Libra interception, “The need to interact, and the need to work as an equal with others and to find harmony with what is non-personal. You need to share information and experience regarding this area of life (house) in order to cultivate objectivity and an understanding of others’ needs and rights.” Weaving in the detail that Libra in Lena’s chart is in her 9th house of truth, God, religion, and higher education (but also Aries in her 3rd being intercepted), there may be something illuminated within this description. Interestingly, Lena has Venus conjunct Saturn in her natal first house, and the theme of love is central to relationships within this context. Anyone with Venus in Capricorn is learning about love in a controlled manner, and it would take time (Capricorn) to understand one’s essential needs and love needs with this signature in the natal chart. Saturn conjunct would be even more controlled, and possibly that is a measure of protecting the individual. Consider the Venus in Capricorn in deep contrast to the powerful sexual nature of with Mars, or Pluto in Scorpio, as Lena has in her chart in the 10th house. I am careful not to say that Venus in Capricorn is limiting her love life or sexuality, but there may be protective walls that exist for the control of romantic love experiences or even for control of idealism within the consideration of love relationships. There are practical and realistic aspects to love relationships, and a healthy, long-term, committed, and sustained approach to love can be enduring.
Lena’s Venus focuses on her fourth house of family, including both her family of origin and the one she makes in her adult life, with Taurus the sign on her 4th house cusp, also called the I.C. or imum coeli. Venus in her first house of self-identity in Capricorn is part of the magic sauce that will create an identity for Lena in her adult life and give it shape. This self-identity that she is shaping with respect to her family is revealing as she shares her thoughts on her Saturn return experiences in our recent conversation in January 2020. There are repeating themes about this very important part of Lena’s natal chart that bring us back to this important shaping of Lena’s identity interwoven with family. First, her rising sign is Sagittarius and the ruler Jupiter is in the family sign of Cancer in her 7th house of partnership. Chiron is in the family sign of Cancer, which is also in her 7th house. The moon which rules Cancer is located directly on her Midheaven (MC) from the 9th house but is close enough to consider it a 10th house matter and thus visible to the public. Taurus on the nadir (or I.C.) of her chart is ruled by Venus, which is in her first house in Capricorn conjunct Saturn. Her north node in her second house of values in Aquarius with her Sun in Aquarius informs us through symbolism of how she defines herself on her own terms rather than how someone else frames her. She will shape her values and her self-identity through her experiences with these important relationships with family and with her child and with her chosen committed partner. Being a solid individual who is comfortable with her own values empowers her in relationships. Partners that value her fiery, independent (Sagittarius rising) self, respect her individuality and appreciate how she speaks and lives within her values will understand just how attractive she really is. Magnetism is powerful, and knowing your unique self empowers you in relationships.
Let’s look at specific events that have transpired for Lena during her Saturn return, some of which Lena recalls occurred on specific dates, so this review will have some exact transit dates.
The first major event for consideration for Lena occurred August 1, 2018. This was the day she and her partner purchased a big semi-truck to start a business for her partner. Just prior to this purchase, Lena received a settlement payment from a prior car accident, and this money allowed them to buy the used truck so that her partner was able to begin the business immediately. It is interesting to see the transiting lunar node conjunct Lena’s Mercury (the planet that rules her 7th house of partner). Transiting Mars was also retrograde at that moment at 2 degrees Aquarius when they purchased the truck. Mercury was also retrograde in Leo in Lena’s 8th house, opposite her Sun in Aquarius. Symbols for the shared resources transaction and the expense for the semi-truck. Notice the intensity on the 2nd and 8th house of her own assets (2nd house) and her shared resources with partner (8th house) with the Sun, Mercury in transit and the lunar nodes. This is a significant moment for Lena, i.e., sharing her assets with her partner as part of their relationship and joint goals. The Midheaven (MC) of the transiting chart is also in the sign of Cancer in Lena’s 7th house, again highlighting the connection between Lena’s partner and her public persona. Saturn in transit is retrograde and still conjunct Uranus when her partner begins his new career with the purchase of the truck. Uranus in transit is at 2 degrees of Taurus and it is in a trine aspect with transiting Saturn. Lena noted how quickly the deal came together. Transiting Jupiter is in Scorpio in Lena’s 10th house approaching her Pluto and square her own nodal axis. This transit is symbolic of the shared resources involved and the desire to expand their lives with those shared resources and the need to create an identity for accomplishment (career), which falls to her partner even though Lena is highly invested in the venture. Transiting Chiron and the Moon in Aries are also square to the transiting Saturn in Capricorn at the moment they are investing in this truck (Aries). The square has tension between the planets and hard work will be required for them to realize success with the business with learning curves along the way.
