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Month: August 2000

Osama bin Laden

by | Aug 7, 2000 | Adrian's Articles 2000

In May 1970 I crossed the border from a grey and oppressive Iran and entered the magical land of Afghanistan. Fellow wanderers from that period will be able to confirm that the atmosphere was liberated, happy and very welcoming indeed. There was no obvious sign of religious fundamentalism at that time, just a colourful country with colourful people, although a fair number did like to carry rifles. Just three years later a palace coup deposed the monarchy, and the subsequent destabilisation process provided fertile ground for the catastrophe of the Soviet invasion, and the subsequent Jihad against the Soviets, who finally withdrew in February 1989. The Taleban themselves took Kabul on April 25th 1992 at the time of the Uranus/Neptune conjunction at 18 Capricorn, which is an indication of revolutionary Islam, and which resonates with the Uranus/Neptune conjunction which marked the start of the Muslim Era in the year 622. At this time Mars was at 21 Pisces activating the US Mars/Neptune square, and therefore linking the country to the US war potential. The Taleban take-over was 18 years after the original coup, which means that the position of the Moon’s nodes in Capricorn/Cancer is repeated.

See chart of Afghanistan

An Unconquered People

The chart for the coup does give some indication of the nature of Afghanistan, but the country itself has a long and fierce history and no one chart can be used. It has been conquered periodically but never subdued. Alexander the Great conquered it in 329 BCE but ultimately had to withdraw because of constant revolts. The British in their turn tried repeatedly in a series of wars in the 19th century. In the first Anglo-Afghani war, the British invaded in January 1842, and out of 16,500 soldiers (and 12,000 dependants) only one survivor returned to the fort in Jalalabad. I suppose they left one to tell the tale. The 1973 chart is very telling, showing as it does the Jupiter/Moon conjunction in the (solar) 8th house, which is currently receiving a long-term conjunction from Neptune. Afghanistan may be a warrior country, but for the young, the women and the older men, the current bombing campaign is a disaster on top of years of suffering culminating in the current oppression by the mediaeval Taleban fundamentalist government. The Mars in Aries shows the country’s warrior culture, its opposition to Uranus emphasising the extreme independence and tendency to be both a victim of high-tech warfare, and to adapt to it. Venus at 19 Leo was struck by the August 1999 eclipse, which also cast its shadow through Afghanistan. At the World Trade Centre attack, Venus was again at 19 Leo.

Afghanistan and the US

The nodal axis falls on the US Venus/Jupiter conjunction, and the position of these nodes was exactly reversed at the time of the terror attack on September 11th, 2001. It is also interesting to see that the 1973 Afghan chart has the Sun at 24 and Mercury at 29 Cancer which strongly activates the secretive US Mercury/Pluto opposition from 24 Cancer to 27 Capricorn. This is a strong indication both that Afghanistan houses spies and terrorists that have a secret connection to the US and also that the CIA has made an extensive use of spies and terrorists in Afghanistan, especially during the eighties. Indeed it was at this time that America recruited and trained Osama bin Laden and financed the infiltration of Saudi militants to fight the Soviet Union there. In the light of the fact that Afghanistan has assumed great strategic importance as an oil pipeline route from ex-Soviet states, there could be some truth in the suggestion that the US has a secret agenda in attempting to subdue Afghanistan. One should not forget that Bill Cheney and a large number of Bush’s entourage, including Bush himself have their roots in oil.

The Muslim Calendar

See chart for the beginning of Muslim Era

Since the New York attack, there have been many attempts to pin down the birth date of Osama bin Laden, but it has proved difficult. Interpol have a birth date of the 10th March 1957, whilst the US State Department has a date of 30th July 1957. There are many conflicting dates. Here I have chosen the July date for a specific reason. The traditional date of Mohammed’s arrival in Medina is 16th July 622 AD, and the Muslim Era is dated from sunset of that date. (Note 1.) This date is the first day of the first of the year of the Hijrah, which is Anno Hegirae MuHarram 1 , or 1 A.H. The Muslim calendar dates not from the birth or death of Mohammed, or from the celebration of any mundane event. According to the Islamic sage Muhammad Ilyes, its religious significance is to teach man that struggle between Truth and Evil is eternal, and to remind Muslims every year not of the pomp and glory of Islam but of its sacrifice.

