Cycles of seven years have been used since ancient times. 

But do you know that they are connected with Saturn’s transits? 

In this text, I will tell you what happens when you are 7, 14, 21, and 28 years old.   

At 28, your first Saturn return begins, and the first entire cycle of the planet Saturn is completed. 

Get ready to understand A LOT about your life and your kid’s life (if you are raising one).

This is the table of contents:

1. Saturn and the Cycles of Life
   1. Saturn’s Manifestations at Age Seven 
   2. Saturn’s Manifestations at Age Fourteen
   3. Saturn’s Manifestations at Age Twenty One
   4. Saturn’s Manifestations at Age Twenty-Eight
2. The Three Structures of Personality
3. The First Saturn Return and the Second Structure of Personality
4. The Discomfort of the First Saturn Return
5. Saturn Return: Time to Settle Down or Shake Things Up?
6. Common Manifestations During the First Saturn Return
7. Did You Peak at Seven Like Taylor Swift?
8. My Saturn Cycle and The Constant of My Life
9. Saturn Return Journal Prompts to Analyze Your 7-Year Cycles

Saturn and the Cycles of Life

Argentinian astrologer Beatriz Leveratto wrote an incredible book called Cada siete años. La vida y sus estaciones astrológicas.

(I don’t think this book has been translated into English. But no worries. I’ll paraphrase it, and you’ll get the most relevant ideas regarding this topic.) 

In her book, Leveratto analyzes different periods that last for seven years. 

She doesn’t mention the planet Saturn explicitly because this text aims to appeal to a general audience. But astrologers know Saturn (and Uranus, which I will mention later) do something relevant every seven years. 

At 0, when you are born, you have Saturn in a specific sign and degree in your natal chart. 

At 7, the transiting Saturn squares your natal Saturn. 

At 14, the transiting Saturn opposes your natal Saturn. 

At 21, the transiting Saturn squares your natal Saturn again. 

At 28, the transiting Saturn arrives at the same spot it was when you were born. This is when you experience your first Saturn return. 

Related: What Is the Saturn Return in Astrology?

And this goes on and on every seven years until your last breath. 

I know that this astrological jargon can be confusing. 

The vital thing to remember for now is that every seven years, Saturn “does something.” This “something” is usually relevant and memorable in your life. 

Keep reading to find out about some specific manifestations that could take place at every one of these stages. 

Saturn’s Manifestations at Age Seven 

• Formal schooling intensifies
• You start developing relationships outside of your family of origin
• Some growing pains could be reflected in behaviors such as peeing in bed and struggling with reading or writing
• Being jealous of a newborn sibling
• Experiencing some destabilizing changes in family life 
• On the bright side, you may start a sport or hobby that becomes more prominent later 

Saturn’s Manifestations at Age Fourteen

• Rebelling against the values transmitted by your family
• Finding groups of belonging where you can shine and share new values
• Feeling extreme angst against your family 
• Experiencing emotional turmoil and not knowing how to channel it in healthy ways 
• Problems at school
• Changes in the body that you don’t know how to handle
• Doubts about your sexuality 
• Experimentation with different types of substances
• Your parents may be having issues in their relationship, and a divorce or some other disruption in the family dynamic could occur
• The hobby you started at seven gains more power, or you discover something else you truly enjoy 

Saturn’s Manifestations at Age Twenty One

• Topics associated with time and its inherent limitations become prominent 
• You may have more responsibilities at work, university, or caring for your loved ones
• Depending on your culture, you could get married, have your first child, or get a degree
• A revival of the experimentation of your teen years, but with more awareness and self-control
• You could engage again in activities or hobbies you enjoyed in high school or when you were a child 

Saturn’s Manifestations at Age Twenty-Eight

At 28, you officially become an adult. The first era of your life has ended, and the second one begins. 

Manifestations at this point are wildly diverse. 

Keep reading to find out more. 

