The first Saturn return initiates something called “the 2nd Structure of Personality”.
Besides, the first Saturn return marks the beginning of the 5th 7-year cycle of life.
This 5th 7-year cycle of life goes from age 28 until age 35.
In this text, I’ll explain some of the characteristics of this dynamic cycle and the influence the first Saturn return has on it.
But first, let’s learn about some of the other 7-year life cycles so you know where you are coming from and where you are going.
This is the table of contents:
- 7-Year Cycles of Life and the Planets Ruling Them
- The 5th 7-Year Cycle of Life and the First Saturn Return
- 3 Common Manifestations in the Period From 28 to 35 Years Old
- What Happens Next?
- Journaling Prompts for Analyzing the 5th 7-Year Cycle of Life
Let’s go.
7-Year Cycles of Life and the Planets Ruling Them
In her groundbreaking book Cada siete años. La vida y sus estaciones astrológicas, Argentinian astrologer Beatriz Leveratto classified every 7-year life cycle according to the planet ruling each of them.
For the sake of simplification, I’ll cover the cycles from birth until the second Saturn return. Here it goes:
| Cycle | Ruler | Length | Characteristics |
| 1st | Moon | From birth to 7 | Family world |
| 2nd | Mercury | From 7 to 14 | Learning and play |
| 3th | Venus | From 14 to 21 | Individuality and love |
| 4th | Sun | From 21 to 28 | Role definition |
| 5th | Mars | From 28 to 35 | Conquest of desire |
| 6th | Jupiter | From 35 to 42 | Meaning of being |
| 7th | Saturn | From 42 to 49 | Midlife crisis |
| 8th | Chiron | From 49 to 56 | Balance of achievements |
If you like pretty images, you’ll enjoy this one:
Now, let’s focus specifically on the 5th cycle, which begins with the first Saturn return.
The 5th 7-Year Cycle of Life and the First Saturn Return
Beatriz Leveratto argues that the 5th 7-year cycle is a Martian period in which you launch yourself into conquering your deepest desires.
Mars is the astrological symbol dominating the period from ages 28 to 35. The functions associated with this planet are to activate, burn, risk, conquer, desire, execute, undertake, eroticize, drive, become independent, and project yourself.
Among the most noteworthy characteristics of this period, Leveratto mentions the following:
- Search for independence and self-determination.
- Pursuit of personal projects like starting a family or a new profession.
- High energy demand to achieve goals.
- Manifestation of your life’s purpose formed in recent years.
- Desire for accomplishments that confirm your chosen vocation.
- Aspiration to realize love ideals.
- Formation of a new life structure by leaving the family of origin.
- Need to express unique and creative aspects of your personality.
- Birth of children, shaping your creativity.
- Experimentation with new power dynamics in relationships.
- Heightened sensitivity to the sacred through new dreams.
Besides the specific circumstances you may have during this period, most people experience some “big picture” manifestations at this stage.
3 Common Manifestations in the Period From 28 to 35 Years Old
Leveratto mentions three “big picture” possible manifestations in the intense period from 28 to 35 years old.
They are:
- Building new spaces in the world
- Searching for the meaning of life
- Desiring transcendence
Let’s review these possibilities in detail.
1) Building New Spaces in the World
The most notable aspect of the period from 28 to 35 years of age is the conquest of a personal space in the world, a space where you can leave your mark and the imprint of who you truly are in the present.
As mentioned, Mars (the planet of action, courage, survival, and competition) rules this period.
Therefore, your inner warrior will awaken during these years, enabling you to fight for your desires and do your best to manifest them.
At the end of your twenties, you will feel that your personality has matured, and this feeling is likely to bring about a crisis around the age of 28, when the Saturn return begins.
This crisis can lead you to direct your power in a new direction. You will tend to develop the necessary confidence to take on various projects and be willing to fight to achieve your goals.
The desire to build new spaces will color all aspects of your life, from love to professional matters, including relationships and habits.
Your new personality will be in the process of transformation and will involve many changes, even in your body.
From the age of 28, you will likely introduce new behaviors into your daily life.
The habits you were accustomed to during your upbringing will be questioned to make way for new possibilities.
Changes can manifest in everyday habits, such as diet or clothing, as well as in other areas related to values, social relationships, and beliefs.
Related: What Is the Saturn Return in Astrology?
In this sense, the 7-year period you begin from age 28 will represent a unique opportunity to create new ways of being in the world.
Unprecedented confidence in expressing your unique personality will awaken you, encouraging you to try new things or innovate in different areas of life.
You will feel uncomfortable in the first stage of this 7-year period, which extends from 28 to 33. Your personality’s old and new aspects will debate each other, and extreme tension will be palpable.
