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Pluto 0 – Ceres 1

by | Aug 7, 2006 | Uncategorized

There must be a lot of people with planets in the last 5 degrees of mutable signs who are mightily relieved. Just as Pluto was about to give them some heavy treatment, a bunch of astronomers in Prague stripped it of its planet status, and reduced it to a dwarf. A friend with Moon 27 Sagittarius was on the phone immediately. Now he would not have to move, his family life would not experience meltdown, demons would not arise from the depth of his unconscious and torment him. Pluto, now just a spherical block of ice like so many more in the Kuyper Belt, had just been awarded the same status as the asteroid Ceres, and the next dwarf planet out there, Xena (note 1), which is in fact larger than Pluto.This demotion of a planet is not new. Ceres was discovered in 1801 and was awarded the status of a planet, but as many more asteroids started to be located, then it was demoted again. New astronomical advances have similarly shown many large objects beyond Pluto, and scientists began questioning whether Pluto, which is minute in relation to the gas giants Uranus and Neptune, should really be a planet.

It is relevant to ask: how is Pluto taking all this? The answer is – not very well at all. The evidence of Pluto’s discomfort could be found not far from Prague – in Vienna. On the day before the decision about Pluto’s status was made, Natascha Kampusch escaped from an underground dungeon concealed in the garage of one Wolfgang Priklopil. Kidnapped by this wolfish man at the age of 10, she had been kept as his slave for 8 years. Distracted by his cell phone whilst Natascha was vacuuming his car, he failed to see her make her escape. And when he realized she had done so, he took his black BMW to the nearest railway line, and threw himself under a train.

The story of this abduction and escape riveted Austria, Europe and indeed the world. It had all the elements of a fairy tale. Like Little Red Riding Hood, the girl was wearing a red outfit when dragged off. She dreamed of chopping the Priklopil’s head off with an axe. Wolfgang. But it is of course the mythological symbolism that catches the astrologer’s eye. Just as Pluto ripped Persephone from Demeter’s arms and dragged her into the Underworld, Priklopil dragged Natascha off to his dungeon. She was there for a Venus cycle – the 8 years it takes for Venus to return to its exact phase in relation to the Earth. On her return to the surface, Pluto’s status was diminished, but Demeters’ – Ceres – status was advanced.

So, yes, Pluto experienced some discomfort. But not enough for my friend with the moon at 27 Sagittarius to start celebrating.

It’s an odd thing, but Austrian newspapers at the time triumphantly showed pictures of the passports of both the victim and the perpetrator, and armed with a magnifying glass it was relatively easy to see both their birth dates. A study of the solar horoscopes for them both reveals fascinating information.

See chart: Natascha Kampusch: 17 Feb 1988 Vienna. 0 Aquarius AS/Equal House

Natascha was born around the New Moon in Aquarius with the Sun sextile a Mars/Jupiter trine in fire signs and Venus in Aries. No victim here but a fighter and a winner. As she herself put it in her first address to the media: “He was not my master. I was just as strong… he took on the wrong one (person) — and he and I both knew that.” Obviously having someone like Priklopil as your only companion for 8 formative years is going to mess up relationships, and her Venus in Aries in precise square to Neptune shows her as an angry victim who anyway had to grieve the loss of the only man who she has ever related to in her lonely years in the 9 foot long 6 feet wide dungeon that was her home. As she said: “It was Wolfgang (Priklopil)’s own decision to throw himself under the train. I sympathize with Wolfgang’s mother. I can feel with her and put myself in her position. I, and both of us, think of him”. Well, yes. It must be difficult not to.

It is interesting that someone with such an incredible story is born just a few days after Saturn and Uranus simultaneously entered that sign of hardship – Capricorn. With Mars on the degree of the Galactic Centre and soon to progress onto the Saturn/Uranus conjunction, perhaps it picks up the energy of this black hole at the centre of the Milky Way. Obviously this stellium shows extreme experiences at the hands of men – extreme hardship and extreme cruelty. The only man she has known, and intimately, was a psychopath. Yet at the same time, this powerful Mars, trining Jupiter in Aries, shows someone who combines bravery and spirit with an incredible self-discipline learned from her years of incarceration.

Pluto might be expected to be prominent in her chart; it had just turned retrograde in Scorpio, and Mercury, also retrograde, was to go back to 12 degrees Aquarius to make the exact square to Pluto. There it dwelled in progressed square to Pluto (within a degree) from the age of 3 to the fateful age of 10 at which time she was led underground. Pluto at birth is semisquare Mars, and really this was a time of undiluted horror for her – in a tiny room without windows which she was not allowed out of night or day for the first six months of her captivity.

Interestingly her Ceres is a 17.26 Aquarius conjoining Mercury, and at the exact mid-point of (and precisely septile to) Mars on the one side and Venus on the other. Ceres is the Roman name for the Greek goddess Demeter, who lost her daughter to Hades. The gods intervened and returned Persephone to her mother, but unfortunately she had eaten that fateful fruit of love, the pomegranate, whilst in the arms of Hades, and is condemned to periodically return. Just after progressed Mercury, now direct, conjoins Natascha’s Ceres, she also escapes and is returned to the world.

There is evidence that if you want to escape, it is good to wait for good aspects to come along, rather than bad. When Natascha found the right moment (Note 2), the Sun was at 0.11 Virgo and in precise trine to Uranus and Saturn. The moon was at 26.24 Leo in precise trine to Mars and Jupiter. And for those who are beginning to get interested in Ceres, it was at 17.26 Aquarius at birth and at the moment of escape it was at… 17.26 Aquarius. No orb. One Ceres cycle.

So who is this guy Wolfgang Priklopil, who spent the midnight hours building the concealed dungeon and equipping it with advanced electronic surveillance systems until ready to pounce on his captive?

See chart: Wolfgang Priklopil: 14th May 1962 Vienna. Ceres 19.43 Gemini. AS 0 TA

This is someone who robs innocents from their mothers. Venus is at 19.33 Gemini – just 10 minutes of arc from Ceres. The Mercury/Venus conjunction in Gemini obviously gives a predisposition for schoolgirls. Mercury looks blameless enough, but it actually goes stationary by progression on the Venus/Ceres conjunction, dwelling on them within a degree from the age of 5 to 19. What goes on in these years? Mercury moves from retrograde to direct motion at 11.51 Gemini which is exactly where it is in 1998 when he abducts Natascha. Trine Saturn at 11.21 Aquarius. A great planner. Quincunx Neptune – imaginative. Finally, Wolfgang left this world when progressed Mercury returned to degree of birth Mercury. He did not get very far.

His grand achievement – the abduction – took place as Natascha was going to school on the morning of March 2nd 1998.

Abduction: 3rd March 1998 School start. Vienna

The abduction took place just after a solar eclipse at 7.55 Pisces which was exactly opposite Priklopil’s Pluto. This was his moment of destiny – the time when he took an irrevocable step into the dark side. The eclipse conjoined Jupiter and squared transit Pluto, which at this point was exactly square his natal Pluto. As Priklopil is born with Pluto opposing Jupiter, this was a unique moment. In fact, the astrological detective could – if presented with Priklopil’s date of birth at the time of the abduction – have seen that this was the time when his dark fantasies about imprisoning a schoolgirl would be activated. The abduction chart and the natal chart echo major themes of domination and imprisonment. The fact is detectives visited Priklopil’s house to question him, but never searched it. The abduction also took place with an exact Venus/Mars sextile, echoing the same sextile in Priklopil’s birth chart.

Natascha Kampusch has a lot of catching up to do. She has chosen to limit her contact with her parents, who had divorced prior to her abduction. At present communication with them is limited to the phone. A live interview had the highest viewing figures ever in Austria and generated huge licensing revenue, which Kampusch is reported as having donated to women in need in Africa and Mexico. She has granted other interviews in return for a package including housing support, a long-term job offer, and help with her education. (Note 3) She’ll probably manage all right if her horoscope is anything to go by.

One of the main consequences of the new dwarf planet status of Pluto, is the promotion of Ceres, and the iconic story of Priklopil and Kampusch emphasizes the power of Ceres, making a strong case for its inclusion in the standard astrological chart along with the other major planets. Judging from its effect in this story, and a glance at the charts of people I know well, it seems Ceres is very connected with the mother archetype and the motherhood role. One client I know has Ceres between Uranus and Pluto and claims, because of extreme childhood experiences, that her mother is a psychopath. Another returned to his mother country after many years when his Sun progressed conjoined Ceres. The Greek myth points to the connection of Demeter with famine, and embedded in Ceres is the latent tendency for extreme contrasts between nurture and abandonment and loss.

As regards Pluto there are probably other stories coinciding with the date of its demotion from the pantheon of the gods. As a rule events in the field of astronomy tend to be reflected by events on earth. When Voyager flew past Uranus, the space shuttle Challenger exploded. When Voyager flew by Neptune, millions joined hands across the borders of the Baltic countries, dissolving the borders and the domination of the Soviet Union. The New Horizons space probe (Note 4) will arrive at Pluto in 2015. Expect to see an interesting demonstration of its effect.

As the years go by – if the Prague decison holds – Pluto will be redefined in school text books. It will lose some of its iconic power. Will the atom bomb go the same way as Priklopil? How will psychology fare? But right now it is firmly enconsed in the horoscope, and – sigh of relief – clients are still having traumas and crises. Clearly, as astrologers, we have not lost a planet – we’ve gained two. Now where is Ceres in my horoscope… not to mention Xena!

Adrian Duncan 19th September 2006

1. Xena’s position is currently 21 Aries – noticed anything? – and an ephemeris can be found at www.astro.com

2. Natascha escaped at 12.53 on August 23rd 2006.

3. Wikepedia: www.wikipedia.org

4. An Atlas V rocket carrying the New Horizons spacecraft on a mission to Pluto lifted off at Cape Canaveral on Thursday, Jan. 19, 2006 at 14.00.

 

Israel 2006

by | Aug 7, 2006 | Uncategorized

If you had to invent a horoscope to describe a country in constant tension with its neighbors, a land that has risen from the ashes, a land with supreme confidence that could fight its own battles, then you might have chosen the 14th May 1948, and that country would be Israel. This was the time when Jewish figures under the leadership of Ben Gurion declared the existence of the state of Israel whilst the Arab League was in the process of invading the country. Even at inception, Israel was at war.See chart for Israel 14.05.1948 16.00 Tel Aviv

This horoscope is one of the most interesting horoscopes of all time for a myriad of reasons. The country was formed less than a week after a solar eclipse at 18 Taurus, which squared a Mars/Saturn/Pluto conjunction in Leo, thereby assuring its destiny at the center of a power hub in which war, struggle and survival were to be the keynotes. The Saturn/Pluto conjunction takes place every 35 years, and in this case it shows the rebirth of the Jewish nation after the Holocaust. The sun placed on the 8th house cusp shows that the country’s identity is based on contested territory – it is in fact founded on other people’s land, and these people were made permanent refugees in the war of Israeli independence. Ever since, the Palestinian people have claimed their land back. Indeed extremist forces in Arab countries have called for the elimination of the state of Israel. The fate of Israel is to live under the constant threat of extermination, and to cope with this they have an enormous willpower to survive.

Fortunately for the Lion of Israel, they have an extremely strong Mars in Leo, which trines an even stronger Jupiter in Sagittarius. This is a people with a well-trained army with enormous confidence and will to win. They have the sense that right is on their side, and that might is right. Mars is actually square the Sun, and there is the suggestion that the army can run independently of government, but as the Sun disposes of Mars, then it can be reined in.

The horoscope ruler Venus is in Cancer and the 9th, and this shows an important side of the Israeli character. They love their home and their family, and they are settlers, trying to build a home in a difficult environment. The 9th house position of Venus also shows that many have arrived from abroad – in fact this Venus position is exactly on the Venus/Jupiter conjunction of the United States, which of course the protector of Israel both financially and militarily. This is a soft and cultural influence, and with the square to Neptune in the 12th there is also a sorrow and awareness of the martyrdom of their race. As Ascendant ruler, Venus has a special role to play, especially in Israel’s progressed chart.

Mercury is strongly placed in Gemini, which probably says something about the many languages spoken in the country and the dual use of English and Hebrew. The strong aspect of the 8th house Mercury to Pluto in Leo indicates the effectivity of the country’s intelligence services, particularly Mossad. The ability of Mossad to orientate itself in the Arab world is a major extension of Israel’s power. Mercury makes a powerful trine to Neptune in the 12th, which gives great spiritual depth and teaching tradition, and shows the success Israel has in keeping alive the knowledge of the Holocaust. Mercury has also an extraordinary story to tell in the progressed chart.

Israel has been in extreme turmoil since the elections in Gaza that gave power to Hamas, which is generally seen as a terrorist organization. This coincided with the withdrawal of the military from Gaza and the removal of settlements. At the same time, Ariel Sharon had his near-fatal stroke, and the party he had just formed on November 21st 2005 – Kadima – won the March 28, 2006 elections with Ehud Olmert as its leader.

