Burma is rather a strange country. The country has strange astrologers too. They had a hand in the founding chart of Burma, choosing a birth time of 4.20 a.m. at which time independence celebrations took place in the bright light of a half-moon. Perhaps these astrologers liked the fact that Jupiter was rising and in good aspect to both the Moon and Venus. They were certainly blissfully unaware of one of the outer planets – Neptune – that constellates strongly with the Sun/Mercury conjunction of the chart. (Traditional Vedic astrology does not use Uranus, Neptune and Pluto). Thus it would seem that they did not foresee the state of virtual imprisonment that the government would inflict on a peace-loving population.
Vedic astrology works with a zodiac, where planetary positions are measured according to stellar constellations rather than the Sun, and over time – as the stars move relative to the solar system (which western astrology is geared to) – this “sidereal” zodiac leads to a discrepancy with the “tropical” zodiac (Western) of currently 23 degrees. This would put the Vedic ascendant for Burma in Scorpio (although it is at 10 Sagittarius in Western astrology) with the ruler Mars in Leo in the Vedic 10th house square Jupiter – which is surely symbolic and wasteful of arrogant military rulers. So I guess these Burmese astrologers must have been trained in a military academy.
Horoscope: Burma 4th January 1948. 4.20 Rangoon. 16N47/96E10. AS 10.41 SG
The tropical or traditional western chart for Burma tells the story in another way. Burma has had a troubled history, for which the British Empire was primarily responsible. Britain pretty much took over the economic running of the country, totally exploiting its resources, and engineering wars to crush any opposition in the 19th century. The tradition for Buddhist and student revolt arose as a means to register opposition, but even in the 20th century there has been a history of brutal repression.
The worst repression took place in 1988 when the military swept aside the constitution and through the State Law and Order Restoration Council (with the suitably Orwellian acronym SLORC) clamped down on students and civilians killing thousands at the time of the Saturn/Uranus conjunction in late Sagittarius. As Saturn and Uranus moved on to conjoin Neptune in Capricorn on the Burmese Sun/Mercury, subsequent elections were not allowed to take effect and the democratically elected Aung San Suu Kyi – later to get the Nobel peace prize – was placed under house arrest… where she still is.
The horoscope for Burma shows Jupiter rising in its own sign Sagittarius making really beautiful sextile aspects to the Moon/Neptune in Libra on the one side and Venus in Aquarius on the other. This could account for the fact that Buddhism – the most peace-loving of all religions – is considered the state religion, and that monks are at the forefront of peaceful protests against the military dictatorship. Clearly this planetary pattern also reflects the symbolic leadership of peace-prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi, who is now spending her 17th year in house arrest.
Whilst the people, Moon in Libra, and their elected leader, Venus in Aquarius, have the moral and spiritual high ground, aspecting as they do Jupiter and Neptune, the planets representing the military dictatorship tell a completely different story. Here we see the Sun within 12 minutes of arc of Mercury in Capricorn and in the 2nd house. This indicates the stranglehold the government has on the media – and the expropriation of the country’s resources for the purposes of the government. The square to Neptune shows pernicious government corruption – indeed a 2007 study gave Burma the dubious honor of being the most corrupt country, whilst Denmark was the least. (Pity then that Danish banks invest in Burma via French oil companies).
During the current revolt the cracks in the military facade appeared partly because of the communication revolution that had taken place in Burma via the internet and the cell phone. For several precious days news and pictures were able to come out of the country. However it only took the government a week to close down cell phone services and the internet completely. Even international companies with satellite phones have been visited and warned. So the Sun/Mercury trine Mars shows in fact a very efficient control of communication systems. What is more, as Saturn transits through Virgo conjoining Mars and trining the Sun/Mercury, and Jupiter moves into Capricorn in 2008 trining Saturn, there is every indication that the military junta will effectively consolidate their hold on the media in the months to come. SLORC wins.
The actual cause of the unrest was the increase of fuel prices, which did not double or anything civilized like that: fuel went up five times in price. That demands quite some military chutzpah. Burma’s chart shows that transit Uranus was on the IC at the time of this unrest whilst transiting Jupiter was on the Ascendant, which is clearly an explosive cocktail. However the Uranus/Jupiter square of October 2007 is the third and last of a series, which suggests that the revolutionary spark will flicker and die. Nevertheless it resulted in riots that shook the government, led my revolutionary monks – the Uranus/Jupiter square.
