Dec 21st, the first day of winter, is the day that the sun is lowest on the horizon, and is the longest night of the year. This marks the sun’s movement into Capricorn and heralds the official start of winter in the northern hemisphere.
A special milestone in astrology also marks this magical wintery feeling. In the evening the highly anticipated great conjunction between the two social planets, Jupiter and Saturn, perfects at the very auspicious 0° of the zodiac, specifically 0° Aquarius. They are also aligned in declination and due to their proximity we see them as a bright start on the evening horizon (most likely due to dull weather we won’t see it in Slovenia). These two planets were even more closely aligned way back in 1623.
Why do astrologers marvel such an event?
As all planets, Jupiter and Saturn also have their own unique cycle. Due to their orbit around the sun they can only meet every 20 years. What gives a special meaning to today’s conjunction is that after their 200-year reign in earth signs, today marks a brand new conjunction in the element of air. This transfer is key because it concludes a series of conjunctions between Jupiter and Saturn in earth signs and kicks off the air period for the next 200 years. We call it a great mutation due to the change of elements. The last earth conjunction was in May 2000 in Taurus.
Our first insight into how an air conjunction transpires was in the year 1980 in the sign of Libra. As astrological cycles are not fixed, owing to the nature of retrograde planets, they can change their element within these longer periods. The next mutation won’t be until the year 2219, in the water sign of Scorpio to be precise. It happens on a very special date, All Saints’ Day! The universe knows no coincidence.
Without being too technical, what does it all mean?
As mentioned before, Jupiter and Saturn are social planets and as such influence our society as a whole. For 200 years they have been in earth signs, the direct consequence of which saw the exploitation of the Earth’s natural resources and the growth of materialism. Social status was evaluated based on the wealth you acquired. In the air sign, Aquarius, we move a step further from primeval earthly senses. The air is our mind and our intellect. It’s no surprise that Aquarius is full of creative ideas and visions of how the world should be. It demolishes everything that is rigid, obsolete, things that no longer serve the higher goals of society.
Jupiter and Saturn are an interesting pair because they are complete opposites. Jupiter, as the great giant, brings abundance, new opportunities for growth and development, and joyfully and optimistically views the outside world. Anything is possible under Jupiter’s orchestration. Saturn, on the other hand, views the world from a completely different perspective. He loves order and discipline, and increases our workload in order for us to obtain our goals. There are no shortcuts, as there are with Jupiter. Saturn deliberately imposes obstacles and restrictions in order to refine our learning process.
In Aquarius both planets represent a new level in our time. Saturn will fast check our society, everything that is not structurally sound. It will show society’s weaknesses, where we have to unify and simplify the basics. Conversely, Jupiter will want to expand. It will support our freedom-loving beliefs and visions. We will gaze more into our future and search for the answers in the metaphysical, philosophical and cosmic world. Rigid thinking will hold us back. We will want more out of our lives. Similar to Sagittarius, Jupiter in Aquarius can operate as if the sky is the limit.
In a positive way, the planets will cooperate in tandem. On the other hand, they will sabotage and hold each other back. Jupiter can spread its wings but Saturn as the inspector will demand seriousness and accountability for any of Jupiter’s crazy ideas in Aquarius. It’s true that Aquarius is innovative, original, someone who can fight the system despite everything. Aquarius is also a fixed sign, which means that with all its passionate endeavour for difference it can go into extremes and find it difficult to adapt to change. Saturn will come as a great help because it’s not burdened with any of that, and restores order where there could be chaos.
The world expects a lot from this extraordinary conjunction. It’s known that collectively, very little happens at zero degrees. It will take up to the first degree to summarise, individually and broadly, what this great conjunction in Aquarius entails.
Sabian Symbol
The Sabian symbol for the zero degree Aquarius is: An Old Adobe Mission in California.
Keywords: it represents a safe haven to practice a spiritual life. The old adobes were built with a great level of hard work, dedication and commitment. The symbol represents withdrawal into a spiritual world and society that retraces back to basics. Search for work that feeds our spirit.
Caution: Infatuation that my path is the only true path in order to know all the answers that the universe offers us. Convincing others of its rightfulness.
Allow Aquarius to serve us well. In pursuit of hopes and wishes let us not forget the big picture, that with our own contribution we are changing the wider community and the world around us. All for one and one for all is the golden motto of Aquarius.
