Saturn Retrograde

Saturn Retrograde 

April 29 5:54pm PDT 

20 Cap 31 

Every year Saturn turns retrograde for about four months.   During this period we may find our responsibilities change or deepen.    

Depending on the sign and if it hits any personal planets will determine how much pressure you experience during the retrograde.  In this case Saturn will be retrograde from 21 degrees Capricorn back to 13 degrees until September 18 when it turns direct.    Globally the responsibilities we give to those people in authority will be questioned.  Perhaps some of our leaders will step up and earn more of our respect while others fall down on the job and we turn away.   Because Capricorn rules big business we will see some errors on the parts of CEOs and Coporations.   Capricorn also rules government and politics.  Will everyone be up for the task put in front of them?  Those people in position of power who jockey with people’s live through laws and edicts will be challenged if their words don’t match their work.  Are they telling the truth?  Are they authentic in their efforts or is it all hypocrisy?    Much will be revealed during Saturn retrograde about who we give authority.    

It is important to note that Saturn will be on top of Pluto on January 12, 2020.   This is a fairly rare bird in that it only comes up every thirty or so years.  The last time the two planets joined up was 1982 and that was in the sign Libra.   Saturn and Pluto are both planets that address power but through different styles.  Saturn gets powerful by doing tasks and being responsible, disciplined and taking care of business.   Pluto finds its power by transforming itself from the inside out.  Death and rebirth are empowering to Pluto.   It is interesting a few months before the Saturn Pluto conjunction in 1982 President Reagan at his inaugural speech was remembered for his remark “Government is the problem.”   How perfectly Saturn/Pluto.    Now,  to be fair, students of history know that the context of the quote is much more nuanced than how it is remembered but this ‘hands off’ my life and “government is the problem” influenced generations of people.   A death and rebirth of an idea was formed.   This new conjunction we will be asking more from our government and leaders since it is taking place in Capricorn not Libra.   

The last time Saturn conjunct Pluto in the sign Capricorn was January 1518.   A few months before that conjunction Martin Luther started a revolution although it didn’t look like one at first.  Luther was a Catholic priest who was very concerned by the Catholic Church’s practice of granting “indulgences” to provide absolution to sinners.  Luther saw this practice more and more corrupt.  Indulgence-selling had been banned in Germany, but the practice continued unabated. Luther wanted to have a discussion about this practice and nailed his 95 Theses on a church door. His goal was to get people to talk about it.   What ensued was the Protestant Revolution by his suggesting  two beliefs – The bible is the central authority and humans may reach salvation by their faith not their deeds.    These theses put the pope on notice he may be out of a job for those who followed Luther.  Gulp.   Arguably the world changed with Martin Luther and his theses.   So, here we are again five hundred years later with Saturn approaching Pluto in Capricorn. What is going on now?  Or what comes up during the Saturn retrograde.  It may not be as powerful as Martin Luther but then again it may be just as meaningful.  Only time will tell.  In the meantime, watch what comes up during this Saturn retrograde and when after it turns direct we may see where we may be heading and January could seal some deal on something that gets activated now.    

On the personal level how are our responsibilities shifting in our lives during the retrograde?  How are we being asked to step up and be our own CEO?  How are we being our own advocate?   How are we being our own Martin Luther?   Either for us personally or our loved ones?    Because Saturn and Pluto are on the nodes of the moon (we’ll talk more about this during the summer eclipses) there is an energy going on about homes and family and food and feelings (Cancer) and the south node on business, cold calculations and government (Capricorn) that needs transforming and housecleaning (Saturn & Pluto).     It is worth remembering that 9/11 was during the last round of North node in Cancer and the majority of the people who died that day were at work. Those of us who watched the events unfold on our TV hugged our loved ones tighter and wondered out loud about how we spend our time.   The struggle between career and family will be brought to our attention during the Saturn retrograde