In the year 2020, a significant planetary alignment takes places on the 21st of December. At this time, the planet Jupiter forms a conjunction with the planet Saturn, an occurrence of great importance in relation to world events.

The Great Conjunction

The planetary configuration of a Jupiter-Saturn conjunction (conjoining) occurs approximately every twenty years. Jupiter’s orbital period is approximately 12 years and Saturn’s orbital period is approximately 29-30 years. Therefore, their meeting point, when they conjoin, creates a turning point in world events. Hence, this is known as a ‘great conjunction’.

“They use the term ‘great conjunction’ to describe meetings of the two biggest worlds in our solar system, mighty Jupiter and the glorious ringed planet Saturn. The next great conjunction of Jupiter and Saturn will be December 21, 2020. That date is, coincidentally, the date of the December solstice. It’ll be the first Jupiter-Saturn conjunction since the year 2000, and the closest Jupiter-Saturn conjunction since 1623, only 14 years after Galileo made his first telescope……The extra-close Jupiter-Saturn conjunction in 2020 won’t be matched again until the Jupiter-Saturn conjunction of March 15, 2080.” 

(EarthSky.org)

Saturn represents structure, whereas Jupiter represents growth. Therefore the conjoining of the two planets every twenty years, gives rise to the growth of a new structural framework that affects the world at large.

“Particular importance has been accorded to the occurrence of a great conjunction in a new ‘element – fire/air/water/earth‘, which is bound to happen after some 200 years at most. Even greater importance was attributed to the beginning of a new cycle after all fours ‘elements’ had been visited, something which happens in about 800 years. Since each ‘element’ consists of 3 signs it takes 800 × 3 = 2400 years for the whole process to start anew (relation with the cycle of Precession).”

(wikipedia.org)

The Past Events

Historically, if we go through the timeline in the 1900’s and 2000’s, we find the following events that took place during the year of the Jupiter-Saturn conjunction- 

The Year 1901

The great conjunction occurs on 28th November 1901 in the sign of Capricorn, an earth sign (tropical) (and in the constellation of Sagittarius, a fire sign).

1. The Proclamation of the Commonwealth of Australia.

2. Queen Victoria passes away and Edward VII becomes King. “The Edwardian Era, coincided with the start of a new century and heralded significant changes in technology and society, including steam turbine propulsion and the rise of socialism.” 

3. The President of the United States of America, William McKinley, is shot, succeeded by Theodore Roosevelt.

4. The Annexation of the Gold Coast (Ghana) by Great Britain.

5. “The White House” is named by Theodore Roosevelt.

6. The First Nobel Peace Prize is given.

7. The First Table Tennis Tournament takes place.

8. The beginning of the Texas oil boom.

9. Establishment of the Female Army Nurse Corps.

10. Treaty signed between Denmark and the USA for the sale of the Danish West Indies for five million.

11. Formation of the US Steel Corps.

12. Cuba becomes a United States protectorate in 1901 and in 1902, Cuba is formally independent.

13. The first Morse Code radio signal is sent across the Atlantic Ocean.

14. Carrier invents modern air conditioning (1902).

15. Completion of the Aswan Dam in Egypt (1902).

16. Treaty between Britain and Japan (1902).

The Year 1921

The great conjunction occurs on 10th September 1921 in the sign of Virgo, an earth sign (tropical) (and in the constellation of Leo, a fire sign).

1. The Irish Free State is officially formed.

2. The Treaty of Riga ends the Russo-Polish War and establishes a permanent border between the two countries.

3. The Treaty of Berlin, officially ends World War 1 between the United States and Germany.

4. Crimea joins the Soviet Union.

5. The Great Famine of Russia kills approximately five million people. International bodies help to bring relief, with the biggest relief coming from the ARA (American Relief Administration) which help to feed almost eleven million people.

