How did International Women's Day come to be? Why? I will try to answer those questions with the help of astrology.
The First Protests
The first protest on March 8th, 1908, was a pivotal moment in the fight for women’s rights in New York.
One striking astrological pattern is Saturn in Pisces, 60 years after Saturn was also in Pisces during the Seneca Falls Convention where the seeds for the fight for women's rights were planted. This is very fitting because Saturn rules laws and restrictions and Pisces is a sign where everyone is equal spiritually and in front of 'eternal laws.'
Venus in Aries signified the fierce, combative spirit of the movement. Meanwhile, Pluto squared the Sun, an aspect of deep identity transformation that set the tone for the revolutionary journey ahead. We will see this Sun-Pluto combination in almost all the important milestones for women suffrage and rights.
First Women's Day
March 19, 1911 – The first International Women’s Day was celebrated in Europe, albeit on a different date from the modern one. The date was chosen because in 1848 during the national revolt in Prussia, the king promised civil rights for women but never fulfilled them.
Here, Venus is again in fiery and fierce Aries. More significantly, the Sun was once again square Pluto, an aspect that always signals a transformation of identity through great struggle. And what did the women of this area try to do but transform their identities?
The Strike That Shook an Empire and the World
The most defining event in the history of establishing a Women’s Day was definitely the same event that kickstarted the Russian revolution in 1917. Women working in factories led a strike on March 8, 1917 in St. Petersburg, after getting frustrated by food shortages and the devastation of World War 1. Their movement rapidly escalated into mass unrest, culminating in the abdication of Tsar Nicholas II just a week later.
In this chart we don't see Sun square Pluto, but we do see Sun conjunct Mars—an explosive combination representing anger, frustration, and the eruption of conflict. Just 11 days later, on March 19, 1917 women again went to the streets, but this time to protest for their rights, not for the end of war and food. Fittingly, this second protest featured Sun square Pluto once again, emphasizing a direct demand for a fundamental shift in women's identity and rights.
All of these protests paid off on July 20, 1917, when the Russian Provisional Government granted women the right to vote. This event’s chart is especially intriguing due to Pluto’s status as a singleton, meaning it made no major aspects to other planets. Pluto was on its own and its power could be unhinged. And indeed it was because deep transformation happaned for women's movement, but nevertheless that transformation was isolated, it didn't change the lives of women much at the time.
March 8th Becomes Official
The newly established Soviet government decided to honor March 8 as Women's Day on August 15, 1921. On this day, Pluto was conjunct Venus, literally symbolizing global transformation of women's status. From having no voice in public life just a century earlier, women had now played a key role in bringing down an empire.
On December 10, 1948, UN published 'The Universal Declaration of Human Rights' that affirmed gender equality. A small victory that was marked with Sun trine Pluto. So we see how now we moved from the square indicating a struggle to the trine, indicating harmony and flow. The battle for recognition was progressing, and from this point forward, achieving equality became a more natural process.
In 1972, the UN proclaimed 1975 as International Women's Year. That year, in 1975, UN celebrated first women's day on March 8, however, only on December 16, 1977 did they officially recognize the date as reoccurring every year and subsequently encouraged all the countries in the world to adopt the holiday. At the time, the UN was following Soviet tradition, a decision that Western nations initially resisted. However, over time, Women's Day became universally embraced.
That day, when Women's Day was officially recognized globally, we have the Sun sextile Pluto. Trines indicate effortless success (like natural talent), sextiles represent earned skills—something that requires effort but can be wielded as a tool. I think this is the moment that thought women transformation is possible and the news was spread globally.
The Astrological Arc: From Struggle to Mastery
Throughout this journey, Sun square Pluto repeatedly appeared, signaling intense struggles and battles for transformation. But as time went on, the aspects evolved:
- Sun Square Pluto (1848-1917) - The fight for women's rights begins
- Venus conjunct Pluto (1921) – A worldwide shift in the role of women.
- Sun trine Venus (1948) – The Universal Declaration of Human Rights brought a harmonious acknowledgment of equality.
- Sun sextile Pluto (1977) – A hard-earned success, cementing the transformation into history.
This transformation that officially took 150 years but had been waiting in the shadows for millennia.
March 8th & The Stars
Every moment of revolution leaves an imprint on the cosmos, and the history of International Women’s Day is no exception. What began as a struggle under Pluto squares evolved into a universal recognition of equality, moving from resistance to skill, from oppression to victory.
This is the story of Women’s Day—a celestial blueprint of transformation that shaped the world as we know it today.
On March 22, 2025, the Sun will be conjunct Venus—a perfect time to embrace feminine energy and support women worldwide.