Hi there!
Hope you had a lovely weekend.
Mine certainly was nice because on December the 6th I celebrated my birthday!
Happy solar return TO ME! 🎉
I’m now 33 years old, and this is a pretty important age. That’s the topic of this newsletter.
But first, some background information.
Measuring life in cycles of 7 years
Cycles of seven years have been used since ancient times.
This concept holds a lot of wisdom, and I’m not the only one who thinks so.
Argentinian astrologer Beatriz Leveratto wrote an incredible book about these 7-year cycles.
Her book is called Cada siete años. La vida y sus estaciones astrológicas. I believe this book is only available in Spanish. But no worries. I’ll paraphrase it, and you’ll get the most relevant ideas.
Leveratto classified every 7-year life cycle according to the planet ruling each cycle.
In this pretty graphic, you can see the first eight cycles and their unique characteristics:
As you may have already imagined, I want to focus on the 5th 7-year cycle. This is the cycle associated with the first Saturn return and the one I’m living right now.
The 5th 7-year cycle and the planet Mars
Planet Mars rules the 5th 7-year cycle of life. According to Leveratto, this is a period in which you launch yourself into conquering your deepest desires.
Mars is the astrological symbol dominating the period from ages 28 to 35. The functions associated with this planet are to activate, burn, risk, conquer, desire, execute, undertake, and drive.
Among the most noteworthy characteristics of this period, Leveratto mentions the following:
Search for independence and self-determination.
Pursuit of personal projects like starting a family or a new profession.
High energy devoted to achieving goals.
Manifestation of your life’s purpose formed in recent years.
Desire for accomplishments that confirm your chosen vocation.
Aspiration to realize love ideals.
Formation of a new life structure by leaving the family of origin.
Need to express unique and creative aspects of your personality.
Birth of children.
Experimentation with new power dynamics in relationships.
Heightened sensitivity to the sacred through new dreams.
Does this list resonate with you? It certainly resonates with me.
I haven’t experienced all of these manifestations yet, but most of them. This period of life for me has been especially dedicated to my aspirations. Besides, I'm focused on finding who I am outside of my place of origin and the family that raised me.
Besides the specific circumstances you may encounter during this period, most people experience some “big picture” manifestations at this stage. Let’s review them.
3 big picture manifestations from 28 to 35
Leveratto mentions three “big picture” possible manifestations in the intense period from 28 to 35 years old.
They are:
Building new spaces in the world
Searching for the meaning of life
Desiring transcendence
If you want to review these possibilities in detail, check out this text.
Right now, my goal is to dig deeper into the meanings associated with being 33 years old divides the 7-year period into different parts.
The importance of being 33 years old
The 7-year period you begin at age 28 represents a unique opportunity. This is the opportunity to create new ways of existing in the world.
Unprecedented confidence in expressing your unique personality will awaken you at age 28, encouraging you to try new things or innovate in different areas of life.
But it’s not all sunshine and roses.
You will feel uncomfortable in the first stage of the 7 years ruled by Mars. This awkward stage extends from ages 28 to 33. Your personality’s old and new facets will debate each other. Extreme tension will be palpable.
During these years, you will build a bridge between the past and the new life you desire.
A hefty dose of patience will be necessary to respect the time required for this creative beginning to settle.
The good news is that the projects you begin at 28 will show more solidity and strength around 33.
This age is inscribed in the collective unconscious as “the age of Christ.”
At 33, you can free yourself from the cross of the past and begin to walk your own unique path.
Your commitment to your mission no longer allows you to return to who you were before age 28.
The bridges of the past are all burned. There’s no option but to move towards the future.
Even though safety and success are not guaranteed, going back to your comfort zone is absolutely impossible. That idealized comfort zone doesn’t even exist.
Now, your mission has more substance, enabling you to leave behind the feeling of constantly swimming upstream.
You know what you have to do. It’s scary, it’s uncertain, it’s weird. But you know what you have to do.
So, where will you put your vital energy now that you have resurrected?
This is a question that I’m asking myself at this precise moment. I have just turned 33.
It was my birthday, but you get the present
I crafted an astrological calendar for 2025.
It contains 40 pages of information about planets’ ingresses and retrograde periods, lunations, eclipses, and some other juicy facts.
Complete this form, and you'll get it FOR FREE.
Hope you like it!
Back to the newsletter.
From 33 to 35: What Now?
From 28 to 35, you’ll have the strength to develop an impulse. This impulse started manifesting at the beginning of the cycle.
But the process will take time. With Saturn, processes always take time.
The reality you started developing on your Saturn return consolidates near the end of the 7-year cycle. This happens at age 35.
At 35, the certainty that you are focused on building new spaces in the world will prevail.
You will start harvesting the seeds you diligently planted in dark soil for seven long, hard, uncertain years.
It will be difficult. It will be painful. It will be exhausting.
But I want you to believe in yourself and keep going. Just. Keep. Going.
I’m writing this not only for you but for me, too. I have to keep going.
My personal experience: What I’m doing from 33 to 35?
I wholeheartedly agree with John Lennon in “Beautiful Boy.” He sings that life is what happens to you when you’re busy making other plans.
Still, I love making plans!
Through trial and error, I have learned that those plans have to be flexible. Extremely flexible. They must be at an Olympic gymnast's level of flexibility.
So, taking into account that feature and that life is unpredictable, these are some of the projects I would like to focus on for the next couple of years:
Feeding First Saturn Return: Writing here brings me joy, and I’ll want to keep nurturing what brings me joy.
Traveling: I’m not done with the digital nomad life. NYC, you ready for me?! I think I may be ready for you.
Breathing better: My septum is deviated, and I still have my wisdom teeth retained within my skull. I may need to fix my septum via surgery or extract my wisdom teeth. Or probably both proceedings. Fun.
Finding a place to call home: This one may be tricky because I also want to keep traveling. But I think I could have both. Right? …RIGHT!?
Completing the succession: My father passed away in the middle of my Saturn return when I was 30 years old. His unexpected death opened a Pandora’s box of legal and financial issues. I have diligently worked on solving them, but I’m not out of the woods yet. My hope is to complete this process by the time I’m 35. A girl can only wish.
How am I feeling now that I’m 33?
The good news about this life period is that I feel lighter.
At the beginning of the 7-year cycle, when I was 28, I was crippled with self-doubt.
My life was not that complex at that time. Most of my issues were related to not trusting myself, not listening to my intuition, and not connecting with my true values.
I’m satisfied to report that I’m not that person any longer.
Saturn has slowly but surely helped me become more resilient, responsible, and capable of solving problems.
Life is not perfect now, and it will never be. This sober realization is one of the best things Saturn gave me.
I can’t see life with rose-colored glasses anymore. That ship has sailed forever.
And even though sometimes I feel like Debbie Downer, I prefer being realistic than naive.
I have learned that things take time, and nothing is 100 % good nor 100% bad. Besides, I discovered social media is extremely harmful, and you can’t predict what will happen with your life.
But you can certainly prepare yourself and acquire tools to help you navigate the rough patches.
Now, I’m confident in my ability to solve issues. I know I can extract the good from the bad, be flexible, and nurture myself in every aspect of existence. Besides everything, I'm always deepening my capacity of going with the flow.
I can’t wait to see what’s waiting for me now that I’m 33.
Thanks for being here and until next Monday!
With love,
Valentina