Jehovah’s Witness is a unique, interesting, and somewhat extreme branch of Christianity. It is well known for its active door to door proselytizing and recruitment efforts as well as its objection to celebrating holidays and birthdays, declining military service and blood transfusions and not recognizing national anthems. The organization also takes much pride in an exhaustively detailed and literal interpretation of the Bible. In fact, this characteristic eventually developed into a highly centralized authoritarian structure that has been criticized for prohibiting independent thought and denying its members from questioning doctrines or practices. The organization has developed a reputation for isolating its congregation from the rest of the world. But one of the most interesting facets of the organization’s culture is its belief that the Armageddon of the world is imminent and only those within the organization will be saved. And as strange as it may sound, this apocalyptic belief is astrologically connected to another surprisingly insidious manifestation of the organization: the sexual abuse of children. 

A Brief History

When the Jehovah’s Witness organization was started in the late 19th century, it was originally named “The Watchtower Society” by its founder by Charles Taze Russell. After his death, the organization was taken over by man named Joseph Rutherford. Rutherford was responsible for developing many of the practices and culture that have survived to current day as well as imposing centralized authority via theocratic control (“Governing Council”). In many ways, the organization became a reflection of Rutherford’s (untimed) astrological chart. 

His Scorpio Sun in opposition to Jupiter and Pluto as well as his Mars – Saturn partile conjunction in Sagittarius and in trine aspect to Neptune in Aries represents an individual who struggles with power issues, can obsess over massive catastrophic scenarios, is dogmatically aggressive about their beliefs and motivated to create structure and control around issues of spirituality. 

From an astrological perspective, Rutherford’s most significant action was renaming the organization to “Jehovah’s Witness” in 1931. Because the historical record maintains an exact date for this name change, there is an astrological chart to analyze and compare. The bi-wheel (organization – inner wheel, Rutherford – outer wheel) below shows an overwhelming number of connections between the organization and this man who shaped it into what it would become.

Specifically, the alignment of Rutherford’s Sun, Uranus, and Neptune (and possibly, the Moon) with the organization’s T-square configuration, his North Node with the organization’s Sun – Jupiter conjunction, and the Mystic Rectangle configuration formed between Rutherford’s Sun, Pluto, and Uranus and the organization’s Pluto – Venus, and Saturn all infer that Jehovah’s Witness is an intimate extension of Rutherford’s energies. In other words, it may be more accurate to view this organization as a type of “cult of personality.” 

By itself, the organization’s chart offers a surreal delineation. The T-square is the most immediate area of focus. With Uranus at the apex and Saturn – Pluto at the base, this configuration is an accurate reflection of the organization’s apocalyptic beliefs (“Armageddon”). Uranus is associated chaos and surprise upheavals while hard aspects between Saturn and Pluto have been observed to correlate with tortuous conditions, harsh (even dictatorial) control, destruction, death, and complete collapse of structures (sometimes, large organizations and societies). The destructive potential of this configuration can’t be overstated and would be an extremely heavy and dangerous alignment of energies within the astrological make-up of any entity. The cardinal modality of this T-square with Aries at the apex further hints at the aggressive nature of their apocalyptic beliefs, but it also represents the organization’s enterprising drive, going door to door to bring more people into the religion.

Venus’ involvement in this configuration is concerning. At a high level, it represents how these apocalyptic beliefs impact and maintain the relationships within the organization. But this does not adequately describe the intensity of this connection. Venus’ partile conjunction to Pluto is extremely tight (only separated by seven minutes of arc). With Pluto symbolizing the archetype of power, this tightness of orb may also be seen as the organization’s desire to maintain power by keeping the relationships close to them.

The tight Venus – Pluto conjunction is an appropriate segue to the next dynamic: the lack of air in the chart. This reflects a desire to keep the congregation isolated from the outside world as well as prohibit any objective, logical review of its beliefs and practices. The lack of air symbolizes how its members are not allowed to think for themselves. With the power that Pluto maintains over relationships, this lack or air exacerbates things further. Its members are not allowed to detach.  

These dynamics are then further exacerbated by the strict control and adherence to rules symbolized by Mars in Virgo and Saturn in Capricorn. This influence creates wounds of self-worth due to Chiron in Taurus’ conjunction to the midpoint of these bodies and is probably motivated by a belief that humanity is corrupt and without value. As a result, extensive rules and control are required.

The relationship of these archetypal energies depicts the organization’s culture as well as their challenges in trying to manage the connections of these incredibly massive archetypes (Uranus T-square with Pluto-Saturn at the base). As a result, the potential for dysfunction is heightened with this chart and this point brings us back to Venus because its aspect to Pluto has been observed to represent something else: sexual abuse.  