Progressed chart July 2006

Weakness has never been a very useful strategy in the Middle East, where the spirit of compromise is so difficult to capitalize on. Olmert has a chart with three planets in fall – Sun in Libra, Mars in Cancer and Venus in Virgo – and this is not going to stand him in good stead in the current conflict that is escalating with Hizbulla in the Lebanon. (Note 1) Olmert is in fact an idealist, with a Sun/Jupiter/Neptune conjunction in Libra – a good man who believes in compromise. In fact his chart is similar to the UN, and he should get them involved as soon as possible.

It is an extraordinary thing that both Mercury and Venus retrograde from Cancer and back into Gemini for a very long period. During this time their energies merge with the Uranus/Jupiter opposition clearly indicating the years and years of international diplomacy connected with the dilemma of Israel/Palestine and how to create two separate states that recognize each other’s existence. The long Sharon/Arafat “dialogue” was a manifestation of this activation of Uranus in Gemini.

Mercury retrograded into Gemini in 1993, and will reenter Cancer this year by progression, and this probably marks the end of dialogue, in the sense that Israel now make unilateral decisions and no longer negotiate officially with the Palestinian government. This is the end of the 1990’s epoch of the Oslo accords, which had such limited success. The policy of Israeli unilateralism will continue into the foreseeable future.

As may be expected with the sudden explosion of violence in the Middle East, Mars is involved. At the time of writing – when bombs are being dropped over Beirut and rockets falling on Haifa – transiting Mars is in fact exactly on Israel’s Mars at 28 Leo, so quite obviously Israel is flexing all its muscles. However, progressed Mars is at 26.52 Virgo – exactly conjoined by progressed Moon! – and approaching the square to progressed Uranus at 27.44 Gemini and natal Jupiter at 27.39 Sagittarius. This is a high explosive cocktail, and it looks like going on for a while. Progressed Moon enters Libra in October, which may help peace negotiations, but the exact Mars square takes place at the time of the New Year in 2008. This indicates that high tech warfare may flare up periodically over the next 1½ year period. And as mentioned in a previous article, air strikes on Iran are a distinct possibility.

The progressed Mars to Jupiter, which is exact at the end of 2007 indicates that the actions of Israel will not meet with approval. They will overreact, and definitely be open to the charge that they are using disproportionate force (which Europe is already claiming). With progressed Mars in Virgo this could be because military efforts are focused on the destruction of infrastructure.

The current efforts to establish security in the face of fundamentalist threats will only have a limited success. The Saturn/Neptune opposition of 2006-7 will square Israel’s Taurus sun created a long-lasting and apparently insoluble problem. Saturn squares the sun on 27th October 2006, and 15th January and 13th  July 2007. Neptune squares the sun in 2008, and Mars in 2010. This is going to be a damaging time for the Israeli economy in particular, and dealing with increasing debt will be a major preoccupation. At the same time military methods for conflict solving will become less and less effective as time goes by. The entry of Mars into Libra in 2012 will signal the end of the smaller skirmishes with militants, but there may be new alliances and heightened world tension at this time.

Lebanon celebrates its independence on 22nd November, after it wrested power from the French in 1943, and a noon chart places the Moon at 26 Gemini, which is exactly where the progressed Moon and Mars of Israel are right now. Pluto is squaring this position and opposing Lebanon’s Saturn in Gemini, showing the upheaval and restructuring currently going on as a consequence of Israel’s bombs. Lebanon has Mars, Saturn and Uranus in Gemini which clearly indicates the religious polarities in the country and the potential for civil war. This is obviously a destabilizing time in a country that has never been stable.

The general consensus regarding the current war footing of Israel is that this is something that has been orchestrated by Hizbulla at the behest of Iran and Syria. With the current pressure on Iran because of their nuclear program, a low-intensity Middle Eastern conflict can be very useful in distracting energy and attention away from its president Ahmadinejad, and a reminder of Iran’s regional power. The new longer-range rockets are manufactured in Iran, and can now reach major population centres in Israel. Given Israel’s extreme sensitivity regarding the capturing of their soldiers, it is a simple matter to provoke Israel into an escalation of hostilities, and this has probably been the intention of Hizbulla and their patrons. Everyone is a hostage to this – even the Hamas government of Palestine, who would probably love to be able to prevent its fundamentalists sending rockets into Israel. The Lebanese government would probably also love to stop Hizbulla aggression, but moderate Arabs have very little influence these days. With a peaceful resolution of this conflict in the hands of the masters of Hizbulla, there is likely to be low-level conflict for some time to come.

As mentioned earlier, Venus progressed retrograded into Gemini in the mid-90’s and will remain there until 2029. It stations in 2011 at 24.38 Gemini exactly on Uranus (24.21) and also conjoins Uranus progressed from 2000 to 2025. As ruling planet for Israel this shows an extremely disturbing process, characterized by the stress of rockets and suicide bombs. Uranus in Gemini shows provocative neighbours and the challenges in dealing with people whose language, religion and culture is almost insuperable. To learn to communicate with people who are so different is the fate of Israel. Peace will come in 2030.

Adrian Duncan 19th July 2006-07-19

Note 1. Ehud Olmet: 30 September 1945.

 

Oil – End of an Age

by | Aug 7, 2006 | Adrian's Articles 2006, Adrian's Articles 2006, Adrian's Articles 2006, Adrian's Articles 2006

The discovery and exploitation of oil in the early 19th century made a lot of whales very happy indeed. Until that time whale oil was extensively used primarily for lighting and to a certain extent for cooking, but with the development of kerosene, the bottom – fortunately for whales – fell out of the whaling industry over a period of several decades. Plastic is currently performing the same service for trees. Traditionally oil and gas have been associated with the planet Neptune (as indeed whales are), and it is probably no coincidence that the first commercial exploitation of oil in the 1850’s took place soon after the discovery of Neptune in 1846.When Neptune was discovered, it was in exact conjunction with Saturn at 25 Aquarius, and subsequent Saturn/Neptune conjunctions have correlated with dramatic political upheavals – there were many (relatively peaceful) social revolutions in Europe in the late 1840’s because of the rise of socialism. The correlation of the 35-year Saturn/Neptune cycle with social change has been well documented, especially as regards communism, whose defining moments – the 1917 revolution, the death of Stalin in1953, and the tearing down of the Berlin Wall in 1989 – all occurred at the conjunction.To a certain extent the Saturn/Neptune cycle is also related to the supply of oil and gas, which is natural enough considering the association of Saturn with restriction and blockage, and of Neptune with oil. As consumers, we become aware of this through the price of oil at the petrol pump, but the correlation between petrol prices and oil supply is complicated by a number of factors, not least the desire of OPEC countries to maintain stable oil prices by pumping more or less oil as the situation demands. There is naturally also a correlation between oil supply and growth and prosperity, but again there are a number of factors that complicate the equation. For example there has been excellent growth in the United States in 2005 even though the price of oil tripled over the last three years.  Conversely, with the discovery of the largest oil pool ever in Texas in 1930 – at the time of a precise Saturn/Neptune trine – the price of oil was brought crashing down bringing chaos to the industry and considerably worsening the Great Depression. High oil prices do not guarantee economic woe, and low prices do not guarantee prosperity. Stable prices are best.

The classic example of the correlation between oil supply and the Saturn/Neptune cycle is related to the opposition that took place prior to the 1973 Yom Kippur war and subsequent Arab oil embargo. In fact the first opposition (in a series of three) took place on June 25th, 1971 at 0 degrees Gemini/Sagittarius, and it seems as if the entry of Neptune into Sagittarius at the beginning of the seventies heralded an epoch in which “foreign” countries, where the oil originated, began to take control. This was a time when OPEC flexed its muscles, supporting Iraq for example when it nationalized Western oil companies in Iraq in June 1972. OPEC itself was formed on September 14, 1960, when Saturn made a precise sextile to Neptune. (Note 1)

Oil prices rose dramatically up to 1974, and leveled off, even falling, but with the political disintegration of Iran and overthrow of the shah, oil prices took off once again and the price of oil almost doubled in relation to the 1974 peak of $38 per barrel (2005 dollar rate) to reach $63 by 1981. This was largely due to the US embargo on Iranian products in the wake of the US embassy hostage crisis in 1979 and the subsequent Iraq/Iran war in 1980. Astrologically this is interesting, because the Saturn/Neptune square from September 1979 to June 1980 spanned this period. Therefore it is reasonable to assume that the opposition and square in the 70’s – a time when Neptune was in Sagittarius – corresponds to restrictions on oil connected to Arab nations with a strongly religious agenda.

A new Saturn/Neptune cycle began in 1989 with the series of conjunctions that took place around 10 degrees Capricorn from March to November. As with all previous conjunctions, this had monumental political repercussions – in this case no less than a New World Order, which was connected with the fact that Uranus also conjoined Neptune and commenced a new 172 year cycle shortly afterwards. It seems likely that the Saturn/Neptune conjunction creates the new political structures through which form the background for oil supply, and that each conjunction has a different emphasis. At any rate it seems that the newly formed Russia, sensitive as it is to the Saturn/Neptune cycle, is now taking over in significance from the Middle East, and with the current build up to the first opposition of the 1989 cycle, it is Russia that is flexing her muscles rather than OPEC.

The bullying tactics of Russia have been clearly apparent in their dealings with the Ukraine as 2006 began. This was a major manifestation of the colossal grand cross between Saturn, Neptune, Jupiter and Mars, that was operative from August 2005 to February 2006, and it gives a foretaste of what is to come when the Saturn/Neptune opposition really kicks in. Basically Ukraine refused to allow the gas pipelines that go through its country to come under the control of the state-owned Russian gas giant Gazprom, and Gazprom responded by demanding that Ukraine would then have to pay the EU market price for gas, which at around $220 per 1000 cubic meters quadrupled the price for Ukraine. When Ukraine understandably rejected this – they had previously been guaranteed a fixed price five years into the future – Gazprom shut down supplies.

As the gas pressure fell also for European countries, it became quite clear for the EU that they themselves were now vulnerable to Russian blackmail, as Gazprom already supplies 25% of EU’s gas. What is more, this figure is growing as European supplies of gas dwindle, and new pipelines are being built from Russia. Interestingly, Gerhard Schroeder, the former premier of Germany is chairman of the board of the Gazprom branch for the pipeline going directly under the Baltic Sea to Germany. There are even rumors that Italy’s premier Berlusconi – if he loses his current post, will become chairman of the southern Gazprom pipeline bound for Italy. As Putin expands Russia’s web of pipelines into Europe he will clearly acquire a stranglehold on EU energy. Obviously this will not be used overtly – that is bad business practice – but Russia will acquire enormous influence… and great riches too. This must be sweet music to the Russian nation after the economic humiliations of the 1990’s.

Gazprom was formed at the Saturn/Neptune conjunction in 1989 and though privatized during the 1990’s Putin reasserted state control by acquiring 51% of the shares when he came to power. He went on to crush the competing oil giant Yukos, whose chairman Mikhail Khordorkovsky was jailed in 2004 for tax evasion… though everyone knows that the real reason was that he had presidential ambitions. The head of Gazprom is Aleksej Miller who is an old pal of Putin’s from his time as mayor of St. Petersburg. In reality Gazprom is an arm of the Kremlin, and is being used not just as a financial instrument but also as a political tool. Whilst America depletes its resources on foreign adventures in Iraq, Russia is rapidly consolidating its power. Quite apart from huge pipelines to northern, central and southern Europe, there are deals with Japan, Korea and the Far East, capitalizing on the huge demand for oil in these countries, which Russia is in a strong position to satisfy because it has almost a third of the world’s gas reserves.

It is in this light that the coming Saturn/Neptune opposition should be seen. This phase of the Saturn/Neptune cycle corresponds to the earlier 1972 opposition phase – in other words it is likely that the last half of the 35 cycle – from 2006 to the next conjunction (in Aries) in June 2025, will see the use of oil and gas to leverage Russia as a growing power on the world stage. The opposition phase of a cycle is connected with awareness, and just as the West became aware of the power of the Middle East in the previous cycle, the EU, and belatedly the US, will become aware of the power of Russia in this cycle. The events connected with Ukraine prove that this is not a benign influence… the power is there to gain advantage.

It is too late to do anything about the growing power of Russia… the pipelines are complete or under construction, North Sea supplies are running down, Europe is hungry. It is Russia’s turn to prosper, and the country is in great need of wealth after a dire period of poverty and disintegration. The choices in Europe are stark, and there will naturally be a strong incentive to economize by building economical houses and cars and investing in alternative energy supplies, and this in turn will stand Europe in good stead when the next Saturn/Neptune cycle runs its course from 2025 to 2060. It is those countries that become relatively independent of fossil fuels that will be in a supreme position as it becomes more and more expensive to extract diminishing quantities from the earth.

