Periodicity of Mars-Venus Conjunctions

I wrote explicitly about Mars-Venus conjunctions in a post titled Mars-Venus on January 27th 2017. However, I've also referred to the topic in Synodic Periods on March 30th 2017 and Mars: A Close Approach and Retrograde Motion of Planets on August 4th 2018. Today (July 13th 2021), when Mars is once again conjunct Venus, I thought it was time to revisit the topic. In this conjunction, the latitudes of these two planets are very close, 1°39' versus 1°11' north latitude. Their longitudes become identical 19°48'57" at 8:33pm, Jakarta time. See Figure 1.

Figure 1

Adapted from Stellarium, Figure 2 shows the view from Jakarta looking to the West about 6:30pm on July 13th 2021. The star Regulus is quite near to the Moon, being at a latitude of 0°08' of Virgo.

Figure 2

This would be the first of three conjunctions of Venus and Mars. The next two conjunctions of Mars and Venus are slated to take place on February 12, 2022 and March 12, 2022. These three form what is called a triple conjunction defined as:

A triple conjunction is an astronomical event where two planets or a planet and a star meet each other three times in a short period, either in opposition or at the time of inferior conjunction, if an inferior planet is involved. The visible movement of the planet or the planets in the sky is therefore normally prograde at the first conjunction, retrograde at the second conjunction and again prograde at the third conjunction. Source.

Figure 3 shows another view of what the first conjunction might look like:

Figure 3

Venus-Mars repeated conjunctions occur every 32 years (plus 0.5 to 4.5 days). During that time, 15 to 17 different conjunctions occur with nearly each one repeating in turn. Some series last >1200 years (up to 40 events). Others are considerably shorter. At the beginning and end of these series, the interval can be one week longer than 32 years. The reason why this happens is because for nearly every 20 times Venus returns to its similar position in the sky, Mars completes almost 15 returns. If these cycles were exactly whole numbers, the repeated conjunctions would last much longer.

This can be confirmed by looking ahead to 2053 and seeing how Mars and Venus are positioned. We find that Mars and Venus are again conjunct in 23°26' of Leo at 7.42pm on July 14th 2053. This is less than 4° from the July 13th 2021 position in 19°49' of Leo. See Figure 4. Remarkable!

Figure 4: Mars-Venus conjunction 2053

Going back to 1989, we find the the two planets were conjunct in 16°17' of Leo at 12:21am on July 13th 1989. This  is about 3.5° behind the 2021 position. See Figure 5.

Figure 5: Mars-Venus conjunction 1989

The Fixed Stars in Astrology

Over the years I've not paid much attention to the fixed stars in my astrological analysis. Astrolog of course makes it easier to include a large number of them, so many in fact as to be overwhelming. There are four so-called royal stars that "were regarded as the guardians of the sky in approximately 3000 BCE during the time of the Ancient Persians in the area of modern-day Iran. The Persians believed that the sky was divided into four districts with each district being guarded by one of the four Royal Stars" (Wikipedia).

The four stars with their modern and ancient Persian names are:

• Aldebaran (Tascheter) – vernal equinox (Watcher of the East)
• Regulus (Venant) – summer solstice (Watcher of the South)
• Antares (Satevis) – autumnal equinox (Watcher of the West)
• Fomalhaut (Haftorang/Hastorang) – winter solstice (Watcher of the North)

At the time of my birth, these stars were situated as shown:

As can be seen, Saturn (0d01m Virgo) is conjunct Regulus (29d07m Leo) while Chiron (8d57mR Sagittarius) is conjunct Antares (9d03m Sagittarius) and opposite Aldebaran (9d05m Gemini). Regulus entered Virgo in late 2011 and is now in 0d05m of that sign. Antares and Aldebaran have moved forward about a degree, to 10d01m Sagittarius and 10d03m Gemini respectively. A peculiarity of the Astrolog program when viewing transits is that it only shows the progressed positions of the stars in the inner circle where the natal planets are located. 

It would seem then that three out of the four royal stars are influential in my natal chart. It might be time to explore the significance of their positions. The following notes are from ASTROTHEME but largely based on Vivian Robson's book "Fixed Stars":

Aldebaran, Alpha Tauri, 9°55' Gemini, in the left eye of Taurus (Oculus Tauri australi), from Al-Debaran, the follower, or the Eye of God, or Pallilitium, or the Small Torch, Facula, or Stella Dominatrix: according to Ptolemy, Aldebaran is of the nature of Mars and brings about firmness, courage, integrity, and strength. Honours and wealth may be favoured, but Aldebaran usually tends to withdraw what it offers since durability is not its feature. Robson mentions danger, violence, and illnesses. Like Algol, when Aldebaran is in conjunction with the Sun, the Moon, the ruler of the Ascendant, sometimes when it is on the Ascendant or ruler of the 8th House, it may cause a violent death, according to Garcoeus. 

