This week all eyes should be directed to the night sky. You might want to personally view this event which only occurs every twenty years. That’s the period of time that it takes for the two planets, Saturn and Jupiter in their individual orbits, to circle the Sun and return to the same visual location of the sky. From Visually these two huge bodies seem to be aligning. The beautiful thing about this planetary line-up is that for the past several months we’ve had the opportunity to view it’s gradual approach. After the exact conjunction on the December 21st we can also observe the planets disengage and resume their normal orbits.
This time around “The Great Conjunction” is considered especially powerful. It occurs precisely on the Winter Solstice, the longest night of the year and a date observed by a number of world faiths. From this date and on for six months the length of the daylight increases until the Summer Solstice. Most astrologers believe that this planetary conjunction marks the beginning of a new twenty year period.
There is another factor makes the 2020 conjunction important. It is the closest conjunction of these two gas giants that has occurred since 1226. In astrology the “exactness” of an celestial event increases it’s intensity. The long term effect of this pairing is unknown but as these two planets are considered more social than personal, we probably won’t be affected individually as much as we will be drawn more deeply into collective events like the pandemic, financial challenges or climate change. It’s not that we can’t gain personally but that in looking out for one another, we gain more.
Historically the most famous of all the “Great Conjunctions” occurred around 7 BC. In fact, many people consider this celestial event as the actual Star of Bethlehem. This alignment of Jupiter and Saturn appeared in Pisces, the sign of the Hebrew nation and (through apparent retrograde motion) occurred three times over. This “sign in the sky” caught the attention of the The Three Magi and set them to travel afar. Its appearance caused the shepherds to stir and the angels to sing.
The Christmas Star