Meanwhile it is likely that the Saturn/Neptune opposition from 2006 to 2007 (see graph) will brings economic unrest. As Jupiter is involved in this – and Jupiter/Neptune squares are associated with the bursting of economic bubbles – there is likely to be some kind of market crash connected with power and corruption (Jupiter in Scorpio). Anything unrealistically priced will be cut down to size (watch it Google, watch it property market!). The warnings will come in the first quarter of 2006, but the crash is likely in September and October. But with Saturn increasing its restrictive grip on oil supply, I would imagine oil prices will go up even from their current highs. Venezuela is encouraging a wave of solidarity in South America and reducing the control the USA has on its deliveries from that quarter. Iraq’s already damaged production could get even worse through civil war. Iran’s confrontation course with the West can limit supplies. These factors are likely to contribute to economic depression in the USA and Europe.

The Yom Kippur war and Arab oil embargo took place a year after the previous Saturn/Neptune opposition, and it seems like there will be upheaval after the 2006-7 opposition, with the building up of an awesome grand cross involving Pluto which enters Capricorn and Uranus which enters Aries, indicating an aggressive period in world politics spanning the years from 2010 to 2014. There is likely to be highly charged interaction between the West, Russia and China at this time, and some political reconstruction will take place owing to the rise of extremism. This may or may not be related to the economic discomfort likely to be experienced in the wake of the Saturn/Neptune opposition.

The Age of Oil will run its course, just as the Age of Coal did. At current rates of extraction, oil will run out in the middle of the 21st century, though – as it gets more and more expensive per barrel – it will be a slow process as oil gradually gets supplanted by other power sources. The big question is: how peaceful will this process be? As dynamic technological progress made living easier, populations have exploded and dependence on cheap energy is what makes the world go around today. Yet there will be a future in which the burning of fossil fuels simply does not take place. Houses will not be heated by coal, gas or oil. Cars will not run on gasoline. Power will not come from oil, gas or coal-fired stations.

There are two views as to what will happen in the transition process. One is the Roman Empire model – the fall of civilization. The other is that man’s ingenuity will find solutions, and this view is more in keeping with the Aquarian Age prophecy. The exploitation of Earth’s resources is a phenomenon largely reflected astrologically by the 200 year Saturn/Jupiter conjunction cycle in Earth. When this moves to Air for another 200 year period – in 2020 – other energy sources based on light and waveforms will gradually take over in an extremely low-energy society. Whilst we have difficulty imagining this transition, our children, and our children’s children will easily find the way.

Saturn – Neptune cycle

Adrian Ross Duncan 10th January 2005

Note 1. Book of World Horoscopes. OPEC stands for the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries. OPEC countries supply about half the world’s oil.

 

The Martyrs of Iran

by | Jul 7, 2006 | Uncategorized

On April 14th 1980 after months of training with the elite military unit Delta Force, an ambitious – over ambitious – mission was launched by America to rescue 52 American hostages who were being held by Ayatolla Khomeini’s revolutionary guard at the embassy in Teheran. It involved eight helicopters and accompanying refueling planes, which were to rendezvous at an abandoned airfield not far from Teheran, from where a commando force was to drive in and find the hostages, who were supposedly held at different locations in the capital. Iranian jets were to be destroyed at Teheran airport, and the rescuers evacuated by the helicopters flying in. The helicopters were to be subsequently destroyed, and everyone was to be flown out in C-130 transport planes.Operation Eagle Claw was aborted because several helicopters were damaged in a dust storm, and in the subsequent confusion, a helicopter hit a transport plane and 8 soldiers were killed. For Jimmy Carter, whose gut instinct was to use diplomacy and not force, it was a colossal disaster. And looking at the astrology for the event, it is not difficult to see why:

Operation Eagle Claw: 24.04.1980 Sunset. Masirah, Oman

It is fascinating to see, how significant Mars is in the horoscope, which is set for when six Air Force C-130s carrying 132 Delta commandos set off for Iran from Oman. Mars is conjoined with Rahu – the North Node of the Moon – at 27 Leo which happens to be exactly opposite the US Moon at 27 Aquarius. In other words, the eclipse cycle was passing over the US Moon, and with the reputation of Rahu and Ketu as “the abortive planets”, in Vedic astrology at least, it is hardly surprising that the over-confident Mars in Leo came to grief. A Mars/Rahu conjunction in Leo is a classic signature for hubris, and Icarus-like, this rash venture crashed in flames.

What is more significant is that there is also a Saturn/Neptune square at the time from 20.51 Virgo to 22.25 Sagittarius. Referring again to the US horoscope, Mars is at 21.33  Gemini and Neptune at 22.25 Virgo, so the Saturn/Neptune square activates the warlike US Mars, which is so often historically undermined by its square to Neptune. This was a guaranteed pattern for chaos and humiliation, and indeed Jimmy Carter was systematically humiliated by the new fundamentalist government in Iran for a period of 444 days. The hostages were finally released on the very day Carter handed over the presidency to Ronald Reagan.

It is worth looking at the US chart relocated for Teheran, because this gives an Ascendant of 24 Taurus, which means that Uranus at the time of the aborted mission was exactly on the relocated Descendant. Note too, that the US nodes are exactly on the relocated MC/IC axis, which both shows a fateful relation to Iran, and suggests the tendency for abortive relations. The key here is that the nodal axis in the US chart is exactly on the midpoint of the Mars/Neptune square in a semisquare aspect to the North Node. This keys in the latent weakness of US military might to all relations with Iran, and from this it is safe to predict that all aggressive ventures directed at Iran – especially if connected with oil and naval enterprise – will end in chaos.

The election of the relatively unknown Mahmoud Ahmadinijad to the Iranian presidency on August 3rd 2005 brought a new and acute development in Iran’s relations to Europe and America, who had been negotiating for several years to get Iran to stop their development of nuclear technology. It can be argued that Iran is absolutely entitled to develop this technology for peaceful purposes. It can even be argued that a secret plan to develop nuclear weapons is understandable, when they have the US military on its eastern borders in Afghanistan, and its western borders in Iraq. North Korea has shown by example that a nuclear deterrent is extremely valuable in relation to America. Israel has nuclear weapons, and what has the USA or the UN done to prevent that?

Yet Mahmoud Ahmadinijad could not have handled this situation in a worse manner. He is simply an unsavory character. In his period as mayor of Teheran, he required all male city employees to have beards, and instituted separate elevators for men and women in municipal offices. No surprise there. But earlier he had been a senior commander in the elite Qods Force, from where he directed assassinations of dissidents in the Middle East and Europe, including the assassination of Iranian Kurdish leader Abdorrahman Qassemlou, who was shot dead by senior officers of the Revolutionary Guards in a Vienna flat in July 1989. At a Teheran conference The World without Zionism, on October 28th 2005, Ahmadinejad stated that “Israel must be wiped off the map”, further stating that a “historic war between the oppressor and the world of Islam” would occur in Palestine. Later that same day, at a gathering of students, he called for “the annihilation of the Zionist regime.”

These are hardly reassuring words at a time when Iranian negotiators were trying to convince their European counterparts that they were developing nuclear power for peaceful purposes. The noon chart for Ahmadinejad tells a story of just how intractable he is:

Mahmoud Ahmadinijad: 28.10.1956 Garmsar, Iran. Solar Sign.

As a Scorpio with a Sun/Uranus square he is clearly an uncompromising and rather dangerous character – in fact Kim Jong-il of North Korea also has a Sun/Uranus square. It seems to give a tendency for leaders to involve themselves irresponsibly with nuclear weapons and to practice brinkmanship. Donald Rumsfeld, who has an even more threatening Sun/Pluto conjunction square Uranus, has – no doubt with Iran’s underground nuclear facilities in mind – initiated plans to develop earth-penetrating nuclear weapon designed to destroy hardened underground targets. An equally irresponsible idea that completely blurs the distinction between nuclear and conventional weapons.

Ahmadinijad also has Saturn in Sagittarius conjunction the North Node square Pluto, which does show an ideological hard-liner, with immovable religious and political convictions. His view of democracy is quite clear: in his view Iran “did not have a revolution in order to have democracy, but to have an Islamic government.” The Jupiter/Venus conjunction in his chart indicates a leader who is comfortable with women having a subservient role, servicing Islam in every detail. Obviously this aspect shows someone seeking to deal with a discomfort with women through petty regulation. Men in Teheran can thank Ahmadinijad for the new sex-segregated bus service about to be launched, and soon a special park for women will be opened. The current Pluto square to his Venus in Virgo shows a growing repression and subjugation of women in the country he governs.

In fact, the position of Venus at 26 Virgo resonates extremely strongly with the powerful Islamic Republic Chart from 1979.

See chart for Iran: 1.04.1979 15.00 IRDT Teheran

This chart has a Mars/Mercury conjunction in Pisces directly opposite Ahmadinijad’s Venus. And on Ayatolla Khomeini’s triumphant return from exile, Venus was at 25 Sagittarius, so this is clearly a sensitive area for Iran. The current Pluto transit activates this area and indicates a growing crisis for the regime. In 1980 both Jupiter and Saturn in transited the late degrees of Virgo aspecting this sensitive spot. This was the time when Iraq, secretly encouraged by the US, invaded Iran in what was to be an eight year war of attrition that left the male population of Iran decimated. Against an Iraq armed with more advanced weapons, Iran used human waves of infantry with some success but enormous casualties. Iraq also used poison gas against the Iranian troops, whilst the international community turned a blind eye.

These Iranian martyrs are clearly shown by the Mars/Mercury conjoining the South Node in Pisces in the 8th house of the horoscope for the Iranian Republic.

Bearing in mind that Pluto squares these planets in 2006 and 2007, an issue is raised as to whether there will be another wave of martyrs. The veiled threats from both Israel and the Bush government that all options are on the table, raise the specter of an armed attack on Iran. The window of danger is open well up to December 2007, when Jupiter conjoins Pluto at 28 Sagittarius. As this is a time when Mars retrogrades from Cancer into Gemini, there is likely to be an alarming struggle at this time, probably triggered by the first of three oppositions of Mars to Pluto on September 21st 2007 at 26 Gemini/Sagittarius.

At present Europe and the USA are trying very hard to get Iran to stop uranium enrichment through diplomatic means. These seemed doomed to failure. Ahmadinijad has not shown the slightest hint of wishing to compromise. His election platform was confrontation with the USA and EU, and he will not change course. The position of Iran appears extremely strong. At a time when control of oil and gas is increasingly in the hands of Russia and an independently-minded South America, with both demand and prices high, and with India and China desperate to ensure future supplies and intent on building a pipeline to Iran, America has little international leverage. At the same time the USA is overextended in Iraq, and the American people want their soldiers out. There is little domestic support for a military adventure in Iran.

The USA has the option of destroying nuclear facilities through a missile attack or bombing via proxy using Israel, who successfully destroyed the Osirak nuclear reactor in Iraq on June 7th 1981. If they do this, Iran may well shut off oil flow in the Persian Gulf, and a severe economic crisis could be the result. Iran’s horoscope shows Uranus in Scorpio in the 4th house, which indicates both the likelihood of a secret project to develop nuclear weapons, and that they are buried deeply underground. In March 2006 Jupiter stationed 1½ degrees short of Uranus, which was the time when Iran revealed a vast expansion of its uranium refinement process through an exponential increase in centrifuge production. When Jupiter finally transits the Uranus degree on October 10th, can we expect to hear that Iran has finally manufactured a bomb? Note the fact that there is a grand trine in water between Mars, Jupiter and Uranus in Iran’s chart, and that these same three planets have been in a grand trine in May 2006… something that can only happen once every 14 years, if that. It would seem that nothing will stop Iran’s nuclear expansion plans.

The next 1½ years are crucial for Iran, for there is a real danger that they will be bombed. The Bush government has no faith in the UN, or the EU for that matter, and Russia and China are sure to veto any effective resolutions against Iran. Yet it would seem to be madness for America to go it alone. Bush would have to get permission from Congress, yet there are many powerful voices in Congress, not least senator John McCain, who will not countenance the possession of nuclear weapons by Iran. If Ahmadinejad continues on his rabid and suicidal course, then the unconscious drive towards self-destruction and martyrdom of the Islamic Republic of Iran may become a reality.

Ahmadinejad was elected when the progressed Ascendant of Iran conjoined its Saturn. Next year the progressed MC will square Saturn, and prior to this Saturn will conjoin the Ascendant of Iran in August 2006. This double hit is surely a sobering experience for Iran. Added to this is the fact that Neptune makes a long triple transit to Iran’s Descendant, opposing Saturn of course, which shows hopeless international relations, with little sense of reality about the intentions of the West. It is said that Saddam Hussein was completely taken aback when the US actually invaded his country, and perhaps the Iranian perception of American intentions is just as unrealistic.

Transit Pluto squares Iran’s unhappy Mars three times, the final time in November 2006, though retrograde Mars can still trigger this transit as late as January 2008. In an extraordinary transit + progression hit involving Mars and Pluto, Iran’s progressed Mars in Aries opposes progressed Pluto in March 2007 and radix Pluto in March 2008. This a dangerous – and radioactive – influence that has the hallmarks of destruction. The laying waste of Iran’s nuclear facilities may well become a reality.

