Saturn-Neptune Aries Conjunctions & Russia History

Is the past indicative of the future ?

The long awaited conjunction between Saturn and Neptune in Aries is getting closer and with it the fear or concerns as to what this reunion could entail in terms of mundane events. And while this summer the two giants we will be closely dancing around each other, the exact conjunction will only happen on February 20th 2026.

Overall, the correlations associated with the cycles involving these two planets are incredibly rich and can be perceivable not only in geopolitical spheres but also in culture, science, etc. For example, you can find here a research I did some months ago that points towards the correspondences of the different phases/aspects made by Saturn and Neptune and the development of Quantum Mechanics and Gnostic ideas in modern culture.

The Saturn-Neptune cycle relation with Russia’s History has been observed by the Astrological community for some time but here the focus will solely be on the conjunctions in the sign of Aries.

Originally thought as a one piece article covering (part of) Russia’s past and its future, this astrological investigation will rather be divided in two distinct parts. This first post will be exploring what could past Saturn-Neptune conjunctions in Aries have meant for Russia’s history. The second part will dive into the Astrology of Putin and modern Russia.

Explanation of the cycle

As you can see in the diagram above, the cycle of Saturn-Neptune conjunctions in Aries consists of three conjunctions 323 years apart and a 825 years “break” until another mini-cycle of three conjunctions separated by 323 years starts again.

It seems like themes or events happening at the first conjunction of a “mini-cycle” are echoed onto the next two conjunctions. Also, it as if the next “mini-cycle” is a mirror image of the precedent. This will be explored later on.

The following table shows each exact dates of the conjunctions since 91 BCE as well as the positions of Pluto, Uranus and Jupiter at the moment of the conjunction.

While the implications or the nuances that might be indicated by the other planets’ positions won’t be analysed here, there are surely interesting patterns to be noted. For example, each time this conjunction between Saturn and Neptune takes place in Aries, Pluto is either in Taurus, Leo or Aquarius.

It can also be noticed that the first conjunction of a “mini-cycle” happens towards the end of the sign, and then moves backwards.

Past occurrences of the conjunction and development of Russia

The first cycle presented (91 BCE, 232 CE and 555 CE) was quite difficult to analyze from the lack of precisely dated events. The written records for those groups at that time were rather sparse, specifically for what was happening outside of the Roman Empire.

For those who may not be familiar with the geography of the regions being discussed, I made maps to represent where the events were taking place and what were the main groups in presence (but only those being referred to). Also, in order to be easily associated with the current state of the world, I’ve kept modern frontiers and naming of the countries.

Once again, it is important to keep in mind that what is presented here is a simplification. The history of those times and groups of people is excessively complicated to apprehend, and their historiography keeps evolving. While the names of some clans, cultures or spaces seem to have been preserved through centuries, it doesn’t necessarily always refer to the same people due to the intermixing, cultural exchanges and blending, etc. I tried my best to give a global sense of the course of events and to extract the potential meanings associated the Astrology. Though, I am by no means a historian, so if you happen to be an expert on those subjects feel welcome to correct if necessary.

-91 - Scythians, Sarmatians and Zarubinsty culture

The Sarmatians, a group of nomadic people who were dominating the Pontic Steppe (a steppe extending from Eastern Europe to Central Asia) at that time, came to move forward towards the West. By doing so they entered the territory of a similar group named the Scynthians. The Sarmatians rapidly took over and the Scynthians lost most of their power in this region, retaining control only in limited areas like Crimea.

There were another group of people in those lands, though more centered in forestal zones, which is now being referred as the Zarubinsty Culture. It is currently considered the best option to represent what may have been the ancestors of what will be known later on as the Slavs, and as such this group is sometimes qualified as Proto-Slavic.

Those Proto-Slavic communities were partially affected by the conflicts between the two nomadic groups. While some may have been subjugated by the invaders, others started migrating northward and eastward into denser forest zones. They also integrated some of the techniques and cultures of the other two.

