saturn in aries 101 for artists & writers

FAQ and also xena

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ICYMI

✨ NEXT WEEK!!! Curious about how creativity shows up in the birth chart? My dear friend

Maeg Keane

and I are offering a new lecture, Creativity Through the Houses, currently available for pre-sale and officially dropping IN THREE DAYS on May 26th. SO SOON! (Also, there is a secret bonus for folks who pre-order!)

Saturn enters Aries on Saturday, May 24th at 11:35pm Eastern. (AKA: tomorrow.)

Think of these next few months as a kind of preview of upcoming major themes, since Saturn will retrograde back into Pisces on September 1st of this year. (Folks with Saturn in Pisces — your Saturn Return isn’t quiteeeeee done yet! You’ve got a small bit yet to go later this year!)

Saturn will re-enter Aries for good on February 13, 2026, where it will stay until April 12, 2028 (!). Let’s get ready to hunker down.

What does Saturn going into Aries even mean? Should I be scared?

No, you should not be scared. Saturn has been here before (the mid-90s! the late ‘60s) and will be here again. Remember, too, that while Saturn is about responsibility, authority, and maturity, it’s also generally a much more doable transit when you’re not actively shirking or fighting against those things.

Most of the time, “tough” transits (like Saturn entering a new sign) highlight things you already know about yourself, or that you are already aware you need to work on. The topic just comes more to the foreground, as it were.

But let’s pull back: WTF does Saturn in Aries even mean? This is a moment where the responsibilities of age (Saturn, often characterized as a grandparent or Father Time) meets the bold impetuousness of youth (Aries). There can be an almost Benjamin Button effect here, the contradiction of a joie de vivre in maturity or of an ultra-seriousness in adolescence. Saturn in Aries highlights (thematically, culturally) how the assertion of self and individuation can co-exist with wearing a mantle of responsibility to others. It’s not an easy negotiation; if we want to get technical here, Saturn in Aries is in its “fall,” where it has the least resources for the job and has to work extra hard (and unconventionally) to find a way through.

One of my favorite Aries archetypes is that of the action hero / star / franchise, and I think that Saturn in Aries speaks to those archetypal characters who have achieved the greatest mastery over martial art form. Not so much because of the literal physicality of action, but because (aside from classic ‘coming of age’ tales) this is the genre most often used to articulate an individuation of self. Saturn in Aries isn’t so much coming of age as it is coming of power, that point at which one crosses the Rubicon and makes a definitive change in their life with total authority and self-awareness.

Lucy Lawless, most famous for her role of the titular Xena: Warrior Princess, is a peak example of this natal placement for me. It’s always been notable to me that Lawless has a very Aries chart: a balsamic phase sun-moon conjunction in Aries, with Saturn not even 10 degrees ahead (her north node is also here, and while we don’t have a well-rated birth time for her, the one that’s available would make her an Aries rising). This is a battle master; Saturn in Aries is someone with authority over their own self-assertion through martial (in this case, violent) means. The question is whether one has tamed the hot blood of war and youth alike, the impulsiveness of asserting Individual Self that can threaten the Social Whole — which is a central question of the series and her entire character.

It’s interesting to note that Lawless, whose natal Mercury and Venus are in Pisces, is herself not an especially big fan of the fantasy or action genres. She has explicitly stated that action, in particular, is not something she enjoys doing — and yet these were the roles that came so easily to her.

This is an example of how the themes a chart is most archetypally concerned with are funneled through the cultural story forms of the time. (Also notable to me that Xena aired from 1995-2001, AKA half of the show was running during the last Saturn in Aries period, and Lawless’ first Saturn Return.) This also belies the way that Saturn in Aries is the general taken to the field, the battle master who joins the fray — the Saturnian expertise is in the martial effort of doing.

Who is this Saturn in Aries transit most going to impact?

Everyone — but not all astrology is created equal for each and every one of us. Some transits are tougher and/or more obvious than others. The following are folks who fall into that category, but don’t be discouraged — Saturn’s challenges, when addressed head-on, also come with long-term rewards.

• Saturn in Aries natives / aka, folks having their first, second, or third (!) Saturn Return.

Saturn has a roughly 28 year cycle around the sun. This is why the first “Saturn Return” is such a big deal: it’s the final traditional planet to make its full revolution in a lifetime. It also tends to raise themes of responsibility and long-term commitments, which around this age often include major cultural milestones like decisions around marriage, career, and children. (I moved to New York City during my own first Saturn Return.) BUT THIS ISN’T THE ONLY SATURN RETURN IN A LIFETIME! I wrote extensively about the astrological timeline of a life, and you can check that essay out for more details on timing and the Saturn transits.

