iVillage

We all should be familiar with the concept of Saturn as the great timekeeper and ruler of the physical. I have pointed out that the Saturn cycle and its return at around 30 years of age (“Never trust anyone over 30!”) marks a climacteric or critical year in the lives of each of us. Before we continue, it is important to recap the material that you should be familiar with.

The return of each of the planets to its natal place has always been important to astrologers. In particular, that first return for each planet during a life has special significance. Our whole consciousness and living can be seen as a series of investments and returns. If we are at the point of no return with anything, that something is lost to us. It is only by the steady returns of life (like the waves beating against the shore) that we know we exist.

The Moon returns each month, and the planets begin bringing us returns as early as three months of age (Mercury). As each planet returns (completes its circle or cycle), it has described for us its basic orbit and sphere of influence. It then circles on and begins to go around again, and its cycle becomes a constant in our lives—a part of our inner life. Our consciousness and experience moves beyond that orbit, beyond the time of that planet, and we begin to pick up on the next outer planet which has not yet completed a cycle. After we have completed a Mercury cycle, we begin to pick up on the track that Venus is laying down in the heavens, then Earth, and so on, all the way out to Saturn. This is what is called our formative years.