Saturn in Sagittarius: The Skeptic, the Architect and the Luddite

Saturn in Sagittarius: The Architect, the Builder and the Traffic Regulator  

One feature of Saturn’s transits through Sagittarius are the establishments of pathways that connect people and places across great distances, true to Saturn’s structuring tendencies and Sagittarius’ associations with travel. Accordingly, Saturn in Sagittarius appears to take on the role of an architect, builder and regulator of famous bridges, railroads, tunnels, highways, sea lanes and airways.

Saturn in Sagittarius 1779-1782: The First Iron Bridge

The Iron Bridge in Shropshire, England, was the first bridge in the world to be made from cast iron. It opened on January 1^st 1781((“Iron Bridge.” English Heritage. N.p., n.d. Web. 01 Feb. 2015. <http://www.english-heritage.org.uk/daysout/properties/iron-bridge/>.)) to great fanfare when Saturn was at 14 Sagittarius.  The architect of the bridge, Thomas Farnolls Pritchard, was born sometime before May 11^th in 1723 in Shrewsbury((Leach, Peter. “Pritchard, Thomas Farnolls (bap. 1723, D. 1777), Architect.” : Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. N.p., n.d. Web. 11 Jan. 2015.)), born with Saturn in Sagittarius.

Saturn in Sagittarius 1809-1811: America’s First Highway

The National Road began construction in Cumberland in 1811((Longfellow, Rickie. “The National Road.” Federal Highway Administration. N.p., 17 Oct. 2013. Web. 29 Jan. 2015. <http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/infrastructure/back0103.cfm>.)), when Saturn was in Sagittarius. This was the first major improved highway in the United States, and the precursor to what would later become the national interstate highway.

Saturn in Sagittarius 1839-1841: Transatlantic Steamers

In 1840, Cunard began business. It was the world’s first regular transatlantic steamship service. Their first ship Unicorn launched for America on May 15th 1840.((“Sir Samuel Cunard, 1st Baronet”. Encyclopædia Britannica. Encyclopædia Britannica Online.
Encyclopædia Britannica Inc., 2015. Web. 27 Jan. 2015
<http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/146530/Sir-Samuel-Cunard-1st-Baronet>.)) Transatlantic steamships would make it possible to more efficiently travel the Atlantic Ocean, and would be unchallenged until the arrival of the jet engine and commercial airflight in the next century.

Saturn in Sagittarius 1868-1870: Transcontinental Railroads, Subways and Traffic Lights

On May 10th 1869, a ceremonial spike was driven into the ground to connect the first Transcontinental Railroad across the United States, while Saturn was at 15 Sagittarius.((Renehan, Edward. The Transcontinental Railroad: The Gateway to the West. New York: Chelsea House, 2007. 99. Print.))

 On February 26th 1870, the Beach Pnuematic Transit opened to the public((Pirmann, David. “Www.nycsubway.org.” NYC Subway. N.p., n.d. Web. 02 Feb. 2015. <http://www.nycsubway.org/wiki/Beach_Pneumatic_Transit>.)), the very first attempt to build what would become the largest subway system in the world, in New York City. Saturn was at 27 Sagittarius. On August 2nd 1870, Tower Subway opened to the public. It was the first subway railroad in England, going under the River Thames in London.((Ferneyhough, Frank. The History of Railways in Britain. Reading: Osprey Pub., 1975. 259. Print.)) Saturn was at 22 Sagittarius.

On December 9th 1868 the world’s first traffic lights were installed in London.((“The Man Who Gave Us Traffic Lights.” BBC News. N.p., 16 July 2009. Web. 25 Jan. 2015. <http://www.bbc.co.uk/nottingham/content/articles/2009/07/16/john_peake_knight_traffic_lights_feature.shtml>.)) Saturn’s placement in the sign of Sagittarius was appropriate for this development, which sought to regulate (Saturn) the flow of traffic (Sagittarius).

