Saturn: From a Mythological and Symbolic Perspective
As I’ve been on my astrology journey, one of the ways I’ve connected to the planets has been through their mythological and archetypal correspondences, accompanied by the symbolism astrologers use to describe what the planets signify.
With that in mind, this series of posts about the different parts of astrology, where I’ll cover the luminaries and each of the planets in our solar system (including Pluto), I’ll write about their mythology, archetypes, and some general symbolism, including my own observations.
In this post, I will focus on Saturn.
[I will add to this post when I broaden my knowledge of myths, deepen my knowledge of the planets, and make new observations concerning them.]
If you want early access to my posts, as well as additional content, join my Patreon.
The Mythology of Saturn
Kronos
In Greek mythology, Kronos (known as Saturn in Roman mythology) was the son of Gaia (the Earth) and Ouranos (the sky). Kronos was one of the Titans. Although the youngest of his siblings, he was the strongest of the twelve.
Kronos had always disliked his father. So, when Gaia came to him asking to destroy Ouranos—since she was sick of him for the way he had behaved when, probably out of fear, he pushed all three of their one-eyed cyclopes and all three of their Hecatonchires children back into Gaia’s womb—Kronos agreed.
Gaia gave Kronos a sickle (which is probably why the glyph of Saturn looks like one), and he used it to cut off his father’s genitals. This led to Ouranos cursing Kronos, saying that his children would destroy him as he (Kronos) had destroyed his father.
After Kronos cut his father and led him down into Tartarus, his authority was established. None of his Titan brothers or sisters dared to question him. He also, with threats of violence, took dominion over the sea. He was the master, he trusted no one, and he ruled alone.
However, Ouranos’s curse was still lingering, and it was constantly on Kronos’s mind, so when he and his sister Rhea conceived children, he swallowed them whole as soon as they were born. However, as Rhea grew as tired of Kronos as Gaia had of Ouranos, she decided to, with the help of Gaia, trick Kronos into believing that their sixth child was also swallowed by him, even though it was only a stone. Later, Rhea gave birth to their sixth child in secrecy. This child was Zeus (known as Jupiter in Roman mythology).
Rhea plotted with her son to get revenge on Kronos, which they did when she returned with Zeus posing as Kronos’ cupbearer, and gave Kronos a concoction that made him throw up all the children he had swallowed. All of Zeus’s siblings were happy that he had freed them, and, after a long war between the older and younger generations, they decided to establish a new world order in which the six of them became the gods.
Kronos, on the other hand, had to live in exile, doomed to count the infinity of time. That’s how he became associated with time and eternity. He is, in a way, the constant ticking of the clock and the scythe that comes for us all in the end.
The Symbolism of Saturn
Fast Facts
Keywords: Stability, structure and order, rules, restriction, limitation, concentration, patience, discipline, responsibility, hard work, control, authority, formal, dignity, tradition, wisdom, aging
Domicile: Capricorn & Aquarius
Detriment: Cancer & Leo
Exaltation: Libra
Fall/Depression: Aries
Energy: Yin
Anatomy: Skin, skeleton, teeth, ligaments, knees, gallbladder
Number: 8
Day of the Week: Saturday
Colors: Black
Metal: Lead
Stones: Jet, onyx, and black diamond
Plants: Thistle, yew, ash, alder, and cypress
Joy in the 12th House of Bad Spirit
Saturn spends approximately two and a half years in each sign
Symbolism
Saturn is a greater malefic planet. Traditionally, it’s the most malefic planet. It’s connected to slower malefic aspects, as opposed to Mars, which is more fiery, fast, and sudden. As alluded to above, Saturn is also connected to time. So, aging is connected with Saturn. And, as opposed to Mars, Saturn doesn’t rush into things.
Just like with Mars, Saturn can also signify those who work with people who struggle with common themes of these planets. Mars, which can spark accidents and cause wounds, can also signify the surgeons who take care of and heal those wounds. Likewise, while Saturn can be an indication of sorrow, grief, and depression, it can also signify someone who works as a therapist to help others with these struggles.
Scarcity, fear, and pessimism are also connected to Saturn, which are in contrast to the greater benefic Jupiter’s optimism, hope, and abundance. All of these traits can manifest in both positive and negative ways, though.
