Are you between the ages of 27 and 30?
Are you suddenly feeling overwhelming pressure from the changes that have occurred? Are you trying to make sense of it all?
Last Sunday while I was at the Art Fair, I ran into an artist and I asked her, “How are you able to support yourself while you’re in this artistic career?”
She pulled me to the side and then said, “Look, it’s not easy, but it’s about determination. I have an apartment in New York and I have two people living there. I also have an apartment down here in South Florida and I have a roommate. I teach art classes and I do spiritual readings on the side. My biggest project is my book, which is in its final stages of editing before being published. I put my heart into that book and I believe it’s going to be a success. But I have to tell you that I’m 63 years old and for most of the first half of my life I was a single Mom and I had to get a day job to take care of my daughter and myself. I hated every minute of it and I’m glad it’s over and now I can focus on using my gift.”
She stopped and looked at me.”You’re a writer,” she said. “Am I correct?”
“Yes, I am.”
“That’s what you are. That’s what you are supposed to be doing. But don’t stress yourself about it. Do a little at a time and you’ll get where you want to be. How old are you?” she asked.
“I’m 28.”
“Ahhh…You are approaching your Saturn Return. It’s a time of new beginnings and all of the old things you were trying to hang onto are shaken away like dead leaves from a tree.”
When I got home I did a quick search for Saturn Return and this is what I found:
Many of us approach our thirtieth birthdays with anxiety, even dread. We start looking for gray hairs and paying attention to ads for wrinkle creams. We question whether we are climbing the career ladder quickly enough. We hear the biological clock ticking loudly and worry that soon we will be too old to bear children.Astrologers call the period between ages twenty-eight and thirty “Saturn Return.” That’s because it’s the first time the planet Saturn completes its cycle through your birth chart and returns to the spot it occupied when you were born.
Internationally respected astrologer Rob Hand calls Saturn Return “one of the most important times in your life. . . a time of endings and new beginnings.”For most of us, ending a phase of life that is familiar and embarking on one that is new and untried is unsettling, even painful. Few people describe Saturn Return as a pleasant period. While undergoing your Saturn Return you may find yourself turning inward and reflecting on your individual destiny. You examine your true needs and desires and the role you want to play on the world’s stage. You may feel lonely and alienated from those around you, while family and friends think you are shutting them out. But this is a necessary period of consolidation, when you must retreat from the distractions of the outer world and focus on yourself at your most fundamental level. The Saturn Return is every individual’s search for the Holy Grail.
Coming of Age
The first Saturn Return marks the end of youth and the beginning of the productive adult years. It is now that you truly become an adult–not at eighteen or twenty-one. You realize your need to define yourself as an individual within society and to demonstrate what you’ve learned.
Newswoman Jane Pauley described turning thirty as having grown into womanhood. German film director Werner Herzog compared this period in his life with a maiden’s loss of virginity, a line drawn across his path marking the end of his youth.
This transition into adulthood is often accompanied by a sense of urgency, a feeling that you must try to accomplish everything you’ve ever wanted or planned to do now. Goals start to come sharply into focus. If you have not settled into a definite career, or have been pursuing one that is inappropriate for you, you’ll experience a strong push to establish yourself in a more fulfilling occupation. Sometimes this means a complete change.
During his first Saturn Return Vincent Van Gogh decided to be a painter rather than a minister. More frequently it means a new direction or specialization within your chosen field. Read more…
Although I am not well versed in astrology, I can understand where this theory comes from. Nearly everyone I know is trying to figure out what their next move should be and setting loftier goals for themselves. It’s as though we are all thinking, “I HAVE to have something to show for all these years of education, work, involvement in this relationship, etc. What have I done with my life?”
Since I turned 27, everything in my life has been in a tailspin. I feel like a naked tree in the cold winter wind, wondering when or IF I’ll bear fruit again.
At 28, I’m beginning a brand new career path, while feverishly trying to hold onto the old one because it brings me joy. Nothing in my life is the same as it was when I was 26. Even the friends in my tight circle have changed. I am no longer a religious person. I have taken risks that many would deem foolish all for the sake of growth. Life feels like one long train ride into oblivion.
If this theory is true then it brings a sense of comfort knowing that by the time I reach 30, I’ll have gained a tremendous amount of wisdom and experiences that will serve me for the rest of my life. Maybe I’ll even have a firm direction.I’m open to that. I’m open to stability and honing my craft.
Here’s to new beginnings and honest reflection…