After having been transiting in sidereal Scorpio since early November 2014, with a brief transit into sidereal Sagittarius from January 26 – June 20, 2017, Saturn will re-enter Sagittarius on October 26 at 5:53:54 AM Eastern Time, and will remain here until January 2020. This is a welcome relief as Saturn in enemy Mars’ sign of Scorpio stirred up a lot of intense conflict and suffering for the world. On the other hand, Saturn and Jupiter (the lord of Sagittarius) are more neutral to each other. Whew, that may mean less stress ahead with this new transit, especially after late November once Saturn gets past the tumultuous beginning part (first navamsa / 3 degrees and 20 minutes) of Sagittarius.
Saturn transits in a sign for about three years and takes almost 30 years to traverse the whole zodiac, so the last time Saturn was in Sagittarius before 2017 was from 1987-1990. You might want to look back and see if there were any themes playing out in your own life at that time (if you were alive then), which might then repeat themselves to a certain extent in this new cycle. In astrological consultations, I am focusing now on this new transit to predict what it might entail for my clients, as it depends where and how it is influencing one’s natal chart (etc.etc.), as to its unique individual effect.
I looked back to all the times Saturn was in Sagittarius going back in thirty-year intervals for several hundred years, and unfortunately found only one constant theme, which was war for America. This includes the American Revolutionary War; Native American Wars; War of 1812; Philippine-American War; and the Cold War (as well as Reconstruction after the American Civil War). The theme of war makes sense for Saturn’s transit in Sagittarius when we look at it in the U.S. birth chart (Kelleher chart). Here, Saturn transits in the first house and squares the tenth house of karma, which is doubly important as Saturn himself represents weighty karmic events.
From Sagittarius, Saturn also aspects the Moon/eighth house lord of upheaval, transformation, and war; and further aspects (triggers) the seventh house of enemies, which is occupied by Mars (military action/war); Venus (lord of the sixth house of conflict and war); Jupiter (lord of America and its dharma); and the Sun (Saturn’s enemy, and also a planet of authority, as well as a lord of dharma since it rules the ninth house). Will there be another war again this time? Possibly, and especially when Pluto and Saturn conjoin in 2019-2020.
On a brighter note, Saturn in Sagittarius is usually pretty good for commerce and the economy, and is especially strong for major banking developments (Saturn relates to business and development, and the lord of Sagittarius, Jupiter, symbolizes banks and banking). Many major banking developments occurred during this transit in times past. Regarding the Great Depression, yes it did fall during the Saturn in Sagittarius transit, but other significant economic downturns in our history did not occur in this transit. There were of course many other astrological factors at play beyond simply the Saturn in Sagittarius transit during the Great Depression.
Saturn represents transformation; traditions, boundaries, and restrictions; accountability; reality checks; and discipline. He seeks to impose limits and make corrections in the areas he influences. This means there will be many powerful tensions to resolve in areas related to the domain of Sagittarius, including banking, as mentioned already; and also military matters, foreign policy, and the law; publishing and media; the travel industry; higher education; commerce, tariffs and international trade; culture; immigration; religion and shared ideologies; and perhaps most importantly, justice and liberty.
Saturn will be negatively impacted by his aspect with malefics in various country and individual horoscopes (as mentioned, for example, in the U.S. chart), and further afflicted on and off by various transiting aspects involving Mars, Pluto and Rahu/Ketu. This means we may see an upsurge in sanctimonious and even militant proselytizing among those “staunch believers” who would do anything to impose their ideological convictions upon others. At the same time, this struggle may open the doors for various reforms. Vedic astrologer Steven Stuckey shared some of his excellent research with me about the fact that Saturn in Sagittarius is associated with religious freedom, progress, and reformation (religion/religious freedom/progress = Sagittarius, and reformation = Saturn). Steven explained it as follows:
“Going back a bit in history, the Reformation in Europe, or schism in the Roman Catholic Church, was generally thought to have started with the publication of Martin Luther’s Ninety-Five Theses on October 31, 1517. Saturn, Pluto and Ketu were closely conjoined in Sagittarius at the time…Saturn was also in Sagittarius when the Puritan/Pilgrims established the first Protestant Episcopal Church in Jamestown, MA on June 21, 1607. Just a few months prior to that, the first Anglican Episcopal Church was founded on April 29, 1607…Roger Williams, who was banished from the American colonies, founded the new colony of Rhode Island as a haven for those seeking freedom from religious persecution in 1635-36 when Saturn was again in Sagittarius. Harvard University was founded on Sept 9, 1636 by Massachusetts Puritans for the original purpose of training ministers. Saturn was also in Sagittarius at that time. The upcoming Saturn/Pluto/Ketu conjunction in 2019 will be the first time those planets have been together in Sagittarius since the Reformation—so perhaps we can expect some changes or a shake-up coming to the Catholic Church or religious fundamentalism in general.”
Saturn in Sagittarius serves to test and strengthen our spiritual faith, the capacity to let go and trust in a higher plan. In its more enlightened manifestation, this placement is seen in the birth charts of charismatic leaders, teachers, and preachers who are passionate in their desire to bring higher teachings (Jupiter/Sagittarius) down to earth (Saturn). Saturn in Sagittarius can be quite generous, wise, and humanistic, with a strong desire to liberate others (Sagittarius) from various kinds of oppression (Saturn). Desmond Tutu; Ram Dass; Bhagavan Shree Rajneesh (Osho); Martin Luther King; and Gary Snyder were all born with Saturn in Sagittarius. The following quotes by these five great souls sum up some of the more evolved expressions of this placement:
1. Desmond Tutu: “As much as the world has an instinct for evil and is a breeding ground for genocide, holocaust, slavery, racism, war, oppression, and injustice [Saturn, significator of suffering], the world has an even greater instinct for goodness, rebirth, mercy, beauty, truth, freedom and love [Jupiter].
2. Ram Dass: “Suffering [Saturn] is part of our training program for becoming wise [Jupiter/Sagittarius].”
3. Osho: “Be realistic [Saturn]: Plan for a miracle [Jupiter/Sagittarius].”
4. Dr. Martin Luther King: “We must accept finite disappointment [Saturn], but never lose infinite hope [Sagittarius, sign of infinite hope].
5. Gary Snyder: “Nature [Saturn] is orderly [Jupiter/Sagittarius]. That which appears to be chaotic in nature [Saturn] is only a complex kind of order [Jupiter].”
Happy Saturn in Sagittarius!