Aspects, Question: You seem to take a less hard line view of Saturn in relationships. Do you interpret the aspects the same way? All I’ve seen are negative descriptions of Saturn aspects in synastry.
I take a less hard line view of Saturn all the way around. Saturn is something we can work with and understand. Working with Saturn is always productive. He hurts, but its a good hurt, and good for us once we come to terms with it. Uranus, Neptune, Pluto–those are the buggers. They do act as Gods of Change, as Howard Sassportas called them. They can be impersonal, harsh, bleak, irrational and merciless, and even when they’re good to us, we have a hard time staying on our feet when they enter our lives. They can smack us broadside, which seems to be their raison d’etre in synastry. They send messages through others that knock us down and alter our view of the world, and we never see it coming. Whatever rewards we get from working with them are a long time materializing, and often subtle. It takes Chiron to make sense of that outer planet understanding and translate it back through Saturn so that we can turn what we learn into something real. (See the piece on Chiron and The Hole in the World).
Our negative view of Saturn goes back to our view of him as a mindless authority. This is a rather adolescent view of the way Saturn operates. I liken Saturn’s development to the way we learn to live with others. At first, when we’re little, Mum and Dad do things for us. We don’t really pay attention to what needs doing, we’re in our own little world. As we get older, we may have responsibilities around the house, but we often resent them, either because we’re trying to be independent and we don’t want to be a part of the family structure, or because we’d rather stay in our own little world (or both). Then we get out in the world and we live alone and we do whatever we want, but the trash piles up in the kitchen and no one washes our underpants and eventually, no one wants to be with us except the roaches. Basically, Saturn teaches us that we have to wash our own metaphysical underpants, because no one else is going to do it . Some of us resist Saturn and live in squalor, but most of us find that too painful and find ourselves tidying up of our own volition. When we have roommates and partners, we learn that what we do affects others, and that we need to be responsible for our own actions. Saturn in synastry is the roommate that reminds us to go to the laundry, or the fumigators will be coming. But someone with a healthy Saturn will help us do it, and not belittle us in the process.
In synastry, Saturn can be stern, but it can also be very loving and supportive (Saturn’s exaltation in Libra). If everyone’s Saturn was in a good place, we would take Saturn’s constructive advice and encouragement and 
find a way to fulfill whatever it is we lack. Saturn to the Moon would gently teach us to provide for our emotional sustenance. Saturn to Venus would encourage us to support and nurture what we love. Saturn/Mars would help us be productive and constructive. Unfortunately, Saturn goes wrong in synastry when the Saturn person doesn’t have a healthy relationship to Saturn. If Saturn is dislocated from the Moon, if Saturn represents mindless authority, if Saturn resulted in a repressed and oppressed parental influence, if Saturn resents having to grow up, then that Saturn is not going to be kind to my planets. That Saturn is going to project all of its awful issues and insecurities onto my poor planets, which may not deserve that kind of treatment.
Saturn/Saturn aspects can be particularly binding, and particularly difficult. A conjunction, if the two are the same age, can result in the partners representing the Saturn issues for one another (it’s you, not me, that’s the problem). Saturn squares have a hard time understanding one another’s goals and obligations. They’re pulling in different directions. Oppositions occur with a 14 or 15 year age difference. This can result in one Saturn acting as mentor for the younger partner, particularly in the houses the Saturns fall in. The younger partner may also teach the older a few things, or create responsibilities and challenges in the house it resides in. Opposing Saturns fall on one another’s polarity points, and there are usually specific lessons to be learned from the relationship, which may not last beyond the time that’s needed for those lessons to be learned. Transiting Saturn squares to the opposition will be particularly rough, but any planet squaring opposing Saturns needs to be noted. Whenever Saturns are in aspect, squares from planets sometimes bookend the relationship’s beginning and ending, and Saturn itself (in partnership with the progressed Moon) will have a story to tell.
I never look at Saturn in a synastry until I’ve thoroughly exhausted the natal Saturns. If the partner’s Saturn is kind and mature and responsible, then that square to the Moon between charts is not going to be so problematic.
This Aspects question came in a number of different ways from different readers, so I thought I should answer it while Saturn is fresh on our minds. We’ve had an extensive examination of Saturn’s place in synastry, both as ruler of the 10th house (see the MC/IC part one) and as partner to the Moon (see Saturn as a Relationship Planet (part one).
Yay! I love this! Getting comfortable with one’s Saturn is part of the maturation process IMO.
He hurts, but its a good hurt, and good for us once we come to terms with it. Uranus, Neptune, Pluto–those are the buggers.
Exactly. Neptune in particular drives me around the bend because I seldom realize it has been causing problems until after the fact. Expectations and assumptions . . . shudder.
Great blog you have going here. I’m going to link you on my main blog, Neithnet. 🙂
Thanks for the compliments, Neith. I’m happy to reciprocate with a link.
I think Saturn helps with the longevity of a relationship. If a person feels no responsbility to a partner, then what’s to keep him in the relationship, or keep him from pursuing other relationships?
