In April 1994, when Pluto and Jupiter conjoined the North Node in Scorpio the worst genocide of the 1990’s took place when extremist Hutu militias murdered an estimated 800,0000 to 1,000,000 Tutsis and moderate Hutus in Rwanda. It seems that the continent of Africa is so often subject to huge upheavals with so much loss of life, whether through Aids and curable diseases, through famine, or through civil war. Since 1994 Pluto has moved from Scorpio, through Sagittarius – religious terror – and here in the beginning of 2008 it is in Capricorn, so the astrological observer is inclined to a degree of nervousness about what new areas of human experience will undergo painful transformations. When Kenyan elections on December 27th 2007 took place and were followed by riots killing up to 1000 people, the question arises whether one of Africa’s most prosperous and stable countries is about to descend into chaos.
In that election the opposition coalition led by Odinga was forecast to win over the current government leader Kibaki. Vote counting on the 28th gave Odinga a strong lead, but as more results were announced the gap closed. Kibaka declared himself the winner with 232,000 votes and he was sworn in for a second term amidst violent protests from the opposition. International observers pointed to corruption, noting that in one constituency the turnout rate appeared to be 115%. (Note 1)
Odinga is associated with the ethnic group Luo, whilst Kibaki represents the interests of the dominant Kikuyu, who have basically been running Kenya since independence from the British in 1963. The deadly rioting since the election has resulted in an ethnic polarization that has forced millions of people to flee from their homes and relocate to tribal areas where they feel safe. Even in Nairobi many slum areas have polarized in this way. Police are escorting people back to their “ancestral lands” which is creating a complete split in the country between North/East and South/West.
The election took place just after Jupiter entered Capricorn. This was the time when Mars was retrograde in Cancer and in exact opposition to Jupiter, obviously a recipe for ideological conflict along ethnic lines. A retrograde Mars in Cancer always remembers tribal affiliations and is willing to fight for home and family with a primeval emotional motivation. The fact that Mars was retrograde suggests that there is unfinished business, and we can expect a new battle around April 24 when Mars catches up once more with Jupiter, which is about to turn retrograde, at 22 Cancer/Capricorn.
HOROSCOPE: Kenya – 12th December 1963. 0.00 Nairobi.
As the independence chart for Kenya has Mars at 4.56 Capricorn and the Sun on election morning was exactly on this Mars, there seemed destined to be a fight for leadership. The threat of internal revolution is shown by the current Uranus transit in square to the Sun which is exact on March 16th, October 28th and December 27th. This transit shows continued instability throughout 2008. It shows too the magnet that Kenya has now become to foreign dignitaries who in February 2008 are doing their utmost to prevent the situation from worsening. Whilst Kibaki clings to power and hopes that time itself will work in his favor as institutions accept the status quo, the former UN secretary general Kofi Annan is trying to mediate, joined at the time of writing by US secretary of state Condoleezza Rice.
Perhaps Uranus transiting the sun also shows that other famous Kenyan, Barak Obama, whose father (of the same name) had been an economic advisor for the Kenyan government, before being sacked. The father died in 1982, a disappointed man who made little headway with his proposals for a more democratic economic redistribution of resources. Obama visited Kenya in 1997 when he tried to unravel some of the unknowns connected with his father (relating to his own Sun in Leo square Neptune). Obama is, in Kenya, admired throughout the whole country; perhaps people find in him what they have not been able to get from their own leaders. Recently Obama gave a rather courageous speech about corruption in Kenya aimed at the sitting president Kibaki, when he was on a visit there. (Note 2) Perhaps one should not underestimate the fact that Obama’s roots are with the Luo ethnic grouping and he has cemented quite strong bonds with Odinga, as this could have a strong effect on Kenya’s future, if Obama becomes president.
Looking at Kenya’s independence chart, the sun is strong in Sagittarius, and its position in the 4th house may indicate the wide-open spaces and safari associations we have with the country, as well as the international dimension it has always had with tourists, expatriates and Indians. The wide trine to Jupiter in Aries supports this outdoor and optimistic picture. The loose square to the Uranus/Pluto conjunction suggests rather an explosive cocktail with dictatorial tendencies in the leadership that must control a wide mix of peoples. With Saturn now transiting the Ascendant and the Uranus/Pluto conjunction, the weakness of the myriad of ethnic divisions in the land is highlighted.
The strongest aspect to the Sun is its sextile to a dignified Saturn in Aquarius, which in itself contains the roots for a powerful democracy. It is worth remembering that the country is still very young. It has evolved from a single party state to a multiparty state (in 1991 when Uranus went over the Capricorn stellium), and now there are over 20 separate political parties, though power is still concentrated in the hands of the Kikuyu.
The current Uranus transit may shake things up and internationalize the internal strife, but it is unlikely in itself to create a revolution or civil war… just continued disturbances. With Ascendant ruler Mercury conjoining an exalted Mars in Capricorn, there are indications of strong if rather autocratic governance, with an efficient business community. A tight hold is kept on the reins, and the close sextile of Mars to a Moon in fall in Scorpio indicates that the people are subject to strong policing and a lot of rules and regulations.
The current strife is also reflected by Kenya’s progressed Moon in Gemini which has been exactly square Uranus in January. As the moon goes on to square Pluto in April there is still danger ahead as this is a strong signature for ethnic cleansing. Furthermore progressed Venus is now at 9.42 Pisces and during the course of the year it will conjoin the Descendant, simultaneously activating the Uranus/Chiron opposition. Venus progressed opposed progressed Uranus last year and opposes radix Uranus in June this year… there will therefore be more upheaval in the population where the differences between people and groups will be more emphasized than the similarities.
Apart from wounding the population, this development is going to create havoc with Kenya’s economy. Venus in Capricorn is ruler of the 9th and in the fifth, indicating the huge revenues generate from tourism. These revenues will dwindle and plunge Kenya into an economic crisis which will be at its peak from 2011 to 2012 when Venus opposes Pluto. This is also the time when Pluto finally conjoins Mars and sextiles the Moon in Scorpio, which suggests the iron hand of dictatorship in sorting out self-destructive tendencies in the population.
As things stand right now the decisive influence is transiting Saturn on Kenya’s Ascendant awakening the need to tighten controls and the establishment of order. With Saturn making trines to both Jupiter and Pluto in Capricorn, the indications are that a heavy military presence and authoritarian government will maintain a degree of order, whilst there will be a controlled chaos amongst the population with continued reorganization along ethnic lines.
International pressure is geared to creating a power-sharing agreement between Kibaki and Odinga to prevent further violence and polarization of the population. The Saturn trine to Pluto indicates that this pressure is enormous and unrelenting up to May, whilst the trine to Jupiter is exceptionally strong from September to November. If there is to be power sharing, only international bullying will effectuate it, and this could happen at the end of April. It is possible that the progressed Moon in Gemini will see the people represented by two leaders, and the Uranus square to the Sun may indicate a double-leadership. Ultimately the solution will be a transformation of existing government practices and a campaign against corruption, and this is likely to happen with the coming Pluto transit over the stellium in Capricorn. In the meantime increased instability and economic difficulties lie ahead.
Note 1. Information from Wikepedia.
Note 2. See this gripping video at: