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Notes on the Triple Conjunction

Hello friends. What follows is a short introduction to the incredibly rare and historical astrological conditions of the year 2020. This was written with the intention of accessibility first and foremost; I believe it’s important that people have some idea of this moment in a historical context, and the tools to evaluate the themes and stories that are emerging currently and in the near future. To my eyes astrology is at its most useful when it is neither prescriptive nor prophetic. It is foremost a tool of psychological midwifery; reading the meaning of the world and its events.

So it’s in my interest to be painting in broad strokes. If you want concrete predictions or exact dates for orbs of conjunction now and in history, then there is a vast field of mundane astrology for you to Google. The myths I’m unfolding here are only for context and consideration—I hope you find them helpful.

Also, there will be a major western bias in my evaluation of history, which sucks, but that’s the milieu I grew up in and can speak to, and it remains the information most easily available. But of course astrological conditions are affecting the entire world. We can still trace the vibe through western examples.

Our Axial Moment
There are two incredibly rare astrological events happening this year. One event is the conjunction of Jupiter and Saturn in the sign of Aquarius. These two planets come together routinely, mechanically, every 20 years. But the rhythm of their waltz is such that each meeting takes place in signs of the same element for 200 years at a time. So when they conjoin in Aquarius, in the last weeks of 2020, that will be their first time together in an air sign since the 14th century.

Since 1802, all of their conjunctions have been in earth signs. (Much more on the significance of this later, but some may already notice this 200 period’s coincidence with the industrial revolution and the age of capital). In the 200-odd years before 1802, they would join every time in fire signs—and for the 200 years before that, water. One waltz more brings us back to the 1300s and 1200s, the previous epoch of air signs. Returning to the present day, we should realize that since an age like this persists for two centuries at a time, it is essentially impossible for someone who witnesses such a transition, to have ever even known anyone who witnessed the previous transition. That is, the 100 year old person in December 2020—even if they had, as a newborn, shared a breath with a 100 year old person—would not reach far back enough in history to have even a dim, second-hand knowledge of the epoch of fire (1603-1801). These periods are effectively the frame edges; the curtains around the drama of the world stage.

Rare as it is, the other historical aspect of the year is much rarer: the fact that Saturn and Jupiter will also conjoin Pluto in Capricorn before they dance their first step together in Aquarius. Though these 3 will never occupy the exact same degree together, they will come very close, on and off throughout 2020. Of course a triple conjunction of planets will always occur in more unpredictable intervals than any pair of planets because of the 3 separate orbits. Famously—well, famous among astrologers—it last happened in the sign of Capricorn during the founding year of the city of Babylon, 1894 BCE.

History of the Elemental Epochs
Because the Jupiter-Saturn synodic cycle is so regular, and because we didn’t know about outer planets til the 18th century, the dance of these two planets through the elemental stations is by far the oldest astrological tool for determining epochal periods. It has long been assumed to be the basic attitudinal/affective backdrop of the zeitgeist. (Now that we know about Pluto, we have a new vibecheck every 12 years! But isn’t it funny that generations didn’t have names until we noticed Pluto in 1930?)

I would be remiss not to mention that there are overlaps between these periods. For instance, Jupiter and Saturn were briefly conjunct in an air sign (Libra) for a few months in 1981. So toward the end of each epoch, humanity gets a little multi-month preview of the coming age. 1981 and the transitional period is a whole other topic in itself, but that’s all I’ll say here.

Even though these elemental ages have been observed for so long, we don’t have a ton of historical examples to draw upon to get a sense of the nature of a particular epoch. As for the air age that we’re entering into, we can refer to the high medieval period as the last instantiation, but to get a third example we have to go into history 6 centuries before that! Soon the world starts to look so different from the current day, that we have to stretch the imagination that much farther. So let’s just a get a brief summary of the previous cycle through the elements.

Earth
1802-2020

This is the epoch we are still in as I write this. It began during the industrial revolution, and the earth themes are undeniable. Human begins have had a resolutely atomic understanding of the universe; materialism is rampant; and it feels that capital and capitalism are catalysts of most human drama. We take things literally and concretely: instead of speculating about other realms, we want to drive our spaceships to big slabs of land like the moon and Mars. We have discovered how to build and make so much STUFF!