A few months later the second event occurred for Lena as a parent. In the winter of 2019, she was called to support her daughter through some challenging events. Tensions were high between her daughter and her teacher, so Lena needed to spend extensive time with her daughter’s teacher, with school administrators, and with a counselor to support her daughter in her learning environment. This effort was stressful and required a lot of extra time, attention, and patience to ensure that her daughter was understood and had a collaborative relationship with her teacher. The transit chart for January 8, 2019, is the day the meeting took place for Lena with the school administrators. Note the pile-up of transiting planets in conjunctions with her natal stellium in Capricorn. Being called upon to engage with authorities was front and center at that meeting. The transiting moon exactly on Lena’s north node in Aquarius helped the group understand the unique needs of her daughter with clarity and objectivity. Transiting Saturn was exactly conjunct Lena’s natal Mars in Capricorn. Lena noted that the experience was a sobering reality of parenting for her. Lena needed to stand up and articulate to the authorities what her daughter needs to do well, but also had to listen to and consider others’ perspectives. Uranus in Aries square the transiting nodes at that moment gives emphasis to the importance of the outcome of this engagement with authority for her daughter and for her role as a parent. The repeating tension and intensity shown in the transiting Midheaven in Scorpio square to her Sun in Aquarius. The feeling of being scrutinized and under the microscope by a group or in public is symbolized with this square aspect. Lena’s Saturn return is about the maturing of her identity and the restructuring of how she presents herself to the world as a result of her life experiences.
The moment of Lena’s Saturn return was exact on December 21, 2019, and transiting Pluto was also on her natal Venus, which highlights the experience she had with her daughter (Venus rules Lena’s 4th house of family and 5th house of children). Additional events highlighted this transformation that was taking shape for Lena and her identity with her family, both her own family and her parents. The themes for Lena’s Saturn return were first related to herself and how she is becoming her own authority with experience. Additional themes with family and her daughter came in the process of the transit of Pluto conjunct her Venus. Some events, such as the decision to invest in a trucking business with her partner, were unexpected and came in rather quickly in 2018. Upon reflection it is easy to see how there is such a significant connection between Lena (1st house) and her partner (7th house) and why that would be a major part of her Saturn return (Lena’s ruling planet Jupiter natal position in the 7th house). The symbols always give us the themes, and how they will be played out in life is relative to the individual and free will choices.
The final chart shared is the Solar Return for Lena from her birthday in 2019, which would carry out themes of her Saturn return. In 2019, she turned 29 years old. Notice the Saturn in Capricorn at 16 degrees and Pluto on the 22 degree (the same degree of the Saturn-Pluto conjunction that occurred January 12, 2020). Lena shared that 2019 was the year that work was like a walk through hell. The instability of the oil industry of Canada and the scary future for their local economies caused stress in the province where she lives. She knows that her job relies on the construction industry and acknowledges there are many unknowns, which add to her uneasiness about the future. Notice that Mars the co-ruler of her 10th house of career (public persona), is in Taurus opposite her Midheaven and moon and Mars is about to conjunct her chart 4th house angle at the nadir. Mars in opposition can feel inherently frustrating, and even with a good course of action one can feel like progress is unbearably slow.
