When I was writing this brief note about Grand Conjunctions back at Christmas 2017, not in my wildest dreams could I have imagined how the astrological patterns I’d been investigating would be fleshed out. I’ve been waiting for many years to investigate such a big astrological event, and now that we’re here, facing it, the world looks like something from the twilight zone. Nonetheless, the Great Mutation is upon us, so, ready or not, we’re called to do the best of everything.
For those that haven’t seen the movie of the title – which I recommend most highly- it’s a Sci-Fi film that deals with the consequences of climate change, bringing a violent change in weather which drives the world to enter a new Ice Age. One of the most interesting issues raised in the film, which made me think, was if Man understands and values what’s really important, only under the most extreme circumstances, only when Life itself is threatened?
History has shown that it is so. History has also shown that Mankind has the memory of a goldfish, and I think that is our biggest problem. And that is because if there were that Collective Memory that History offers, then the World would be a much different place. Goldfish or not, History is now waiting to be written.
The world through the looking glass: the Chronosphere
Ancient astrologers studied the fortune, rise and fall of countries and empires using the Great Conjunctions (that is the conjunction between Jupiter and Saturn) which happen every 20 years, and which occur in the same element for a period of about 240 years (a full circle from all elements takes around 960 years). The last Great Conjunction happened in 2000, in the sign of Taurus, an earth sign, and all the more a fixed earth sign. That particular G.C. was the last of a 240 circle of those conjunctions in the earth element, but I’ll come back to this in a moment.
That last conjunction was connected with the full exploration of the spectrum of having and holding: goods, money, land, ideas, belief systems and more. It showed the tendency to absolute approaches, greed, and extravagance to all things connected with Matter, whether in the form of earthly pleasures, the desires and pleasures within which we could lose our good sense, the material side of things, the material world in general.
So, in general, in this earthy period of conjunctions we’ve seen the gradual exploration and cultivation of the existing economic models (therefore also all the political ideas that derive from them), and financial systems, which were gradually imposed and tried throughout the world with different approaches and the gradual realisation that all of them have flaws, weak spots and dangerous aspects.
We’ve also seen the gradual objectification of people, and of physical form; seen, especially in these last years, the fueling of territorial differences, problems with regard to natural resources; things connected with the land, agriculture, farming, underground and general issues which derive from the unwise handling of Matter and goods (for example an overconsumption of goods that ends in garbage at some places and hunger at other areas).
But the most important thing, as mentioned earlier, is that we’ve come to the closure of a larger circle of G.C.’s in earth signs (which started around 1802) as this last conjunction in Taurus was the final ‘out of ordinary’ conjunction that intervened in the new Circle which will take place in Air signs. Starting from 2020 the conjunctions officially move to the element of Air, and will continue to be there for about the next 200 years. Their premiere (21/12/2020) will take place in Aquarius (I’ve been waiting for years to finally post the ‘Age of Aquarius’!).
Let the sunshine in?
Aquarius is the sign of logic, which flows out from the jug he holds in the form of sweet water – in contrast to the ‘untamed’ salt water of the oceans that symbolises desires. It wants to think, to communicate its ideas, to try again and again to find the answers to all those things it’s curious about; it uses the Mind and its ability to detach from any emotional response and thus reach an objective result. This is much like the scientific approach to things, where one puts something under a microscope, using the logical process to analyze it and will experiment over and over again until one reaches a safe conclusion. It will want to create a sterile environment, away from emotion or desires. It will explore the spectrum of Mind and intellectual process in all its possible shapes and forms. Living under the shadow of the corona-virus crisis, the rise of the ‘scientific’ mind is a most welcome thing, of course, and very timely too.
On the darker side, as a fixed sign -therefore with a limited sense of flexibility and acceptance– it has sometimes the tendency to become absolute in its strict sense of logic and therefore express radical ideas or absolute beliefs (it believes only what it understands through its own intellectual process, the problem here being that it is scientifically proven that there are things that we are not yet able to understand or see with our current science and perception). The other problem is that it can become so ‘calculative’ and so detached that it ends up seeing people as pawns which it can move about to its will, or to live so much in its Mind, become so barricaded in its own thoughts and beliefs and create such a sterile context, that it can lose empathy, its ‘humanity’ in a sense.
Another problematic aspect is that there is also the potential for the misuse of ideas, limitations and using ideologies to manipulate beliefs. The abuse or misinterpretation of concepts concerning Man, could lead to the creation of a new sense of pseudo-Puritanism and witch hunt where fundamental concepts like the freedom of expression and self-determination (Sun) become so twisted that they end up being victims of the so called ‘political correctness’ (Saturn), which is part of the darker potential for this period.
To make that clearer with a few examples, I read on the news that a classical painting with a nude theme (John William Waterhouse’s painting Hylas and the Nymphs), was taken down because it ‘might offend some’! The classic song ‘Fairytale of New York’, by The Pogues won’t get played on the radio because ‘some people might be offended’ by its lyrics! What’s next? Put some clothes on the Hermes of Praxiteles statue because its nudity ‘might offend some’? I hope the dear reader understands my point here.
All in all, Aquarius in its good expression it’s like Mr Spock – and who wouldn’t want to have him on their side! In its darker expression though, it might turn out like a cold rogue robot.
The placement is connected with the following areas which will be more directly influenced than the rest:
Ukraine, North Eastern Balkans, Moldova; the area between Amu Darya and Syr Darya rivers, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Iran; Kuwait, Bahrain, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, U.A.E, Yemen, the Persian Gulf; Israel, Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, Iraq – east Mediterranean sea;
East –South-east Africa: Egypt, Sudan, Eritrea, Djibouti and Somalia; Kenya, Tanzania, Mozambique; Ethiopia.