Fire
1603-1801

This period is famous for the enlightenment and the French and American revolutions. The time of great sparks! Reason, brilliance, luminance … self-validation and self-determination. This is really when human beings began to appreciate the value of the idiosyncrasy of a particular thinker. “THIS dude’s contribution” etc. Rights, laws, freedom, were all in vogue. “Here I am!” say the fire signs.

Water
1425-1602

Just as materialist scientism was born out of the liberating thought of the enlightenment, so were the insights of the enlightenment enabled by the world-broadening discoveries of the renaissance. During the water epoch, everyone was sailing everywhere, being introduced to new cultures, and the “new world” was reached by the Europeans. At home, classics of antiquity were being rediscovered and the world was broadened in that sense. Shakespeare was poppin off in a big way. The concept of the stage is essentially water; water is the idea that there is an affective component to reality at all.

Air
1226-1424

Is it a coincidence that the least widely known stage of the cycle is the one we are now entering? Or is that just the nature of history, as it fades further into the past? This period was called, in the West, the “high medieval” era. It was marked by civic demarcations that more or less persist to this day—the previous few hundred years saw constantly changing borders, but now people grouped more firmly into ethnic or national identities drawn to territories. This is also where we got chivalry and the first real rights for women in a long time. And there was the discovery of an actual social life and leisure. “Hanging out” was invented, thank God.

Reality itself received a major patch update: we invented mechanical clocks, which caused people to relate to the passage of time in a totally new way. We used to just slice up the sunrise-to-sundown period into 12 equal parts; now hours were a constant length throughout the year. Common folk had glass windows in their homes for the first time, and the elite even wore glass in front of their eyes to correct their vision. Music became much more complex, as people had more time to take it seriously and form theories. People could go to libraries; for the first time ever there were more books in cities than in monasteries. Cities were finally the place to be. We invented the compass, the game of chess, and the printing press. The astrolabe, like the compass, allowed us to orient ourselves to something that was formerly hopelessly abstract (the stars). Most of this cool shit came from the Arab world, which was flourishing.

Air Epoch 2.0
That’s the historical overview. Obviously there is much, much more there for any anthropologist or history of philosophy ass person. But we are beginning to see some idea of the relation between the qualities symbolized by the elements and the respective periods. Now we can begin a more informed speculation.

The movement from the previous earth age to the previous air age seems to be one of dramatically more complex social relations. Less emphasis on the riches of a kingdom, and more emphasis on its culture, civility, and sophistication. Abstract things became the treasures. As we look to our own incoming air epoch, it is easy to envision a world that places more emphasis on networks instead of objects. Social media, gig economy, and blockchain all appear to be prefigurations of this. In terms of philosophy, it no longer seems very radical to conceptualize oneself as part of a universe whose essential composition is not defined by particles (nouns) but relations and processes (verbs).

What Was Babylon?
I ain’t no student of ancient culture. Until a few months ago, I didn’t even know Babylon was where Iraq is. Of course I think it would behoove all of us to research as much as possible the previous instantiation of this astrological aspect, but I also think it’s valid to speak about its cultural impact through a layman’s osmosis.  As far as I can tell: what is Babylon best remembered for? The miraculous hanging gardens, the Tower of Babel, and the law code of Hammurabi. Hammurabi’s code, inscribed onto a stele about a century after the founding of Babylon is celebrated as the first known written laws, some 190 edicts long—and by the estimation of modern scholars, supremely humanitarian for its time. What is the modern equivalent of the ancient innovation of codified laws? Hard to fathom, but something for us to consider as the new age dawns.

More famously, there is the story of the Tower of Babel. A persistent image of human hubris, even today people respond to the tower motif as a symbol of defiance of God or of nature, and it is routinely invoked when artists and pundits comment on the ecological folly of industrial enterprise. Human beings tried to use their intellectual capacities to reach the position of God. Without reading the Bible, I can tell you that the punishment for this was the diversification of languages. All of a sudden people couldn’t speak to each other, because there were so many ways to speak.

