Franklin D. Roosevelt and Hirohito, Emperor of Japan, were two outstanding heads of state with extraordinary biographies. This article describes the synchronicity between their life events and the Jupiter-Saturn conjunctions of 1901 and 1921, and the opposition of 1930.

See also the pages about the zeitgeist of 1940-41: Japan and the United States on the threshold of World War II, about the history of maritime empires, and about globalization.

Timeline of the Jupiter-Saturn conjunctions from 1881 to 1941

• • April 18, 1881: Jupiter-Saturn conjunction in sidereal Aries / tropical Taurus.

  • January 30, 1882: Franklin D. Roosevelt is born. Jupiter and Saturn are conjunct by sign in sidereal Aries / tropical Taurus.

  • April 29, 1901: Emperor Hirohito of Japan is born. Jupiter and Saturn are conjunct by degree in sidereal Sagittarius / tropical Capricorn.

  • November 28, 1901: Jupiter-Saturn conjunction in sidereal Sagittarius / tropical Capricorn.

  • September 10, 1921: Jupiter-Saturn conjunction in early sidereal Virgo / late tropical Virgo.

  • August 8, 1940; October 20, 1940 and February 15, 1941: series of Jupiter-Saturn conjunctions in sidereal Aries / tropical Taurus.

Overview of the Jupiter-Saturn conjunctions

On Roosevelt's birth chart

Let's now have a look at where those conjunctions happen in FDR's birth chart:

• The 1881 conjunction preceded his birth in 1882

• The 1901 conjunction happened in his 4th house, opposing this natal Moon and his natal Mars

• The 1921 conjunction happened in his 1st house

• The 1940-1941 conjunctions happened in his 8th house, where his natal Jupiter and Saturn are located

In summary, all those conjunctions activate important parts of his chart, so we would expect them to coincide with important events in his personal and professional life. However, the conjunctions of 1940-1941 have another dimension, because at that time he was President of the United States. We would therefore expect the 1940-1941 conjunctions to also coincide with important events in the history of the United States as a nation.

On Hirohito's birth chart

Let's now have a look at where those conjunctions happen in Hirohito's birth chart:

• The 1901 conjunction happened in his 1st house, 7 months after his birth

• The 1921 conjunction happened in his 10th house

• The 1940-1941 conjunctions happened in his 5th house, where his natal Sun and Venus are conjunct

Just as for FDR, those conjunctions activate important parts of Hirohito's birth chart, so we can also expect them to coincide with important events in his life. And the conjunctions of 1940-1941 also have an additional dimension, because at that time he was reigning as Emperor. We would therefore expect the 1940-1941 conjunctions to also coincide with important events in the history of the Japan as a nation.

The 1901 Jupiter-Saturn conjunction

Theodore Roosevelt becomes President

FDR was only 19 years old in 1901, but some very significant events were already happening in his life:

• • his father died in 1900,

  • in March 1901 Theodore Roosevelt, his fifth cousin, had taken office as Vice-President of the United States.

  • On September 6, President McKinley was shot, and died a week later, on September 14.

  • That same day Theodore Roosevelt became the 26th President of the United States.

  • November 28, 1901: the Jupiter-Saturn conjunction becomes exact in sidereal Sagittarius, in FDR's 4th whole-sign house, in opposition to his natal Moon and Mars.

It's impressive to see how the double nature of this transit translates into FDR's life. Jupiter is a benefic and Saturn is a malefic, so the transit should have both a very positive effect on his life, and a very negative one at the same time.

• • FDR's father, James Roosevelt, died on December 8, 1900, when Saturn was only 2 degrees from applying to its opposition to FDR's natal Moon. A transit of Saturn to the Moon is always extremely significant, and the loss of a parent could be one of its manifestations, especially if it's happening on the 4th house - 10th house axis of family and career.

  • But during the same time period he has the Jupiter opposition to his natal Moon. Something extremely favorable for his career happened: his fifth cousin became President of the United States. "Theodore's vigorous leadership style and reforming zeal made him Franklin's role model and hero." (Wikipedia)

In summary, from the first Jupiter-Saturn conjunction that occurred during FDR's life, we can already see how it's happening in clear synchronicity with important events in his life. And this is just the beginning.

