When Astrologers Predicted Pandemics: Cosmic Clues in Historical Plagues
In the modern world, we look to epidemiologists and data models to predict the path of a virus. But for most of human history, when sickness swept through a city, the people looked up. The ancient maxim "As Above, So Below" was not just a philosophical concept; it was a medical reality. Disease was seen not merely as a biological accident, but as a reflection of cosmic dissonance.
At the Wilfred Hazelwood Clinic, our lead therapist Martyn J. Shrewsbury, drawing on his background in Classics and Social Anthropology from Swansea University, invites us to re-examine these historical connections. While we do not claim that planets cause viruses, the historical correlation between major planetary alignments and global health crises is statistically startling. From the Black Death to COVID-19, the stars have often rung the alarm bell long before the first symptoms appeared.
The Black Death: The Aquarius Conjunction of 1345
The most famous astrological diagnosis in history occurred in October 1348. As the Bubonic Plague ravaged Europe, King Philip VI of France commissioned the Medical Faculty of the University of Paris to find the cause. Their official report was not biological, but astrological.
The learned doctors concluded that the pestilence was caused by a rare triple conjunction of Saturn, Jupiter, and Mars in the sign of Aquarius, which had occurred on March 20, 1345. Aquarius is an "Air" sign, and medieval astrologers believed that this intense concentration of planetary energy had corrupted the atmosphere, creating a toxic "miasma" that descended upon the Earth.
Martyn notes the fascinating psychological parallel: "Aquarius rules the collective and the circulation of ideas, and air. The Black Death was the ultimate collective trauma, forcing a total restructuring of feudal society. Saturn (death/structure) combined with Mars (fever/speed) in an Air sign perfectly symbolized an airborne death that moved with terrifying speed."
The Spanish Flu: Jupiter and Pluto in the Lungs
Fast forward to 1918. As the world reeled from the Great War, the Spanish Flu emerged to kill more people than the conflict itself. Astrologers looking back at this period identify a different, yet equally potent, signature: a conjunction of Jupiter and Pluto.
Jupiter is the planet of expansion and growth. Pluto is the planet of death, the underworld, and viruses. When they meet, they can signify "massive death" or the "expansion of the invisible." In 1918, this conjunction occurred in the sign of Cancer, but crucially, the Lunar Nodes (destiny points) were moving through the Gemini/Sagittarius axis.
In medical astrology, a discipline studied by figures like Nicholas Culpeper, Gemini rules the lungs, breath, and hands. The astrological signature of 1918 was literally a "transformation of the breath." It was a cosmic restriction on the very act of inhaling, mirroring the respiratory failure that defined the flu.
2020: The Prediction of Andre Barbault
Perhaps the most chilling example of astrological foresight comes from our own time. In 2011, the renowned French astrologer Andre Barbault published a study of planetary cycles. By examining the "Cyclic Index", a graph showing how close the outer planets are to each other, he predicted a massive global crisis for 2020-2021, specifically warning of a "pandemic risk."
The astrological culprit? A brutal conjunction of Saturn and Pluto in Capricorn.
- Saturn: Restriction, borders, isolation, the government, the elderly.
- Pluto: Death, transformation, hidden threats, viruses.
- Capricorn: Structures, economies, global systems.
When these two giants met in January 2020, the world literally stopped. Borders closed (Saturn), economies froze (Capricorn), and a microscopic threat (Pluto) dictated our lives. The accuracy of the symbolism, enforced isolation to stop a hidden killer, is undeniable.
A Jungian Perspective: The Collective Shadow
Why do these synchronicities occur? Martyn J. Shrewsbury suggests looking through a Jungian lens. Jung viewed the collective unconscious as a shared psychic field. When humanity becomes too unbalanced, too obsessed with material growth, too disconnected from nature, the "Shadow" manifests to force a correction.
Plagues, in this view, are not just biological events; they are psychic resets. They force us to stop, to look inward, and to confront our mortality. The planetary cycles act as the cosmic clock for these necessary, albeit painful, purges. As Martyn explains, "The planets don't judge us. They simply mark the seasons of human experience. Winter is harsh, but it kills the parasites and prepares the ground for spring."
Navigating the Cosmic Waves
The purpose of studying these cycles is not to generate fear, but to cultivate preparedness. By understanding the "astrological weather," we can better navigate the storms when they break.
At the Wilfred Hazelwood Clinic, we integrate this ancient wisdom with modern psychological support. We help you understand where these collective cycles land in your personal chart, giving you the tools to remain grounded even when the world seems to be spinning out of control. We cannot stop the planets from moving, but we can learn to move with them.
