Saturn is the planet of boundaries, limitations and discipline. In astrology, the placement of this planet in your chart can point to an area of life where you experience difficulties. However, these problems may ultimately lead to greater sense of discipline which can ultimately help the individual develop a talent or skill in this area.

Sign

The zodiac sign as well as the house in which Saturn sits in your chart will give some indication of the kind limitation you must face in order to grow. On an emotional level, people often feel a sense of gloom and isolation in area related to their Saturn zodiac sign. For instance, a man with Saturn in Taurus may feel threatened with a sense of lack and move past a resulting tendency to miserly behavior in order to mature. A woman with Saturn in Cancer may have a sense that her family background limits her achievements. Someone with Saturn in Gemini may have difficulty relating to his siblings or be teased mercilessly in grade school.

House

Remember, however, that Saturn sits further from the Sun than the Earth does. This mean it moves fairly slowly, taking nearly thirty years to complete a cycle. In terms of astrology, this means that people born in the same year will tend to have Saturn in the same sign. So we must look not only at the zodiac sign, but the house position of Saturn to gain a more individualized sense of the meaning of Saturn in a person’s chart. The zodiac sign will color the influence of Saturn in the chart to some extent, but the house placement will determine where in life Saturn has its strongest effect.
The third house in the chart is related to short-term communications and early learning experiences. A person whose natal chart shows Saturn in this area may be diagnosed while in grade school with speech defect or learning disability. However, applying themselves to overcoming this obstacle may force them to pay closer attention to this area rather than rushing heedlessly through it. A girl who stammers may correct this tendency through lessons and through paying attention to her voice, go on to make a living as a radio broadcaster. Similarly, boy who struggles to read because of dyslexia may ultimately become a writer.
Saturn’s house placement points to the area in life where we must exercise discipline and develop maturity if we are to achieve a sense of successful adulthood. Saturn is often referred to as the lord of karma because the challenge it poses can occupy much of a person’s life. With Saturn in the eleventh house of group affiliations, a woman may need to recognize and respect the maturity of those in her peer group in order to overcome her own immaturity. A man with Saturn in the twelfth house of self-undoing may struggle with alcoholism for decades before finally becoming a true adult in his 60s.

Think of one or two short phrases to define the main challenges you have faced in life.  Chances are these are also the keywords describing the house where Saturn sits in your chart.

Many people think astrology is an abstract subject, but the more you learn about the astrology, the more you begin to recognize it in everyday life.  The choices people make provide many clues to the zodiac influences in their charts.  The home is a very important place, revealing both our public side–the sun sign–in how we entertain, as well as our lunar side in what kind of private retreats we create for ourselves.  A previous article on this topic looked at the first six signs of the zodiac at home, this article looks at Libra through Pisces.

Libra

Libra men and women see their homes as places to showcase their artistic tastes while hosting their friends.  Whatever furniture or paintings you see in their homes is carefully chosen to reflect their ideals or art and beauty.  Their living rooms are unlikely to center around a television screen and more likely to be laid out so as to encourage easy conversation among guests.

Scorpio

Scorpios prefer to keep guest and entertaining areas separate from a private inner sanctum space.  They will resent it if you trespass on this line.  Scorpio is the sign of transformation, so people with the sun or moon in this sign may have a home they renovated themselves or piece of furniture they rescued from a dumpster and spent hours renewing into an object of beauty.

Sagittarius

Sagittarius is ruled by Jupiter, the planet of expansion, travel, and higher learning.  The home of a Sag is likely to contain items recalling their travels as well as many books.  Although much of their home décor may be expensive and tasteful, they are  likely to include at least one or two quirky and unexpected items in the mix—perhaps a vintage hat hanging on the wall next to an antique oil painting.  Sag sun and moon people love to include large open spaces in their homes for big parties.

Capricorn

Capricorn people hate to buy anything for their homes that won’t last a long time.  They choose classic designs rather than trendy ones, and prefer sturdiness and reliability over delicacy.  Capricorns may choose to have a home custom-built for them rather than having to waste valuable work time taking care of a fixer upper.

Aquarius

Aquarian homes can usually be identified through the emphasis on technology.  An Aquarius person may settle for a thrift shop couch and an IKEA dining table, but their home entertainment system is top of the line.  Aquarius men and women tend to place a strong emphasis on community, and may choose to live with roommates or in some other type of shared housing.  They may choose an eclectic and unusual style of décor.

