In the early stages of life, Saturn reflects our limitations and acts as the organ of the chart that conveys this information indelibly. We can’t fool everyone no matter how hard we try, and it’s not until later in life that we really start to get a handle on Saturn’s themes, even if we try really hard to begin with. In reality, Saturn may be extremely challenging at any age, full of insights into difficulties and roadblocks, as we regularly run into enormous obstacles.
Saturn’s domain is the most frustrating because it makes us feel like we’ve been sucked into the depths of the earth, psychologically, emotionally, physically, or spiritually; we’re stuck, we can’t relax, and we’re limited by our own boundaries. We intuitively know there is something about Saturn’s sign, house, and aspects that is crucial to our growth, so we try endlessly to accomplish it. We know that Saturn can take us to the very turning point in our life, and we feel compelled to learn the lessons that await us on the other side.
Saturn is where the conflicted father figure archetype and the weight of expectation collide. There are many Saturn archetypes, including Father Time, the Grim Reaper, Death, the Old King, Senex, and the Taskmaster. He has a strict adherence to law, order, and convention and dispenses justice with an iron fist. Saturn is captivated by the ways of the past, particularly those that include the experience and knowledge of previous eras. If Saturn is in a person’s natal chart, that area is where they should focus on being responsible and meeting the challenges of their individual mission in life. We must not give up and instead double down on our efforts, because Saturn is all about learning from past mistakes and realising the fallibility of human nature. Saturn’s restrictions limit our focus and bind us to the material world, creating a strong bind that can even swallow our higher spiritual essence.
Depending on Saturn’s element, we battle for ascendance intellectually, practically, spiritually, or emotionally, and frequently face separation in our Saturnian area (air, earth, fire or water). Saturn possesses an abundance of dark energy, which, according to the ancients, was envisioned as the alchemical lead and substance known as the prime material, and what we seek is gold. In astrology, Saturn describes the passage of time and represents the personification of our worldly journey, the soul’s portal, in relation to the building of a solid sense of self.