It’s an extremely unusual chart with all the planets grouped on the Western horizon (except for Jupiter and Pluto) between the Sun at 25 Cancer and Mars at 20 Virgo. There are 4 planets and the North Node (Rahu) in Leo, and 3 planets in Virgo. Saturn and Rahu are in conjunction, which does seem to indicate a rather heavy fate for Islam. Traditionally things do not go well for Muslims at the repeat of this pattern every 22/23 years. The 1967 six-day war led to the loss of vast tracts of land to Israel, and the Gulf War in 1991 humiliated Iraq. Similar setbacks for Islam can be expected in 2002, when the North Node conjoins Saturn and opposes Pluto. The position of the Sun in the Muslim Era chart is almost opposite the Sun in the chart for Saudi Arabia (15.01.1902 Riyadh: Ascendant 24.27 Capricorn), as well as that of Afghanistan. As guardian of the holy shrines of Islam, particular in Mecca, the Saudi chart, with its Sun/Saturn/Jupiter conjunction in Capricorn strong reflects the severity and deep traditions of a nation rooted in the past.

The Terrorist bin Laden

See chart of Osama bin Laden

Having studied the Muslim Era chart, it’s interesting to look at the proposed chart for bin Laden, which I have cheekily also calculated for sunset. After all the man has taken on the mantle of leader of an Islamic revolution which will reverse the domination of the West, and get rid of the “evils” of capitalism, democracy and women’s liberation. To me at least it seems fitting that he should be a Leo, as his poster has pride of place in many young Islamic bedrooms, much as Che Guevara did amongst Western youth in the sixties. It can thus be seen that bin Laden has 4 planets in Leo and 4 planets in Virgo, with only Saturn and Neptune outside of the planetary bunch. More Muslim than the Islam itself? There are extraordinary parallels with the Muslim Era chart. He has his Sun/Uranus conjunction on the Era’s nodal axis and close to its Saturn. His Mars/Pluto conjoin the Era’s Mercury and Moon, whilst his Mercury/Venus in Virgo are exactly on Uranus/Neptune. This is a man completely possessed by Islam, a messenger for Islam, and a revolutionary for Islam.

bin Laden and the USA

This chart has a number of extremely dangerous signatures, which key directly in to the US Independence chart. The main danger is from the Sun/Uranus conjunction at 7 Leo which is exactly on the US North Node, and semisquare both Mars and Neptune. This aspect corresponds rather well with the fact that his father died in a plane crash. Note that transit Neptune is currently transiting this point, and that the biological terrorism taking place with anthrax right now is a manifestation of this, indicated both by the US chart and also by this proposed chart for bin Laden. Although there are suggestions that the anthrax spores originate from America’s right wing, the synastry seems to show a link to bin Laden.

The Weakness of bin Laden

Without wishing to offend anyone dealing with the difficult energies of a Mars/Pluto conjunction, for a terrorist like bin Laden, this shows a ruthless implacability, and the close conjunction between Pluto and Mercury could show the use of transport and the post as a means of destruction. With the US Moon at 27 Aquarius, the Mars/Pluto conjunction in this bin Laden chart constitutes a deadly threat to the American people. In the progressed chart Mars is at 22.44 Virgo, exactly activating the US Mars/Neptune and pointing clearly at bin Laden as a perpetrator. There can be no doubt that this is the horoscope of a fanatic, and with the many planets in Virgo, this is a person who also plans fanatically, which is probably also its weakness. Obsessed with detail, it’s likely that the Saturn square Venus/Mercury demands an elegance in the execution of plans which cannot be achieved when the pressure is on. This is a person who gets flustered, although there is a well-documented example of him surviving a missile attack just yards away from where he was standing. He enjoys risks and extreme conditions, but his standards of perfection must be a pain to satisfy.

Man with a Mission

Early in bin Laden’s life, the two outer planets Pluto and Neptune made the transition from Leo and Libra to Virgo and Scorpio respectively. Born at a time of enormous collective change, he probably sees himself as the man to effect this change. He declared war on the USA and the West in a fatwah from Afghanistan in 1998, and he has a wide-ranging organisation that recruits young Muslims for the cause. Comparing his chart with the Muslim Era, it is doubtful that the Prophet would approve. The ideological rigidity of Saturn in Sagittarius is exactly square the Era’s Jupiter in Pisces… the Prophet would no doubt prefer more compassionate methods.

