As I already mentioned in previous texts, when analyzing the Saturn return, there are some principles you can follow to understand the transit more holistically.  

Some of them are: 

• Sect of the natal chart
• Sign of the natal Saturn
• Retrograde or direct motion of the natal Saturn 
• How many times the return is exact
• Another house (or houses) ruled by Saturn
• Challenging aspects that Saturn makes to other planets or angles 
• What happened in the previous 7-year cycles of Saturn

Today, I’ll focus on the houses. I’ll discuss the importance of knowing the house of your natal Saturn and the houses ruled by this planet in your natal chart. 

Besides, I’ll explain what happens with your Saturnian houses during your Saturn return and offer journaling prompts to explore these topics in written form. 

This is the table of contents:

1. Saturnian Houses in the Natal Chart
2. The Meaning of the House of your Natal Saturn 
3. Why Do You Feel Like the Ugly Duckling When It Comes to the House of Your Natal Saturn?
4. What Happens With the House of Your Natal Saturn During the Saturn Return?
5. Journaling Prompts to Start Working With Your Saturnian Houses

Let’s get to it. 

Saturnian Houses in the Natal Chart

Besides knowing the house in which your natal Saturn is, you’ll have to check the houses inhabited by Capricorn and Aquarius, the two signs ruled by Saturn. 

If you were born with Saturn in Capricorn or Saturn in Aquarius, the themes of your Saturn return will be connected with two houses: 

• The house where Saturn is located in your chart
• The other house which is not the house where your Saturn is, but it is ruled by Saturn 

This sounds complicated but bear with me. I’ll put myself as an example. 

Related: Saturn’s Themes and Their Activation During The Saturn Return

I was born with Saturn in Aquarius in the 1st house. This meant that the topics of the first house became prominent during my Saturn return, but not only those topics. 

To get the complete picture of my Saturn return, I had to check the topics in my chart’s Capricorn house because Capricorn is a sign ruled by Saturn. 

Since Capricorn is a sign that takes place before Aquarius, that would be my 12th house because it is located before the 1st house in the zodiac wheel. 

To sum up, the topics of the 1st and the 12th house were the most prominent during my first Saturn return. 

Now let’s refer to my friend C, who was born with Saturn in Capricorn in the 5th house. 

During her return, she had to focus on the topics of the 5th and the 6th houses because Aquarius is the sign placed in her 6th house, and Aquarius is also ruled by Saturn. 

Do you get it? I hope so! 

The situation is a bit more complex if you have Saturn in a sign that is not Capricorn or Aquarius. 

If you were born with Saturn in Aries, Taurus, Gemini, Cancer, Leo, Virgo, Libra, Scorpio, Sagittarius, or Pisces, you have to analyze the topics of three different houses: 

• The house where your natal Saturn is located
• The Capricorn house of your natal chart
• The Aquarius house of your natal chart

The themes associated with these three houses will become prominent every time the transiting Saturn contacts your natal Saturn, especially during your Saturn return. 

If you are a visual person, this graphic will be helpful: 

The Meaning of the House of your Natal Saturn 

Once again, I’ll rely on Twelve Faces of Saturn: Your Guardian Angel Planet, a book by Bil Tierney. I’ll also add my own reflections. 

While the sign of your natal Saturn explains what you have to learn and how you have to learn it, the house where this planet is located points to an area of life where you must direct your conscious efforts to develop yourself.  

The meanings connected with the house of your natal Saturn indicate the area of existence where you must apply the qualities of responsibility, dedication, and patience with devotion.  

Besides checking the house where Saturn is placed, you must also analyze the houses contained by the Capricorn or Aquarius signs, as I have already mentioned. 

I will continue this text mentioning only “the house of your natal Saturn,” for the sake of simplification, but remember that I’m referring to two houses in your natal chart (if you were born with Saturn in Capricorn or Aquarius) or to three houses in your natal chart (if you were born with Saturn in Aries, Taurus, Gemini, Cancer, Leo, Virgo, Libra, Scorpio, Sagittarius, or Pisces.) 

The house of your natal Saturn hosts the consequences of your insecurities. Your deepest fears are also stored here. 

But if you devote yourself to transforming or learning to live with those fears, this house will grant you strength and confidence. 

This house is connected to learning about the structures needed to grow organically. Everything you build has to work correctly and be stable.  

