Astrology with Alice: It’s Saturn’s turn in Aries!

The planet Saturn is entering the sign Aries on May 25, where it will stay until 2028. If this sounds familiar, it’s because Aries is the cosmic hotspot this year. Last month, Neptune went into Aries for the first time since the American Civil War. The month before that, both the Venus and Mercury retrogrades (as well as an eclipse!) happened in Aries. Now, Saturn’s joining the party.

A concentration of this much planetary energy in one sign doesn’t happen every day (or even year), but when it does happen, major global events tend to accompany them. Here are some examples of recent cosmic traffic jams and what happened when they occurred:

• The “Cap Stack” of the late 1980s formed when the planets Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune joined in a triple conjunction in the sign Capricorn. During the peak of this conjunction, the world saw the fall of the Berlin Wall, the dissolution of the Soviet Union, and the beginning of the end of Apartheid in South Africa.
• The mega-Cap Stack of 2020 occurred when Mars, Saturn, Jupiter, and Pluto formed a quadruple conjunction in Capricorn. Under this unprecedented transit, the COVID-19 pandemic was unleashed on the world, there was a summer of protests, supply chains were disrupted, the markets crashed, and many jobs disappeared. It also ushered us into an era of greater political polarization.

These two examples happened in the sign of Capricorn, which represents tradition and establishment, so these major conjunctions resulted in challenges to established hierarchies. This time, the energy is collecting in Aries—perhaps not to the degree that we experienced in the previous Cap Stacks, but it’ll still make its splash on the world scene. 

The difference between Aries and Capricorn is that Aries is more of a forward-thinking visionary. Whereas Capricorn is a traditional sign, Aries wants to move into the future and make new things happen. (And sometimes force them to happen.) The Aries push into bold new beginnings is further assisted by Pluto’s current placement in the sign Aquarius, which is a progressive sign, as well as the upcoming transit of Uranus into Gemini, which is a curious and open-minded sign. (Basically, Pluto and Uranus are also on board with Aries’ energy.) So, unlike the previous conjunctions in Capricorn that resulted in the tearing down of establishments, the vibe of 2025 is about charging ahead.

That sounds great, right? We would all love to leave behind the COVID era and move on, right? Well, not so fast. Aries, while being a pioneering sign, is also the sign of the warrior. A concentration of energy in the sign Aries isn’t going to feel sweet, gentle, or comfortable. Whatever changes we want to bring into the world will require that we fight for them. Aries is ruled by Mars—named after the Roman god of war—and Martian energy takes only two forms in astrology: that of the hunter, or that of the prey. Under an Aries sky, we will either play offense or play defense. This means that we are all encouraged to become active participants in advocating for and protecting our livelihoods and wellbeing. This year is not a time for sitting back and waiting for the good old times to return.

Last month, we talked about how Neptune going into Aries is going to enliven our dreams. Saturn, however, is a completely different vibe. Saturn represents discipline, maturity, consequences, and wisdom. It punishes the imprudent and rewards patience. It also represents fear, punishment, and doubt—and thus, it earned the nickname “the Great Malefic” from ancient astrologers. But while I love the drama of medieval terminology, I have a less scary take on Saturn. It’s simply the planet of adulting. Saturn in our birth charts represents our ability to do what we need to do even when we don’t want to. Hence, it’s a drag, but we all need to work with Saturn if we want to amount to anything in life. So while Neptune was about dreams and transcendence, Saturn is about the nuts and bolts of life on Earth.

Saturn in Aries will bring a sense of discipline and structure to our pioneering efforts. Poor impulse control will also result in consequences, as Saturnian discipline will try to curb Aries’ impulsiveness and temper. It’ll also impart a sense of duty and austerity to Aries’ renowned independence and self-sufficient approach. Accountability, toughness, and strength will be valued, which is going to be a shift from the previous Pisces era, which was much more sensitive, feelings oriented, and emotional. The shift from Pisces to Aries will involve moving away from discussions of subjective truth towards more action and less talk. In short, over the next three years, we’ll be invited to reclaim our sense of personal agency.

So, what can we expect from Saturn’s time in Aries this time around? Aries represents conflict, independence, and masculinity, so we can expect challenges to these three concepts. I don’t expect the United States’ dealings with Russia and China to resolve without tension. I’m not saying that there’s going to be armed conflict, but it’s not going to be a walk in the park. Things will probably get worse before they get better. And if we look at the last time Saturn was in Aries from 1996-99, we see that the Kosovo War and Operation Desert Fox both began during that time, so history supports this pattern.

Speaking of the late 1990s, that was also the time we saw the rise of the Girl Power Movement. Buffy the Vampire Slayer was a hit TV show, and Sarah McLachlan banded together female artists for her Lilith Fair tour. The Aries version of femininity is very Xena, Warrior Princess, and that was very much the mood during the late ‘90s! Aries is also the sign of fighters and warriors, so even on the big screen we saw movies like The Matrix and Fight Club redefine the action genre.

So while Saturn’s time in Aries will see us push into a new future and ask us to fight wisely and strategically for our vision, wherever it is in our own individual birth charts will be the area of our lives where we’re going to be asked to grow up. As I said before, Saturn is the force that wants us to do what we know we should do, even when we don’t feel like it. That sounds sucky, but I actually love working with Saturn transits, because Saturn always rewards the effort and only asks of us to do what we’re capable of. Unlike Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto transits—which may stretch us beyond our abilities to cope—Saturn always asks us to simply do what we are perfectly capable of doing. And if we do it, it rewards us with success and dignity.

Want to know the area of life that Saturn wants to help you to mature in over the next few years? Check out the list below and find your sun sign and rising sign. (If you don’t know your rising sign, you can use this free rising sign calculator.)