During these years, you will build a bridge between the past and the new life you desire.
A hefty dose of patience will be necessary to respect the time required for this creative beginning to settle.
The good news is that the projects you begin at 28 will show more solidity and strength around 33.
This age is inscribed in the collective unconscious as “the age of Christ.”
At 33, you can free yourself from the cross of the past and begin to walk your path.
Related: The Importance of Being 33 Years Old
Your commitment to your mission no longer allows you to return to who you were before the age of 28.
Now, your mission has more substance, enabling you to leave behind the feeling of constantly swimming upstream.
You know what you have to do.
So what are you going to do now that you have resurrected?
2) Searching for the Meaning of Life
The great flow of energy manifesting from 28 to 35 will allow you to express your most original and genuine feelings.
An unusual faith and confidence will enable you to implement your desired changes.
Audacity will prevail over respecting the duties you inherited from your family.
A deep inner conviction will accompany your courage to express these most original and genuine feelings.
You will sense that NOW is the right time to allow these changes and that you will have the perfect opportunity to propel them.
Great vitality is available.
Related: Saturn’s Transits at 7, 14, 21, and 28 Years Old
Besides, no huge commitments or responsibilities anchor you, and you are brimming with the needed enthusiasm to take charge of your life.
Moreover, your intuition is sharper.
The clarity you feel will have the character of revelations. Some of these revelations might answer questions such as:
What do I want to dedicate myself to?
Where do I want to live?
Who do I want to be in a relationship with?
If the answers to these questions are unclear, daily life can become painful.
Feeling that you are grown up and still don’t know what you want can generate anxiety or despair.
To navigate these seven years constructively, it is essential to have confidence in the possibility of building a new life.
During this period, it will be critical to sustain the commitment to this construction and to bet on the new without staying stuck in what you have already done in the past.
3) Desiring Transcendence
In the 5th 7-year life cycle, your beliefs are tested in several situations.
Now, you are responsible for self-managing your daily life and must apply different tools to solve the problems that arise.
Your values, principles, and ideals may undergo reformulations. Your philosophy of life, religion, or faith in general will change.
The changes experienced during this stage can stimulate exploration and the search to know your inner self more deeply.
Learning new knowledge, practicing “spiritual” disciplines, or adopting new life philosophies will feed the curiosity characteristic of this period.
Related: My Philosophy About Astrology
The opportunities this knowledge provides can also feed an unprecedented sensitivity toward the arts and the development of new tastes.
It is a favorable time to avoid getting stuck in the religious convictions or spiritual beliefs you had that no longer resonate with your updated concerns.
From the age of 28, the urge to expand what you inherited from your family will be relentless. You’ll want to go out and pursue new visions. Combining approaches will enrich you and open you up to new perspectives.
Relationships with partners, friends, or family members will endure transformations. You can even experience motherhood or fatherhood for the first time.
When you go through real and concrete hardships in relationships, all your assumptions about love, what you dreamed about in a couple, and your idealizations related to children will be exposed.
Fantasies will take on a more vital, fresh, practical sense of reality. Seeing everything through rose-colored glasses is no longer an option.
To take advantage of the opportunities of this 7-year cycle, you must be open to new ideas, question childish illusions, and express your opinions.
The preconceived certainties of the past can make you rigid and sustain a life without the capacity for play or experimentation.
Now, you must embrace the new, and the new will embrace you back.
What Happens Next?
From 28 to 35, you’ll have the strength to develop an impulse that started manifesting at the beginning of your first Saturn return.
But the process will take time. With Saturn, processes always take time.
The consolidation of this impulse will occur near the end of the seven years of the cycle, at age 35.
At 35, the certainty that you are focused on building new spaces in the world will prevail.
And you will start harvesting the seeds you diligently planted in dark soil for the most part of seven long, hard years.
It will be difficult. It will be painful. It will be exhausting.
But I want you to believe in yourself and keep going. Just. Keep. Going.
Hang in there, darling. You got this!
Journaling Prompts for Analyzing the 5th 7-Year Cycle of Life
- In the subtitle “The 5th 7-Year Cycle of Life and the First Saturn Return,” I mentioned 11 points astrologer Beatriz Leveratto considers relevant in this period. Write 3 already happening in your life and 3 not happening right now (but you want to see actualized before the end of the cycle.)
- From the three “big picture” manifestations mentioned by Leveratto (building new spaces in the world, searching for the meaning of life, and desiring transcendence), which one do you think is most potent for you now? Do some free journaling about it. Don’t censor your thoughts. Be raw and honest. No one besides you will read it.
Was this helpful? Let me know in the comments! And until next time!
First Saturn Return 
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