“Great Sagittarius Conjunction” charts for selected nations

After having largely neglected it for some time, recent weeks have seen me more into astrology and charts than for a long time.

Six years ago I did two posts on the little-known 1899 “Great Sagittarius Conjunction”, and a request from the second post has made me decide to print up charts for various nations at the midpoint of the conjunction. This should show to some extent how these nations relate to the world’s culture today, but are mainly intended as illustrations.

Europe

The “Great Sagittarius Conjunction” charts for Europe, below, shows the conjunction in “small” (in zodiacal longitude covered) eighth and ninth houses, with Pisces rising in Britain and Aries or Taurus (example not shown) on the continent. These house positions, along with the assertive Aries Ascendant, symbolise the passionate cultural conflicts and tight relationship with government (people voluntarily sacrifice economic freedom for protection of personal rights) that have typified twentieth-century Europe.

Arab World

In the two representative charts for the Arab World below, we see the conjunction in the seventh house in the east of the Arab world and in the ninth and tenth in the west. The seventh-house location of the conjunction for Saudi Arabia shows the status of the Middle East as the centre of the world’s wars and diplomatic conflicts, whilst the Taurus Ascendant symbolises the role of the eastern Arab world

Russia/Union of Soviet Socialist Republics

In this chart for Moscow, we see the conjunction in the seventh and sixth houses with Gemini rising (an Ascendant that was very common at the midpoint of the conjunction throughout the vast Eurasian landmass). This may on one level symbolise the decline of Russian art as the planets are setting, whilst the worldly, sceptical Gemini Ascendant and the materialistic, internationalist seventh house presence symbolises how Russia dedicated itself to extremely secular ideologies via the Bolshevik Revolution and Comintern.

The eastern parts of Russia (not shown) have Leo or Virgo Ascendants, which may symbolise their role in the industrial growth of Russia in the former case, and their continued remoteness and enforced isolation with the Far East – accessible only to resident Soviet citizens during Stalinist times.

East Asia

Most of East Asia had Leo rising during the conjunction – located in the natural house of Leo as shown below for eastern China (Japan and Korea are too similar to show).

This fifth house position suggests strong creativity as well as the power implied by the Leo Ascendant and the Aries Midheaven, which shows East Asia breaking new ground and discarding old traditions– not always in a positive manner, as seen by Maoist China’s mass murder and the cruelty of Japan during World War II.

South and Central Asia

As shown below, South Asia and Central Asia had late Gemini or early Cancer on the Ascendant during the “Great Sagittarius Conjunction”. Together with the conjunction’s position entirely in the sixth house, this shows how this region’s ambitions have been much more modest than East Asia. With Pisces on the Midheaven in most of the region, there has been greater retention of spiritual traditions in India than in East Asia, especially with Neptune right on the Indian Ascendant.

Australia

As illustrated below, Eastern Australia had powerful Leo on the Ascendant during the conjunction, and Western Australia (along with Tasmania, which is not shown) motherly Cancer. These symbolise Australia’s position as a future superpower with its vast lithophile metal ores that have allowed the spread of the Industrial Revolution.

The Taurus Midheaven symbolises Australia’s role as the world’s low-price breadbasket with its monopoly on the world’s exploitable flat land – once its severe chalcophile nutrient deficiencies were understood and corrected. The Aries Midheaven of Western Australia symbolises, on one level, the constant exploration of the ancient craton for lithophile minerals, and on another level along with the Cancer Ascendant continuing prejudice against the Aborigines – who were specially adapted to a relictual continent more akin to the pre-Oligocene “greenhouse” Earth than to other extant landmasses.

The Western Hemisphere

As shown in the attached file to the left, the contiguous United States had either Scorpio or Sagittarius on the Ascendant. Having these signs on the Ascendant, vis-à-vis those signs found there in the Eurasia, symbolises the more religious nature of American culture. The presence of the conjunction in the Eastern Hemisphere suggests the US is more able to place religion in the public sphere than Eurasia, except for the East with its Libra Midheaven.

Latin America mainly had Capricorn on the Ascendant, as shown for Colombia, but true for most Andean and Southern Cone nations as far south as Punta Arenas. This symbolises a more subtle secularisation than found in Eurasia, but equally definite despite the conjunction being at least partly in the hidden twelfth house. Brazil and Argentina (not shown) had Aquarius rising, which symbolises the inflexible and often original (e.g. liberation theology) popular movements of these regions.

New Zealand and nearby Pacific islands had Virgo rising, which fits in with their relatively modest role and lack of global ambition in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries.