How Saturn in Aries Taught Me to Trust My Resilience

Reflect on your past, reclaim your strength, and build a sustainable writing practice with this powerful Saturn-in-Aries journaling exercise.

My high school senior photo, taken 5 years before the last Saturn-in-Aries transit.

Greetings! If you’re new to the Writing Your Resilience podcast, welcome! I’m Lisa Cooper Ellison, a trauma-informed writing coach and author of this Substack. If you’ve been here for a while, welcome back. It’s wonderful to be with friends. Right now, I’m on my annual sabbatical—a time for rest, deep thinking, and creative dreaming. While I’m away, I’ve prepared a special summer series to support your growth and momentum.

Welcome to part four of my five-part Saturn-in-Aries Writing Series.

Last week, I shared a flexible framework for crafting your Saturn in Aries writing plan. This week, I’m reflecting on how the previous Saturn-in-Aries transit shaped me and how that prepared me for what lies ahead.

To borrow from Dickens, the period between 1997 and 2000 was the worst of times and the best of times.

It was the age of raw grief following my brother’s suicide, it was the age of learning as I earned my bachelor’s degree, it was the epoch of suicidal depression, it was the epoch of incredible hope that life could be different, it was a season of heartbreak and rifts that would one day end my first marriage, and a season of new beginnings as I embarked on the healing journey that brought me to this work and this Substack.

After naming all those hardships, especially my brother’s suicide, I found myself bracing for the disasters to come. My mind raced through all the things that could go wrong: another marriage failing, another dive into the subterranean world of grief and self-loathing, another work or health crisis.

Then I remembered something vital:

I am not that person anymore.

When Joe died, I was still so young—still shaped by the chaos, violence, and dysfunction I grew up with. My nervous system was wired for survival and anticipated upheaval. I hadn’t yet arrived on the other side of anything hard, so I did what I knew to do: charge ahead, endure the pain, and brace myself for the next calamity that would inevitably strike.

But now, nearly three decades later, everything has changed.

I have so much faith in myself—faith in my resilience, my healing, and my capacity to grow through challenges. I’ve learned that life’s hardest moments are often our greatest teachers. And while they still suck (because let’s be honest, they do), I’ve built the tools, perspective, and community needed to survive whatever comes next.

More importantly, I no longer live in anticipation of the next car crash.

This could be a season of ease.

Of fruition.

Of becoming.

That gives me so much hope.

You have what it takes, too. Everything you need to navigate this Saturn-in-Aries cycle—your voice, your wisdom, your tools—is already within you. Sometimes, we just need reminders.

An Exercise to Help You Remember and Celebrate Your Resilience

In your journal, once again reflect on 1997 – 2000, but this time respond to the following prompts:

• What lessons did you learn during that period?

• What skills did you gain as a result?

• What hopes do you hold for the future?

Next, list the goals you’ve set for this Saturn-in-Aries transit and why they matter.

Then write a letter to your future self.

In it, remind yourself of your gifts, your resilience, and the deep why that fuels your goals. Use futureme.org to deliver the letter in three months. When it arrives, read it with an open heart, then write another.

If you’d love a space where your gifts and progress are celebrated each week, apply for Free Your Voice, Fuel Your Motivation.

The more reminders you give yourself, the more faith you’ll build in your ability not just to keep writing, but to advance the story you’re living as you always—always—write on.

Warmly,

Lisa

Your Turn: What’s the biggest lesson you learned during the last Saturn-in-Aries transit, or what’s the skill you’re most proud of? Share your thoughts in the comments. You never know what conversations this might inspire.

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Coming this Fall

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The Latest Episode of Writing Your Resilience:

The podcast is on hiatus over the summer. New episodes will air on September 11, 2025, when I’ll share my interview with Ingrid Clayton about her new book on the fawning trauma response.

While I’m away, I’m doing an encore series of popular episodes that are worth a second listen. If you’ve ever wondered what it’s like to not just write about trauma but turn a tough story into a New York Times bestseller, check out this behind-the-scenes episode recorded before we knew how big Tia’s book would be.

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This section of the newsletter is currently on hiatus. Please save your late June, July, and August announcements, so I can share them with everyone in my end-of-September newsletter.

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