The Saturn Return Means the End of Bad Habits!

Saturn return habitWhen Saturn returns to the place it was when a person was born, usually around age 29, it is considered an initiation into true adulthood. We are asked to review our lives so far and make we are headed in the right direction. We are asked to pick a path to start the next chapter of our lives. But just as often, we are asked to let something go.

All of us have habits, beliefs and tendencies that don’t really serve us. And when Saturn comes knocking, it is time to take a hard look at ourselves and bring those bad habits to a screeching halt. Almost everyone I have spoken to about this has something important I their lives that they stopped doing around their Saturn return, and it always ties in to Saturn’s natal placement.

I’ll use myself as an example. I have Saturn in Sagittarius in the 8th house. Sagittarius can see unlimited potential, and the 8th house is how we invest and exchange energy and resources. When I went through my Saturn return, I stopped investing my resources in other people’s potential. I instead made the decision to meet them where they are and work with them as-is. I asked myself, “If things were to stay exactly as they are today, what would I do? How much longer would I stay, and how much more energy would I invest?” I found this incredibly liberating, and it has served me well ever since.

Another person with Saturn in Libra in the 6th decided to stop making herself sick trying to please other people. With the 6th house ruling health and Libra being the ultimate people-pleaser, this is textbook. She decided that she was no good to anyone if she was miserable all the time, and her attempts to control situations by being sweet and likable weren’t doing her as much good as she thought they would anyway. So she stopped, and to this day she has some of the best boundaries of anyone I know.

So while many people dread their Saturn return and see it as a fearsome thing, it can actually be incredibly positive. It can rid you of old tendencies that no longer serve their intended purpose and set you on the right path. It can certainly be difficult at times, but the reward is worth the price.

What did you stop doing during your Saturn return? Where’s your Saturn?

34 thoughts on “The Saturn Return Means the End of Bad Habits!”

  1. I wonder, does this apply to the Square and Opposition since these are check points in-between the Saturn Return?

    1. To break in down down,I do think events and decisions at age 14-15 did solidify where I ended up at first Saturn return. And events and decisions at age 45-46 did solidify where I ended up at 60. So that would be the opposition for me.

      1. Same here!

        I made a decision at age 14-15, that further solidified at my Saturn Return. I’ll have to wait a long while for the next check point. But I suspect it might build on those past train stations.

  2. What a positively different approach to the Saturn Return. I love this angle. My second Saturn return has been puzzling me ever since it happened; and I left my homeland and wondered whether I also needed to leave my husband.
    Five years or thereabout later, and as I read this I GET SOMETHING SO VALUABLE. Saturn is in my 8th House — legacy and birthright. I get that my journeying away from my roots of origin gives me the freedom to explore the way I can give and serve WITH DISTANCE. Boundaries, while connected with lots of space. This is huge and I get the picture and love the one you tacked to this post!! I couldn’t do the legacy leaving until I leave.

    1. Ha! My Second Saturn Return was almost 15 not 5 years ago. The insight is still what I’ve written it’s the awareness of how time is measured … out of whack! Saturn is in Leo Natally.

  3. I can’t think of anything I gave up doing, other than my dad dying, so I gave up anything related well, that. Saturn in Leo.

  4. I can relate to lady you mention with Saturn in Libra. My experience with Saturn return this year (In 1st house in Aquarius and also my chart ruler) is that i MUST focus my energy on myself.

    I have always been people pleaser in one way or another which my Mars in Libra contributed to it as well. I always had tendencies to step out of my way for other people i cared about and forgetting my own needs in general. For what? To be accepted? For validation? I wasn’t aware that by doing such things i only harmed myself. During a Saturn return period i was slapped pretty hard.

    It took my several months to figure out where is core problem in myself and to work it out, set priorities, change attitude, change view on things, work on myself, leave and change everything that served me no good. I am free to say and thanks to all people who did me wrong in last year period because they did me a favor and opened a door for my personal development.

    Being kind and generous is wonderful but it should not be used to get validation from people around you if that makes sense. Moderation is the key.

    Painful period but i am thankful for it.

  5. I have Saturn in the 5th. At that time (2009), I stopped playing around. I came home to stay and worked to find a husband because I wanted to be a wife and mother. My children have been a blessing and I’m glad I made it a priority!