It is difficult to see America daring to take this step however. Bush does have progressed Mars conjoining his Moon later this year, which may be warlike, but surely reflects the enormous domestic unrest in the USA. The US progressed Mars will go stationary retrograde during the course of the year, though this probably signals the gradual withdrawal of troops from Iraq. With the Pluto station at 24.05 Sagittarius directly opposite Israel’s Uranus at 24.21 Gemini in the 9th house, it seems more likely that an Israeli long-distance strike will take place with US assistance. Indeed Israel’s progressed Moon is triggering a progressed Mars square progressed Uranus in July and August 2006, so there will be a readiness to take some extreme risks.

It would be wiser to take a deep breath and let things take their course in Iran, keeping up a constant diplomatic pressure. North Korea and Pakistan are already members of the nuclear club, and in reality they cannot use their weapons… they are only effective as a deterrent. Even an Iranian nuclear strike on Israel is inconceivable – there are almost as many Arabs in the region anyway, and retaliation would be brutal and swift. But logic is one thing, and world history quite another. If American rhetoric against Iran increases in the coming months, then there is every likelihood that the Iranian nuclear dreams will suffer the same fate as the Iraqi dreams in Osirak, with unforeseeable consequences for the world economy.

Adrian Ross Duncan 19.05.2006

The Fifties

by | Aug 7, 2005 | Uncategorized

Front line veterans of the 2nd World War had the conviction in the first month or two of fighting, that it was possible that other soldiers in their division might get killed, but they would not. After two months at the front, when they had seen their units get decimated, they realized that there was a reasonable chance that they might die. After four months at the front, they knew they would die… it was just a matter of time. This is a speeded up version of how we all feel. In the twenties and thirties we are convinced of our immortality, but not so in the forties. When we reach the fifties, we have no illusions. We will die, sooner or later. This realization affects different people in different ways, but we have to come to terms with our mortality.In the fifties, women may enjoy the arrival of their children’s children, but they will not have children themselves. Men in their fifties would have to be very naïve to think that their chances of scoring beautiful women were very high. It’s not a pretty sight seeing a 50 year old chatting up girls at a disco. Both men and women who have worked their way up the professional ladder live in nervous anticipation of being unceremoniously ejected by the younger upwardly mobile. Those who lose their jobs in the mid-fifties can find great difficulty getting employed again. Those who lose their spouses feel as if they have landed on the scrap heap far too early.Yet there are those for whom the fifties are their best years. Their professional credentials fully established, they gain highly paid positions and full respect. Relationships find new life as children fly the nest, and there is the economic freedom to indulge those things sacrificed for the family cause. Symptoms of male and female menopause wane, and new erotic pleasures can be found in non-performance related sex. There is the time to develop spiritual interests alongside professional concerns. Providing there is material security and good health, the fifties are fine.The early postwar generation of children are in their fifties today. This was a period with Pluto in Leo and Neptune in Libra… the generation that refuses to grow up. This was the first generation to be shaped by television, and they grew up in a world shaped by dreams and ideals of perfection. They are still searching for immortality and the perfect love. Tony Blair was born in 1953 with Saturn conjoining Neptune in Libra, Uranus in Cancer, Jupiter in Taurus, Chiron in Capricorn and the North Node in Aquarius – he turned 50 on May 6th 2003 just 2 months after the invasion of Iraq. In the following analysis of the fifties, these planetary positions will be used to gain detail on the significance of each year.

The age of 50 is crucial because it is in this year that most of us experience the Chiron return. As this minor planet is related strongly to teaching and healing, and is often an indicator of where there is a lifelong wound, the age of 50 will always be a time when issues connected with these things inevitably surface. This is also a year when Jupiter makes the waxing square to itself after the 4th return age 47. So:

– As you enter your fifties and commence a new decade, there is the realization that your character is now fully developed – you are who you are – it is now more a question of building on your talents, resources and achievements rather than proving yourself anew. You can be assessed by what you have achieved so far in life, and what there is to come is very much a bonus defined by your attitude and will. The challenge at this time is to find renewed hope and vision, yet it is a time when misjudgments tend to take place, either through lack of confidence or through being overly hopeful about the future. You tend to insist on following your own convictions without being sensitive to the opinions of others. (Jupiter) This is very much related to material values and beliefs which you have consolidated through the years, and which now have become guiding pillars of conviction. (Jupiter in Taurus in Blair’s horoscope). At the same time, there are deeper issues connected with your mortality, and your ability to pass on the body of wisdom you have acquired to those who follow after you. You are poignantly aware of areas in your inner life that need healing, or where there are flaws and weaknesses, for they will surely surface in your 50th year. (Chiron) For you this is profoundly connected with your professional position and ambition, and it is important for you to investigate just what you hope to achieve, and how these ambitions serve to allay inner pain. (Capricorn)

At the age of 51 the final square of Saturn takes place before the Saturn return age 59, and this is sure to be related to serious career restructuring. Fortunately Jupiter now moves to make the waxing trine to its birth position, providing every chance of growth:

– During your 51st year there are pressing professional issues that have to be addressed. This is a time when challenges pile up, both in connection with your relationship to authorities, and in terms of your goals and ambitions. You need to define exactly where you wish to apply yourself, and exactly what you want to achieve. As you are under pressure now, this is not easy, but with extra effort and determination you can carve out a position for yourself that can stand you in good stead for the next five years at least. (Saturn) This is very much connected with how you handle interpersonal relationships, for it is at this time that structural changes take place as far as alliances are concerned. (Libra) Fortunately, this is also a time when a further expansion of your influence is possible, if you adopt a positive and visionary attitude. Bearing in mind your achievements so far, you are justified in pursuing a confident and self-assured path. (Jupiter)

At Mercury returns to its birth position around the birthday both every 10th and every 13th year, the age of 52 is a Mercury year. For many people it will also be the year when Pluto trines its birth position, and as Pluto’s aspects to itself are so rare, then its effects are proportionately significant:

– Your 52nd year is a time when you breathe new life into communication and educational influences and are very active in networking with others. (Mercury) It is also a period of personal transformation that can see you both go into the depths and re-emerge newborn. It is at this time that buried emotional drives surface, and you can be quite unable to bury them again. These feelings fuel a deep-seated change that can lead you to rediscover sexual drives and psychological power. A new authenticity can come into your life based on releasing repressions and living life to the full. If there are features of your life you are tired of, now is the time to get rid of them. If there are bonds that drain you, then they need to change or go. There may be a power battle now, but it serves the useful purpose of evoking your survival instincts and bringing empowerment. (Pluto) This is connected with a deep unconscious drive to assert your ego, even if it means flirting with self-destructive impulses. (Leo)

The age of 53 is a year when many influences peak. Quite apart from the continued Pluto trine, both Neptune and Uranus trine themselves, whilst Saturn sextiles its natal position, and Jupiter opposes. But it is the outer planets that have the most profound effect:

– During your 53rd year you are very sensitive to the generational factors of your birth period, and there can be far-reaching changes that bring many opportunities if you are willing to embrace the future and let go of the past. You are still very much in a transformation period which has brought new life and empowerment. (Pluto) At the same time your visionary capacities now peak, and you are able to transcend your normal life structure and enter new realms of the imagination. There is a kind of global consciousness that pervades your being, and you are extremely sensitive to, and motivated by, the needs and sufferings of others. (Neptune) For you this is very much connected with a tendency to idealize the ability of mankind to relate in a positive way, and in your personal relationships to dream of an unreachable ideal. (Libra)  This is also a period that can bring travel to exotic lands or contact with exotic people. You are willing to take a risk to experience something new, and you want to be involved with people who get together with a shared vision. This is a wonderful time to experiment and innovate. (Uranus) This has a lot to do with an alternative vision that you have for the human family. (Cancer)

At the age of 54, the Neptune and Uranus trines will still be operative, and – equally significant – the progressed Moon returns to its birth position for the second time (the last time being age 27 and 4 months):

– During the course of your 54th year, you are still in a period of dynamic consciousness growth that sees you experimenting with your life on several fronts. You are open to any changes that bring renewal and excitement, and this can bring international travel and input from cultures very different from your own. This is the time to embrace new technology and surf the wave of change in society, rather than holding on to established tradition. At the same time there is a dawning spiritual sensitivity, and activities connected with nature, music or religion can bring inner enrichment. Furthermore this year is a time of emotional rebirth, and your feelings connected with home and family come strongly to the fore. Now is the time to confront latent emotional issues connected with bonding that can relate back to your childhood, so don’t be surprised if this a bit of an emotional roller-coaster year when you are concerned about creating security and a safe base.

Whilst the influence of Uranus and Neptune begin to fade as the age of 55 dawns, Jupiter will now make the incoming trine to its natal position, prior to the 5th Jupiter return at age 59. And during the course of this year, the Moon’s nodes return to their birth position for the 3rd time:

– Many things come together during the course of your 55th year, and if you have prepared the ground well, this can be a time of rapid growth and expansion. If you have listened to your visions and dreams over the last two years, and allowed yourself to be guided by your imagination and creativity, then you will now feel that the years ahead will be fulfilling and full of promise. Likewise, if you have been willing to move with the times and take a risk or two, then the future will hold no terrors for you. You can enjoy the fruits of increased awareness, and may feel a strong bond with humanity, ecology and nature itself. Now is the time to slip into overdrive whilst enjoying the fruits of past efforts. As the year draws to a close you have also to consider the general direction of your life. Are you associating with people who give a meaningful contribution to your life? Are you doing work which corresponds to your mission? (Node) For you this has a lot to do with finding the right balance between asserting your ego, and being receptive to the voice of the community… the latter being the most crucial in your case. (North Node in Aquarius)

At the age of 56, Venus returns to its birth position around the birthday, awakening themes of relationship and economy. The nodal return is still very relevant, and at the same time Jupiter will make a closing square putting the focus on expansion and issues of judgment:

– During your 56th year self-worth issues come to a head in relation to your love life and economy. If you are lucky in love, then more luck is due now. If you are looking for a relationship, then there is likely to be one, and if you are currently in a relationship, then this is a time to consolidate and cherish it, not least by cultivating the art of romance. As your aesthetic values become more important to you now, you may want to spend more money on life’s pleasures, and this brings your whole economic situation into focus. With your senses and desires so stimulated at this time, good judgment is required in the management of your economy. However you tend to be unresponsive to the advice of others, or too inclined to be guided by your personal convictions. Take care not to overreach yourself; seek the advice of experts. You need to be especially careful in matters connected with justice and the law. It is crucial at this time that you take stock of your life situation and make the adjustments necessary to work and relationships, so that they accord with your inner convictions of what your life is about.

There are no major planetary cycles at the age of 57, unless Jupiter’s final sextile before the conjunction is taken into consideration. However, the 3rd Saturn return is already looming on the horizon, and along with that the whole question of future life structure:

–  General trends during your 57th year bring some consolidation and calm, and a time when you can enjoy the fruits of your labors, especially in terms of your social life and friendships. However there is a growing awareness that the solutions which have served you so well during the course of the fifties will not last forever, and thoughts of how you would like the future to take shape begin to arise. As yet your main concerns are of how you maintain the professional momentum that you have achieved over the last few years, and there is the sense that hard-won achievements are getting washed away by the sands of time. Under these circumstances it is wise to develop your inner life and your creative or spiritual interests, for these will always be with you whether you have professional success or not.

At the age of 58 Saturn will return to its birth position for the second, and perhaps the last time. This is a major milestone at the age of 29 to 30, and it is no less of a milestone as the fifties draw to a close. This has traditionally been the time of retirement plans and preparations for old age:

– During the course of your 58th year there is the sense that life has come full circle. Ambition has served its purpose, and you can look back on a series of achievements that have crowned your professional life. Now, with the wisdom of years, you realize that there is little sense in driving upwards and onwards to satisfy ambitions… what would be the point? The question is: what can you take from your current professional status to work on and continue to develop? Or has the time come to bow out from the rat race, wind down, and maximize your life quality in the last phase of your life? You cannot build your future on the framework of the past… you can either build a new framework, if you have the willpower and energy, or allow the old one to dissolve. You still have the chance to define what is uniquely you. There is nothing to prove, but if you allow yourself to be guided by your ultimate life purpose, there can still be mountains to conquer in the years ahead.

Jupiter and Saturn have a planetary cycle that repeats every 20 years, so that as the fifties draw to a close they both simultaneous return to their birth positions, marking a definitive watershed in life:

– As you enter your 59th year you appreciate the significance of your age… on the threshold to the sixties, with the realization that your greatest achievements may well lie behind you, whilst the future both professionally, economically and in terms of relationships is dependant on the structures you have already created. Yet this very realization has a settling affect; you are too wise to struggle against the inevitable, and fully aware that any decisions you make now will have effects that can last the rest of your life. It is at this age that you really can plan how you would like your future to be, using your knowledge and experience of the society of which you are a part, to maximize the benefits that the future can bring, and minimize the limitations. Radical experimentation can be left to those who follow in your footsteps, but if your economy is strong, and your professional foundations firm, you can easily build further on what you have achieved.

