Saturn is the planet of responsibility, self-control, and maturity. Expressed in its positive form, Saturn instills self-discipline, patience, trustworthiness, integrity, and the sense of responsibility and fortitude required to overcome obstacles and hardship. When Saturn is prominent in your horoscope, you are a hard worker!

If Saturn is afflicted (at odds with another planet in your horoscope), Saturn's influence results in reckless ambition, selfishness, pessimism, inflexibility, close-mindedness, and even cruelty.

Saturn is the sixth planet from the Sun and is the second largest planet in the solar system (behind Jupiter). More than 888 million miles from the Sun, Saturn completes an orbit every 29.46 years. It is 95 times more massive than the earth, and is a gas giant (like Jupiter) primarily composed of hydrogen and helium gas.

Saturn's most famous feature, its rings, were discovered in 1610 by Galileo. When observed through a telescope, Saturn's A and B rings are clearly visible, but only under certain conditions can the D and E rings be seen. When the Pioneer 11 spacecraft flew by Saturn in 1979, it revealed that Saturn's rings are actually composed of thousands of tiny ringlets, each of which circles the planet!

Saturn has numerous small satellites orbiting it, and one large moon called Titan. Larger than Mercury, Titan has a nitrogen atmosphere with traces of other gases. Because its surface temperature is roughly -182 degrees Celsius, methane may be present in the forms of snow, rain, ice, and vapor (like water on earth).

In Roman mythology, Saturn was initially a god of agriculture. Later on he became associated with the Greek god Cronus (who was dethroned by his son Jupiter). Saturn was honored for a week in December each year during a festival known as the Saturnalia. During this week of goodwill, business was stopped, executions were postponed, and slaves were granted increased freedom and privileges. Saturn fathered Neptune (god of the sea) and Pluto (god of the underworld).