A week ago we had a Total Solar Eclipse. On Thursday, Saturn moved into Aquarius. On Saturday Jupiter followed suit. Tomorrow they form a conjunction.
To celebrate this momentous event I’ve written a rather long essay. So maybe make yourself a cup of tea and get comfortable.
2020
In the past year, we’ve experienced no less than 4 conjunctions between the outer planets, all in Capricorn. Saturn and Pluto at the start of the year and three between Jupiter and Pluto throughout 2020. The once per century Pluto Eris square has also been colouring the deep background. We are living through a concentration of rare and unprecedented astrology.
And of course, events in the world and in our lives have also been unprecedented. We’ve witnessed a pandemic of fear rapidly spread across the entire planet. In the Spring almost all governments of the world enacted similar lockdown policies. Such simultaneous global political unity is something I don’t think has ever happened before. That is the definition of unprecedented.
We’ve also witnessed widespread social unrest. Whether it be the global anti-racism BlackLivesMatter protests, the yellow vest movement in France, numerous anti-lockdown protests or just MAGAhats throwing tantrums that their guy didn’t win. There have been huge numbers of people on the streets demanding change.
As we reach the final weeks of 2020 we have an historic conjunction between the two largest planets in the solar system. A beacon of hope and change at the end of a trying 12 months.
The Jupiter Saturn Cycle
Arguably much of the upset this year has been the final gasps of an era that is coming to an end as Jupiter and Saturn align on the Winter Solstice.
This planetary cycle marks out mini-eras in history. In traditional astrology – before the discovery of Uranus – Jupiter and Saturn were the two planets farthest away from the Sun, the slowest moving planets known to mankind. Astrologers noted many correlations between their cycles and historical epochs. The conjunction was often associated with the death of a king, which of course meant the crowning of a new one. The King is dead long live the King.
The character of the king as absolute ruler would colour the character of the land he ruled. Nowadays we’ve done away with kings but our culture and our economies still shift in time with the Jupiter Saturn cycle.
The Jupiter Saturn Cycle Throughout History
Jupiter Saturn conjunctions tend to coincide with the beginning of cultural eras. They also roughly mark out the booms and busts of economic cycles. The fact that they have been occurring on or near round numbers for the last couple of hundred years makes them easier to notice.
The 20s and 30s
The conjunction of 1921 ushered in the Roaring Twenties where the technological advances of the time brought about an economically prosperous and socially decadent era; The Jazz Age, speakeasies, gin martinis, cabaret dancers and this wild new music called Jazz that broke all the rules. This was followed by the Wall Street Crash of 1929 at the Jupiter Saturn opposition and the Great Depression era of the 1930s. The economic hardship of the 30s resulted in international tensions that eventually led to war.
The 40s and 50s
The conjunction of 1941 saw the world ravaged by war. It took until the opposition in ‘51 for the dust from WWII to settle and the economy to even out. At this point, a politically progressive yet socially conservative era began that introduced things like the NHS, improved education systems, free school meals, wages that could actually support a family. Nearly all of the progressive policies we have today were introduced during this period. Although we did see the beginnings of rock n roll in the ‘50s people still tended to be a bit square, until…
The 60s and 70s
The conjunction of 1961 brought about an explosion of popular rock and psychedelic music. It also saw the rise of the hippy movement, widespread protests and calls for peace as well as numerous social uprisings and civil rights movements that lasted well into the economic downturn of the 70s, after the opposition. Ask anyone who was around at the time how it felt transitioning from the somewhat stuffy 1950s into the wild days of the 1960s. I’ve been told it really felt like a new era was dawning. As Bob Dylan sang in ‘63: the times they are a-changin’.
