You made a plan last spring, and it felt obvious then. Saturn has just turned retrograde in Aries, and this is when the plan stops cooperating: you push, and what should move doesn’t. The door you expected to open stays shut, and the doubt creeps in that maybe you misread the whole situation. You probably didn’t. You’re just a little bit early. Retrogrades have a bad reputation, most of it earned by Mercury. Saturn’s version is quieter and more useful. In other words, it’s like the upkeep you do before the roof starts to leak. What Is Saturn Retrograde? Saturn is known as the taskmaster of the zodiac. The faster inner planets deal in moods and passing weather; Saturn deals in structure, discipline, boundaries and consequences that take years to arrive. It has no interest in quick wins; its real question is whether what you’ve built can hold weight. Picture Saturn as an inspector walking your foundation with a flashlight checking for cracks, not to condemn the house but to catch them before the first hard freeze makes things worse. When Saturn stations retrograde, that inspection turns inward. The pressure stops coming from outside and starts coming from you. Three