Saturn return files

There is a popular theory among traditional astrologers than sect is a determining factor in whether or not you will have a positive or challenging Saturn Return. I’m here to debunk that theory!

What is sect?

If you were born with the Sun above the horizion (aka daytime) you are a “day chart.” If you were born with the Sun below the horizon (aka nighttime,) you are a “night chart.”

We all have different planets that help us vs. planets that are not as favorable. If you are a day chart, Jupiter and Saturn are your “helpers,” while Venus and Mars are less beneficial. If you are a night chart, Venus and Mars are your helpers, and Jupiter and Saturn are less beneficial. So if you are born at night - the widely accepted assumption is that your Saturn Return will be more difficult and less constructive as Saturn is not on your “team.”

I was born an hour before sunrise, which makes me a night chart. My natal Saturn is domicile in Capricorn in the 6th whole sign house. My Saturn is involved in two Grand Trines, which means I have superpowers ;). It makes no hard aspects in my natal chart - only trines and one sextile to Pluto. What does this mean? It means my Saturn Return was the most stable period I’ve ever had in my life thus far! My 7th house ruler is in my 6th house and I met my ex partner at work. My Saturn Return was about our relationship, living with a romantic partner for the first time and my dance career. I developed serious discipline for the first time in my life and mastered my craft.

I experienced some career highs - $400,000 in cash sales, placing 11th in competition in Las Vegas and winning Top Traveling Studio.

Did I feel “pressure?” Yes. Was I in the wrong relationship? Yes. Did I learn some difficult lessons? Yes. By the end of my Return, I knew it was time to say goodbye to my relationship and my dance career. But technically speaking, my life did not fall apart DURING my return. Because the condition of my natal Saturn and the aspects it makes in my chart held more weight than sect.

Let’s look at some other examples.

Will Smith

Will Smith has an A rated chart making him a Gemini Rising. His chart ruler is 28 degrees Libra Mercury conjunct his 29 degree Libra Venus in the 5th house - the final dispositor of his whole chart. He’s a night chart with his natal Saturn in Aries.

Saturn is considered in its’ “fall” in Aries. What does this mean? Saturn rules death, things that take time to mature, structure, discipline, etc. Saturn likes being in “winter” signs that represent death and decay - Capricorn and Aquarius. It does not enjoy its’ time in Aries - associated with the Spring Equinox - a time of renewal and blazing a new path. Aries likes to ACT FAST and Saturn likes to toil away and take its time. The energies just don’t vibe very well.

So we have a night chart with Saturn in fall. Two strikes! Sounds like a potentially harrowing Saturn Return, right?

WRONG!

Smiths’ Saturn is conjunct his Lot of Fortune in the 11th house of fame - he is “permanently famous” in a very literal sense. His Saturn is involved in a T-square with his 2nd house Lot of Spirit in Cancer and his Mercury/Venus conjunction in his 5th house.

He makes his money (2nd house LOS) from being a famous (11th house) actor (5th house.)

These are the ONLY aspects his fallen Saturn makes in his natal chart. So when his Saturn “matured” and came back around for the first time in his life, what happened? He became the biggest star on the planet.

His Saturn Return ran from April 1996 - February 1999. Here is the highlight reel:

• 7/3/96 - Independence Day - highest grossing film of 1996 - earning 817 million total.

• 7/2/97 - Men in Black - 3rd highest grossing film of 1997 - earning 589 million worldwide.

• 11/25/97 - Big Willie Style album released - earning 11 million and going 9x platinum.

• His son Jaden is conceived October 1997 - born July 10, 1998.

• Married Jada Pinkett December 31, 1997.

• 11/20/98 - Enemy of the State - 250 million worldwide.

Smiths’ first Saturn Return cemented him as one of the most bankable actors in the world - it set the course for the next two decades of film with very few box office bombs, if any. Will Smith and the world “flop” simply do not exist in the same sentence. That’s how much power his name recognition holds in big budget films. His natal promise of becoming a world renown actor is very closely linked to his natal fallen Saturn.

Let’s look at another Saturn in Aries and Gemini Rising native - Pamela Anderson.

Pamela Anderson has an A rated chart - her Saturn is also located in her 11th house of fame and closely conjunct her Lot of Spirit. Her 2nd house Sun is squaring her Saturn with her 3rd house Jupiter in a trine to her Saturn.

Her first Saturn Return was a mixed bag as she gained notoriety for a private explicit home video leaked in the early days of the internet. She experienced a tumultous marriage, conceived and birthed her only two children, and experienced the height of her career in the cultural zeitgiest. She gained fame (11th house) at the expense of her personal image (2nd house Sun.) Because of the tense square aspect between her Sun and Saturn, it was an uncomfortable thrust under the spotlight for unfavorable reasons.

She is now embarking on her second Saturn return on the heels of critical acclaim for her stirring performance in The Last Showgirl. She goes makeup free on red carpets and no longer subscribes to selling the false image forced upon her during the height of her first Saturn Return. She is living life on her own terms and owning the narrative she once had no control over.

Barbra Streisand has an AA rated chart - making her an Aries Rising. She is a night chart with her 2nd house Saturn making only two aspects - an exact conjunction to Uranus and trine to her 6th house Virgo Neptune. Her Lot of Fortune is closely conjunct her Midheaven in Capricorn - ruled by her 2nd house Saturn. Her first Saturn Return ran from May 1969 - February 1972.

2 weeks before her Saturn Return began, she won her first Oscar for her first movie role. It was a night of firsts and she and Katharine Hepburn tied for Best Actress - which would become the first and only time this has occurred in the history of the Academy.

Her first Saturn Return catapulted her into a successful acting career - marked by that fateful Oscar winning evening that shocked the country. She successfully transitioned from singing and Broadway acting to major motion pictures. Her career reputation and visibility (10th house) shifted into a new medium (2nd house Saturn/Uranus.)

If you are a Day Chart with difficult Saturn aspects - those aspects will be activated and color your Return. If you are a Night Chart with a mix of difficult and easy aspects - that will impact your return. Which makes the fine print of our charts more important than simply what time of day we were born.

Sect is a wonderful tool used in interpreting various information regarding ones natal chart. But when it comes to planetary returns, the aspects of said natal planet are being “activated,” and this crucial information tells more of how the storyline will unfold - good, bad or otherwise. Fallen planets can and do succeed!