  6. Avatar
    Donna Gaugenmaier

    well, my second saturn return started in may. my saturn 6degrees conjunct south node 8degrees in aquarius 6th or 7th(western) house depending on the chart. saturn was stationed at 1 degree most of may. and the event seems like it was the beginning of my saturn return, I had been living in my car for just over 2 years and I had wrecked my car and my insurgence co wanted it to sell for parts. I texted my brother and told him I was about to go on the street. a couple of days later a family friend 3000 miles away said I could live in one of their houses. so I had to leave where I was and the guy (he lived in his car as well and we parked near each other for comfort of mind) I liked ( venus retro shadow period) (things were waiting to get going it seems).

    it only took me an hour to decide to go 3000 miles away from everything. and I was off in another hour. now I am making the best of things a new life for sure. cant wait to see what saturn has in store for me once it gets exact.

    one thing I have learned is take advantage of a better situation when it is offered. I dont need much time to think it over and talk myself out of it, and if it is not a better situation I tell myself my shadow side knows best. I believe that my shadow side caused my car werck. maybe living on the street is my ultimate goal I dont know.

    I want to use my power for good but I have a hard time with my worth. I never charge enough and leave myself with financial hardship my whole life never having enough to care for myself. any suggestions would be grateful for.

  7. Natal Saturn in Scorpio 1st house. First Saturn Return I started a new career direction. I let the old peter out slowly for a couple of years and then found my new direction. My Maiden years were over. Second Saturn Return I left behind my caretaking responsibilities as the young ones I was caring for came to adulthood and the elders died off. My proverbial Mother years were over. My direction did not change as Saturn had progressed into Sag. Pretty much everything was in place. So I settle into my Crone years. So far so good.

  8. I shed the idea of being a dusty baby in a suit and dealt with my fear of freedom after the Saturn return.. also with my obsession with my family.. and pledged not to be jealous of people but do what they do.. if it’s something I want to do.. Saturn in Sagittarius in the 11th..
    That it was my responsibility to seek my dreams and live my life now.. and not worry about others’ definitions of adulthood

    1. I was told you can’t fail your Saturn return. I can say my life looks different now but I should have made these choices earlier. But, with Saturn on the MC, finding my path has been a struggle against avoidance and a semi broken mars. I could have done my Saturn return better. But, I feel satisfied with some forms of independent thought that resulted.

  9. Feeling like a baby chicken. People my age are already getting married, having some sort of career direction or having babies. And then there’s me. But somehow I feel this is not the option for me, not the direction for me. Hopefully I’ll figure it out. Not there yet but it will be very soon to have my saturn return, in aquarius 1st house.

    1. Same here, X-rayed. Granted you’re younger than me. The Saturn return is about going towards the fear and doing things that you’re avoiding one step at a time.. in your case it might be building up your individuality and creating an adulthood/appearance that’s only lived by your own rules. You don’t need to have babies or get married. Saturn in Aquarius is about defining adulthood based on what self realization looks like for you and having integrity in that. Someone else’s adulthood doesn’t have to look like yours. I think many people in your generation (like one of my friends) will choose not to get married because it doesn’t feel authentic to them. Or is too restrictive. They might also choose to work for themselves and not have traditional jobs with bosses.

      1. Thank you for this response, it felt very on point, you have a way with words. There’s a reason why I’ve never envisioned myself as a bride. My dream is to find a guy to have a solid long relationship that we can make it work but it’s not suffocating or boring but held with love, excitement and loyalty. And that’s it. And lo behold , an unruly boss that’d dry my soul in two seconds. Flipping the bird at him mentally already, just in case, just kidding.(pluto in 10th house). I’d like to be my own unruly boss, that’s my inner voice anyway. 🙂

        1. That takes open communication yeah. The thing is, you can work toward being your own unruly boss. With side projects or freelancing to build experience or even training in various ways to build your own business. Whatever your inner voice says you have to work toward slowly during your Saturn return. Whatever you feel like you don’t deserve is usually what matters the most and what you have to work toward over time during your Saturn return. And also the thing you fear is the thing you have to inch toward, like full independence and a deep and combustible (Pluto) career. I tend to avoid the stuff I fear and that’s a waste of time and the wrong move. The Saturn return doesn’t tend to give us outward signs of where to go other and what to do other than our own discomfort. And we have to work past that to build an identity that has the integrity we want and a fearless individuality (Saturn in the 1st) that is unapologetic and fully our own. It’s really important to work and push through the fear and be active.. I tend to collapse and do nothing. It was the wrong move for me.

