05.02.24
What Is a Saturn Return and Why Is It Such a Mental Struggle?
Sure, blame the planets for your quarter life crisis.
Your astrology-obsessed friend name drops it, Kacey Musgraves sang about it, and an astrologer on Ariana Grande’s new album gave us a quick lesson on what it means. Chances are you’ve heard about the ~Saturn return~ phenomenon.
If you’re not a big astrology person™, you should know that when people go through a Saturn return, shit can get messy. Maybe you get laid off, your long-term partner dips out, or you face another seemingly life-altering situation like wanting to change career paths, get divorced, start a family, or augment your overall philosophy on life.
When people come to me—an astrologer and author of the Saturn Return Survival Guide—for help with a major drama like this, and they’re between the ages of 27 and 29-and-a-half years old, I’m probably going to look at what’s happening with their Saturn.
That’s because this period often involves stepping (or being pushed) out of your comfort zone in order to find purpose in any areas of life where you feel unfulfilled. While it may be tough to learn these lessons, the resulting transformation can help you get closer to the person you hope to become. Yay for progress!
So, let’s break down why this transit can hit us so hard in the feels, what that means for you, and what therapists say you can do to navigate the mental health hurdles that might come with your Saturn return.
What is a Saturn return?
In astrology, Saturn is known for its strict nature (the planet loves a daily routine) and ability to teach valuable lessons. It wants us to understand the importance of responsibility, obligations, structure, and being realistic in our lives. It’s also often associated with authority and rule-making. The location of Saturn in your birth chart can say a lot about how those themes show up in your life, especially around your Saturn return (you can find your birth chart and Saturn return timeline here.).
ICYMI, everyone has a birth chart, or a literal map of where the planets were in the sky at the time and place you were born. When you’re going through a Saturn return, that means Saturn is returning to the place it is in your birth chart, or its exact placement when you were born. This happens when you’re between 27 to 29-and-a-half years old (it takes Saturn 29-and-a-half years to make one trip around the sun, according to NASA).
Another important point: In our lifetime, we could experience up to three Saturn returns. The first happens in our late 20s, the second in our 50s, and the final in our 80s. Each of these serves up the same opportunities for us to learn those Saturnian lessons, like obligation, routine, and structure.
The first Saturn return, probably the most famous one, marks our entrance into adulthood. It’s when we start thinking about our future as independent people and set our life goals.
When clients come to me during their first Saturn return, whether they realize it’s happening or not, they’ll often say that they feel like they’re at a crossroads. Some are trying to decide whether they should take time off from their career to travel or switch to another venture entirely. The first Saturn return can also impact friendships, since people feel like they’re outgrowing the ones they used to spend lots of time with. Oftentimes those old friends no longer align with their views and lifestyle.
During the second Saturn return, the same themes can come up, only this time the focus is on how you want to spend the second half of your life. You might be thinking more about moving on from a career you’ve spent decades building or a relationship that may have lasted just as long. You could also be reassessing your relationship with your kids. The financial repercussions of the last several decades can also catch up with you during the second Saturn return.
During the last Saturn return, the planets might encourage you to reflect on your life and to go after anything on your bucket list you haven’t set out to do yet. You might also feel more compelled to make a habit of sharing your life with others. For example, my grandfather became uncharacteristically vocal about his childhood during his third Saturn return. He wanted to share his memories with us. I've witnessed this with clients as well.
Why does a Saturn return feel terrible, and what do I do about it?
In a nutshell: Growing up is hard. No matter how old we are, our Saturn return is a time when we sort through the people, places, and things that matter to us. And when we’re confronted with what no longer matches our energy, it can bring up a lot of feelings about the past, present, and future.
This astrological transit wants you to become the most authentic version of yourself by understanding what speaks to you on an intimate level and making choices or changes that align with where you want to go in life—even if it’s a rocky process. Saturn doesn’t care if your next phase of life includes certain friends or jobs or habits. If it’s not working, this planetary transit wants you to let it go.
Before my Saturn Return, I believed I needed to live up to the expectations of my family and friends by doing what I felt they expected of me (working a basic 9 to 5 and trying to get married), but it didn’t feel authentic to me. Once I experienced my Saturn return, I realized that pursuing my true passion (spoiler: astrology) was more important than adhering to a traditional career path. For one of my colleagues, their Saturn return involved getting married and quickly divorced after they realized their partner wasn't aligned with their goals and aspirations. It can be a lot.
While, yes, addressing these challenges head on and finding solutions that align with your values is the obvious way forward—and Saturn will love that for you—that doesn’t mean you’ll feel happy and fine as you make those major vibe shifts.
Actually, the feeling you might experience most during this challenging phase of life is overwhelm, says clinical psychologist Nina Polyné, PsyD. Overwhelm feels like moving from task to task without getting anything done or you’re completely frozen. That emotional state can lead to anxious thoughts about the future, fatigue, muscle tension, and may make you want to hide out from your friends and fam till further notice, she explains.
If you can relate, the first step to feeling better is to ask yourself, What do I need right now? says Dr. Polyné. Maybe it’s asking a friend for an assist or meeting your basic needs (have you eaten today? When’s the last time you sipped some water?). Maybe you just need to take a walk to your favorite park or around the block. You can also try a grounding exercise, she adds. Any of those can help you pause and regroup. Then, when you’re ready, you’ll get more clarity around the choices or changes you need to make.
For me, it took a few years to check myself. With the help of my psychotherapist and many missteps, I saw that I was creating the same cycle over and over. It wasn't helping me evolve. But taking time to look at those situations and relationships in my life from an outside perspective allowed me to have the awareness of how they were holding me back. Eventually, I was able to let go and surrounded myself with people who lift me up.
While the metamorphosis of a Saturn return can be a heavy burden, by acknowledging what’s not working, slowing down, and taking care of yourself, you’ll ultimately be able to spread your wings and fly. See you on the other side!
Wondermind does not provide medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Any information published on this website or by this brand is not intended as a replacement for medical advice. Always consult a qualified health or mental health professional with any questions or concerns about your mental health.
