Matur-ish: reflections on my first Saturn Return

As of early 2026, I’ll be wrapping up my first Saturn return as the planet moves out of the dreamy sign of Pisces into Aries this month. In astrology, your Saturn return signifies a three-year period of intense change and personal growth. It marks the transition from one phase of life to the next, and if you’re lucky, people experience up to three of these in their lifetime, as it takes Saturn roughly 29.5 years to return to the exact place it was at the moment of your birth.

Whether you believe in astrology or never cared about how the planets are dancing around in the sky doesn’t really matter. We all experience rites of passage, both informally and/or formally, and periods of significant change and transformation throughout our lives — graduating from college, getting married, getting divorced, changing careers, etc. Saturn represents discipline, limitations, hard work, and responsibility. Our first Saturn return typically marks the beginning of adulthood, beginning in our late 20’s. Saturn rules the sign of Capricorn, an Earth sign that’s all about pushing past limitations and cultivating the perseverance it takes to make it to the top of the mountain.

As a millennial/Gen Z cusper who’s been working in healthcare for the last few years, I have a complicated relationship with grit and perseverance. Of course, every sign has its shadow qualities, and there are downsides to pushing past restrictions or moving too quickly out of your comfort zone, but that’s another blog post. Looking back at the last three years, and as winter in New England slowly, snowily comes to an end, I’m feeling a sense of renewed optimism and hope – even in the absolute hellscape of a world we’re living in currently. I’m not exactly where I want to be yet, and as I mature, I’m realizing ticking boxes just to tick them is simply overrated.

I started to feel the beginning of my Saturn return while working as a travel nurse in Northern Maine in 2022. I had just finished a 3-month-long assignment that August, and I was in desperate need of a real vacation, one that had nothing to do with packing my suitcase full of scrubs and antidepressants. When I returned home, I broke up with my boyfriend and gave myself time and space to sit with everything I hadn’t processed after standing on my feet for 12 hours several times a week.

Is this it? I wondered. I stepped away from the fast-paced intensity of hospital life for a while until I felt the pull to dramatically Eat-Pray-Love my life and move where my heart called – rural New England. I left my friends, family, and very stable job in May of 2023, two months after my Saturn return officially began, entering the sign of Pisces. I trusted I would land where I needed to be when I arrived in Massachusetts.

I mentioned Saturn entered Pisces, which was hanging out in my 10th house when I was born. Pisces is known for being the spiritual, dreamy, and intuitive sign of the Zodiac, and it rules over my 10th house of career, public image, and legacy. I moved to Massachusetts, hoping to pursue a career in yoga and dive deeper into other mind-body practices. Over the next few years, I committed to exploring more of the modern yoga world, and on the exact day of my Saturn Return, between February 27 and 28th 2025, I completed a weeklong Restorative Yoga Teacher Training at Kripalu, surrounded by dozens of incredibly supportive humans, and Saturn finally finished its journey through Pisces this past Valentine’s Day.

Restorative Yoga Teacher Training - 2/28/25

So, did I receive the gifts of my first Saturn Return these last three years? Sure. They’ve been filled with lots of growth edges and shifts in my professional identity. I learned to embrace boundaries more as a healer and as a human. Pre and post-shift rituals are a MUST! In yoga philosophy, brahmacharya is one of the Yamas (restraints), which loosely translates to “right use of energy” or “moderation,” but one can also think of boundary setting as a form of brahmacharya and respect for time and energy.

Along with boundaries, I’ve learned to welcome more downtime in my schedule and got to practice using my outside voice more by saying the word “NO.” This is a big lesson for deeply feeling folks and those of us with water sign placements, who often want to blend and merge with others. If I don’t regularly practice saying no, I end up leaking energy all over the place. No one wants a friend who leaks their energy all over the place. Gross.

Regarding downtime, I’ve been practicing giving myself small doses of what I need throughout my day. And lastly, with imperfection and compassion, I’m still learning that it’s ok to do life differently and release myself from the ridiculous notion that I was ever meant to fit nicely into spaces that were never designed for me.

I’m thankful I’ve made it this far, and I’m looking forward to integrating more of life’s lessons and experiences as I age, evolve, and grow. Where are you on your journey and what happend on the exact day of your first or second Saturn Return? 🪐

Thanks for reading.