Lena just had her 30th birthday on February 15, 2020. Her solar return for this year is the closing cycle of her Saturn return. This year there will be an even greater connection between her partner and her personal identity. Mercury in her Solar Return this year is in Pisces near a conjunction with Neptune and absolutely emphasized since Mercury is slowed for the station to go retrograde the next day. Over the year, until her next birthday, Lena will review her values and her income and consider her assets (2nd house), which include the business with her partner (7th house). She will also be reviewing shared resources (Mercury rules Virgo in the 8th house). The weight of these resources is felt throughout the year, and she will want to take a closer look at how she is earning, spending, and investing her money. Uranus in Taurus in her Solar Return is right on her IC in her 4th house of family, so there can be unexpected disruptions or surprises that she will navigate this year. Mars is just past her Ascendant at 29 degrees Sagittarius, which emphasizes her 10th house of career (Mars co-rules) and her third house of communications, community, siblings and local transportation. Both communications and local transportation, and even the elementary school in her community, have been key themes for Lena. There is a potential for a need to surrender something or a change in her values as Neptune is quite prominent in position in her Solar Return chart, coupled with the position of Mercury and his speed at the moment of Lena’s Solar Return. Mercury as psychopomp is prominent in Lena’s Solar Return of 2020. Mercury here is the messenger into the underworld, and into that which is unseen and the deep in the psyche. Learn more about Mercury as psychopomp through this recent article by astrologer Gray Crawford. https://graycrawford.net/2020/02/17/mercury-retrograde-in-pisces-aquarius/
Lena’s solar return for 2020 is the final chapter of her Saturn return. Saturn makes his ingress into Aquarius March 21, 2020, but it is briefly there for fourteen weeks before returning to Capricorn while in retrograde on July 1, 2020. Saturn will station direct on September 29, 2020. Saturn will touch again into the late degrees of Capricorn and bring additional insights into this development cycle of maturity for all those with planets in late cardinal positions. When Saturn transits into Aquarius for the second time on December 16, 2020, he moves in to stay and starts a new 200-year cycle with Jupiter in air signs. Everyone will notice this shift from the grounded and sobering center of Earth’s gravity that we’ve all been plodding through since December 2017 to a loftier and cerebral fixed air sign. For Lena and others in her generation born with the north node in Aquarius, the shift begins to reveal their collective influence and power (Pluto in Scorpio) as a group. The beginning of the shift is felt in the fifteen weeks when Saturn moves into Aquarius and Lena will truly notice this in her world because that shift for Saturn into Aquarius will square her moon in Scorpio at the top of her chart. Moon is symbolic of family (and often our mothers or prominent women in our lives) and there will be potential for something public that is brought into context for Lena. Her partner is tied into that as well, given that the sign of Cancer resides in Lena’s 7th house of partners. The 30th birthday for Lena marks the passing of a threshold into maturity. It brings new wisdom and understanding of herself after navigating difficult roads that have been cluttered with a myriad of unknowns.
Those who have Saturn in Capricorn know that some things in life just take time to grow and be fully realized. The potential for their enduring legacy is part of the deal. With such a deep resonance of family and partner tied to Lena’s first house of self, I would say that her legacy is deeply connected to what she brings to those significant and enduring relationships in her life. An inspiring thought about legacy was shared by author Debbie Ford, who said, “If you look to your past or even your present to see why you are here of what your purpose is, you may get stuck in a limited view of yourself. Instead, look beyond your years here on earth, reconnect with the divine, and bring forth your soul’s legacy into the present moment.” Those with Saturn in Capricorn during their Saturn return are likely to imagine themselves at an old age reflecting back on their life and sifting through the nuggets of all their various milestones and coming to realize what matters most from that distant view. Lena may have already taken such a moment to see how valuable her partners, her daughter, and her extended family helped shape her identity inspired greater love and built a life for her to cherish. Lena is fulfilled and satisfied because she is authentic and shares her unique light to the world in ways that matter to her heart the most.
#UptheMountain_Lena
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