For a long time, I’d fallen into the trap of thinking natal Saturn’s sign and its house placement meant more or less the same thing (namely, misery). But now, it seems to me that they’re entirely different.
Saturn’s natal house placement does seem to symbolize the life-long, Sisyphean task of rolling a boulder up a steep mountain, only to watch it repeatedly slip backward and nearly flatten you. If you can succeed in moving that boulder a few inches over the course of a lifetime, your life has been a stunning success.
But Saturn’s sign in your birth chart seems to indicate the qualities that make people take you seriously. They are the qualities from which you derive your authority. They are what make others a little nervous at the thought of falling short of your expectations. And they are the qualities for which you are judged most harshly if you don’t act with integrity.
Aries – trying new things, fighting for what is important, and overcoming nearly impossible odds. Others follow your lead, because they admire your courage (or, in the case of LBJ, because they’re a little bit afraid of you). George Washington, Albert Einstein, Helen Keller, Oskar Schindler, Lyndon B. Johnson.
Taurus –self-sufficiency, security, and resourcefulness. You have a strong, uncompromising confidence in your own point of view. Pablo Picasso, Vincent Van Gogh, Bob Dylan, John Lennon, Franklin D. Roosevelt.
Gemini – critical thinking skills, wielding language with authority, mastery of muti-tasking. You lead us to new perspectives on ourselves and our world. John Hancock, Sigmund Freud, Copernicus, Orson Welles, Martin Scorsese.
Cancer – ability to provide upport and protection. You exemplify belonging, whether to a country, a family, or the family of humanity, and you may owe some of your success to your family. John F. Kennedy, Elizabeth I, Drew Barrymore, GW Bush, Mia Farrow, Angelina Jolie.
Leo –confidence, charisma, and style. You set an example of showmanship, heart, and making others feel good about themselves. Thomas Jefferson, Teddy Roosevelt, Bill Clinton, Steven Spielberg, Steven King, Billy Graham, Mikhail Baryshnikov, Elton John, Liberace.
Virgo – the ability to untangle problems and make things run smoothly and efficiently. You hold others accountable on quality, authenticity, and conscience. Prince Charles, Bruce Springsteen, Agatha Christie, Henry Miller, Groucho Marx, Anna Wintour, Chief Justice Earl Warren.
Libra –fairness, ethics, balance, ability to see both sides of a situation. Saturn is strong in Libra, but the desire to be the boss is at odds with the need to compromise. Leonardo da Vinci, Camille Claudel, Henry Mancini, Judy Garland, Tom Petty, Bob Geldof, Tony Blair, John Edwards.
Scorpio –sexuality, frankness about controversial subjects, enormous wealth and power. You can be a formidable leader or a deadly opponent, and sometimes both. Marilyn Monroe, Hugh Hefner, Howard Stern, Oscar Wilde, Oprah Winfrey, Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, Mark Zuckerburg, Queen Elizabeth II, Margaret Thatcher, Wallis Simpson, Malcolm X, RFK, Howard Stern.
Sagittarius – convictions and philosophies, morality, civil rights. You lead others to take a larger view of the world and their place in it. Abraham Lincoln, Charles Darwin, Martin Luther King Jr., Che Guevara, Noam Chomsky, Maya Angelou, Spike Lee, Ellen De Generis.
Capricorn –tough decisions, daunting responsibility, high standards, refusal to indulge self-pity, endurance. You inspire others to accomplish things that are lonely, difficult, or seem impossible. Julius Caesar, Gary Cooper, Clint Eastwood, Walt Disney, Neil Armstrong, Rupert Murdoch, Charles Lindbergh.
Aquarius – sparkle and charisma, non-conformity, willingness to break society’s rules. Through sheer force of personality and style, you lead others into new worlds and inspire them to see the old ones in a new way. Elvis Presley, Mozart, Tom Cruise, Elizabeth Taylor, Salvador Dali, Winston Churchill, Henry VIII, Yoko Ono, Gertrude Stein, George Orwell, Carl Sagan, Roman Polanski, Quentin Tarantino.
Pisces –spirituality, personal suffering, compassion for others, and creative brilliance. You make us see what we share in common, so we can develop a more empathetic way of living. Frida Kahlo, Dalai Lama, Pope Francis, Jean-Paul Sartre, Queen Victoria, Henry David Thoreau, JK Rowling.
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What do you think – can you see your leadership style in your natal Saturn sign?
EVENT: I’ll be giving a workshop on Saturn’s current transit through Sagittarius on March 21, 2015, in Scottsdale, Arizona. See the details here – I hope you can join us!
