SATURN-NEPTUNE CONJUNCTIONS IN HISTORY
- taylorwright1503
- Jul 22, 2025
- 11 min read
Updated: Jan 2
Saturn-Neptune conjunctions in history:
Recurring themes: the dissolving and breaking down of walls, borders and boundaries. Saturn represents structures whereas Neptune symbolises disintegration and dissolution. This conjunction brings a reconfiguration of limits, restrictions and boundaries. This configuration seems to have coincided with many popular uprisings throughout history.
27th September 1773: Virgo (18°):
*Image: The Boston Tea Party.
1st September 1773: Phillis Wheatley's 'Poems on Various Subjects' was released, this was the first ever book that was written by an African-American woman.
16th December 1773: The Boston Tea Party happened, this was an American political protest about taxes on tea. It protested gainst the East India Company and it was levied without Briitsh Parliament representation. This event combined collective disillusionment (Neptune) with authority (Saturn).
The Sons of Liberty: This was group that disguised themselves as American's, they threw tea into the harbour to protest against taxes in the former British colonies in the United States.
1773: Benjamin Franklin published "Rules By Which A Great Empire May Be Reduced to a Small One". This was a humorous and satirical pamphlet that laid out 20 actions that British colonies should take if they want their empire to fall.
1773: The first American insane asylum opened in Williamsburg, Virginia. Neptune can represent imagination and 'unreal things' whilst Saturn represents authorities and institutions. This was called the 'Public Hospital for Persons of Insane and Disordered Minds".
1774: The 'Intolerable Act' and the Coercive acts were passed by the British Parliament to punish Massachusetts for the protests that occurred during the Boston Tea Party. This attempted to assert British authority over their colonies, however it brought colonial resentment and led to the American Revolutionary War.
19th April 1775: Battles of Lexington and Concord: These were the first military actions that happened between the British Army and Patriot militias from the 13 colonies established during the American Revolutionary War.
1st December 1809: Sagittarius (6°):
*Image: The Battle of Oceña.
1807: The Abolition of the slave trade began. The United Kingdom and the United States outlawed the slave trade in the British Empire, however this was not made official in the US constitution. This made strategic sense to cut off materials from enemies, the colony of Sierra Leone was established and former slaves were able to live there for free. The UK Slave Trade Act made slavery illegal but the consequence was only a fine.
25th September 1808: Spanish American colonies declared independence, Central America became independent alongside New Spain. The American colonies felt cut of from Spain, they rebelled because their King was no more. Mexico declared independence but lost their territories during the next Saturn-Neptune conjunction in 1846.
12th February 1809: Abraham Lincoln and Charles Darwin were both born on the same day. Lincoln went on to prohibit the Slave Trade, he signed the Emancipation Proclamation in 1863. After publishing "The Origins of Species', Darwin where he explains evolution, this caused massive debates about concrete science (Saturn) vs religion (Neptune).
1709: Russia defeated Sweden and annexed Finland and the Åland Island. The Finnish-Swedish union ended, this separated after a long period of 600 years.
1811: The Luddite uprisings began in England, this was a working class popular uprising in which textile workers destroyed machinery. This mostly happened in Nottinghamshire but spread to Yorkshire and Lancashire in 1812 followed by Leicestershire and Derbyshire further down the line. These workers protested against rising unemployment due to the introduction of new textile machinery during the Industrial Revolution.
1809: British abolitionist Thomas Clarkson published anti-slavery essays, for example 'An Essay on the Slavery and Commerce of the Human Species'. This gained attention for its involvement in the abolitionist movement.
19th November 1809: The Battle of Oceña was fought between French forces and the Spanish army which had suffered its greatest single defeat in the Peninsular War. The Spanish army was made up of 51,000 tropps and 19,000 men were killed or wounded during this time.
4th April 1846: Aquarius (27°):
5th September 1846: Aquarius (26°, both retrograde).