You can’t allow yourself to be sloppy or pretend not to know what you must do. 

Saturn will show you what you need to change and improve. And once you know better, you have to act better. 

No excuses allowed. 

Leaving loose ends without addressing them will only cause chronic frustration and the sense that you can’t trust yourself and your ability to deal with life’s challenges. 

The good news is that Saturn won’t rush you. 

Related: Essential Tips to Prepare for Your Saturn Return

You can go as slow as you need to. But you have to deal with the issues at hand and be responsible.  

Time is needed for the matters of the house of your natal Saturn to develop appropriately. 

Things move slowly here.

It’s common to experience delays, obstacles, rainchecks, and setbacks, even when you try your best to make things work.

Sometimes, unfortunate external circumstances are to blame, and other times, you block your intentions. 

Are you afraid of growing up? 

Are you afraid of being successful? 

Are you afraid of the person you will become when you work diligently toward your goals?

Are you afraid of leaving your past behind and the people who loved you once to step into your destiny?

You can’t escape from the life lessons that Saturn imparts. 

If you try to do it, this planet will place protective barriers in your way to prevent you from going too far from what you must learn before moving forward.

Why Do You Feel Like the Ugly Duckling When It Comes to the House of Your Natal Saturn?

Tierney suggests that this house is a sector of your life where you are The Ugly Duckling who was actually a swan the whole time (but didn’t realize it until much later). 

Even though I’m not a big fan of The Ugly Duckling tale, I understand why Tierney has chosen this story to illustrate your relationship with the house of your natal Saturn. 

You may feel inadequate regarding the topics of this house. You may perceive that everyone is competent and knows what they are doing while you are absolutely lost. 

But this situation pivots once you start developing self-awareness and working on the most invisible parts of yourself, which actually impact the visible world in tremendous ways.  

With time and patience, you’ll receive gifts connected with the topics of that house because you’ll gain the confidence to realize you have always been a beautiful and talented swan. 

Luckily, time and patience are on your side when it comes to cultivating the features of the house of your natal Saturn. 

[Suggestion: play this song in the background while you continue reading this text.] 

What Happens With the House of Your Natal Saturn During the Saturn Return?

Analyzing the themes contained in the house where your natal Saturn resides is fundamental to determining the aspects of your life that will be transformed during your Saturn return. 

Since the Saturn return implies that this planet will be back in the same spot it was when you were born, it’s vital to know in which house Saturn is located in your natal chart. 

This information will let you understand which topics will be intensely activated during an average of 2.5 years, the entire length of your Saturn return. 

The house of your natal Saturn offers areas of life where you can build slowly but firmly something that will endure the test of time. 

You don’t have to give up on the topics associated with this house.

Progress will be slow, sometimes even imperceptible, but the process will become easier as you grow up. 

In this frantic era, it seems that everything has to happen NOW, that you have to be successful by age 20, and that you must be EVERYWHERE and do EVERYTHING to be worthy. 

But Saturn doesn’t work like that. 

Related: My Philosophy About Astrology

This planet teaches that slow and steady wins the race and that you must focus on a few things to be excellent rather than dilute your energy in multiple paths that may catch your fleeting attention.  

After the first Saturn return, you are just beginning to understand what the house of your natal Saturn and the other Saturnian houses in your natal chart are trying to teach you.

It’s not that nothing happens before the return or that you won’t be able to manifest anything you want prior to this transit.  

Still, the first Saturn return causes a lot of meanings from those houses to come into focus, and you’ll be able to feel more comfortable with those topics as you grow. 

As far as Saturn is concerned, not peaking at high school is the best thing that could happen to you. 

Journaling Prompts to Start Working With Your Saturnian Houses

• Write down the house of your natal Saturn, just like this: My natal Saturn is in house X. 
• Write down your other Saturnian house (or houses). Remember that if you were born with Saturn in Aquarius or Capricorn, you only have one extra Saturnian house. Instead, if your natal Saturn is in Aries, Taurus, Gemini, Cancer, Leo, Virgo, Libra, Scorpio, Sagittarius, or Pisces, you’ll have two extra Saturnian houses (3 in total.)  
• Read The Ugly Duckling story (or watch the Disney version of it.) Then answer this question: In which areas of your life you may been a swam who thinks it is a duckling? If you can’t think of an example from your present, analyze a situation from your past when this was the case. 

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