March 7, 2023 – Saturn leaves Aquarius and enters Pisces
May 25, 2025 – Saturn enters Aries
September 1, 2025 – Saturn retrogrades back into Pisces
February 14, 2026 – Saturn re-enter Aries for good
One of our biggest astrological ingresses of 2023 is upon us – the movement of Saturn out of Aquarius and into Pisces. This will be one of the dominant energetics for the next 3 years, until February 2026 when Saturn permanently leaves Pisces for a brand new zodiacal cycle starting in Aries.
Saturn is the planet associated with the restrictions of form we experience here on this physical plane. It has to do with accountability and authority, people in positions of authority, and enduring structures and institutions. Forms, containers, limitations and ‘practical realities’ of all kinds are associated with Saturn, as well as any responsibilities incurred therein. For example, the form of our bodies (Saturn rules the building blocks of our bodies- the bones- as well as the skin that ‘keeps it all in’) have attendant responsibilities for health, nutrition, longevity, etc that we are required to attend to and ultimately take responsibility for- this is a Saturnian matter. Likewise, if we own a home, it is a container (Saturn) whose upkeep we are responsible (Saturn) for, lest the ultimate integrity (Saturn) of the structure (Saturn) becomes compromised and can no longer fulfill its function.
How much commitment and responsibility we are willing to take on in our lives, and in what areas of our lives, are usually shown by Saturn’s placement by sign, house and aspect in our birth charts.
But transit Saturn is also supremely important. It brings a certain area into sharp focus, both in our own charts and lives and in the collective. The collective emphasis is especially meaningful since along with Jupiter, Saturn is what is known as a ‘social planet’. That means that its transits are neither as long as the outer planets Uranus, Neptune and Pluto (the generational planets) nor as fleeting as the personal planets Venus, Mars and Mercury who change signs regularly. Instead, as social planets, Saturn and Jupiter, stay in one sign long enough to have significant impact on the zeitgeist, the collective spirit of the times, to catalyze change and adjustment and then move on.
We can see the impact that Saturn has when it transits through a sign very clearly when we consider that it entered Aquarius, the sign of groups, communities, collectives, science, technology, and ‘humanity’ in March 2020. Saturn in Aquarius has played out very clearly along the lines of those themes. And the extreme polarization we have seen for the past several years has often been related to varying interpretations about whether the rules/mandates (Saturn) that have been enforced on groups/collectives (Aquarius) have been motivated by conscientious attempts to aid the collective (Aquarius), or whether those in positions of authority (Saturn) have been misusing authority for increased power over the collective (Aquarius). And the battleground over correct understanding and application of ‘science’ has been front and center.
So what can we expect now that Saturn is moving into Pisces?
The last sign of the zodiac, Pisces is related to unity consciousness, the formless and boundless, intuition, psychic abilities and phenomenon, imagination, ecstatic states, merging, addiction and rootlessness, erosion, delusion and confusion, empathy, and the principle of a spiritual whole of which we are all an interconnected part (which one might call God). This vast scope of Piscean meaning is best understood by considering that if indeed we believe we are all ONE at a basic fundamental energetic level (as all mystical traditions assert, and certain branches of science are increasingly confirming), then we can either experience profound ecstasy/peace/creativity through this state of merging into and with the sea of divine unity consciousness, or we suffer greatly at NOT feeling that we belong or are a part of something bigger, and hence seek to meet that existential longing through synthetic substitutes such as addictions/delusion/apathy that can give us strong temporary feelings (or numb them) but ultimately increase our suffering and rootlessness.
With Saturn entering Pisces, now is the time all of that will come into focus. How supported do we feel we are by ‘the Divine’? By a web of energetic interconnection (and care) which can guide and support us both as individuals and as part of a vast web of life on Earth?
