Sun opposite Saturn
Sun in Virgo opposing Saturn in Pisces is exact on September 8
Thank you for being here.
I am motivated to write about this transit because I feel it so palpably at the moment - not just personally, but for others, and collectively. It is not an easy one. Because Sun opposing Saturn tends to produce feelings of loneliness, separation, fear, inadequacy, scarcity, and uncertainty, I want to offer my musing as a comfort to those who may be having a rough time. Many of us are struggling, but this is temporary and there is strength and wisdom to be gleaned through harrowing times.
The Star follows The Tower in the tarot, reminding us that the greatest hope for the future comes after great upheaval, loss, or transformation.
The Sun in Virgo strives to apply clarity, order, precision, and sensibility. In contrast, Saturn in Pisces erodes boundaries, distorts goals, and brings sorrow that seems to come from nowhere in particular. Perhaps we feel that everything has slowed down, and we don’t like it. Progress being stifled never feels encouraging. We may feel a loss of control to shift a situation in the desired direction, or we simply feel ineffectual, stuck, hopeless, or like nothing we do is quite right. Virgoan perfectionism and Piscean overwhelm can make for a tricky combination of self-scrutiny and hypersensitivity.
It is helpful to avoid being in our heads too much! Finding simple moments of enjoyment is crucial. Play a favorite song. Eat a good meal. Get a massage. Sit and gaze at the moon at night, wishing on a star. Nourish yourself amid Saturn’s drought.
As someone with the Sun-Saturn opposition in my natal chart, I connect deeply with the themes of this transit. Having always been different and thus bullied by my peers as a child, I felt these things often. Their rejection and cruelty stifled my freedom to express what was on my mind, for fear of again being “the nail sticking out getting hammered down.”
Saturn can bring trauma that comes back in the form of worry that bad things will happen again, producing silence, avoidance, and repression. While we learn valuable lessons from hard situations, self-denial, fear, and avoidance are not of value. Isolation and over-thinking will do the opposite of helping us.
It’s okay to admit our struggles and reach out for help. We are not alone.
This transit could hit you especially hard if you have planets in Mutable signs (Gemini, Virgo, Sagittarius, Pisces) near 16 degrees. Jupiter in Gemini squares the Sun and Saturn, amplifying the strain, and perhaps producing situations that feel like a cruel joke is being played on us. There’s always the option to laugh and keep going, to defy and persevere.
The lessons brought on by Saturn are often brutal, and there may be situations happening lately that strike a nerve, personally. Having our buttons pressed can be quite frustrating. But the purpose of this occurrence is to give us a chance to handle things differently this time, to build strength - and to be gentle with ourselves, yet pragmatic enough to make wise choices.
Resilience in the face of difficulty is crucial. I can say from experience that you will one day (sooner than you think) look back and marvel at how much you’ve grown throughout these trials and dark periods. I can appreciate how difficult it can be to believe these words during such times - while you’re in it, it feels like nearly drowning in an endless dark sea…
Keep treading water. The shore will soon come into focus.
The challenge is to move beyond fear and doubt and develop unshakeable confidence in the face of changing tides. This process is gradual and is not easy. Growth happens outside of the comfort zone, and Saturn transits tend to push us out of it for that very reason.
As we stumble and grow, we need reassurance and comfort through connection, especially as Venus transits Libra and Mars transits Cancer. Reaching out to loved ones and allowing them to support us, and offering support in turn, will be a balm to soothe the troubled soul in all.
Saturn’s darkness shall not overshadow the radiant light of the Sun.
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