6. Adolf Hitler becomes Chairman of the Nazi party.

7. Mao Tse-tung forms the Communist party of China.

8. The Emergency Quota Act comes into effect, establishing national quotas on immigration by the United States Congress.

9. The founding of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia takes place. 

10. Occurrence of a geomagnetic storm. 

(“Geomagnetic storms are caused by sunspots, solar flares and coronal mass ejections, resulting in calamities to which our modern technological society is becoming ever more susceptible. Most experts regard the Carrington Event, a so-called superstorm that occurred in September 1859, as the most powerful geomagnetic storm on record. But new data suggest that a later storm in May 1921 may have equaled or even eclipsed the Carrington Event in intensity, causing at least three major fires in the U.S., Canada and Sweden—and highlighting the damaging effects these storms can have on Earth today.”) (scientificamerican.com)

The Year 1940/1941

The great conjunction occurs on 8th August 1940; 20 October 1940; 15 February 1941 in the sign of Taurus, an earth sign (tropical) (and in the constellation of Aries, a fire sign).

1. Winston Churchill becomes Prime Minister

2. The Battle of Britain begins.

3. Italy declares war on France and the United Kingdom.

4. Moscow Peace Treaty. The Soviet Union and Finland end the Winter War with this treaty.

5. The Lahore Resolution, calling for greater autonomy for what will become  Pakistan in British India, is drawn up by the All-India Muslim League. 

6. Franklin D Roosevelt becomes the first and only third term President of the United States of America.

7. In Tibet, Tenzin Gyatso is proclaimed the 13th Dalai Lama.

8. A 40 hour working week goes into effect.

9. 17,000 year old cave paintings discovered in Lascaux, France.

10. The Chicago Bears, in what will become the most one-sided victory in National Football League history, defeat the Washington Redskins 73–0 in the 1940 NFL Championship Game.

The Year 1961

The great conjunction occurs on 19 February 1961 in the sign of Capricorn, an earth sign (tropical) (and in the constellation of Sagittarius, a fire sign).

1. John F Kennedy is sworn in as the 35th President of the United States. 

2. Peace Corps is established by JFK.

3. Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin becomes the first human in space, orbiting the Earth once, before parachuting to the ground. 

4. The Soviets build a wall, dividing East and West Berlin.

5. Adolf Eichmann, leader of the Nazis, is found guilty in Israel and sentenced to death.

6. The USSR launches Venera 1 towards Venus. The first man-made object to fly-by another planet, by passing Venus.

7. Alan Shepard becomes the first American in Space, aboard Mercury-Redstone 3.

8. A Freedom Rider’s bus, of the Civil Rights Movement, is fire bombed. Protesters are beaten up.

9. South Africa becomes a Republic. Officially leaves the Commonwealth of Nations.

10. Ethiopia experiences devastating earthquake.

11. The Eritrean War of Independence begins.

12. The world’s first retractable roof stadium opens in Pittsburgh.

13. The Bay of Pigs invasion of Cuba fails.

14. UN General Assembly condemns Apartheid in Africa.

The Year 1980/1981

The great conjunction occurs on 31 December 1980; 4 March 1981; 24 July 1981 in the sign of Libra, an air sign (tropical) (and in the constellation of Virgo, an earth sign).

1. Lady Diana Spencer marries Prince Charles.

2. Nasa launches first Space Shuttle Mission.

3. Venera 13 spacecraft is launched by the USSR, reaching the planet Venus in the following year.

4. Martial Law in Poland.

5. Pope John Paul II survives an assassination attempt.

6. First London Marathon held.

7. Mozart’s unknown piece of music is discovered at the Bavarian State Library.

8. The French TGV, Europe’s first high speed train service, begins.

9. Iran releases 52 American hostages, being held for 444 days.

10. The Thatcher Government in England begins privatisation of Nationalised Industries, creating economic revival. Other countries eventually emulate the same.

11. Assassination of Egyptian President Anwar Sadat.

12. Birth of the first American test-tube baby.

13. Attempted coup in Bangladesh. President Ziaur Rahman is murdered.

14. Antigua and Barbuda gain independence from Great Britain.

15. Scientists identify the Aids virus. 

16. IBM in the US launches its first PC.

17. First mention of the INTERNET.

18. Artificially produced insulin becomes the world’s first genetically engineered protein to treat diabetes.

19. Microsoft releases MS-DOS.

The Year 2000

The great conjunction occurs on 28th May 2000, in the sign of Taurus, an earth sign (tropical) (and in the constellation of Aries, a fire sign).

