Everything You Need to Know About Your Saturn Return – Including How to Survive It

The start of a new year (and a new decade) always brings about exciting change. In addition to fiery love horoscopes for 2020 (thanks to Venus’s retrograde!), we’ll also be experiencing a life-changing astrological shift.

On December 17, 2020, Saturn will move back into Aquarius, coming to a complete orbit after 30 years of travelling through the signs. And for every person whose Saturn sign falls in Aquarius, you’re about to experience a Saturn return – which basically means that your life is about to get wild for the next three years. Freaked out? Don’t be. Here’s everything you need to know about Saturn return.

What Is a Saturn Return?

According to Stephanie Powell, Head of Content for Horoscope.com and Astrology.com, a Saturn return is “a cosmic reset and restructuring of your life.” She explained: “Saturn takes approximately 29.5 years to complete one orbit around the sun. That means everyone hits their first Saturn return between the ages of 27 and 29. For me, whose Saturn is in Aquarius, I’ll be 27 years old (almost 28) when Saturn shifts this year.”

Saturn Return in Your Birth Chart

Want to learn more about your Saturn return, preferably before it happens? The first thing to look for is where your sign falls. If your Saturn is in Capricorn, congratulations – you’re almost done with your Saturn return. If it falls in Aquarius, you began in December. If it falls in Pisces, yours will be next in four years, and so on.

But there’s also a way to determine which part of your life Saturn return will affect. To do this, Powell explained that you’ll want to look up which house your Saturn falls under. “For example, if your Saturn is in your VII House of committed partnerships, you may either become more serious about relationships and committing to someone, or you may experience a break up,” she told POPSUGAR. “Other examples might include finding a new career path, moving, becoming more financially responsible – there really are endless possibilities.”

Why Does Everything Get Crazy During a Saturn Return?

Because Saturn is one of the “teacher planets in the sky,” when it resets in our birth chart, it’s a cosmic indication that it’s time to learn a lesson. And because Saturn has attachments to karma, Powell said “we learn [its] lessons through challenges, hardships, and responsibility.”

While the thought of impending breakups, job losses, or crazy life moves can be pretty daunting, it’s all for a good cause. “Whatever challenges may arise are here to usher in your next phase of adulthood,” Powell said. What’s more, if you’ve already had a pretty rough go in your 20s (like maybe you struggled with social anxiety in college), your Saturn return might be a little easier on you. Based on how much “Saturn action” you have in your chart, it’s possible you’ve learned the lessons you need to take on the heaviness that Saturn inevitably brings. (Here’s to hoping, anyway.)

Tips to Help You Get Through Your Saturn Return

1. Self-care. Allowing yourself to recover when bad events happen in your life is crucial. Ignoring Saturn’s impositions, or trying to overcome them immediately, will only lead to further disaster.
2. Patience. Great things will happen, and not-so-great things will happen. The key is to ride the wave.
3. Have a solid support system. Any time you’re going through emotional ups and downs, you need people you can lean on.