Saturn was retrograde in Capricorn on July 1, 2020 through September 28, 2020 and is now direct in Capricorn until it shifts into Aquarius on December 16, 2020.

A planetary retrograde indicates a time for reflection while a planet stationing direct indicates a time to take action again. What did you reevaluate during this past Saturn retrograde? Remember, Saturn is an outer planet meaning, unlike the personal planets, it has a major effect on society and structures. As a society, we’ve been reevaluating our leaders, laws, and the general ways in which the collective functions. Some of us have realized it isn’t “liberty and justice for all”; so now what?

Estimated reading time: 6 minutes

Saturn and Time

Sadly, I don’t know what to do right now. I’m not an expert. I’m just a regular old citizen with empathy and deep thinking skills. So I’m going to use those skills to dissect one of the deepest topics possible, the topic of time and how that relates to the planet Saturn.

As much as Saturn rules structure and boundaries, Saturn is also the ruler of time. We all know, we could die tomorrow, in 7 days, or in 5 minutes. We get to choose what we do with the time we have. With Saturn retrograde in Capricorn and a global pandemic, many of us have reevaluated what we want to do with our limited time. Together as a society, we see that the world is hurting, this pandemic is killing us and the ones we love, and that our leaders don’t really care about us. When we can’t control our surroundings, we need to look at what we can do individually with our time. Saturn asks us – what is the end goal? Is life just a series of goals that constantly evolve and carry us from day to day? Or is there one main thing we can focus our time on?

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Saturn Direct in Capricorn

If you’ve been challenging the system lately, don’t stop. Always question the corruption you see in your day to day life, but also remember that the end goal for massive societal changes will often shift and adapt over time. Capricorn’s planetary ruler is Saturn, meaning this zodiac sign and planet share a lot in common. Unfortunately, one thing they share is strict structure and a general disinterest in adapting and changing.

Personally, with Saturn direct in Capricorn (in my first house), I feel like I’m struggling to pick one cause to fight for. I see chaos all around, but realistically I can’t fix everything. Saturn direct in Capricorn shows that these societal systems were built TOUGH and it takes patience, a narrow approach, and individual responsibility to effect change.

Unfortunately, we can’t fix the whole political system overnight. We can’t clean up the streets, get everyone food and shelter, and make the fighting go away. It takes time. Sometimes all we can do is pick one or two causes that mean something to us, and do the best we can to support them.

Saturn and the Handshake: Working Through Past Traditions

My Story

As a cynical Capricornian, for the past several years I didn’t volunteer my time to any causes. I barely donated to charities, and I avoided people on the streets who looked like they needed help. Upon reflection, I see there were basic things I could have done to help others, but I was too afraid.

“I don’t like socializing. I’m an empath, so I’m drained by peoples energies when I’m around them for too long. I don’t have any money to spare. I’m awkward and no one wants me in their presence for more than 10 minutes.” These are just a few things I told myself to justify why I didn’t put myself out there to help others when honestly, it’s hard to help people. It’s hard to imagine the pain people must be going through and to devote time and energy into helping them, as well as to helping myself. It’s so much easier to pretend the world isn’t suffering and come home to my comfy couch, my running tub water, and my fridge full of beer.

I have been a pescatarian for several months now because I don’t like the way animals are treated for mass production of meat. Now, I’m not a full blown vegan and I’m not standing outside meat packing plants with picket signs or writing letters to city hall about the unjust treatment of animals; but, I am working within my means to make a slight lifestyle shift that ultimately supports my cause in the long run. Saturn likes this. Saturn, father time, wants us to slow down, take responsibility for our actions, and make lifestyle shifts that help long term.

Summary

Whether slight or drastic, know that you have a choice in the actions you take on the daily. You have the ability to inspire and effect people in ways you may not be able to see right now. Time is funny like that. You could die tomorrow, yet inspire people for years to come. Maybe you said something to someone 10 years ago and never knew that it was what YOU said that inspired them to help feed homeless people. What if you said something to someone that inspired them to write a novel and become a New York Times best seller who ultimately inspires mass amounts of people?

We don’t know what Saturn and time will tell us. We don’t know if the fight we’re enduring will be won in our lifetime, nor do we know if the world will see peace, or if the cows will run free, or if the trash will be disposed of safely some day. Only time will tell, so pick your battles, count your small wins, support a cause that means something to you, but do it in a way that works for you. Don’t shame yourself because your day to day actions are contributing to a power greater than yourself, whether you can see it or not.

Only we can decide what actions are a waste of time. We can make ourselves feel bad for not doing enough. Or instead, we can live each moment like it’s our last, which wastes no time. Saturn asks us to count each moment in time as another blessing.

Saturn direct in Capricorn is not a time for us to worry and take on all causes at once. It’s a time for patience, responsibility, and most importantly – trusting in divine timing.