Timings – May 23, 2021 to Oct 11, 2021

When Saturn is in retrograde it’s our second chance to set things right. If we had failed in certain aspects of life during its transit in Capricorn so far (from Jan 2020) now is the time to make sure we get it right! Retrograde Saturn is in no hurry, so it will give us plenty of time to master it’s lessons before we can move ahead. So if things have slowed down, its time to take a pause and understand the subtle lessons that you may have missed.

The first and foremost thing to do is to erase the idea in our heads that Saturn is a malefic planet meant to cause distress, obstacles and suffering in our lives. Every single planet is here to teach us and guide us to our final destination which is the “self”.

“We need to stop calling Saturn the planet of grief. And instead start calling Saturn the planet of Rest.”

-Maharishi Mahesh Yogi

Most of the times we suffer in life because we are out of tune with what’s destined for us. Hence we need some kind of an event or an action or happening to wake us and shake us up so that we eventually start moving towards our own unique destination. And that is why Saturn is a great help, a great friend and a guide who has our interests in mind and takes all the blame and curses we shower on it, but is untouched by it.

When you are able to break all the myths and make friends with your Saturn, you will embark on the most beautiful journey. This awareness is the key to enjoy this transit rather than suffer and wait for it to end.

Retrograde Saturn is extremely strong and people with retrograde Saturn in their charts are the ones who work hard even if they are not successful at the first attempt, they keep trying until they get it and they do not give up easily and this leads to frustration and disappointments.

The main lesson for them is to relax and let go and allow the divine energy to help them. (Karma Yoga)

Retrograde Ritual

For the past few years, I do this simple this ritual during Saturn Retrogrades and it has helped me a lot.

  1. Pause and take some time out to go through whatever happened in your life from October 2020 to May 2021.
  2. Write down the most unpleasant experiences and events that happened.
  3. Think about what lessons did each of those events try to teach you.
  4. Evaluate if you learned those lessons.
  5. If you have not learned those lessons, then take a commitment to learn from those unpleasant events.
  6. Stick to your commitment!

Saturn Retrograde is all about the second Chance to improve aspects of life that Saturn pointed out when he was direct.

Saturn Retrograde in Shravana Nakshatra

Shravana Nakshatra’s symbol is “ear” and it is often referred to as the “Star of Listening”. It is all about listening not just to words but to the silence as well. Shravana is a passive nakshatra which calls for a jouney within to listen to our inner voice which could guide us on what needs to be dropped to create space for magic to happen.

One of the biggest lessons of Saturn in Shravana Nakshatra is about ego. If you contemplate on the story of Mahabali, he ignored his Guru Shukracharya’s advice and lost everything. Spiritually it benefited him (devotion and freedom) to surrender to Lord Vishnu disguised as Vamana, but it was a painful experience to lose everything he had. Another important lesson is to not take things for granted like Mahabali did as that was one of the reasons why everything was eventually taken away from him. Our desires know no bounds, so Shani in Shravana teaches us to feel complete within and not without.

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Remedies for Saturn Retrograde

  1. Lord Vishnu is the deity associated with this nakshatra, so listening to the Vishnu Sahasranama or chanting the mantra “Shri Rama Rama Rameti, Rame Rame Manorame; Sahasrenama tattulyam, Rama Nama Varanane” is extremely powerful.
  2. You can also chant the shlokas from Vishnu Sasharanama which corresponds to Shravana Nakshatra. More info can be found here.
  3. Goddess Saraswati is another deity associated with Shravana Nakshatra so you can chant the simple yet profound Saraswati mantra “Aum Aim Saraswatye Namah”.
  4. You can listen to the Narayana Kavacham every day.
  5. Worship Bhaga Aditya who is connected to the sign Capricorn, you can do this in the morning by looking at the Sun with reverence and gratitude. You can chant the mantra – Aum Ghrini Bhaga Aditya (I learned this mantra from Pandit Sanjay Rath).