Saturn Retrograde 2023 is Over

Saturn Retrograde is Officially Over: Saturn turned direct at 0º Pisces November 4, 2023 at 12:02 AM Pacific Time. However, he will remain in his shadow phase until he leaves his Retrograde Span at 7º Pisces, on February 7, 2024. From now until that point, we will enter a post-retrograde reflection period on how to integrate what we have learned from the retrograde. Saturn is the God of building, karma, time, commitment, hard work, and maturity. As such, he rules our relationship to our careers, our ambitions, our sense of our own authority, our relationship to authority, and where we are on the path to mastery. Saturn first went retrograde in June 2023. 

Saturn Retrograde 2023 Shadow Period

With Saturn newly direct, in some ways we can breathe a sigh of relief. To some degree, we’ve recognized the problems that have presented themselves to us during Saturn’s retrograde, and the process of visualizing solutions has already begun.

However, like with any retrograde, after a planet stations direct, it is still in what we call a “shadow period”. In other words, the planet continues integrating its experiences during the retrograde while it’s still moving very slowly. As the retrograde continues and the planet in question passes the degree where it initially went retrograde, the planet is “in the clear” and functioning normally once again.

On February 7, 2024, Saturn will pass the degree where he went retrograde at 7º Pisces. After this day, we will be fully conscious of our new vision of Saturn. For example: any issues regarding our ambitions, career dreams, and our contributions to society, guided by a newly contemplated spiritual alignment. Additionally, at this point we will feel Ceres speeding up, and with her momentum we will be able to act on our newly formed plans.

Saturn Direct in a Critical Degree

Saturn has been spending a lot of time in 0º Pisces– a degree we refer to as a Critical Degree. 0º of any sign contains a fresh inspiration and hunger to fully embrace the qualities and lessons of that sign. In Pisces, it’s all about our spiritual alignment, leading with a sense of compassion, empathy, and the understanding that everything and everyone on this planet are all connected.

Saturn stations Direct in a trine with Vesta, archetype of focus and devotion. This promises that we come out of our contemplation of Saturn feeling devoted and enlightened by our new sense of spiritual purpose.

A Look Back at Saturn Retrograde: June 17 to November 4, 2023

Now, with Saturn Direct, it is a good time to reflect on the recent Saturn Retrograde and how it played out for you.

The 2023 Saturn Retrograde amplified themes of commitment, life direction, career choice and our place in society, and our sense of responsibility. Considering that began his backwards journey in the Mutable Water sign, Pisces, we found ourselves noticing where we were feeling spiritually unfulfilled. For example, perhaps our work has been too focused on the acquisition of material security at the expense of our deeper values. Alternatively, maybe our approach to our careers were too ego driven. Likewise, it’s likely that we caught a glimpse of how our dreams could truly be achieved. Potentially, we felt a deep click in terms of what those dreams could actually look like.

Saturn Retrograde: Pisces vs. Virgo

We can look at Virgo, Pisces’ opposite, to see what may have been holding us back from taking this new direction. Perhaps, we struggled with perfectionism and rigidity regarding logistics. Alternatively, we struggled with an excessively practical, and perhaps pessimistic, outlook on what the possibilities are for change. However, Saturn’s retrograde chart featured a sextile to Jupiter conjunct the North Node in Taurus, encouraging us to change our relationship to abundance. During this retrograde, we have been reworking our relationship to a sense of positivity and deserving. We may have learned that generosity precipitates a sense of abundance.

To look more in depth at the recent Saturn Retrograde, read our previous blog post about it.

Want to get the most out of this transit?

Understanding the Saturn cycle is incredibly useful
for help in understanding your place in the world,
discovering your own maturity,
and supporting your dreams and goals.

Find out more about how Saturn functions in your chart
with a Saturn Return Reading or a Mission Orders Reading.

Or, try casting your own chart
and analyzing Saturn’s movement through your chart.

Return to the main Saturn Retrograde page