To determine how the current Saturn Rahu conjunction in Libra will impact us, we can examine historical Saturn Rahu conjunctions in Vedic astrology, or Jyotish, to see what previously occurred. It last occurred from February 16, 2002 to July 22, 2002 in Mrigashrisha nakshatra (constellation) in Taurus. Saturn was with a debilitated Rahu. The exact conjunction Saturn Rahu conjunction happened on June 6, 2002. Saturn was within two degrees of the Sun, and thus combust and unable to express its qualities. A retrograde Mercury was also in Taurus at the time.
While we may be personally impacted by such events, we’ll examine what happened on a global level, as that macrocosm often mirrors the microcosm of our lives. You can reflect on what was happening in your life at the time of these past events. Often notable events precede or follow such conjunctions, and may not happen on the exact day itself. (Please note that there are differing opinions on the placement of Rahu and Ketu. I am utilizing the mean node methodology vs. the true node calculation. In my training the nodes are debilitated in Taurus and exalted in Scorpio).
The U.S. had attacked Afghanistan in 2001, and the war continued in 2002. The Israeli-Palestine conflict also continued during this period of the Saturn Rahu conjunction.
The Euro debuted in 12 European countries on January 1, 2002 as the official currency. On January 10, the U.S. took Taliban and al-Qaeda prisoners to Guantanamo Bay. U.S. Journalist Daniel Pearl was kidnapped in Pakistan on January 23. In his first State of the Union address on January 24, 2002, President Bush called Iran, Iraq, and North Korea an “axis of evil”.
Beginning on January 31, 2002, the Larsen B Ice Shelf, a large floating ice mass located in the eastern Antarctic Peninsula, broke and separated from Antarctica. The shattered ice formed thousands of icebergs about 1,255 square miles long. This process took 35-days. Just this month, there were news reports that Alaska’s Mendenhall Glacier has been melting and an ancient forest has been revealed as being hidden underneath this 37 square mile glacier.
An Egyptian train caught fire on February 20, 2002, killing 370 and injuring 65 people. On February 26, 2002, 12 Shiite Muslims are killed in a Pakistani mosque. The next day, a Muslim mob sets fire to a train in India, killing almost 60 people who were returning from a pilgrimage. On the 28th, during the riots in Gujarat, India, a mob attacks a Muslim neighborhood. Many houses are burnt, and almost 70 are killed.
The U.S. Senate passed the campaign finance reform bill on March 20, 2002 and President Bush signed it into law a week later.
In April, 2002, protests continue against Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez. He was captured but returned to power two days later. Suicide bombs exploded multiple times in Israel in May, 2002, as a result of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
On the date of the exact Saturn Rahu conjunction in Taurus, a 32 ft. meteor exploded in the airspace West of Kashmir. This created fears that a misidentified meteor explosions could lead to a nuclear war. On June 10, 2002, the U.S. government announced that it had prevented an al-Qaida attempt to detonate a dirty bomb.
Taurus is the second house in the zodiac and represents the voice. Rahu has to do with the unusual, and Mercury is associated with communication. Saturn can be harsh in its commentary. The tv show American Idol debuted on June 11, 2002.
On May 13, 2002, the U.S. and the Soviet Union reached an agreement to cut their nuclear arsenals by two-thirds over the next ten years. On June 13, the U.S. withdrew from its 30 year old Antiballistic Missile Treaty with the Soviet Union.
The accounting firm of Arthur Andersen was convicted of destroying documents pertaining to its former client, energy giant Enron Corp., on June 15, 2002. On June 24, President Bush declared that the U.S. wouldn’t recognize Palestinian as an independent state until Yasir Arafat was replaced. The largest bankruptcy claim in U.S. history happened on July 19, 2002 when telecomm giant WorldCom, filed for Chapter 11, after admitting that it had inappropriately recorded $3.8 billion in expenses.
