Saturn in the Water Signs
The Water element takes us into the world of connectivity and gives us the awareness that we affect and are affected by the outside world. When Saturn is in the Water signs, we have come to learn about the world of emotions through trial and error. Saturn in the birth chart indicates a learning experience that we must go through to start the path towards self-realization. Saturn is an empirical teacher. It teaches us to develop the characteristics of the astrological sign where it is, responsibly and constructively. In the Water signs, its guidance focuses on structuring our emotions and letting them flow masterfully.
Before going further into the meaning of Saturn in Cancer, Scorpio, and Pisces, it is important to understand the meaning of Saturn. And this is precisely the way Saturn would start… so don’t skip it.
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The meaning of Saturn in Astrology
Saturn’s position in the birth chart shows us specific characteristics of which we have no personal experience. For some reason, the qualities of the sign are blocked. The required efforts to “untangle the block” are real! And they require discipline, perseverance, and multiple trials and errors.
Saturn, as a teacher, confronts us with the empirical world. He makes us experience real situations. He makes us see our fears and asks us to go through them with self-discipline, responsibility, and a sense of duty. As a species, we tend to go for pleasure. If it were not for that mysterious part within ourselves that invites us to do something transcendental, we would still only dedicate ourselves to eating, reproducing, and sleeping. That mysterious part is Saturn, the one that encourages us to keep trying, despite everything. Saturn is our teacher and it is happy to show us the way.
In the birth chart, Saturn points out:
- where Reality subjects us (blockages, fears, etc.)
- the latent capacities that seek to manifest within the material density
- the lessons we will go through to develop them
- where we achieve our mastery, maturity, self-discipline
It is normal to feel that the energy of Saturn crushes us… In a way, it is Saturn that makes us aware of the “force of gravity”. We come to bring something to the manifestation and that requires effort. Therefore, the dark side of our relationship with Saturn is never trying what Saturn proposes, avoiding situations that seem difficult to us. Saturn is the Master of Masters. He does not allow us to ignore what we have come to learn. But as creative beings, we can create a halo of darkness that keeps us within an apparent “safety”. At the end of life, we will feel that something is missing. Therefore, despite the difficulties, if we go ahead and listen to the call from within, Saturn promises us personal self-realization.
Saturn is the planet of empiricism. Its tests and challenges serve to accumulate the necessary experience that makes us, sooner or later, experts.
Many times, Saturn brings us limiting experiences that make us focus on the “subject” that we have come to study and pursue a master’s degree. It’s like putting a stone in our shoes. In this way, he makes us focus on what we need to learn. If we decide to ignore what is happening and get used to walking with that stone in our shoes, then he will put an even bigger one.
Saturn in everyday life
Like each planet, Saturn can represent different characters in our reality. Saturn represents authority figures, such as:
- Teachers, mentors, guides
- The father – or the person charged with discipline in the individual’s life.
- The institutional leader (individuals with responsibilities and social influence)
These are all archetypes that put our feet on the ground, at the same time that they show us the path that leads us to what we want, although this path seems winding and, sometimes, even obsolete.
Saturn may seem harsh, stern, and unfriendly to pleasure, but in reality, he knows what he’s doing. Saturn tells us: “You are not here to take exams, but to learn and manifest your dreams.” It’s like in Katare Kid… Watch this video to see an example of what I mean. Saturn is the Master.
Saturn in the Elements
According to the element where Saturn is, we see the kind of elemental energy that we have come to learn to use to achieve our goals:
- In Fire signs, we are becoming experts in dynamism, in action.
- In Earth signs, it is in materializing.
- In Air signs, our specialization is in defining our thought processes.
- At Water signs, we specialize in connection, in emotional fluidity.
| Saturn, along with Jupiter, is described as a social planet. This means that its passage through a sign encompasses a large group of individuals. Saturn takes about two and a half years to traverse a sign. Consequently, millions of people are simultaneously developing the qualities represented by the sign where they are. |
It is important to keep in mind that any planet and its position in the natal chart is part of a whole that creates a perfect balance within the context. Saturn’s position by sign and by house supports the rest of the natal chart, just as the other positions support Saturn.
Saturn in Cancer
As you give, so you will receive.
Michelangelo – Saturn in Cancer
LESSON: Knowing how to nourish yourself.
Cancer is the first of the water signs of the zodiacal wheel. In this sign, we discover for the first time what it means to “belong.” Family, home, tribe, etc. are representations of our own world, the space where we find emotional security. When Saturn is in this sign, the emotional reality and the relationships within our innermost circle become the experiential field that will give us the necessary lessons to learn to meet our personal needs.
In the birth chart, Saturn indicates the qualities that we are going to develop through experience. When Saturn is in CANCER, we have come to learn to NOURISH and TAKE CARE OF OURSELVES. With this position, the experiences we go through sooner or later force us to ask ourselves: what do I need? What gives me a sense of belonging?
