Astrology, Modern Media and Events Which Change Our World

Blog reader Maggie dropped a comment in the blog box  to say that Mubarak's resignation happened on February 11, 2011 at 5:05am (EET/-2) in Cairo.

And though I haven't been able to come up with this time myself, it does point out one of the difficulties of doing stories like this. The time used for pulling the chart used in the previous post (6:02am, same day, same zone) is when the news actually hit international media wires, cable news and all that tribe. That's when the news was heard here in my digs (yes, I leave the TV on while I work) and if you go search out some web streams on the event (there are a bunch of them) the little clocks are there to be seen on various screens.

But there are various stoppages in this process, so let's go with Maggie's time as if nothing else, it says a lot about how our world works.

So here's the chart you saw in the original 'Bye, bye Mubarak' post...

 February 11, 2011 6:02pm (EET/-2) - Cairo, Egypt

And here's the chart for 5:05 in the morning, same date.

 February 11, 2011 - 5:05am (EET/-2) - Cairo, Egypt

The first thing which seems interesting to point out about the second chart is that Aquarius is intercepted. With Aquarius being the sign of the society, economy and the media, this suggests that a resignation tendered at 5:05 in the morning might well have actually been in favor of the betterment of the Egyptian economy and its people.

At the same time, seeing that interceptions indicate things functioning behind the scene (or which are hidden in some way) this is also a way of saying that the media, particularly the global media, would not have gotten an instantaneous notification. And there is of course, that need on the media's part to do enough fact checking that they don't find themselves with a severe case of foot-in-mouth (or in this case, microphone in mouth).

This is exactly why astrologers tend to be behind the time curve with regards to reporting on news. Frankly - it's just hard to get the facts. Especially the time data. Sometimes you get to watch something in progress - some of you may have read articles I wrote about the President Obama's inauguration. The event was scheduled for noon. Officially, that's the time when governmental power in the US shifts from one administration to the next. Thus that chart represents what the country (i.e., it's people) expect to see from this new administration.

What they get will be slightly different (isn't it always in the wild and woolly world of politics and governance?). President Obama took his oath only a few minutes after twelve, but that did shift the chart. Yes, such small time increments can matter, which is why twins born a couple of minutes apart can have totally different charts and thus very different lives/experiences of life.

Okay then...now to Maggie's question about what this 5:05 am chart says. (And next time, Maggie, can you tell me your source?) (Thanks!)

This chart's focal Ascendant/operational point is 23 Capricorn, a degree which being in Capricorn's 3rd decanate, automatically means this is a position of response or reaction to external provocation, opinion, judgment, etc. The notes on 23 Capricorn refer to an 'excess of passion' and overoptimism and/or expectations on the part of others, particularly when those others are considered 'youthful,' which fits. That Icarus is at 25 Capricorn (just inside the 1st house) probably gives us a clue that to the last, Mubarak thought everything was moving too fast.

 Sakkara - Step Pyramid in background

photo credit: Daniel Csorfoly (February 2007)

On the other hand, with the ruler of Capricorn (Saturn) positioned here in the 9th house, what may account for a deal of the difference in chart times is that it took a while for Mubarak to leave. I don't speak Arabic (alas...I wish I could speak every language!) but the announcements which did go out - as translated - said Mubarak has left - which would imply a period of time. So maybe it worked like this...first he agrees to go, then everything gets gathered together and packed while aides et al figure out where he's going to go and how they're going to get him there...then finally Mubarak actually leaves, and then the announcement gets made.

The whole Sun-Mars-Nessus-Damocles-Ceres-Sappho conglomeration in Aquarius which in the afternoon-evening chart becomes the work needing yet to be done and the military inheriting civil power...and that is here intercepted in the first house. Anyone want to bet that Mubarak was not just not jumping for joy but was blaming the media for his ousting?

It would seem likely, especially Mercury/Hel intercepted in the first conjunct universalist Sappho conjunct Ceres. This would easily fit the attitude of someone who thinks the people have been led by the media - an accusation which has been floated over these past days.

Would this indicate it was Mubarak's personal opinion or that of his 'team'? It could go either way. But like as not, it was there.

Considering that apart from the wheel of the chart the fastest moving body in horoscope terms is the Moon, let's also look there. The Moon of the afternoon-evening chart is at 26 Taurus, where the Moon of this morning chart is at 20 Taurus.

With Medusa (frightening/fearful truths) at 15 Taurus - the Taurus cross-quarter point - there is an indication that some 'reality' regarding Mubarak's relationship with the Egyptian people (or who Mubarak really is) had really hit home. Considering the Moon moves a degree every two hours or so, this puts the conjunction to Medusa at about mid-evening on the 10th. That would have been after a certain amount of power had already been ceded to the Vice President with the Egyptian people basically saying 'no, that's not enough.'