Today we take for granted the many languages of human beings, so what is the modern equivalent of this event? Taken as a metaphor, the variation of languages could represent a variation of worldview. Styles of interfacing with reality. Because the element of air is so closely associated with concepts like perception, the structuring of thought, communication, and virtual realities, we might imagine that in the new age we will begin to understand just how deeply diversified our mechanisms of interpreting reality are. Phenomenology seems like a pretty fringe field in our current world, but AI is certainly not; and content creators have increasingly brought phenomenological themes to the center of their work over the last couple decades. Just as the previous air epoch (12/1300s) saw the advent of movable type, perhaps we will soon develop novel means of recording our impressionistic realities.

Finally, Babylon was host to the famous hanging gardens. Supposedly built by king Nebuchadnezzar to please his wife who missed the natural beauty of Iran, it is still unclear whether this wonder of the world ever existed in physical reality. In any case, the story is relevant: a ruler, in the midst of tremendous infrastructural expansion, and with it the inevitable subjugation of nature, finds that his greatest cultural influence across the centuries is ecological restoration. Looking at these three legacies of Babylon together is rather interesting: the law code stele, though purportedly divine in origin, is unquestionably real to our materialist sensibilities—you can go and see it. The Tower of Babel, taken from the Bible, was probably not real in the same fundamental way; though there was without question a great ziggurat in Babylon, the Biblical account is not literal. The hanging gardens is the most mythological. So between the three we have different concentrations of myth and historical fact.

Second Second Life
I write this in the first few weeks of social isolation during the coronavirus pandemic. There is much more to be said about the connection between this unprecedented social condition and the imminent radical astrology—maybe the subject of some other essay. But off the dome, we can see plainly the defaulting of Capricornian things: governments, businesses, economies, and social infrastructure. Without much of a choice, we are withdrawing our energy from the material to which we are accustomed. We’re cooped up in our houses, where the merciful currents of the internet continue to draw us on, to operate in cyberspace as normal. New social functions and vocabularies are already emerging as we are forced to reconsider the online networks that have seemed so toxic for the last few years. People find themselves operating “peer to peer” out of necessity. Some “inessential” products may no longer be available on amazon, but your neighbor might have them. More importantly, people are reaching out to each other for nothing more than human contact. We’ve been wringing our hands about the importance of human connection, but capitalism—through spectacle or stranglehold—has drawn us away from putting it first.

Social service is (along with certain essential aspects of the internet) ruled by Aquarius. Saturn, governor of concern, has already ingressed into this sign, but will retrograde back out in a few months; and then at the end of the year, it will be joined by Jupiter, who greases the wheels, expands the potentiation of Saturn’s concern, and affords prosperity to those who take social service seriously. And together they will inaugurate the new age.

The great conjunction

As many might know, the rare conjunction between jupiter and saturn, aka the great conjunction, will happen again on the winter solstice on December 21st at about 6:20 pm GMT. Even though it’s still a few days away, the effects are already being felt by many. Especially natives with capricorn placements between 27’00° and 30’00° (and cardinal placements at these degrees) and aquarius placements between 00’00°- 03’00° (and fixed placements at these degrees), but the effects will vary depending in what house of the chart is falls.

Since the conjunction will happen at 00’29° of aquarius, this conjunction is all about new beginnings and manifestation, also because this conjunction occurred 3 times this year (because of retrogrades), where this one on the 21st of December is the last. In general, the next 20 years (until the conjunction happens again) will be about new beginnings.

The great conjunction in the houses

(if you’re not sure where it falls in your chart, look at in which house 00° of aquarius falls, or go to astro.com —> horoscopes —> extended chart selection —> fill in your natal info —> choose ‘natal charts and transits’ by chart type (under sections) —> and then just click on ‘click here to show the chart’, the transits are the green ones at the outer ring! you can also always reach out to me)

1st house:

You’re ready for refreshment, and you’ll definitely need it too. After all this time of saturn and jupiter hanging out in your first, making you question your soul purpose and feeling insecure, there will be a fresh start! New ideas will come to you, about how you think of yourself and your life, these ideas are a great chance to fulfil your dreams. You’ll develop more confidence in what you want and how you look.

