When Saturn conjuncts, sextiles, or trines your natal Venus, you become more serious about settling down and are attracted to stable, mature partners. Indeed, this is a very commitment-friendly transit because you tend to think long-term when it comes to your relationships.

Many people find themselves settling down or reinforcing commitments to their partners during this time. If you begin a relationship at this time, it is likely to be serious and long-lasting. Strong Saturn contacts should show up in composite and synastry charts, and your partner is likely to have strong Saturn/Capricorn aspects in his/her chart.

Saturn conjunct/square/opposite natal Venus: Saturn, the planet of restriction, depression, pessimism, and separation, in contact with Venus, the planet of love, beauty, harmony, and one-on-one relationships often results in separations and break-ups.

I recently had this transit by square aspect, and Saturn “hit” my natal Venus three times (direct, retrograde, direct). As with most transits, I found the retrograde hit the most intense.

Saturn on any planet leads to increased depression and disconnect from what the natal planet represents. With Venus, we feel less attractive and sociable, and feel a disconnect from those closest to us.

Saturn on Venus compels us to take a long, hard look at our relationships and suss out what is working for us, and what is not. Because Saturn represents pessimism, the way we once looked at our lovely relationships changes. The little (or big) things we once ignored or withstood become unbearable, and our only alternative is to withdraw to re-evaluate the direction of the relationship.

Personally, I went through a major break up during my Saturn square Venus transit. After four years of ignoring problems and “letting things slide”, this transit forced me to re-evaluate my feelings towards my mate and, more importantly, myself. It became apparent that the relationship was not serving me well, and I had no choice but to let go.

As much as it hurt, and as much as I knew he did not want to break up, I simply could not continue in a relationship I felt did not reflect who I was as a person. Saturn over my Venus also stomped over my self-esteem, so I spent a lot of time alone during this time. Socially, I felt incredibly disconnected from my closest friends. I felt as though I had “outgrown” them, which added to my feelings of loneliness and isolation.

One thing to remember about Saturn transits (well, ALL transits) is that these feelings are temporary. Once I was out of the transit, I came out of isolation and gradually let people back in to my life. I know now that these people are the ones who mean the most to me. Saturn often causes separations, yes, but true friends and strong relationships will survive, and reintroduced once the transit is over.