Hirohito is separated from his parents

1901 could seems a little early to start looking at the Jupiter-Saturn conjunction, as Hirohito is just a baby. However, there's already some significant events at that time. Just a few months before the conjunction, "on the 70th day after his birth, Hirohito was removed from the court and placed in the care of the family of Count Kawamura Sumiyoshi, a former vice-admiral, who was to rear him as if he were his own grandchild." (Wikipedia)

The 1921 Jupiter-Saturn conjunction

Hirohito rises to power

This conjunction happened on September 10, 1921 at 3° sidereal Virgo in Hirohito's 10th whole-sign house. Earlier that year he had completed his education as a prince and taken a 6 month tour of Western Europe. "After his return to Japan, Hirohito became Regent of Japan (Sesshō) on 29 November 1921, in place of his ailing father who was affected by a mental illness." (Wikipedia). In this case the correlation between the astrology and the events couldn't be more straightforward: the 10th house signifies career, and this conjunction is simply activating Hirohito's duty as heir to the throne. He's actually rising to power earlier than expected, not because of his father's death, which is the usual circumstance, but because of his father's mental illness.

On the day he became Regent of Japan Saturn was at 11° Virgo, while Jupiter and Mars were conjunct at 19° Virgo within 3° of Hirohito's midheaven degree at 21 Virgo. It's quite significant and not auspicious that Mars gets into the picture.

FDR is paralyzed from the chest down

For FDR it's a completely different story: the 1921 conjunction falls in FDR's 1st whole-sign house, and less than 3° from his Ascendant degree at 0 Virgo. Just a month earlier, FDR fell ill and on August 13 he was paralyzed from the chest down. Only 4 days later, on August 17th, Saturn ingressed into sidereal Virgo, transiting his Ascendant.

However the transit of Saturn on the Ascendant doesn't necessarily signify health problems. Without going into a detailed analysis of this transit in FDR's chart, we can simply mention a sentence from Robert Hand's Planets in Transit, in the section about Saturn in the 1st house: "Regardless of what type of person you are, this is a time for introversion and introspection. The more you get in touch with yourself during the next few years, the more successful you will be in the future."

We can speculate that the years 1921 to 1928 that FDR spent trying to rehabilitate himself shaped his character like no other experience could have done it. They were years of personal struggle, when his strength of character was put to test, through many moments of solitude. Clearly a Saturn period of his life.

The 1930 Jupiter-Saturn opposition

Franklin D. Roosevelt's rise to power

FDR has Jupiter and Saturn copresent in sidereal Aries. This is already quite significant because Aries is where Saturn is in its fall. So we can already suggest that, in his chart, it's Jupiter who has the winning hand over a debilitated Saturn, and that the story of Jupiter overthrowing Saturn could be reflected in his life.

How did FDR rise to power? He was elected President in 1932, precisely in a situation where the head of state, Herbert Hoover, had become weakened and unpopular (Saturn in its fall) following the Great Depression (1). The few years around the Jupiter-Saturn opposition of 1930, is when FDR makes his come back to politics after his critical health issues, and rises to power as Governor of New York from 1929 to 1932. His transits for this period are outstanding: he has his Jupiter return in 1929, activating the natal Jupiter-Saturn configuration in Aries, and then Jupiter goes through his 9th house in 1930, reaching his MC in May along with Venus. How could that get even more auspicious?!

Jupiter continues his path through his 10th house, making a sextile to natal Mercury and a sextile to the natal Jupiter-Saturn and is joined by the Sun when transiting his natal Mars in June. On the day of the Jupiter-Saturn opposition (July 27, 1930), Jupiter was transiting his natal Moon within less than a degree, while Saturn was opposing his natal Moon.

Two years later, during the November 1932 presidential election Jupiter was in Leo, making a sextile to his 10th house natal Moon and Mars, and a trine to this natal Jupiter-Saturn configuration. On the day of his inauguration, on March 4, 1933, Jupiter was still in Leo and Saturn was transiting his natal Sun, within less than a degree. The progressive democrat Franklin D. Roosevelt (Zeus) had overthrown the conservative republican Herbert Hoover (Kronos). As President of the United States, FDR will make his New Deal to get the economy back on track, bringing back prosperity (Jupiter) after the Great Depression (Saturn).

In our next post, we focus on the triple Jupiter-Saturn conjunction of 1940-1941, which occurred in synchronicity with the U.S. presidential election and the preparations for war.