The 80s and 90s
However, the conjunction of 1981 was like the anti-60s. The disparity in vibe, style and sound between the two eras is obvious. We have evidence of how quickly it all changed, as it happened not so long ago. The difference between how people dressed, what music sounded like, what movies looked like, people’s attitudes towards sex, money and success are so distinct from the previous era that it’s almost comical. This is the Jupiter Saturn cycle at work. The economics of Thatcher and Reagan; Neoliberalism, was introduced at the conjunction, which decoupled productivity from wages, and began the rise of gross inequality between rich and poor. There was a slight recession just after the opposition in ‘91, once this was over there was a bull market for a while.
The 00s and 10s
The most recent conjunction was the year 2000, we are at the very end of that cycle now. This is when the dot-com bubble of early internet speculation burst causing another minor recession. We also saw the financial crash of 2008 just before the opposition of 2010. We’ve been living with brutal austerity measures ever since.
This was a strange era in that not much new in terms of fashion, music or art really seemed to come about, particularly considering the vast differences between the previous eras.
Sure, we had dubstep until it got swallowed by capitalism within record time. Everything else seemed rehashed, redos, we’re dressing like it’s the 90s again. There was an explosion of internet culture; youtube, instagram influencers, chans, memes, vaporwave. But nothing radically new emerged. There didn’t seem to be any massive influx of new musical styles like we saw at the beginning of the 90s, for example. Everything just seemed to get a little cleaner, a little sharper, a little more HD, a little more online.
I believe this has something to do with the Jupiter Saturn conjunction of 2000 being the last one to occur in an Earth sign for over 400 years. I’ll explain more about that shortly.
The Conjunction
Conjunctions between Jupiter and Saturn happen once every 20 years, but this one in particular is part of an even larger cycle.
If we take the lunar month as our base for understanding the other planetary cycles, a conjunction is equal to a New Moon. It’s when two planets share the same degree along the ecliptic. Symbolically this represents the ending of one cycle and the beginning of a new one. On the smallest scale, this conjunction marks the ending of an era that began in 2000 and the beginning of a new 20 year economic and cultural era.
Things can often feel a little bit angsty in the last couple of days before a New Moon. Each orbit of the Moon offers us a chance to grow and develop. Sometimes we don’t fully embrace that chance and it can feel a bit uncomfortable as we approach the end of the cycle.
Jupiter and Saturn represent a growth cycle of 20 years, not just for us individually but also us collectively, as a society and culture. It’s worth asking, have we grasped the opportunity to grow and develop our society in the last 20 years? We’ve been given so much brand spanking new technology and it’s been used to create a creepy self-surveillance state. It’s given vast power to a handful of tech CEOs. It’s turned us all into dopamine addicts, always looking for the next fix. When’s the last time you looked at your phone? You might say that we, as a collective, got a bit distracted with developing a beautiful world to live in over the last 20 years. This might also be why, as we reach the end of this cycle, it’s felt as though we’re living in a virtual hellscape.
Image from NASA
Be Here Now
Whatever this conjunction ends up meaning historically, what it means now is a new opportunity. An opportunity to grow and develop as individuals over the next 20 years but also to grow and develop collectively. An opportunity to resolve not to be so distracted and to build the kind of world that we actually want to live in, that we want our children and grandchildren to live in.
This is why – regardless of all that is going on in the world right now – this conjunction is a reason to be hopeful.
Knowing that this is happening helps us to realise that we are at the start of a new cycle. Astrology can’t tell the future, the future’s not set in stone, it’s a participatory act. And now we know we’ve got a fresh start, we can act accordingly.
That’s just taking the 20-year cycle into account. There is so much other symbolism marking this conjunction out as special that I feel as though I am overselling it just by stating the facts, but here we go.
What Makes This One So Special
There are four main reasons why this particular conjunction stands out amongst its peers across the centuries.
Astronomical
First off, it happens in the very first degree of a sign. This is pretty rare, but it also amplifies the symbolism of new beginnings and fresh starts that the conjunction already exhibits. Funnily enough, the last time this happened was on Christmas Day 1305. 700 years ago.
Secondly, during this conjunction, Saturn and Jupiter appear abnormally close to one another in the evening sky. Although during every conjunction the planets share the same longitude, during this one their latitudes are also extremely close. The last time they were visibly this close was 1226. 800 years ago.
from a couple of nights ago.
