A Guide to Your Saturn Return

Somewhere between the ages of 28 and 30, something begins to shift beneath the surface. It might start as a quiet restlessness. A sense of doubt. A feeling that the life you’ve been living, your routines, relationships, even your identity, no longer fits quite right. You might wonder if you’re coming undone, but what’s really happening is a return.

Your Saturn Return, to be exact. A once-every-29-years invitation to pause, reflect, and reorient. To plant deeper roots. To shed what no longer serves you. To meet yourself, not as who you’ve been told to be, but as who you truly are. Often, for the very first time.

Images by @nelly.aliena

Elsa is wearing the Aroha One Shoulder Top and Mila Flares in Olive.

So, what is a Saturn Return?

In astrology, Saturn is known as the planet of time, responsibility, discipline, and karmic lessons. It’s often referred to as the great teacher. Unlike the faster-moving planets that pass by with a whisper, Saturn moves slowly and deliberately, taking roughly 29.5 years to return to the exact position it held at the moment of your birth. This event is known as your Saturn Return—a milestone that marks the beginning of a new cycle of maturity, purpose, and alignment.

It’s often described as a cosmic checkpoint. A moment in time when you are asked to take an honest look at the life you’ve built so far. Not with judgment, but with clarity. Where have you been living out of habit, fear, or someone else’s expectations? What are you ready to outgrow? What are you being called to step into?

Most people experience their first Saturn Return between the ages of 28 and 30. Some feel it quietly,like a soft nudge. Others feel it intensely—like the ground shifting beneath them. There may be career changes, breakups, breakthroughs, breakdowns. But no matter how it arrives, the invitation is the same: to come back into alignment with your truth. To create a life that feels like yours. Not one you’ve inherited, performed, or settled for.

This isn’t a crisis. It’s a rite of passage.

What it might look and feel like

Your Saturn Return may not come with dramatic events, though for many, it does bring noticeable shifts. It often begins subtly—an unease, a quiet inner questioning, a sense that something is ready to change. Over time, the whispers grow louder. Something begins to unravel, not to break you, but to guide you back to yourself.

You may start to feel:

Career clarity
A desire to move toward work that feels aligned with your values. You may leave a job that no longer excites you or take a leap into something that once felt out of reach.

Relationship reckoning
A shift in how you relate to others, and yourself. Some relationships may fall away. Others may deepen. You begin to choose connection that feels nourishing, not just familiar.

Emotional growth
Old wounds and patterns rise to the surface—not to overwhelm you, but to be healed. You start recognising your triggers and seeing your growth in the way you respond.

Simplicity calling
A craving for slowness. For less noise, fewer distractions. You may find yourself decluttering your physical space, your calendar, or even your social circle. Making room for more of what matters.

This time can feel tender. Raw. Confronting. But at its core, it is a time of remembering who you are beneath the conditioning. A sacred becoming.

Ami Bandeau in Charcoal

How to support yourself during this time

There is no one way to move through your Saturn Return. But there are ways to soften the edges. To tend to yourself. To stay grounded while the dust settles.

Come back to your breath
When the world feels like it’s shifting beneath your feet, let your breath be your anchor. Inhale deeply. Exhale slowly. Let your breath remind you that you are safe, even in the unknown.

Honour your endings
Letting go is part of the process. It may feel uncomfortable, even painful, but not everything is meant to come with you. Trust what is falling away. Trust the space it leaves behind.

Nourish your body
Your body is holding a lot during this time. Feed it with intention. Move it gently. Rest when you're tired. Drink warm teas. Take long baths. Let your daily rituals become a form of grounding.

Write it down
Keep a journal close. Let your thoughts, feelings, fears, and dreams spill out onto the page. Writing brings clarity. And clarity is power.

Be gentle with yourself
You are not meant to have it all figured out. You are not behind. You are exactly where you need to be. This is not a sprint. It’s a slow unfolding.

This is not a breakdown. It’s a becoming.

Your Saturn Return isn’t here to break you. It’s here to bring you home. To help you build stronger foundations, rooted in who you truly are.

It’s an invitation to pause, reassess, and realign. To move forward with greater integrity, purpose, and presence. To begin again—with intention this time.

So take your time. Go gently. Trust what’s rising. And remember: you are not falling apart. You are being rewritten. Not into someone new—but into someone more you than ever before.

You’re not lost. You’re returning.