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A man cycles past the Grand People's Study House in Pyongyang
(Kok Leng Yeo, Sept 2008)
Maybe you heard…North Korea launched a rocket. This of course, generated many an objection. And considering how secretive North Korea is, that’s probably justified. As we move into the Age of Aquarius, the way forward into peace involves honesty and disclosure. Yet just as obviously, the negative Aquarian tendency to isolate or think you’re ‘above all that togetherness’ is going to rear its ugly head many times over the next two thousand (plus) years.
As for Korea, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (the DPRK or North Korea) has a ‘birth date’ of September 9, 1948. Its capital being Pyongyang, we thus get a chart which looks like this:
North Korea's inception
Pyongyang, North Korea - September 9, 1848 - noon (JST -9)
A few astrological observations:
This chart has a Moon at 2 Sagittarius and conjunct Medusa and Nemesis, describing a nation which has been ‘born’ under a strict set of warnings and which is afraid of facing certain truths as to what that means. With this Moon in opposition to Pallas at 7 Gemini (conjunct Aldebaran at 9 Gemini) there is great wisdom to be gained and utilized, but that depends on a high level of integrity in the part of the nation itself.
And that may be problematic for two reasons. One is that the Jupiter which rules this national Moon is in its own sign – a signature which tends to denote a very particular brand of self-involved short-sightedness. That this Jupiter is conjunct Circe, Kalypso and Ras Alhague further lends a convoluted ‘enchantment’ with both the ability to rise above all evil and to inflict it.
The Sun in this chart is at 16 Virgo and conjunct House and Photographica, giving us to think there is an issue with what we would refer to in a personal chart as ‘self-image’ and being comfortable ‘in one’s skin.’
With this Virgo Sun ruled by Mercury at 8 Libra is a highly interesting note in that 8 Libra, sometimes known as the “Widow’s Degree,” speaks to what seems to almost be a karmic need to lose in order to learn important lessons about values and what’s valuable.
But this Mercury is not alone…at 8 Libra, Mercury is conjunct fixed star Diadem – the crowning glory. So this idea of needing to experience loss is at some level an metaphysical aesthetic of this country.
To add to this and make all inestimably more complicated, this national natal Mercury is also conjunct Neptune, the classic description of invisibility and/or deception. Positioned in Libra (the ‘how it looks’ sign) its easy to see North Korea involved in posturing because and when it feels a sense of loss or lack of world identity.
Moreover, this nation’s natal Neptune is conjunct Ixion. And (for those who care) it is also conjunct the position that the Galactic Core would have been at the inception of the Mayan creation count which is ending now in under two weeks.
The Ixion challenge is to learn not to repeat one worst attitudes or attributes, notably when it comes to how you treat others. The whole ‘I can do what I want, never mind the rules, morality, integrity…’ all those are very Ixion.
So when we recognize that transiting Ixion and Pholus (another symbol of how we tend to trip ourselves up) are both currently conjuncting North Korea’s Jupiter, it doesn’t seem so odd that this would be a time when North Korea would stir the rest of the world up by sending up a rocket.
As for the date, the specific date of this launch comes as the Sun is rolling over this highly sensitive point.
North Korea launches rocket
Pyongyang, Korea - December 12, 2012 - 9:55 a.m. (JST/-9)
In attendance here is not just Ixion, Pholus and Ras Alhague, but also Hidalgo and Tantalus. In a national chart, Hidalgo (manners, protocol) is easily seen as a symbol which ‘trips’ a diplomatic switch. Or, considering Tantalus (temptation) is involved, an undiplomatic switch.
(Close-up of rocket launch chart above, with detail)
Just for information’s sake, the time for the launch in this chart is 9:55 a.m.. North Korea certainly did not post anything public about the exactitudes here, but South Korea recorded the launch as happening ‘just before ten’ which is why I took 9:55 as a roundabout guestimate. The location is set at Pyongyang for logical reasons; though we don't know exactly where the rocket launch site is, as we consider this as a national event (or an event in a nation's life), locating the chart in the North Korea's capital makes perfect sense.