Just as an outsider's note...this is also but a couple of hours after the US news media really began discussing Mubarak's worth. And I'd quote the old saying oh what a tangled web we weave except Arachne the spider (signifying entanglement) is at 22 Taurus, with Sedna at 21 Taurus.

Moon, Sedna, Arachne, Medusa and fixed stars Capulus (passionate assertions) and Algol (passionate reactivity) all in the 4th house of this chart.

The 4th house is home, homeland and populace. We can be pretty sure that part of this is the Egyptian people showing their tenacity. They wanted Mubarak OUT.

But with Moon and Sedna here, part of the issue would also seem to be all about opulence and money. If someday we hear that President Mubarak was upset at the thought he or his family would have to 'downsize their lifestyle,' don't be surprised.

Another note here would concern Switzerland - which as you recall, ordered its bankers to do a search for (and freeze) assets connected to Mubarak throughout the Swiss banking system.

The chart for the Swiss Confederation (Switzerland):

Switzerland 

August 1, 1291 - noon - Bern, Switzerland

See that 20 Libra 12th house Moon? That's part of Switzerland as the great world banking power it is. One of these days I'm going to do a blog on Switzerland...it's a place I love (having lived there for a couple of years as a teenager) and it's just an interesting country.

Oh yes - and it's really, really pretty, but that's sort of besides the point.

 Schwarzsee, in the Fribourg Alps

photo credit: Earth Explorer (2007)

Anyway...that Swiss 20 Libra Moon would be in an exact 6th house inconjunct to the 20 Taurus Moon of the 5:05am resignation chart. And since Moon means (among other thing) resources (i.e., money), this inconjunct of the 6th harmonic kind may well have been some sort of we have to do this connection between Mubarak and Switzerland regarding freezing monetary assets.

Who initiated it? Well...let's just say this about that: I'm obviously not a Swiss official. Nor am I (alas...) living in Switzerland. (Yes, I could live there - happily!) But when I consider what Swiss banking rules have tended to be over the years, I'd have to say there's something in this which if we put it in the parlance of Alice in Wonderland would come out as 'curiouser and curiouser.' The Swiss don't just bail on people - it's not who they are. When emotions hit rules in America, emotionalism often wins. That's just not as true (if ever true?) with the Swiss.

So what happened? Maybe we will yet find out.

But to the point of this resignation chart, that this Taurus Moon in the 4th house rules the Descendant may well be a sign of some 'deal' made behind the scenes. Maybe allowing Swiss assets to be frozen being put out to the people (the 7th house being Cancer, Moon ruled sign of the people) is a trade-off?

We may never know. But with Regulus and Photographica (the 'look of the thing' or one's image) being in Leo and thus intercepted in the 7th house of the resignation, it may well be that Mubarak - or those crafting his resignation (we don't know how it happened, after all) - wanted to give an impression of Mubarak backing down or making a gesture of support.

If so, do we really think what the Swiss will find in their vaults anywhere near to the amounts newscasters have been tossing around as Mubarak's worth?

This is one of those stories which will like as not be unraveled only in years to come. I know astrologers who won't do news stories precisely because of these issues. But to me, part of the fun is keeping up on the moment, the event, the news of it all.

That's actually why I started this blog - little do you know, right? I've written for monthly websites and publications for years. But nobody was ever willing to post something just because I got all excited about it. (And obviously in the world of magazines and hard-copy publishing, that was impossible!)

So there's your answer, Maggie - you wanted to know what I thought of this chart (which I delineate without knowing where the time came from?)...and that would be my basic, perhaps slightly meandering answer.

Where Egypt goes from here, we just don't know. If they actually rewrite the constitution ("reinventing" the country), we get a whole new national chart. Egypt will always be the land of the Pharaohs, but apparently it's people would like to find a whole new modern voice. Will that be based on the model first designed in the 1950's or something more modern and - as we've started to discuss - more 'Aquarian Age'?

 Sunrise in Luxor, Egypt

Rania Helmy (January 7, 2010)

That, we don't know yet. But what Egypt is already teaching us is how astrologically, there are steps to any process. Just as having a Constitution which sets a time for power to change in Washington DC is not the moment when President Obama took his Oath of Office, so the resignation of Mubarak is a different thing than the media letting the world know things have changed in Egypt.

And this isn't the end of the process. That much we know!

If you have a subject you would like to see discussed here at astroPPM...or if you'd like to provide information or data on another angle of a subject already being blogged about, drop a line! Give me time, date and place - and remember: times are critical (obviously!).

Please also include where you're getting your data from - facts do have to get checked in this world!

Eventually I hope to be able to make this blog more interactive. Not sure how to get that done in a way which makes sense yet, but we'll give it some thought as time goes along and yes - suggestions on that are also welcome! 

