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Saturn by Sign: Where Does Your Authority Come From?

saturnFor 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?

saturn-glyphEVENT: 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!

20 comments to " Saturn by Sign: Where Does Your Authority Come From? "

  • Scott

    How does having the Saturn sign in retrograde impact the house and sign dynamics?

    • Scott, I’ve heard it said that Saturn Rx symbolizes a weak or absent father, and the need to develop your own authority. (I have it Rx too and lost my father very young, so I’ve had to build my sense of authority from scratch.)

  • PrintessLeah

    ohhh, okay – that explains a lot, and better put than I’ve ever heard! This I can work with, thank you so much, April!! (Saturn conjunct Chiron in Pisces)

  • 100% correct….Scorpio in my 7th on the cusp. Yikes, Ya’ll

  • Kim

    Do we read the paragraph for our sun sign or the sign that Saturn is in in our natal chat? Yes I’m blonde lol.
    Thanks.

  • Leila

    I have Saturn in Aquarius and my final argument is always “where is your humanity?” This works well for me as a social worker, but I do get very political about things.

  • cj

    This is Brilliant!! Mind blowing! stunning and completely liberating!! Yes!!! wow. Also, authority in this area is where my heart longs to be. To be acknowledged and respected in this area is spiritual gold. Thank you!!

  • Thank you! Saturn in Aries. Also, fear of others being afraid of me, and constantly meeting people who project their anger issues onto me because I am very comfortable with that feeling. My outspokenness has caused me to spend my life learning how to hold my power and express it in a way that people can hear and be inspired by.

    • Good for you, Melissa! Mars/Aries energy seems to benefit so much from Saturn’s measured hand, even though the combination can often be frustrating.

  • Trish

    Hi April,

    I always thought that my Saturn was where I needed to learn self-discipline. Mine is in Aquarius and in my 8th house. I am very much a humanitarian and a human rights campaigner; as you stated in earlier posts about Aquarian Saturns.
    My challenge seems to lie in having men and doctors take me seriously. Is that from a different part of my chart? I am a female 12th house Gemini with Cancer rising – see Marilyn Monroe and Judy Garland. Either way I would love to learn more.
    Trish in San Diego, CA

  • Steve

    Saturn in Cancer works well for my role of supporting / protecting my mother after her hellish divorce earlier in life, and in turn her support for me when I started my own business, which I couldn’t have done without. Downside: attracts the “needy”.

    • Nicole

      Steve, I feel the same way with Saturn in Cancer, which by the way, is also my rising sign! I feel a responsibility to protect & take care of people, especially family. I think Saturn is Rx in my chart…I’ll have to check again. And yes, attracting the needy has also been an issue throughout my whole life.
      April Thank you for that info on Saturn Rx I have several planets retrograde in my Natal Chart. I don’t really know what it means to have so many Rx…

  • Molly

    What is the meaning of a retrograde Saturn in Aries the 7th house?

  • Ashley Jasmine

    Hi,thank youfor your insightful article. I am an Aqu/Sun, (humanitarian )a Sco/Asc (I keep a list),my Moon is in Gemini (sometimes flighty) and I have Saturn in Capricorn in my 3rdH along with Mars and Venus. It feels as though I have made very diffucult if not impossible standards for myself,and it seems that I am often testing myself. And I find myself judging others also. But only when someone has a high and mighty attitude or when someone tries to hurt another, (the Aqu and the Sco). I also have a live and let motto. I’m surprised I can even get out of bed in the morning. HaHa
    Lot’s of love and Blessings

  • A

    With a Pisces Sun in the 12th house and Pisces Ascendant, I had an astrologer once tell me that the reason I am not an alcoholic or drug abuser what my Aries Mars/Saturn. She was kidding but she’s right. I look like I’m useless but I’m far from!

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