The Scots are a fearsome bunch. Emperor Hadrian certainly thought so, which is why he in AD 122 built a wall from coast to coast just south of the Scottish border, to keep marauding Scots out. Having carved out a huge empire, Rome gave up at the Scottish highlands and retreated behind their wall. Historically, Scotland has been fiercely independent – the union with England only taking place in 1707. Prior to that, Scotland made alliances with France against England, and for England there was always the threat of invasion from the North.
Robert the Bruce
England repeatedly tried to incorporate Scotland and had some success in the 13th century under Edward I. This led to a war of independence, and imprinted in the memory of every Scot is their hero Robert the Bruce, who comprehensively defeated the English under Edward II at the Battle of Bannockburn. (Note 1) The army of Edward II was crushed in this battle and the English were driven out of the country. In 1324 Scotland was recognized in Europe as an independent country, and Scottish independence was finally agreed by the new king Edward III in 1328 at the Treaty of Edinburgh.
The coronation of King Robert took place in 1306, eight years before the Battle of Bannockburn. At the time there was a massive conjunction of Jupiter-Saturn-Uranus-Neptune and the North Node in Scorpio trine Venus in Pisces, which reflects a powerful king and a new era for Scotland.
The Act of Union
With the 1707 Act of Union, Scotland and England joined to create the kingdom of Great Britain. Prior to that, there had been a crazy period for England and Scotland, as the schism between Catholicism and Protestantism ravaged Europe. The 17th century was characterized by religious hysteria. The tolerance of Elizabeth I in the 16th century gave way to the deadly persecution of Catholics and a massive fear that King Charles 1st would reintroduce allegiance to the Pope. In the 1640’s Parliament rebelled, and led by Oliver Cromwell King Charles was beheaded on January 13th, 1649.
The horoscope for this event (Note 2) is stunningly bad, with a Saturn-Pluto conjunction opposing a Uranus-Neptune conjunction, and Mars squaring both. This reflects the messianic zeal of the Parliamentarians and Cromwell, who truly believed that they were ushering in the End of The World and saw themselves as latter-day saints. It was an insane period, but it ultimately led to the constitutional monarchy in what was known as the Glorious Revolution of 1688-9, when William III was crowned king and had to accept the supremacy of Parliament.
The Act of Union can be used as a horoscope for Great Britain, but it is also significant for Scotland, although some astrologers have taken the coronation of the Scottish King Malcolm on 25th March 1006 as a key foundation moment.
HOROSCOPE: Union of Scotland and England. 12th May 1707 (NS) 0.00 London. (AS 6.07 LE)
Bonnie Prince Charlie
The Act of Union was not the end of the Scottish desire for independence. In 1746 Bonnie Prince Charlie led a large army of Scots and French against British forces, invading England and initially gaining a number of military successes. But it was a chaotic campaign and at the disastrous Battle of Culloden the Scottish army was routed on April 16th, 1746. This was the definitive end of Scottish rebellion, with subsequent suppression of the Gaelic language and the right to bear arms.
The First Referendum
The question now is whether – in the wake of Brexit (when 62% of the Scottish people voted to stay) and a hated Conservative government – Scotland will choose to separate from England to create a Disunited Kingdom. Legally Scotland and England are united on a voluntary basis, and England cannot compel Scotland to stay in the Union. Boris Johnson can try to delay a second referendum, but he cannot forbid it.
There was a referendum in 2014 when a small majority voted for remaining unified. The horoscope for the opening of the polls quite clearly shows independents losing.
Scottish Referendum. September 18th, 2014 8.00 am Edinburgh (AS 5.54 LI)
The Ascendant ruler Venus, which represents the voters, is in fall in Virgo and hidden away in the 12th house, making a feeble sextile to Saturn in Scorpio in the 2nd house – reflecting a people scared of the dire economic consequences from independence and carefully voting for security. This is understandable, not least because revenues from North Sea oil are slowly disappearing. Mercury in Libra and the 1st House is in reception with Venus, which probably strengthens the economic argument for staying.
The Moon in Cancer constellates with the Uranus-Pluto square, suggesting a people wracked by anxiety about independence. Dependence is safer, reflected by the exact trine of the Moon to Saturn in the 2nd House. The Moon is exactly square the Libra-Aries nodal axis, crystallizing the dilemma of union versus independence. And it is notable that Mercury has just entered its shadow, meaning that later it will move retrograde and return to its referendum degree – intimations of a second vote at a later date.
The Second Referendum
Since the last referendum in 2014, opinion polls have shown Scotland to be evenly divided between supporters of union and independence. In the May 2021 Scottish parliament election, the Scottish National Party narrowly failed to gain an overall majority, but with the Greens, who also support independence, they now have 72 out of 129 seats. The leader of the SNP, Nicola Sturgeon, has announced her intention to hold a second referendum as soon as the pandemic dies down. Boris Johnson has said he will refuse to allow it.
