Dear quarter lives,

How do we know when we are done with the quarter life chapter of our lives? How do we know we are no longer quarter lives? Officially, there is no precise age at which it ends. Some of us finish a little earlier. Some of us a little later. It all depends on when Saturn comes back to us.

So for those of you familiar with astrology, you might’ve heard of a concept called the Saturn Return. For those of you who aren’t, well it sounds like it is, it is when Saturn returns to the exact place it was in the sky when we were born. Saturn takes between 27-30 years to make that journey. And when it finally returns to where it was when we were born, it marks the end of the first chapter of our lives. But before Saturn leaves us again, it needs to make sure we have grown enough to begin the next chapter of our lives. It needs to make sure we have matured, developed and learnt some early life lessons.

And how does Saturn do this you might ask…well, by presenting us with some challenges, some tests you could say which require us to show up and answer to a particular area of our lives that is being called to by Saturn – for some this might be work, for others it might involve a relationship, and for some it might involve facing the monsters of their mind, for others it could be showing up for their physical body and finally developing that discipline they were struggling with all those years ago. And for this reason, many dread Saturn’s return. And for this reason too, when she leaves again, many will be forever grateful for what she has taught them. 

Currently, I am going through my Saturn Return. One of the things I feel called to make peace with is ageing. It is no surprise that of all the planets that Saturn is the one calling for this. Saturn is often represented by the old wise woman or man. And for people, like me, with strong Saturn placements in our birth chart, we might come off as old (not necessarily always in appearance) but in temperament even as children. Saturn is not a softie or quick to react like the faster moving planets Venus, Mercury or Mars. It is slow. It is calculated. It is harsh in the same way life can be harsh. It is not to hurt us but to make us stronger and more resilient. Saturn pushes us to take responsibility for our lives, because if we can’t take responsibility for our own lives, how can we begin to take responsibility for others, how can we bear children and parent if we cannot parent our own inner children. Saturn comes to wake up the dead within us. It wakes up all forgotten wounds and calls for healing. So do not ignore Saturn’s calls. For those who ignore Saturn’s calls will lack the patience, will and oomph to take on life. For to continue to participate in such a magnanimous experience such as living requires one to have their arms wide open to Life. And those arms, as Saturn is trying to tell you, need to be strong enough to take all that force and still be able to enjoy it. 

It is true, when Saturn comes, things end, losses occur, people separate. But what Saturn does to us is exactly what we do to our closets or our homes when we decide it’s time to declutter and empty them out of old clothes, papers, memories and ask ourselves the Marie Kondo infamous question – does this bring me joy?, and if it does not, we need to let it go. This is what Saturn comes to do when she returns to us, she returns to help us asks ourselves some tough questions in order to declutter our lives, our bodies and our minds. And as a result, she helps prepare us for the next quarter of our lives by helping us make space in our lives for a whole new set of memories, people, experiences we are yet to experience, and this is to make sure we are ready to receive more of life without feeling congested, cramped up or overwhelmed by it. Saturn helps us let go of the past to make room for the future, and in doing so invites us to center ourselves into the present so that we can feel and be connected to our present day voices and needs as we make some big life decisions.

To those like me going through our Saturn return right now, I feel you. It is hard no doubt but it is necessary and from what I hear well worth it in the end. So just know that you are not alone, know that this is a rite of passage that we all must go through if we are to come of Age and enter the next quarter life light, ready and strong with feet firmly rooted and a back fully erect like a tree. 

And to Saturn, I say thank you. I will carry your lessons forth with me till we meet again in 29 years for a whole new set of lessons and to say goodbye to the mid-life.

With all my love and always with the intention to bring peace,

Shahinda