it's happening, it's here, saturn is LEAVING PISCES for aries...

and suddenly everyone's a rebel with a very, very good cause

“perhaps all the dragons in our lives are princesses who are only waiting to see us act, just once, with beauty and courage. perhaps everything that frightens us is, in its deepest essence, something helpless that wants our love.”


― Rainer Maria Rilke

the stars above:

artist: Alessandra Roccasalva

major planet ingresses like saturn's upcoming ingress into aries (may 24) remind me why i love astrology so much, specifically, why i'm drawn to skywatching + transit interpretation. transit forecasting is "technically" predictive astrology but without a specific natal chart to work from, that's not really what's happening here. at best, these are explorations. musings, speculations + archetypal journeys through stars that caught my attention and wouldn't let go.

the love comes from the communion, the fact that we are all witnessing these currents + their manifestations together, observing, noticing and most importantly co-creating with the energies at hand. when i'm writing here i am far less interested in what any given transit may Do To Us (a subject wayyyy beyond the scope of this blog) than What We Could Do underneath these skies we all share.

at the center of its beautiful, living heart, astrology defines the qualities of specific moments/years/eras, giving them form + shape + specificity. it highlights the larger cycles we all live within and lets us orient ourselves in the great wheel of time. existence can be an isolating affair but astrology, truly and earnestly studied and lived, quickly shows us that we are all connected in unfathomably intricate ways and we are all connected to something so vast no single mind can hold it.

this communal aspect is as healing for me as i hope it is for everyone else. like so many, i've fallen into the trap of accepting too many external interpretations of my fate from practitioners who carried an air of spiritual authority or the implied gravitas of lineage, prioritizing their insights above my own. this has always ended very, very badly. reclaiming + asserting my inner authority + the right to make my own meaning of whatever life i am privileged enough to live has been a central quest of the last two years.

so i am very, very interested in what this saturn in aries transit (may 24, 2025 - april 12, 2028 give or take a few retrogresses) has to say, because Authority (capital A) and all the wiley forms it assumes, its shadows and its glories are about to undergo the kind of purification only saturn can deliver. and like everything saturn does, it is right on time.

saturn in aries aka the quest for eternal youth:

artist: Alessandra Roccasalva

“i see it all perfectly; there are two possible situations — one can either do this or that. my honest opinion and my friendly advice is this: do it or do not do it — you will regret both.”

― Søren Kierkegaard

if we want to be technical about it, saturn finds its fall in aries because saturn exalts on the other end of this cardinal polarity, in libra. libra is a tremendously saturnine sign (although that is often overlooked in favor of venus these days). libra is the sign of the scales, the judge, the one who must be sober enough to decide between this fate or that. the archetype takes this responsibility so seriously that libras get a somewhat deserved reputation for indecisiveness, forever trying to compromise their way to balanced scales.

aries does not struggle with indecision although impulsivity is another matter. aries is the exaltation of the sun in all its divine glory. here the sun is especially self assured with its individual interests being defended by mars, domicile ruler of the ram. aries marks the beginning of the tropical zodiac, the new beginning, the divine spark...completely untainted by whatever came before (mythically, allegedly, etc etc). aries excels at beginnings, is maybe even the BEST at beginnings, but aries has a very hard time staying with anything long enough to Become. (this is important)

archetypally, aries embodies the puer aeternus (the eternal youth), divine fire unbound + undirected. the puer is a dreamer + visionary who soars on wings of unlimited potential and is terrifically allergic to limitation. within each of our psyches lives this puer who whispers, "there's more, there must be more. there's beauty, there's magic. let's escape, let's find it." but the puer never wants to touch ground, and that becomes problematic, quickly.

the puer is mercury before the crossroads, apollo before the heartbreak, prometheus before the punishment…brilliant, restless, idealistic, quick to rebel, quicker to escape. there is always something new just around the corner; a better lover, a more exciting project, a world still unconquered. what the puer avoids is the weight of consequence.

the puer's archetypal opposite is the senex (the wise old man) who represents structure, discipline, law (saturn, saturn, saturn). he says, "make it real. submit to necessity. endure." when unbalanced, the senex hardens into cynicism, rigidity and a death grip on control issues. he kills the dream before it ever breathes with criticisms backed by the appearance of earned authority via the passage of time.

