by Kelly Surtees
This article was previously published in Wellbeing Magazine in Australia.
The seven-year itch is a popular phenomenonin which you might find yourself reassessing a commitment or life choice sevenyears into the experience. Astrologers have long associated this ‘seven year itch’with the quarter cycles of wise Saturn.
Saturn has an almost twenty-nine-yearcycle. Divided by four this gives approximately four separate seven-yearintervals. The theory is that every seven years Saturn makes a trigger aspectback to its own placement seven years beforehand. This highlights anniversaries,or ‘birthdays’, which are multiples of seven: the seventh, fourteenth, twenty-first,and twenty-eighth/twenty-ninth years, as important turning points. Thisanniversary may be the start of a relationship, a career, a business or livingin a particular house.
For instance, if you start a new job,Saturn will be at X point in the zodiac on the day you start. Seven yearslater, Saturn will have moved so that it makes a quarter angle, or 90-degreesquare aspect, back to that Saturn placement at the start of the job, like X +7. Seven years on again, which would be 14 years on from when you started thejob (X + 14), Saturn then makes another trigger aspect, this time anopposition. The exact aspect itself is less important than the energy andthemes that emerge under these Saturn quarter cycle triggers.
Timingwith Saturn
Working with the seven-year itch quartercycle of Saturn invites you into the world of predictive astrology. The timingof life events, both important beginnings and endings, can be forecast withSaturn. As you begin to follow the cycle of Saturn, you may notice a patternemerging, where similar themes or topics recur at these seven year intervals.
These repeated themes may reveal some ofyour most profound life lessons, as well as show how you can create firmfoundations for the future. Ideally you will use the wisdom and experience fromthe events or choices made seven years ago to help inform your choices in thepresent. In this way you learn and grow, and put your personal accumulatedwisdom into action. Timing your life to a defining cycle like that of Saturncan help you better understand your personal ebbs and flows.
Meaning+ Mythology
Saturn is the ancient god of time.Saturn represents that which flourishes with patient, steady effort. Saturn isalso realistic, in that it asks you to focus on what’s practical, what’spossible and what’s likely. This may be where some of the worry associated withSaturn comes from – that often you get swept up in the dream of what might be thatyou lose touch with what is present.
During a Saturn seven-year itch, youbecome clearer on truth, honesty and reality. If you have been living in a bitof fantasy, this will make your experience at these seven year intervals alittle more challenging. This happens because Saturn will bring you back downto earth and pop any fantasy or delusions you may have held on to. If youtypically keep at least one foot on the ground, and generally balance yourdreams with a dose of reality, you’ll find the seven-year intervals moremanageable. In an ideal world, they may even highlight periods of success, or anincrease in productivity.
During a Saturn seven-year itch periodyou may need to be honest with yourself and your loved ones about what is andisn’t working in your life. This is no time to fudge the truth, or try and tellyourself things are different from what they are. The key to success withSaturn lies in honouring the present. If you focus on what you can do based onwhere you are you can set a lasting foundation for the future. This may involvemaking peace with a past disappointment so that fear and worry no longeraccompany you forward.
Timeand Growth
The passing of time can feel acute duringa Saturn period. You may feel time is slipping away, or that you haven’t yetachieved all you’d hoped. The gift of one of Saturn’s seven year itch cycles isto help you clarify your most important goals, and to restructure life so yourtop priorities get your best efforts and resources. In turn this may meansaying no to things that don’t directly support your priorities.
Saturn is associated with agriculture.The concept of sorting the wheat from the chaff is Saturn. During a Saturnseven-year itch quarter cycle you may need to sort out the good from thedraining in your own life. This may mean an honest conversation about what –and who – is and isn’t deserving of your time, attention or care. You may askyourself probing questions like, ‘If goal x is important, then why am I involvedin projects a, b and c?’ This can lead to new honesty about priorities, rolesor responsibilities you have outgrown and may need to end.
The beauty of Saturn is that it helpsclarify what needs to end, but it also helps highlight where you are ready tostart something new. This cycle can be a lovely time to rededicate yourself toa priority project that has been neglected.
I often describe a Saturn seven-yearcycle to clients as a time in which it’s time to prune back in life, likecutting back the roses before winter. Getting rid of superfluous commitments orresponsibilities actually gives you more time and energy to focus on whatmatters. This is much easier to do under a Saturn seven-year itch cycle. Saturn will gift you with strength to make necessarychoices, and to help you put the people and promises that matter first.
Another astrologer once told me, whenspeaking of a Saturn transit, that it’s like ‘old news’. Under the seven-yearitch it’s less likely that something new develops but rather you realise thetime is right to make a choice about a situation or partnership that has beenlimping along, or has been on your mind for a while. Under Saturn you craveclarity and will search for facts or examples to help you understand a specificsituation in black and white. This is not the time for shades of grey, ratheryou seek truth and firmness to help you re-set your direction and focus.