 Pisces

Pisces, sign of the fish, is in some ways the most watery of the water signs.  Pisces people pay special attention to their bathrooms, wanting the area where they bathe or shower to feel very welcoming.  Pisces homeowners may add many unusual imaginative touches to personalize their homes, perhaps painting a mural on a wall themselves.  They tend to have a very eclectic style sense, blending items from different culture and design schools together.

As you learn more about astrology, you will start to be able to discern the zodiac influences in someone’s chart without glancing at a natal chart or even knowing the birthday. If you’re invited to the home of someone you don’t know well, use the social occasion as an opportunity to exercise your knowledge of astrology.  An individual’s home tends to blend aspects of his/her sun and moon signs.  Here’s a quick guide to spotting the astrological influences in home décor:

Aries

Aries people may have exercise equipment as an element of décor–a bike in the front hallway, a treadmill or stairs machine in the living room, weights in the bedroom.  Moon in Aries people tend not to want a lot of fussy knick knacks on the shelves, although they may display certificates, trophies or ribbons signifying their achievements, particularly in competitive arenas.

Taurus

Taurus people love to have multiple areas around the home and yard for relaxation—a comfortable couch, a hammock in the backyard.  Ruled by Venus, they live through their senses, an aromatherapy diffuser spreading a pleasing scent through the home or fresh flowers on the table.  They will choose furnishings not just for how they look but how they feel—luxuriant velvet or soft silk.

Gemini

Gemini people see their home as a series of stations for their multiple diverse activities and functions—a home office, a sewing or crafts table, a games room.   They will have a small area set aside for conversation with guests, but unlike the home of a Taurus moon person, they aren’t a lot of places to loll.

Cancer

Cancer individuals have photos of family and old friends prominently displayed.  They tend to have rather conventional taste in home decoration. Although they love to play host/ess, people with a Cancer moon almost always have a particular private nook in their home that is their retreat, a space where they renew themselves and where they rarely admit guests.

Leo

Leo people see their homes as a personal stage on which they can shine.  They love to throw parties and know how to entertain others with great flair.  Finding enough room to house their stylish wardrobes and multiple personal care products can be a challenge for Leos if they live in a city where space is at a premium.

Virgo

Virgo people take pride in keeping their homes clean and organized.   Virgo individuals often have a strong interest in health, so you are likely to see a variety of vitamins in the medicine cabinet or a juicer in the kitchen.  Virgo moon people tend to have a variety of practical handyman skills so they can do a lot of home improvement projects on their own without needing to hire a contractor.

Think of looking up at the night sky and seeing the moon. Now contrast that feeling with how you feel looking at a morning sunrise or bright afternoon sunshine. The different feelings evoked by these images give you some idea of the different meanings of the sun and the moon in an astrology natal chart.

Difference between the sun sign and moon sign

A person’s sun sign is the daylight side of the personality, it shows what they are proud of in themselves, what they choose to reveal. An individual’s moon sign may tell you about the aspects of themselves they do not admit to in public, or possibly do not even admit to themselves. Very young people, as well as older people acting out of instinct without the intervention of conscious thought, tend to reveal their moon sign much more strongly than their sun sign.

While the sun sign relates to the conscious, active part of our characters, the zodiac sign of the moon reveals more about the instinctive and emotional sides of our being. Depending on the relative placements of the sun and the moon in an individual’s chart, these two facets of our personality may either flow together harmoniously or be in conflict with each other. In some cases, the solar side of someone’s personality may have little understanding or awareness of the lunar side.

Relationship between your sun and your moon

What we call a new moon or a dark moon is actually a time when the moon and sun are closer together in the sky. People born during the time during, just before or just after a new moon tend to have an easier communication between their solar and lunar natures as the two are more similar, usually in the same zodiac sign. As the moon moves away from the sun, the flow between the two may become more problematic. When we see the full face of the moon that is actually the time when the moon is directly opposite the sun. People born around the time of the full moon may have a sharp division between their solar and their lunar sides, either concealing their emotions from others, or perhaps not fully perceiving their own feelings.

Keeping a Moon Journal

To bring your own lunar side more strongly into focus, you may wish to use a lunar calendar to track your physical experiences and your emotions. Note which zodiac sign the moon is in each day, and write a little bit about your feelings as well as how you felt physically—whether you felt energetic or lazy, whether you felt a keen desire for either food or sex. Track your instinctual and your emotional self through the course of the moon for at least two full months. Many people find they feel happier or stronger when the moon passes through its natal sign in their charts. You may observe that when the moon moves through certain signs you feel particularly sexual or especially energetic. Perhaps you feel more upbeat when the moon is in some signs, more prone to sadness when it moves through others.  This exercise will help you learn astrology at a deeper, more personal level.