The Future

Right now, life cannot be comfortable. His Sun/Uranus is opposite the Afghanistan Moon/Jupiter in Aquarius, and is receiving the same Neptune transit. This is hardly the time for executive action, and he will have to lie low for a year. If he makes a move, then he is also likely to make a mistake. He may be tempted to do so when Mars joins Neptune in early November. Of course, if the chosen means of attack is chemical or bacteriological, then this could conceivably be successful, although it is in the nature of Neptune for it not to be. As far as the current campaign in Afghanistan is concerned, America cannot win. You don’t have to be an astrologer to work that one out. It is also unlikely that Osama bin Laden will be localised, let alone captured. Perhaps justice will be done – he is a brutal murderer after all – when Saturn conjoins his Sun in 2005, disposed of by the Afghanis themselves.

Adrian Ross Duncan 29.10.2001

Note 1. Book of World Horoscopes , Nick Campion

 

The China Olympics

by | Aug 7, 2000 | Adrian's Articles 2000

On Friday 13th July the Olympic committee, assembled in Moscow, chose Beijing as the venue for the 2008 Olympic Games. This announcement came just hours after Jupiter – the largest planet in the solar system – moved into Cancer, so perhaps it is fitting that that the most populous country in the world was chosen. It seems that when a planet makes its entry into a new sign, it likes to make an introductory flourish as it were. In this case Mercury joined Jupiter and they crossed the border from Gemini to Cancer hand in hand. Millions celebrated the news in China. They flocked onto the streets of the major cities, and police gave up trying to control them. Great joy was brought to the largest population on Earth.Human Rights Issues

Human Rights groups – especially supporters of the exiled government of Tibet – were less than enthusiastic. They believe that the choice of China as venue legitimises a regime which overwhelmed Tibet by force in the Fifties, and is now well into the process of wiping out the ancient culture. There was extremely strong lobbying to exclude China for human rights abuses – they had already lost one bid in 1993 – but in the end sheer persistence paid off for China. One could argue that with one quarter of the world’s population within their borders, it is simply unwise to ostracise them. When living in the West, it’s always difficult to discern how far opinions are orchestrated by the cultural model of the USA and Western Powers, who have little understanding of the culture of other countries. After all, many of China’s opponents in the US have a political agenda, which has nothing to do with the rights of oppressed peoples.

The Origins

In connection with the Olympics there are those who argue against the politicisation of sport, and those who say it is unavoidable. In actual fact, the Olympics have always been politicised. Even at their very formation in 776 BC, the Games were seen as a way of cementing peace. The tradition was that there should be no fighting as long as the Games were on. The chart for the initial Olympics would appear to have taken place at the time of an eclipse in Leo opposing Neptune in Aquarius, so the ideals of the merging of states into a giant melting pot through games was firmly integrated into the opening chart. However, the same chart shows a retrograde Mars conjoining Uranus and opposing Pluto, so the competition was no doubt extremely fierce. War by other means. The institution of the Olympics actually lasted for 12 centuries (!) without a break, and they were only abolished in 393 AD – the 293rd Olympiad.

Olympic Revival

After a break of 1500 years the Olympics were recreated and the first Games in modern time took place on the 6th April 1896 in its ancient cradle of Athens. The old traditions were revived, including the lighting of the Olympic flame at the temple of Hera whilst a hymn was, and is still, sung to Apollo. This revival took place with a wonderful grand trine involving Venus exalted in Pisces, Jupiter exalted in Cancer, and Uranus/Saturn in Scorpio. The position of Venus in Pisces is very significant for Greece, as it was in this sign at the time of its revolution in 1821, and the establishment of a kingdom in 1830. It’s a very suitable position for a nation founded on the gods and goddesses of Olympia.

Berlin

See chart for Berlin Olympics

The grossest example of the appropriation of the Olympics for political purposes was at the 1936 Olympics in Berlin. Hitler seized the opportunity to demonstrate the supposed superiority of the Arian race. The opening chart of August 1st shows Mercury conjoining Venus at 18 Leo exactly squaring the Pluto position for the birth of the German Empire (Jan 1st, 1871 at 0.00 Local Time in Berlin). At the same time transiting Pluto conjoining Mars is exactly on the IC position of the horoscope for the 3rd Reich. (Jan 30th, 1933 11.15 CET, Berlin). Obviously these Pluto combinations were rather good for concealing the ugly facts of the Nazi administration. All evidence of the persecution of the Jews was hidden, and the opening ceremony was characterised by the release of thousands of doves. However Hitler could not resist promoting himself and Nazi ideology, and there were rather more Nazi flags and photos of himself, than other flags. Germany won more medals than any other country at this Olympics, although there was a slight hitch, because black Americans won a large proportion of the athletic events. Hitler couldn’t quite bring himself to place awards around their necks, and absented himself from the prizegiving ceremony.