This pattern of interaction, pressure adaptation and identity consolidation seem to have repeated itself from there for the Slavs (or at least for the groups who will be later considered as such).

232 - Goths, Roman-Persian War and Kiev Culture

In 232, the Emperor Alexander Severus launched three counterattacks against the Persian forces of King Ardashir I and his Sasanian Empire who had invaded Mesopotamia. It’s another chapter of the so called “Roman-Persian Wars”.

While these battles did not directly involved the “Early Slavs” of that time, it did had some important repercussions on them. By causing trade disruptions, it forced these groups into a greater self-sufficiency and internal resource sharing. Also, the reduced Roman presence around the frontiers created space for more autonomous cultural development.

At the same time the Goths had started moving south. Those incursions near Slavic territories made the Early Slavs reinforce their cultural boundaries and fostered more unified structures. One of those predominant Slavic groups is designated by “Kiev Culture”.

Also, similarly to the previous date, some of them expanded into northeastward forest regions.

We can see, once again, the same pattern of external (direct or indirect) pressures “fertilizing” the soon to be Slavic (or Russian) identity.

555 - Gokturks, Avars, Antes and the Slavic Migration

By 555, under Justinian I, the Byzantine Empire had reached its greatest extent since the fall of the Western Roman Empire.

This year was also a pivotal moment for the history of central Asia. The Gokturks, led by the Ashina Clan¹, who were until then subordinates to the Rouran Khaganate², completely took over it. It did not only mark the birth of the first Turkic Khaganate but also a major extension of its territory. From that event will unfold a series of important changes even in Europe.

As the Gokturks expanded towards the West, some of the fleeing forces of the Rouran also entered Europe. They will be known there as the Avars. There is a scholarly debate in that regard as some accounts suggest that the Avars were “Pseudo-Avars”, and usurped the identity of the defeated Rouran but we won’t enter into those details here.

The Byzantine Empire which had to face frequent raids by the Slavs, decided to contract the Avars to get rid of them. At that time, the Slavs were comprised of various groups, two of the most prominent being the Antes and the Sclavini (which were battling each other).

While some of the Slavic groups ended up dominated by their enemies, others migrated, settled south and would become the ancestors of the South Slavs. For another part of these people, the pressure made them migrate northeast but also reinforce their political and defense organization.

This situation would lay the foundation for the future urban network of the first East Slavic state of history, the Kievan Rus (the Russian/Ukrainian/Belarusian ancestors in a sense).

^{1 - The Ashina Clan whose descendants would later rule the Khazar Khaganate
2 - Khaganate is a form of Empire, ruled by the Khagan (Emperor)}

1380 - Battle of Kulikovo (September 8th)

At that time, the Western region of today’s Russia was formed of various “Principalities”. Only the Principality of Moscow and that of Ryazan are represented on the map, but there were actually more surrounding these two. All those “Russian” groups were vassals of the Mongols’ nomadic Empire called the Golden Horde which reunited the Blue and White Hordes.

The Principality of Moscow was ruled at that moment by Prince Dmitry Donskoy. He was gaining influence in the area and started to refuse sending the tributes to the Horde. He was the first Prince to directly challenge the Mongols’ authority and not agreeing to the terms imposed over his people. He is now considered as a Saint by the Orthodox Church.

Mamai, ruler of the Golden Horde, decided to reaffirm his power over the Principality of Moscow and allied with the Grand Duchy Of Lithuania and with the Principality of Ryazan, which had both animosity towards Prince Dmitry, in order to attack Moscow’s territory.

It is not clear why, but for some reason the Prince of Ryazan warned Dmitry of what was going to happen. As such, he decided to not wait to be besieged and directly headed towards his enemy to confront him earlier by surprise.

Moscow’s army found Mamai and his troops at Kulikovo. The battle that ensued was one of the largest fight of the Middle Ages, with more than 100,000 warriors participating in it.

Dmitry won and Mamai escaped to Crimea where he was killed. The rulership of the Golden Horde was given to his rival, Tokhtamysh.

