Saturn's Lesson of Love and Loss

Hello beautiful souls. While researching yogic practices this past week, I learned that the first 6 chakras are karmically linked to the 12 zodiac signs and their ruling celestial bodies (vedic). One connection I found particularly interesting and wanted to speak briefly about was Saturn's connection to the heart, and how this plays into our karmas and life lessons.

Have you ever wondered why when we feel heartbroken or grief, we feel physical pain in our chest area? This is because of Saturn. Saturn represents karma, lessons, suffering, and grief - a natural part of life. Although Saturn is the ruling planet of Capricorn and Aquarius and corresponds to the root chakra (muladhara), Saturn is actually exalted (at its fullest potential) in the sign of Libra. Libra, which is ruled by Venus, corresponds with the heart chakra (anahata) - all of which are correlated with our connection to others. Therefore, it is Saturn’s strong energetic influence in Libra and the heart chakra that explains why when we are heartbroken or grieving, we can feel the pain directly in the heart space.

Why is this connection between Saturn and the heart chakra important? Saturn karmically teaches us the lesson of love and loss. Grief is one of the strongest and most transformative emotions we will feel in our lifetime. When we grieve, we often grieve what we love. When we lose what we love, we learn to be more appreciative of it thereafter. Love can also be heavily karmic and so Saturn - the planet of lessons and karma - brings us situations to help us grow and relieve our karma (for example, the starting and ending of a tumultuous relationship). With that, we also learn the importance of letting go and moving on as Saturn is the planet of detachment. Saturn is also the planet of maturity and wisdom through experience, which is why when we go through a period of grief, the upside of that is that we tend to gain new perspectives and mature significantly as a person. The link between Saturn and the heart chakra also teaches us to be more compassionate toward the suffering of other people.

As part of my own understanding, this also causes a heavy imbalance in the root chakra where Saturn is naturally placed. This would explain why when we go through a period of heartache and grief, we feel like our foundation of the self is shaken. Imbalances in the root chakra include feeling empty, distrustful, insecure, abandoned, unstable, suicidal, and fearful. This is why the feeling of grief is very transformative because in order to overcome these imbalances, we have to rebuild ourselves from the bottom up. To understand how to do this, we must look at the planet that is exalted in the root chakra which is Mars. Mars, which corresponds with the solar plexus chakra (manipura), is our inner fire, willpower, and determination. Therefore, we must rely on our sheer inner strength and self-worth to overcome these tough emotions. Once we rebalance the root chakra, then we can make our way back up to the heart, where unconditional love and compassion reside.