11th December 1846: Aquarius (25°).
*Image: The Mexican-American War.
Began 1845: Irish Potato Famine happened, this led to mass migration from Ireland to the United States, and Montreal, Canada to escape famine. There was a terrible blight on potatoes, this led to a mass of people starving to death. 1/3 of Irish people were destitute by December 1846.
Began 25th April 1846: The Mexican-American War took place, this was significant in US history. The US took possession of California, Texas, New Mexico and other states, they expanded the country further. This was an annexation of territory and it involved ideologies around 'manifest destiny' and the notion that the US was entitled to steal territory by divine right. The US was transformed into a melting pot, there was much migration within the US and globally.
23rd September 1846: Neptune was discovered. Astronomers were looking for an object that they couldn't visibly see although they could see the effects of this planetary body. They found Uranus before this but didn't know they accidentally found the planet Neptune during this time.
21st February 1848: The Communist Manifesto was published as a pamphlet written by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels. This was commissioned by the Communist League and published in London. This established the idea that if people unite and fight the powers that be, they can be powerful. It articulated the revolutionary ideas of this time.
Began 25th April 1846: The Fall Convention took place, this was the first event about the support of women's rights in the United States.
15th January 1847: The Phantaskop Premiered by Austrian magician Ludwig Döbler, a moving picture device was projected onto a screen, this marked the beginning of early cinema. This was debuted in Vienna at the Josephstadt Theatre.
1848: The Civil disobediance lecture was delivered by Thoreau, this became massively influencial since this lecturer was read aloud by Ghandi and Martin Luther King. This was tied to slavery, there was a potential for colonies to become areas for slaves which led to the US being divided between the North and South.
24th January 1848: The California Gold rush began when James W. Marshall discovered gold at Sutter's Mill in Coloma, California. 300,000 people from other American states and others abroad travelled to California to get their hands on some gold.
12th May 1882: Taurus (16°):
28th February 1881: Louis Pasteur developed the Anthrax vaccine and confirmed the germ theory. The germ theory was that there are small organisms that we can't see that cause disease. Pasteur believed this and he was able to prove it, the evidence for this became overwhelming.
13th March 1881: Tsar Alexander II of Russia was assassinated. At the time, he became more liberal so his predecessor Alexander III adopted a more reactionary approach. The secret revolutionary group was called 'people's will': this group was "based upon a secret society apparatus of local semi-independent cells cooordinated by a self-selecting committee". It bestowed acts of violence in attempts to destablise the Russian empire and spur insurrection against Tsarism. This group was led by a woman.
2nd July 1881: President Garfield died from Assassin and Germs, he was initially shot in an assassination attempt by Charles Guiteau. Sanitation didn't take over since germs didn't take over as a concept, he died from infection. The assassin said "yes I shot him but the physicians killed him".
2nd January 1882: Secret founding of the Standard Oil Trust, this set a standard for how the oil industry should operate going forward. As a result, anti-trust legislation was passed.
6th May 1882: The Chinese Exclusion Act was passed, this barred Chinese people from migrating to the US. This act also stopped Chinese people already in the country from continuing their citizenship and their ability to re-enter the country. This law remained in force until 1943.
May 1882: A triple alliance was secretly formed between Germany, Austria-Hungary and Italy. This alliance was used during World War One, it was used for defence during this conflict.
1882: Koch, a German physician identified bacterium that caused Tuberculosis, this was connected to germ theory.
1882: The Married Women's Property Act was passed in the United Kingdom, this allowed women to own and control their own property. 36 years later, women over 30 in the UK gained the right to vote. As the name would suggest, this was limited to married women only.
1882: The Society for Psychical Research was founded in the UK, this was dedicated to scientific research into paranormal phenomenon. This happened after the rise of spiritualism, speaking to dead people etc. It researched telepathy and other psychological phenomenon.
1883: The International Patent Protection process was established, people would have to prove that an idea was first theirs.
