Astrology’s biggest 2023 claim debunked: Saturn isn’t moving into Pisces. It’s not even close

The news is awash with news that Saturn is moving into Pisces, after spending two-and-a-half years in the constellation Aquarius.

By Holly Spanner

Published: Tuesday, 07 March 2023 at 12:00 am

You’ve probably noticed a great deal of hubbub surrounding the ringed planet, Saturn, as it supposedly transits into its new home; Pisces. On 7 March 2023, popular outlets say that Saturn is moving from the constellation Aquarius, where it’s spent the last 2.5 years, into Pisces, where it will remain until February 2026.

The planet Saturn, a cosmic authority which traditionally represents discipline, structure, and responsibility, moving into Pisces is thought, by those in the astrology community, to mean a shift in focus. Pisces as a sign is associated with intuition, creativity, and compassion. Put them together, and – according to astrologists – you’ve got all the material to tout the beginnings of a new stage in your life; time to embrace that new creative endeavour, the business you’ve always dreamed of, or kickstart your new wellness regime.

But if you’ve got even a basic astronomy app installed on your phone, you’ll – quite understandably – be confused at these claims. A quick glance, and you’ll see that Saturn is not actually entering Pisces. In fact, astronomers from The University of Sussex and Liverpool John Moores University have categorically confirmed to BBC Science Focus that it’s set to remain in Aquarius until 2025.

So, what’s going on?

To answer this, we have to consider variables other than simply Saturn’s orbit. Yes – Saturn has a 29.4-year orbit. If we turn that into days (10,756 days) and divide that by 12, the number of zodiac constellations on the ecliptic, we get 896 days. Divide this by the number of days in a year (365), and we’ve got 2.5 (rounded up). So, according to this, Saturn stays in each constellation for 2.5 years, as it progresses through its 29.4-year orbit around the Sun.

So far, so good.

However, our view of the night sky is influenced by Earth’s position, relative to what we’re viewing.

And there are other aspects at play.

Wibbly-wobbly, timey-wimey stuff

The Earth wobbles on its axis of rotation, like a toy spinning slightly off-centre. This slow wobbling motion causes a slight shift in the position of the stars and constellations in the night sky over time, an effect known as ‘axial precession’. This happens on a cycle of around 26,000 years.

In addition to changes in the distribution of solar radiation received by the Earth, precession is therefore pretty important when it comes to how we view the night sky, at our point in the geological timescale. And there’s also apsidal precession. Not only does Earth’s axis wobble, but Earth’s entire orbital ellipse also wobbles.

Astrologers, however, choose to ignore this crucial mechanism.

Due to precession, the position of the zodiac constellations have shifted over time; they’re not in the same place they used to be. And they will continue to move (and change shape) as the millennia go on.

Ignoring the effects of precession means that western astrologers use dates that are not representative of what is actually going on.

But it’s not just the position of the planets that western astrologers get wrong, as Dr Darren Baskill, astronomer and lecturer from the University of Sussex explains:

“The Sun does not move into the constellation of Pisces until the 12 March 2023, but astrologers say that the star sign of Pisces covers the period from 19 February – almost a month earlier.”

“The Sun moved in front of the constellation of Pisces on 19 February in the years around 700AD, so astrologers appear to be stuck 1,300 years in the past,” says Baskill.

By the same logic, we could argue that it’s still summer – when, at the time of writing, it is in fact a cold, drizzly day in March.

The zodiac band of sky

When the science of astronomy was still in its infancy, some of the first stars to be grouped into patterns, were those forming the background to the Sun as it moved across the sky, while the Earth in turn, was happily orbiting the Sun.

This narrow strip of sky is what we now know as the ‘zodiac band’. It’s centred on the ecliptic – the apparent path of the Sun across the celestial sphere – and extends approximately 9 degrees on either side. In other words, the zodiac constellations represent divisions of the sky along the ecliptic, and each constellation corresponds to an astrological sign: Aries, Taurus, Gemini, Cancer, Leo, Virgo, Libra, Scorpio, Sagittarius, Capricorn, Aquarius, and Pisces.

In astrology, it’s the position of the planets and stars within this band, that is believed to hold influence over personality traits, events, or human affairs.