Many also associate karma with Saturn, which might be based on the myth that Kronos would be defeated by his children, the way he’d defeated his own father, Ouranos.
On the more positive side, Saturn is also associated with hard work, the slow and steady kind that builds metropolises, art, businesses, etc., that can last for centuries. Similarly to this, it can also indicate skills that you work on, grow, and perhaps even perfect over time. In addition, it’s associated with discipline, accountability, and responsibility. So, what is it that you want to build, or what skills do you want to acquire? Are you willing to put in the discipline to do that? And are you ready to face the results and consequences of it?
“With Saturn as our guide, we become more powerful by working with and mastering problems. The strength of Saturn will sustain us, whatever happens.” (Gillett, 2012, p. 41).
Richard Tarnas summarizes Saturn’s correspondences and archetype in the following way in Cosmos and Psyche:
“the principle of limit, structure, contraction, constraint, necessity, hard materiality, concrete manifestation; time, the past, tradition, age, maturity, mortality, the endings of things; gravity and gravitas, weightiness, that which burdens, binds, challenges, fortifies, deepens; the tendency to confine and constrict, to separate, to divide and define, to cut and shorten, to negate and oppose, to strengthen and forge through tension and resistance, to rigidify, to repress, to maintain a conservative and strict authority; to experience difficulty, decline, deprivation, defect and deficit, defeat, failure, loss, alienation; the labor of existence, suffering, old age, death; the weight of the past, the workings of fate, character, karma, the consequences of past action, error and guilt, punishment, retribution, imprisonment, the sense of ‘no exit’; pessimism, inferiority, inhibition, isolation, oppression and depression; the impulse and capacity for discipline and duty, order, solitude, concentration, conciseness, thoroughness and precision, discrimination and objectivity, restraint and patience, endurance, responsibility, seriousness, authority, wisdom; the harvest of time, effort, and experience; the concern with consensus reality, factual, concreteness, conventional forms and structures, foundations, boundaries, solidity and stability, security and control, rational organization, efficiency, law, right and wrong, judgment, the superego; the dark, cold, heavy, dense, dry, old, slow, distant; the senex, Kronos, the stern father of the gods.” (Tarnas, 2006, ch. 3).
He also goes on to write that, since Saturn was the furthest away planet that could be seen with the naked eye, and thereby the slowest moving, Saturn became associated with aspects of that: “the ruler of boundaries and limits, of finitude and endings, of distance, slowness, age, time, death, and fate.” (Tarnas, 2006, ch. 3).
Wherever Saturn is in your chart, it’s where you need to take responsibility. “It’s the planet of problems, and hardship, yes; but more importantly, it’s the planet of proving to yourself and the world that you can overcome those problems and hardships. That you, and you alone, are the author of your fate.” (Kent, 2023, p. 183).
If you want early access to my posts, as well as additional content, join my Patreon.
Sources
Brennan, Chris. The Astrology Podcast, episode 322: “Saturn in Astrology: Meaning Explained” (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C4KGWESejNs), 2021-10-08.
Fry, Stephen. Mythos. Michael Joseph (Penguin Random House), 2017.
Giesecke, Annette. Classical Mythology A to Z. Black Dog & Leventhal Publishers, 2020 (ebook).
Gillett, Roy. The Secret Language of Astrology: The Illustrated Key to Unlocking the Secrets of the Stars. London: Watkins Media Limited, 2012.
Kent, April Elliott. The Essential Guide to Practical Astrology: Everything from zodiac signs to prediction, made easy and entertaining. San Diego, California: Two Moon Publishing, 2023.
Hamilton, Edith. Mythology: Timeless Tales of Gods and Heroes. Black Dog & Leventhal Publishers, 1942 (ebook).
Parker, Julia & Derek Parker. Parkers’ Astrology: The definitive guide to using astrology in every aspect of your life. London: Dorling Kindersley Limited, 2020.
Ryberg, Kira. “Essential Dignity and Debility in Astrology” (https://www.kiraryberg.com/blog/essential-dignity-and-debility-in-astrology).
Tarnas, Richard. Cosmos and Psyche: Intimations of a New World View. Viking Penguin, 2006.
Taylor, Carole. Astrology: Using the wisdom of the stars in your everyday life. London: Dorling Kindersley Limited, 2018.