2nd house:

With saturn and jupiter in your 2nd house, you have been through possessive episodes past few months. But now you will learn what has been truly important to you this life. You’ve also created big goals, which are now ready to achieve, for example, you finally might get your dream job, or get an upgrade in your current one. Your moral view on society might also change, or already have been changing this year.

3rd house:

This year you have learned how to protect yourself. Now that you know better how to block out negativity, your friendships/relations with siblings and communication skill will grow, you’ve learned, or will learn, how to say no to things that will only bring negativity. Besides this, your thought process will also change, in a good way. It might all be a bit scary a first, but it’s very important for your personal growth to let these changes be.

4th house:

The great conjunction in your root house will give you the opportunity to ground yourself form the world, but that also comes with challenges, even though they will change things for the better. You’ll review and relive your past and childhood again, which can be a hard experience, but also maybe a bit nostalgic. Bad habits will reduce, if your open to this fresh start. Inner peace will come, even after hard or hectic times (like this pandemic).

5th house:

In this romantic and creative house, the great conjunction will help you know what you seek in relations, and also give future and current relations a fresh and new beginning. This will also count for your creativity. This year you might have had trouble expressing yourself, but with this conjunction that will all be over. Or if you’re not a creative person normally, this transit will give you the opportunity to express yourself.

6th house:

This conjunction is a wake-up call for better self-care. Ignoring you physical and mental being is no longer an option. Due to all the things that were going on this year, you’ve forgot frequently to take care of yourself or ask for help. Jupiter will make sure this self-care will turn out positive, while saturn makes sure your life will run efficiently. Take a small step backwards, to come back later with new power.

7th house:

This conjunction will be great for your love life. You have learned a lot about the things you seek for, and these new insights will be projected into new relations, both platonic and romantic. Have fun with these new adventures, but be cautious to not forgot yourself in these relationships too. Both you and your partner or friend are important for the dynamic.

8th house:

With the conjunction falling in your 8th house, it’s a great moment to rethink about this past year, and how you’ve changed. What changes were positive and do you want to be continued, which ones were negative and which are already done changing? Here too will the conjunction bring new psychological insights and new thinking patterns. Old taboo’s will be discussed and you view on them might change too.

9th house:

New intellectual journeys have been there this past year, but will expand even more with this conjunction. Not only intellectual journeys will happen, but also, if the pandemic lets you, real ones. You might move and start somewhere new and fresh, or go on an adventurous trip. Studying and sharing new things will also be a theme for this conjunction. All these mental and physical journeys together might be a highlight of your life at this moment.

10th house:

Besides that the great conjunction in your 10th house will be very good for your career and reputation, it will also make you look back at your relations with men this year, since the 10th house is also about your father and men in general. Jupiter will refresh your view and perspective on your past experiences with men and saturn will bring wisdom and maturity. Explore your career and power, but make sure you’ve learned about those relations with men too.

11th house:

With the great conjunction falling in this house, it will bring a refreshment for your ideals and wishes. Partnerships and your part in groups will grow and improve too. A new dream might form, both live and/or virtually (or on social media). New morals and ideas will come to you too with this transit. This conjunction also wants you to be grateful for the people around you.

12th house:

Time to relax and release if the great conjunction falls in your 12th house. A spiritual awakening might come, or new spiritual insights and ideas will form. The only thing to look out for is that you don’t go unconscious. It’s also a great time to look back at your past, what things have helped you in difficult times, and which things do you not want to be repeated? This conjunction will make you learn lessons in a soft way.

Thewaxing Crescent moonwithSaturnandJupiter approaching the great conjunction on December 21, as seen from New York City on Dec. 16, 2020. ( SkySafari / @tranceberry)

The Great Conjunction!! Jupiter and Saturn are visible toward the right, just above a tree! They are in the diffuse glow of zodiacal light.

Image Credit & Copyright: Francisco Sojuel

Tarot and Astrology Tea is a series I’m working on where I drink tea while spilling tea using astrology and tarot to talk about upcoming events. This one focused on the great conjunction and the last eclipse we had.

missnumber1111:

what if we kissed. under the saturn and jupiter conjunction