When I was in my late Twenties I quit a job in a computer lab at a Big Ten University and moved half-way across the country. I found myself in a town so small that it didn’t have a post office and was living with several men who had just gotten out of the army. That situation did not work out and so I found myself moving 300 miles north to a small town where the only unemployed people I knew were two single mothers on welfare. Since I was also unemployed I hung out with them, but unfortunately they would talk all the time about a subject I considered nonsense — astrology. Finally, in order to keep up my end of the conversation I borrowed a mass-market astrology book and read about my sun sign. Despite wanting to throw the book against the wall at least once a page over something I found objectionable, I read several things that matched internal thoughts I had about myself. They loaned me a book by Grant Lewi which described the combination of Sun and Moon sign and I thought that was amazing. From books they had I could find out my Moon sign, but I could not tell if I had Leo or Virgo rising. If I had known more it would have been obvious but I’m sure Donald Trump has the same difficulty with his two charts. So to resolve that question I had to learn how to calculate a chart. I did not know at the time that there were computer programs to do those calculations. When I had worked at the University one of our student interns had told me of his desire to write a program for astrological calculations. I did not say anything but thought to myself what a waste of a wonderful technology for some nonsense. Little did I suspect that less than ten years later I would be doing that exact thing. I decided to read further, and one thing I found out about what was called the “Saturn Return” when Saturn returns to the place it had at birth. What I was going through and descriptions I read captured my life at the time.quite precisely.

This important milestone that occurs just before the Thirtieth birthday is resonant in popular culture, such as that Sixties phrase “Don’t Trust Anybody Over Thirty” which mutated to “Don’t Trust Anyone Under Thirty” when those who had said the original phrase turned thirty. And there was the book Passages by Gail Sheehy which talked about the changes a person undergoes when they turn 30 which could have been written by an astrologer. The alternative rock band R.E.M once had a tune called “Saturn Return”.

But other hard Saturn aspects to its natal position are also important. The opening square of Saturn at about seven years indicates the time a child break free from the mother according to psychics. Then at 14 there is the beginning of adolescent with all the changes that brings. The first closing square at about 21 indicates you are an adult and in the United States one can legally drink and, up until the 26th Amendment, vote. Then at 35, the second opening square, one can run for President of the United States. The age of 42 is the second opposition of Saturn to its natal position (which also corresponds to the Uranus opposition) when the “mid-life crisis” starts and the sales of red sports cars increase. The second Saturn return is also considered significant but not of the magnitude as the first. The third Saturn return occurs at about the same age as the Uranus Return.

For most of history Saturn was the outer planet and at one time the lifespan was about one Saturn cycle. The returns of other planets to their natal position are also considered; many astrologers construct a Solar Return for their birthday when the Sun returns to its natal position. And if you want finer detail you can look a returns to the square or opposition position to the natal Sun. Some even do Lunar Returns for a look at the month after the Moon returns to its natal position. Jupiter Returns, which happen ever twelve years can be used but they are not nearly as famous as the Solar Return.

But the other planets that orbit the Sun can also be used for returns. The Uranus demi-return at 42 years corresponds to the “mid-life” crisis. Some people live to their Uranus Return but no one lives to the Neptune or Pluto Returns. But some people can live to their Neptune demi-Return: Ted Kaszinski died (committed suicide) at his Neptune Return, and because Pluto sped up during the last 80 years or so many of those alive will witness a Pluto demi-return.

The only person who I personally know who had a Uranus Return was my father. Through his life he was a fairly conventional Republican. He wanted to be an FBI agent but he didn’t meet the height requirements. But at his Uranus return he married a woman less than half his age and of a different race. He began to call previous co-workers “honkies”. So he really became more Uranian.

Donald Trump Pluto Demi-Return

Here are examples of the Pluto demi-returns for two people currently in the news. For Donald Trump we can see that his Pluto opposition to his natal Pluto occurs shortly after his Neptune demi-return, shortly before his Uranus return, and several years before his third Saturn Return. This happens almost six months before his 84th birthday. Kamala Harris is much younger, but her Pluto demi-return happens long after her Uranus return and Neptune demi-return when she is over 90.

Kamala Harris Pluto Demi-Return

We have talked often about the Pluto Return for the United States; most countries do not remain with the same government and Constitution to have a Pluto Return so the United States is unique in this. And the Neptune demi-return for the United States is happening now. But also important is that the United States is having a Uranus return in a few years — to be discussed later. The Pluto Return suggests that America is getting a little long in the tooth as far as countries go; you can witness expressions of this all around you. You may find that it helps while reading the US news to realized that this is the Pluto Return so you should see big changes. Perhaps the United States is becoming mature — growing up is always difficult.