Saturn is the most photogenic planet in our solar system. Its rings resemble a vinyl record and are truly iconic. Although they may appear solid from a distance, they are in fact made up of billions of tiny particles orbiting the planet.

These particles consist mainly of water ice (around 90 – 95%), along with rock and dust. They range in size from fine grains, like sand, to enormous chunks as large as houses or even mountains. It is the ice that gives the rings their striking brightness and reflective quality.

The rings are relatively young (around 100 to 400 million years old) and are thought to have formed from one or more moons or comets that were torn apart by Saturn’s gravity.

If Earth were the size of a grape, Saturn would be about the size of a football. About 760 Earths could fit inside Saturn. At least 292 moons orbit the planet and they don’t include the hundreds of moonlets in the rings.

Planets and Pantheons
Saturn has been known since prehistoric times, and in early recorded history it was a major character in various mythologies.

In Hindu astrology, there are nine celestial objects, known as Navagrahas. Saturn is represented by Shani, who is believed to judge individuals according to the good and bad deeds they have performed throughout their lives.

Babylonian astronomers (1800 BCE – 100 BCE) tracked the movements of the planets with precision and regarded them as divine beings moving across the sky. Based on a planet’s behaviour, such as its speed, brightness, and colour, they associated it with specific gods in their pantheon. Saturn was linked to the god Ninurta, a major deity connected with agriculture, protection, and authority. Its slow and steady movement across the sky likely reinforced this association with order, stability, and structure.

Babylonian astronomical knowledge spread to the Greeks after around 300 BCE, who translated Mesopotamian deities into their closest Greek equivalents. The god Ninurta became associated with Cronus. The Romans later reinterpreted this system using the names of their own deities – an ongoing effort to understand the same sky through different cultural worldviews. The Roman god Saturn (Saturnus) was identified as the equivalent of the Greek Cronus.

Saturn was primarily the God of Agriculture, associated with the sowing of seeds and the cycles of harvest. He was often depicted holding a sickle or scythe (tools used for cutting grain). Saturn symbolised the natural rhythm of farming: planting, growth, harvest, and rest.

Saturn, the Earth Star
In ancient Taoist and Chinese culture, the planet Saturn was designated as the ‘Earth Star’ or ‘Soil Star.’ This is based on the system of the Five Elements, used to describe the dynamic processes of nature. Within this framework, Saturn corresponds to the Element of Earth. The Earth element represents nourishment, and sustaining and life-giving energy (chi). Saturn is understood to embody and regulate these qualities.

According to this philosophy, everything on Earth is made up of the Five Elements: Water, Fire, Wood, Metal, and Earth. Each human being is made up of a mixture of these. The specific balance, influenced by factors such as time and place of birth, forms an individual energetic signature, shaping temperament, tendencies, and the way one moves through life.

When the Element of Earth within us is weak, we lack self-confidence and grounding. People who have sufficient Earth chi however, are stable, calm and quite well able to live in the here and now. They are serious, caring and dependable people who radiate a friendly calm which makes you feel welcome as you are.

The Mother Wound
People who carry the Mother Wound lack precisely the qualities that Earthy individuals embody. In essence, the Mother Wound refers to the emotional pain or unmet needs arising from a relationship with an emotionally absent mother (or primary caregiver). It stems from not receiving consistent emotional safety, nurturing, or validation in childhood, and often gives rise to underlying feelings such as ‘I am not enough’, ‘I am too much’, or ‘I have to earn love’. These patterns may later express themselves as people-pleasing, fear of rejection, difficulty with boundaries, and self-doubt.

A nurturing relationship with our mother provides a deep sense of peace and security. By contrast, a strained mother-child relationship can leave a lingering sense of powerlessness and inner barrenness, often resulting in overthinking and worry. This tendency to live predominantly in the mind further weakens the Element of Earth, as it distances us from stability, presence, and grounding.

At a deeper level, there is a strong and often unspoken longing for the ‘perfect mother’: someone who loves us as we are, without judgement; someone by whom we feel seen and welcomed, and who grants our soul the space to exist so that it may express itself fully and freely.

The Supportive Energy of Planet Saturn
If you carry the Mother Wound, or lack a sufficient presence of the Element of Earth for any other reason such as your personal Five Element make-up, the energy of planet Saturn can be of great support. It:

∞   Nourishes the Element of Earth within you

∞   Supports the healing of your relationship with ‘the Mother’, whether this is your physical mother/ primary caregiver, Mother Earth, the Divine Mother, or the principle more broadly

∞   Helps to develop your Inner Mother: the inner capacity to nurture, protect, and guide yourself from within

For the Babylonians through to the Romans, the planet Saturn represented the God of Agriculture, symbolising the rhythm of nature: planting, growth, harvest, and rest.

For the Taoists and Chinese, Saturn carries the energy of the Element of Earth, particularly that of late summer, when the harvest is ready. At this time, the sun has softened from the brightness of the preceding months, and ripe golden wheat stands quietly in the fields, awaiting harvest. Nature has fulfilled its task and comes to rest. A sense of calm and contentment lingers in the air.

May the Essence Vibration of Saturn offer you calm and contentment within.

May the Essence Vibration of Saturn offer you the golden glow of the Element of Earth.

Many blessings,
Harriët