Saturn in Pisces – March 2023
Saturn enters into the watery realm of Pisces on the 7th March (GMT), after having spent just over five years sitting comfortably in its own earth and air domiciles of Capricorn and Aquarius. It will stay there till 2025 and marks a significant shift for Saturn. This transit is more likely to impact you if you have planets in Pisces or if transiting Saturn will be making aspects to other planets in your chart.
Saturn is the planet of grounded reality, responsibility, discipline, working diligently, time, limits and boundaries. So we can expect to see these qualities manifest through Pisces. But the quality of rigidity that Saturn holds in its own signs will feel less certain, less stable in the mutable abode of Jupiter.
As a Jupiter ruled sign, and Venus’ exaltation, Pisces embodies unbounded emotional, sensitive and intuitive connection, imagination and idealism, ever seeking to connect with something meaningful. The ever expanding nature of Jupiter can bring this in unlimited quantities, which can at times feel overwhelming or confusing. Saturn can provide some containment to that, helping the emotional, imaginative and spiritual qualities to find a more defined, tangible or concrete expression. But, if there’s too much containment it can turn into a feeling of being stiffled or repressed, so there’s a need to find a balance.
With Saturn being the planet of melancholy, seriousness, and all that’s dark and brooding, I expect we’ll see a lot of imaginative and emotive expression with those overtones in the coming few years as it moves through this sign. This could find expression through Saturn’s conjunction with any planets you have in Pisces or aspects from Saturn to other planets in your chart.
Art and all types of creative endeavours may have an expression of beauty with an edge. Inspiring, hopeful, yet moving, books, games or films might deal with darker themes and the darker sides of life, and how we as a collective approach those. Pisces is an extremely imaginative and creative place, so I think we can see some really stirring stuff arising. If you have creative or artistic projects in the works or plan on starting some, it can be a fertile time for that.
Jupiter’s delight in seeking knowledge is comfortable for Saturn who rules deep, profound thought and gaining wisdom through experience. Saturn in Pisces will support any leanings toward introspection and search for deeper meanings and connections in life. To find out which area of life this might arise for you check your chart to see which house Pisces occupies.
The emotional, spiritual and sensitive dimension of this sign can be uplifting and inspiring. However, inherent in Pisces is a longing for the resolution of the dynamic tension between spirit and matter, as represented by the symbol of two fishes tied together but swimming in opposite directions. If this tension isn’t maintained in a balanced way it can result in inner restlessness or despondency. The limitless quality of Jupiter also makes Pisces prone to immersion in ideals, emotions, senses and the imagination, or seeking escape from the material in pursuit of higher emotional or spiritual connection. If taken to excess it can result in unhealthy detachment or delusion.
Saturn will bring any kind of escapist tenancies into stark focus, forcing us to look at what’s real and what isn’t, what needs adjustment, containment or elimination, in order to maintain a more stable and meaningful reality. Pisces is a realm of healing so it will make this a good time to embrace these Saturn qualities in order to overcome any difficulties related to escapist dependencies.
On the other hand, for some, Saturn’s transit through Pisces may feel stifling to artistic, emotional or spiritual sensibilities, as Saturn seeks to contain and structure those during this time. Work may need to be done to allow the flow of these in a disciplined and structured way that doesn’t suffocate them.
Another theme that could arise during Saturn’s time in Pisces is the expression of compassion and empathy (both strong Piscean traits) in relation to a focus on moral and ethical responsibility. Saturn represents justice in terms of the consequences of our actions and the literal letter of the law, and Jupiter represents justice in the sense of being morally or divinely justified. There could be greater desire to act with integrity or to scrutinise beliefs, ideals or values, questioning how responsible those are in supporting the collective, and what the consequences or impact of those are. It’s a great opportunity to gain wisdom about these themes through reflection on past events and actions.
In your personal life it may be a time where you begin to question existing beliefs you hold or that are put upon you. Or you may have the urge to consolidate beliefs or spiritual practices, and become more committed or focused on them. As always, there’s a shadow side, and that could reveal itself as a doubling down on beliefs and ideals, becoming rigid, fixed, or dogmatic. The restraining of emotional, artistic or spiritual expression, leaving them stagnant could also be highlighted.
This transit does makes me wonder if there will be some changes in spiritual or esoteric fields, including astrology. Either in terms of getting more organised and structured through laws, or even a limiting of practices. In other spheres of life we could see a focus on programs or laws that aim to bring more compassion and support to those in need or who are suffering.
Saturn’s process can feel slow going, so at times this transit may feel limiting or stagnating. I wouldn’t expect to see any of these Pisces-Saturn themes I’ve written about happen overnight. If you find yourself feeling stuck or overwhelmed, with things not progressing fast enough for you, try to remember that Saturn slows things down with the purpose of allowing time to find clarity and readjust so that more manageable and stable foundations can be implemented. It make take effort and hard work, but Saturn rewards that with results that are supportive and sustainable.
Cover image courtesy of ArtTower at Pixabay