• And also: folks with their natal Saturn in Libra, Cancer, and Capricorn.

Saturn Returns get a lot of attention, as they should, because they are Objectively Big Deals. BUT. Did you know that Saturn has four 7-year quarters in its cycle that also coincide with major life moments?

Think of a Saturn transit as the rotation on a clock. The Saturn Return happens at 12 o’clock. The “opening square,” 7 years in, happens at 3 o’clock. The “opposition,” 14 years after that initial return, happens at 6 o’clock. And the “closing square,” 21 years in, happens at 9 o’clock. Each of these moments represents a major check-in period where we address our responsibilities and commitments — you know, the Saturn stuff.

Even if you are not going through a Saturn Return yourself, folks with a natal Saturn in the same modality (cardinal, fixed, mutable) as the current transit will be experiencing one of those major clock-strike moments during which to revisit themes from their Saturn Return or new things in the realm of ~adulting~ that have arisen. And so if you have a natal Saturn in Libra, Cancer, or Capricorn, heads’ up! (Also see the above shared post, on the astrological timeline of a life.)

• Aries risings (and also other cardinal risings)

If you have Aries rising, you’re about to have Saturn spend a few years moving through your first house of self. This is a great time to get a reading with an astrologer, since it’s a huge transit and you’re best served by that personal attention that takes into consideration the nuances of your chart. But a few quick, general notes here: this is a very good time to cut back on unnecessary excesses. Any plates that can drop: let them. One of the most difficult tensions in having this years-long 1st house transit is that Saturn can increase our existing responsibilities while simultaneously decreasing our physical energy (especially in the 1st house, which is our source of vitality). Consequently, this is often a time of paring back re-prioritizing.

Be extra-patient with yourself if things aren’t going zoom as fast as you’re used to. I know that isn’t how an Aries rising likes to go about their business, but this transit just put an extra 100 pounds in your hiking pack, so you’ve gotta be intentional with how you move. Remember that it’s hard now, but by the end, you are gonna be so much stronger.

Folks with cardinal rising signs will also be having prominent Saturn themes. Cancer risings will have Saturn in their 10th house of reputation and legacy, so you can expect shifts in your relationship to public responsibility (becoming a boss/authority / issues with a boss/authority), as well as your long-term legacy and public reputation. Conversely, Capricorn risings will have Saturn in their fourth house of home and family, perhaps either paring back on home investments or, alternately, committing and, say, buying a house with your friends or making otherwise long-term investments in your rootedness and heritage. And finally, Libra risings will have Saturn in their 7th house of partnership; this includes marriage and long-term business contracts (such as with literary agents). You may find yourself either breaking ties with and moving in a new direction away from an existing partnership, or perhaps committing even further to your current relationship or relationship philosophy.

• Folks with an Aries sun or moon (also: other cardinal sign suns/moons).

If this is you: really focus on taking care of your overall health in the coming years. Keep up with doctors, dentists, and optometrists to the best of your ability. Get your annual skin screening. Even better, look into investing in some semi-regular acupuncture or massage. Keep up with therapy. Stay on your meds. Drink water. Eat protein- and fiber-rich foods.

You’re a creative person, but you exist in a physical body, and that vitality and sense of physical, mental, emotional, and even spiritual vitality is sorely challenged when responsible Saturn sits heavy on the luminaries, that sun and moon which so have to do with our literal energy levels and emotional reserves.

Rest up.

How can I work with Saturn in Aries in my creativity, writing, and art?

• Take artistic risks.

• Embrace a beginner / “always learning” mindset.

• Don’t beat yourself up for “not being further along.”

• Get serious about exploration and inventiveness, especially that which is unconventional, singular, or outside of GroupThink.

• Especially if you are in one of those ~primarily impacted~ groups for this transit, build a Saturn altar (comment for specific tips!) or offer devotions to the planet on Saturday, which is Saturn’s day.

And also, literally focus on art forms and topics that frequently arise during Saturn in Aries transits — but that will be the subject of my upcoming lecture, the forthcoming Art & Literature of Saturn in Aries (itself in the vein of Poison & Cure: 500 Years of the Art & Literature of Saturn in Pisces).

Got general questions (that don’t pertain to your individual chart)? Leave ‘em in the comments!

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