These are global energies of Saturn in Cancer or in 4th House which must be nuanced according to your birth chart, see the article on Saturn in birth chart; see also the article on the general interpretation of Saturn.
The planet Saturn is one of the attributes of the Animus in the chart, as such it can indicate a Projection of this one, in particular the “father”.
It informs about our responsibilities, seriousness, rigour, moral sense, our prudence, or patience, our capacity to discipline ourselves, to build solid things, to reach wisdom.
It can also mark fatality, restrictions, difficulties, things that take time and are frustrated, fears, guilt, sadness, loneliness, as well as our capacity for introspection…
Given that Saturn stays for about 2 and a half years per sign, its position in houses is more meaningful for personality. The sign’s energy gives above all an elemental background colouring common to an age group, which will apply more personally to the area of life signified by the house. Therefore, concentrate first of all on the impacted house, as the sign gives a background tone.
Emotional introversion
The planet is in detriment here, in a sensitive angular sector, under the Moon’s rulership, and in the element of Water, which means that it’s not fully comfortable expressing its natural energies, and it’s influenced by many emotions that it has a hard time processing.
The energy of the Cancer archetype very much represents the things that give us a sense of security and reassure us, which is why we associate it with the representation of our family, our house, our home, and, most importantly, the maternal archetype, because of the emotional security that it may produce and provide for us. But in a way, Saturn works against water’s all-encompassing emotional outpouring here, limiting and reducing it, and causing it to be more introverted !
Broadly speaking, having this planet in this position hugely complicates accessing your emotional side, and the way that you get in touch with this aquatic part of your personality becomes much colder, more detached, and more impersonal, leading almost to denial of what you are feeling, or at least to a refusal to show these feelings.
This may often date back to early childhood, which may in fact have born traces of this coldness, austerity, and responsibility, as well as a complicated relationship with the mother and difficulty understanding her, talking to her, feeling affection for her, and having this all-encompassing feeling of security (she herself may incidentally bear the marks of this planet and emanate pessimism, crabbiness, and restrictions).
With Saturn in this position, “familial heaviness” may be emphasized, making it harder to be casual and warm in relationships with family members. “Burdens” and constraints are brought out more, and sometimes so is the need to take care of your loved ones and assist them, for example when they are sick or having any number of other problems. Or, on the contrary, a person’s parents may be conspicuous by their absence and that person may thus be raised by their grandparents or other substitutes, such as the state, an orphanage, or a children’s home. It will be very tempting for these people to “isolate themselves” and to not want to have any family themselves to avoid perpetuating this burden, as they themselves don’t necessarily know what to provide for their descendants.
Even if their parents are attentive and loving, their subjective view of things could lead to a lack of understanding of their family and a desire to withdraw further, which is often the case if there is a significant familial karmic node that needs to be resolved; it’s each person’s job to bring awareness to the others about who they themselves are, but this occurs through confrontation and introversion, rather than through conversation.
From a material perspective, having this planet in this position can make people very conservative, especially in terms of their possessions (and their house, especially if it has been in the family for some time), but also in terms of their country, region, and city, in that they feel a great need to protect these things and also pass something on to the next generation.
Or it may also lead to financial difficulties and make it harder to manage one’s home and real estate, with things being somewhat precarious (it’s particularly important to be careful with anything related to the real estate business, especially when it also relates to family, including an inheritance).
Unfortunately, the biggest danger of having Saturn in this position is the risk of perpetuating emotional austerity around oneself, especially with one’s children, without really realizing it, since these people have never really known anything else, so they do not necessarily have a counterexample and have a tendency to readily repeat the patterns of their parents and family, which may sometimes be harmful.
In addition, having this planet in this position is even harder to live with if the person’s birth chart is highly aquatic ! Someone with a more earthy birth chart could integrate this emotional introversion in a more natural and even “productive” way, but someone with a highly aquatic birth chart runs the risk of being truly overwhelmed and weakened by this powerful Saturnian context, which requires control and an ability to channel energies (these people are at a greater risk for Depression).
Because of the sensitivity of this position, it’s necessary to closely monitor any aspects between Saturn and the rest of one’s birth chart, and undoubtedly any tensions will have a greater impact, especially in terms of violence and withdrawal, amplifying these people’s nostalgic, gloomy side.
Additionally, since we are in a delicate, angular sector here, saturn’s returns (every 29 years or so) are likely to be truly active periods of time which force people to both settle things from their past and also perform a kind of emotional (and often karmic) “purge”.
Of course, even though having this planet in this position is rather difficult to live with, it represents a very important key to sublimation if the right paths of emotional externalization are followed, and it can truly allow people to make a great karmic leap forward (see the list of notable public figures below).
Saturn retrograde in the 4th House and Cancer
Saturn’s Retrograde motion in this sign is likely to anchor this planet even more deeply in earth, withdrawal, and material things, and thus make these people’s emotional side even more introverted ! Much depends on the rest of their birth chart, and specifically on whether the dominant factors are more aquatic or not, as mentioned above.
Saturn’s retrograde motion in a birth chart is of lesser importance than the other dominant features of a birth chart, since it is a social, collective planet, though it is still significant.
It is useful to monitor the evolution of this retrograde motion through Progressions. Changes that occur here may not necessarily give rise to specific, noteworthy events, but they may indicate non-negligible psychological changes in how this planet’s energies are used.
Celebrities with Saturn in 4th House
Mother Teresa, Fyodor Dostoevsky, Frederic Chopin, Hugo Chávez, Marilyn Monroe, Madonna, Walt Disney, Antoine de Saint Exupery, Ernest Hemingway, Sharon Stone, Chuck Norris, Rosa Parks, Joseph Goebbels, Tom Cruise, Mata Hari, Ronald Reagan, Anders Breivik…
Celebrities with Saturn in Cancer
Jules Verne, Bob Marley, Edith Piaf, Padre Pio, David Lynch, Chateaubriand, Sylvester Stallone, Marc Chagall, Frank Sinatra, Kirk Douglas and Mickael Douglas, Bear Grylls, David Rockefeller, George Patton, John Fitzgerald Kennedy, Donald Trump, George W Bush (it seems that Saturn’s position in Cancer is a good position to be president of the United States, and it should be noted that certain themes of this country in mundane astrology are very marked by this sign as well)…