Saturn in Scorpio—Should Auld Acquaintance Be Forgot?

©1-5-2013 by Donna Cunningham, MSW

This is a time of year when we naturally reflect on the past year, what we learned from it, and where we go from here, and this is especially true when we’re also having important Saturn transits. We often find ourselves in challenging situations that mirror situations and people that have been important during past Saturn cycles—7, 14, 21, or 28 years ago.

 In fact, it is common for the very same people we were involved with during those cycles —or people eerily like them—to suddenly show up, expecting to pick up again at the very same place.

Unfortunately, with transiting Saturn now in Scorpio, those reunions are not always happy ones, and they do not necessarily end well. As is likely with Saturn in that sign, these may have been people who were high maintenance and involved in huge drama at the time we knew them.

If so, unless they have been involved, heart and soul, in healing their wounds, there’s every likelihood that things in their lives are worse than ever. For many such people, time has not given them more wisdom, but instead the patterns have crystallized. If we ourselves have worked hard to grow, we may find such reunions painful and even intolerable.

I always say that wherever Saturn goes, it takes itself along. By that, I mean that the house, sign, and aspects of natal Saturn are reflected in Saturn transits and in how we experience them and handle them, regardless of the house it is now transiting. Old issues related to natal Saturn are likely to be coming up again.

For me, my natal Saturn is in the 11^th house, the house of friends. What I find myself reflecting on of late is what my friendships mean now and what they have meant to me over the years. Suddenly, people who were a big part of my life during my mid-30s are hunting me down—er, I mean hunting me up— on the Internet and calling me, fully expecting to pick up where we left off.

In each case, they have talked at high speed and high intensity for an hour or so about the dramas and misfortunes that have befallen them since we last spoke. Not once did they pause for breath or show any interest in my life. They all looked me up on the Internet, and when you do that, you see a long list of books and articles I have written. Not a word from them, amidst the diatribe, to say, “Good going, Girl.”

And, yes, I could’ve asserted myself and talked to them about my life, but frankly all I cared about by the end of the hour was getting them off the phone. I knew that if I let them get a foot in the door I’d be listening to that high drama every day for the rest of my life, and it would be all about them.

And so I have been given to reflect lately on how very different my friendships are at 70 than they were at 35, how happy and peaceful and sustaining they are. Yes, at our age, we do have our challenges and difficulties to deal with and, yes, we do support and help one another through them, but that’s not what our connection is all about. We share our thoughts and reflections and have interests in common that do not hinge on such high drama. I am blessed with bright, funny, wise, and insightful friends.

What about you, Readers? Where was Saturn in your chart natally, where is it now, and how does this transit reflect patterns from the past? What can you learn from these mini life reviews? Share your thoughts with us in the comment section below this article. And check out the comments from other readers–good sharing!

Past articles about Saturn on this blog:

• Saturn in Scorpio—Your Guide through the Dark
• Saturn Transits—What do They Mean to your Career?
• Saturn Transits the 7th House—a Rare Interview with Father Time Himself
• The Cosmic Piñata, Part 1 — Saturn Transits and Insights into the Houses
• Saturn  and Uranus Transits to the 2nd/8th House Axis
• Taming Transiting Saturn
• Saturn’s  Delays and Why We Should Embrace Them
• Nothing to Fear  but Fear Itself
• Why  Saturn has as much to do with Luck as Jupiter
• How Strong is your Saturn? Here’s the Score!

Recent Articles on Toxic Relationships:

• Stuck in Toxic Relationships? Check your Soul Contract!
• More on Clearing Toxic Relationships

Articles on this Blog about Difficult Transits:

• Facing the Difficult Potentials of a Transit
• Talking to Clients about Difficult Transits–Readers Have Their Say
• Tough Transits: Best Case/Worst Case Scenarios
• Why I Don’t Believe those Scary Predictions
• A Promise Fulfilled: When Transits Echo Natal Aspects