By Bernadette Brady
February 2011

Following on with the theme of Jupiter and Saturn we can also look at this combination using Mesopotamian eyes. For the Assyrian sky-watching priest of the 7th century BCE, Saturn represented the king and Jupiter was the crown prince, or any other ‘famous and important person’.[1] Such an individual was always be seen as a threat to the king and was therefore closely watched.

There is no evidence to suggest that the early astrologers worked with the Jupiter- Saturn 20-year cycle in the style of Abu Ma’shar. However, there is a great deal of evidence for the continual discussion concerning the events around both the King and Crown Prince as these two planets, Saturn and Jupiter, moved through the heavens.

Visually the conjunction would have been seen as a joining of both the King and the Crown Prince. This would be important as it represented the two most powerful energies in the heavens, and thus in the kingdom, a joining together. Where in the sky they joined and how they joined would have been important issues.

In moving to the contemporary period the last joining of Saturn and Jupiter was in May of 2000 when it occurred in the stars of Taurus, the Great Bull of Heaven.

The priest would not have been happy with this combination as they considered that, ‘If Jupiter comes near to the Bull of Heaven: the treasures of the land will perish.’ Again in the same letter, ‘[If] Jupiter entered the Bull of Heaven; the king my lord should bewared of drafts.’ [2]

Being ‘warned of drafts’ probably means a great deal more than a warning about a cold draft of air. It may have meant a small threat that could turn difficult.

Since this joining in the stars of Taurus in May 2000 there has been the global banking meltdown which has caused many ‘treasures of the land’ to ‘perish’, and it seems now that leaders in parts of the Arab world are indeed feeling ‘the draft’.

These ‘drafts’ began to appear in December 2010 as Saturn and Jupiter moved towards their opposition. Recognise in this early astrology the opposition would have been seen as the Crown Prince standing apart from the King. As one planet rose, the other would be setting, so they would appear to be estranged, or as if the Crown Prince might be hiding from the King.

Figure 1 – 31 January 2011 – The king (Saturn) stands alone and the other planets begin to gather around the crown prince (Jupiter).

This estrangement when placed into the Mesopotamian world of tension, trouble and upheaval would have warned of a most worrying time. The nature of this concern would have been influenced by the location of the other planets – which planets stood with the King and which with the Crown Prince?

With this in mind recognise that the king has stood alone in the early morning sky since mid-January, as Saturn was the only planet visible in the night sky. When he rose Jupiter set, appearing to be running from the king. Furthermore by late January (Figure 1) the Crown Prince had all the other gods gathering around him.

Figure 2 – 12 February 2011 – The king (Saturn) stands alone as the crown prince (Jupiter) gains power. President Mubarak in Egypt is forced to resign.

As we moved into February (Figure 2), the King became more and more isolated in the heavens while Mars, linked since last November with Nabu after they met in the Bow of the Archer and still close to him, disappears into the light of the sun, and becomes hidden from the view of the king.

At this stage the Egyptian President of 30 years, President Mubarak, came under threat from a popular uprising.

The people were at that time so ’empowered’ as indicated by the activity of Jupiter, that the Egyptian ‘king’ was cast out of the land on 12 February 2011.

However, it does not stop here. The visual astrology shows that the Crown Prince is still gaining in power as the other planets (gods) are moving every closer towards him. (Figure 3).

From late February Jupiter moves under the sun’s light and in late March stands in direct opposition to the king with both Nergal (Mars) and Nabu (Mercury).

In other newsletters we have discussed the meaning of planets with the sun, suggesting that when a planet become invisible that they go to the ‘other place’. With the current events we are seeing another expression of this ‘other place’. This meaning is the voice of the people, the enemy that you cannot easily kill, the enemy that cannot be met on the battle field, the enemy that wears the common face of the people. Thus the empowered Prince in this sky narrative is not one single individual, not a political rival that can be dealt with in the normal fashion but instead is the power of the people, the proletariat.

Figure 3 – 28 March 2011 – The king (Saturn) stands alone as the crown prince (Jupiter) is now opposing and holding all the power. President Gaddafi under increasing pressure leave Liberia.

By the 28 March 2011, as Nicholas Campion has pointed out in his article, the Jupiter and Saturn stand directly opposed. Thus the King and the other powerful force in the kingdom, the Crown Prince, stand in opposition. However, the Crown Prince also stands with the Sun, Mercury and Mars.

Now as we move towards this opposition Colonel Gaddafi, Libya’s ruler for 40 years is under huge pressure from the people, to resign. The Mesopotamian astrologers would be warning the king to hide in his palace, or put on the throne a substitute who could be killed in his place, as this Crown Prince will be victorious.

One could not have predicted the current events in the Arabic world with this Jupiter-Saturn opposition. However, there was an indication of the nature of this Jupiter-Saturn cycle back in late 2006.

At that time Saturn was standing alone as Saddam Hussein was sentenced to death (see VAN, November 2006). Thus as the king (Saddam Hussein) became isolated, he fell from grace and lost his life.

So there are three points being revealed about visual astrology by the current events:

Firstly, a letter written around 650 BCE by the Mesopotamian astrologer priest discussing a Jupiter Saturn combination in the stars of Taurus (which is also the current cycle we are in) talked of the treasures of the land perishing and the king being subject to dangerous ‘drafts’.

Secondly, it emphasises again the concept of a King standing alone, Saturn alone in the sky, and once again shows that, for any leader, this is a difficult time where there could be deep underlying problems.

Thirdly, the place of enchantment, the ‘other place’ when planets are with the sun and thus not visible, can be expressed as the voice of the people. One is tempted to suggest that governments should always hold their elections at such time as it is a time when the voice of the people can and will be heard.

But just as we can see this cycle happening on a political level it will also be happening in your own life. What issue for you are coming to a head or gaining in clarity? Is the voice of a minority making its needs known through you or to you? Remember we do not live as islands, we are all interwoven with these cycles.


1. Hunger, Herman. (1992). Astrological Reports to Assyrian Kings. Helsinki, Finland: Helsinki University Press. pg.169.
2. Hunger, Astrological Reports to Assyrian Kings. p.29.