Saturn in Aquarius (Pausing and Restrictions As We Negotiate the Future)

If you want an idea of the ways Saturn in Aquarius will shape us, look back to 1991 to 1993, the last time Saturn was in the sign of the Water Bearer. Saturn was the first planet to break up the Triple Conjunction of Uranus, Saturn, and Neptune in Capricorn. In the US, we elected Bill Clinton for President (1992) after, over a decade of enduring ultra-conservatism. But Saturn in Aquarius also brought in weird science such as the first GMO tomato and everything that followed.

This time, when Saturn leaves Capricorn, it breaks away from Pluto and Jupiter, which it formed Triple conjunction and briefly, a stellium with faster moving Mars before heading into Aquarius briefly where it will hang out in the first two degrees of the sign, retrograde back to Capricorn and then on December 17, 2020, transit back into Aquarius. Well, here's the thing. Saturn is ruled by Aquarius and Capricorn in classical astrology. Aquarius can be just as conservative as Capricorn in some regards (President Ronald Reagan was an Aquarius). Aquarius people will go against the grain of a trend so if the trend is conservative, Aquarius dons the mask of the hippie. And if the trend is hippie earth mothers, then Aquarius shows up as a yuppie stockbroker.

I've already spoken a lot about Saturn and his themes in blog posts and my numerous videos on my YouTube channel, Astrologer Patricia. We know that Saturn constricts, limits, delays, and restricts activities as it waits for karmic rebalance and Divine Timing. It takes patience to deal with Saturn's slow delivery so Aquarius Sun, Moon, and Ascendant people or people with a loaded 11th House in their Natal Chart, require patience. And the areas where Saturn puts on the brakes is in science, technology, grassroots groups, activism, and even the building of the new structure. We also will learn about the structure of the nervous system and the brain.

When Saturn was in Aquarius last time, we saw the beginning of research on healing the mind-body with music. We also saw a rise in energy healing and alternative spirituality. I saw more activism happening during that time but the activists were pushing against greater odds and seemingly getting nowhere. There were laws passed such as no smoking in public places that favored the collective rather than individual rights that began during this time. Sadly, the laws to include bars and music clubs came much later, after I had already left my music career (and was suffering from exposure to second-hand smoke).

I traveled during this time (the summer of 1991) and I experienced many breakthroughs in my music career but just as many unexpected disappointments. I remember meeting an Aquarius architect at that time who I was attracted to until Saturn moved into Pisces and I wondered what the fuss was about. I saw that he was incredibly weird and not to my liking after all. Even though the first GMO tomato was introduced to the world around 1994, the work on that tomato must have begun when Saturn was in Aquarius. A few years later, I saw an art exhibit on the Genome Project which also must have been founded when Saturn was in the Zodiac Sign that represents science.

I don't know the history of internet technology but by 1996, many of my friends already had their first personal computers and email addresses. And in 1996, Uranus moved into Aquarius and remained there until 2003. Electronic music dominated all genres of music, even folkloric music contained electronic elements such as electronic drums and synthesizers or dance grooves. Don Campbell's book The Mozart Effect was published in 1997 and we learned about the healing power of classical music, mainly Mozart's compositions.

Up until 2012 when Neptune moved out of Aquarius into Pisces, sound healing and developing music consciousness crowded the bookstore shelves. I wrote a book on music consciousness in 2012 and missed the wave by a few months. Soon after 2013, the trend of healing with music books dwindled. Which shocked me since I thought Neptune in Pisces would be all about healing with music and sound healing. What was up with that? (Neptune was in Aquarius from 1998 until 2012).

When it comes to planets in Aquarius we need to look at the attributes, speed (length of the transit), and the planets. Saturn in Aquarius will look different than Uranus in Aquarius or Neptune in Aquarius. Saturn is a transpersonal planet along with Jupiter. Saturn stays in a single sign for 2 1/2 to 3 years which compared to Uranus which stays in a single sign 7 to 9 years, is a drop in the bucket. Neptune stays in a sign for ten years. Saturn represents the bridge between the personal planets (Sun through Mars) and the outer planets (Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto). Saturn rules structure but we have to look at the structures represented by the sign of Saturn's transit.

Aquarius and Uranus rule the functioning of the brain, the nervous system, electricity, electrical storms, science, technology, the future, and collectives. Neptune also rules the collective but more or less, the trends of the collective and no the collective itself. Aquarius is often considered the higher octave of Mercury (Gemini and Virgo). I also consider Jupiter/Sagittarius the higher octave of Mercury because it is on the opposite polarity of Mercury/Gemini.

We also know that in December, Saturn and Jupiter formed a conjunction in Aquarius and in March, Mars and Saturn formed a conjunction in Aquarius. The emphasis is both on Aquarius and Saturn. Aquarius is shaping the energy of Saturn as we pause before venturing into the future. Saturn slows down scientific research by tossing in the monkey wrench or removing funding. There could be delays and frustrations with airlines, air travel, alternative energy, alternative lifestyles, or laws to govern the collective or bless the collective since Saturn also brings blessings.

The frustration the world faces with the current Saturn in Aquarius transit is that scientists are delayed in coming up with a cure or the ability to contain a virus that launched by water droplets in the air. Since Aquarius is an Air Sign and we know we cannot contain air, will we come up with better filtering devices or will we spray harmful chemicals in the air out of fear? Saturn makes us fearful. What will Saturn in Aquarius try to control and manipulate?

With Jupiter and Saturn in Aquarius by the end of this year, we will see a preview of Pluto's transit into Aquarius in 2024. Of course, Jupiter and Saturn represent other themes than Pluto. And the Saturn and Jupiter planets pass quickly whereas, Pluto can stay in a sign from 13 to 20 years (think Pluto in Leo). The most challenged generation when planets move into Aquarius is the boomers because they were born with Pluto in Leo. If they also have other planets in Leo then they experience Saturn's delays, restrictions and limits as Saturn ask this generation to finally grow up and to take responsibility for its actions. When Pluto goes into Aquarius, the boomers experience Pluto opposite Pluto and projections are going to fly like confetti in front of a fan.

When a group or generation is faced with a Saturn transit, in particular, we see the group's vulnerabilities playing out. We see rebellion and if the people of this group refuse to grow up and at like adults, then they experience restrictions, constrictions, limitations, and delays. They also reap karma from previous actions. When a group or individual experiences squares with their Natal outer and transpersonal planets, (Saturn in Taurus, Pluto in Taurus, Pluto in Scorpio, etc), inner tensions arise that forces individuals to stop acting rigid or experience progress.

The Saturn in Aquarius conjunction, especially with the Sun, Moon, or Ascendant, brings on nervous exhaustion and in some cases, problems with the brain. They find that when they pit themselves against the collective (since Aquarius cannot follow trends), they end up on the losing end. Saturn will fight their energy. On the other hand, Saturn conjunct Sun brings maturity and even a logical mindset. The individual might suddenly (if not already) become interested in metaphysics, science, and technology or even change careers and go into those fields.

I could talk all day about Saturn in Aquarius or any outer planet in Aquarius. However, the purpose of this article is to give you a flavor of what's to come based on what we experienced in previous decades when outer planets, especially, Saturn, transited in Aquarius. For more information, you can also click on my Astro Cheat Sheet tab and make your own assessment.

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