Saturn in Aries — 2025-2028
On 25 May 2025, the next major astrological shift of the year will take place, as Saturn moves from the sign of Pisces, where it has been submerged since March 2023, into the cardinal fire sign of Aries.
This will be a huge tempo change for the planet of boundaries and constriction. Saturn will leave the final sign of the zodiac, which I think of as the primordial soup - deep, fluid, and containing everything in our collective unconscious - and plunge into the domain of the first sign, which is fiery, crisp and clarifying.
Saturn occupies a sign for roughly 2.5 years, and one way of foreshadowing the themes that we will be exploring during this transit is to look back to what was happening the last time it took place - approximately 29 years ago. This retrospection can be done on a collective scale through world events — and there are astrologers who research this brilliantly — but also, if you are old enough, by examining events in your personal life.
Personally, when Saturn was last in Aries (1996-1999), a major theme in my own life was that of individuation. I was 13 and transitioning from primary to high school, asking for the first time, what do I like and what do I believe in, beyond what my parents and peers have told me? I fell hard for Britpop music during that time, which became the gateway to the alternative scene I spent my teenage years in. I started learning about political and social issues and realised (with somewhat of a shock) that I was not actually a conservative like my parents.
Aries is the sign of the individual. It's about claiming your truth and damn the consequences. During Saturn in Aries, we will be asked to get even clearer on who we are and what we stand for. But because Saturn is involved, consequences will be unavoidable.
Back in the 90s, my traditional, Catholic parents were not super happy with my individuation. My mum didn't like that I displayed a picture of a bi-sexual male rock star wearing black eye-liner and nail polish in the clear front pocket of my three-ring binder, so she crumpled it up and threw it in the trash. I got it out of the bin, shook off a slimy strand of spaghetti, and reinserted it.
This is a small, benign example (although I remember it clear as day), but it does speak to what I see as a major theme of this transit, being the tension between free expression and censorship.
Our Aries nature wants to proclaim our truth from the rooftops, but the restrictive quality of Saturn wants to keep us from rocking the boat. I feel that people who once kept silent about their views will no longer be able to do so, but the pushback they receive could be forceful and have real-world consequences, i.e. loss of jobs, loss of immigration status, and even imprisonment.
Positively, though, there's the saying 'your vibe attracts your tribe,' and I also see this occuring during Saturn in Aries. The more we are unabashedly ourselves, the more we will attract like-minded community which will help buttress us through the external challenges we may face. Saturn, let's not forget is also the master builder, testing us with sometimes harsh lessons so we can lay down a foundation that will last.
In high school, a lot of people didn't understand me, but there were some who got it, and encouraged my uniqueness. I'll always be grateful to Mrs Karolak, one of my English teachers, who allowed us to all lay down on the floor with the lights off while I played Radiohead's 'Street Spirit (Fade Out)' during a poetry unit. I was definitely scared of being judged (and let's be honest, I probably was judged by the Regina Georges of my all-girls' school) but at the same time I felt so validated that an authority figure supported me to share the things I found beautiful.
During Saturn in Aries, I feel that superficial connections — those based on proximity, tradition, duty — will fall away, only to be replaced by deeper, soul-level bonds, united by a common energetic signature.
Saturn’s Dance with Neptune
Saturn's time in Aries will also be characterised, and complicated, by the simultaneous movement of Neptune through the sign.
Neptune is the planet of the collective impulse. It seeks to dissolve boundaries and transcend nuts-and-bolts daily concerns to touch the universal. Saturn, however, is the nuts-and-bolts, so the two together have the potential for friction — but also for real-world and lasting transformation.
To understand how this could play out, I feel we have to consider the warrior archetype of Aries, which can express itself along a continuum that ranges from standing up to a bully, to becoming the bully yourself. (Israel, I am looking at you).
Neptune tends to glorify the themes of the sign it is passing through, which is one of the reasons why there was such a resurgent interest in both spirituality and traditional religion during the past 14 years it spent in Pisces. I see Neptune in Aries to a certain extent as glorifying strength and war, without fully grasping what that entails.
I remember a great example on Chris Brennan's The Astrology Podcast, from the American Civil War, which took place the last time Neptune was in Aries (164 years ago). The example was that when the war started, groups of people thought it would be a good idea to sit up on a hill and have a picnic while the battle raged below — only to be shocked and repulsed by the reality of the blood and gore that took place.
I do, unfortunately, foresee this kind of theme recurring, particularly during the co-presence of Saturn and Neptune in Aries, as history doesn't repeat but rhymes. It's undeniable that strong-arm dictators and military action are back in fashion, and many people are happy to wave flags and chant slogans until the find the ire of the regime turned on them.
Simultaneously, though, there is a growing repudiation of authoritarianism. Recently in Australia, the Liberal party with its 'Temu Trump' leader was eviscerated in the federal election, after initially polling strongly. This indicates that there are an equal number of people who are disillusioned by the winner-take-all strongman and actually value collaboration and empathy. Two narratives, equally strong, proceeding in parallel.
All this dissonance is leading up to the most pivotal astrological event of next year (and I would argue, the rest of the decade), being the Saturn-Neptune conjunction at 0° Aries on 20 February 2026.
0° Aries is considered the first degree of the zodiac, occurring on the (Northern Hemisphere) spring equinox. It is a world point, meaning that planetary placements here are especially potent and tend to have a greater impact in mundane (world) events.
With Saturn, the planet of structure, meeting Neptune, the planet of idealism and possibility, in the first degree of a sign (Aries) that is known for its innovation (and distaste for convention), all signs point to a giant cosmic reset button.
The old order, one way or another, is going to fall. What is born from the ashes, will be up to us. To me, this conjunction has the flavour of a 'choose your own adventure' novel (remember those)? Where the choices you make, in your individual life, determine what your outcome will be. Will you stand for something, or fall for anything?
Although the conjunction is not exact until February 2026, the two planets will be travelling closely together until then, and will nearly meet in July 2025.
I would encourage everyone, then, to pay attention to what themes are starting to emerge in their life, particularly around individuation, authentic expression (and repercussions of that), conflict vs. cohesion, and innovations that can fill a vacuum that is left by the dissolution of old ways.
We are on a wild ride, but we're not powerless. One of the shadow sides of Saturn (and Neptune) in Pisces, in my opinion, is a type of fatalistic helplessness ('everything is fucked, there's nothing I can do about it') which led to us either numb out with our dopamine-chasing behaviour of choice or blindly place our trust in someone, anyone, who professes to have 'the answer.' Saturn in Aries will shake us out of this complacency and make us face the consequences of our own choices.
In the words of Marianne Williamson,
'Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate.
Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure.'
Artwork: Julie Kopova
