A New Era - Jupiter and Saturn
I mentioned in the last blog post in this series, on transient planets, that astrology is used to track time and events. Most astrologers track the movements of the planets in two ways. One is how it will affect society. Then how it will affect us individually. I previously examined how personal transits with the transient planets can show up for us in different ways. These were the Sun, Moon, and planets Mercury, Venus, and Mars. These transits can trigger small and subtle transitions in our lives that we can track yearly (Mars roughly every two years). The topics of these planets become invigorated and signal something to pay attention to depending on where they land in our charts.
However, for the slower planets, these subtle shifts become quite prominent. So much so that they can feel like we’re entering a new era. On a societal level, this new era happens when the modern planets change signs (Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto). Jupiter and Saturn can also trigger major shifts, like the COVID-19 pandemic when Saturn and Jupiter both came together in Capricorn and Aquarius 2019-2020. This post will focus on Jupiter and Saturn. As I write this, I have just finished another Jupiter return and am going through my Saturn opening square. I’m experiencing a major shift in my sense of responsibilities and how I want to expand in life. I feel this sense of restriction but also a deeper philosophical understanding of the world and certain beliefs I’ve held, including those that I needed to change.
Jupiter
Jupiter is the biggest planet in our solar system and represents what constantly grows in our life. Be it our beliefs and philosophical ideals, our sense of community and alliances, friendships, or a general sense of opportunity and luck. It’s the other benefic planet besides Venus and takes about 12 years to travel the zodiac. In some practices, it is called the Great Benefic. We can expect these significations to grow and expand our lives.
I’ve talked before about the Jupiter Return when I talked about outgrowing your life. That’s exactly what a Jupiter return can feel like. There’s a sense of restlessness and leveling up we may feel, as if we are entering some kind of new era. This happens every twelve years. In fact, our first Jupiter return happens as we transition from childhood to adolescence. This is the time when most preteens experience puberty and expand their self-awareness and freedom, beyond the confines of what was allowed in infancy. This is when our sense of identity and personality takes place. At around age 24, we experience our second Jupiter return, and this is when we explore the world in search of greater meaning and purpose. At this age, I uprooted my life and moved away for grad school. It was a chaotic time in which I confronted a lot of my childhood traumas. This time also triggered my interest in spiritual practices outside the national religion of Christianity (it would be years later that I felt confident to call myself an atheist). As we continue to experience other personal transits, our Jupiter return will be that first inkling of wanting to change something and enter some type of new era for our lives. Of course, there are other factors to consider, as all our lives are unique. But it’s interesting that the moments I felt the most confined and restless have been during my Jupiter return.
Jupiter, like Venus, is a benefic planet. Meaning the aspects that it forms with other planets, especially our personal Jupiter, can signal something growing really well or being less beneficial for us. It all depends on our chart. When Jupiter forms a sextile or trine with our personal Jupiter, these are the points where we might integrate the lessons and new knowledge we received during our last return. Depending on the sign and house Jupiter is traveling through, these may be years we form deeper bonds with others, join organizations based on our shared values and beliefs, and even experience more opportunities that help shape our identity and expand our outlook of the world. However, when it forms a square or is opposite our personal Jupiter, it depends on what else is going on in our chart and life. Jupiter is the only planet that signifies opportunity and luck even when it’s in a negative configuration with other planets. For example, Jupiter opposite Mars may be a time of deep conviction and defending our beliefs, but our actions can be so intense that we’re not able to recognize the nuances of opposing views. Jupiter opposite Venus may cause overindulgence and not adhering to boundaries in our relationships. Jupiter opposite Saturn may cause a lack of responsibility at one moment and then feeling overwhelmed the next. It’s all relative, as Jupiter is a planet that expands what’s going on. But I’ve found that when Jupiter is opposite or square my personal Jupiter, that’s the time when I come to a lot of realizations about myself and the world. It’s these years when I gain deeper insight to the tensions I’ve felt throughout life and finally come to some answers and other resources to help me. When Jupiter is forming a configuration as one of the five classical aspects, it’s a moment of growth and enlightenment.
