Saturn Return Revisited

During the past month I feel as if my life has been turned upside down, and I've been suddenly confronted with a series of expeditious and unexpected events.

There is no doubt that the Saturn Return has struck again.......

Last I checked, which was last week, Saturn had just skimmed past 17 degrees Virgo - which was the placement of my Virgo in my birthchart. This means I was basking under the effects of Saturn directly hitting my birth Saturn during the past few weeks! I fell terribly sick for a whole 3 weeks and could barely sleep a wink. It was terrible, just terrible. I had been sick before, but never before had I felt so sucked out of all reserves of energy. It was one of my weakest moments in life, ever. The feeling was pure helplessness. It's like when you cough and cough and cough, and you're heaving your chest so much that your whole body including your chest, your rib cage and your lower stomach all hurt like hell. It's like when you've done a million sit ups a day or something. (On the good side, I guess my stomach is 'toned'.) During that time I didn't wanna see anyone or eat anything, because my windpipe would get stimulated by the slightest inhalation of air and my throat was itchy at all times. Seriously, even mildly spicy soup made me cough like hell, so all I ate was noodles cooked in chicken broth and unobtrusive sandwiches for the duration of the few weeks. Not being able to consume food freely is the worst ever possible thing that could happen. To eat pleasurably and sleep soundly are the two things I regard as most important in life. Hence it was to my utmost chagrin that both these two aspects were unfulfilled during my bodily ordeal. It was the nightmare of my life. It made me realize that when you are forced to strip down to your bare essential needs, it's health that counts the most. Not anything else, really. Everything else you can more or less control, but a healthy body is something you really can't take for granted; anyone who've got it is truly blessed. From now on, I vow never to inhale anything carcinogenic or vaguely suspect into my lungs ever again. As my faithful Chinese doctor said, 'the lung is the most delicate organ in the body.' So do take good care of it, people.

Health was not the only thing that was under fire. Friendship also took a serious toll. There was a recent falling out with a friend. It was dramatic. Well, I shouldn't blame it all on Saturn Return. But during this time, what is meant to happen will happen. There's no escaping the inevitable during this fateful time. People in your life whom are meant to stay will live through the turmoil and sustain, but those who are meant to play a transient role will fade out eventually. People and places and events are meant to be rather transient during Saturn Return. It's a time for you to learn about what you need and don't need through expedited and intensified experiences and what sustains is what will stay with you for life. At least till the next Saturn Return which is not for another 30 years, in which it will be time again for you to weed out the unnecessary and unwanted in your life. It sounds cruel, this weeding out business, but it actually isn't. Towards the last days of my Saturn Return I've gotten quite used to it now - the transience of life. I've learnt that to hold on to something that's doomed is unhealthy. Tis no wonder that my health also literally suffered during this weeding out process. It's both a physical purging of the body and spiritual purging of the soul.

I've learnt alot through the areas of Health, Relationship, and Work during the past year. I confess that I've had my moments of weakness and wanted to regress.....but on the whole I've encouraged myself to move forward. A friend of mine recently had her 30th birthday, and her life trajectory is very similar to mine in many ways. New country, new career, new boyfriend. (I don't have the latter, although it came sort of close but just fizzled out due to the fact that it was just not meant to be - a classic Saturn Return hallmark that you're suppose to discard what doesn't work; you get it by now.) My 30-year-old friend is not very happy or optimistic about the future. She's not moving forward in confident strides. In a certain way, she's regressing or too stuck in her ways. I'm not gonna say which sign she is, to avoid stereotyping in this instance. But it's a sign that holds on to the past real tight. It's one that wallows in past memories and is reluctant to move on and embrace the new. Comfort-zone oriented. I don't mention the sign because I believe that there is no one such sign that confronts Saturn Return easier or harder. I don't think any astrologer - Stephen Arroyo or anyone else I've read about - have alluded to the difference in reception of different signs. Saturn Return is an objective phenomenon that has to be treated with the same reverence and receptivity for each and every person. There are no exceptions. However, if I were to contribute my opinion, then it's the mutable signs that have an easier time adapting to change, such as the likes of Virgo, Pisces, Gemini and Sagittarius. Although some might say that it may not apply to Pisces, it being water. I'd say the more detached one is, the easier to let go and move on. I seriously hope my friend gets past the psychological obstacles which are holding her back and that she can discard old destructive habits and move forward. It's the only way to go from here, as she's sacrificed so much and left so much behind already. On a more cheerful note, I have another friend who is approaching his 29th year, and he's got it all. New country, new career, new girlfriend. It all looks mighty optimistic to me. He's off to a grand new start after finishing his PhD and is now on his way home to start his new job (and to see his new girlfriend). It is my sincere wish that all members of the Saturn Return Club can have the same optimistic outlook and grand new start as him.