Saturn Retrograde in Pisces, June 2023

Saturn Retrograde in Pisces, 2023: Saturn stations retrograde in dreamy Pisces on June 17, 2023. This is his first retrograde since entering Pisces in March. Since then, our collective desire to build and work towards our goals has undergone a watery transformation, and a slowing down. We are now finding that we are concerned with the spiritual purpose behind our goals.

What is a Saturn transit like?

Saturn helps you to perceive reality. He makes you aware of the ways you fall short in the area he is passing through in your chart. He shows you a new goal, a way in which you desire to improve, mature, and ultimately gain mastery. Although a sinking feeling and depression often accompanies this realization, ultimately, Saturn wants you to succeed. All you have to do is buckle down, work hard, and step forward in a methodical matter towards your goal. It won’t happen overnight, but slowly and surely, you will improve in the area that Saturn is transiting.

If planets in your chart are in Saturn’s path this year, they will receive his stark realism, and heavy sense of discipline. This makes it a great time to take stock of where you are, where you want to be, and create a plan of how to get there. And of course, get to work.

We may feel isolated and unsupported in the area that Saturn transits in our chart. In some way, we are asked to learn how to parent ourselves. While Saturn does require and teach emotional containment, make sure to parent yourself in a compassionate way.

Qualities of Pisces

Pisces is the last sign in the zodiac. Thus, it represents the collective unconscious; the space where we are alone and yet connected to all living things. Pisces rules the moment before we become conscious, and the zodiac begins all over again with Aries.

Pisces is ruled by Neptune. Neptune represents the powers of imagination, enormous compassion, sensitivity, artistic traits, and spiritual devotion. Thus, Pisces is a sign that relates to devotion to something greater than ourselves: art, spirituality, or a cause. To put it another way, Pisces desires a connection to the divine. In Pisces, we discover the need for rest and for unstructured time spent in nature or with animals. Pisces is that wordless sense of connection to other living things. Additionally, Pisces is the sign associated with sacrifice, illusion, escapism, fantasy, dreams, isolation, blind spots, emotional porousness, and self-defeat.

What does it mean when Saturn is in Pisces?

In watery Pisces, Saturn is a bit lost. Saturn likes to build in a methodical, slow and steady way. He puts his head down and gets to work, understanding the basic law of nature—that with enough steady work, discipline, and persistence, his efforts will build toward success. However, being an Earthy planet, Saturn seeks a concrete, measurable and tangible success.

Pisces’ Neptunian immateriality is basically antithetical to Saturn’s Earthy desire to build. Saturn relates to Kronos, the Greek god of time, while minutes are elastic and subjective in Neptune’s realm. Neptune dreams and turns inward; Saturn sees itself in the context of the material, and focuses outward.

Read more about Saturn in Pisces here.

Saturn Retrograde in Pisces: Spiritual Alignment of Goals

In Pisces, Saturn bends his normally material, practical approach toward the realm of the ethereal, the metaphysical, the spiritual. Our striving efforts are halted: we pause, and consider our work through the lens of spiritual fulfillment.

During this retrograde, we may experience a pause in our typical sense of ambition and forward drive. We may contemplate the underlying meaning of our jobs, and our career path. You may ask yourself, is my work meaningful? How can I contribute meaningfully to the world? Am I emotionally fulfilled by my work? Pure capitalistic gain or self-centered achievement fades into the background. Our hearts are turned towards something greater than ourselves.

Saturn Retrograde in Pisces: Questioning Boundaries

On the other hand, Saturn in Pisces may bring much needed solidity to the most vulnerable, amorphous, porous parts of ourselves. Pisces is the classic bleeding-heart who would give you the shirt off their back if you were in need. At its darkest, Pisces can be pure martyrdom and self-sacrifice to an unhealthy degree. Empathic to a fault, Pisces must protect its emotional sensitivity with a healthy sense of boundaries.

Saturn can provide the containment and structure that Pisces needs to be able to live and give sustainably. A classic case of helping yourself before helping others, Saturn’s healthy awareness of limits can give Pisces more stamina. In other words, Saturn can protect us from burnout and getting taken advantage of.