A few musings on the upcoming Saturn transit through Aries. Enjoy my friends.
Saturn will enter Aries for the first time since 1997 this May, and retrograde back into Pisces in September. Saturn will re-enter Aries in February 2026 through april 2028
For natal Aries placements, you’ll be going through a Saturn return. These themes will affect everyone individually, but most decisively for those going through their Saturn return in Aries. So listen up!
Things will seem to materialize as you perceive them
Your sense of self, how you view others and the world. Your vision and perspective will be uniquely predisposed to confirmation bias.* It will be especially difficult to change course if you’ve got fixed placements in the luminaries, Venus or Mars. Due to Chiron’s transit through Arie since 2019, native Aries Saturns have likely felt the themes come up repeatedly already.
Being extremely mindful and self aware is the way to move through this. Not self conscious, or self obsessed- although you will likely dip into periods of this in order to learn the difference between healthy and unhealthy behaviors. Be sure to remember that those who don’t see eye to eye with you aren’t the enemy writ large. Compromise is imperative, mostly with yourself. Nuance is a little more foreign to you than others. The swing between you having the exact correct view of the world vs self flagellating nature of ‘always being wrong/bad’ is truly the simple shift of perspective. Insulting as it seems, truly it is that simple.
The key here for Aries Saturns is to turn inwards and understand what your fundamental truths are, regardless of external circumstances. These will be tested, of course. Saturn returns are less scary than the internet would like you to believe, and part of that itself is the lesson with them. Truly, the circumstances that befall you from Saturnian lessons are very simple to exit from if they’re uncomfortable. They also crumble very easily if you glean rewards and decide that the work you’ve put in so far is finished and you can now coast along.
*The confirmation bias will be strongest as a lesson for saturn Aries natives, but it is important to remember that everyone is operating according to their own set of confirmation biases at this time. Just as you’ll be convinced of your reality, theirs will be just as real to them. It’s imperative that this reality crossroads is respected. See my previous post on Chiron in Aries.
This is not socioeconomic or systemic issues that were born into
Saturnian lessons are curated specifically for you at the time of your birth. It’s how you respond and utilize the tools you’re given and use to move in a specific direction. You are supposed to fuck up sometimes. That’s when you gain the most important wisdom.
Saturn in Aries is a ton of explosive energy. Externalizing your anger towards the world’s injustices by treating others as if they have personally slighted you for to any inconvenience or miscommunication is not the vibe. You’re gifted with the unique energetic levels to make real change happen, and fast. But first you need to learn to pivot. Man your personal perspective like a fighter jet. Dodge unnecessary wastes of energy and focus your drive on the target. Deciding on the target is its own challenge, but the overall goal of this Saturn return is to learn where to put all the passionate energy you have inside of you. Direct it efficiently to destroy what needs to be destroyed and disrupt when it matters and is effective.
Disrupting corruption can be incredibly satisfying on an individual level. But if you’ve got a hero complex, you may miss the signs that your well intentioned sense of justice sometimes does more harm than good. This will introduce the practice of self forgiveness. The times you miss the target and create fallout that harms others. The times when the target was completely incorrect, and your emotions were manipulated to purposefully waste your energy. You are going to fuck up. A lot. Your good intentions don’t negate the fallout of your actions.
Never attack in anger
Anger is information, not motivation. The focus that anger costs us can be deadly. (Watch literally any kung fu movie cmon now) You’ll fuck this up. If you can get over how angry you are at yourself for these times, zoom out and realize that you’ve unlocked a key weakness that may be useful for future battles. We’ve got more in common with one another than we’d like to admit, especially when facing enemies. But if you can understand your own weaknesses enough to turn them into opportunities- the battles will be much more decisively won. Of course, too many wins will make for an ego that cannibalizes the work you’ll be putting in. This will happen in order to teach you humility. Again, this isn’t the time to be angry, double down and spitefully lash out when you’re bested.
This is especially important advice when engaging in online activism, and/or education. It is mighty tempting to go with the crowd online, especially when there’s influencers engaging in a pile on. Going with the crowd and feeding off their anger to amplify yours will lead you to excuse some pretty gross behavior; once hindsight sets in, you won’t feel proud of yourself.
