Hello friends! A client emailed me in recent days to say he was feeling like a chicken with his head cut off. I thought, hmm, right off the bat that sounds like the current triple Venus-Uranus-Saturn stationary play. Venus went retrograde this past Saturday, Uranus went retrograde Sunday, and now Saturn (which has been retrograde for some time) will station forward on August 2. This reflects quite a time of change, and can feel a bit destabilizing in itself, and more so for those whose natal charts are directly affected.

It is synchronistic that Saturn, the sign ruler of the upcoming Full Moon in Capricorn (sidereal zodiac) is also “front and center” in our astrological news at this time. For one thing, he is aspecting the Full Moon by his third aspect. More importantly, he has been retrograde (appearing to move backward) since March 14, and is currently slowing down to station direct (appearing to stop and move forward) on Sunday, August 2 at 1:53:52 AM EDT.

Saturn retrogrades every year for about 140 days. His next retrograde cycle will occur from March 25 to August 13, 2016. Saturn’s average daily motion is approximately two longitudinal minutes a day but can go as fast as nearly six+ minutes a day. Saturn’s stationary cycle encompasses approximately five days before and after the moment of retrograde or direct stations. The following reveals what’s happening now and for the next weeks and months in terms of Saturn’s daily zodiacal (longitudinal) motion, and you can see the daily movement will slowly pick up speed over the next few months:

• July 28 – retrograde 28 seconds
• July 29 – retrograde 18 seconds
• July 30 – retrograde 13 seconds
• July 31 – retrograde 7 seconds
• August 1 – retrograde 1 second
• August 2 – ZERO speed (stationary, stambhana/kutila)
• August 3 – forward 5 seconds
• August 4 – forward 11 seconds
• August 5 – forward 17 seconds
• August 6 – forward 23 seconds
• August 7 – forward 29 seconds

Beyond the five days after the station, the following depicts the daily speed of Saturn in the next few months:

• August 13 – forward 1 minute
• August 23 – forward 2 minutes
• September 3 – forward 3 minutes
• September 15 – forward 4 minutes
• October 17 – forward 6 minutes

Many of us are now starting to feel this change in the air with Saturn slowing down to station. It is important to know that Saturn has been transiting in sidereal Scorpio since early November 2014 and will continue in this transformational sign for a few more years. His direct station occurs at 4 degrees and 12 minutes of Scorpio in Anuradha nakshatra, where he transited in direct motion before, in December 2014. Possibly in certain cases, something being dealt with then will come to a completion now. Or it could be that as Saturn transits back forward over its shadow area where it retrograded, we will revisit certain issues and bring them to completion (until it hits ~11 degrees of Scorpio where it was when it retrograded last March, which will happen in early November 2015).

In general, Saturn’s transit in Scorpio is a time to weed out our weaknesses and vulnerabilities while also strengthening our alignment with divine will; again, to understand more specifics, we have to analyze where Saturn is placed and what else is happening in the natal and progressed charts, etc. A planet is strong when it is 1) retrograde; 2) moving more slowly than usual or 3) stationing retrograde or direct (this latter is strongest). When retrograde, a planet’s essence can also be held back or internalized, and what it represents can be delayed.

So for the past ~140 days, Saturn has been quite strong, so our opportunities for personal growth (burdens, lessons) have been strong too, and in some cases and certain areas of our lives, experiences may have been more intense, pressured, frustrating or demanding than preferred. Saturn is often called the “irritant that produces the pearl,” and usually it takes a while to find that pearl. In other words, we often we have to wait until Saturn moves direct to begin to understand and appreciate what we have achieved during the more internalized and subjective retrograde phase. Most of all, Saturn is known as Shanicharya (or Shani) in Sanskrit, which means “slow mover.” Thus he requires that we learn patience, an even more important lesson when he is is in retrograde and stationary phases! And a little humor can be helpful too, because Saturn energy can be way too serious sometimes (Saturnine).

Thank Goddess we are truly multidimensional beings to be able to withstand all the intricate complex patterns represented by the planets acting in us and in the world. For some charts, this triple stationary play is a maddening time; for instance, my “headless chicken” client is a real estate agent with a Leo Rising birth chart and running a Saturn-Venus dasha. Saturn is getting ready to go direct in the fourth house, aspecting the sixth house of work; the tenth house career sector; as well as the all-encompassing first house (so we can predict forward movement, right?); but Venus, the ruler of the tenth house of career, just retrograded backward in the first house in aspect to the seventh house of business and personal relationships. So it is one step forward and one step back in some ways having to do with a few of my client’s business and financial ventures. I tried to make it easy and suggested that he take a vacation until Venus goes direct September 6. At least, he could take a “chill pill” and enjoy a vacation from worrying because “this too shall pass.”

Venus, Uranus and Saturn being in these stationary trends can point to shocking events; stunning discoveries; awakenings; accidents; illnesses; and eruptions of all kinds, including arguments, explosions and seismic events. Life can continue to feel quite unstable this week, and so we are encouraged to just be present, go with the flow, minimize risk and be ready for changes. Stationary Saturn is super-intense, and since Saturn is already a major heavy-weight, it may behoove us to plan some special time over the weekend (August 1-2) to go within and align with any deep powerful shifts that may be occurring. It can feel like a relief valve opening up in the days before, during and after the Saturn station, and perhaps something(s) in our lives will soon start to lighten up and move forward. Whew. Sounds great to me!