Difficult Saturn Transits - Any tips on how to survive them?

Hello!

I am finally at the end of my first saturn return. It's been SUCH a difficult period as saturn is in my 12th directly opposite my sun in gemini. This past year has been like a waking nightmare and I almost didn't survive. In three weeks saturn will be conjunct my ascendant and exactly opposite my Chiron. I've read that any Saturn/Chiron aspect is very difficult. I am terrified that there will be no reprieve from my bad luck and pain.

I would love to hear some personal experiences any of you had with any of these transits if anyone would care to share.

(I've attached my natal chart below if anybody is curious)

Saturn went through my 12th house from 2013 to late 2015 and conjoined my natal Sun and sensitive Mercury-Pluto conjunction. I have my 1st Solar Return coming up this month so I guess we're around the same age. This is a rough transit, I almost didn't survive either. I was in grad school at the time and I was terrified I was going to flunk out because I couldn't function. I felt like everything was coming apart. I had no energy, and was crying every day. I've always struggled with anxiety-depression and this just made it unbearable so I had to go on medication. I was very anxious about what happened after graduation and I couldn't take it.

First off, keep in mind this will not last forever. It seems like a long time but you will get through it. Saturn in the 1st is no picnic either as I'm experiencing but it's not as rough as this transit, or it hasn't been for me. Back to Saturn in the 12th, it's a messy business, the planet of tangibility is in the house of the unseen. It's a tough contradiction to deal with. You may find yourself looking for security where there is none--and you have to realize that.

Basically this is a time to turn inward and focus on finishing your unfinished business. Give yourself whatever you need. If you need to sleep more, sleep. If you need to be alone, give yourself that time. If you need to talk to someone, talk to someone. It's also common to feel like you're losing your sense of identity. Saturn is stripping you of mentalities, beliefs and judgments about you that you will rid yourself fully of when Saturn hits your Ascendant and you build a new persona but for now it's bringing all of them out in the open. Think about your insecurities and judgments about yourself.

Saturn's just messing with you, testing your mettle. Fight back as best you can--Saturn respects that, and will actually go easier on you than if you give in to despair and hopelessness. As E14 says, it won't last forever! Just feels that way.

You have Saturn/Uranus conjunct on your Asc opposite Sun/Chiron, so Saturn will be aspecting this opposition for a bit longer, it goes retro up to 21* Sag. and then forward again.

Saturn/Chiron is difficult, I have the conjunction in my natal chart. I have had multiple transits of Saturn to Chiron and vice versa, I survived them all. I'm just having a Chiron return with Chiron also aspecting Saturn, as both are closely conjunct. Also Saturn is moving up to it's last square before my second Saturn return. Be assured these Saturn aspects do get easier as you get older...

You might find the following articles useful in understanding your combo:

http://astrofix.net/2011/10/22/saturnchiron-aspects/

http://astrofix.net/2011/06/09/sunchiron-aspects/

http://astrofix.net/2011/11/16/chironuranus-aspects/


Having Saturn pass over such a major part of your chart could really help you in understanding this part of yourself better and also integrate all these aspects into your personality.

With Saturn and Uranus on your Asc you feel pulled to create structures on one hand and break free on the other, those two forces affect you in a very personal manner. The Uranian energy might just show more since it is in your first house.

Sun/Chiron on your Descendant is really the mark of a healer, especially coming from the 6th house of service. You have great potential to help others and understand them deeply. May I ask what you do?

You are also having Chiron squaring that opposition in your chart presently, which adds to the emphasis on this aspect in your natal. This transit can cause a fair amount of turbulence. Chiron is the bridge between inner and outer planets, between Saturn and Uranus, and you have all three aspecting each other, along with your Sun. So you are called to integrate the personal and the transpersonal energies in some way. You may have a very strong intuition, this could aid you in working with and helping others.

When Saturn reaches your ASC it will be trine Jupiter and it will already be sextile you moon. THESE transits will modify the aspect and you may be happily surprised....or maybe just satisfied...and grateful for the good stuff Jupiter brings in.
LIN

My Saturn return was a few years ago, but I wasn't into astrology yet. During that period, I changed careers and my parents got divorced, but my daughter was also born around that time (closer to the beginning) so it wasn't all bad.
I'm currently experiencing Saturn transiting my Ascendant. In the last six months I have been dangerously ill twice (I NEVER get sick), am going through a divorce, had my prize guitar stolen from me, had one family member and one dear friend pass away.
Of course, this transit is more complicated than meets the eye. My Sun and Mercury are both in Gemini, in the 5th and 6th houses, respectively. Saturn has opposed both of them recently. It has also been transiting my 12th house for a while, and is almost in exact conjunction with my natal Neptune in Sag.
Anyway, sorry to ramble, but I am definitely with you as far as hating on Saturn right now...

Saturn runs a diagnostic on whatever it touches in your chart.

Saturn deals with material reality as it is, not as wished for.

However, it can make people feel anxious or depressed.

Saturn demands patience, hard work, deferred gratification, and frugality. If you can learn these lessons, Saturn tends to reward his pupils later in life, as he rules old age.