No one is immune to propaganda
Propaganda is art and entertainment based. Fascism is an aesthetic. Unfortunately, Saturn in Aries placements are a little more prone to the aesthetics of power dictating their identity. For example, an influencer or celebrity talks about a political stance they hold. Your identity may tempt you to absorb their beliefs. Is this because you actually agree with them, or is it because your identity as a fan would come into question if you disagree?
We know some fandoms can be vicious and prone to attack any dissenters. Is that healthy? Do we need to fit in so badly that we accept a stranger’s morality and politics as our own? Can we allow ourselves to enjoy someone’s art while knowing they’re kind of an asshole?
Adopting opinions in order to gain acceptance in a group will always prime you to be used for spreading propaganda. We’ve all been there. It’s horrifying to look back at what is, in hindsight, an obvious social manipulation and realize you helped propagate it. It’s also disheartening to realize that simply agreeing with a position online doesn’t equate to activism in any meaningful way. (I say this as a Millennial who was very passionate about Kony 2012. Shit happens when you’re enthusiastic and well intentioned. It’s okay).
Again, this is a turning point. Is your identity tied to being a ‘good person’ - where good people don’t fall for propaganda and are always on the ‘right side of history’- more important than honest introspection and personal growth? Can you allow for the paradox that you’re still mostly working toward ‘goodness’ while leaving room for the inevitable failures that come with trying something in earnest? Many people are overly attached to the label and definition of self, even when incongruent with their actions. This not only leads to hypocrisy, but a calcification of stubbornness that directly impedes social progress. (That is, of course, the point of this type of social media propaganda)
In the coming years, there will be major revelations of political motivations behind some social movements. There is very real evil in the world, and it spreads most easily in spaces operating with black and white thinking.
A solid sense of self is key
Needing to be the polar opposite of your perceived enemies cuts you off from relationships with potentially valuable allies. Think about what you despise about the opposing force most- and find whatever that is within yourself. “I would never do xyz!” You say, confidently… almost defensively?
Yes, you would. With the right circumstances you can be just as evil as those you despise. Everyone is capable of incredible evil. Everyone is capable of unspeakable violence and cruelty within the right circumstances.
Figure out what those circumstances are for you, and make sure to become aware of them as you start picking these battles.
You cannot fight an enemy you fundamentally don’t understand
When you get incredibly reactive emotionally- step back and notice what you’re feeling and why. Not a laundry list of injustices that fall from the obvious evil in the world, but specifically what part of human nature makes you angry in this way? Find the root, find your personal vulnerability to it. Sit with it. Forgive it. Accept it. And suddenly you are no longer overly reactive, suddenly you humanize someone a little more. Rinse. Repeat. This is especially difficult in a digital landscape that feeds off of our outrage, pain and sadness. But it is an imperative exercise to evolve your sense of self.
This doesn’t mean you never enter conflict with others, but picking your battles is the theme of Saturn in Aries natives. Pick the right battle and you can create real change. Pick the wrong battle and you pour gasoline on the fire.
It is highly unlikely you will come face to face with the world leaders causing the intense suffering in the world.
You do not have to hyperbolically theorize what you’d do when contending with the Big Bad. The tiny fires of conflict that these tides ignite can be stomped out interpersonally by conscious empathy.
Media literacy is imperative to cultivate for this group
For everyone, of course, but for Saturn in Aries people, knowing the algorithm you’re fed isn’t the average viewpoint of the world or even your own community is important. Find people to disagree with and learn to do so respectfully, without lashing out or crashing out. It’s also important to question all visual representations you see in media. Assume everything has a filter of some sort on it. Don’t blindly think that anyone online is telling you the truth, being authentic and ‘real’ for any other reason than for the attention you pay them. This doesn’t make them evil, but it is a fact of life.