Saturn
If Jupiter is the planet that urges us to explore and expand our lives, then Saturn is the planet that forces us to see the limitations we have to abide by. These include social pressures and relationships to consider, obligations that we must meet, or other responsibilities that we may not like but have to take care of. This is why Saturn returns are harsh for some people. It’s a moment that feels like we’re being forced to grow up and face the harsh realities of the world. Depending on where Saturn is in your chart, this can feel like a major transition with slight frustration, or a harsh time in life where we have to reconcile past traumas and grow up beyond the wishes and dreams we either had or were fed by society.
Planetary returns are the start of a new cycle. And Saturn transits after a Saturn return unfolds our relationship with responsibility and the harsh realities of life and personal circumstances. Saturn trine or sextile our personal Saturn are moments where the harsh realities are easier to deal with. We may find support and wisdom from others that helps us deal with life better. But Saturn square or opposite is where the real lessons come in. Life feels like a general struggle. There may be overall frustration and anxiety that may be hard to pinpoint. We feel pressure to achieve something or focus on the future. Some people may even search for something they should accomplish, especially when compared to their peers who have accomplished certain benchmarks in life. These are moments of a midlife or quarter life crisis. The pressures of life may feel greater, sometimes more than during our Saturn Return. Traditional doctrine says that Saturn is most challenging when it is opposite another planet. And since Saturn is a malefic planet, this means that topics that Saturn represents can feel more challenging, depressing, or frustrating. The best thing we can do is practice self-care and seek help so that we don’t feel so alone or hopeless. Of course, this all depends on where Saturn is placed in your chart and what sign Saturn is traveling through. But whatever we didn’t deal with during our Saturn Return or even previous Saturn cycles will come up during Saturn oppositions or squares.
The Important of Both
When studying astrology, it’s easy to feel afraid of the malefic planets and overly favor the benefic ones. Anything Mars-related can bring ideas of violence and danger while anything Saturn-related can feel harsh, dangerous, and downright depressing. We human beings like to push hard topics away in search of pleasure, but that’s not reality. Life has challenges regardless of whatever society you live in. But being stuck only focusing on the hard aspects can compound the stress we may feel. I’m not accounting for moments of immediate survival, even though Saturn in some charts may represent this. Most of us living in this world of capitalism can feel trapped and powerless one moment (Saturn) and then overzealous the next in order to escape these negative feelings (Jupiter). But these two planets together show a balance, just like Venus and Mars show a balance in relationships and our sense of empowerment. Jupiter reminds us the importance of having faith in our desires and expanding our awareness. This helps us not feel so stuck and alone. Saturn reminds us that hard work and diligence are sometimes necessary, especially when we have a goal in mind. But life is full of challenges. And systemic pressure, especially in a societal level, is something we all have to make peace with.
Wellness and personal development gurus can tell us that if we think positive thoughts and drink fruit water, then we can have this amazing life full of nothing but wonderful opportunities. But that’s not reality. Saturn is still a major force, not only in astrology but also in reality via the concepts it rules, such as systemic oppression and illness. Thinking positive thoughts will not heal your depression and anxiety unless you process and heal the trauma in your life and learn better coping techniques. Drinking fruit water will not heal a chronic illness or prevent an illness unless you couple it with other behaviors proven by doctors and health professionals to benefit your life. I’ve talked about the anti-science movement that is rampant today, exacerbated by the desperation that so many of us feel. It’s easy for others to manipulate those fears and for us to blindly follow their advice. That’s what happens we try to desperately escape the harsh realities and challenges in this life and ignore all nuances that are necessary to change them.
Transits with Jupiter and Saturn can signal a new era both on the collective level and individual. The planetary returns kick off the new cycle, while the other aspects take us through them, leveling up certain areas of our lives one at a time. It’s up to us to explore and expand our desires while processing and healing the challenges along the way.