within the psyche, this complex often stems from a wounded relationship with time and limitation (aka a weak saturn). the puer fears not just physical death but the "little deaths" of commitment, routine, and ordinary life. unsurprisingly, the puer often has complicated parental dynamics; either an absent father figure or an overly dominant mother figure. this creates a pattern where authority (saturn) is either feared or rebelled against.

so many of us arrive at saturn transits carrying wounds around authority, parents who wielded power carelessly, institutions that let us down, or trusted figures who betrayed that trust. when our choices are constantly made for us instead of with us, we end up either following blindly or fighting everything, neither of which leads to self trust and a well honed internal guidance system.

saturn in aries opens doors to healing this relationship with authority. it's different from saturn in capricorn (where authority comes from tradition) or saturn in pisces (where everything blurs together). saturn in aries asks us to build authority through what we actually feel called to do, not just blind compliance with someone else’s instructions. if you've literally been living under someone else’s rule, this transit might feel like suddenly being handed the keys to your own life, scary and freeing all at once. if you've been running from responsibility by always starting fresh, you may finally be forced to face what you've been leaving behind.

if you’re interested in some proper divination (for your eyes only) re: what saturn in aries may hold, let’s find out <3

future lore:

artist: Alessandra Roccasalva

"the acorn becomes an oak by means of automatic growth; no commitment is necessary. the kitten similarly becomes a cat on the basis of instinct. nature and being are identical in creatures like them. but a man or woman becomes fully human only by his or her choices and his or her commitment to them. people attain worth and dignity by the multitude of decisions they make from day by day. these decisions require courage."

― saturn in aries LEGEND, Rollo May

saturn transits often force a confrontation with any "weak saturn" issues in the house being transited. the external authoritarian (saturn) comes knocking when the internal one hasn't been doing its job. suddenly there are consequences, limitations, or responsibilities that can't be escaped. one way or another, we all learn How To Saturn, because if saturn is anything, it is inevitable.

the irony is that embracing some saturn energy actually liberates the creative potential of the puer. without any structure or commitment, even the most brilliant ideas never fully manifest.

what the puer imagines, the senex can make real. what the senex builds, the puer keeps alive.

when the puer becomes integrated, he learns to carry his fire within the limitations of form. when the senex is softened, he remembers why he builds, to hold something sacred. the task isn't to choose between them but to go full libra and become the fulcrum where they can meet. when you voluntarily stay with true challenge for long enough to let it shape you, you learn how to grow up without growing cold.

unfortunately the allegations are true, we are in fact made of our choices, lifetimes full of them, swirling around like atoms or neurons fast enough to appear like a solid Self. our decisions/choices never fully leave us, they are who we become. that is possibly why they are so terrifying to make, even more so when the mind misunderstands their fundamental nature (believing there is one wrong choice and one right choice, one that will evade natural law and make you happier, wealthier, loved, and admired and one that will leave you broken under the wheel, off path, time wasted, heartbroken. a binary, black or white and nothing in between etc etc)

but there is no wrong choice. there is only the choice you make and the path that follows. and that is where the magic of this transit will be hiding fyi, tucked away in the same place it always is, right behind whatever existential dilemma you’re diligently avoiding. as per usual, the sanest way out will be THRU.

rising sign musings are below, as always :)

emilie

****for you***

aries rising
you are the protagonist now, for better or worse. saturn enters your 1H and begins the slow, sobering process of forging selfhood through endurance. this is no longer about who you want to become in theory, it’s who you’re becoming through repetition, action, and constraint. neptune’s presence here may cloud your confidence at times or fill the mirror with archetypes instead of truth. be gentle with the shapeshifting but don’t let it stop you from showing up. jupiter in your 4H squares in to remind you that you are not alone, even if you’re the one who must go first.

taurus rising
you’re entering a season of invisible labor. saturn begins its journey through your 12H, a house of karma, exile, and endings. here, saturn doesn’t ask you to build something visible—it asks you to reckon with what has been running in the background: the fears, compulsions, and old contracts you haven’t yet broken. neptune may make this feel like a holy mission or a total void. both are true. the medicine comes from jupiter in your 3H—small truths, daily insight, the right words spoken aloud to the right person. you’re being called to take responsibility for your inner world before you can re-enter the outer one.

gemini rising
saturn in your 11H pulls your attention toward the long game. the question is no longer who likes you or even who sees you, it’s what kind of future are you here to help build, and who can you trust to build it with? you may start to feel the weight of communal obligation or feel disillusioned with certain social circles. with neptune here too, idealism and betrayal can walk hand-in-hand. jupiter in your 2H reminds you to check your inner compass of values: are you giving your time and talent where it will actually grow something, or just where it gets applause?