If childhood is like the water that springs out from the mountainside, surging in rivulets to join the larger stream, and middle age the powerful flow of the river through the plains, then the sixties and beyond show the river estuary as it flows into the sea and merges with the ocean. The strong tones of individuality that characterize the early stages of the flow finally make way for a merging into the collective. Outwardly the individual during the later stage of life steps back and sees himself as part of something greater. Inwardly he or she may smile at earlier self-importance and ambition, knowing it is all over far too soon. The time comes to embrace universal values that are not dissolved by the passage of time. In modern times many will live to experience yet another Saturn round, with perhaps thirty full years to consolidate and digest their existence and this is a great opportunity to prepare for the most exciting transition of all – death and the after-death state.

Adrian Ross Duncan 20.11.2005

The Thirties

by | Aug 7, 2005 | Uncategorized

During the twenties it can seem that anything is possible. The energy is there, there is naivety in abundance… the path is paved to be Master of the Universe. There are finance geniuses, football stars, successful models, rock idols – possibilities that are there simply because of youth. If these successes are not to be like a comet illuminating the sky just for a short period, there has to be a dramatic readjustment by the age of thirty. It can be marriage and children, or divorce and independence, or a career reorientation – the crucible of the Saturn return and the first sextile of Pluto to its birth position at the age of 29 demands soul-searching and change. Many “personal” motivations during the twenties lie in the conditioning of parents and society, and the unconscious reaction to them.It is possible to ignore the signals as the age of 30 approaches – lack of motivation at work, lack of love at home, lack of desire to get up in the morning – and struggle on. Much has been built up, must it be sacrificed? But life is too short for compromise. Burn out during the thirties, and a sizeable life crisis around 40 is the price. And it is far more difficult to start anew at 40 than it is at 30.In the last article on the twenties, I pointed out that it is in fact possible to outline an individual’s life in quite some detail if you know the person’s age. Also, if you know the year of birth you can be even more specific through an understanding of the position of the outer planets at birth. Many people in their thirties today were born with Uranus and Pluto on the move from Virgo to Libra, and the relationships of people in their early thirties, when both planets are in Libra, are deeply affected by the gender transformations that took place in the seventies.

Supermodel Helena Christensen (25 th Dec 1968) and actress Rene Zellweger (26 th April 1969), who have Uranus in Libra, but Pluto still in Virgo, are classic examples. They come from a generation who find it a real challenge to make a commitment to a relationship. Helena Christensen changed her lifestyle around the age of thirty, and gave birth to her son, Mingus. However, when asked if she had married the father, her response was:

“Nej, vi var aldrig gift… når vi gik fra hinanden var det mere noget med at sige goddag til hinanden langsomt. Vi var nødt til at gå fra hinanden for at blive venner. Nogle mennesker er bare bedre som venner, ikke?”

“No we were never married… when we left each other it was more like just saying hello to each other slowly. We had to leave each other to be friends. Some people are better as friends, aren’t they?”

Rene Zellweger’s role as Bridget Jones is also a classic example of the plight of the singles culture that seems to have resulted from the influences of the outer planets in Libra. In 1969 Saturn and the Node were in Aries, Jupiter in Libra, and Neptune still in Scorpio (just).

The age of thirty is characterized by the ongoing transition engendered by the Saturn return. The pieces are just beginning to fall into place after a period of transition. Every 15 years Mars returns close to its birth position on the birthday, so 30 is also a year when Mars is strong and ready for battle. Therefore it would be possible to say of a person born in the very late sixties or early seventies entering their 30 th year:

– As you enter your thirties and a new decade, it is important to harness the lessons you have learned from the twenties, whilst letting go of the parental and social conditioning that could lead you along a path that is not uniquely yours. During the course of this year, you will lay the foundation stones for a new life structure on which you can build your life, especially professionally, during the course of the next 10 years. For you this is partly connected with overcoming any fear of taking an initiative, and any resentment that there are blockages on your path (Saturn in Aries). It is now you need to apply all your energy and willpower into achieving what you really want for yourself – not what others want for you. By mobilizing your resources for battle, setting your sights, and investing all your energy, you embark on the first steps towards creating your own unique and independent future.

After the struggles of the previous three years, much resistance has been swept aside, and with Jupiter trining its natal position age 31, there is a good chance of a smooth run. Helena Christensen had her child at this time. For our hypothetical client…

– At the age of 31 you can slip into overdrive as you begin to reap the benefit of the changes that have been so much a part of your life for the past two or three years. The basic structure is in place for you to expand your influence and harvest some initial results. There may be a hint of overconfidence, but your potential for good fortune is strong, and an optimistic attitude attracts success. For you the greatest bonuses can come in connection with your personal relationships, and there will be an expansion not only in your social life, but also perhaps in connection with a deeply significant romantic bond. (Jupiter in Libra)

32 can be a magical year – especially if Venus and Mars are strong in the chart, because the birth relationship between Venus and Mars will repeat themselves. Jupiter squares its natal position at this time, so this is a year when there is a tendency to do things against one’s better judgement too…

– During the course of your 32 nd year you have the need to realize your relationship potential. It is important that your romantic needs are met at this time, and that you feel valued in your relationships. Feelings and passion need to be integrated – love and Eros go hand in hand, and you want fulfilment on all levels. If you are unattached, then this is a year when your attraction peaks, and potential partners come your way. If you are in a relationship, it needs to be satisfying; otherwise your eye may stray. As this is not a year characterized by the best judgement, or wise ethical choices, you may be tempted to allow yourself to be guided by your passions, though this may not necessarily be a bad thing in the long term.

At the age of 33, Saturn makes its first sextile after the return, and the Nodes make a square to the birth position. This is also a year when Mercury returns to its birth position at the birthday so…

– As you enter your 33 rd year, you are in a positive development phase of your life, and the new structures you established as you entered your thirties are beginning to show their potential. (Saturn) Confronting fears of going it alone, you have been able to take personal initiatives and establish your independence on the career front. (Aries) This is a year in which you are filled with curiosity and there is much to learn. You may wish to attend courses, study and travel. (Mercury) Questions arise during the course of the year as regards the direction in which your destiny lies. You encounter people, or get involved with groups, who may not be aligned with your mission in life, but who nevertheless inspire you to consider an adjustment in direction. (Node) A crucial question for you is whether to pursue independence or whether to make compromises for a relationship, and finding a balance is not easy at this time. The ideal is to avoid dependence on others, so that you can give your strength to a relationship. (Aries/Libra)

During the 34 th year, the Saturn sextile is still effective, whilst Uranus is quincunx its birth position, which is its last aspect to itself before the coming opposition…

– As you enter your 34 th year you are building strongly on firm foundations, and making concrete progress on your path, acquiring useful communication and educational skills and building a solid network. (Saturn) Your initiatives are beginning to pay off, and there is a sense that what you are building now will stand you in good stead for the future. A sense of restlessness may also inspire you to make some adjustments at this time; on the one hand you don’t want to rock the boat, whilst on the other you would like to distinguish yourself from the norm. Your unique choices as regards relationship come to the fore at this time, and you may be chafing at the bit if you feel there are too many restrictions. At work you seek out a personal niche.

The 35 th year brings the third return of Jupiter to its birth position…

– This is a year when you gain deep insight and expand your understanding of your role in the world. This gives rise to strong views about your life situation, and some concerns about what is right, what is wrong, and whether justice is being done. During this year you propagate your views and express your latent wisdom with confidence and optimism. (Jupiter) The principle of fairness is particularly important in terms of relationships, and you do your best to ensure that balance is attained according to the enlightened principles that are so important to you. Your capacity for success is at its highest right now, and if you catch the wave, you can expect a surge of progress and good fortune. If you do not have a relationship, then good fortune can smile on you. If you do, then it can move to a higher level. (Libra)

At the age of 36, Saturn now makes a square to its birth position, and this is a time to review past progress and plan the future…

– During the course of your 36 th year you encounter a number of challenges, particularly in your professional life. The progress you have made over the last seven years is up for review, and structural adjustments are called for. Pressing demands on your time force you to improve your organization and planning. There are times when it may seem too much, but hard work and effort put in now will help you attain goals set earlier. (Saturn) You may feel that the burden rests on your shoulders alone, but this may be your personal choice and the price of maintaining your independence. By mobilizing your determination and fighting spirit, you overcome the obstacles the year presents. (Aries)

The Saturn square will often drag on into the 37 th year, but the main feature of the year is the second return of the Node to its birth position at the age of 37 and four months. These cycles are immensely significant, because the Nodes relate to eclipse cycles and have the capacity to occult the Sun and Moon, suggesting a cosmic consciousness factor superior to the forces of personality…

– During the course of your 37 th year you are rounding the corner in terms of overcoming challenges and realizing professional goals, after putting considerable effort and determination. Success is within grasp, but what does success mean for you, and are the goals you are striving to achieve in accordance with your higher mission in life? Equally important: are the people you are associated with, your friends and partners, conducive to a happy future? This is the year to say goodbye to those who are no longer relevant to your spiritual growth, and welcome new people who are… both in your personal and in your professional life. (Node) For you this is concerned with any dependency situation, and this is the year when you make choices that emphasize your independence. (Aries/Libra)

After the somewhat disjointing effect of the nodal return, 38 is a year when the waxing Jupiter square brings exhilarating change, warming up for the next two years, when the Uranus opposition will make its presence felt, as well as Neptune’s square to itself, and, for those born in the late 20 th century, the Pluto square.

– As you enter your 38 th year there is a sense of exotic promise. New experiences are awaiting on the horizon, but you may not know what they are to be as yet. After a period of effort and measured growth, the urge is now to pull out all the stops and expand your horizons. It may seem as if your local environment cannot supply the inspiration that you need, in which case you may start investigating possibilities farther afield. There is a growing sense that meaning is more important than achievement, and therefore a need to expand on the new circle of acquaintances you acquired last year to attain personal growth and consciousness change.

During the last year of the thirties, there are many changes in the air which are keenly felt because of the impending Uranus opposition. Nevertheless, with both Saturn and Jupiter trine their birth positions, this can be a year of unprecedented growth and consolidation of everything that has been achieved in the preceding nine years. As 39 is also a year when Mercury returns to its birth position for the solar return, it’s a busy year…

– Your 39 th year is the culmination of the choices you made as the thirties began, and a time to harvest the results of all the efforts you have made. It is at this time when you both establish and advance your position in society, and maximize your influence and success. You are eager to gain more knowledge, and to spread the word about what you know. Whenever a peak is reached, then it also heralds the time for a new start, but at the same time it is important to enjoy the results of your labours and realize the assets you have built up. (Saturn/Jupiter) With your foundations firmly established, you may feel that you have the resources to take a few risks and experiment with your life. On the one hand you may want to see the world, and experience exotic cultures, whilst on the other you would like to manifest a more radical side of your nature. (Uranus) This can be connected with your interest in experimental forms of relationships that combine freedom and intimacy.

During the last years of the thirties a person will normally have established a life framework that serves well for the future, both spiritually and economically. But for those who perhaps compromised too much as they entered the thirties, and allowed the demands of society to have more say than their own personal needs, the price is paid during the period from 40 to 44 as the Uranus opposition, and Pluto and Neptune squares force readjustments that culminate in the Saturn opposition. For some this will be a period of soul-searching and inner upheaval, whist for those firmly established on their path, these influences bring turbo-charged growth and a sense of personal fulfilment. More of that in the next article.

Adrian Ross Duncan September 19 th 2005

 

Karol Wojtyla 1920 – 2005

by | Aug 7, 2005 | Adrian’s Articles 2005, Adrian’s Articles 2005, Adrian’s Articles 2005, Adrian’s Articles 2005

If you’ve got to die, the age of 84 is a good time to do it. After 84 years, the first trans-Saturnian planet Uranus returns to its original position, rounding off a complete heavenly cycle. It is as if you have managed to encapsulate in your life the lessons of Uranus – consciousness, revolution, liberation and internationalism. I remember meeting astrologer Alexander Ruperti (Note 1) when he gave a lecture at a congress in Prague , 84 years and still completely fresh and uncompromisingly original in his ideas. He seemed in perfect health, but died shortly after, his life a testimony to that planet most commonly associated with astrology, Uranus.The life of pope John Paul II – born Karol Wojtyla – was similarly encapsulated by an 84-year Uranus cycle, and he was a man who played an extremely powerful role in the revolutionary changes affecting the world in the second half of the twentieth century. His encouragement of Solidarity in his native Poland accelerated changes that were the beginning of the end for that arch enemy of Christianity – Communism. Pope John Paul was born at an eclipse, and buried on an eclipse, and his shadow stretched far over the countries of the world. As the most travelled pope in history, he was instrumental in converting millions of people in Asia , Africa and South America to the catholic faith.

