There were five Saturn-Pluto conjunctions in the 20th-century so they’re a very rare astrological event.

A cluster occurred in 1914-15 – on October 4, 1914 at 6.25.06 pm GMT; November 1, 1914 at 9.01.00 am GMT; and May 19, 1915 at 7.52.12 pm GMT.

The First World War began in August 1914.

The primary causes were: The forming of alliances – allies agreeing to help each other out; imperialism – the taking over of new lands and countries; militarism – the building of bigger armies; and nationalism – countries putting their rights and interests first.

The assassination of archduke, Franz Ferdinand and his wife, on June 28, 1914 was the trigger that, just like a transit aspect, set off a big bundle of stored tensions and the declarations of war.

World War 1 (Mars) commenced with progressed Mars conjunction birth chart Sun in the Aquarian Age chart; and Saturn conjunction Pluto in the sky.

During 1914 and 1915 there was dreadful (Pluto) hardship, suffering, grief and disease (Saturn) here on the Earth. These were dark days.

Saturn conjunction Pluto: August 11, 1947

Saturn was conjunction Pluto on August 11, 1947 at 1.21.15am GMT.

When World War 2 ended on September 2, 1945 Europe was a wreck; and in 1947 US Secretary of State George Marshall proposed that the United States provide economic assistance to restore Europe’s economic infrastructure.

In October 1947 the Soviets responded with the Zhdanov Doctrine which claimed that the United States was seeking global domination through American imperialism, as well as the collapse of democracy. 

With Saturn conjunction Pluto in the sky in 1947 the Cold War started. The United States and Soviet Union with their different worldviews challenged each other for political and military supremacy.

The Cold war ended on December 26, 1991 with the disintegration (Pluto) of the Soviet Union.

On August 15, 1947 India gained independence and was partitioned (Pluto) into two states – India and Pakistan.

Saturn conjunction Pluto: November 8, 1982

In the early 1980s a severe economic recession affected much of the developed world. It hit the US in July 1981 and ended in November 1982.

In 1980 inflation (Neptune) in the US soared to 13.5% – in June 1982 the prime interest rate reached 21.5% – and in November and December 1982 the unemployment rate reached 10.8%, the highest since the Great Depression.

By mid-1982 there were 42 bank failures (Jupiter) as the recession and high interest rates inflicted damage; but the banking industry (Jupiter) was affected long after the economic downturn had technically ended, in November 1982. In 1983, another 50 banks failed.

The world economy remained in the doldrums throughout 1982; and high unemployment affected OECD nations until at least 1985.

Here’s the sky script for the economic story here on Earth.

On December 31, 1980, March 4, 1981 and July 24, 1981 Jupiter was conjunction Saturn; on December 6, 1981, February 25, 1982 and September 5, 1982 Saturn was parallel Pluto; and on November 8, 1982 at 12.43.53 am GMT Saturn was conjunction Pluto.

Back story data check

Astrologers learn from the past. They can check astrological data in 2019 with past data that’s similar in every detail to get a rear-vision perspective on what’s happening now.

In 1914-15 Saturn conjunction Pluto saw hardship, suffering, grief and disease on the battle fields of Europe and in 2019 hardship and suffering was experienced in the war zones particularly in Syria and Yemen.

In 1947 the US and Russia locked horns in a cold war battle for military, political and economic supremacy; and in 2019 the US and China engaged in a trade war battle for economic and technological dominance and a second space race that has the contenders vying for control of space.

And in 1981-82 there was a global recession and in 2019 many countries are in recession and there has been much talk of global economic slowdown.

But the scenarios in 1980-82 and 2019-20 aren’t exactly the same.

In 1980 Jupiter was conjunction Saturn in the sky two years prior to Saturn conjunction Pluto in 1982 and in 2020 Jupiter is conjunction Saturn twelve months after the Saturn-Pluto conjunction; and in 1982 the Saturn-Pluto conjunction was formed in the sign Libra and in 2020 it’s formed in Capricorn; and the global economic setting here on Earth in 2020 is quite different to the situation in 1982.

Economists and governments learn about recessions from previous experience and the consensus is: Recessions occur when many economic variables flip from expansion (Jupiter) to contraction (Saturn); they can take years to develop and creep up gradually or they can strike suddenly out of the blue (Uranus); and an economic downturn can occur without a major stock market crash (house 5).

Economic data for 1981-1982 is from the Early 1980s Recession entry on Wikipedia.

Astrology for Aquarius – sharing our knowledge