Our mainstream institutions and authorities (Saturn) do not promote or teach a paradigm of conscious interconnection (Pisces). In fact they are often openly hostile and actively repress (Saturn) any understanding of reality that is not based upon the consensus-accepted tenets of those in authority (Saturn), which has led to the dominant current collective paradigm of scientism. Scientism is a philosophy which asserts that anything that cannot be tangibly ‘proven’ in the material realm (Saturn) via the *current* technology or protocols is ‘not real’. Scientism asserts there is no ‘unseen realm’ (Pisces), or at least not until it can be ‘proven’ through the hard sciences (biology, physics, geology, etc). Scientism itself is a deeply flawed philosophy. For starters, many things that have ‘recently’ been proved/discovered were ALWAYS true, even when they were denied or deemed impossible. However, scientism has subtly taken over Western culture and authority figures (Saturn) continue to repress a more holistic energetically vital and interconnected (Pisces) understanding of reality. (*Some would posit that at least some of these supremely powerful authority figures are well aware of these energetic Truths and adept at working with them, but choose to repress or deny public access to these spiritual Truths by invalidating them as a means of control and authority- but that would be a whole other blog post ;))
On the other end of the spectrum we have religious (Pisces) institutions (Saturn). Though almost all religions have as their core seed the fundamental Truth of the interconnectivity of all life (Pisces), there is a tradition (Saturn) now several thousand years old, of those in positions of religious authority (Saturn) abusing their positions and actually disempowering the ‘believers’ (Pisces). This can happen through actual physical or sexual abuse (Pluto), or merely through misappropriating teachings so that ‘salvation’ (Pisces) or Divine Love (Pisces) can “only” be attained through acquiescence to the religious authority (Saturn). In other words, people are put in situations where they feel forced to give up their own personal authority (Saturn) if they want to experience Divine Love or ‘redemption’ (Pisces). This is a deep perversion of Spiritual (Pisces) Law (Saturn) which is based on the fundamental Truth that as a sacred piece of the cosmic whole, we ALWAYS have access to forgiveness, healing and love through our hearts and inherent Divine spark regardless of whether or not we ‘worship’ in a certain way. This corrosion (Pisces) of Faith (Pisces) at the hands of institutions (Saturn) and those in authority (Saturn) has been deeply troubling and it exists both in the realms of the more fringe spiritual communities in the form of manipulative gurus etc, all the way to the most established religious institutions and authorities.
During the past several years of Saturn in Aquarius we have seen how institutions (Saturn) meant to support ‘the collective’ (Aquarius) have been called to task in major ways, especially the elected (Aquarius) government, and other primary collective authorities such as the police. We can also see how other industries who are ‘supposed’ to work for the benefit of and advocacy of the collective, such as the media and pharmaceutical industry, have been coming into increasing friction with members of the public about whether or not they are truly unbiased and oriented towards collective health and empowerment.
These rifts appear ripe to continue to deepen with Saturn in Pisces, with each side ‘doubling down’ in some ways on their positions, since Pisces after all has to do with fundamental beliefs about the nature of reality. So we are now moving beyond the collective ‘tug of war’ between these varying groups within the collective (Aquarius) and taking it one step deeper to expose inherent differences of belief and paradigm.
There may indeed be scandals and calls to accountability (Saturn) within the religious/spiritual world (Pisces), akin to the kind of calls for accountability within the government and police we experienced during Saturn in Aquarius. Likewise in the realm of healthcare institutions, such as hospitals or rehabilitation centers, which also fall under Pisces domain. Pisces is also related to “unseen” toxins and chemicals and there could be a revision of care and concern about “forever chemicals” and the health and saftey (or lack thereof) in our water (Pisces) and everyday goods.
But just as Pisces is very subtle and nebulous, these situations may not be as overt as they were during Saturn in Aquarius. This is especially true because Saturn was extremely powerful in Aquarius in part because it is a co-ruler of Aquarius, and hence is ‘at home’ in that energy and can exert itself comfortably and directly. As we have seen at one level there is rather more of a disconnect between ephemeral Pisces and grounded Saturn. But at another level, Saturn and Pisces are very much in sync. After all, there is indeed Spiritual (Pisces) Law (Saturn) and it is operational whether we understand it or ‘agree’ with it or not.
At it’s essence Spiritual Law is that ALL things (human and non) are energetically interconnected and we must act in respect for the spark of divinity within ALL in order to participate in life in the highest possible way, for the benefit of ourselves as well as the collective.
The upcoming three year period will be a time when we will be able to see much more clearly how well we are operating within Spiritual Law, or not. We will also see more easily how well others, whether in our personal lives or on the collective stage, are operating with respect to these universal Truths of life and consciousness. Our intuition (Pisces) will be gaining strength and stability (Saturn) so that we can see this more clearly. It is almost like we are in a process of constructing an inner apparatus or tool (Saturn) that will be able to help us in this discernment. When something is “off” we will feel it much more strongly.
However, again, we are also experiencing extreme polarization within the collective at the moment, and people are ‘doubling down’ on very different opinions, perspectives, narratives, world views. This can be very confusing (Pisces). On the one hand we FEEL (Pisces) the truth of something strongly within ourselves, yet are repeatedly being told by those in authority (Saturn) that our feelings, concerns, opinions, perspectives are unfounded. Perhaps sometimes this is true. But this can also be a form of psychological abuse known as gaslighting. When we know something deep inside of us (Pisces) but it is denied and we are forced to repress (Saturn) it, this creates a huge amount of internal conflict and suffering. Again, who are we to trust?
