Book Review of Shadows: The Little Book of Saturn by Aliza Einhorn

🔮🔮🔮🔮🔮/5!

The Little Book of Saturn, a smart, friendly introduction to the astrological Saturn, is a book for curious readers who know there is more to astrology than their sun signs. Saturn has traditionally been considered the planet of challenges, but the life lessons that this stern planet brings are necessary for personal growth.

This book is suitable for beginners and experts alike. It discusses the influence of Saturn on the natal horoscope, focusing on Saturn in its various places in the birth chart and exploring the various transits, especially the return(s), which brings with it a period of transition that is often feared, but Aliza Einhorn shows you how to understand and navigate them with confidence. –Goodreads.com

This tiny little book is so packed with information it’ll make your head spin, seriously. Not only will it help you understand your own fears and limitations, but it can help you read your entire chart. I highly recommend having a copy of your own chart handy while reading to serve as great examples of some of the concepts!

Saturn is often referred to as the taskmaster of the zodiac. It rules things like limitations and boundaries, time, duty, karma, discipline and, as Aliza explains, fear. Saturn teaches us hard lessons, but this book gives it to you straight in such a fun and loving way. Aliza takes this heavy astrological topic and makes it exciting and engaging. The first part of the book gives a great overview of what astrology is (and isn’t), and some of the basics like birth charts, planets, and houses. Even if you’re familiar with astrology you’ll find this section really well-written and engaging, so I recommend not skipping it!

Then we finally get into the meat and potatoes… errr, hydrogen and helium… SATURN. Not only does she explain what Saturn’s deal is, but she gives you reasons why you should care and be interested. Saturn is one of those planets that I feel a lot of people like to just ignore or avoid, but this book makes you want to dive right in. She explains Saturn in the signs and houses, and most importantly she goes into great detail about everyone’s second favourite metaphysical boogeyman – SATURN RETURN.

Saturn return is a pretty hot topic for astrology fans lately, no doubt because the generation(s) that really have been making astrology trendy again are either approaching or just past theirs. (Mine happened in 2016!) Your Saturn return is when the planet Saturn returns to the place in the sky it was when you were born. This happens every 29ish years. So right around or before your 30th birthday, you will go through a time when Saturn topics come to the forefront and really shake things up. This is the moment we’re forced to grow up and assess ourselves and decide how we want the next couple of decades to go. It can be incredibly difficult, but very rewarding. Aliza explains how to calculate your Saturn return time, and what you can expect based on where Saturn appears in your chart.

“Astrology is the lens through which we view the world and our lives. Astrology is how I speak, the language I use to explain a bad day, a bad year, a good day, a good year. Astrology lovers track their lives and experiences, past, present, and future through the movements and meanings of the stars.”
Aliza Einhorn, The little Book of Saturn, Page 10

I highly recommend it to anyone looking to learn more about astrology, read their own birth chart, or who are coming up against any one of their THREE possible Saturn returns! Not only will The Little Book of Saturn explain this difficult and curmudgeonly planet, but it will no doubt bite you with the astrology bug. A revelation about my own chart and its lack of Saturn despite my Capricorn sun got me fully and completely obsessed. Now I can’t stop digging! Catch that astro-fever with me, y’all!