Second Saturn Return — A Cautionary Tale

From the writings of Nancy Fenn…

The second example is a cautionary tale. A few years ago British Petroleum (BP)’s Edmund John Philip Browne, Baron Browne of Madingley, aka Lord Browne, approached his second Saturn Return. Unlike Elton John, Lord Browne had refused to discuss his personal life. His Saturn is in Leo like Elton John and also conjunct Pluto, so Lord Browne was working with power and sexuality issues. Lord Browne never came out but was cruelly outed at his second Saturn Return apparently through the extortion of a young “escort” he met on a gay website. He later lied in court about the matter.

The incident resulted in Lord Browne’s being forced to resign from his lucrative and prestigious position as head of BP and every other important post he held. He also put a $3 billion retirement package at risk.

Remembering that the issue is not about gayness but about authenticity, the commensurate reward or punishment seems clear.
The lesson to be learned is to choose your own authenticity at the first Saturn Return no matter how difficult it is. The consequences at the second Return are tremendously different as you can see. Saturn rewards are worth the struggle.

The life of poet Kay Ryan offers a perfect example of this principle, as well. Ryan was born in 1945. Her birth date is not available. At around 30, her first Saturn Return, she took time off for a long bicycle ride in order to “find herself”. She was right on schedule with the task at hand. Everyone should do this between 28-30! Something about the pedaling, pedaling, pedaling reminded her of poetry. She had an epiphany, as many do at 30, and decided to devote her life to writing poetry.

Ryan took a job in the teaching field (remedial English) where she could work just two days a week and pay the bills. In order to live like this, she stripped her life down to the bare minimum.

For the next 30 years she wrote and wrote. Nothing much happened and she did not seem to ask for much to happen. When she was around 60 someone gave a book of her poetry to someone that mattered in the literary world and soon Ryan’s work appeared in The New Yorker, leading to other prestigious publications and recognition. This amounted to “sudden fame”.

Thus the second Saturn Return was positive payback. Ryan had worked diligently at her authentic task and the reward was bound to come. Thirty years seems like a long time but Saturn wants us to focus on what is really important to us between 30 and 60, not what someone else wants. These are our mature, serious years when we bear the yoke and pull the plow. The harvest comes at 60.