From Philip Sedgwick
Festival
Third, it happens on the Winter Solstice. This is the shortest day of the year. It’s also an ancient pagan festival that has been around way longer than Christmas. Christmas was probably placed at this time of year by the Church to co-opt the winter festival celebrated throughout prehistory. This is yet another symbol of new beginnings.
During the Winter Solstice, the Sun “dies” for a few days. The place in which he rises each morning stops moving North. The Sun is then “reborn” again a couple of days later. The place where he rises begins moving South, the days getting longer again.
Some astro-theorists believe that the Star of Bethlehem – that signalled the birth of Jesus to the Three Wise Men – was a conjunction between Jupiter and Saturn. When they come together they are a bright shining beacon. You can even see it yourself right now if the skies are clear.
The fact that they appear closer together than they have for 800 years makes it look even more like the Star of Bethlehem. It’s really worth looking in the direction of sunset a little after the Sun’s gone down to see this once per 20 year (or rather once per 800 year) sight.
Astrological
Finally, the orbital pattern of Jupiter and Saturn make this conjunction yet another multi-century first.
Due to the rhythm of the Jupiter Saturn cycle, the conjunctions tend to happen in one element for 150 years or so. For example, between 1663 and 1782 Jupiter Saturn conjunctions only happened in the fire signs.
They have only occurred in Earth signs from 1842 until the conjunction of 1981 which was in the Air sign Libra.
Then in the year 2000, there was a final Earth sign conjunction. The last one for over 400 years. The current conjunction is in the Air sign of Aquarius marking the beginning of a new 150-year era in which all Jupiter Saturn conjunctions are in Air signs.
This is the first Jupiter Saturn conjunction in Aquarius since 1405, right at the beginning of the Renaissance.
These conjunctions are powerful indicators of change within our lifetimes but all signs point towards this one being the marker of a far larger shift in world history.
By Linus Nelson
The Jupiter Saturn Conjunction In Aquarius
Have I convinced you that this conjunction is a big deal? I urge you again to go outside and look at it in the sky. You won’t get another chance for 20 years.
On a historical level, we can already see the transfer of power from the creepy old career politicians like Joe Biden or the Bush family, laughing at poor people, to the creepy computer nerds like Mark Zuckerberg and Bill Gates telling us how and what to think. This is in line with Aquarius residing over tech. But this transfer of power also offers an opening, Aquarius has a power to the people vibe, that I hope will be taken advantage of in the coming years.
On a cultural level, we can see that our technology is going to keep playing a larger role in our society. How that’ll actually look I can’t say but I am hopeful that we are going to see some interesting new musical, artistic and philosophical movements over the next 20 years. After what has felt like a bit of a creative dry spell since the beginning of the millennium.
If I had to issue one warning about the coming era it’s the dangers that we face as our technology creeps into more and more aspects of our lives. It’s already got its fingers in nearly everything and it doesn’t seem to be slowing down. Social media and smartphones have had massive effects on our mental and spiritual health in the last 20 years. It’s worth nurturing more awareness of this as we move forward.
On a personal level, it feels as though we are each being given a chance to individuate. Aquarius represents groups of people, but these usually work best when composed of individuals rather than herds trapped in groupthink. Really learning to be comfortable being yourself, even in the face of ridicule or persecution, will be an invaluable lesson during this cycle.
Of course, the conjunction is going to represent something different for each one of us.
The key to getting the most out of astrology is working with the symbols presented. Yes, we are all entering a new phase in our lives, but you might not fully realise that until a few years from now. If we just wait around for things to change rather than accept the invitation to enact the change ourselves, we are missing a chance to mould our lives into something that we have truly chosen.
At its core, this conjunction is handing us that invitation.
It’s up to you to wholeheartedly accept it.
Much love to all of my readers. I hope you all manage to have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year, even with all the restrictions placed upon us.
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