16th January 1883: The Pendleton Civil Service Reform Act was passed. The assassin that attempted to kill President Garfield was seeking promotion within the government. This created public outrage and led to a merit based system which prevented certain political actions.
18th November 1883: time zones were officially established across the United States, this was determined based on the Sun's overhead position. These were separated into standardised time zones, each one contained a uniform time.
1st August 1917: Leo (4°):
*Image: The Bolshevik Revolution.
29th July 1914 - 11th November 1918: World War One began as Saturn-Neptune joined up in Cancer, the sign of home, family and nations. The assassination of Franz Ferdinand was the event that triggered this, Franz and his wife were murdered in an open carriage by a group called 'The Black Hand'. The United States didn't enter the war until 1917 when Mexican revolutionaries decided to run raids into the country.
8th March 1917: The Russian Revolution happened, this was a significant period of political and social change. The monarchy of Russia was abolished, it adopted a socialist government after 2 revolutions and a Civil War.
7th November 1917: The Bolshevik/October revolution was led by Vladimir Lenin, this was a major event that happened during the Russian Civil War. The Bolsheviks seized power and overthrew the Provisional Government, this eventually led to the development of the Soviet Union.
February 1918 - April 1920: The Spanish Flu pandemic occurred, this was an incredibly deadly influenza pandemic. The first case was recorded in March 1918 in Kansas, United States. This was the deadliest pandemic in history and led to many deaths, estimated from 17-50 million but possibly as high as 100 million. The belief that this virus began in Spain was false but named due to the country's neutral stance during World War One who refused to censor news about the outbreak.
1918: Due to the suffragette movement, women in the United Kingdom were granted the right to vote. This was a decades long struggle and it finally culminated with the Representation of the People Act. This granted voting rights to women but only those over 30 who met property requirements.
16th January 1919: The Prohibition era happened when United States ended the production, importation, transportation and sale of alcohol. It was formally introduced under the 18th Amendment to the United States Constitution which was then ratified.
21st January 1919 - 1st April 1920: The First Red Scare happened in the United States due to widespread fears of far-left political movements including Bolshevism and anarchism. Fears were spread that Russian, Southern and Eastern European migrants intended to overthrow the American government.
21st November 1952: Libra (22°):
21st November 1952: Libra (22°).
17th May 1953: Libra (21°, both retrograde).
22nd July 1953: Libra (21°).
*Image: The Cold War between the US and the Soviet Union.
1950s: The Cold War early phases began, tensions began to rise between the US and the Soviet Union almost immediately after the Second World War ended.
1950s: Television was popularised, Senator Mccarthy gave a speech that was televised but this eventually led to his downfall. The Republican Convention was also televised for the first time. This led to an increase of television sales in the US. The coronation of Queen Elizabeth II was also shown.
1st November 1952: The First hydrogen bomb was tested by the US, this made the Cold War tensions even more intense as both nations involved became increasingly paranoid.
4th November 1952: Eisenhower was elected he opted to run for the Republician Party. He was a general from World War 2 and an outsider from the party, he received the glory of spearheading the Republican Movements. This proceeded the Roosevelt era, he had implemented the New Deal which ultimately made the Great Depression worse.
5th March 1953: Stalin died, he was the leader of the Soviet Union for decades, his death was a massive turning point in Russian history. During Stalin's time, many people turned their back on the communists. His death triggered a destabilisation period for the Soviet Union. This created a "power vacuum" and political confusion.
19th June 1953: An American married couple Julius and Ethel Rosenberg were executed, they were accused of spreading secrets and spying on behalf of the Soviet Union.
McCarthyism spread throughout the US when members of the Soviet Union sent Russian spies into the country, President Truman already knew about this.