cancer rising
your role in the world is under revision. saturn moves into your 10H and begins pressurizing your public life: your work, your vocation, your reputation. if you’ve been drifting or hiding, that gets harder now. but if you’ve been overperforming without clarity of purpose, that cracks too. neptune here can bring spiritual ambition or total confusion, what looks like a calling may just be an escape hatch. jupiter in your 1H offers the blessing: the path forward is found by honoring who you really are. let your presence speak for itself. don’t play the role, Become.

leo rising
saturn moves into your 9H, and suddenly your beliefs are under interrogation. the world is not what you thought it was, and neither are you. this isn’t a time for manifesting big dreams, it’s about clarifying your direction and submitting to the long road. neptune’s haze here can be mystical or misleading, you may be seduced by illusion, or called by spirit. the difference is often in how it lands in your body. jupiter in your 12H says your unseen allies are watching…guides, ancestors, the voice within. if your old faith is cracking at the seams, it’s because something more enduring is trying to take its place.

virgo rising
the debts are coming due. saturn moves into your 8H and asks: what do you owe, and to whom? this isn’t just about money (though it could be) but the deeper entanglements…emotional, energetic, spiritual. with neptune here, it’s easy to blur boundaries or over-romanticize shared suffering. saturn will make those patterns clear through tension and delay. jupiter in your 11H points toward new support systems, but you’ll need to be honest about who has the capacity to meet you in reciprocity. the old contracts are expiring. make sure the new ones are ones you truly consent to.

libra rising
saturn in your 7H turns up the gravity in your relationships. this doesn’t mean breakups (necessarily) it means every union, contract, and intimate reflection becomes more serious, more revealing, more consequential. where have you given your power away in the name of peace? where have you avoided the sacred friction of true commitment? neptune here can idealize or dissolve boundaries, and jupiter in the 10H pushes you to rise into a new level of visibility. choose who stands beside you with care. the person across from you may be a mirror, but you still have to decide who you’re becoming when you look back.

scorpio rising
your body, your habits, your rituals…everything is about to get audited. saturn enters your 6H, and there’s no bypassing the systems you rely on to keep yourself functioning. this can be a time of physical burnout, chronic stress, or disillusionment with work that once felt noble. with neptune here, it’s easy to over-sacrifice and ignore real needs. what would it look like to serve from a place of conviction instead of compulsion? discipline becomes sacred when it’s aligned with your beliefs. put your soul back in the schedule.

sagittarius rising
saturn in your 5H asks you to make your joy real. that sounds beautiful (and it is) but it’s also work that must be prioritized and protected. this is where creativity meets structure, where love is tested through time, where the muse becomes a project and not just a feeling. with neptune here, you might romanticize romance, or idealize the artist’s life without putting in the labor. jupiter in your 8H reminds you that the most transformational joy often comes through the risk of intimacy, collaboration, surrender. don’t protect your fire by withholding it. shape it, stoke it, give it somewhere to burn.

capricorn rising
saturn enters your 4H and begins a reckoning with the architecture of your inner life. the house, the family, the roots…these are under renovation now. the emotional foundation you’ve built (or inherited) may no longer be strong enough to hold who you’re becoming. neptune here makes it hard to tell where the cracks are at first, but jupiter in your 7H provides relational ballast. seek out bonds that nourish and stabilize. the world won’t see the work you’re doing here yet, but this is where the real maturation begins.

aquarius rising
your mind is the battleground now. saturn in your 3H brings accountability to your thoughts, words, and communications. this might look like writer’s block, miscommunication, or needing to commit to a long-form project or difficult conversation. neptune here can fog your clarity or tempt you into saying what others want to hear—but jupiter in your 6H wants precision and follow-through. this is a time for refining your voice, not diluting it. speak what is real, and be willing to stay in the dialogue.

pisces rising
saturn enters your 2H and begins an inventory of your worth. not just your income, but the inner scaffolding of value, integrity, and self-possession. neptune’s presence makes it tempting to give it all away, to float, to merge, to sacrifice. saturn asks you to define what is yours and defend it. jupiter in your 5H reminds you that worth is not cold or joyless, it’s generative + warm. structure is not the enemy of your magic, it’s what allows magic to take root in the world.