Bernie Sanders and The Great Conjunction of 2020

As above, so below. 

                    ~ Hermes Trismegistus

Bernie has ALWAYS been for the People. 

When astrologers try to predict the winners of elections, we look at each candidate’s natal chart to see how it’s aspected on Election Day, and try to confirm it by the transits on Inauguration Day. Or at least, I do. If someone has a better way, please let me in on it. 

In the beginning, there were way too many Democratic candidates to look at all their charts. That’s the first problem. The second is that sometimes it’s impossible to get each one’s birth time. Without that, it’s really not a fair fight; there’s little we can tell. Someone could have fantastic aspects to his or her Midheaven, and we wouldn’t have a clue. Unfortunately, that’s the case with Bernie. All we can do is see what kind of aspects the transits make to his natal planets. Or is it?

2020 is a special year. What makes it special comes at the end of it. Good things come to those who wait. Soon after the election in November, but before the inauguration in January, an important conjunction of planets will take place, and they are the most favorable to Bernie – and to the U.S. and even the world. It’s a conjunction of Jupiter and Saturn, and is so significant that it has its own name: The Great Conjunction. It was a conjunction of these two planets in Pisces that many believe to have been the Star of Bethlehem. Back then, those were the two outer-most planets known to man, so they were vital to prognostication. They were thought to be kingmakers. They’ve proven to be turning points in social, economic and political history.

Great Conjunctions take place every twenty years and represent a new beginning with new goals, a new direction, and a new social purpose that will evolve over the next twenty years. So this is not more of the “Same Old.” It’s not more politics as usual. It will usher in something different. And because it will take place in Aquarius, it will be radically different. Does that sound like Trump or Biden to you? Of course, it might also indicate the first female VP. But it should prove more than that.

Of course, there have been many Conjunctions in the past two millennia, and scores more before that. We’ve seen plenty enough of them to know that they define new ambitions for long term plans of action. The signs that the Conjunctions fall into describe the kinds of plans and actions they will be. These Conjunctions, like the cycles of all the planets, follow a distinct pattern. Joining every twenty years, their pattern is to occur in the same element, such as Aries, Leo, and Sagittarius. There’s 60 years of fire desire right there. Most recently, and still, until the Winter Solstice on December 21, 2020, the Great Conjunctions have taken place in earth signs. During this era, we’ve experienced changes to our banking system, our money, how we view wealth, and who takes the lion’s share.  (Taurus). We’ve changed how we eat, what we eat, and when. We’re more conscious about how nutrition affects our health. We’ve become a blue-collar nation of worker bees in the service industries. We’ve become more aware of our moral obligation to animals (Virgo). And we’ve created corporations that have usurped our power (Capricorn). 

We owe a debt of gratitude to astrologer Richard Nolle for providing us with a complete list of Great Conjunctions. This is a link to it.


This earth element cycle began in 1802 when they joined in Virgo. It went like this:

1802 Virgo 
1821 Aries
1842 Capricorn
1861 Virgo
1881 Taurus
1901 Capricorn
1921 Virgo
1940 Taurus
1940 Taurus
1941 Taurus
1961 Capricorn
1980 Libra
1981 Libra
1981 Libra
2000 Taurus
2020 Aquarius

Wait. Did I write “Aries?” Yes. Libra, too. Among the element pattern that the Conjunctions follow, are mutations. They also happen regularly. When the Aries mutation took place, pioneers opened and settled the West. Freed slaves emigrated to Liberia. And this particular period of time is known as the “Era of Good Feelings,” when We the People shared a sense of national purpose and unity. The Federalist political party collapsed and ended bitter partisanship between it and the Democrat – Republican Party. President James Monroe, who won by a landslide, wanted to end political parties altogether. He was considered above average as presidents go, and served two terms.

When Conjunctions repeat in the same sign three times (which is due to retrograde motion), it presages cultural change. As you can see, the most recent times that happened were in 1940 – 41 in Taurus, and in 1980 – 81 in Libra. The next won’t be until 2238 – 2239 in Cancer. So we don’t get a triple conjunction in Aquarius, but we do get a change of element, which (other than the mutations) hasn’t happened in over 200 years. We’re all going to go a new direction, and Bernie is the one who fits that bill. 

