On my 28th birthday, surrounded by an apartment full of friends, I celebrated the day with the usual fanfare and healthy dose of hedonism. I was feeling good! I was looking good! But one of the things I remember most about that birthday was a conversation with a guest brought by a friend of mine. She was a very nice woman who is a few years older than I am — wise enough that when she found out how old I was turning, she immediately grimaced, “Oh, watch out. You’re about to hit your Saturn Return.”

Now I had studied astrology on and off since I was a teenager and was familiar enough with the Saturn Return that her comment wasn’t met with a blank stare. In fact, I think I laughed it off at the time. But nothing could have prepared me for the wild ride in store — the life altering and earth shattering havoc that was about to ensue. My party guest had unknowingly channeled Saturn with her words Watch out. Call it Saturn’s opening salvo.

I’m going to be talking about my Saturn Return in this blog, personally recounting the planet’s transit through my 8th House on his way to meet up with my natal Saturn at 12 degrees Virgo in the 9th House. Saturn’s movement through the 8th House, like a scythe sweeping across my life, hasn’t been an easy placement, but it has made for some interesting stories.