After winning the battle, Dmitry still withheld the payment of tributes. As a retaliation and to reassert the Tatar-Mongol authority, Moscow is raided two years later and burnt by the Mongols, killing 24,000. Despite that, the first victory against the Horde paved the way towards the liberation and Russian vassalage was to be officially ended exactly a hundred years later, in 1480.

The battle of Kulikovo is a pivotal moment in Russian History and some historians consider it as the starting point towards the emergence of Russia as a united nation.

1703 - Foundation of Saint Petersburg (May 27th)

In 1703 the Tsardom of Russia was deeply involved in the Great Northern War, which started 3 years prior against the Swedish Empire. It also involved Denmark-Norway (the real union of the Denmark and Norway Kingdoms) and the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth (sometimes referred as Poland-Lithuania), which were Russia’s allies in this battle.

Not wanting to let the Swedish Empire expand further, aiming to recapture lost territories and, specifically in the case of Russia, wanting to obtain access to the Baltic Sea, were the main reasons for the instigation of this war.

On May 1st, Russia captured a fortress to Sweden which was located on land seized in the 17th century.

The Tsar, Peter the Great, decided that three weeks later, on May 27th, a new city will be founded at that place : Saint Petersburg.

This project, that was probably one of the most ambitious and challenging of its time, was the Tsar’s obsession. He wanted the city to be a “window to the West” as well as a cultural and architectural rival of Amsterdam, Venice, Paris, etc.

Saint Petersburg’s construction did not come without hurdle. It is estimated that tens of thousands laborers perished in the first few decades of its building. The swampy terrain upon which it was being built was a breeding ground for mosquitoes and waterborne diseases such as malaria and dysentry. There also were frequent flooding from the Neva River and its remote location coupled with the lack of infrastructures made it exceedingly challenging to get the necessary supplies.

Furthermore, the Tsar’s openness towards the West and his desire to modernize Russia according to the new European standards of that time gathered resistance from conservative elements within the country. This information will take more relevance in the next post.

Curiously, there are mentions of Astrology playing a significant role within the court of the Tsar and some even suggest that political and cultural events might have been chosen accordingly to it. Here is the chart of Saint Petersburg casted at noon :

Interesting to see a Virgo Ascendant and a Gemini MC, with the Sun and Mercury conjunct the MC for a city which objective was to be a cultural lighthouse.

It becomes more so captivating when looking at the birth chart of Peter the Great (June 9th 1672, unknown time) :

He too was born under Sun and Mercury in Gemini and his Moon would have been near the IC (the land, foundation) of his beloved city.

Even though Saint-Petersburg is the most known and notable city founded that year, it was not the only one. Other cities were built in 1703, confirming this “advancement” or consolidation of Russia.

Gathering insights

As we can see, there seems to be a correlation between the Saturn-Neptune conjunctions in Aries and the development of the Slavic/Russian identity.

Here is the list of what, I think, can be extracted from this research :

• As Saturn can represent structures, limits, frontiers and Neptune that which dissolves or blurs, it makes sense that their conjunction in Aries would indicate dissolutions (or consolidations) of frontiers happening through strife.

• Wars and battles do bring a forced definition of what is “we” and what is “them”. Though, as we have seen, it sometimes happened not through direct confrontations but more via a “push”, having to go forward to find new ways or places (which also relates to Aries symbolism).

• The first cycle seems to correspond to a movement towards (north)east for the Slavs, while the second cycle seems to indicate more of a reaffirmation of Russia’s identity, the consolidation and expansion of its territories and also an advancement towards west.

• Also, while the first mini-cycle presented a more passive approach, it seems like the second one is more active, and force is being used as a mean to assert and expand ones culture and frontiers.

What to expect

If we were to exclusively consider the Saturn-Neptune Aries conjunctions cycle in order to envision what could be the situation of Russia for the next year, it does seem like the country will manage to extend (or at least consolidate) its positions and territories.

In the next part of this study, dedicated to modern Russia, its leader and their foreseeable future, we will try to get a clearer perspective of what may lay ahead and confirm (or invalidate) what we have discovered so far.