Pope John Paul II: 18.05.1920 17.00 Wadowice, Poland AS 21.53 LI

(Note 2)

Though there is some disagreement about the exact time of his birth, the pope said on several occasions that is was at about 5 p.m. , which places Mars retrograde in Libra exactly on the Ascendant, and the eclipse on the cusp of the 8th house, strongly emphasizing struggle and transformation – and also putting the focus on sexuality. It is possible that the fact that Mars is in exile and retrograde, is not unrelated to pope John Paul II’s message of sexual restraint. He certainly raised some eyebrows when a couple of years after becoming pope he remarked in St Peter’s Square that a man would commit: “adultery in the heart” if he looked at his wife lustfully. (Note 2) Obviously even men would now have to close their eyes and think of England . The pope later qualified his remark – after an outcry of public opinion – by saying that sexual arousal could be ethical. Whew!

Progressed Mars went retrograde during the first 12 years of his life, and basically conjoined his Ascendant within a degree for over 30 years. This was not a pope who just preached peace and harmony – this was a fighter, and a man who was willing to struggle for justice and was quite comfortable with confrontation. In those first 30 years he saw the Nazi occupation of Poland , and subsequently the Soviet occupation. His mother died at the age of 8 and his father during World War II. Violence and trauma became a part of his life. Initially, as a priest in Poland, the communist rulers did not see Karol Wojtyla as a threat to their system, and with Mars in Libra he probably kept a low profile. Just after his progressed Mars moved into Scorpio, he became pope, and his true power became evident.

There are a number of key factors in Karol Wojtyla’s chart, which show the potential for him to become powerful, apart from the position of Mars. Firstly he is born at the time of the Jupiter/Neptune conjunction. These two planets meet every 13 years, and represent the start of a cycle, where the highest human aspirations are propagated. Pope John Paul II died when Jupiter in Libra was exactly trine Neptune in Aquarius, an apt expression of the outpouring of religious devotion at his death. The 1920 conjunction in Leo is a perfect expression for the pomp and glory of the Catholic Church and the Vatican , which became his home for the last 26 years of his life.

Jupiter/Neptune constellates by square with Pope John Paul II’s Venus in Taurus exactly conjunct the lunar nodes, and this is the key to his mission and nature. A Taurus himself, and with ruling planet Venus in Taurus, it is obvious that the role of this pope was the guardianship of the traditional values of the church. There is no doubt too that with Venus conjoining the South Node – and exactly on the “avatar” degree of 15° of fixed signs – his message was also one of love. True to his Taurean nature, though, he never budged on major issues like the unacceptability of contraception, gay relationships, and female ordination. In the last years of his life dissident Catholic theologians were dismissed or excommunicated and liberal cardinals and bishops were replaced.

This was his job, and he did it well. As birth control unleashed a wave of promiscuity in the last half of the 20th century, the moral authority of the church went into decline. Pope John Paul II actually reversed this, at least in the Third World , and actually managed to attract many young people through his uncompromising stance.

Another major theme in his chart is the exact opposition between Saturn and Uranus, which is squared by the Moon in Gemini. This T-square suggest the country he was born in, torn by the implacable forces of East and West, just as it also symbolizes the capacity to unify opposites and build a bridge from the old to the new. It is the enormous forces of this opposition that appeared to coincide with both great pain and great change in Karol Wojtyla’s life. At his mother’s death when he was 8, his Sun progressed to square both planets. Later, when his ruler Venus reached 5° Gemini and squared the opposition, the Nazi invasion of Poland meant his university was closed, and he had to work in a stone quarry. If the 5 p.m. birth time is correct, he became bishop in Kracow when his progressed MC conjoined Saturn in 1958, and he was shot when his progressed Ascendant squared Saturn and Uranus in 1981.

As head of the Catholic Church, the opposition between Saturn and Uranus showed the enormous stresses between the old and new… the need to modernize and the need to preserve. As could be expected with a Gemini Moon, pope John Paul II was a prolific writer – he was the author of a least six best-sellers, and hundreds of articles and essays. Saturn in Virgo demands an attention to detail and dogma. Where is was necessary the pope created transformation – Pluto is both trine Uranus and sextile Saturn – and where necessary he resisted change. He was prepared to make radical moves, being the first pope to worship in a mosque and a synagogue. He met with Arafat eight times, causing political uproar, and at the same time he mended relations with Israel , re-establishing diplomatic ties with the Vatican in 1994.

The movement of progressed Mercury can be seen as the trigger for many of the key developments in Karol Wojtyla’s life. It conjoined the progressed sun age 8 at the time of his mother’s death. During World War II when Mercury conjoined Pluto, he secretly studied to be a priest. At this time he had two near fatal accidents, one involving a tram and the other a runaway truck, which left him with a damaged shoulder for life. By the 1970’s Mercury began to slow up, preparing to retrograde, and just 43 minutes of arc from Jupiter it stops – and it is at this time he becomes pope. The years 1971-1982 are characterized by the progressed conjunction of Mercury with Neptune, the sublime meeting of the rational with the irrational, of man with God. In a sense this can be seen as the time when God speaks through his agent on Earth – the pope.

God’s message was rather heavy at the start, and as retrograde Mercury conjoined Neptune for the second time, Pope John Paul II was shot in St Peter’s Square on May 13th 1981 (when Pluto transit conjoined his Mars/Ascendant) – he nearly became a martyr. The pope visited his assassin in jail two years later and forgave him.

Mercury retrograded through Leo, entering Cancer in 1997, where it turned direct in 2000, which was the time when the pope made a public confession of the sins of the Catholic Church over the previous 2000 years, which included such things as the Inquisition, forced conversions to Christianity etc. When Mercury, now direct, entered Leo again, the pope passed away.

The pope died just prior to the eclipse in Aries, when the Sun and Venus were in precise conjunction at 13° Aries. With the light and love of Venus subsumed by the greater power of God, Pope John Paul II passed into another sphere. The Moon’s South Node was now at 22 degrees Libra, precisely on the pope’s Mars/Ascendant, whilst Saturn in Cancer was square the Ascendant/Descendant axis. A few days later – when hundreds of thousands of people congregated in St Peter’s square for the funeral – the Moon joined the Sun and Venus, and as they travelled through the heavens and encountered the North Node of the Moon, the light of the Sun flickered and was extinguished… just as it did at his birth.

Postscript

The eclipse chart for the burial of the pope could also be considered as the start horoscope for the conclave of cardinals, and may therefore provide a clue to the future pope. Eclipse chart for Rome : 8.04.2005 22.33 Rome AS 22.52 SC

Most notable in this chart is the emphasis in Aries, with Mars disposing of all planets in the chart. Mars in Aquarius shows the international nature of the papal funeral, with vast TV screens both in Rome and in major Catholic centres in the world. The conjunction of Mars with Neptune , and its strong trine to Jupiter should indicate the next pope, who with this astrological signature could hardly be European. Interestingly the shadow of the eclipse raced across the surface of the Earth from New Zealand and ended in Venezuela , after passing through Costa Rica , Panama and Columbia . The most prominent Cardinal from that area is Cardinal Castrillon Hoyos from Colombia . Hoyos, born on 4th July 1929 , has, interestingly, an exact Mars/Neptune conjunction on the fixed star Regulus at 29 Leo. However, at age 75 he is getting on. It would not be so good for the Catholic Church to repeat the disaster of Pope John Paul I, who died just one month after coming into office, thus paving the way for John Paul II immediately after.

Adrian Ross Duncan 14th April 2005

  • 1. Alexander Ruperti believed that planetary movements gave the possibility of spiritual growth. See for example his book “Cycles of Becoming”
  • 2. There are disagreements about the actual birth time of the pope. The pope himself said that he was born at 17.00 or between 17.00 and 18.00. According to the notes section of AstroDataBank at www.astrodatabank.com astrologer Alois Treindl quotes the German newsgroup de.alt.astrologie for an article by Mag. Andreas Kersting where he writes that he has asked the pope in private audience about his birth time whereupon the pope replied ‘at 17:00 exactly.’ “
  • 3. International Herald Tribune 4.04.2005 (Article by Robert D McFadden).

 

The Fourties

by | Jul 7, 2005 | Uncategorized

Men and women in their twenties or thirties do not really think they are going to die. They are aware that there are old people, and that at some point they disappear. Maybe they have even attended a funeral. But actually, this fate is not going to happen to them. There is so much to do, so much to achieve… death is a distant and vague prospect. Time stretches out into infinity, everything can still be achieved.This luxury is not available to those entering their forties. Time is finite. If there is a feeling that major goals have not been achieved, then time is becoming short. The doors are rapidly closing on women who have not yet had children. Bachelors are beginning to feel the emptiness of the bachelor life and wondering just how alone they might be as they get older. Those who have not found their mission in life feel mortality breathing down their neck. Blessed are they who made the necessary adjustments turning thirty at the Saturn Return, because for them entering the forties seems like rounding a corner at speed, whilst for those who did not the forties present daunting realities.Normally the second return of the Moon’s Nodes at the age of 37 has paved the way for soul-searching and a readjustment of life more in harmony with personal destiny. For most people, there has been professional success, and the establishment of a secure home and family. People’s minds turn to how they can enjoy the fruits, after they have sown all the seeds, and nurtured their growth. Nevertheless, for a large number of people, the early forties are a rude awakening, as the stressful aspects of Uranus, Neptune and Pluto kick in, culminating in the Saturn opposition. For those who have stressful aspects to the outer planets at birth, this is a time of radical change and transformation, which often brings stress and an urge to combat stress through medication, or through psychological and meditative techniques.

Most people in their early forties today have the rare and extreme Pluto/Uranus conjunction in their birth charts, and for them entering the forties is often characterized by a feeling of insecurity, especially concerned with their work, which may need restructuring. Many from this generation are obsessed with job security and constantly retraining and gaining new skills. They are acutely aware of how new technology or outsourcing to developing countries can suddenly rip away what they have worked so hard to build up. In the following section, I will use births in 1967 as a basis for analysis. Those born in 1967 would also have had Saturn in Pisces, the node in Taurus, Jupiter in Cancer and Neptune in Scorpio, a grand trine which might explain the musical and spiritual revolution that took place at that time. Kurt Cobain (Feb 20th 1967) who formed the appropriately named music group “Nirvana” was one of these – and unfortunately he did not make it into his forties. (He committed suicide at the age of thirty).

The birth positions of the outer planets have a strong influence on a person’s life as they complete the different stages of their cycles. During the 40th year, there are a whole series of predictable planetary influences. As Mercury returns to its exact birth position on the birthday every 20 years, 40 is a year when there is a considerable mental boost. Venus too returns to its birth position in its eight year cycle. For most people this is also a time when the Uranus opposition is starting, as is the Neptune square. And for people born in the last half of the 20th century, Pluto also makes a square at this time. A lot is going on, and the following could be said to a person turning 40:

– As you enter your forties and commence a new decade, you feel a sense of urgency about the future, and realize that a number of readjustments will be inevitable. This is a time when you review your mental skills – your education and communication – and take steps to optimize your intellectual capacity. (Mercury) There is extra focus on your comfort level – both economically and in relationships – and you will need to work harder on your weaknesses and capitalize on your strengths in these areas. (Venus) More importantly, there are a number of factors that seem beyond your control, that threaten to derail the train. This is why this is a good time to step back from more concrete goals and consider your overall mission in the second half of your life. How can you get out of the rut at work and innovate and change? (Pluto/Uranus in Virgo). How can you get more emotional depth and meaning into your intimate relationships? (Neptune in Scorpio). Opportunities for change and transformation should be welcomed rather than resisted.

For most people, the age of 41 is when the Uranus opposition is at its peak, and Pluto and Neptune are still powerful in the first square aspect to the birth position. Furthermore, with Jupiter now opposing itself and the node also squaring its natal position, the changes that commenced at 40 are still in full swing:

– During your 41st year you are still in the middle of a number of unfinished processes that require a review of the direction of your life. On the one hand powerful material forces give the opportunity for growth and expansion, whilst on the other you are required to expand your spiritual life. (Jupiter) Crucial experiences with people and groups that you have been involved with force you to revalue who you want to be with in the next phase of your life. (Node) An expansion of your horizons now can bring long journeys of exploration, and they can bring separation from people and circumstances that you feel have been restricting you. These changes can be accompanied by a spiritual and psychological crisis, that despite upheaval bring catharsis and renewal. If you have anything unique you feel you can offer the world, this is the time to go for it.

By the time we reach 42, the Uranus opposition and Neptune and Pluto squares are finally wearing off, but now Saturn is moving up to make its second opposition, which will grown stronger during the following year:

– As you enter your 42nd year, things are beginning to fall into place after a fairly radical transformation, which has seen you take risks and make what is for you some revolutionary changes. You have confronted many inner demons in this process, and gained psychological insight. (Pluto) You have weighed up the pros and cons of freedom versus commitment. (Uranus). Much has changed in your working environment. (Virgo) There have been times of confusion and helplessness, but somehow life is richer and has more meaningful, and intimacy is more rewarding. (Neptune in Scorpio). You have gained a higher degree of independence, and as you have done so, the focus now moves onto the important relationships in your life. This is the time to set limits, and to maintain your individuality, whilst considering just how much responsibility you are ready to take on.

