SATURN RETROGRADE

IN ARIES (&Pisces) (July 13th to November 27th 2025)

I have a dirty, little secret: strict taskmaster Saturn, which goes retrograde in Aquarius July 13th  until October 23rd, is my favourite planet. I imagine it as a malefic, black-clad figure, listening to The Cure’s goth-pop masterpiece, “Disintegration,” on repeat as it slowly rotates around the Sun in 29 year intervals. 

With this image in mind, let’s look a bit more into Saturn and how we might be impacted by this upcoming retrograde transit, particularly in regard to friendship, social media communities, and other Aquarius-related themes. 

Saturn tends to get a bad rap. Each person’s “Saturn return” every 30ish years is known to precipitate life-crises. Indeed, it’s a crisis planet. The ancients said it brought “thick, black clouds” and caused “crooked shoulders” for those born under its rule. Valens, a favourite astrologer of yore, called it petty and care-worn, associated it with chains, and deemed it a maker of bachelors and widows. Lily, another favourite, said that when ill-placed, the Taskmaster could become envious, malicious, murmuring, and never-contented. 

But one of astrology’s great lessons is that context is everything, so, depending on its placements, even Saturn can have its charms and benefits (just as jolly Jupiter, when inauspiciously aspected, can take on a wrathful, excessive, and punishing cast). 

In its more positive valences, then, the stern Schoolmaster provides structure, containment, law, limits, and order to our cosmos. It gives our lives a sense of regularity and rhythm. It would be strange to live in a Saturn-less world of carnivalesque Uranus energy, Venusian decadence, and Neptunian dreaminess. Those are vacation planets. Saturn is about the daily grind.

And speaking of grind, here’s the somewhat sadistic thing about Saturn: it asks us to work, but to do so, potentially, without reward. When you think about it, this is the opposite of Jupiter, which often gives us rewards without any work at all. Saturn doesn’t like this about Planet Luck (remember that one of Saturn’s negative qualities is pettiness). 

Ultimately Saturn requires effort, labour, and ceaseless toil, based on where it hits our chart. If, for example, we have Saturn in our Ego zone, then self-discipline will be a life-long struggle and we will need to learn stoic self-mastery (Saturn is always about lessons, in some way). If, on the other hand, the Bookkeeper is placed in our Money sector, we will need to be better bookkeepers and spend less (accordingly this will be our Saturnal challenge in life). 

Given Saturn’s yen for discipline and boundaries, what happens when it goes retrograde? In general, planetary backspins are times to re-evaluate and reassess. But with Schoolmaster Saturn determining the particular flavour of this reversal,  it might be most helpful, by way of analogy, to think about your grammar school days. Remember how you’d be vigorously tested at semester’s end? If you were diligent, you’d do well on exams. If not, you’d do poorly and be forced to take them again. Saturn retrograde is a kind of yearly review or exam to make sure you’re progressing in your education, which is life. 

Now this specific retrograde will be occurring in Aries, which is associated with independence, fire, and initiation. That means the work (Saturn) we have put into our new endeavours (Aries) since May 24th might come under review. If we didn't establish proper boundaries around our energy and time (again Saturn), we might find ourselves overwhelmed during this retrograde, as we realize we've taken on too much or moved too fast without solid foundations. In contrast, if we were thoughtful about our pace and built our initiatives with discipline and strategic planning, Saturn retrograde could actually help us refine and strengthen what we've already started.

The worry with a Saturn retrograde is that shabby craftsmanship could come back to haunt us, like a home built on a rickety foundation. Some consequences of this Saturn retrograde might concern breached boundaries with people online or blurred lines between private and public life (friends revealing things they shouldn’t, etc.). 

While the retrograde begins June 4th and lasts until October 23rd, we thankfully won’t be feeling its impact for this entire time. Rather the day Saturn stations on July 13th (and the first week afterwards) will feel especially potent. Saturn will retrograde back into Pisces on September 1st, remaining there until Valentine's Day 2026. If you're a Saturn in Pisces native, yes—your Saturn return is making a comeback for one final round.

But here's the good news: when Saturn retrogrades like this, it's typically not bringing entirely new challenges. Instead, it's offering you a chance to refine and master the lessons you've been working with over the past two years. Think of it as a final exam rather than starting a new course.

By February 14th, 2026, you'll have truly completed your Saturn return journey. Mark your calendar for the week leading up to November 27th, when Saturn goes direct—this period may bring some intensity as these themes resurface for final resolution.

Finally, a thought on how to navigate this transit: Saturn and Aries are both no-nonsense. Aries is cardinal-fire, while Saturn deals with time, durability, and longevity. This retrograde might be a moment to reassess your leadership style and the initiatives you've been charging ahead with. Reflect on which projects truly matter and rid yourself of the impulsive, half-baked ones. Keep the endeavors that demonstrate real staying power and authentic courage—the kind that can withstand Saturn's test of time.