In any case, with the Moon at 1 Sagittarius, that means that as a nation, North Korea would get a new Lunar Return within about an hour or so of the launch. And that’s useful as it suggests (as an astro-theory) that we will learn more about this entire situation when the Moon reaches the opposition sign of Gemini.
That will happen on December 25-26, leading into the Moon’s Cancer ingress on the 27th and the Cancer Full Moon in the 28th.
Could this mean a few more ‘surprise packages’ than we might have otherwise expected?
Maybe.
If we ever learn the details of this rocket launch, the data and dates may well lead to something having happened back in April-May-June of 2012, this having been when the Solar Eclipse at 0 Gemini conjuncted North Korea’s Moon. That alone sets off a 3-year clock which tells us the North Korean sense of national values and valuations are currently in flux.
We also know that Pluto’s year-long conjunction of fixed star (nebula) Facies in perfect square to North Korea’s 8 Libra Mercury/Diadem (conjunct Neptune/Ixion) tells us that this entire saga is far, far more complicated than we know. With Mercury/Neptune (Diadem/Ixion) in Libra and therefore ruled by Venus at 0 Leo, the Venus square Mars in this natal chart (with Venus exactly on the 9th house cusp and Mars exactly on the 12th house cusp) says something very particular about the “official” North Korean thoughts on human potential, mental or sexual health and general national public/private finance.
That part, we’ll probably never know. But it is there in the chart…as is a sort of ‘subterranean’ note about a deep, almost spiritual belief about the nation as a nation and all else being subservient to that nation by virtue of Jupiter ruling itself in the first house of national identity.
One would also guess that with the November 28the Lunar Eclipse at 6 Gemini landing smack dab on North Korea’s Pallas (wisdom) and opposing its Moon, this rocket launch is – if nothing else – a national announcement that ‘we are not dummies.’ Combined with the November Solar Eclipse at 21 Scorpio conjuncting North Korea’s national Chiron at 20 Scorpio and Psyche at 18 Scorpio, two other messages come out of the national chart. One, that North Korea has a core issue with its opinion of itself. The crux of this is told by Chiron’s very uncomfortable semi-sextile to Jupiter, which makes for a very difficult battle between the desire for autonomy and power juxtaposed against a need for involvement with the world as a whole, lest North Korea never be able to be the country it can be proud of itself for being.
(A brief interjection: If you’re wondering whether South Korea has the same chart – as I did - it doesn’t. South Korea’s ‘establishment date’ is August 13, 1948, which creates a substantially different chart.)
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An ancient carving of Buddah in a native mountainside of Kumgangsan
(photo credit: Myo-gilsan June 2004)
Beyond all this, since Jupiter is currently in Gemini, this would have Jupiter moving through North Korea’s 7th house of ‘being on the world stage.’ So at that level, it’s entirely natural for North Korea to be stepping up to the public plate. Sagittarius being the premier sign of exploration (and for that matter, science fiction) there is a lot of metaphysical rationale to the idea that they would like shooting off a rocket as their way of talking to the rest of the world.
And as a way for Korea’s government to say to its citizens ‘See? We are on a par with other countries.’
With the DPRK’s natal 1st house Jupiter at 19 Sagittarius, now that North Korea has shown its Jupiter to be currently active, we can also expect to see, hear or understand more about North Korea. When? Well, one obvious moment would be when Jupiter reaches 19 Gemini, the opposition point to its natal placement. This will happen on May 12-13 2013 (give or take a time zone. What doesn’t happen at that time is the concurrent transit by the Sun that we saw today. On those days of May 2013, the Sun will be in Taurus.
Actually, the Sun will be conjuncting Atlantis and opposing that Scorpio Chiron/Psyche we talked about a bit ago. But what is the astrological Atlantis? Atlantis represents that which we have to let go of – even though we really don’t want to - in order to find that which will really fulfill us and make us happy. The difficulty here is that the ‘known’ is attractive and the Atlantis ‘unknown’ often seems unlikely, scary and certainly not what we were planning on.
