The Jupiter/Saturn conjunction still mingles inside you!

 

Since ancient times it was noticed, whenever Jupiter and Saturn were conjunct—a sky show occurring every 20-years—the world turns a page. Collectively we start a new chapter. With the 2020 J/S conjunction, at its closest on Solstice last December, we could say humanity opened a whole new book.

We began a new 200-year cycle. Jupiter and Saturn have met in earth signs for the past 200 years. With their conjunction in Aquarius, they shift to air for the next two centuries. The collective focus goes from matter and materialism to concepts, ideals and humanistic philosophies.

News of the conjunction was all over the internet. Yet after it happened, I wasn’t surprised to see this thread on Quora: “Did anyone else find the Great Conjunction of Jupiter and Saturn to be over-hyped and disappointing?”

My friend in San Francisco thought it was underwhelming.  “Mars looked more spectacular,” he said. Which is true—for the final months of 2020, Mars, being at his closest to earth, was unusually bright.

So many posts drew comparisons to the Star of Bethlehem, my neighbor was disappointed that the conjunction wasn’t more like the dramatically pointed stars she’d seen on Christmas cards.

British stargazers, including those gathered at Stonehenge, were disappointed by clouds. Living in Southern Oregon, I was expecting the same. At twilight, the ideal time for viewing these planets, the skies had been overcast for most of the two weeks prior to Solstice and were again that way for the following week.

On conjunction day clouds had settled onto the valley floor, making everything grey. And yet—just a few hours before twilight, the sky suddenly, miraculously, cleared. I found Jupiter & Saturn between the trees in my backyard. An hour later—in perhaps a nod to the Aquarian Water Bearer—it began pouring rain.

If I were an ancient Mesopotamian astrologer, these omens would have meant great news for the king.  Had a sandstorm or clouds blocked my view, the unwinding rituals would have begun immediately.

I performed a brief Jupiter/Saturn ritual on each of the 7 days prior. I had hoped for a sighting, but didn’t count on it. Living in Oregon for 20 years, I’ve learned not to rely on the outer sky for divine messaging.  Visible or not, the planets always make themselves known all over–in the skies, on the streets, inside your home, and inside yourself.

This was the holistic worldview of the first astrologers—that the great celestial intelligence of the gods was in everything—ourselves included.  That old view remains alive in common assumptions like “Everything happens for a reason.” We still like to believe there’s meaning in the world. That life is intelligent and purposeful.

But for centuries this sacred spell was stripped from the heavens by the very sciences that were born out of our celestial devotion–mathematics and astronomy.  Humanity likewise drifted. Over the centuries it steadily lost touch with the sacredness of its own planet–as it was also losing the compass of its own soul.

More recently we can thank Carl Jung for reinventing the gods. With a master stroke, he allowed us to again see the old deities as archetypes, as processes and powers rolling through the collective and individual psyches, demanding to be honored and served.

Jupiter and Saturn will be in Aquarius throughout the year.  It’s worth checking inward and wondering.  What messages have they been sending to you?  Mull and return to mooncircles.com at the Full Moon.  We can compare notes as I dive more deeply into the inner visits of Jupiter and Saturn—how they mingle in the psyche.

But here at this New Moon in Aquarius—it’s an auspicious time to again surrender to the outer sky. We spend too much time in digital landscapes. So disconnected, it’s easy to be underwhelmed by ancient wonders.  Aquarius is the most sky-oriented sign. And dark New Moon nights are ideal times for sky gazing.

Standing under a rain of stars

In Egyptian mythology, the sky was a woman, Nut.  Her body was imaged as the starry firmament bent lovingly and protectively over earth. Nut was called The Great Deep, The Starry One, The Mother of the Sun, and Mystery of the Heavens.

If you have been in a winter cave of deep introspection, New Moon night may be the perfect time to bundle up,  go outside and lift your face to the sky to receive your Nut-given inspiration.  Like an open vessel, allow the light from the heavens to pour down upon your receptive spirit like a rain of stars.

Feel illuminated, awakened, and enlivened within and without.  You may even feel the neurons that light up your autonomous nervous system shimmering with electricity, transforming your physical body into a luminous starry cosmos.  This is the meaning of mystical transfiguration—the body transmuted into light.

Aquarius is a future-thinking star-gazing sign. Renew your relationship with the extraterrestrial firmament. Nurture you imagination with thoughts of the planets, stars, the distant suns and galaxies.  Open your soul to visions of the future.

Ask an important question.  Nut may or may not send you celestial instructions.  But that’s between you and her.

 

More on Mooncircles:

2020’s Jupiter/Saturn conjunction: 5 Takeaways

Newly updated!  2021’s Impossible Dream Challenge: Make Saturn & Uranus Work for You!

 

Do you long for a more intimate connection with the sky?  Let 2021 be the year you act on this desire.  You’ll find exquisite guidance and support my monthly Moon Workshop here.