Saturn Retrograde: May 10th to September 28th, 2020

​Saturn at 1 degree Aquarius, about to station retrograde, in square to the new moon sitting with Uranus in Taurus on April 22nd kicked off this lunar cycle with a restrictive vibe, that was only strengthened as Pluto stationed retrograde on April 25th.  

Saturn now turning back from its position at 1 degree Aquarius, where it has been beginning to apply a square to Uranus in Taurus, now backs off of that building intensity to move back towards Pluto and Jupiter where it will take care of any business left unfinished in Capricorn.  (The three squares between Saturn in Aquarius and Uranus in Taurus will be left for 2021.) 

We can think of Saturn in retrograde as a kind of "reality check".  Any retrograde is a period of review as that particular planet backtracks over the degrees of the zodiac it has most recently covered.  Saturn is the planet of limits and boundaries, of rules, authority, responsibility, discipline, and karma.  Saturn is the god of 3D reality, the Roman god of the harvest, and known as Lord of Karma.

Here are the important dates for Saturn Retrograde 2020:

-February 1st:  Saturn entered the pre-shadow of the retrograde when it arrived at 25 degrees Capricorn. 
-March 22nd:  Saturn entered Aquarius, which was a notable energetic shift. 
-May 10th:  Saturn stations retrograde, still at 1 degree Aquarius.
-July 1st:  Saturn will move back out of Aquarius and into Capricorn
-September 28th:  Saturn stations direct at 25 degrees Capricorn.
-December 18th:  Saturn reenters Aquarius.

Looking back, we can see that on March 22nd, when Saturn moved from Capricorn into Aquarius, we experienced on a collective level that a respiratory virus (Saturn is illness and Aquarius is air/lungs, and the collective/humanity) caused fear (Saturn) that brought about rules, restriction, limits, and  boundaries (Saturn) on a large scale affecting all of humanity (Aquarius).  (This will be bringing change - Uranus - to the earth and how we feel secure and even to our sustenance like food supply - Taurus; we have felt a bit of this in recent months but won't really get into this until Saturn is back in Aquarius in 2021 and actually squaring Uranus three times.)  

We can expect to be revisiting this theme during the retrograde that has been so prevalent since Saturn entered Aquarius on March 22nd. Because of the influences on Saturn as it stations retrograde and direct, combined with Saturn retrograde's natural inclination to bring up issues of karma and to show us life's reality in maybe too harsh of a light, this retrograde brings with it the potential to heighten any issues already up around feeling limited, restricted, and isolated, feelings of disappointment, and even depression.  Saturn also is associated with fear, illness, and authority and rules.  Saturn will be moving back into Capricorn, the sign it rules, which is associated with the big systems of society such as governmental, political, financial, and even healthcare systems and hospitals.  Because this is Saturn's final dip back into Capricorn, at least associated with the transit it began of the sign in 2018, between July 1st and December 18th, Saturn will be finishing up anything having to do with that, and will resume its business in Aquarius on December 18th (our preview was from March 22nd until July 1st). 

Saturn will station direct at 25 degrees Capricorn on September 28th in square to Mars in Aries.  A square is a challenging aspect and on top of Mars and Saturn not being best pals, Mars in Aries is packing heat, especially since Mars is spending the entire second half of 2020 in its own sign, which is almost unheard of. This is not going to be easy energy as Saturn goes to resume direct motion and head back into Aquarius for good.  This unfortunately points to frustrations brought about during this time, most likely having to do with these Saturnian issues of fear, limits, restriction, illness, and isolation, that won't be fading anytime soon. 

​However, Mars in Aries from June 27th through the end of the year is such a powerful energetic signature for the last half of 2020 that we should not discount Mars in square to Saturn stationing direct here as a potentially potent call to action.  This may foretell of some event that lights a fire of assertion large enough to really bring about change. Mars is the leader, the warrior, the pioneer, and the protector.  Anger is what gets us up and moving when something needs to happen.  That's Mars.  Quite possibly, by the time Saturn stations direct on September 28th, he has had - we have had - enough.  ​

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