Dissolving barriers and restrictions

Saturn Neptune conjunctions in the past.

Saturn Neptune conjunctions happen approximately every 36 years, so every generation will have one. Dates in the last 300 years are: 2006, 1989, 1952/3, 1917, 1882, 1846, 1773, 1703, 1666 ¹. This year the conjunction will happen at 0’44 Aries. 0′ of any sign is known as a critical degree and has special weight and importance, 0′ Aries is especially notable as it is the critical degree of the first sign of the zodiac. The beginning of the beginning in other words.

Next time I will discuss possible meanings of this conjunction, but it is super helpful to look back in history to see what events occurred around these times.² and some of the events are surprising, but if we consider the nature of Saturn and Neptune combined their meaning becomes clearer.

Women’s Rights (all dates are close to or exactly on Saturn Uranus conjunctions)

1848 Seneca Falls convention on Women’s Rights in USA, seen to be a pivotal moment in the struggle for equal rights in the USA. 1882 The Married Women’s Property Act, UK. For the first time, married women had access to their own money. On a personal note, my forebear was one of the first to use this act to get money and take herself and her children overseas away from an unhappy marriage. 1917-20 Women given the vote in UK, USA, Canada and Germany. Further back in history: 1558 Elizabeth I was crowned and in 1952 Elizabeth II was crowned.

Saturn, is the patriarchy (literally rule of the fathers), Neptune dissolves and disperses the harshness and cruelty of Saturn, arguably allowing for a softer, more compassionate society.

Discovering Hidden Forces

1666 Newton’s Law on gravity published. 1881 Pasteur’s germ theory discovered. 1919 Einstein’s General Theory of Relativity published. 1952 Salk’s Polio vaccine made and the first Hydrogen bomb was tested. In 1952 the DNA double helix photographed by Rosalind Franklin. 1989 AZT shown to slow the progression of AIDS making it non-fatal.

Saturn is the scientific logical mind, Neptune a wider more encompassing wisdom delving deep into the super-conscious. Rosalind Franklin’s photo (Neptune) identified the double helix of DNA which Watson and Crick used without her knowledge or consent (Neptune deception).

Nature going Wild

In 1346 Black Death in Europe and Asia, killed 30-50% of Europe’s population. In 1665-6 there was an outbreak of Plague in London, killing an estimated 25% of the population. During the 1880s there were recurrent smallpox epidemics in London. In 1918-20 the Spanish Flu outbreak when between 20-50 million people died. In 1952 Great smog in London killed around 4,000 people. In 1989, although the AIDS epidemic started in the early 1980s, by 1989 it was a pandemic. From 1987- 1990 mad cow disease ravaged the UK.

Saturn shows us our limits, beyond which trouble may lie, Neptune the miasmic nature of pandemics where the disease is invisibly, confusingly transmitted, until Saturn discovers their causes. Saturn of course, rules death.

Russia

Big events in Russian history coincide with the Saturn Neptune conjunction, notably 1917, the Russian Revolution, in 1953 Stalin died and Putin is born. In 1989 the fall of the Berlin Wall and collapse of the Soviet Union. Further back, in 482, Kiev was founded, in 1286 was the Mongol invasion and sacking of Kiev, in 1380 the Mongols were defeated and Moscow was founded, in 1703 St. Petersburg founded, in 1774 Russia annexes Crimea and in 1881 Tzar Alexander II assassinated.

Given current events in Moscow and Kiev, watch this space…

Religious paranoia and schisms

1307 the Knights Templar were effectively destroyed by the French king , who accused them of blasphemy and confiscated much of their great wealth.³ In 1486 The Malleus Malificarum (Hammer of the Witches) was published, a misogynist tract on how to recognise and torture witches (women) written by two monks⁴. In 1521, Luther was denounced as a heretic by the Pope marking the first edict of the Protestant Reformation. The Pope banned Catholics from being Freemasons in 1738, 1917 and 2023!

The Abrahamic religions, Islam, Christianity and Judaism are all ruled by Saturn. Paranoia is a Neptunian condition.

The End of Empires

In 410 was the Sack of Rome marking the end of the Roman Empire. In 1453, the Byzantine Empire collapsed after the fall of Constantinople. In 1773, UK lost the American colonies. In 1809 the Spanish American declared independence. In 1917-8 was the fall of the Ottoman, Russian, German, and Austro-Hungarian Empires. Also in 1917 in the Balfour Declaration, the UK agreed to give Palestinian land to Zionists. In 1952 there was a coup in Cuba by Batista. In 1989 came the fall of the Soviet Union.

There are other categories, but I think the emphasis is clear and reflects many of the current concerns: women’s rights (especially in the USA), religious conflicts, the end of empires (USA? Israel? Russia?), pandemics (bird flu is currently raging in the USA) and popular revolts, the collapse of unpopular governments to date include Nepal and Bulgaria.

Next time I will look more closely at the 2026 chart.

1. for the full list of dates see: https://astropro.com/features/tables/geo/sa-ne/sa-000-ne/sa000ne.html ↩︎
2. see the Astrology Podcast for a detailed discussion (9 hours long!) of the history of Saturn Neptune conjunctions: https://theastrologypodcast.com/2025/03/25/saturn-neptune-conjunctions-in-history/ ↩︎
3. there is a chart: 13.10.1307, I have done it for Paris, at 12.00. it shows a Uranus, Mercury Saturn and Neptune conjunction in Scorpio no less. ↩︎
4. I talk about the witch-craze in Women Healers through History ↩︎