1953: Project MK Ultra, this tested LSD used as a form of psychological warfare as mind control for hospitalised patients struggling with mental illness. These people were tested without consent. The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) tried to systematically force people into admitting wrongdoing. Unfortunately, many committed suicide as a consequence of this program. This was driven by Cold War fears and paranoia proceeding the election of Eisenhower.
1950-1954: The Korean War happened. Mao had visited Moscow, Russia to meet up with Putin. The South Korean forces were pushed to the brink of the waters edge, this marked the beginning of the war. North Korea invaded South Korea with the support of the Soviet Union and China. Troops were sent to back up South Korean troops to push away North Korean troops. The war became a back and forth between troops on the 38th parallel, this divided Korea into the North and South. This eventually led to the establishment of the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ).
3rd March 1989: in Capricorn (11°):
3rd March 1989: Capricorn (11°).
24th June 1989: Capricorn (11°, both retrograde).
13th November 1989: Capricorn (10°).
*Image: The Fall of the Berlin Wall.
1987-1991: The First Intifada happened, this was a series of non-violence protests led by Palestinians. This led to boycotts against Israeli soliders, this is relevant to the events of today's conjunction.
1988: Environmentalism received government support, the Intergovernmental Panel of Climate Change was established. This organisation created a report that assessed the effects of global warming and the climate situation. This made it more difficult for people to ignore this problem. Things that were once invaluable became unimportant.
1988: Polio eradication initiative, global efforts were made eradicate Polio globally. This is relevant during today's conjunction since RJK Jr. instituted some anti-vaccine legislation.
15th April - 4th June 1989: The Tianamen Square massacre happened in China, these were protests in Beijing that were suppressed by the government. This uprising was ultimately unsuccessful.
9th November 1989: The Berlin Wall fell. After World War 2, West and East Germany were split into 2 separate sides. In 1961, the Soviet Union built a wall to prevent people from travelling between each side. Saturn represents barriers and walls whilst Neptune dissolves. The Wall became an ideological symbol between the fight between socialism (Neptune) vs capitalism (Saturn).
1990s: The 24-hour cable news era began, this shaped and transformed how news was reported, watched and received around the world. Before this, people would only watch the 1 hour news at 6pm or 10pm. Actions had to be more open, there was more immersion.
1990s: The health organisation the 'Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and others discovered that people would need 2 doses of the measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine rather than one. It was previously believed that only one vaccine dose would be required from around 1968-1989.
Early 1990s: The savings and loan crisis and a mini recession happened, this led to deregulation and an eventual government bailout.
10th February 1990: Nelson Mendela was released from prision, he acted against the Apartheid in South Africa. This was a significant event that shook the world, the country was reinvented in 1994. This culminated in the end of the Apartheid, this was a racial separation that moved people from their homes into rural zones where civilians were forced to live. A police state was set up to enforce this.
22nd May 1990: The Yemen Unification happened, this country used to be divided into North and South Yemen but it was made one nation. In the 1960s, the British bombed Yemen and many other states did so too.
Early - mid 1990s: The Satanic Panic peaked, people let their dark religious imaginations prevail and many elaborate beliefs came to light. This was defined as "a period of moral panic fueled by unsubstantiated claims of of Satanic abuse of children which led to false accusations and convictions". This was a significant time of paranoia and fear (Neptune), people believed these threats were real (Saturn).
Current aspect - 20th February: in Aries (0°)
Neptune first entered Pisces: 4th April 2011.
Saturn first entered Pisces: 7th March 2023 (sign co-presence began).
Saturn-Neptune first operative in Pisces: 7th Feb 2025.
Neptune first entered Aries: 30th March 2025.
Saturn first entered Aries: 25th May 2025.
Saturn-Neptune conjunction reaches closest point: 12th July 2025.
Exact Saturn-Neptune conjunction: 20th February 2026.
Stays within 10°: 20th Feb - 7th July 2026.
Again: 31st August 2026 - 2nd March 2027.
Saturn enters Taurus: 13th April 2028 (no longer operative).
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