How the “Great Sagittarius Conjunction” relates astrologically to the twentieth century as it was

In my previous post, I noted the 1899 “Great Sagittarius Conjunction” as astrologically symbolising the "culture wars" that have been a prominent feature since the conjunction.

In this post, I will aim to see if national and sub-national charts for this “Great Sagittarius Conjunction” can give some idea as to how the century evolved. The problem is defining what point to use, since by the time of the New Moon, Venus had already entered Capricorn and the features of the conjunction were already decaying. Thus, I have decided to base my charts on the midpoint of the period when the following were all in Sagittarius:

1. the Sun
2. the Moon
3. Mercury (retrograding at inferior conjunction between the Sun and Earth)
4. Venus
5. Mars
6. Saturn
7. Uranus
8. Ceres
9. Pallas

This central point was as fifty-four minutes after noon on the second of December 1899 Greenwich Mean Time.

If we look at the charts of various countries for this point when converted to local time, we can come to some interesting conclusions about the evolution of the twentieth century:

1. With Europe, we notice that whilst at London selfless, spiritual Pisces was rising, in continental Europe where most people of the modern EU nations live self-centred, individualistic Aries was on the Ascendant.
• This symbolises the story of twentieth-century Europe as a continent of atheists largely ruled until the 1980s by a religiously-oriented elite trying to preserve traditions which had not the slightest hold on the urban population.
2. Russia, with sceptical Gemini rising and the conjunction in the materialistic seventh house, directed its passion to secular materialism more firmly than any other nation with the Bolshevik Revolution and Comintern
3. The United States, except for Alaska and Hawaii, had Sagittarius or Scorpio rising, which accords with the more religious character of its culture
4. Most Latin American nations had Capricorn rising, which agrees with the somewhat similar trends they have had to Europe, though much more subtle due to the conjunction being in the twelfth house as opposed to the worldly seventh
• Brazil (Aquarius rising with the conjunction in the tenth and eleventh) was similarly exposed to cultural quests for independence and individualism, and was a centre for major political conflicts and military coups
5. Leo rising and the conjunction being in the fifth house symbolises Australia's rise to a major force owing to its huge supply of light (lithophile) metals impossible to smelt before electrolysis
6. Western Australia was Cancer rising, which fits perfectly with its role as the source for the world's growing economy via iron ore, bauxite and titanium a metal never economically smelted at the time of the conjunction
7. Taurus or Aries rising with the conjunction in the seventh or eighth houses symbolises the role of the Middle East as the “producer” of the world via its oil and phosphate reserves – as well as its status as the main centre both of wars and major diplomatic issues
8. Leo rising again – but with the conjunction in the less powerful fourth house – explains the pragmatic power of East Asia as that subcontinent industrialised off of Australia’s minerals
9. Late Gemini or Cancer rising with the conjunction in the sixth house symbolises the modest ambitions and traditionalism of South and Central Asia
10. New Zealand (Virgo rising) in contrast, has very modest ambitions and has remained relatively self-focused
11. Most of Africa had Pisces rising, which explains why that continent never experienced the changes and advances in culture and economy found everywhere else