Saturn Retrograde
APRIL 29 -SEPTEMBER 18
Saturn starts slowing down about 8 days before it goes retrograde and has a stronger influence as it gets ready to go stationary/retrograde on April 29th. You may start feeling its intensity this week. This year is more problematic as Saturn is too close to Ketu bringing up depression and projects that just fall apart creating deep frustration.
Saturn is often misunderstood. If you have a strong Saturn in your natal chart in its own signs of Capricorn or Aquarius or exalted in Libra or connected to Taurus, you may have learned the messages of Saturn. Retrograde Saturn may be good for some rising sign like Aquarius this year with an 11th house transit or Libra with a 3rd house transit. Still everyone will be annoyed by it this year with the connection to Ketu
The impact of Saturn retrograde will have more of an impact if you are in a Saturn dasha period or a Saturn sub-period or in Chara Dashas if you are in Capricorn or Aquarius rising. It will also depend on how many Ashtakavarga points you have for Saturn and how many other planets you have between 20-28 Sagittarius where Saturn will have an influence this spring and summer.
In the end, retrograde malefics are still powerful to do harm or some rising signs. If you have retrograde Saturn in your natal chart, it gets triggered in transit.  A retrograde Saturn in a natal chart, often represents the neglect of responsibilities. The house that is is the natal chart will clue you into the areas you need to work on. So a natal retrograde Saturn in the 2nd may give lessons around saving, food and responsibility around family care.  Saturn retrograde forces us to more honest with ourselves and not get got up in fantasy and responsibility for what is not working in our life.
Retrograde planets are brighter and closer to the earth. So, they are focused on the past, the disappointments, and abuses they suffered. This makes them look within and they become confused about moving forward but they don’t want to go backwards so this creates a situation of deep introspection. So, this creates a planetary influence of thinking rather than doing that happens according to the planet that is retrograde. For example, if Saturn is retrograde, one may ponder a lot about spirituality but only in the reflective sense rather than actually practicing it.
Some general things you can say about retrogrades:
- The planet’s energy may reverse, pulling the energy back into the sign that it is retrograding
- According to Ayurveda, there are more medical problems from retrograde
- The flow of the planet’s normal energy is disrupted and the house that the planet occupies will be affected and not work
- The significations that the planet or house produce become a source of confusion and is surrounded by stress and difficulty. But because the retrograde planet is closer to Earth, it shines brighter and illuminates the internal, psychological aspect of how the quality of the signification feels, hence, its force of intelligence becomes very developed because it is ‘reflecting.’
- Retrograde makes the planet stronger which does not always mean more difficult.
- Retrograde malefics like Saturn and Mars may have more strength to cause more harm unless they are the chart lord and then they are better for the person in which case they may make the person inwardly reflect to find ones’ true source of
If you have a retrograde Saturn in your natal chart, when it goes retrograde in transit, it may bring out the following qualities: Renunciation, monastic life, self-isolating, alone, rejects others so they will not be rejected, grim, depressed. Fear death, decay, loss, separation, disease, transitions and infirmity.
Saturn retrograde can bring up guilt and remorse that keeps us swimming in a sewer pit which is not of much use. Catch the guilt and remorse thoughts that are coming up and dismiss them. There is no point living in the past and swimming in the sewer water. You are a new and different person now. We have written about Saturn/Ketu and the need to use this time to address those we have hurt and make reparations and apologize and do something to change the way we have operated before.
When Saturn is afflicted, it creates too much fear and if we made a mistake and its retrograde motion will revisit the past, but it may create too much blocking energy about moving forward. The past is really a dream and there are new and fresh circumstances to create a new life now and make new choices.
We tend to blame Saturn and our life but it is like that bad-ass high school coach who works you hard to win the race. Rather than blame the planet, learn what lessons you did not master in the past and get it right this time. Get out of your nightmare by being kinder and help others and then you will not suffer. The planets just want us to get it right this time so we do not have to wake up in the same nightmare every morning.
So embrace responsibility, hard-work and discipline and Saturn will reward you during its retrograde motion. Still a particularly difficult Saturn retrograde this year.  Do your meditation, yoga and breath work and you will sail through fine.
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