 

Egypt: Mubarak and Beyond

 Egypt's Announcement that Mubarak has Stepped Down

February 11, 2011 - Cairo, Egypt - 6:02pm (EET/-2)

One of the more interesting things about the chart for the announcing of Mubarak’s relinquishing of the Egyptian Presidency is the fact that fixed star Regulus is at the Ascendant.

Every one of the Royal Persian stars, promises great success IF a certain human trait can be avoided. In the case of Regulus, that trait is vengeance.

Anyone who has listened to the protests in Egypt can think of how this very much embodies the lack of violence on the part of the protesting thousands. It also says a lot about astrology and how charts work; Regulus at the Ascendant is the ‘now’ of what ‘happens’ – the reward for having not gone another way.

And for those less than astrologically inclined, the 28 Leo Ascendant isn’t known as ‘now’ for any airy-fairy reason. The Ascendant represents the point on the eastern horizon – directly east of wherever the chart is cast for. That eastern point is where the Earth is rotating “forward,” which is why the Sun rises in the east. The Earth keeps turning, that eastern ‘moment’ keeps moving on ‘into time.’ It is Now.

With Orcus (consequences) at 2 Virgo standing with Regulus at 29 Leo, this is the ‘idea/ideal/will to create’ (Leo) becoming a tangible (Virgo) reality. For what has been done (Orcus), now there is born a new moment (Regulus/Ascendant).

Yet let's be basic and real. As Mubarak leaves, and the Egyptian people undertake to reorganize themselves and their nation, the country is under the guardianship of the Armed Forces Supreme Council. And anyone who has watched world politics for any amount of time knows that the old saying ‘power corrupts: absolute power corrupts absolutely.’ So while the Egyptian military seems to be an organization loyal to the people of Egypt, until things are more settled down, there well may be good reason to wonder.

The reason to bring this up is that this chart is not only that of Mubarak leaving, but of the military taking over. So they need to act with a high regard for what has gone before, too – which we certainly hope they do!

With Neptune (at 28 Aquarius) exactly at the Descendant of this chart, it’s natural the people of Egypt are jubilant – and that people around the world are happy and hopeful for them. With Amphitrite (overwhelming) positioned with Neptune we get the very picture of the jubilation being caught by cameras beaming image streams out and around the world.

The flip of this symbol is how ‘other things’ may or may not still be getting out of Egypt. Or how this moment of elation may very well cloud the very real work Egypt now need to undertake in reorganizing its country.

This work would be symbolized by the 6th house of this chart, a 6th house which pictures mentalist Mercury with Hel at 12 Aquarius, nurturing Ceres with universalist poet Sappho at 15 Aquarius, Mars (energy/assertion) and the Sun (will/intellectual thought) at 21 and 22 Aquarius with Nessus (poisonous jealousy) and Charybdis (continuous effort).

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 Sappho by Gustave Moreau (1893)

There’s a LOT of hard work ahead. That Ceres/Sappho stands at cross-quarter point (15 Aquarius) seems particularly apt as all cross-quarter points mark the moving from the ‘building up energy’ point to the ‘moving ahead with it’ sector of that astrological quadrant. The quadrant here being the 4th, the subject matter is social, societal, humanistic, governmental – and we certainly understand that application.

But let’s remember that the 6th house of any chart is also the native realm of jobs, the civil service and the military. Thus, though we love this moment of such happiness, it’s obvious (on the astrological level) that there are still problems and hidden pockets of dismal, dreadfully vicious feeling (Nessus) hidden and yet to be dealt with.

Because Nessus is traveling within range of Damocles (LINK to article) we know that some of these problems will not be encountered until things move ahead.

And when will that happen?

Well, there are a lot of ‘1’s implied in this chart. We’ve already seen the first: the Ascendant being at 28 Leo with Regulus at 29.

There’s another pictured at the fabulously apt image of the IC (Nadir – the chart’s foundational point) standing at 25 Scorpio with Sphinx at 26. Scorpio being a fixed sign of ‘joint emotionality,’ and the IC/Nadir and 4th house it leads into being the house of the homeland and native population, there is hardly any better image of the Egyptian people having stood solid as the Sphinx, holding out for what they wanted.

Another “1” – The Midheaven (MC) at the opposite point to the Nadir being at 25 Taurus is conjunct the Taurus Moon at 26 Taurus. This is great display of the people’s values (Taurus) having won out in reasonably short order – the Moon in 10 always indicates something which is quicker than it might have been otherwise. So though Mubarak may have been an unpopular leader for many years now, in terms of the populist movement to oust him which began at the January 2011 Saturn station, having Mubarak leave office not even a month later is pretty quick work.