We are in a period of neurological evolution where we’re understanding much more about trauma and its effects on the brain. Big discoveries in neurology and psychology will unfold during this transit. They will fundamentally shift how we move forward culturally. Think about how large an impact Freud’s work had on the world. It’s on that scale. And it begins now.*
Trauma impacts neurodivergence just as much as a genetic predisposition does. we are finding out more every day that even the COVID 19 pandemic is having very real neurological effects on our brains. Not the least, our concept of time, a decidedly Saturnian landscape. As these findings roll out, so too (my hope) is that new rollouts for cures or treatments for time-perspective cognitive issues. They are slow to come out now, but with the Aries energy combining both Neptune and Saturn, I’m quite hopeful we’ll have new findings and treatments coming sooner than later.
The combination of epigenetic traumas and environmentally disposed neurodiversity is a potent one for massive cultural shifts. The education system will shift rapidly, and the way we communicate and consume information must change for it to be viable for the coming generations. This shift in mental health combined with children’s education especially will yield great new trends within media. Some will be more effective than others, and some will be healthier long term.
For adults, we’re understanding how many people have neurodivergent tendencies, and how best to move through the world with them. Personally, I don’t believe neurotypicality exists. There hasn’t been any point in history where culturally we haven’t been accidentally poisoning or traumatizing one another. The cultures that form carve pathways around the most powerful class’ neurodivergent tendencies (think about how many 50’s housewives were on meth serving jello salads at dinner parties, or the Ancient Romans’ lead fueled… everything). This is simply a period of time where we are reshaping our culture as our neurodivergent tendencies require us to shift our lifestyles en masse.
Figuring out a way to navigate your own personal neurological makeup for your best self, making accommodations whenever necessary, and putting the effort in to show up is imperative to move forward. And, what you cannot accommodate for on your own you can communicate. Understand that your actions, while they aren’t meant to cause harm, still hurt people when they express it to you. Instead of lashing out ‘this is just the way I am!’, try to hear them giving you feedback with the generosity they are giving you. Many people are happy to up a ghost someone who they find inconvenient, instead of being brave and having a conversation with them that may be difficult for both parties. Don’t be someone that makes those conversations more difficult than necessary. This, again, is an extension of the “identity definition” clinging vs pivoting within paradox behavior.
*[Also fun fact, Carl Jung’s Chiron return of 26 degrees Aries is upon us! We will see a new shift occur with how we engage with this type of psychology. Highly likely the psychic + psychological will have more of a crossover, but that’s for another post]
Neptune’s transit will not necessarily make this any easier. It will be difficult for the first degrees of Aries when these two planets are intertwining closely. You will not be able to utilize the black and white thinking once so comfortable to you. Everything is messy, everything is incredibly complicated. You cannot put an entire person, lifetime, or perspective into a single ‘good’ or ‘bad’ box. This will be incredibly frustrating, but if you allow the need for this categorization to fall away, your capability for nuance and empathy will grow remarkably well during this time. There will not be time for you to process everything that’s coming into your consciousness. You’ll want to snap react to things as they come, but that’s going to exhaust you very very quickly. Allow things to pass without your judgement upon them until absolutely necessary. Again, pick your battles.
Meditation and meditative practices will be most helpful here
Learning to feel emotional reactions, notice them, and wait before responding is key to crafting a solid aim of powerful Saturn in Aries energy. Do not think that because you have some sort of neurodivergence that you can’t meditate. Saturn in Aries especially can do anything it sets its mind to. It will likely not look the way you’re used to, but there is always a way… if you want to do something badly enough you have the means to make it happen. This doesn’t mean winning the lottery or regrowing a limb. This means if the options available to you aren’t helpful to get to where you want to go, you can find other methods of getting there. You just have to look. Be a little inventive. Have a little fun. Not all discipline is a drag, you know. ;)
Ultimately, Saturn in Aries, especially with Neptune transiting alongside it, is about learning to focus your emotional energy in the correct direction and using it to make real change in your life and the world. Allow yourself to imagine, to daydream, to float. And then figure out how to get there. If you find yourself overwhelmed with anger, hatred, or spite- backtrack a bit and find the opportunity there. Forgive yourself and others. Interact with good faith.
W/<3,
ECHO
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This was a lovely and resonate ( I think that is the correct word??) read and a powerful reminder. Not a Saturn in Aries baby but already finding myself front and center with a lot of these concepts and really looking forward to ~alchemy~ ~growth~ and ~ not making everyone else the enemy just because they don’t want to do things my way~