The Three Structures of Personality

Leveratto considers that a human life is divided into two large cycles. 

The first cycle occurs from the moment you are born until the age of 42. At 42, the transiting Uranus opposes your natal Uranus. 

The second cycle goes from the age of 42 until the age of 84. At 84, you experience the first Uranus return. 

Of course, not every person will die at the age of 84. Some people live longer lives, and some people live shorter lives. 

Leveratto uses the Uranus return as a more or less arbitrary parameter considering current life expectancy. But this is not absolute. 

What she calls “Structures of Personality” emerge within these two large cycles. There are three structures of personality: 

• 1st Structure of Personality: From birth until age 28, when you experience your first Saturn return. 
• 2nd Structure of Personality: From the first Saturn return at age 28 until age 56, when you experience your second Saturn return. 
• 3rd Structure of Personality: From the second Saturn return at age 56 until age 84, when you experience your first Uranus return. 

Some caveats about the concept of Structures of Personality: 

• The exact age of the returns, both the Saturn and the Uranus return, may vary from chart to chart. You may not experience your first Saturn return at age 28, but at age 29. Nonetheless, the idea of arriving at the end of a cycle remains the same. For more info, check this text: Can the Saturn Return Come Early?
• Why did Leveratto choose the Uranus return as the ending of the 3rd Structure of Personality instead of selecting the 3rd Saturn return, which takes place at age 88? I really don’t know. I would have chosen the 3rd Saturn return for the sake of consistency. Besides, I would have chosen the third Saturn return because this planet is associated with time and, eventually, decay. Astrology is not white or black but exists in many shades of gray. 

Is this clear? Ok, let’s continue. 

The First Saturn Return and the Second Structure of Personality

According to Leveratto, the personality you develop in the first 28 years of life is influenced by what you inherited from your family of origin. 

The customs and genes you received from your clan possess a heavy load physically, mentally, and emotionally.   

During the first stage of life, the substance of the past is always present. 

Related: Essential Tips to Prepare for Your Saturn Return

Therefore, everything you do up until the age of 28 is not the true expression of your individual identity. Instead, is the manifestation of the talents that emerged mediated by the opportunities and limitations of the family that raised you. 

Leveratto believes that you must begin to take responsibility for your gifts and talents at the age of 28. This is when your first Saturn return takes place.  

Being born again during the first Saturn return implies being in charge of your life based on your own resources. You have to tap into the inheritance you have received. Then, transform it into your heritage, and decide how it will be expressed in the world.

This means new forms of expression will bloom in your existence from the first Saturn return. 

From now on, you have at your disposal an existence separated from the structure that contained you while growing up.

However, the period leading to a new stage has its risks. 

The Discomfort of the First Saturn Return

Leaping to a new life during your first Saturn return can cause discomfort. 

And that discomfort could be so unbearable that it may force you to play it safe.  

But if you decide to operate from your old patterns, you will get stuck. You will be trapped in an identity that will not allow you to move forward into the future.

Related: Gift Guides for the First Saturn Return

On the other hand, if you dare to leap, you can build a different life.

This different life will resonate with your new personality and be more authentic to your true self. 

Saturn Return: Time to Settle Down or Shake Things Up?

During your first Saturn return, you may feel it’s time to “settle down.” 

This can have various meanings.

Some of the common manifestations of settling down in the first Saturn return include:

• Deciding to have a child
• Actually becoming a parent
• Establishing yourself in a profession
• Taking on serious commitments
• Getting married

On the other hand, your Saturn return may invite you to make a drastic change or an extreme makeover. 

If this is the case, the manifestations are different.

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

Some of the common manifestations of shaking things up in the first Saturn return include:

• Separating from a long-term partner
• Start a new relationship very different from the previous ones
• Shifting your vocation
• Engaging in spiritual practices that were alien to you before
• Traveling the world with minimal possessions

The common denominator of these changes is the perception that things cannot remain the same. The linear continuity of life should be altered when the 1st Structure of Personality ends. 