Saturn, the great teacher of empiricism, decelerates what it touches. When it is in Cancer, it is the emotions that slow down. For this reason, many times, we have the impression of not being able to feel… The warmth that we so desire is out of reach! The world feels somewhat inhospitable. While others have no difficulty in expressing emotions, for Saturn in Cancer it is much more difficult, giving them the feeling of not being able to connect emotionally with others. However, due to the very nature of Saturn, what happens is that emotions manifest very slowly, creating the opportunity to perceive how they build. Through different experiences, trials, and errors, Saturn teaches that emotional bonds are a serious matter that needs time to consolidate.
Saturn in Cancer has come to learn (and later exemplify) what is nourishing and what is not, what is affection and what is not, what is caring and what is not. Over time, they become emotionally responsible individuals, with themselves and with others. And they can thrive when it comes to creating their own family.
GREATEST FEAR: emotional vulnerability.
ROLE MODELS: Nurses, kindergarten teachers, social workers, historians.
THE IMPORTANT THING: Use these role models to learn how to care for yourself.
TIP: Make a list that includes everything you need to feel emotionally satisfied.
Saturn in Scorpio
Nothing in life is to be feared; it is only to be understood.
Marie Curie – Saturn in Scorpio
LESSON: Emotional depth.
Scorpio, the second sign of Water, makes us experience viscerally and without romanticism, the natural processes of existence. Death is a Scorpio symbol… would you dare to love something or someone you can lose? When Saturn is in Scorpio, we have come to learn what it means to surrender body and soul and allow ourselves to be transformed by life.
As I mentioned before, Saturn in the birth chart indicates the qualities that we are going to develop through experience. When Saturn is in Scorpio, these experiences will lead us to deepen our emotions. We have come to learn what it is to FEEL EVERYTHING and to allow ourselves to be transformed by it. With this position, the experiences we go through sooner or later force us to ask ourselves: what is true intimacy? Why am I so scared of it?
Saturn, with its empirical power, decelerates what it touches, allowing us to see how it is built. When it is in Scorpio, what is slowed down is the ability to feel the transformation that takes place through the alchemy of intimacy with someone or something. Saturn in Scorpio’s goal is to know the human soul. At first, we may not understand what motivates people to act as they do. We may prefer to stay away from the more unpleasant and raw emotions that arise… for example, in moments of despair. However, through experiences, Saturn will make us live situations that put us in contact with that part of us that scares us so much: the world of the subconscious. And as we get to know it, we stop being afraid of what is taboo in our lives.
And this is how, through the years, we are able not only to accept the processes of life, death included, but also to understand where the fears and the most instinctive reactions of the human being come from. And we will no longer see it as a taboo subject but as part of the nature of all living beings.
GREATEST FEAR: Emotional pain.
ROLE MODELS: investigators, therapists, detectives, surgeons, funeral director
THE IMPORTANT THING: Dare to feel all the emotions that arise from within, however dark they may be.
TIP: Study something you consider taboo in depth.
Saturn in Pisces
As you inhale, appreciate yourself. As you exhale, appreciate all Beings.
Dalai Lama – Saturn in Pisces
LESSON: Gentleness.
Pisces, the last of the Water signs, is the bridge between heaven and earth, the visible and the invisible. With Pisces, we see that the veil that separates illusion from reality is very thin. And when Saturn is in this sign, we have come to discover that veil, to eliminate the limits that make us feel separated from the rest.
Taking into account that, in the birth chart, Saturn indicates the qualities that we will develop through experience, when Saturn is in Pisces, we have come to learn about COMPASSION and INCLUSION. With this position, the experiences we go through sooner or later force us to ask ourselves: How to include the world within oneself? How to be included in the world?
Saturn represents structure, and in Pisces, we speak of the structure of the Soul. The path of Saturn in Pisces is, in a way, the learning of the mystic, who can see a cathedral in every living being, in rivers and rocks. Spiritual loneliness can feel very strong with this position as Saturn teaches us through awareness of our own limitations. And in Pisces, where separation does not exist, the only limitation is the illusion that there is one. Then, Saturn will help us disarm that illusion through experiences, trials, and errors where, step by step, we will discover that the spiritual emptiness we feel is the consequence of the denial of our own spirit. We will dislodge the internal dissonances until we can only listen to the music of our soul.
The strength of Saturn in Pisces comes from the ability to follow a spiritual discipline that unites instead of separating, with seriousness and responsibility. It is an apprenticeship that develops compassion, especially for the most vulnerable, those who have no voice, and those who cannot defend themselves. And that invites us to do something concrete with it.
GREATEST FEAR: being deceived.
ROLE MODELS: Musicians, social workers, mystics, photographers, filmmakers, psychics.
THE IMPORTANT THING: Practice stillness following a specific discipline (ex.: meditation) so you can experience your Soul.
TIP: Listen to Jeff Buckley (Saturn in Pisces) sing.
Saturn in Cancer, Scorpio in Pisces WATCH THE VIDEO
Saturn in the other signs
Saturn in Aries, Leo, and Sagittarius