Abuse

Over the past couple decades, numerous lawsuits have been filed from many areas of the world from defendants and victims claiming that they were sexually abused by members of the organization. These victims have also claimed that when they reported these instances to the organization’s Governing Council their stories were covered up and never reported to the proper external authorities. Worse, many times the abuser never received punishment and was allowed to remain in the organization and community to continue abusing others.[i]

Whenever we see a trend like manifest, from an astrological perspective it is important to question what in the chart may be contributing to dysfunctions. The best way to do this is to compare the timing of the major events to chart. Below is an astrological analysis of the correlations (transits & solar arcs) corresponding to the most significant events since 2012.[ii]

Timeline of Events & Astrological Correlations[iii]

June 2012 – A California court ordered the organization to pay Candace Conti $28M in damages. It was the largest jury verdict for a single victim.

Astrological Correlations

• Transit Saturn and solar arc Jupiter aligned with Uranus T-square. 
• Transit Uranus & Pluto, solar arc Saturn & Pluto & Uranus aligned with the nodal axis. 
• Transit Moon conjunct Uranus. 

Observations

The “double” Saturn involvement by transit and solar arc emphasizes the karma that had arrived for the organization as a result of their mishandling of the abuse that a victim endured. Saturn’s transit to missing leg of the Uranus T-square as well as the Moon’s “trigger” of the event from the other side underscores the resonance of the configuration. The Moon’s alignment with this configuration will be a recurring trend throughout many of the events.  

May 2014 – The Charity Commission, a regulator of charities in England, launched an investigation of the organization in response to multiple prosecutions of sexual abuse. As part of the investigation, one of their requests involved access to the database of abusers. 

Astrological Correlations:

• Transit Jupiter partile conjunct Venus-Pluto. 
• Transit Nodal Axis aligned with Uranus T-square. 
• Solar arc Mercury partile opposite Saturn. 
• Solar arc Mars partile quincunx Saturn. 

Observations

More multiple contacts to the Uranus T-square. The involvement of Jupiter and Mercury by transit and solar arc symbolize inquiry into the abuses (conjunction to Venus – Pluto).

October 2014 – A California court ordered the church to pay $13.5M in damages to Jose Lopez. 

Astrological Correlations: 

• Neptune opposition.
• Transit Moon, secondary progressed Moon conjunct Saturn and square Uranus. 
• Transit nodal axis aligned with Uranus T-square. 
• Transit Saturn partile opposite Chiron. 

Observations

The event did not occur very far from the May 2012 event. As a result, the alignment from the transiting nodal axis with the Uranus T-square was much tighter. As a result, the manifestation here was stronger and a good reflection of the disruption (transit South Node conjunct Uranus) of the financial damages.

The Neptune opposition is a rare milestone that occurs every 82 years. For Jehovah’s Witness, this milestone manifested as much disillusionment with the organization as well as their practices.

July 2015 – A series of public hearings begin in Australia to oversee a handful of sexual abuse accusations as well as question leadership over their reporting processes. As a result, thousands of documents were provided and analyzed and found that since 1950 over a thousand instances of abuse were reported to the organization, but none of these were reported to the authorities. 

Astrological Correlations:

• Uranus return.
• Transit Mars aligned with Uranus T-square. 

Observations

The next event represents another major astrological milestone as the Uranus return also occurs every 84 years. Of course, this return accentuates the Uranus T-square and put a major review on the disruptions and chaos that the organization had fostered for generations.

October 2016[iv] – The Royal Commission of Australia publishes a formal report concluding that the organization did not have adequate protections for child affected by sexual abuse by members of the organization. They referred hundreds of cases to authorities and charges were eventually filed as a result. 

Astrological Correlations: 

• Transit Uranus square Pluto -Venus.

Observations

An exact date could not be located for this event so the astrological measurements lose many of transits that may explain this manifestation. Still, the transiting square from Uranus to Venus – Pluto offers more evidence for the resonance of the Uranus T-square.

October 2017 – A $66M class action lawsuit is filed in Canada against the organization by multiple victims claiming sexual abuse by its members. 

Astrological Correlations:

• Transit Pluto conjunct Saturn. 
• Transit Chiron opposite Mars.
• Transit Saturn square Mars. 

Observations

Pluto’s arrival by transit at the Uranus T-square was a major event. Its intensity of karmic punishment is adequately represented by the heavy dollar amount involved in the lawsuit. The aspects from Saturn and Chiron to Mars symbolize the accountability that was coming as a result of the wounding from sexuality.

April 2018 – An article in the Philadelphia Inquirer exposes the abuses that the organization has been covering up. 

Astrological Correlations:

• Pluto opposition.
• Transit Mars opposite Pluto – Venus. 
• Solar Mars partile quincunx Pluto – Venus. 
• Transit Saturn square the Nodal Axis. 

Observations

Yet another major milestone with the Pluto opposition that occurs close to 90 years. Along with Saturn, this cycle highlights major themes of karma and accountability. As with the last event, Mars shows up again. This time, by both transit and solar arc. This double emphasis echoes the themes of sexuality that were under review by the larger cycles of Saturn and Pluto. Given the ripple effects of this article, this alignment makes sense.  