Munich

See chart for the Munich Olympics

In the latter part of the 20th century, the enormous focus of world attention on the Olympics has made them even more vulnerable to political statements. It was ironically in Germany again that the most catastrophic games in history played themselves out. It was at this time that Pluto had slipped into Libra after 15 years in Virgo. The Olympics in Munich proved the ideal place to demonstrate Pluto’s effect, namely that a small terrorist group could seriously change the balance of power. The Palestinian Black September group took the Israeli Olympic team hostage, and in a bungled operation 11 Israelis, 5 Palestinians , and one policeman died. With Mercury moving into Virgo at the time of the catastrophe and squaring Neptune, bad light and mist confused German sharpshooters at the airport where the terrorists were making their escape, enabling a surviving terrorist to execute the Israelis. At this time the Sun had moved from 3 Virgo to the Mars position at 7 Virgo, which just happened to be the exact North Node position in the horoscope for the 3rd Reich. Interestingly the North Node of the Munich Games was at 25 Cancer, the exact position of the 3rd Reich’s IC and Pluto, and Israel’s MC. The Games were suspended for one day, but continued in an atmosphere of sorrow and shame, aptly illustrated by the opening chart’s Moon in Pisces square Saturn, and the Sun/Mars square Neptune.

Moscow

See chart for the Moscow Olympics

Subsequent to this Olympics, the 1980 Games in Moscow became the next victim of a political statement. The USA and some Western allies refused to take part because of the invasion of Afghanistan by the Soviet Union on Christmas Day 1979. On the one hand it’s easy to see that US participation would have seemed like an endorsement of Soviet policy, but the argument can also be made that the USA suffered no similar retribution when they were bombing Vietnam and Cambodia. It’s interesting to see how there was an exact Saturn/Neptune square at this time. In fact Saturn at 22 Virgo was exactly on the US Neptune, and Neptune opposite the US Mars – a combination which suggests frustration and sacrifice on the American side, especially as regards their athletes, who had trained for so many years. Saturn/Neptune combinations are always significant for developments in the socialist world, and these games were a celebration of Eastern Bloc power, although the Saturn/Neptune square could also symbolise the morass of Afghanistan, which ultimately drained the Soviet Union of its ability to maintain structure. There are many who argue that the power of the world’s media in itself is enough to expose human rights abuse and force change in autocratic countries, but there was no apparent softening of Soviet control over the communication apparatus at this Olympics. The retrograde Mercury in a water sign squaring Pluto was perhaps sufficient to maintain secrecy and manipulate news stories, but it did not help that 62 nations boycotted the Games, including the USA, West Germany and Japan.

Changes in China

See the chart of China

The 2008 Olympics in Beijing will have enormous significance for China. This huge country has had many vast upheavals in its long history, and is well aware of the fragile nature of its national identity, seen from a historical point of view. Anything that threatens the cohesion of China is stamped out by its leaders at an early stage, as was the uprising in Tiananmen Square on June 4th 1989 when the Saturn/Neptune/Uranus conjunction was squaring China’s stellium in Libra. Similarly China has not been slow to crack down on the group Falun Gong over the last few years (with Neptune transiting their Moon and Ascendant in Aquarius). The 2008 Olympics will take place in Beijing in July/August around the time of a total eclipse in Leo opposing Neptune in Aquarius, rather like the original Olympics of 776 BC.

See map of the eclipse

The path of the eclipse goes through Siberia ending almost exactly at Beijing, which in itself should have been enough to predict that the 2008 Olympics would be awarded to China. With Jupiter at 14.41 Capricorn rising over Beijing at the time of the eclipse, exactly squaring China’s Neptune at 14.39 Libra, there will be tremendous media attention, but it is also likely that religious groups which use the opportunity to broadcast their views. This is a Jupiter return for China, which already has a natal Jupiter/Neptune square. The nodal axis of the eclipse, conjoining Chiron, falls exactly on China’s Pluto, activating the Mars/Pluto square Venus of the revolution horoscope, and therefore also revealing the massive autocratic power of the Chinese military underlying the government elite. But the eclipse itself in Leo together with Mercury and a glittering Venus/Neptune opposition speaks of happiness and joy. These Games are going to be one big media party. No one should expect the official media to reveal anything that compromises the integrity of China here.

