Fall, Fail, Forge Ahead
Getting Ready for Saturn in Aries
Choosing between bad and bad
“I only have shitty options,” my client said.
As an astrologer working with clients over many years, I see their highs and lows. Last year, I chose the wedding date for this same person, and they had a beautiful ceremony. But in the past few months, her new husband’s ex-wife was out for blood. To make a long story short, the result is that my client is at risk of losing her professional license, and she has the choice of whether to fight it.
Sometimes, my job as an astrologer involves reframing a less-than-ideal situation so it can be seen in a new light, and leading to a brighter future. But this time, what my client said was true. Neither choice was good. Would she fight this and risk losing everything, or surrender in exchange for some small consolations?
Sometimes it feels like there’s no right answer. Sometimes we don’t get to choose between good and bad, or — god-willing — good and better. Sometimes it’s shit, and there’s no sugar coating it.
This client and I share a lot of fire in our charts, particularly Aries, where Saturn is about to be for the next 3 years, starting this month.
The thing about Aries energy, and fire signs for that matter… losing really isn’t our jam. And if we go down, we’d rather go down swinging. We’d rather prove ourselves and fight.
But at what cost?
Time is precious. Energy, too. With Saturn in Aries, we can clarify the value of these resources. Sheathing the sword doesn’t mean giving up. It’s saving your strength for the more important fight. In The Art of War, Sun Tzu wrote “He will win who knows when to fight and when not to fight.”
That’s Saturn in Aries — when is it time to pull back the army of your energy? Or even giving up on the battle in order to win the war.
Preserving Your Will
Saturn is a planet of preservation. Aries is a sign of will. The next three years of Saturn in Aries may ask you to distill your goals and ambitions into simple actions rooted in the here-and-now.
As much as you can, keep it simple. Small, simple acts add up. You don’t always have to play the long game for time to be on your side. What is within your capacity right now? Beyond that, leave the future to the fates.
Focusing on the present reminds us we can’t do everything. We have to choose what to do well. There are so many ways to waste our energy — as many as there are problems beyond our ability to solve. Tragic political and ecological realities are all around. But what can we do about them — or even our own lives?
The answer lies somewhere between the doom-scrolling of nothing and the manic rage of everything. When we pierce this vague Neptunian cloud, we’ll recognize our power within situations at hand, personally and politically. The impacts that are within reach, even if small, are worth it. Maybe they are next-door, on your block, in your town. Maybe it’s a habit you need to get back to. Maybe it’s saying I love you. We don’t have to conquer the world’s problems to make our lives better. When overwhelm sets in, we impact nothing.
This overwhelm is what I’ve been seeing with Saturn in Pisces, even more since the North Node joined it in January. With problems literally and figuratively as vast as the ocean, it again begs the question of what can be done. I think Saturn in Aries can actually help with that, if we are wise.
Workshop Opportunity the coming Weekend
UPDATE: The Saturn in Aries workshop that took place 5/17 is now available in recorded form, along with the slides & a journal exercise packet.
Get the workshop recording here: Recording Available
There are so many themes in play this year — from Saturn in Aries, to Jupiter in Cancer, to Uranus in Gemini. And they’re all inter-related.
Join me for Fall, Fail, Forge Ahead: A Saturn in Aries Workshop, live-streamed next Saturday, May 17th. We will dive deep into Saturn in Aries themes, timing, and strategies. We’ll also explore how the Saturn in Aries story connects with other big shifts this year and beyond. Always with an eye to the practical present!
The workshop will be recorded for all who register, so don’t stress if you can’t make it live.
From Overwhelm to Humble Action
Coming from the overwhelming perspective of Saturn in Pisces with the North Node, the Ringed One’s entry into Aries may come as a welcome, clarifying shift. The endless expanse of the Fishes gives way to the sprinting charge of the Ram.
But if the problem for Saturn in Pisces was a bandwidth and overwhelm problem, for Saturn in Aries it will be an issue of energy management. How can we string together small wins without feeling deflated in the shadow of huge ambitions and even bigger hurdles?
Saturn is said to be “fallen” in Aries. The astrological condition known as “fall” is a topic I discussed before in a piece on the transition from fallen Mars in Cancer to exalted Jupiter in the sign, a threshold on which we now stand.
In Ancient Greek, the astrological word for fall is tapeinoma, meaning low to the ground, or humble. Fallen planets must learn humility.
In Aries, some of Saturn’s humbling lessons lie in the gap between ambition and reality, and in the inner furnace of failure.
Without humility, our ambitions are but a thousand tiny sparks that never become fire.
In some ways, fallen planets like Saturn in Aries have more to work with. (Traditional astrologers everywhere gasp.) What I mean is, we often learn and grow more through the greatest challenges. Talent is wasted on the gifted, and ambition is wasted on the vain. Others rise through grit, determination, and consistency.
Don’t get me wrong — I’m not saying Saturn in Aries is cause for celebration. Not by a long shot. But it’s the reality we have for three years. I’ll ask again: what are we going to do with it?
I say: humble yourself to your actual capability. Likely it is less than you wish, but far more than you have realized.
Small Fires, Real Light
One of the risks with Saturn in Aries is spreading yourself too thin. But do spread yourself. Do that small, brave thing you normally wouldn’t. Over time, those actions add up. Patience is key, too. Don’t evade future failure if at first you don’t succeed. Try to fail well. We’ll talk about what this means in the workshop.
Show up for something — fully and repeatedly — whether it’s a good habit, a municipal meeting, or something else you care about. With enough sustained effort, you can start a humble fire, building light in the dark. What if everyone did the same? But don’t chastise anyone else for not. Be the change.
As we cross this energetic threshold, it’s important to reject defeatism. Even in the face of shitty choices, we still have a choice. And another. And another. No one said this would be easy. But it’s still ours to live, and to do something we respect.
For now,
Drew
As a Saturn in Aries native, I approve this message. Mine is conjunct Rahu, so my childhood was an 18 year ordeal. When I turned 18 I spent about 9 years avoiding anything that (I thought at the time) even remotely resembled Saturn, only to realize around my Saturn return that the price of my freedom had been homelessness, which is just another kind of Saturn prison. Later I realized, or was forced to admit, that the gifts of those first 28 yrs were very the grit, determination and consistency you mention. It takes a long time to forge a good sword, but it lasts a lifetime.
Great message, Drew! I appreciate your courage to tease open a path for Saturn in fall. I totally resonate with your strategy already. Saturn rules my 9th and 10th houses and resides retrograde in my 2nd. I’ve already had to pause actions already initiated in these places in order to start anew but with this Saturnian humility as the base. The long game view of Saturn strategy has to lead but with a brick by brick and day by day Aries thrust. Sometimes there can be a riddle to these placements, yes? For now it’s worth a try! Thanks for your teachings.