My partner and I have Saturns in partile trine. Our Saturns fall in each other’s 7th house.
Hi Dawn! Thank you for this post. I know I’m late to posting my reply but I have a question in regards to…
Unfortunately, Saturn goes wrong in synastry when the Saturn person doesn’t have a healthy relationship to Saturn.
If a person has an unaspected Saturn in the natal chart, would one have to look at the sign (and/or house) ruler of that Saturn to inform one how to relate to that Saturn? For my example, If Saturn unaspected is in Leo, would I look to my Sun’s sign, house and aspects to know how to use Saturn reliably and gain a healthy relationship to it?
Hi Brian,
This is a complicated question. Unaspected planets behave can behave in an exaggerated manner–they can be wild and unpredictable because they have nothing else to anchor them, and they can take over a chart. They’re a bit like crazy conjunctions, can dominate or be absolutely ignored, or swing back and forth between the two modes. Are you sure Saturn is unaspected? A true unaspected planet is quite rare.
Yes, the dispositor of Saturn will tell you more about where the Saturn energy is going, and where it’s being tested. So will the ruler of the house Saturn resides in. You can also look at the 10th house, which Saturn naturally rules.
Dawn,
Thank you for your reply. Saturn may not completely unaspected. What I meant by that term was that Saturn doesn’t receive any Ptolemaic aspects from any other planet. However, if Saturn receives a semisextile, say from Venus, wouldn’t that still count as unaspected? Reading your article on the semisextile, semisextiles work when you aren’t looking, isn’t that true?
Again thank you Dawn for your insights!
Hi Brian,
Yes, we would be looking mainly at Ptolemaics; I wouldn’t count the semi-sextile as, as you say, it operates beyond the conscious. I do include the semi-square, however. Semi-squares have the grounding quality of the four family, and divide the circle evenly.
When Saturn is unaspected, in Leo, it can be a dictator or flip and have a very laissez-faire attitude to eveything, particularly when its own interests are concerned. If Saturn can learn to be the servant of the Sun, and in turn give the Sun structure, it will be very effective in its house. There is a real need to ground creativity and make something real of the creative impulses.
Very nice. I won’t tell a story, I have a completely unaspected Saturn. I’ve looked up and examined my birth chart constantly and there are no aspects in my chart that involve Saturn. I’ve also read about the Saturn in Aquarius position and how strong it is. I have Saturn in Aquarius, but its in retrograde. When I did research on Saturn and its position in my chart, I finally figured out where my high self-restraint, self-control, and knowledge of my own limitations came from. It also seems to explain why I prefer control over power and why I always need at least a little control of everything in my life. I’m a control freak, if you will.
Hi, Erica. Unaspect planets often act like super-archetypes in the chart. This is because they have nothing modifying them, and they don’t have to compromise with any other planet. They just are what they are. Saturn retrograde, in particular, is very strong, because a person with Saturn retrograde learns early on that they can trust no one but themselves and have to rely on their own resources. It becomes an exaggerated quality in the chart, especially if Saturn is unaspected.
Hi Dawn, your article gave me a good insight about Saturn. Thank you!
My natal chart is a such that I feel I’ve been learning and trying to master the energy of outer planets forever. I have Fixed Grand Cross which is consisted by: Sun/Leo conj.NN opposing Saturn Retro/Aquarius conj. SN; the Saturn EXACTLY squre Moon/Taurus, which the oppsing end is Neptune conj. Vertix/Scopio.
Together with Mutable T-Square of Venus conj. Pluto in 4th opposing Jupiter conj. Chiron in 10th, both squaring Mars, and Uranus exactly conj. IC, “close relationships” has been an Enigma for me, an objection of yearning to be accepted and fulfilled, and at the same time repel from the closeness.
I’ve met this person, whom I really didn’t pay too much attention at first but now intrigues me a lot—13 years junior and his Saturn conj. my Sun and oppose my Saturn. I would run away from him fast if I was in my 20’s. But the beauty of aging and Saturn is that it really encourages you, sometimes force you, to let go all the unnecessary things/ideas and leave you with what truly matters and meaningful to you. And enormous feeling of true accomplishment, that is a freedom from fear.
I don’t know how it will turn out with this person, but I almost feel, “Saturn? Great!” What you say in the article really sums up a grace of this planet can offer.
HI,
Love your BLOG. I’ve been doing LOTS of research on “Saturn in Synastry”.
My SATURN conjuncts JUPITER (exact) in Libra – not to mention- BOTH planets CONJUNCT my ASCENDANT (LIBRA RISING)…add BML…Black Moon Lilith…you will find me being VERY controled in pulic MOST of the time. Yet, I have the ability to be very outgoing & center of attention.
Also, people have described me as having a BIG personality although I am a PISCES (sun, venus, mars).
