Your Saturn Return Guide: An Astrological Awakening
What is a Saturn Return?
Your Saturn return is the moment Saturn returns to the exact place it was when you were born. It happens around age 28–31, and again around 58–60, marking a major turning point in your life.
Saturn is the planet of structure, boundaries, discipline and lessons. It is the task-master and the father-figure of astrology, with a ‘tough love’ energy to kick you in the bum to get back onto your path. It is slow and steady and doesn’t rush the process. It’s here to show us what is real, what is no longer working and what needs to be rebuilt.
I was born with Saturn in Pisces, so my return began in March 2023, and finished just this week as Saturn left Pisces on 25 May 2025 - entering Aries.
For me, this chapter felt intense, emotional, chaotic and ‘uprooting’. It pushed me to explore myself in my extremes. What once felt like a whisper from the universe was dialled up to a scream. Soft nudges became total knocks to the ground. Saturn doesn’t tolerate ignorance or inauthenticity - it forces you to face yourself, your ego, your shadows and the sides of yourself you have been avoiding.
This process was exhausting and at times I felt like I was unravelling, but that’s because I had a lot of cleaning up to do. Saturn helped me to crystalise my vision, my identity, values and pathway forward. My Saturn is at 0° Pisces which means I had the pleasure of initiating this transit, and experience it at an extremely potent level (0° = supercharged). This helped me to help others as a guide - and I really felt that throughout the past 2-3 years, sharing my experiences in conversation and via my podcast. I kept showing up - even when it felt scary, raw and confusing. Even when I got into 'trouble’ - I learnt to give myself grace and compassion as I navigated the balance between people-pleasing and asserting myself - constantly checking myself, my intentions, my energy and my approach.
Approaching your Saturn Return…
There were a few things that helped me to master my Saturn return and step into my new version of self. The first was authenticity. I couldn’t deny who I was becoming - not in work, relationships, friendships - not anywhere. But who I was becoming didn’t always make sense - because it felt so different to who I had always been. I cared less about materialistic things and surface level anything. But only after I went into the extreme versions of these things (to my own fault).
In going so far into misalignment, my body started speaking very loudly to me - emotionally and physically. Sickness, anxiety, stress, overthinking, nervous system dysregulation. If I didn’t listen to the message, it would come back twice as hard - energetically or karmically. I literally developed tinnitus - thumping in my ears as though someone was knocking on my door. So eventually I figured out that whenever I felt stuck, confused, unsure or lost, I needed to return to authenticity. This meant hard conversations, illogical decisions and many leaps of faith - some good, some horrible.
For instance, at the start of my Saturn return I left my home city and moved to London with no home or job lined up. I scrambled to build a new life, friendships, job and community. I explored my extremes. I went down some incredible paths and some horrible ones over the course of 1.5 years. I completely lost my way and came back to Australia on a whim for a holiday. But my intuition wouldn’t let me get back on the plane to London - so I broke my lease and never returned. I scrambled for the next 6 weeks to get all of my possessions back into Australia. Like I said - hard conversations, illogical decisions and leaps of faith! But here is when everything started clicking into place... 8 months later, and life has never gelt so good. I have never felt more ‘me’.
So that brings me to point number two on surviving my Saturn return, which is listening. Rather than letting my mind and my ego rule my life, I started listening, watching and observing where life seemed to be pushing me. Where did my energy want to go? What was I being called towards? And away from? Again, this was scary, because it didn’t make sense within the context of who I had always been. But I listened relentlessly, even when it didn’t make sense - and kept realigning. This was a process of trial-and-error and make no mistake, I did not get it right the first time! It took 2.5 years of refinement and mastery - although of course, I am still evolving, growing and learning.
Human Design helped me ENORMOUSLY. So did learning about my astrology and all the transits. Anything that connects you back to your authenticity is great.
But here comes the good part!
This all sounds a bit doom and gloom - so now let’s move onto why this was one of most fulfilling chapters of my life in terms of adventure, relationships and personal growth. I travelled, found my purpose, developed and shared my passions. I lived in 3 cities, 8 homes, took on 4 new jobs, started 2 new businesses, filled out over 10 journals worth of daily gratitude, completed 3 courses in the wellbeing space, created 40 podcast episodes, consumed hundreds more, overcame destructive habits, faced my fears, gained immense trust in myself, felt a true sense of independence and gained two nephews and some of my now closest friends.
Saturn brought me fearlessness, resilience, perseverance, bravery, dedication and unrelenting focus toward my purpose. I was like a dog with a bone - refusing to give up on my vision despite all the outside noise and the perceived ‘failures’. I was driven by a force so much greater than myself, with a seemingly endless supply of energy and creativity. I wonder if that will stick around. Or maybe that energy will flow to someone else who needs it more than me. Someone brave enough to step up to their next level.
If like me, your Saturn is in Pisces, you’ve just completed one of the most significant initiations of your life (anyone born between 1993-1996. For exact dates you can check out Saturn return calculator). You might feel tired. Relieved. Wiser in a way that’s hard to describe. You don’t need to have it all figured out. But notice what feels clearer now, what has fallen away, and what has finally stopped feeling so heavy. Saturn will be retrograding back into Pisces from September 25 until February 26, so during this time, there is more work and integration to be done. One last ‘up-yours’ from Saturn! Whatever feels unfinished now, will be picked back up - so enjoy this period of lightness and reprieve - trusting that any lingering uncertainty will be dealt with soon. I can already feel what this will be for me. I have the awareness but I don’t have the solution - and that’s okay for now.
Who is up next?
But until then, Saturn is making its way into Aries - and the energy feels very different. Aries is bold, direct and full of momentum. It’s not interested in spirals or delays (like Pisces - being a water sign). It’s ready to move. Saturn likes being in Aries - so this pairing is slightly more complementary! If you were born between 1996 - 1999, your Saturn return is just beginning (see the Saturn return calculator for exact dates). The next 3 months will be a good taster for what is to come. Notice what comes up and prepare to realign these parts of yourself. Go in with curiosity, an open mind and trust that everything is unfolding perfectly. Anchor into authenticity. Listen to what needs to be heard.
To close.
Saturn doesn’t reward us with gold stars. It offers clarity and anchors us into who we really are. It gives us the resilience to live from that place - even when it’s uncomfortable. If you're in it now, or feeling the ripple effects, you're not alone!
If you’re feeling apprehensive or nervous about your Aries Saturn return (or the upcoming Pisces retrograde from Sept - Feb), just know that you ultimately have willpower on how you approach this journey. Personally, I embrace change, evolution and transformation - that is my nature and frankly, I was desperate for it. So I made the choice to harness the energy by pushing myself and embracing transformation. This was my choice, and you have a choice too.
Congratulations to the Pisces cohort and it is now time to pass the baton along to the Aries crew. I pass this baton along so with much love and excitement for what is about to unfold for you. It will be magical!
If you want to learn more about Saturn returns - perhaps a group workshop or dedicated session to navigating yours - message me and we will arrange something!
Big love,
Anna