The biggest invitation and opportunity of this Saturn in Pisces transit is to begin to DEEPLY trust in Spiritual Law and the seed of Divine within ourselves. This part of us, our True Selves, already has the answers and can be the barometer for what is in actual integrity (Saturn) amongst all of the confusion (Pisces) we may be encountering. That way, we build deep trust in our own authority and capability (Saturn) to navigate a seemingly unbounded ocean of chaos and confusion (Pisces) that our world is looking like at a certain level. This can be disconcerting and jarring at times since it may ask us to revise our previously held beliefs and assumptions about certain institutions, people, or whole ways of viewing ourselves as humans and our place within the whole (*this dovetails also with the entrance of Pluto into Aquarius). So we can expect the dissolving (Pisces) of situations or beliefs that seemed certain and unshakable (Saturn). This can be a challenging process. But again our North Star is to return to Spiritual Law and continue to strengthen the foundation (Saturn) of our knowing that we are part of something bigger, we are cared for, and we have access to deep wisdom (Pisces) when we go inside ourselves and are receptive to it.
When we choose not to accept this invitation, to deepen this internal relationship, we can find ourselves increasingly unmoored in the drama of the collective. Old structures (Saturn) are crumbling (Pisces) at an ever increasing rate. Prestigious companies or institutions (Saturn), ones we had thought would be around forever, could ‘go under’ (Pisces) during this time. If we put our full Faith (Pisces) in them- instead of ultimately with the Divine and OURSELVES as part of the Divine- then we can feel deeply confused, abandoned, and even delusional. Our ability to keep track of reality in the face of the repression (Saturn) of our inherent feelings and knowing of the value of all life (Pisces) can be extremely destructive. It’s important to be honest with ourselves and hold ourselves accountable (Saturn) when we feel we may be slipping into lack of responsibility, apathy or addictions (Pisces) as a way to navigate through challenges that arise.
One final note as we wind this down : It is also important not to conflate those who are “spiritual” with those who are consistently abiding in high integrity with Spiritual Law. Likewise we must not assume that those who have more of a secular orientation, even perhaps those who ascribe to scientism as a more accurate view of reality, with being fundamentally out of sync with Spiritual Law. It is more nuanced than that. Being in high integrity (Saturn) in all areas of our lives, following through with our commitments and responsibilities (Saturn) and remaining conscientious, caring and non-judgmental (Pisces) towards others is the hallmark of living in harmony with Spiritual Law. We can do this regardless of our profession, status in life or religious beliefs (or lack thereof). Likewise, there are plenty of people in “spiritual communities” and “spiritual leaders” who show remarkable lack of accountability for their behavior, and contempt for those with different beliefs or understandings. This is a result of ‘spiritual ego’ and is fundamentally not rooted in healthy understanding or application of Spiritual Law. Again, we must be willing, during this Saturn in Pisces transit to allow our perceptions (Pisces) of ‘reality’ (Saturn), and judgements (Saturn) we have made about life and others, to be dissolved (Pisces) in order to be rectified and reestablished.
Re-taking true authority (Saturn) of our own lives, and shifting our trust and Faith (Pisces) away from old fundamentally flawed or outdated institutions or structures (Saturn) and back to our own inner light, connection and knowing (Pisces) is the gift of Saturn in Pisces. The more we continue to give our power and authority away, the more unmoored we can feel. The more we invest in relationships or situations that are fundamentally unsound, the more loss and confusion we experience when their shortcoming or lack of integrity are revealed.
It is true now more than ever, that if we take one step towards the Divine, it takes 1000 steps towards us. We have the ability now to strengthen this relationship and this deep inner trust that there IS a greater plan and power at work and we ARE held and cared for. Each and every person is sacred, is cared for, and has a purpose in being here on Earth- right here, right now. The Divine wants to show us in practical (Saturn) ways that this is true. So we can all use this time as an opportunity to invite solid, hard evidence (Saturn) of the divine (Pisces) into our lives. This can be as simple as earnestly praying and requesting help for a situation we find ourselves in, and then being receptive to the answer or solution or right person showing up through ‘coincidence’. At its highest, Saturn is the wise elder sage who accrues this evidence, and applies it, rather than dismissing it. If the reality around you is showing you something very clearly, even if it contradicts what you had previously been taught or believed, it’s important not to dismiss or repress it, but to stay aware and ask for support and guidance in integrating your new insights, intuition, and perception. That is how we strengthen our trust in ourselves, and the universe, and come to a more refined and accurate understanding of reality.
When our spiritual intuitive knowing True Selves (Pisces) are fully merged with our earthly grounded physical being (Saturn) then we have no Fear of what is happening around us and are able to act in divinely guided integrity at all times. We have created a stable container (Saturn) with which to receive genuine knowing and insights (Pisces), as well as clear energetic (Pisces) boundaries (Saturn) that help us filter out unnecessary or misleading information. The solid manifestations (Saturn) of our soul dreams (Pisces) can come into form and we can experience a whole different blissful level of higher unity consciousness (Pisces) even as we ‘chop wood and carry water’ (Saturn). This is the path of Saturn in Pisces.
*art by @indg0
vibrational-astrology.com 