Saturn Square Uranus: Restriction vs. Freedom. Round 1.

I’ve said before that whenever Saturn meets Jupiter, a King falls. In a previous article regarding the Great (Saturn-Jupiter) Conjunction at the end of 2020, this was herald to be true in the world of American politics - with two powerful malefics (one known for Karmic retribution coming together with the other, known for expansion), it wasn’t a hard leap to make to say that something world-changing was coming. This manifested as the fall of the 45th POTUS - perhaps one of the final tipping points of that year.

In the astrology forecast for 2021, we see Saturn making contact with another outer planet, Uranus. This is interesting to note first and foremost simply by their rulership: where Saturn dictates structure, limitations, and boundaries, Uranus governs all things rebellion. While they are not making as close of a contact as a conjunction, as it was for Saturn in 2020, this square is grounds for a truly challenging relationship between the two celestial bodies. Think of it as the two Greek Gods for which these two were named (Cronus and Caelus) literally squaring off and preparing to fight: Restriction vs. Freedom. Round 1.

Now, for us mere mortals, we will experience this tension in a much more external way - perhaps seeing government warring with these two themes (and with the people, but I digress), or on political grounds (literally manifesting as war vs. sanctioned peace). What we can take from these two planets, particularly in the beginning, is to understand that true freedom comes from restructuring our limitations; it’s in making the time for the luxuries in which we find reprieve, not in sponsoring a war against our collective responsibilities. There is a balance needed to achieve this. Leaning too hard into Saturn’s lessons and in his rigidity will cause us to lose our sense of individuality, of freedom, and of creativity. But raging against the machine and being a bit too rebellious will cause us to lose our stable footing - and perhaps lose our way.

These tensions can be incredibly challenging to mitigate, particularly on the larger scale of individuality vs. community vs. governing bodies. I do think that this transit signifies not only the continued fall of Rome (what’s done is done), but a total upheaval of what it means to function in our ‘modern’ society. Between the Coronavirus outbreak (Uranus in Taurus) utterly changing the realms of work and capitalism, health, politics, and the age-old first-world struggle of caring for the Individual vs. the Collective, and the political uprising (Saturn-Jupiter conjunction) we have been witnessing and taking part in for the better part of over a year now, the Saturn-Uranus square will keep tensions high and demand change - on one level or another.

Make note of this transit. We will be feeling it rather intensely more than a few times throughout this year.

Rylen Moore is a queer freelance writer, LGBTQ+ advocate, and Child & Youth Care graduate. An Albertan-turned-Vancouverite, they use their astrological studies as a framework to better understand and work with at-risk youth as well as run their own chart-reading business. You can find them on Facebook for Moon horoscopes, weekly astrological content, and personal services @ It's Just A Phase (facebook.com/readingsbyrylen) .