Saturn in Sagittarius 1897-1899: Paris Métro and London Underground

Construction of the first subway line of the Paris Métro began in November 1898 and opened on July 19th 1900((“Brief History of the Paris Metro.” France.fr. N.p., n.d. Web. 02 Feb. 2015. <http://www.france.fr/en/paris-and-its-surroundings/brief-history-paris-metro.html>.)) when Saturn was at 29 Sagittarius. The Central London Railway opened to the public on July 30th 1900((Day, John Robert. Story of London’s Underground. Place of Publication Not Identified: Capital Transport Publish, 2010. 56-57. Print.)), when Saturn was at 29 Sagittarius. The Central Line became integrated into the London Underground system and is the busiest line in the UK.

Saturn in Sagittarius 1927-1929: Transcontinental Airway

The Air Commerce Act of 1926 set forth regulations of air craft and air traffic. The Aeronautics Branch of the Department of Commerce erected the first airway beacon and made the first airworthiness inspections on December 7th 1926. Saturn was at 0 Sagittarius. On January 29th 1929, the final beacon was installed to complete the lighting of the transcontinental airway to guide pilots flying at night.((“FAA HISTORICAL CHRONOLOGY, 1926-1996.” (n.d.): 2+. Federal Aviation Administration. Web. 2 Feb. 2015. <https://www.faa.gov/about/media/b-chron.pdf>.)) Saturn was at 26 Sagittarius.

A groundbreaking ceremony was held on September 21^st 1927 on both sides of the Hudson River for the construction of the George Washington Bridge.((Rastorfer, Darl. “George Washington Bridge: A Timeless Marvel.” (2006): 19.The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. Web. 27 Jan. 2015. <http://www.panynj.gov/bridges-tunnels/pdf/gwb-timeless-marvel.pdf>.)) Saturn was at 1 Sagittarius. It was the largest suspension bridge in the world at that point, and today it remains the world’s busiest bridge. Another notable bridge built in this period was Poland’s Maurzyce Bridge. It was the world’s first entirely welded bridge. Construction began in 1927, ended in December 1928 and officially opened in August 1929.((Chen, Wai-Fah, and Lian Duan. Handbook of International Bridge Engineering. N.p.: n.p., n.d. 600-01. Print.)) Saturn was at 23-24 Sagittarius.

Saturn in Sagittarius 1956-1958: Transcontinental Highway

The Federal Highway Act of 1956 established the US Interstate Highway system. The first stretch of the Interstate Highway opened to the public in Topeka Kansas on November 14th, 1956, marking “the beginning of the largest public works project in modern U.S. history.”((“KDOT: Celebrating 50 Years of Interstates.” Kansas Department of Transportation. N.p., n.d. Web. 27 Jan. 2015. <http://www.ksdot.org/interstate50th/KsStory_I70.asp>.)) Saturn was at 3 Sagittarius, an appropriate placement for  an  ambitious project to enable efficient travel between the states.

Saturn in Sagittarius 1986-1988: Trans-Channel Tunnel

Construction of the Channel Tunnel or “Chunnel” linking England and France began on December 1st 1987.((Darian-Smith, Eve. Bridging Divides: The Channel Tunnel and English Legal Identity in the New Europe. Berkeley: U of California, 1999. 7. Print.)) Saturn was at 21 Sagittarius. It is the longest underwater railroad tunnel in the world.  It had been receiving official approval from the governments of the UK and France since 1985, the beginning of the Saturn in Sagittarius period. Geological surveys for the project had been conducted in 1957-1958, the previous Saturn in Sagittarius period.

Saturn in Sagittarius 2015-2017: Transpacific Railway Line

Reports circulated in 2014 that China is planning on building a railroad that would connect China to the United States under the ocean across Siberia and Alaska.((Tharoor, Ishaan. “China May Build an Undersea Train to America.”Washington Post. N.p., 9 May 2014. Web. 27 Jan. 2015. <http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/worldviews/wp/2014/05/09/china-may-build-an-undersea-train-to-america/>.)) When completed, it would be the longest underwater railroad tunnel ever constructed. It would be interesting to see if this bridge begins construction while Saturn is in Sagittarius, as it would certainly fit the pattern of ambitious infrastructure projects.