Clarification on the end of the Saturn-Pluto conjuction

I have previously said that the current Saturn-Pluto conjunction will end on January 8. That turns out not to be precisely correct. Assuming an 8-degree maximum orb for a non-Sun, non-Moon conjunction, the Saturn-Pluto conjunction will end in Washington, D.C., at 3:05 p.m. on January 7, 2021. At that point, Saturn will be 2°24'46" Aquarius, and Pluto will be 24°24'46" Capricorn, for an orb of precisely 8 degrees.

Of course, this is a sort of false precision. The 8-degree standard is an arbitrary one, and some astrologers consider planets to be in conjunction even with an orb of 10 degrees. Nevertheless, by that one fairly widespread convention, the conjunction will end on the afternoon of January 7, and January 8 will then be the first full day on which Saturn and Pluto are no longer in conjunction.

This means that the license plate I saw -- 192 NYT -- is not a near miss after all but does code the precise date that the conjunction will end: 19 - 2 = 17, and 19 + 2 = 21; the numbers 17 and 21 correspond to the date 1/7/21. The significance of "NYT" remains to be seen.

It appears that we are looking at a roughly five-day period here:

• Jan 6: birthday of Joan of Arc, Maid of Orleans; Feast of Epiphany
• Jan 7: Saturn-Pluto conjunction ends
• Jan 8: anniversary of the Battle of New Orleans
• Jan 9: anniversary of the beginning of Joan of Arc's trial
• Jan 10: anniversary of Caesar's crossing the Rubicon

By the way, when did the Saturn-Pluto conjunction begin? I have a hunch about that; let's see if it checks out. Stay tuned.