Boomers! It's Your Second Saturn Return!

As children, you rode in cars with no seat belts or air bags. Riding in the back of a pickup truck on a warm day was always a special treat. You drank water from the garden hose and not from a bottle. You shared one soft drink with four friends, from one bottle, and no one actually died from this. You’d leave home in the morning and play all day, walk to school, as long as you were back when the streetlights came on. No one was able to reach you all day. And you were OK. Besides Mom was always back home. You only had one car.

You’re a Boomer and now you’re turning 60. You’re going to be experiencing your second Saturn Return.

Baby Boomers are turning sixty! So much to think about. So much still to learn. Yours is the generation that was conceived to heal the war weary, wounded, bereft and traumatized. Your conception after the death of over 40,000,000 soldiers in World War II symbolized a rebirth of hope in humankind. Life goes on.

Some of you were born into families in countries that were victorious to fathers who were heroes. Other were born to men dealing with the bitterness and humiliation of defeat and lost personal opportunities such as educational years and job advancement. In all countries that participated in the War including the United States, lack of essential goods continued for many years. Your families lived with want and hope as companions.

Conceived at the same time as you, the countries of India and Pakistan (founded August 15, 1947 with Saturn at 13 degrees Leo) and Israel (founded May 14, 1948 with Saturn at 16 Leo) made as controversial appearances on the world scene as could possibly be imagined, all three fighting for their lives from the moment of birth. Civil unrest broke out immediately between East and West Pakistan. Hundreds of thousands were killed. A year later, India and Pakistan warred over Kashmir. Within 24 hours of Israel’s birth, it was attacked by the combined armies of its Arab neighbors, Egypt, Jordan, Syria, Lebanon and Iraq.

The war cry of the Baby Boomer could be, “Fight for your life!” This is because Saturn was conjunct Pluto during these years. This was the beginning of a new world order commenced when the two planets were partile on August 3, 1947, just days before the founding of India and Pakistan.

These three countries are celebrating their second Saturn Returns along with Boomers. At their first Returns around 1975, Israel and the Arabs were again at war – the Yom Kippur War. In India, Indira Ghandi declared a state of emergency after being found guilty of electoral malpractice. Nearly 1,000 political opponents were imprisoned and a program of compulsory birth control was introduced. In Pakistan, riots erupted over allegations of vote-rigging by Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto's Pakistan People's Party (PPP). General Zia ul-Haq staged a military coup and a year later, Zia was proclaimed president. Bhutto was hanged.

The Defense Department and the CIA were created in 1946. South Korea was founded (August 15, 1948 Saturn at 28 degrees of Leo). At South Korea’s first Saturn Return, General Park Chung-hee, who assumed power in 1961 through a military coup, was assassinated. General Chun Doo-hwan assumed power. The following year, martial law was declared. In the city of Kwangju at least 200 were killed by the army, causing resentment that has yet to fade. The fifth republic and new constitution resulted.

At this point you might be wondering, “What happened to me at my first Saturn Return?” Answering this question can help predict what will happen at your second Return. Please refer back to 1975-79, when you were 28-30 years old. This can help you make sense of things in the overall game plan of life.

Many Boomers began new careers, divorced or married for the first time between the ages of 28-30. Karen Lafferty (the names are changed, the stories are true) describes it this way: “Thirty years ago in 1975, I had moved across the country, taken up residence with a nice man, and had entered college. In 1976 or 77, I did the old est Training and afterwards approached my dad about creating our relationship all over again and he agreed. I also discovered that one of my daughters had … a genetic condition…. My other daughter had decided to live with her father. So things were going on. I think I faired well through all of this and did quite a bit of maturing. It was the 70s and I was exploring all my boundaries, my intellect, my mothering skills, and testing pretty much whatever waters I could. I had no idea what I wanted as a profession and I floundered around.

Karen hasn’t experienced her second SR yet but wishes to: “… rid myself of the vestiges of emotional c--- that my father put on me. The things he pounded into me: I'm dumb. I'm not good enough. I'm ugly. I can never have what I want or be what I want. I will cause suffering to the people who are closest to me. I'm being punished just for being here. I don't deserve to be alive. I should have died instead of my brother....Just a real load of garbage that intellectually doesn't make sense, but some of which I still feel. I've worked through the worst of it, but there are still some hangers on, like I'm not good enough.

Monica Short says, “I hated my father and I remember it was especially so around 1958 to about 1974 or 75…. When I got married in 1975, it seems our relationship became softer, and after my parents moved back to Xxx in 1976, we became almost friends. I still never was able to discuss my real feelings or beliefs, or talk to him about world issues, but we were able to laugh about things. I must say he taught me a lot about electricity, about cars, about how things work, and I miss him for that. … I also think he would have loved computers and what they do.”

