On June 14, 6:00 PM ET, retrograde Saturn in Aquarius perfects its square aspect to Uranus in Taurus. This is the signature transit of 2021: it is lasting for the entire year, and we are now experiencing one of the three peak moments of it.
Saturn-Uranus alignments always mark revolutionary times. This square reflects the tension between our drive to hold on to the past and the risk of bringing the new in, highlighting the conflict between our tendency to preserve the known and the desire to try new ways of dealing with long-standing issues. This process is happening both on a large scale, socio-economic level, and within each of us, on an individual and personal level. We are all facing fears and feelings of restrictions and we are trying to find ways to write new rules, working with the resistance and the limitations we encounter rather than simply pushing against them.
Retrograde Saturn square Uranus: Tradition and Progress
The first exact square between Saturn and Uranus took place on February 17, and the last exact one will be on December 24. We will still feel the effects of this alignment throughout the first couple of months of 2022.
Squares are 90 degrees angles. They reflect a conflictual relationship between planets transiting through signs of the same modality and different elements. In this case, the Fixed modality is involved. The Fixed signs teach us about mastery and consolidation of what we have started: the emphasis on this modality can reflect a stronger tendency to hold on to the familiar and preserve what already exists.
Squares are highly motivating aspects: the motivation stems from the friction between conflictual urges and desires. The resulting tension is what pushes us to take action and reduce discomfort. The Saturn-Uranus square reflects the dance between past and future, between holding on to tradition and welcoming the uncertainty that comes with progress and innovation. It highlights the need to make long-lasting changes to the current social systems, as well as to the structure of our individual lives, to how we invest our time, energy, and resources, to our values and priorities.
Saturn in Aquarius: the Power of the People
Saturn is the wise teacher, the elder, the carrier of ancient wisdom. The Lord of Time and Karma asks us to mature, to take responsibility for our choices, and to commit to doing what it takes to build what we say we want to build. Working with Saturn consciously helps us set healthy boundaries and achieve full mastery of our time, energy, and creative potential.
Saturn is transiting through Aquarius, its traditional domicile, and the modern ruler of Aquarius is Uranus, now in stability-oriented Taurus. While Saturn as an archetype correlates with conservative tendencies, Aquarius and Uranus are both about the future, progress, experimentation, and eccentricity.
Saturn in Aquarius reminds us of the power of the people, and that having the support of like minds is central to the process of reclaiming our personal authority and sovereignty. This transit is here to help us break the rules and write new ones. Aquarius in its evolved expression is not simply about rebellion from the current systems. It is about creating better functioning and long-lasting systems that honor the changes that have been taking place over time and promote innovation and evolution. The Saturn retrograde phase, in particular, represents a time of reevaluation, restructuring, and redefinition of our approach.
Uranus in Taurus: Liberation through Disruption
We never know what to expect when Uranus strikes. This planet, also known as the Great Awakener, corresponds to our drive to break free from what limits us, to the process of deconditioning and individuation, to long-term personal and collective memory, to disruptions and sudden changes.
Uranus wants us to detach from the known, to be original, to develop objectivity and a bird’s eye view that allows us to understand what is needed for progress without subjective biases. Uranus transits always push us to innovate, to get beyond our comfort zones by experimenting with something we are not familiar with yet. Uranus liberates us from stagnation by disrupting our stability and comfort. The ruler of Taurus is Venus, which is currently transiting through Cancer: this is highlighting and enhancing, even more, our need for security and familiarity.
Uranus catalyzes unpredictable events and fast shifts, meant to accelerate our evolution. Its long-term transit through the sign of the Bull, lasting until 2026, will bring us closer to simpler ways of living, and generate important changes in our individual and collective value system, in the world economy, affecting the climate as well as food production and distribution. Many of us will explore alternatives to the fast-paced city life, many will feel a need to move closer to nature and align to natural rhythms. This tendency will be even stronger after the North Node of the Moon enters Taurus in January 2022.
Retrograde Saturn square Uranus: Facing Resistance, Obstacles, & Fears
Retrograde Saturn in Aquarius squaring Uranus in Taurus reflects individual and collective resistance to change. This includes our internal resistance against our desire for change and innovation, and the external resistance we encounter as we challenge existing limitations, structures, and rules, and try to move towards something new, unfamiliar, and unexplored.
This aspect reveals the obstacles we meet as we move away from the mainstream, as we go against what is established or being enforced upon us, to find our own way. The future offers no certainty, and this is something that we need to come to terms with. Facing and accepting some degree of insecurity is essential to break away from the limitations of the past. In the process of creating new systems, structures, and ways of being, we are going to meet some level of resistance to change, and we will need to confront our fear of instability.
Retrograde Saturn square Uranus: Revisiting Our Strategy
We are all feeling the tension between past and future, old and new, known and unknown. On the one hand, we have what is familiar and crystallized, which gives us the illusion of security, control, and predictability. On the other hand, we have the possibility to explore something different, that may be better or may be worse, and that implies moving away from what we perceive as safe without offering us any guarantee.
The fact that Saturn is now retrograde is highlighting the need to go back to the past and revisit our approach to the issues we are dealing with. It emphasizes the necessity to review our priorities and commitments, restructure our lives, and modify our plans according to what has happened since February.
Think about what began unfolding in your life back then, what you were focusing on, what you were planning, expecting, and hoping for the future. You now have a chance to set new boundaries and build different support structures that help you move towards your goals and visions in spite of existing limitations, doubts, and fears.
Comment below with what resonated with you the most and tap on the heart if you enjoyed this article!
To dive deeper into your personal astrology and learn more what June has in store for you, we invite you to get our June horoscope!
