Wednesday, April 30, 2008

Return of Saturn Continued

I forgot to mention one other thing I found when searching Saturn's Return. I came across a great website advertising a novel that you may find interesting.

Check out http://www.saturn-return.com/ for a look at Mark Levine's male perspective on the turning 30 and finding yourself dilemma. He argues for why you should embrace the time to question who you are and where you're going. There's even a part about finding your soulmate if you're interested.

The site is great and even includes a few sample chapters to draw you in. Have fun checking it out!

Tuesday, April 29, 2008

Return of Saturn

When I started thinking about this whole 30 thing I did run across some "scientific arguments" for why we should be experiencing turmoil leading up to our 30th birthdays. I wouldn't want to ignore such things so I decided to tell you about the Saturn Return.

Saturn (the planet) takes roughly 29-29.5 years to orbit the sun. Saturn return is when Saturn lines up at the exact point in space where it was when you were born. The first time it does this is right around your 30th birthday. (Which should mean that it happens again at 60 and 89 but there is little mention of those being traumatic milestone ages.)

That's it for the science. Now on to the astrology.

The art or practice of astrology attributes characteristics to each planet and interprets events such as the Saturn Return and how it will influence a person's life. I did some research on wikipedia and found the following:

"Saturn is symbolically/astrologically associated with time, challenge, fear, doubt, confusion, difficulty, seriousness, heaviness, unwanted burdens and hard lessons, among other more positive things such as structure, significance, accomplishment, reflection, power, prestige, maturity, responsibility and order – this is why astrologers believe that the thirtieth birthday is such a major rite of passage and is considered by many astrologers to mark the "true beginning" of adulthood, self-evaluation, independence, responsibility, ambition, and full maturation." http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saturn_return

I have a few opinions about this
1. I became an adult a long time ago - about the time I started having to pay for the roof over my head and the food in my stomach.
2. Life is about growth and change and I believe we should embrace both. I just don't think we should wait until 30 to change and I certainly don't think we should stop embracing growth after 30. Saturn may be returning to the place where it was when I was born but I won't be.

Wednesday, April 23, 2008

Welcome

Welcome to 30 Isn't Old

It all started a few years ago when my sister made a comment about my getting older. She suggested I start thinking about settling down with a husband and family now that "30 is just around the corner".

Her comment sent me on a spiral of irritation. I wondered what does it matter that I was almost 30? Who would care that I am getting older? We all are.

What I realized is that a lot of people care. Not about my age in particular but about turning 30. It is an age many fear and dread. The good news is that this blog is not a rant, whine or worry about turning 30.

Instead I believe that 30 is a great time to be a woman. I believe that 30 is a time of independence and exploration that far exceeds anything that happened in our twenties. So check in with this blog when you need a positive spin on turning 30.