The age of 43 is the year when the Saturn opposition is just beginning to kick in, whilst both Jupiter and the Node trine their natal position, and these influences tend to be stabilizing factors after an unsettled few years, so:

– Your 43rd year is a time when you are aware that major challenges are looming in the future, particularly in relation to authorities and partnership. Whilst this is a time when you feel that relationships bring limitations, this is also a time when you are willing to rise to the challenge and accept more responsibility. This is a year when you learn to create order out of chaos by making sure that all the details in your life function efficiently. (Saturn/Pisces) With confidence rising as the year progresses, you have a vision about how you would like the year ahead to develop, and you can achieve the goals you set yourself through hard work, good luck, and through help from people who support you on your path. (Saturn/Jupiter/Node)

By the age of 44, the Saturn opposition is all-dominant, whilst Jupiter, making the closing square to its natal position, increases tensions connected with growth and consolidation…

– Your 44th year is characterized by a strong awareness of the limitations imposed by both your personal and professional relationships. You meet resistance to your plans, and this leads you to consider making structural adjustments in your goals. There can be changes in your career, and serious re-evaluations of your emotional commitments. Setbacks are liable to occur, and a patient attitude is essential to overcome the challenges that arise. You need in particular to work on a fatalistic tendency to give up and allow things to dissolve – a kind of existential lethargy. (Saturn/Pisces). This is a year when you gain considerable insight, but can make hasty judgments. This can affect decisions connected with home and family. (Jupiter in Cancer).

The age of 45 is a something of a hiatus in the mid-forties, reflecting as it does the period of consolidation after the hectic years of the early forties and the final Saturn opposition to itself. However, once every 15 years, Mars comes very close to its birth position on the birthday, so it is an industrious time…

– After the many changes in the early forties, and the successful resolution of challenges in professional and personal partnerships last year, you are now in a position to consolidate the structures that have been established, and build upon them. There is a realization that you have a duty to give back to society as well as receive, and you may feel you have the surplus energy to do something for the community. This is a year when your energy peaks, and – as you now have a clear idea what goals you want to achieve – there can be considerable achievement. With this new forcefulness and maturity the way is paved for promotion and success.

At the age of 46 the Moons Nodes exchange positions, just as they did at the age of 27. According to Indian tradition the nodes are rather nervous about each other’s presence, so it is not a comfortable time, existentially speaking. The age of 46 is not the early forties anymore, but the approaching fifties…

– During your 46th year there is a growing sense that professional ambition and family security is not necessarily the answer to all your needs. There is also the matter of your personal destiny, and questions arise now as to whether the path you are treading conforms to your inner evolutionary needs. The time has long gone when you could afford to chop and change as regards work and partnership, you need to focus on what has meaning for you as an evolving soul. Generally speaking, this mean being honest about who you want to spend time with and be influenced by, and this year you may wish to move away from some people, and towards others who are more in tune with your spiritual needs. (Nodes) Specifically for you this is connected with establishing stability where there has been chaos, and finding inner peace where there has been soul-searching and confusion. (Node in Taurus)

The age of 47 tends to be a year of growth and confidence because Jupiter returns for the fourth time to its birth position…

– During your 47th year you experience a surge of personal confidence and a renewed vision of just what you are aiming for in life. Insight and understanding come easily to you, and you are drawn to deeper study and an urge to widen your horizons through travel. Your opinions and convictions become more pronounced, and you are not prepare to allow intellectual and spiritual authorities to browbeat you. Whilst you are willing to receive instruction from the truly wise, you have no time for self-appointed gurus. Enjoying life is a question of attitude, and this year your natural optimism ensures that you attract good fortune and success. (Jupiter) You receive a particular boost in your family life, and you can expect happy family events and perhaps a move or enlargement of your living space. (Cancer)

At the age of 48, with the fifties rapidly approaching the major planetary influence is the return of Venus to its original position on the birthday…

– The age of 48 is a key year for your relationships and economic security. This is a time when your love life is a key issue, and your basic needs and tastes come strongly to the fore. There are increasing demands on existing relationships that they be meaningful and authentic, rather than a soft cushion to sleep on. There is a need for more intimacy, and a re-examination of the role of sexuality in the relationship. New relationships can be formed that are based on higher values than the material. On the economic front new sources of income can be found, and new investments made.

The age of 49 gently rounds off the roller coaster forties, with a supportive Saturn moving in to trine its natal position, whilst Jupiter makes its first sextile after the 4th return…

– Your 49th year is a year of achievement, growth and consolidation during which you build on established foundations and generally feel comfortable with the path you have carved out for yourself. There is a sense that you have been accepted by society and have an important role to play, and the need to prove yourself makes way for a sense of satisfaction as regards your achievements during the forties. (Saturn) You have a profound understanding of the trials and tribulations that people go through during their lives, and you have learned to see your own struggles in this universal light. (Pisces) With a strong personal foundation, you are able to start a new phase of personal expansion and already this year you will reap the economical and social benefits of the efforts you have put in.

There are those who say that life begins at forty – but they may just be trying to cheer us up. Yet the forties are probably the very best years for success in all areas of life. For most people there is an assured income, a loving partner, children who are beginning to get independent… all the ingredients for happiness. But rounding fifty is another matter altogether. Women have reached menopause, and men have their own struggles with potency. For all women and most men there will be no new children. It’s getting too late for gaining new qualifications. Youth has certainly gone. Nevertheless, some of the greatest successes have been made after the age of fifty. This is the age of most presidents and prime ministers, and huge economic empires are created by older men and women. Most people in the west have both the freedom and the finances to pursue their dreams, and with the increased life span in the 21st century it some people are starting to get away with saying: Life begins at fifty.

Adrian Ross Duncan 20.10.2005

Russia – A Painful Transition

by | Aug 7, 2004 | Uncategorized

It has been three years since 9/11, and during this time there no significant terrorist attack has occurred on American territory. Whether this is because of the effectiveness of the security system in the USA , the difficulty of operating under cover in America , or the fact that people like it so much in the States that terror cannot get a foothold, is difficult to say.

The same cannot be said for Russia , which in a comparable period has lost hundreds of lives to terrorist attacks. In 1999 two housing blocks in Moscow were reduced to rubble leaving 213 dead, and prompting an uncompromising repression in Chechnya . During the Moscow theatre siege in October 2002 129 hostages died. Two female suicide bombers detonated themselves at a Moscow rock concert in July 2003 killing 15. After elections in December 2003 a female suicide bomber killed 6 in central Moscow . 40 people were killed on February 6, 2004 when a suicide bomber detonated himself in a subway car. But in recent months, things have gone from bad to worse. On August 24, 2004 , terrorist suicide bombers brought down two passenger planes, killing all 90 passengers. One week later a suicide bomber killed 10 outside a crowded Moscow subway station.

And, at the time of writing, the disaster at Beslan school led to the death of more than 300 people, half of them children. A litany of disaster and sorrow for the Russian people. This string of disasters is unusual for any country, so what is going on in Russia ? On Christmas day 1991, at the time of the Uranus/Neptune conjunction, which takes place just once every 172 years, the Russian flag was raised over the Kremlin, symbolically marking its rebirth after 74 years of communism.

See chart for Russia – Flag-up: 25.12.1991 20.45 Moscow AS 25.16 Leo

This chart marks a strong departure from the 1917 Revolution chart (Note 1), which has a powerful and secretive T-square from Sun/Mercury in Scorpio to Saturn/Neptune in Leo and Uranus in Aquarius. However one major similarity between the two charts is the position of Flag-up Moon at 3.13 Virgo, on Revolution Mars at 2.58 Virgo. Transiting Uranus in Pisces from 2003 to 2004 has of course powerfully activated this Virgo position. In itself this indicates explosive and violent developments for the Russian people. The 1991 chart also has Mars at 19.12 Sagittarius, which has been activated by transit Pluto over the last two years.

Terrorism is the act of extremely small minorities using extremely brutal methods to attain results out of all proportion to their size, and these elements are very much part of the Pluto dynamic, which becomes exceedingly violent when aligned with Mars. The natural result of this is the transformation of a nation’s military arm, so that it becomes more secretive and more repressive to cope with the threat. To some extent this is also happening in America , whose Mars at 21 Gemini is currently being opposed by Pluto. But it is most definitely happening in Russia , as Putin’s latent autocratic nature begins to assert itself, and indeed is welcomed by the majority of the Russian people, who want a strong leader like Stalin, not a “good” leader like Gorbatchev.

It is an extraordinary thing – the chances are one in a million – but the US progressed Mars and the Russian (Revolution) progressed Mars BOTH move retrograde by progression in 2005, at 18.42 Libra and 3.04 Libra respectively. What does that mean? Two similarities that spring to mind are: the USA has overextended itself by invading Iraq , and its army is getting mired in an increasingly violent “terrorist” backlash in that country, and Russia has overextended itself in Chechnya and is suffering from its own “terrorist” backlash. Putin declared that the insurrection in Chechnya was over around the same time that Bush famously announce “mission accomplished” at his aircraft carrier photoshoot after the fall of Baghdad .

Logic would indicate that when Mars is stationary retrograde – a process that lasts many years – it shows an impossibility of making progress. It is brought to a halt. Only one direction is possible, and that is backwards. Whilst the planet is stationary, it is mired; later it can withdraw. Therefore we will see America locked in Iraq and Russia locked in Chechnya for a number of years, with a withdrawal likely probably around 2010 – 2011, when the Pluto/Uranus square hits the 1991 Russian Sun (and US Venus/Jupiter).

This is a time that will bring other forms of upheaval worldwide because of the number of countries with important planets activated by the coming grand cross between Saturn, Jupiter, Uranus and Pluto. Looking at the progressions in the 1991 chart for Russia , it can be seen that the progressed sun reaches Uranus in 2001 and Neptune in 2004, so clearly this period is a time of upheaval, change and confusion for the newly reborn country. The awful outcome of the theater siege in 2002 eerily reflects the Uranus/Neptune conjunction in 1991 Russia ‘s 5th house – an explosive terrorist action at a place of entertainment ending in 150 deaths by gas poisoning. On September 11th, 2001 that the Sun conjoined Russia ‘s Uranus to the minute of arc! With Uranus ruling Russia ‘s Descendant, it probably shows the US as Russia ‘s main partner and adversary, but the progressed conjunction showed them joined in mutual shock.

With Putin’s support for Bush’s war on terror, Russia was freed of international criticism to escalate its own oppression in Chechnya. Whatever plans Putin had for the subjugation of Chechnya , the escalation of terror in Russia has increased with the passage of the Sun over the Uranus/Neptune conjunction. The unfathomable tragedy of the school siege at Beslan took place as the Sun progressed conjoined Neptune (and progressed Neptune… within 6 minutes of arc). This was a pinnacle of despair for Russia… a sense that terrorism was unbeatable and that no measures could conquer it.

See chart for Beslan School siege – 1.09.2004 9.00 (approx) Beslan 43N12 44E33 AS 7.56 Libra Source: The Guardian

This siege took place just after the downing of two Russian airliners, amongst other virulent terrorist attacks, and this is reflected by the applying Sun/Mars conjunction of August/September 2004, earlier opposing Uranus, and soon to square Pluto. In fact the siege Sun activates the Uranus/Pluto midpoint, showing the potential for insane destruction. This is the time when Venus in Cancer reaches Saturn, a conjunction that vividly illustrates the grieving families.

The nodal axis at 3 degrees Taurus/Scorpio of this chart is on Putin’s Ascendant/Descendant axis and Russia ‘s Sun/Moon midpoint, and indeed, when the transiting Moon conjoined the South Node, the siege disintegrated into mayhem and murder. The trigger for the series of explosions that reduced the school’s gymnasium – where the hostages were crowded together in the summer heat – to ruins, was the passage of the MC over the Sun/Mars conjunction at 13.05 on September 3rd. As the explosive charges were detonated, the roof collapsed.

It is interesting to note that Putin’s Moon is at 2.55 Gemini, exactly square 1917 Mars (3 minutes of arc) and 1991 Moon. This too has been triggered by transiting Uranus in Pisces, and the fact that schoolchildren were in the firing line is perhaps reflected by the Moon’s position in Gemini and the 8th. Chiron stands exactly on the 3rd house cusp of education. The reaction of Putin to this tragedy was typical. His point was that he had allowed a referendum in Chechnya in 2001, and the people of Chechnya voted to stay with Russia . The attack in Beslan had nothing to do with Chechnya , it was the work of international terrorism. He refused a public enquiry into the siege, promising only an internal enquiry behind closed doors. And looking a Putin’s chart (Note 2) one can see why.