The outer planets have such long cycles that it takes years – sometimes hundreds of years – to complete one. Which reminds me, the United States will soon experience its first Pluto Return. Anyway, they influence the masses, the plebians, hoards and mobs through the Collective Unconscious. Just like a virus, we spread our ideas around and other people catch them, maybe mutate them, and pass them on. Whether it’s the smallest cycle of the Sun and Moon, or the longest cycle of Neptune and Pluto, they have a job to do: 

• The conjunction is like a new moon that plants a seed and we commit to nurturing it. 

• A quarter of the way through the cycle (known as the first square), we must actually do something to help our commitment grow. 

• Halfway through the cycle, when the planet is opposite the conjunction point that planted the seed, our little commitment expands, leafs out, and culminates to its fullest. This is like a Full Moon in experience.

• Three quarters of the way through the cycle, our little commitment is waning. It’s tired and winding down. Finally, it passes away and a new cycle begins with the new conjunction. 

After this one in December 2020, our next Great Conjunction will be in Libra on Halloween, 2040. That’s how and when our next new commitment will plant its seeds.

Now let’s talk about Jupiter and Saturn because they’re total opposites from each other, like Democrats and Republicans. 

Jupiter = Liberals
Saturn = Conservatives

Jupiter = Liberty
Saturn = Control 

Jupiter = Autonomy
Saturn = Authority

Or, as astrologer Caroline Casey defines it:

Jupiter = Hagen Daaz 
Saturn = brown rice

That’s hysterical. I love it! 

You know the drill. Being the hopeful optimists that Jupiter makes us, we think of it as the planet of joy, buoyancy, abundance, generosity, good luck, hope and faith. Bigger, better and more. It’s a Bull Market. It’s the Santa Claus of the zodiac. It’s also about reaching out, growing and expanding our minds and our world. It represents foreign places, people, cultures, and languages, immigration and emigration, long-distance travel and imports / exports. Matters that concern the higher mind and higher education, philosophy, religion, law, medicine, publishing.  Laws and legal matters. For many, student debt. Jupiter enlarges everything it touches – our wallets, waistlines and unfortunately, even tumors. Jupiter (too much) and Venus (sugar) will cause diabetes. Oftentimes when people fall in love, Jupiter is aspecting their Venus (or the other way around), and they are so over-the-moon that we sincerely hope they’ll serve insulin at the reception. 

Being the pessimists that Saturn makes us, we think of it as restraint, delay, sadness, sorrow, suffering, guilt, depression and discipline. If it’s a question of lighthearted frivolity, the answer is no. It represents shrinkage. It makes things smaller, tighter, harder and more difficult. It’s things that are old, cold and hard. It’s a Bear Market. It’s Father Time and the Grim Reaper. But it’s really about perseverance, the long-haul, tough love, paternity, taking responsibility and respecting tradition (or succumbing to authoritarianism). What begins as self-control becomes age and wisdom. Saturn is the crone and the wizard. The Supreme Court Justice. It builds and engineers skyscrapers, bridges, and the scaffolds and structures of our lives. It’s the bones and teeth of a matter, whether in the body, in architecture or in industry. Without Saturn’s gravity, both literally and figuratively, we could not hold it all together. Without it, ballet wouldn’t exist. Neptune gives grace and inspiration, and Mars gives strength and endurance, but without the toil and self-discipline of Saturn, we’d simply have a quivering mass of tulle and leotards on the stage floor. Saturn reins in Jupiter’s abundant enthusiasm and gives it shape and form. 

This is the kind of energy that a paradoxical conjunction of Jupiter with Saturn produces. Will we indulge ourselves or work toward our goals? Spend or save? Follow the rules or bend the rules? Pursue liberty or follow convention? We can look for clues in history. What happened at other times when the Great Conjunction took place in Aquarius? I began with the first one to occur in the Christian Era, on March 23, 491 CE. At that time, the Roman Empire was divided into halves. The eastern half was known as Byzantium, and the reign of its Emperor, Zeno, was beleaguered with revolts and dissension.  Seventeen days after the Great Conjunction in Aquarius, Zeno died. He was replaced with Anastasius, who reformed the money system, gilded the coffers, and gave tax relief to the citizens and small businesses (even sex workers). The western half of the Roman Empire collapsed, but Byzantium thrived for another thousand years. Also under the Aquarius Great Conjunction, Empress Sophia, a strong feminist who stood in for her husband, Justin, when he became incapacitated – which she claimed was punishment for not valuing her as he should – called in the money changers and forgave everyone’s debts. Use the link provided above to find the Great Conjunctions and do all the research you want. I hope you’ll come back and share with me anything really interesting that you find. 