Saturn is in EXALTATION in LIBRA, right? I’ve also been told that “DATING” is my BUSINESS or should be lol. I’m not the mos beautiful woman in the world. However, I have a natural CHARM & DIGNITY that attracts men – especially OLDER, wealthy men…I am from New York City, so it is very common for OLDER men of STATUS to date much younger women who are not as wealthy. Although, I do not consider myself a gold digger in fact, I really have no interest in marriage.
I do want to DISCUSS a recent relationship that started out as HOT, mutual attraction then turned into more of a BUSINESS arrangement.
He is not wealthy. However, he is a little older. We met in a public place. There was definitely a sudden ATTRACTION between us. It was also as if there was tension & even hatred. Throw in some sexual frustration – thank you SATURN.
The problem was – I was the SATURN person (younger) AND he (older) was the Venus, mars, mercury, pluto, JUNO person – thats right 5 planets CONJUNCT my LIBRA RISING/SATURN/JUPITER/BML.
When we were together, you could cut the TENSION with a knife. We argued in public OFTEN. Yet in private, we were very sexually. IRONICALLY, we ONLY talked about having SEX (what we would DO to each other). This went on for over a month until I threw in the towel (it was too frustrating for me & I’m too young to get attached to one man who probably doesnt really care about me anyways).
It felt like a CONSTANT power struggle b/t us. I’ve NEVER experienced such a POWERFUL push/pull with a man. I never felt attractive to him even though every other man we knew flirted with me & still does – right in front of him. He never seemed to care or get jealous. That always baffled me,,,perhaps he FELT the SATURN effect (distance/coolness).
Initially, I was so happy to see all his planets CONJUNCT my rising sign UNTIL I noticed SATURN sitting right there….JUPITER at least, added a bit if HUMOR & LIGHT HEARTEDNESS to our interaction. UNFORTUNATELY, it seems that SATURN sealed our FATE.
I am still very intrigued/attracted to him for reasons unknown. Typically he is NOT my type at all…I also catch him staring at me intensely when he thinks I am not looking. Its strange…could SATURN really be the CULPRIT to all this?
Truth be told I even fantasize about us have angry make up sex even though, again, we never consummated our ATTRACTION. Its weird, I always felt insecure around him even when he claimed to be very interested in me & compliment my appearance, I never believed him…SATURN is a tricky old man lol.
Thanks for reading my ramblings. Hope you can help me make sense of this situation~ xx
Sorry, Pisces Princess, but you would need a synastry reading to understand the dynamics at work here. Saturn is not the culprit. The attraction comes from the angles, but the power struggles come from elsewhere in the chart.
Hi Dawn,
I love your article! It really sheds new light on Saturn and in some ways, taught me to even appreciate some of what Saturn offers. Quick question: Usually, how many Saturn interaspects does a relationship need for it to be binding and long-lasting? I’m a bit concerned because my SO and I only have: his saturn conj. my mars (6 degrees), my saturn opp. his venus (2 degrees). Our Saturns both contact each other’s MC. Thanks!
Hi Jess. Properly done synastry isn’t just about a list of inter-aspects. It’s about the quality between the chart interaction, not the quantity. The first thing you have to do is examine both charts for stability and emotional requirements. All the Saturn in the world won’t change a chart that is basically restless. The second thing you have to do is examine what Saturn is doing in the individual charts. Is it problematic, causing resentment and rebellion against authority, or is it responsible? You need to look at the capacity for commitment that’s shown in the chart. That said, there is no recipe for relationship longevity. Saturn on an angle, particularly the MC (where it’s comfortable) can be very potent–but make sure neither of you is hanging in there out of duty, habit, or because you’ve cemented yourselves into a relationship that seems to fit, but that you no longer want. With Saturn on an angle there is a tendency to do what is expected rather than what’s true to each individual, so make sure you don’t stick out of outworn expectations. Sharing the same goals should be easy for you, so keep in tune that way and make sure you’re always on the same page.
brilliant insights- thank you Dawn!
what would unaspected saturn in progressed composite mean? is it death/end of the relationship?
who is the saturn in each relationship?
i am asking because unaspected saturn keeps showing up in my composite relationships in the next years.
after it was aspected.. I have natal saturn in 1st trine my sun-jupiter conjunction in 5th house- so as saturns girl- I am worried….
thank you for your kindness and answer
You have to go back to look at the nature of each natal Saturn. Usually, a planet unaspected in the progressed chart does not account for much, unless it is the Sun or the Moon. And certainly it wouldn’t mean the end of a relationship. And why would you be worried with Saturn trine Sun/Jupiter, which is a beneficial aspect?
Hi Dawn,
Thank you for another great article.
I have some questions about unaspected Saturn that I need to hear from you. How it could possibly play out if one’s Saturn in Saggitarius in the 2nd house does not make any aspect with their partner’s in synastry (it falls in the partner’s 3rd house though)? What are the advantages and disadvantages of an unaspected Saturn in synastry?
I heard that the one with the unaspected Saturn will eventually leave their partner (no matter how long they have been together and how many times they keep wanting to come back.). Is this true?
Thank you.