As Saturn prepares to go direct…

Are you feeling that crackling undercurrent in the air? The feeling of our old excuses and limitations just not cutting it anymore?
As Saturn wraps up its’ 4.5 month retrograde, preparing to switch gears into forward motion on Sept 18th, the few days prior can feel like the deep-breath, rolling-up-our-sleeves moment before we get down to work.
The chart for this moment of Saturn’s gear-switch (4:46a.m. EDT), has much clarifying wisdom to share, pointing the way forward; more on that in a bit.
First, let’s recap what this Saturn Retrograde was about in the first place, so you can get your bearings and know where you stand, and look ahead with a sense of realistic perspective:
Saturn, in general, is about the mature, realistic life’s-work we’re here to do. No airy-fairy energy in this one- Saturn stands for the tough questions, for our boundaries and limitations (both healthy and not), and for the work needed to turn the unhealthy ones from a weakness, to a strength, with persistence and time.
It gets a bad rap in certain old-fashioned branches of Astrology, and even here at Nurture Astrology, where we embrace our life’s work and nurture our best potentials with a realistic view of our deeper selves, Saturn’s no picnic. But it is a part of a healthy life, of knowing who we are, what we stand for, and what our true inner work is, with which we build and maintain our best lives and selves.
Saturn retrogrades (when it appears to go backwards over old terrain) happen every 8 months, for 4-5 months at a time, and each one invites us to introspect long and hard about how our boundaries are, and aren’t, serving us. Each one is different in focus and themes, symbolized by the planets and points it connects with, both in transit (current events), your chart personally, and the charts of the very beginning and very end of the Retrograde itself.
What this past Saturn Retrograde (April 29- Sept 18th, 2019) had to share, was largely about really examining, and in many ways sloughing off the old limitations we’ve inherited, from our culture, our family, our history, and anywhere else we may have dredged them up from and dragged them along. And the absolutely most relevant and important of those, to have looked at with brutal (yet loving) self-honesty, is the ones we’ve internalized. How have we given over the authority over our lives? Played small? Pushed our power away?
How has our relationship with responsibility for ourselves and others, served, or dis-served us? Is it still doing so now?
How have we been hard on ourselves, or others, to the detriment of honoring our emotional needs?
Those, were the questions quietly whispering in the background of our lives these past 4.5 months, and if you still don’t have the clear-cut answers, don’t worry, it isn’t like you can’t ponder these things now.
However, with Saturn readying to turn direct on the 18th, the energy contained in these questions, is becoming available more fully again, for each of us to experience and bring forth to the more external living of life.
It’s “apply what we’ve learned” time; bring-it-into-our-daily-practices-and-lives time; throw it at the wall and see what sticks (and tweak till it does) time.
And with the chart this Saturn Direct station has, it really is about giving shape, and practical action, to what we’ve figured out about where our boundaries do, and do not, belong.
If you’ve decided you’ve outgrown your work, put action to it and seek out what’s next; if you’ve realized the self-doubting voice in your head sounds like your mother and it’s been long enough (too long!) that you’ve let it sabotage you, seek out some confidence-boosting or mental-pattern-reprogramming tools ; if you’ve realized you’ve been chasing success so hard it’s burned you out too much to enjoy it, see if you can cut back on the juggling you do for others’ approval and add in some non-negotiable feel-good soul-food habits into your routines to balance you out.
Whatever “it” is for you; whether you’ve let your fears keep you small, got caught up in things that miss the mark, maintained a life structure that doesn’t nourish you and yours… or just needed to get clear on how to tweak what works, to work even better, Saturn going direct is announcing, it’s time to address that now. This isn’t about getting obsessive about the details, or worrying yourself over what isn’t perfect, though. This, is about taking a realistic view of where you’re at, where (and who!) you want to be, and start building in that direction, with actionable plans, with routine-adjusting/creating, and time-allocation, towards what really matters to you- your core values, your ideals, your need to follow your heart and own your best self, and let those be seen by, and extended to, the world (however that looks to you!) – not just for your own sake, but for those who’d be served and benefit from your vision coming alive.
As each of us who’s willing to heed the call, begin transforming our personal life structures to hold and sustain more caring, more self-respect, more compassion, we step into our integrity in ever-more-powerful ways. This, lived out by millions combined, becomes a vote for a kinder world, with the practical action and daily practice to back it up and solidify it into our reality more permanently. This, is how individuals living in personal integrity in a real way, creates waves that ultimately change the world.
In this way, we get to be both humble, and more properly appreciating that who we are, matters.
And to think that some Astrologers typecast Saturn as only the “bad guy”?!! 😉
Happy transits, folks!
(And of course, if you need some help making the most of these shifting times and learning how they apply in your uniquely individual case, Nurture Astrology’s here for you, with supportive readings to clarify and enrich where you’re at. )

Bella’s been practicing and teaching Western psycho-spiritual Astrology since 2009. Supportive, uplifting and very down-to-Earth, she’s passionate about helping people get clear about their lives, overcome indecision, and step into living with greater authenticity and purpose.
Please see the Services page, to explore if working with her is right for you.
With Saturn as my ruling planet, im excited about this energy shift!? Thanks for the post.
You’re very welcome Melissa. Come back again soon, there’s more articles to come!