Monica’s sister also married that year and they began to have a better relationship. Monica is currently making a transition from management to creative writing and is pursuing a bisexual lifestyle.

Boomer Leon Tuttle explains, “My father and I had quite a problem when I was growing up. Teenage rebellion as I recall it. I did however, tell him that I hated him and he still continues to bring it up. I explained to him that I didn't hate him but didn't like the way he treated me…. In 1975 my wife gave birth to our daughter. She [had] promised to raise our children as Catholics, but when our daughter was born she took her to [a Protestant] church to have her baptized and never bothered to consult with me or to invite my relatives. This broke a promise to my father who did not want me to marry outside the church….” Leon divorced his wife. At that same time, the company he worked for burned to the ground. Leon was not allowed to see his daughter. He never had enough money to go back through the courts. He feels his life was ruined. Leon mentions several career things he would like to happen at his second Return. He is an inventor. He says, “Hope springs eternal. Perhaps the last years of my life will bring to fruition some of my dreams?”

Rory Peters was in a bad marriage and because of that she had an abortion at her first SR. She stayed in the marriage another 20 years. At her second SR she’s “overworked, underpaid and not respected” in the cosmetics field and is “currently in a relationship with a gentleman 16 years [her] junior. “He has lived with me for 4 years,” she says, “and has paid nothing for his upkeep. I’m nothing more than a mother maybe less to him. I am so in need of clear direction for my crazy life.”

Latonya Xandra lost both parents at her first SR, divorced, began a new career and started on her spiritual path. As a single parent, she had little time to date and was scarred by childhood incest issues. At her second SR she reconnected with a man she met at 30 who had always loved her. She was able to work through her sexual issues with him and their relationship has been very healing. She feels it is her reward for working on her Saturn issues. Saturn is in her 8th house of sexuality, trust and bonded relations.

As you can see, often Saturn in Leo has issues with the father. Karen Lafferty and Monica Short tried to heal relationships with their fathers, something that still troubles Monica at her second Return. Leon Tuttle’s father and ex-wife made his life a living hell. Rory Peters was affected by a bad marriage. Latonya Xandra’s father had an incestuous relationship with her which she has tried to heal.

Some famous Boomers are also preparing to experience their second Saturn Returns. Camilla Parker Bowles married Prince Charles during her second Return.

At his first Saturn Return, Arnold Schwarzenegger appeared in the documentary "Pumping Iron" which made him famous. He also met and married Maria Shriver. Near his second Return Schwarzenegger’s future as Governor of California is uncertain as he sinks lower in the polls.

Laura Bush married Dubya during her first SR. Steven Spielberg produced "Close Encounters of the Third Kind".

One of my favorite actors, Jeremy Irons married his second wife, Sinead Cusack. Mikhail Baryshnikov, who defected to America in 1974, switched to the New York Ballet at his SR to work with George Ballachine. Perhaps Andrew Lloyd Webber will have a reversal of fortunes at his second SR. At his first, he produced the hit Evita. Recently he has had many failures and lost millions.

Whether famous or still waiting to be famous, the task for Boomers at the second Saturn Return is to come to terms with the life they’ve lived. It is best to take life in two segments: From 0 to 30, how did your childhood, "past lives", karma, birth family and formative experiences contrast with and yet prepare you for the years from 30 to 60? What were the transitional events that occurred between 28 and 30 years old? What was the major life issue between 30 and 60? If the events of the first Return repeat themselves in some fashion, can we recognize this and make better wise choices with what we’ve learned?

What have we become? What did we forego in the process? This can entail an intense bit of self inquiry but the process is essential in moving on to the next stage in life ... beyond the second Saturn Return. Some may even find that they have healed their Saturn issues and are able to access the spiritual qualities of Uranus, Neptune and Pluto on an ongoing basis.

Wherever you are, whoever you have become, it's time to take responsibility. That's what Saturn is all about. Next comes healing, forgiveness and gratitude. As we gain insight and appreciation for our major life issues and the progress we made ... now it is time to come to terms with ourselves. We need to appreciate what we made of ourselves, let go of feelings like guilt, remorse and pain, lay the past to rest, find peace and turn to face the future – the years after 60 -- refreshed and energized.

Especially for Boomers, the heroic struggle is over. Now the hero/heroine turns gratefully toward home, bearing her triumph with her. Life issues may now be dealt with in terms of reflection, wisdom, art, mentoring, perfecting and mastery. Each individual is unique in the ways they can do this.

If you would like a free mini reading for help orienting to your second Saturn Return experience, please visit my website or email me with the date, time and place of your birth and any issues of concern. Please put “Boomer” in the subject line.