The idea of flux and change and some kind of break with some long term status quo seems inevitable here; the Jupiter/Jupiter opposition and Sun-Chiron/Psyche opposition will happen only days before another Solar Eclipse. That Solar Eclipse (May 10th will be its date) will be positioned at 19 Taurus, which is also in opposition to North Korea’s Chiron/Psyche.
(If your birthday is within 5 days of May 10th, this eclipse has your name all over it, too!)
One more thing to do with today’s events: look at the transits. And the surprise there is that there are really only two symbols at all worth noting for this date. One is the progressed Moon moving into Aries in North Korea’s national chart. That seconds the idea that this is greatly about how the nation looks at itself and the fact that North Korea needs to feel good about itself. The other symbol of note is Uranus going direct. This is of course a global transit, but that Uranus’ turn to ‘active form’ trines the nation’s natal Moon, conjuncts its Eris and opposes that very sensitive Mercury tells us that what North Korea thinks its up to and what the world may think North Korea is up to are two very different things.
When I set out to dig up all the dates associated with this story in order to write this blog, one of the strangest things I encountered is the fact that there are two birth years given for the nation’s leader, Kim Jong-un. He is either born in 1983 or 1984, which means that as of January 8th of 2013, he will either be turning 29 or 30.
Astrologically, that’s really not helpful. Just looking at the transits, it would seem more likely that the 1984 chart is the accurate one. This would also mean Kim Jong-un is moving into his first Saturn return, which is a time in life which (pardon the expression) really separates the men from the boys. It’s a point of maturation, a time when we realize we really are adults and that life isn’t just a game.
So is he there? Or is he getting there? There's really not much for me to say here. As an astrologer, I've simply never seen any major world diplomat or public figure listed without a single birth year.
One date we do have: December 17, 2011. That’s the date listed for Kim Jong-un taking power as North Korea’s head of state. That chart has 17 Sagittarius at the Midheaven.
Kim Jong-un takes power in North Korea
Pyongyang, North Korea - December 17, 2011 (JST/-9) - noon
If you’re thinking that is very close to the national Jupiter, you’re right. The Mercury (mentality) of this chart (which we’ll call the Head of State chart) is at 4 Sagittarius, making it very close to the national Moon and hit by opposition by last May’s 0 Gemini Solar Eclipse. The Juno (control) is at 17 Scorpio, which means that it was hit by November’s Solar Eclipse.
This is an indication that there were ‘other things’ in play in Kim Jong-un’s rule of North Korea as of November 2012. This ‘remolding’ will continue to evolve as next May’s eclipse also hits this point, opening an overlapping period of evolution - and considering that this Juno is in the 8th house, maybe revolution. But against what or by whom...?
The details there are likely to be multiple. With Juno in Scorpio we are directed to Mars and Pluto, which tend to speak to commerce as a solution but eventual problem for this regime and North Korea as a nation if that which ends up as a Venus t-square isn't satisfied.
Venus is also square Eris, but Eris is not part of the t-square in question. Since t-squares always move in the direction of zodiacal sequence, this one starts in Saturn, requiring honesty and equality. Like all t-squares the 'trick' is to get past your ego involvement with the point at the 't' - which in this case is Venus at 25 Libra and the 11th house, which would be how this regime wants to be seen in the world. The object is the lack of value, the lack of 'regime worth' which, being at 0 Taurus speaks to how money is spent as part of national economic issues.
Since this is the chart for Kim Jong-un's installation as ruler, the classic interpretation here would be the need to not do what looks good or seems attractive, but to build (rebuild) North Korea from the ground up, valuing its people and a 'team connection' between government and citizenry which is less about glory and more about the basics of life.
Will that happen? The secondary square from Venus to Eris asks whether Kim Jong-un wants to be a champion of the people. With Eris in this square, the choice would seem to be between the conviction of a social reformer and the disruptions which are likely to happen if this leader tries to lead solely for his own benefit.
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