The reason that the military government raised prices is because it is broke. It is broke because, amongst other reasons, in 2003 it started a really weird project, carving an administrative capital out of the jungle 320 km from Rangoon. This is where their military power is consolidated, far away from public unrest in the country’s capital. The cost of this project and of maintaining a 375,000-strong army has undermined the power of aging military leaders who have grown out of touch with both the people and younger army officers. This growing isolation is clearly the effect of the Sun/Mercury at 12 Capricorn in the 2nd house square Neptune at 12 Libra. Remoteness, power and greed.
There is every indication that the military government will survive for now and consolidate its power through relentless oppression. Mars in the foundation chart for Burma is at 7.28 Virgo, but it was in fact stationary at this time and 3 days after independence it moved retrograde. At the current moment retrograde progressed Mars is at 22.21 Leo – exactly square the nodal axis at 22 Taurus/Scorpio and about to conjoin Saturn. Furthermore progressed Mercury is also retrograde at 21.33 Aquarius. In other words, a progressed Mercury/Mars opposition, both retrograde, is activating the autocratic Saturn square the nodes. It is a total shutdown of communication through draconian repression.
Of course, transit Neptune opposes Saturn and squares the nodes well into 2008 and undoubtedly there will be many leaks. The aging military leaders will see their power steadily undermined. But they may well survive for now. They will not survive after 2014, for this is the time when the Pluto/Uranus square will activate the Sun/Mercury conjunction. Violent revolution will sweep away the military government at this time, and few if any of the leaders will survive. This is the time of Burma’s progressed new moon, which will square Uranus.
What kind of Burma that will be left behind is an open question though. The Burmese government has been at war with 17 separate secessionist groups since independence, which are an aftermath of the 14-state union of Burma that the British originally created. Many of these groups have their own armies and finance themselves through illegal activities. The current military junta has uneasy cease-fire arrangements with these groups. After the collapse of military government in 2014-2015, the Burmese progressed new moon in Pisces squaring Uranus in Gemini will probably bring about a splintering of the country. There are international repercussions to all this, not least because China has access to a port in the Indian Ocean via a naval base leased from the government, so Burma is strategically important to them.
Horoscope: Aung San Suu Ky – 19.06.1945 Birth Time unknown
Aung San Suu Kyi – the leader who won national elections in 1990, then confined to house arrest and awarded the Nobel peace prize in 1991 was born as the Second World War ended. Suu Kyi was the third child of general Aung San who was a hero and commander of the Burmese independence army. He was assassinated when she was two. Currently Pluto is opposing Suu Kyi’s Sun at 27 Sagittarius, and Mars too is activating the Sun/Mercury conjunction along with Pluto throughout 2008. Obviously this is a dangerous crisis period for her, even a life-threatening one.
Suu Kyi’s Venus at 12 Taurus constellates strongly with Burma’s Sun, Mercury, Neptune and Venus at the same degree, whilst her Uranus at 14 Gemini activates Burma’s ruling planet Jupiter at 15 Sagittarius. Her moon is in the same position as Burma’s moon, which probably accounts for the love her people feel for her. She is born with a Uranus/Jupiter square (exactly triggered by the current square aspect between these two planets) which is probably why she has dedicated her life to revolutionary service to her country. For example she went on hunger strike in 1990 to gain the release of imprisoned students.
Crucially Suu Kyi’s Saturn at 12.06 Cancer is exactly opposite the government Sun at 12.27 Capricorn, showing her as an implacable opponent of the regime. From the military point of view she is a threat to everything they hold dear, not least the money that is plundered. When the 2014 Pluto transit comes along, then obviously this relationship will be transformed. Whether she will survive the transformation is another question. Her father promised the different ethnic groups independence after the Second World War, and 70 years later they will probably take it. Burma, or Myanmar as the military renamed it in 1988, is not likely to continue as one independent country after 2015.
Adrian Ross Duncan 10.10.2008