Regulus, Alpha Leonis, 29°57' Leo, the Lion's heart (cor Leonis) from El-Maliki, the Royal one, Regulus or Basiliscos, the little king, or Regia Stella, or Monoualos: according to Ptolemy, Regulus is of the nature of Mars and Jupiter, according to Fludd, of the nature of Jupiter and Mars, and according to Julevno, of the nature of Mars. Regulus brings violence, destruction, and short-lived martial honours, prison and violent death, if it is not well-aspected. It endows with courage and the will to reign, ambition, and the thirst for power, and it may bring about might and independence. This star is very active and strengthens the planet it touches, for better or for worse... 

Antares, Alpha Scorpii, 9°53' Sagittarius, in between two other stars in the body (media in corpore trium), or Kalb Akrab, the Scorpio's heart (cor Scorpii), Mars' rival: according to Ptolemy, Antares is of the nature of Mars and Jupiter, according to Fludd, of the nature of Saturn and Mars, and according to Julevno, of the nature of Mercury and Mars. According to Fludd, Antares gives violence, ambition for power, and greed. According to Robson, it brings about self-destruction through one's own obstinacy. According to Julevno, it causes success through efforts, followed by ruin and death. This star is almost as evil as Algol, and it is dangerous when it is in conjunction with the Sun, the Moon, the ruler of the Ascendant, the ruler of the 8th House, or when it is dominant on the Ascendant. It is all the more so if it is not well-aspected. If Antares is in very good celestial state, without dissonance, it may nonetheless bring about honour through courage and efforts. 

Fomalhaut, Alpha Piscis Australis, 3°59' Pisces, the star of the mouth at the beginning of the water (in ore, atque eadem, quae in extrema aqua), from Fom-Al-Hut, the mouth of the fish: according to Ptolemy, Fomalhaut is of the nature of Saturn and Mercury, according to Fludd, it is of the nature of Saturn, whereas according to Leowick, it is of the nature of Saturn and Jupiter, and according to Argol, it is of the nature of Venus and Mercury. Fomalhaut may bring wealth, power, fame, and honour. It may also endow with a not too materialistic temperament and gives a spiritual orientation if it is well-aspected. When it is adversely-aspected, Fomalhaut may give a malicious character in order to achieve a sublime objective: the end justifies the means becomes one of the individual's rules.

These descriptions are clearly dated and not all that helpful but it's a start. I suspect the influence of these stars on the planets with which they are conjunct is subtle and far less dramatic than the above descriptions assert. What can be said is that Saturn is closely linked to Regulus in my chart and Chiron to Antares and Aldebaran.

Regulus, the Great Pyramid and the Great Year

I was watching a two part video on YouTube concerning the mathematics and astrology inherent in the Great Pyramid. The second video focuses on the astrological aspects of the pyramid and the commentator says that the two diagonals of the square base correspond to the four fixed signs of the zodiac: Taurus-Scorpio and Leo-Aquarius. Taurus is represented by a bull and Scorpio by an eagle; Leo is a lion and Aquarius as a human or an angel in human form. The sphinx is a human-lion hybrid and thus represents Aquarius and Leo. The commentator goes on to say grandiloquently that "when the Sphinx's eyes line up with the star Regulus, the Lion's Heart, then a new cycle of the equinoxes begins".

In 8786 BC or 10804 years ago (as of 2018), Regulus was aligned with the vernal equinox but this is not to say that 0˚of the sidereal zodiac begins here. What if this marked the point between the constellation of Leo and Cancer? After all, it is from just such a point that the planetary rulerships are assigned in the tropical zodiac.

On this basis, the ages would proceed as follows:

-8786 --> Cancer: Earth Mother worship
-6626 --> Gemini
-4466 --> Taurus: Bull worship
-2306 --> Aries: Ram worship
  -146 --> Pisces: Christianity
 2014 --> Aquarius: The Age of Man
 4174 --> Capricorn

It's not unreasonable to view the confluence of the vernal equinox and Regulus, the Lion's Heart, as marking the real beginning of Leo rather than the equinox's arrival at some ill-defined boundary between Leo and Cancer. Interestingly, this means that just about now the Age of Aquarius is dawning. It's a possibility.