See chart for Vladimir Putin – 7 Oct 1952 9.30 St Petersburg AS 3.10 SC

I have previously commented on Putin’s chart (Note 3) which, with Scorpio rising, Pluto/South Node on MC and the Moon in Gemini in the 8th, shows the information-gathering spy, which Putin once was. He spent his early years rising through the ranks of the KGB stationed in East Germany , before becoming vice mayor of St. Petersburg after the disintegration of the Soviet Union . Putin has a sixth degree black belt in judo, and has been training since he was 14, so – if world domination was decided by single combat – Russia would undoubtedly come out on top. The only other premier that might have compared was President Roosevelt, who achieved a rank of brown belt. What this means is that Putin is a fighter, and he is dedicated to winning. For the samurai, failure is not an option.

Mars in his horoscope is on the Galactic Center at 26 Sagittarius, suggesting a masculinity elevated to the divine. (Note 4) The Mars/Pluto trine shows a person able to mobilize extreme willpower to achieve victory. His Mercury/Neptune conjunction constellates strongly with this trine, showing a subtle, secretive and ingenious mind. Putin says what is necessary to say under the circumstances – truth is a relative concept subservient to achieving supremacy.

Nobody in their right mind would fight against Putin. Still, there are times when even the most skilled samurai runs into trouble. Pluto, which has crossed 1991 Russia ‘s Mars during 2003 and 2004, will reach Putin’s Mars during 2006-2007, casting him into a struggle for survival against formidable odds. People are not weakened by Pluto transits, but rather called upon to exhibit superhuman strength. At the same time, it can also be wise to cut your losses. Putin will fight power with power at this time. He may take losses, but he will survive. The danger is that the losses, bearable for him, will not be bearable for others.

If his birth time is correct, 2006-2007 is the period of the Saturn/Neptune opposition from 19-22 Leo/Aquarius, right on Putin’s Pluto, Nodes and MC/IC axis. This suggests that he will be ruling a country that is dissolving into a morass. Bearing in mind that Russia has always been sensitive to Neptune/Saturn cycles (Note 5), and that Putin himself was born during one, this is obviously going to be a difficult and testing time for both him and the country. The prognosis is that the extreme manifestation of terrorism in Russia will continue until 2007, but will die off as the Sun progresses away from the Uranus/Neptune conjunction, and Pluto moves away from Russia’s and Putin’s Mars in Sagittarius. These terrorist atrocities are a reflection of the extreme transits and progressions of the last few years. Putin will achieve a measure of success in “winning the war on terrorism”.

On the other hand, there is no denying that the 1991 chart, with its Sun/Uranus/Neptune conjoining the nodal axis reflects a constant struggle to govern the ungovernable. As the Russian Uranus at 13.19 Capricorn is exactly square Putin’s Sun at 13. 56 Libra, much of Putin’s time as president will be spent coping with the unpredictable, and when Pluto conjoins this point in 2015, whist Uranus squares it (opposing Putin’s Sun), Putin will leave the Russian stage.

Adrian Ross Duncan 17.09.2004

1. Russian Revolution (Storming of the Winter Palace ) 8.11.1917
2.12 St Petersburg 59N55 30E15 2. Theoretically Putin’s data come from his birth certificate. There is however controversy about this, with some Russian astrologers pointing out that there were no birth certificates in Russia at the time of Putin’s birth. His birth time should therefore be treated with caution. One argument for this time is that his Ascendant at 3 degrees Scorpio in exactly at 1991 Russia ‘s Sun/Moon midpoint.
3. See http://www.worldofwisdom.co.uk/04_articles/2000/05_putin.htm
4. The Galactic Centre is a black hole around which the Solar System revolves once every 2.25 million years. Those who think that Brad Pitt is a god will be interested to learn that his Sun is at 26 Sagittarius.
5. The Russian revolution, Stalin’s death, and the dissolution of the Soviet Union all took place during at Saturn/Neptune conjunctions.

…Read More

Love & Romance on the Mediterranean

by | Aug 7, 2004 | Adrian’s Articles 2004, Adrian’s Articles 2004

When summer comes to the Northern Europe, holidaymakers flock to countries where the sun is guaranteed to shine, and cross-cultural encounters take place that can be both puzzling and disturbing. If you are young, blond – and male – you can forget it, if you are thinking of seducing a Greek, Spanish or Italian female. It could be more than your life is worth, even in the unlikely case that you succeeded. But if you are young, blond – and female – there is nothing like a visit to a Mediterranean beach if you want to learn about the local men. Take Sicily for example. Women from the north, with cool blood running through theirs veins, are fair game to young Italian studs who are fully convinced that they can offer an experience in romance and passion that cannot be match by their pale rivals in the north. There will be no escape from the relentless pursuit of these persistent Romeos. Advice: Find a boyfriend from a Mafia family, and the harassment will stop.If you travel even further afield, then far stranger things can happen. Hitching to India with my girlfriend at the tender age of 19, we came aboard a long-distance lorry bound for Teheran. When we stopped for the night, the driver made a little love nest in his cabin. I prepared to defend the honor of my girlfriend, but it turned out the driver wanted me to join him. Only when I declined the flattering offer did he then make a (vain) attempt at luring my girlfriend. Travelling east I found again and again that it was the young man who was the object of desire.

Although it cannot be quantified scientifically, national stereotypes, which arise for the deepest cultural roots of a particular land, are widely seen as being more or less accurate. To some extent these gender stereotypes can be clearly seen in the country’s horoscope, and Italy is a classic case. A country can be represented by a series of horoscopes for political events, and these charts can both show an evolution in gender roles, as well as confirm historical roles that persist through history. The most recent chart is likely to show the current cultural trends, which both sexes will respond to.

See chart for Republic of Italy – 10 Jun 1946 18.00 Rome

The 1946 chart for Italy has Scorpio rising with Mars in Leo in the 9th conjoining the Midheaven. This Mars, which configures (rather weakly) with a Jupiter/Uranus trine, clearly indicates a man confidant of his own worth and sexuality. The blond Swede sunbathing near Palermo is going to have her work cut out fighting off this Mars. Mars in Leo can scarcely imagine anyone truly wanting the rebuff his advances. This is complicated by the controlled and moralistic Venus/Saturn conjunction on the 9th house cusp squaring Jupiter in Libra. The Italian woman is bent on marriage and a relationship for life. Mars can hardly believe his luck when he sees the blonde on the beach. Resistance is only to be expected – he gets it every day from Italian women. Actually Mars in Leo is probably just having a bit of fun… the sextiles to Jupiter and Uranus just want to talk. (Unlike French men, who really mean business). Let the Italian man celebrate his freedom while he has it. As soon as he is married, he will be bound into the controlling web of the family.

Looking at two other significant, but older, charts for Italy in 1861 and 1871, the first chart (Note 1) shows Mars sandwiched between Moon and Pluto in Taurus. This Mars in exile is square Jupiter in Leo, so it is probably a very naughty Mars, eager for sexual satiation, but it is firmly under the sway of Mother. Even here Venus is in trouble, exalted in Pisces but opposing Saturn – the woman as self-denying saint. The later chart (Note 2), which is also a very significant horoscope for Italy has Venus at 24 Leo (square Pluto trine Neptune ) exactly where Mars is in the 1946 chart. So there should also be room for the Venus in Leo woman in Italy – proud, sexy and imperious. This Venus sextiles Mercury in Gemini, which brings to mind an attractive woman on her motor scooter. In this later chart, Mars is weak (but amorous) in exile in Libra.

If our northern blonde wants to sunbathe undisturbed (though this may not be her goal) then the place to go to is Spain . Statistics show that 27% of Spanish males visit a prostitute in their lives (Note 3) – the highest proportion in Europe . They are more reserved, and more frustrated. In the 1975 chart for the establishment of democracy in Spain , Mars is as weak as it can be.

See chart for Inauguration of King Juan Carlos – 22nd Nov 1975 12.45 Madrid

In fall in Cancer and retrograde, Mars is retreating from a trine to Uranus in Scorpio (those prostitutes?). Perhaps Mars still has memories of the bloody civil war during the 1930s. Mars is under the sway of the Moon in Cancer, and indeed it has been shown that it is Spanish men who stay longest in the home, often living under their mother’s wing into the 30’s, if a suitable partner has not been found.

Spanish women on the other hand appear deeply aware of their femininity and sexuality. Slim, poised and bejeweled you will see them walking proudly on the streets… obviously quite a handful for that weak Mars in Cancer. The Venus/Pluto conjunction in the 8th house seems to speak of the fatal allure of Carmen and the passionate flamenco dancers with their swishing red and black skirts. The sexual power of Spanish women is one thing, but the exact square to the Moon in Cancer is another. Once the flamboyance of youth has faded, then motherhood rules supreme. Talking to a womanizing Dutchman who had been resident in Spain for over a decade, he complained bitterly of how Spanish women tended to let themselves go once a relationship had become stable. Apparently, as he ruefully explained, they even stopped shaving their legs.

Whilst the women of Spain are blessed by a dignified Venus and Moon, the women of Greece have the misfortune of having the reverse placement. The chart for the establishment of democracy in Greece , after the overthrow of the military government in 1974, shows Venus conjoining Mercury and Saturn in the chart’s 12th house, and in close square to a Moon/Pluto conjunction in the 4th. That’s a very heavy combination. It reminds of the circumstances of the widow who has an affair in the iconic film Zorba the Greek , who is ritually murdered by a jealous mob of older women in black. You can forget about falling in love again in old Greece if your husband dies.

See chart for Greek Democracy – 24 Jul 1974 4.00 Athens

Other significant horoscopes for Greece were created when they gained independence from Turkey in 1822, (Note 4) and the subsequent kingdom in 1830. Both charts show Venus in Pisces in either square or opposition to Mars, which seems to suggest that men and women are at odds with each other and lead separate lives. In Ancient Greece, o nce a woman was married her husband controlled all her property including any she might have inherited. Any respectable woman would not be seen in public. Without political rights women were controlled by men at all stages of their lives, but they in turn ruled a plentiful supply of female slaves. It is said that even in modern Greece , women have very little power and influence, though they rule the home and the sexual favors they give with an iron hand. Certainly the Venus/Saturn in Cancer in the 12th square Moon/Pluto in Libra in the 4th show them as the power in a shadowy home, with sex and love released in controlled doses to achieve an agenda.

Still, with Mars in Leo sextile Uranus, why should the men care? Men socialize with men and women with women, even in modern Greece , so they can always go and sip ouzo in a cafe and eye the foreign talent. Women on the other hand are virtually imprisoned in the home, and get together in each other’s houses so share their secret world, or go to church.

If there are any French readers of this article, they are probably trying hard to contain their impatience. We all know who the world’s greatest lovers are, don’t we? Looking at the many charts for France , one has to agree that French women at least have certain charms. The most recent chart for France is the 5th Republic, which was established by Charles de Gaulle in 1958.

See chart for France 5th Republic – 5 Oct 1958 0.00 Paris

Here we can see Venus at home in Libra, and in harmonious trine to Mars, suggesting an uncomplicated mutual attraction between the sexes. With Venus, Mercury the Sun and Node in Libra, we have a glimpse of France as the fashion capital of the world. A trip to Paris confirms the image of French women as stylish and fashion-conscious. The French are really proud of their culture and taste. They look with horror at the dumpy English with their stodgy food. Quel horreur! The Mars/Venus trine does suggest a nation of lovers, and it is politically correct for polticians to have affairs. Mitterand certainly had his extra-marital escapades, even fathering children outside his marriage. The finest precedent was set by President Félix Faure who died in a mistress’s bed in 1899. In earlier charts from France – for example the famous establishment of a new government in Day One of Year one (Note 6) Venus was also in Libra.

However there may be grounds to be skeptical about French men. Not their virility of course, that can’t be in doubt, but their male chauvinism. In the 1958 chart Mars in Gemini is square Pluto, in the 4th Republic chart from 1946 Mars is in Scorpio loosely square Pluto, in Day 1, Year 1, Mars is in Scorpio square Pluto (and Uranus) … so these are some complicated men – powerful, secretive and somewhat obsessed with virility. French men may not be the world’s greatest lovers, but they are probably the most fixated. Adverts in France often reflect the fetishist quality of male fantasies, and the depiction of their female counterparts in very sexually explicit situations. The 1958 Mars in Gemini square Pluto also suggests an obsessive secretiveness… perhaps it is the ambition of the average French male to have both wife and mistress. After all, that’s what the President has.

Of course, as an Englishman (Welsh actually – it is said we favor sheep) it can be very comfortable sitting back and writing about other Europeans. But what about the British? Sex amongst the British is hardly something I can bring up in polite company, but perhaps in another article…

Adrian Ross Duncan

 

1. Kingdom of Italy 17th March 1861 , 0 hrs LMT AS 3.58 SG

2. Italy : King Victor Emmanuel enters Rome : 2 Jul 1871 12.30 Rome AS 13.46 LI

3. Information from The Guardian

4. Declaration of Independence : Jan 13 1822 Noon (Time Unknown) Athens

Kingdom of Greece : 3 Feb 1830 Noon (Time Unknown), Athens

5. France, Day 1 Year 1: 21 Sep 1792 15.20 LMT Paris, AS 25.33 CP

6. France, 4th Republic 28 Oct 1946 0.00 Paris , AS 11.31 LE