China, Russia/Siberia; Croatia and Romania; the area of the North-West (Piedmont)/Pesaro of Italy; Westphalia/ Bavaria/Bremen/ Hamburg - Germany.
The G.C. influences the entire world, but the areas mentioned above may at times become focal points and raise interest among their people as they will face in some sense fundamental issues within them, regarding their views and approaches. So these areas can potentially be showcases of the best and worst traits of this period. Τhe human factor will play an important role as well as technology, medicine, etc, while they will have the opportunity to find solutions to their problems; they will have to decide how they want to move forward in the future and what kind of future they wish to have- and that goes also for all the rest of the word, of course.
Ancient astrologers connect this kind of conjunction and combination with things that concern and influence Mankind – and birds! Of course, the ancients had a taste for drama, so they speak of ‘impediments of Air’ (an air transmitted virus – well, they were right about that one!) and ‘damage’ to Man. The boss of this Conjunction is Saturn, a strong Saturn, indicating that one of the main points of interest is the necessity for healthy boundaries, for measure and moderation in everything we do; in our approaches, in our creations, politics, in our expressions, ideas, and beliefs and in everything that concerns human activity. It also speaks about the law, the strict letter of the law and the forms of social structure which a civilised society must work with. But at the same time, it shows a complete disregard for authority.In a sense this Saturn overlooks the fact that in order to have a healthy structure there must be a kind of authority which oversees its functions and ensures the protection and healthy use of those structures, boundaries and limitations (the conjunction takes place just as Saturn and Jupiter have entered Aquarius while the Sun has just entered Capricorn; the Sun starts being ruled by Saturn which takes it into detriment – a problematic mutual reception). So, we can already see the good and the challenging aspects of this position.
The Sun though is also in another relationship with Mars – they receive each other by exaltation. Mars is the natural significator of energy, confrontation, divisions, aggressive behaviour etc., which, until recently, was creating problems for Saturn, as they were in mutual reception, which Saturn has now broken. The relationship between the Sun and Mars can potentially show that perhaps authority and the people in power in the world might try to somehow retain their position using confrontational or divisive tactics or it could work the other way around, where confrontations, aggressiveness and hostilities in areas of the world will emphasise the need for active leadership and for taking a more effective role in what’s happening in the world, in order to deal with such warmongering behaviour.
We enter a period in which we will have to deal with things that directly concern the way we live, our wellbeing and the cultivation of the abilities of Man; whether it is science, or social networks, energy, artificial intelligence or the exploration of space; whether our religions or way of thinking and everything connected with human activity – our own existence, the very gift of life. Which could work nicely: approaching the world through the mind and not through the pocket could bring changes for the improvement of our environment and to better the human experience for all. We are called to use the Mind to advance our understanding, to advance in science, in medicine, technology, to reach for the stars (literally!); to handle our resources in a more logical way, to stop hurting nature as that only creates problems to us; to create and build technological miracles that advance safety, humanity and wellbeing. Artificial intelligence, computing, and all things which are connected with the Mind, which serve Man or are human inventions, the human experience or our needs and all such things will be the core of the things needed to process. Perhaps a new and improved Age of Enlightenment?
The G.C. takes place on a fixed star connected with the myth of Ganymede, who was carried to Olympus by Jupiter, and its deeper meaning is to become beauty worthy of being carried to heaven; a beautiful soul, worthy of immortality. That adds the important aspect of the objective for this new G.C. circle, which is clearly to work on ourselves, individually and collectively, in order to be able to progress; it also raises the matter of Ethics, which is important when we approach all things, but even more so when we’re dealing with the Mind and things like science, technology, thought etc. And, of course, it raises the matter of choices and their consequences.
So this is a potential, but at the same time it is also a responsibility. As such, it shows that we will need to battle against our lower instincts, our catastrophic ideas and beliefs, against our own faults, where Man becomes its own worst enemy. To avoid the tendency to use science, tech, and all the aforementioned things with dark intentions or in order to serve specific interests, against what’s truly good for humankind (we must always bear in mind that nothing is bad in itself, it becomes so only when it is ill-used), in order to move forward and bring a progress of substance, and not just a progress in words or in theory.
Could this truly be the beginning of a golden era for Man? Of course it could! But so could have been the last one and the one before that, and so on. The potential is there, but it’s up to us to use it wisely and make the most of it.
At the present moment we are deep in the transitional stage, one foot persistently on the ground and the other foot shyly in the Air. That’s a good thing: if we are ‘aiming for the stars’ we’d better have a foot firmly on the ground and all the lessons we’ve learned through the centuries. It might, though, sometimes seem that at this time we’re walking backwards instead of moving forward. But this isn’t so in reality.
Whatever ‘earthy’ challenges we may still have to deal with, or those to be inherited in the future, all will have to be processed inside an entirely different context.
Therefore old patterns of behaviour will gradually become more and more ‘foreign’ to us, and thus more difficult to deal with those that exhibit them. This is one point that will need much attention and work, as there will be examples that will desperately try to hold on to what they feel is, or should be, the status quo, unaware or unwilling to see the fact that the status quo has changed for everyone.
The last and most important point of all is that the process of the matters raised in each circle lasts for centuries, and that goes also for the changes that come up or are necessary due to the circumstances.
We’re only at the beginning of a new era and there’s much work to be done and even more questions that need answers. So, dear Reader, don’t expect to see any flying cars, teleportation or taking a trip to a Moon colony next week! But the tools are there, and we can, if we choose to do so, use the momentum to build a better world in the decades to come.
Fotini Christodoulou