Saturn, the ringed gas giant planet, is in retrograde motion for approximately 4 and a half months every year. This means that more than one-third of the population has the planet retrograde in their natal chart. A retrograde natal planet in the chart means that its energies are turned inwards, at least for the beginning of the native’s life.
Any planet being retrograde during the native’s birth indicates that the planet and the things it rules in his life are strongly connected with previous lives through karma. As Saturn itself is a planet strongly connected with Karma, its retrograde motion shows us a lot of unfinished matters from previous lives. During the present lifetime, it will become a tough, yet a necessary teacher, in order to balance any possible karmic debts.
Most people have more than one planet retrograde in their natal chart, and it is rather difficult to find a person that has all his natal planets direct. Therefore, we should understand that the karmic connection to previous lives is a rule affecting most of the population, and should be regarded as a tool to understand ourselves.
As Saturn is the planet of restriction, it is generally considered to have a malefic effect on anything it touches. In this motion, the planet usually manifests in a harsher way than if it is direct. The reason behind it is an inner resistance of the individual to cooperate with it. And when one does not go along Saturn’s pushy orders, the planet will not hesitate to slap him in the face.
Saturn brings delays and disappointments to the matters of the house where it is placed, and being retrograde can furthermore sharpen such feelings. The lesson that the planet delivers is patience and dedication, so any matter ruled by Saturn may need a lot of hard work and effort to prosper.
The individual must understand that Saturn does not want to punish anyone. It is us who punish ourselves, by facing the consequences that we chose through our decisions. A retrograde natal Saturn delivers us consequences of previous lives’ decisions, so we must be wise enough not to live unfinished stuff in this one. After all, the more we cooperate with the planet, the quicker we will see results and redemption from burdens that follow us.
Saturn retrograde indicates that during previous lives the individual may have struggled with issues of authority or limitations. He may have been hard on people under him, abused his position of power or elsehow mistreated those who were weaker. With hard aspects, the individual may have been cruel towards people, even by restricting them physically or imprisoning them. Some other alternatives include stinginess and denial of help towards the ones in need, while also victimizing and using weaker people.
During the present lifetime, Saturn retrograde will demand the native to pay for any possible disbalance that he bears from the past. Frequent ways of payment are hard physical work or a struggle for survival, while also serving the elders. The ringed planet rules the third age, and by helping people of old age, we can work on cleaning our Karma. That is usually a difficult task, as elder people are many times quite needy. In addition, Saturn may create situations where we have no choice. A grandparent can be dependent on our care, and the whole situation may lead us to self-restriction. When you need to dedicate constant effort and a lot of time for someone older, you sacrifice a lot of your energy and it can feel like being in a prison.
One of the trickiest traits that natal Saturn retrograde can give is difficulty in expressing love and affection. The planet may restrain the flow of feelings, internalizing them or keeping them secret. This can be combined with a lack of self-confidence, as the native may not feel worthy of being loved. In addition, the planet can have an influence on depressive tendencies and generally make the person cold, suspicious and estranged from all things that are tender and sweet. This attitude can be connected with a lack of affection from the native’s parents or grandparents, who may have been strict, conservative or elsehow not expressive in their own feelings.
On the other hand, a retrograde Saturn makes a person stronger in difficulties, less fragile. He can endure and persist in his quests more than others, and the wounds that life delivers affect him less. Especially if the planet is well-aspected, the native’s robustness can be of a unique nature.
A native with natal Saturn retrograde should learn to concentrate on long-term goals, while also enjoy the small joys of life a bit more. He must learn to be open for love and emotions, manage to break his borders and externalize his own feelings. Many times, cruel behaviors are just outcomes of repressed feelings and lack of love. In order to make your Saturn operate in a healthy way, be kind to other people.