Transformations experienced during the first Saturn return are reflected in a significant change in identity.

This means that the image that you have of yourself will be transformed. The identifications and structures that have supported your existence up to this point will no longer be satisfying. 

In reality, the Saturn return marks the end of one life and the beginning of another. 

So, there will definitely be a death and a rebirth of your identity during this transit. 

Common Manifestations During the First Saturn Return

• Feeling that the decisions made are more permanent
• Making decisions considering the impact they will have in the future
• Not wanting to waste time
• Experiencing a deep sense of loneliness
• Considering what you want in a romantic relationship (if you desire one)
• Analyzing parenthood as a not-so-distant possibility
• Considering leaving the familiar behind and moving to a new place to start over
• Navigating existence with urgency, as if you are arriving late to a party
• Comparing yourself to others and believing that you are moving at a “slower” pace

Did You Peak at Seven Like Taylor Swift?

In the lyrics of her song “seven,” Taylor Swift states the following: 

Please, picture me in the trees

I hit my peak at seven

This song is included in folklore, an album that came out at the end of her first Saturn return. 

Throughout folklore, Taylor expresses her Wiccan witchy self in a very #cottagecore aesthetics. 

She’s in the woods, without makeup, wearing comfortable dresses. In that setting, she crafts lyrics about trees, creeks, skies, weeds, willows, water, rain, and other natural elements. 

This album and these lyrics are the perfect example to analyze Taylor’s first Saturn cycle.  

When she was 7, she enjoyed spending time in nature. According to some information I found online, she decided to become a musician when she was 9. 

But since she was so bright as a young girl, I’m assuming music and songwriting were also on her mind when she was only seven. 

When she was 14, she moved from Pennsylvania to Tennessee with her family to devote herself to country music. 

When she was 21, she harvested accolades for her album Fearless and launched Speak Now. It was a very active time in her life. 

Then, in her 20s, she experienced some high highs and some low lows, both professionally and personally.  

But it seems that thanks to folklore and the introspection she did during her first Saturn return, she came back to being that “successful” 7-year-old kid who enjoyed climbing trees. 

I absolutely think that her first Saturn return marked a striking contrast. Before this astrological transit, she tried to please everyone to her detriment. After, she seems more genuine and connected with her true desires. 

Related: The 5th 7-Year Cycle and the First Saturn Return

Since she’s a public figure, it’s convenient to use her as an example to check Saturn’s transits.  

However, this type of analysis doesn’t only apply to famous people. 

You can also trace the constant of your life by reviewing what happened during specific transits of Saturn. 

My Saturn Cycle and The Constant of My Life

In my case, the constant is writing. 

At 7, my mom got me my first journal. 

At 14, I started sharing some short texts on my Fotolog. (Remember Fotolog?! Those were the good ol’ days!)

At 21, I got my degree in translation and created a blog about literature and other nerdy topics.

At 28, I started a blog in Spanish about the first Saturn return. 

I’m just mentioning milestones here. However, many other writing projects and decisive turning points have occurred in my life during Saturn’s busiest times.   

Related: The Importance of Being 33 Years Old

Saturn Return Journal Prompts to Analyze Your 7-Year Cycles

Grab your Saturn Return Journal and get to work: 

1. What can you remember about the time you were seven years old? How was your personality? What did you enjoy doing? How was your family situation at that time? What about your friends? 
2. Now, do the same as in number 1, but about when you were 14. 
3. Now, do the same as in numbers 1 and 2, but about when you were 21. 
4. Read what you have written in numbers 1, 2, and 3. Is there a constant? Did you enjoy a hobby or project during these three different life periods? Write the constant if you found one. 
5. Would you like to take that constant one step further in your Saturn return? Would you like to give it more structure, make it official, or transform it into a long-term project or job? Write down your ideas. But don’t execute them. Just write them for now. 

Was this helpful? Let me know in the comments. Until next time!