          1. Thank you, Kri. And, likewise, you can continue to work towards your dreams and your vision. Saturn passing through your natal sign already doesn’t mean he left for good. He didn’t tell anyone good bye, took his suitcase, his cane, and his shiny rings only to return after 30 years, for the 2nd time. We’re a work in progress, aren’t we? It takes time. So I’d say it’s great you’ve made changes and to not dwell too much on how or why it took an amount of time. Best wishes^

            1. <3 thanks X-rayed. I'm going through a Mars Pluto transit til December so if I waste it I'm a moron. Along with a Sun Neptune transit which somehow takes precedence? Anyway.. better do my damn work.. but first coffee :/

  10. Saturn, the planet that rules time-tested wisdom, mastery and maturity, takes 29.5 years to do one full orbit around the Sun and “return” to the position in the sky where it was at your time of birth. For three years, Saturn will orbit through the same zodiac sign it was in when you born, putting you through some serious tests of will. Farewell, youthful innocence; hello, astrological adulting. The ringed taskmaster is here to help you grow up, take responsibility for your choices, and find your path in life

    1. It’s kind of like a second birth, once it spits you out you’re a different person, lighter, truer to yourself.. a guy I know just finished his Saturn return and I can feel he’s more relaxed confident authentic. I think thats what makes some peoples 30s very rewarding.. I think a lot of millennials took until their 30s to find their flow and fully wasted their 20s.. they thought it was ok to flail.. well that doesn’t leave much time for self actualization.. I probably made a lot of wrong choices and did a lot wrong.. I should have been where I am at 23.. but Saturn in Sagittarius tends to delay authentic exploratory impulses and The Fool-like youth.. people used to think I was older than I was.. cause I was miserable..

  11. Well, my crush is having his Saturn return this year and his house (most likely) just burned down. What a goddamned year. The shutdown happened right around his birthday and now this. I guess he’s just literally giving up everything physically…

  12. My Saturn In Capricorn in the 6 th house 0 degrees , been trying to shake incessant worrying, it will be
    What it’ll be,K Sara Sara,”Doris Day”

  13. My 11H Sag Saturn squares my 7H Virgo Venus. My 8H Libra Sun/Mercury/Ceres/NN wants to rescue friends and close partners and to help them realize their dreams. Afterwards, I often get completely physically and emotionally depleted. Then, I usually retreat from the relationship to recover (6H Cancer Vesta). Classic astrology.

    1. Good advice, Midara, to adopt healthy boundaries and to accept – not change – others exactly as they are. Sage words.

  14. Smoking. In Cap around 8 in 10 close to cusp 11. Lost my dad as well with Saturn still in Cap now tho it’s at a much later degree. His was in Cap as well.

  15. On my first Saturn return, I ended a relationship that was obviously leading nowhere. And my anorexia stopped after 15 years of struggling with food. It just stopped. I made many mistakes at the time. Conclusion: Saturn return taught me to face the consequences of my actions and to clean up the mess myself. Those were very hard years but I came out stronger. Next year is my second Saturn return. Curious.

  16. Thank you, Midara.
    Saturn at 29 deg Aquarius 8th h
    Moving into 2nd Saturn return now
    Hoping I have learned my lessons
    When Saturn move into Pisces.
    Thank you all, for the insight

  17. Unaspected Saturn in intercepted Cancer in the 8th house.
    At my first Saturn Return, I broke my marriage (mistake? Or maybe not).
    At the second one, I needed to learn not to be so extravagant. A hard, HARD lesson for me!!
    I accepted the Cancer lesson and am now happily “at home”, and I didn’t even mind lockdown very much.
    I have always wanted to be home-based when I look back over the many years. Just didn’t manage to combine that with having enough to live on, somehow.

  18. Today I found out that the planet saturn is tilted at about 27 degrees now, 26.73 to be more specific, which is also the starting point for saturn return age in astrology- from 27 up to 31 for some people. On an unrelated note, venus is crazy in her tilt and should replace uranus in the ‘weird planet’ planet.

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