DeterminingWhen Saturn Will Influence You
Saturn’s cycle, like that of all theplanets, is constant and ongoing. But you are not always affected by eachplanet. You will only be affected by Saturn at specific ages or stages of life.
The simple process described above,where you just add seven, fourteen, twenty-one or twenty-eight – twenty-nineyears to the start date of a major event, will determine when you areexperiencing a Saturn seven-year itch. It is the fastest way to work out whenyou are in a Saturn cycle.
For instance, if you are married, yourwedding date would be a starting point. At the seven, fourteen, twenty-one, andtwenty-eight/twenty-nine-year anniversaries, Saturn in the sky will make one ofthese critical trigger aspects to Saturn in your wedding chart. Just based onthese years, you now know that within the context of your marriage (or anysignificant partnership, either in your personal or professional life), thoseyears will bring both tests and transformation.
In the context of a relationship, theSaturn years (the anniversaries mentioned above) are years when you may feelrestless or unsettled. This is a call from your unconscious, or your higherself, that you have outgrown the current structure, form or rituals within thispartnership. To honour Saturn, it’s time to reassess who does what, and forwhat reward, and to make changes that better reflect current rather than pastcirc*mstances. It’s easy to get settled in a specific relationship role, butyou may forget to adapt as circ*mstances change. The Saturn seven-year itch isa time when you get to play catch up with life, and update your responsibilitiesand schedule so that it honours the present, rather than remains stuck in thepast.
Think back to some of your morememorable commitments, or beginnings. Perhaps you run your own business, or arein a long-term career. If so, think back to when that business started or youfirst took that job. Maybe you have moved countries. In that case, think back to when thathappened. Perhaps you’ve bought a house, moved out or started a family. Thebeginning point of each of those formative events is the start date to use whencalculating the years in which Saturn’s seven-year itch cycle will show up.
If you add seven, fourteen, twenty-oneor twenty-eight – twenty-nine years to those start dates, that will tell youwhen you are likely to experience a Saturn quarter cycle, and the energy of theseven-year itch.
YourSeven-Year Itch by Sign
In addition to the simple seven-yearquarter cycle of Saturn, you may also like to track the influence of Saturnaccording to your Sun or Moon sign.
Based on your Sun or Moon sign, you canconstruct a personal Saturn seven-year itch cycle by tracking forward sevenyears, or even by going back to seven years prior to that period.
If you have the Sun or Moon in a mutablesign – Gemini, Virgo, Sagittarius and Pisces – Saturn will influence you fromJanuary 2015 – December 2017. If your birth date falls after the twenty-thirdof the month you will be touched by Saturn during the first year of this period(calendar year 2015). If you are born in the first ten days of the month youare more likely to be touched by Saturn in 2016. If you are born between the tenth– twenty-third of the month you will most likely feel Saturn in 2017.
If you have the Sun or Moon in acardinal sign – Aries, Cancer, Libra, and Capricorn – Saturn will touch yourlife from January 2018 – December 2020. If your birth date falls after the twenty-thirdof the month you will be triggered by Saturn in 2018. If you are born in thefirst ten days of the month you are more likely to be touched by Saturn in2019. If you are born between the tenth – twenty-third of the month you willmost likely feel Saturn in 2020.
If you have the Sun or Moon in a fixedsign – Taurus, Leo, Scorpio, and Aquarius – Saturn will touch your life fromJanuary 2021 – March 2023. If your birth date falls after the twenty-third ofthe month or before the fourth you will be touched by Saturn during 2021. Ifyou are born between the fourth – eighteenth of the month you will be triggeredby Saturn in 2022. If you are born between the nineteenth and twenty-third ofthe month you will feel Saturn in early 2023.
Surviving+ Thriving with Saturn
Saturn holds a special place in thecosmos. It represents the boundary between the known and the unknown. With thenaked eye you can see as far out in the solar system as Saturn, but not beyond.Thus, Saturn can help you clarify what’s possible, and within your power tochange or create.
When the energy of Saturn shows up via one of his important quarter cycles, it’s a sign you are ready for adjustment and new focus. Tuning into the call of Saturn can help you stay focused on your goals, and create lasting stability. When Saturn comes knocking don’t be shy about showing an old dream, goal or situation the door. Doing so will give you back energy and drive to devote time to what really counts, whether that’s a forgotten project or a new endeavour. In this way, the turning points of Saturn can become the transformations around which you build happiness. Embrace Saturn and you embrace the call of your future.
Check out some related talks with Kelly on Saturn and aspects:
2020 The Year Ahead
From Bad to Good: Moving Beyond the Limitations of Your Aspects
Panel Discussion – Saturn in Capricorn