Saturn has to do with dark, underground places and it is also a significator of minerals. Taurus is an earth sign. Nine Pennsylvania miners rescued on July 28, 2002 after spending 78 hours in the dark, flooded Quecreek Mine shaft.
Saturn left Taurus and entered Gemini on July 22, 2002. It then went retrograde and returned to Taurus on January 8, 2003. While there was no exact Saturn Rahu conjunction this time, Saturn and Rahu were together again in Taurus until April 7, 2003.
On January 18, 2003, a bushfire in Canberra, Australia destroyed over 500 homes and killed four people. On January 24, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security commenced its operations. On January 30, Belgium officially recognized same sex marriages.
The space shuttle Columbia disaster occurred on February 1, 2003. Rahu creates unexpected, sudden events. On February 15, approximately 11 million people worldwide staged protests against the pending Iraqi war. On February 18, approximately 500 people died in a subway fire in South Korea.
On March 1, 2003, Iraq begins destroying some of its missiles, while under U.N. supervision. The United Arab Emirates also asked Saddam Hussein to resign, in hopes of avoiding a war.
On March 5, a bomb exploded at an airport in the Philippines, killing 19 people. That same day, a suicide bomb exploded on a bus in Israel, killing 17 people. In Columbia that day, a car bomb exploded killing seven people. Bracing for an Iraqi conflict, Saudi Arabia sent 3,330 troops to Kuwait.
On March 6, Fidel Castro was re-elected as the President of Cuba for a 6th term in an unopposed contest. On March 7, the U.S. declared a national emergency and joined the European Union in imposing sanctions against the government of Zimbabwe for “systematically undermining democratic institutions”. Also that day, Broadway musicians union members went on strike over producers’ proposals to reduce the number of musicians at live performances and replace them with recorded or digital music. On March 8, Malta voted in favor of joining the E.U. the following year. An Algerian aircraft crashed after takeoff that day, killing over 100 people.
On March 11, 2003, the International Criminal Court at the Hague in Amsterdam began operations, swearing in 18 judges. The President of Siberia was assassinated on March 12. The World Health Organization (WHO) issued a warning that day regarding a severe acute and respiratory (SARS) virus which was afflicting people in many countries. It was declared as contained on July 5.
The U.S. launched military strikes against Iraq, commencing the Iraqi war on March 19, 2003. Troops from the U.S., Australia, the U.K., and Poland attacked Iraq the next day.
Saturn always leaves an indelible impression when it leaves a sign. On the day that Saturn left Taurus again (April 7), U.S. troops captured Baghdad. General Colin Powell announced that the war with Iraq is coming to an end. On April 9, Baghdad was defeated by coalition forces. This resulted in widespread looting.
The last time when Saturn and Rahu were together in Libra was from October 21, 1864 to September 23,1865. Then Rahu entered Virgo. The exact Saturn Rahu conjunction in Libra was on August 2, 1865 in Chitra nakshatra. The Moon was debilitated that day.
The U.S. Civil War began in 1861 and continued for four years. On August 8, 1864, the Red Cross was formed in Geneva, Switzerland. The International Red Cross formed August 22. The Geneva Convention was signed that day.
A cyclone struck Calcutta, India on October 1, 864, and 70,000 people were killed. The Greek Parliament accepted a new constitution on October 21, 1864.
On March 4, 1865 – President Abraham Lincoln was elected to a second term. The U.S. Civil war ended on April 9, 1865. On April 14, President Lincoln was assassinated. The U.S. Secret Service was created to fight counterfeiting that day as well.
The Salvation Army was formed in London on July 5, 1865. On October 25, the ship SS Republic sunk off the coast of Georgia in the U.S.
On December 6, 1865 – the 13th amendment to the U.S. constitution was ratified; it abolished slavery.
The historical Saturn Rahu conjunctions reveal how impactful worldwide events coincided with these planetary placements. How the current Saturn Rahu conjunction in Libra will impact you will impact you will depend on your individual Vedic astrology chart and your planetary cycle. A personalized Vedic astrology reading will help guide you on how to best navigate these times.