1. The Euro falls to a record low against the US dollar.

2. Concorde Air France 4590 crashes, killing all on board.

3. Discovery of the remains of Alexandria, the ancient port in Egypt and home of Cleopatra and Mark Anthony, which had disappeared more than 1500 years ago.

4. Playstation 2 was released, becoming the best selling gaming console in history.

5. The first International Space Station crew, arrived in space in November, staying for a total of 136 days. Expedition 1, as it was named, was the first long term stay by a crew in space.

6. Occurrence of a huge solar flare, triggering a geomagnetic superstorm.

7. The US Supreme Court ends the vote recount in Florida, in the Bush vs Gore case, giving the presidency to George Bush.

8. Mobile phones become an essential consumer product.

9. The UK is hit by one of the worst snowstorms in the last fifty years, bringing public transport to a halt.

10. California suffers the first two years of rolling blackouts.

11. Mad cow disease causes alarm in Europe.

12. After 75 years of US control, the Panama Canal is handed over to Panama.

13. A massive earthquake, strikes Sumatra, Indonesia and Azerbaijan.

14. The worst brush fires in 50 years destroy 5 million acres of land in the western US.

15. Tiger Woods becomes the youngest player to win a grand slam in Golf.

16. Microsoft releases windows 2000.

17. AOL and Time Warner merge.

18. The Dot Com bubble bursts and thousands of dot coms go bust.

19. The London Eye, the world’s largest Ferris wheel, opens.

20. A destructive computer virus, spread by email, shuts down computers worldwide.

21. First draft of a human genome announced to the public.

22. The second Chechen War takes place.

23. A rare century leap year date occurs. The last one being in 1600 and the next one happening in 2400.

24. Violent earthquake measuring 7.9 on the Richter scale, hits Gujarat in India, killing over 20,000 people and destroying villages and towns (January 2001).

25. Transformation of the Organisation of African Unity (OAU) into the African Union (AU).

26. September 11th 2001 terror attacks in the United States.

27. Withdrawal of the United Staes from the Anti-ballistic Missile Treaty, affecting the future world order of stability and security.

28. A world economic slowdown (2001).

The Present

The Year 2020

The great conjunction occurs on 21st December 2020 in the sign of Aquarius, an air sign (tropical) (and in the constellation of Capricorn, an earth sign).

The great significance, this time, is the shift from the earth element to the air element (tropical zodiac)), for the great conjunction occurred in earth signs from 1802 to 2000 (with a brief entry in an air sign in 1981)… a period of approximately 200 years. 

The shift in the elements, after approximately every 200 years, creates a major change in world affairs. This change of elements denotes the ending and beginning of world cycles, when the new element then becomes more dominant in the next cycle. 

Therefore, this time, with the great conjunction occurring in Aquarius, an Air sign, the focal point would be on technology, innovation, invention, science, metaphysics, mass communication, organisations, groups, gatherings and friendships…the brotherhood of man… signifying the growth (Jupiter) of a new structural (Saturn) framework, within these areas.

Thus, the world order begins to change at this time with a greater emphasis on the collective and on humanitarianism. On another level, there may be a rise in rebelliousness or unconventional behaviour patterns and thought processes. The next twenty years would, additionally, likely herald in a much more technologically advanced society. A time of the ending of one era and the beginning of another… 

Furthermore, interestingly, the grand conjunction occurs on the exact day of the Winter Solstice of December 21st. This time marks a period when, thereafter, the nights become shorter and the days become longer (in the northern hemisphere), signalling the onset of longer periods of light and shorter periods of darkness.

Thereafter, the next great conjunction occurs on the 31st of October 2040 in the sign of Libra.

Henceforth, the Jupiter-Saturn conjunction will continue in an Air sign (occurring every 20 years) till December 20th 2159, when it moves into the water sign of Scorpio, thereafter.

So, now begins a new way of life and living for humanity as a whole… Unity in Diversity.

N.B. (You can see the onset of this great conjunction every night, in the starry skies in the west after sunset, till the end of this year… Jupiter being the brightest shining star/planet with the bright star/planet of Saturn close to it…Watch the sky on December 16th when the Moon aligns with these planets!)

(Sources: wikipedia.org, scientificamerican.com, thepeoplehistory.com)