March 2019 – The Atlantic Monthly publishes an article exposing the secret database of child abusers maintained by the organization. 

Astrological Correlations:

• Transit Saturn & Moon aligned with Uranus T-square.
• Transit Nodal Axis aligned with Uranus T-square.
• Solar arc Chiron partile quincunx Saturn. 
• Transit Mars conjunct Chiron. 
• Transit Venus square Chiron.
• Transit Jupiter partile quincunx Chiron.

Observations

What is fascinating with this event is that the transiting nodal axis and Saturn had both arrived at different points on the Uranus T-square. The multiple aspects to Chiron correspond well with the tone of the article and its coverage of the wounding from the various victims.  

October 2022 – The April 2018 article motivates the Pennsylvania Attorney General to open a formal investigation into the organization. This investigation resulted in four members of the organization being charged with sexual abuse of 19 victims. It is the largest case brought against the organization to date. 

Astrological Correlations: 

• Full chart solar arc square goes into orb. (Because the entire chart is in square aspect, these aspects were not identified within the tri-wheel chart)
• Solar arc Uranus partile opposite Saturn. 
• Solar arc Pluto – Venus partile opposite Uranus. 
• Transit Sun – Venus square Sun – Jupiter.
• Transit Moon square Neptune. 

Observations

This event represents the beginning of the largest astrological milestone, the full chart solar arc square occurring every 90 years. As a correlation to the largest investigation of abuse, this alignment has a high probability to cause massive damage to the organization.  

February 2023 – Five more members of the organization are charged in connection to the case that initiated October 2022. 

Astrological Correlations:

• Full chart solar arc square continues to tighten. 
• Solar arc Saturn – Uranus partile aligned with Saturn. 
• Solar arc Pluto – Venus partile opposite Uranus. 
• Transit Saturn partile opposite Mercury. 

Observations

As the full chart solar arc square continues to tighten, transit Saturn adds more weight to the manifestation. This is the accountability resulting from the continuing investigation.

July 2023 – Five more members of the organization are charged in connection to the case that initiated October 2022. 

Astrological Correlations: 

• Full chart solar arc square continues to tighten. 
• Solar arc Uranus partile opposite Saturn. 
• Transit Sun and Moon aligned with Uranus T-square. 
• Transit Chiron aligned with Uranus T-square. 
• Transit Uranus conjunct Chiron. 
• Transit Neptune opposite Mars. 

Observations

The full chart solar arc square is less than half a degree of orb with this event. It is joined by multiple heavy outer planet transits. These additional transits again shine a light on the sexual abuse (Mars and Chiron) that was concealed (Neptune) for years.

Fate & Irony

If there is one clear trend with the astrological correlations to the manifestation of events it is the high volume of contacts to the organization’s Uranus T-square. In almost every event above, there was a major contact by transit or solar arc to this defining configuration. It should be noted many of these contacts or aspects are very rare and only occur once-in-a-generation. For example, the full chart solar arc square currently in effect only occurs at 90-year intervals. Most human beings do not even live long enough to experience this “end of life” milestone. With solar arcs representing a “higher octave” of manifestation than transits and the square representing confrontation and conflict, what Jehovah’s Witness is experiencing is an existential and archetypal manifestation of Armageddon symbolized by the T-square activating itself. The fact that it has been building for 90 years offers some indication as to the impact of the karmic potential that is being unleashed. This has been a long time coming.  

Also, when these solar arc dynamics are considered alongside the karmic impact of the upcoming transiting opposition from Pluto to the organization’s (very prideful) Sun – Jupiter conjunction in Leo, it is not a stretch of the imagination to conceive that things are going to get worse. A lot worse. Honestly, this IS what Armageddon looks like.

There is a famous maxim that goes: “We often meet our fate on the road taken to avoid it.” For Jehovah’s Witness, their formation was based upon a fear that Armageddon was imminent. They preached that by following their practices and becoming part of the congregation, one could avoid this fate. This belief was so fervent that it became embedded into the spiritual or archetypal dynamics of the organization’s chart. By doing so, the archetypes were not just a representation of their beliefs of the external world, but also the energies internally as well. In other words, by not managing these energies properly, they have incited exactly the type of karma they were trying to avoid.

Armageddon has arrived, but it appears to be of their own doing and for them alone.

End Notes

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[i] If you would like to research this issue in greater detail, the following website extensively covers the issue: A reader’s guide to the Jehovah’s Witnesses child sex abuse scandal – Reveal

[ii] In the interests of size, secondary progressions were ignored for this analysis. It should be evident transits and solar arcs correspond accurately to the nature of the themes of manifestation.

[iii] All of the charts in the analysis are untimed so all house placements and positions should be ignored.

[iv] An actual date could not be confirmed for this event, so the chart was defaulted to the middle of the month. As a result, the transits of the personal planets (Sun, Moon, Venus, Mars) should be ignored.