If you like the Union Jack, you may soon have to mourn its demise. A crisis is approaching which could mean irrevocable change for the United Kingdom. Quite apart from the fact that there will almost certainly be a new British monarch in a few years, there is sure to be a second independence referendum for Scotland, and – considering young voters are primarily for independence – the result may well be a Yes.
This upheaval is shown in the 1707 horoscope, which has the Sun at 20.28 Taurus conjoining the IC at 21.29. Uranus conjoins the Sun in June and November 2023 and finally in March 2024. Transit Uranus conjoining the Sun and IC hints at a possible liberation from the bond to England. We could be looking at an independent Scotland in 2024, with all the complications that will bring, as they seek membership of the EU once again, meaning that a hard border would arise, just like there now is between the North and South in Ireland.
Historical Correlations
Of course, Uranus, with its 84-year cycle has conjoined the 1707 Sun-IC three times earlier, in 1772, 1856 and 1940, These were turbulent times for Britain, but not necessarily for Scotland. 1772 saw unrest in the American colonies leading to independence from Britain four years later. 1856 marked the end of the Crimean War and the beginning of the Indian Mutiny which was a huge threat to English colonialism. And of course 1940 saw the beginning of the Second World War – and the beginning of the end for the British Empire. Historically, then, there are indications of separatism when Uranus conjoins this point in the 1707 chart.
Nicola Sturgeon
The SNP leader Nicola Sturgeon (Note 3) has the Sun at 26.29 Cancer in the 9th house in square to Jupiter at 27.04 Libra. Pluto will be transiting these degrees from April 2021 to November 2022 at which time she will almost certainly be involved in a legal battle, which could be the forerunner to a referendum. (It is noteworthy that at the coronation of King Malcolm in 1005 Saturn was a 27 Cancer square Mars at 25 Aries – so these are sensitive degrees.)
Sturgeon also has Saturn at 20 Taurus – right on the 1707 Sun and IC. In the autumn of 2022 Saturn and Uranus almost complete a 4th square aspect to each other at 19 degrees Taurus-Aquarius, suggesting a titanic struggle is in the making.
The 1801 Chart for the United Kingdom
The official unification of Scotland, Ireland and England took place in 1801, and this chart is often considered the most resonant for current British history. Ireland itself was not keen on being subdued by England and in the 19th century repeatedly declared independence, which the British parliament ignored. The seminal moment for Irish independence was the Easter Rising in Dublin on April 14th, 1916 with Mars opposing Uranus at 19 Aquarius. Scotland needs to pull of the same feat as Ireland, when successfully gained independence from the United Kingdom in 1922 – but hopefully without the violent rebellion. Clearly the current Saturn-Uranus square activating the Easter Rising Uranus degree indicates some resonance with the rebellious urges found in Ireland 100 years ago.
United Kingdom January 1st, 1801. 0.00 hrs. London (AS 7 LI)
If Scotland did vote for independence in a second referendum, you would expect to see something major happening in the 1801 chart. At the Easter Rising, Uranus was exactly on the UK’s Venus square Neptune. At the time of writing in May 2021 Uranus is on Mars at 11.45 Taurus, and will go on to activate the rest of the planets in the grand fixed cross – Venus, Neptune and Saturn, aided and abetted by Saturn in 2021 and 2022. Obviously this shows a long series of upsets for the United Kingdom.
The whole 4-year Brexit saga is shown by Pluto first conjoining the UK Sun and then opposing the UK Moon. In 2024, Pluto enters Aquarius opposing Jupiter and in trine to Uranus, which is sure to stimulate the urge for freedom and independence. Progressions to the UK chart in 2022 show the Sun progressed conjoining Jupiter progressed at 16 Leo opposing Venus at 16 Aquarius and going on to make a square to Neptune (along with progressed MC).
That looks a lot like chaos, which will relate on the one hand to changes in the royal family, and on the other to legal confusion in the event of a vote for Scottish independence. Boris Johnson – with his many planets in Gemini – is likely to preside over a splitting up of the United Kingdom, which if it does take place, will probably come into effect in 2024. Better start stocking up on the Scotch.
Adrian Ross Duncan
13th May 2021
Note 1. The Battle of Bannockburn took place on 23rd June 1314 around the time of a Uranus-Pluto square.
Note 2. Execution of Charles I: January 30th, 1649 (NS) 14.00 London (AS 11.22 CN)
Note 3. Nicola Sturgeon July 19th 1970 15.19 Irvine, Scotland (AS 7.20 SC)