There’s one more thing to talk about regarding the 2020 Great Conjunction, and that’s the sign in which it occurs. Our new beginning will be in Aquarius, the revolutionary humanitarian sign of equality and civil rights that fights for the underdog. George Washington and Thomas Jefferson believed in astrology, and Benjamin Franklin was an astrologer who produced Poor Richard’s Almanac. 

The United States was founded on the Uranian principles of freedom with liberty and justice for all. Both the U.S. and France rebelled and were born during the time Uranus was discovered. The Statue of Liberty, also named the Mother of Exiles, was a gift to the U.S. from France and now bears the sonnet of New Colossus by Emma Lazarus.

“Give me your tired, your poor, 

your huddled masses yearning to breathe free. 

The wretched refuse of your teeming shore. 

Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed to me. 

I lift my lamp beside the golden door.” 

Uranus rules Aquarius, the sign of social consciousness, humanitarian revolution and global reform. It’s the sign of social upheaval and civil rights. Our greatest President, Abraham Lincoln, who wrote the Emancipation Proclamation and freed the slaves, was born under the sign of Aquarius, as were his father, mother and sister, Sara. 

Rosa Parks, Mother of the Civil Rights movement, who refused to give her seat on a bus to a white man, was also an Aquarian with her Sun, Mercury, Uranus, and probably her Ascendant in Aquarius.

Memphis-born super model, actress and feminist, Cybill Shepherd, whose autobiography is titled Cybill Disobedience has the Sun, Mercury, Venus and Jupiter in Aquarius with Uranus conjunct the Midheaven. Aquarians don’t understand why others are afraid of new ideas. They’re afraid of old ones. With the Great Conjunction in Aquarius, we will no longer accept the things we cannot change. We will change the things we cannot accept. Aquarians always have one foot in the future. What they do today, others will do in the future.


No one is born hating another person because of the color of his skin, or his background, or his religion. People must learn to hate, and if they can learn to hate, they can be taught to love, for love comes more naturally to the human heart than its opposite. 

                                                                                            ~ Nelson Mandela

Children will play with everyone until a parent tells them not to. 

Aquarius is the natural sign of social distancing. While the global reform of civil and individual rights should turn out to be the best thing that happens to the U.S. since 1776, there are other Aquarian matters to contemplate. It’s the sign of social networking, where we are together, but alone, and alone together. Our friendships and sometimes even our closest relationships are carried on through forums like Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. It’s hard to know if Covid-19, or even some other virus of which we’re still unaware will force us to carry on that way, with little to no facetime. We can communicate with others around the globe, but it will be hard for the friendships to have any depth. Is that the price we must pay? 

“Many people consider the things government does for them to be social progress, but they consider the things government does for others as socialism.” 

~ Chief Justice Earl Warren

Here's our choice. Our lives can be better with healthcare for all, forgiveness of overwhelming debt in which we are drowning, and taking back our power from corporations to redistribute wealth, by voting for Bernie. The planets will support it. 

Or we get more of the same ol’ same old by voting for Biden and we end up in rebellion and a new revolution, where we will maintain social distancing, sheltering in place, and quarantining ourselves. In light of the current pandemic, if you don’t vote for the person who will give us all healthcare, you’ll get what you deserve. But you’ll also inflict it on everyone else.  Covid-19 could turn into the next Mass Extinction. I’m not trying to scare you, but the planets are unbiased and don’t care or lie. The Great Conjunction of 2020 is a preview of a much longer cycle in Aquarius. When Pluto enters Aquarius in 2024 and does great things in Bernie's chart - but not Trump's or Biden's - we'll get another preview of the Age of Aquarius to come. I urge you to choose wisely. The decisions we make now will affect us for a long, long time.