Moon/Algol images the passion of the Taurus values which went into this effort. It also – like as not – pictures the passion with which both sides of this event (Mubarak and the people) viewed each other.

With the Moon being not just values but resources and thus money and business money at that, set here set in the 10th house of government, commerce and the world we should also not wonder that almost as soon as Mubarak was out the Swiss Confederation (Switzerland) ordered its bankers to look for what may be national Egyptian assets siphoned off by its now-deposed leader.

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 Switzerland

August 1, 1291 - Bern, Switzerland

Maybe the fact that Switzerland’s 29 Leo Mercury conjuncts this Ascendant tells us that Switzerland is with the Egyptian people? Did they know this was coming? Had they been forewarned from within or without?

That, we don’t know. Will we ever know? Maybe.

Meanwhile, back to Algol…often thought of as a difficult star, Algol represents the kind of passion and intensity which can be useful or destructive. That it is strictly reactive (yin) by nature tells us that the measure of what we do where Algol is concerned must be tempered and thought through. In Taurus, this is possible. Yet because Algol is in Taurus’ third decan where it tends to represent a threat to us or our feeling threatened, it’s easy to see where Algol get’s its questionable reputation.

Question: will this change of government actually replace the Arab Republic of Egypt (astrologically) as was founded in 1953? If the country rewrites its constitution, yes. If it merely reorganizes under the old constitution, no.

Meanwhile, it is astrologically interesting to note that the main transits transits on the Arab Republic of Egypt chart for today are Juno conjunct the Ascendant (at 7:28am, EET/-2), Jupiter sextile North Node (at 8:07am, EET/-2) and Pallas square Saturn (at 8:22am, EET/-2).

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Arab Republic of Egypt - June 18, 1953

Juno being a sign of leadership, you can see this either way – that it was the leadership of the people or the news that their leader had left reaching the Egyptian people. Either way, this conjunction to the Ascendant is very much the statement of the Now.

Jupiter being knowing and expansion (of knowing) with the Lunar Nodes always being society, this become the people of Egypt bursting into celebration or the world press/audience getting the news that Mubarak had stepped down.

Pallas square Saturn is the sobering note here – the ‘wisdom’ (Pallas) in knowing there are many, many challenges and much work (Saturn) yet to be faced.

And lest we not think about it…what is today like in Mubarak’s life?
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 Hosni Mubarak as photographed by US

White House photographer Eric Draper in 2002

Backing up a transit search to yesterday (seeing as heads of state hardly ever make a decision to abdicate and dash out the door in five minutes)…we find Ceres conjunct Pallas, Pallas sextile Mars and Vesta sextile Ceres on February 10th, Ceres inconjunct Pluto on February 11th, and simply because we’re here (meaning, I have the report on my screen) Juno inconjunct Jupiter for tomorrow, February 12,

Ceres being nurturance or in this case, more probably ‘advice’ or ‘an advisor’ in conjunction to Pallas (wisdom) is the proverbial handwriting on the wall. That happened early in Mubarak’s morning – at 5:33am, local time.

Pallas sextile Mars and Vesta sextile Ceres happening at 4:08pm and 4:22pm respectively suggest it took most of the day to get the ‘what to do’ sorted out: Mars here is the ‘doing’, Pallas remains wisdom (and thus the ‘smart’ thing to do) with the sextile being opportunity. Vesta is the sign of the servant, in sextile with Ceres tells us that Mubarak got or accepted someone’s help doing something.

For those who are hoping he’s having a bad day, your hopes aren’t reflected until 9:43am on February 11th (local time) as Mubarak’s chart shows Ceres in an approaching inconjunct to Pluto. When our Pluto gets hit, karma gets delivered on the emotional silver platter.

No, he’s not doing any Snoopy happy dances.

Underscoring this is Juno in a departing inconjunct to Venus at the tender hour of 6:54am February 12th (EET/-2). This is rather a classic notice of encountering one’s ‘come down-ance’ in the world – you are used to having something work one way (Venus) and along comes the news that someone else (Juno) has nixed that.

Going back to the national chart, that the Juno-Pallas-Jupiter of this chart will be eclipsed in early June 2011 as Saturn is reaching the other end (and station) of its January move to retrograde in opposition to Eris/Kallisto says there is much, much more to come.

But for the moment, we can cheer with the Egyptian people – most of all because they have accomplished their human aims without the massive spilling of human blood which has all too often typified such moments. All those “1”s we have seen imply that there are all sorts of ‘single’ steps to be taken – and that this story will continue unfurling in one day, one week, one month, one year, and so on.

So bear that in mind as you applaud – but let's do applaud! For the people of a country to have acted with such a consciousness of their own ethics and morals, choosing not to do what has been done to them is very much the better nature we can hope to see as part of the incoming Aquarian Age – and good on (and for) them!

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