The Grand Conjunction + The Age of Aquarius

There's a lot of chat on the interwebs about The Grand Conjunction and The Age of Aquarius, and a few people are asking me for my take on it.

What is The Grand Conjunction?

The Grand Conjunction is when Saturn and Jupiter cosy up together in the sky. This happens once every 20 years or so, and the rest of the time they are playing chase. When these conjunctions happen, they happen in a different sign, but in the same element (Earth, Water, Air, Fire), which making a triangle shape in the sky. The Conjunctions hit each sign of the element twice, so it stays in the same element for around 100-150 years.

On the Solstice on 20 or 21 December 2020 (depending where you are in the world), the conjunction is happening in Aquarius, which means it is moving into the Air element, from Earth, where it's been for the last 200 years (since 1802*).

The last time the conjunction moved from Earth or Air was in 1226! and it hasn't been in Air since 1405**

The Age of Aquarius

So, does this mean that this year's grand conjunction is hailing in The Age of Aquarius? Not exactly...

There are differing views on when The Age of Aquarius is ushered in. Some believe we are already in it. Others believe we don't be for another 600 years or so.

Astronomically speaking, an Astrological age is approximately 26,000 years. This is marked by the time it takes the Sun's Vernal Point (where it is at the Spring Equinox) to move around the Ecliptic (the Zodiac constellations). This is the Precession of the Equinox, and it moves backwards (from Pisces to Aries, rather than Aries to Pisces). Part of the reason there is disagreement to when the Age of Aquarius starts is because the Zodiac constellations aren't the same size in the sky. So if it were exactly 2,150 years in each, things would get messy very quickly and we would be ushering the Age of Aquarius when the Vernal Point is still very much on / in / around Pisces.

My feeling on all of this is that each age is not marked by a specific point in time, and that the energy starts to seep in and we will become "more Aquarian". I very much feel like that is happening. Particularly with everything that has happened this year. We have had to band together in many cases, get creative about how we go about things, and review, revise or abandon what doesn't work for us. Structures that are unsupportive are being dismantled, and frankly, it's been revolutionary.

Having said that, I don't feel like the energy that we have been in has been a Piscean vibe... Is that where we've got it wrong because we have strayed so far from our connection to ourselves and to the other realms? Now I'm only speculating...

Will something wild happen on 20th December? I doubt it, but I have a sneaky feeling that 2020 has a few more surprises in store for us.

* except this one time in 1821

** except this one time in 1981

The Grand Conjunction breaks it's pattern every 160 years or so. All of these numbers are give or take, because we have retrogrades and the precession of the equinox. If any of this is interesting to you, I highly recommend reading "A Scheme of Heaven; Astrology and the Birth of Science" by Alexander Boxer.