The Effect of the 2008 Eclipse

See chart of the eclipse

In itself this horoscope is peaceful and happy, especially when compared to the 1936 Olympics with its Sun/Uranus square and Mars/Pluto conjunction. But then, the whole idea is for international sport to spread openness and peace, and therefore these Olympics should serve a good purpose. It’s what happens after the Olympics that is more important, because the event inevitably opens up the country to mass tourism, and this will bring the ordinary Chinese citizen more and more in contact with Western values. Like thunderclouds on the horizon, the 2008-eclipse chart shows a Pluto/Uranus square growing stronger and stronger. As Saturn travels through Virgo entering Libra in 2010, Pluto will have made its way into Capricorn, and Uranus into Aries. By June 2011 there will be a particularly virulent T-square between these three planets strongly activating China’s Sun at 7 Libra. The Chinese will try to resolve a crisis at this time through the heavy hand of authoritarianism. Over the course of the next three years, the square of Uranus and Pluto will evoke dramatic and transformative change in the Chinese leadership – and also for many governments whose formation was on the 1st of January of any particular year. (And therefore have the Sun at 10 Capricorn, like the United Kingdom). It is in these chaotic years that opponents of China will see a scenario developing which could mean their dreams, and the dream of a free Tibet, come true.

Adrian Ross Duncan

 

Memento – A Retrograde Feast

by | Aug 7, 2000 | Adrian's Articles 2000

Memory is a fragile thing, but we are totally reliant on it to relate to our individual world. There are many who through disease, accident or old age actually lose their capacity to retain events in memory, and though they can recall old long-term memories, they are unable to remember what happened just a few minutes previously.Which means, if you had no short-term memory, you would now be wondering what you are reading.

You would go back over the last paragraph, just to get it to stick in your mind, and you would reach here again, but it will not have stuck. If you think you could seek solace in television, books or film, this would not be the case, because you would not have the ability to follow the plot. But you would really like TV adverts, which just lasted a minute or so. You would remember those with whom you had had a long term relationship, but new people coming into your life would be forgotten minutes later, and each time you met, the meeting would have all the freshness of the first meeting. You would have to be told when it was time to wash, brush your teeth, eat, otherwise you might simply repeat these actions after a few minutes had elapsed.

Loss of Short-term Memory

How then, would you be able to live a productive life? This is the subject of the extraordinary film Memento , in which the last memory of the main character, Leonard, was the discovery of his wife on the bathroom floor, murdered and raped. The shock of seeing this took away his short-term memory, and the film starts with him trying to unravel the mystery of who killed his wife, so that he can exact bloody revenge. The problem is that he cannot remember people he has talked to in the process of his investigation, what they have said, or when they said it. He cannot remember where he is staying, or what car he is driving. But he has a system, which consists of writing notes and taking polaroid pictures of his car, people and places and annotating the pictures. When he comes across an extremely important fact, he has it tattooed on his skin, engraved in body memory for all time.

A Film that goes Backwards

Memento starts where it ends, and ends where it starts, because the delight of the plot is that it goes backwards. It opens violently with a polaroid picture of a dead man. The picture fades, gets sucked back into the camera, then the man’s death is enacted backwards, and this reverse scenario sets the scene for a film portrayed in short clips, each subsequent clip preceding the one before in time. This is a retrograde feast. By the end of the film we see just how great the consequences of short-term memory loss can be. For in this film, nothing is certain, except that Leonard’s condition is being exploited by certain unscrupulous people.

The Influence of Retrograde Planets

See chart for viewing Memento

As an astrologer, reality seemed even more distorted, for the horoscope for my own personal viewing of the film perfectly reflected the nature of its plot. The late Scorpio ascendant clearly illustrates what this film is about: revenge. The originality of the film unfolding backwards is shown by the ruler Mars, retrograde in the first house, and opposing Mercury, retrograde in the 7th. Leonard is Mars, and note how Mars has conjoined Chiron, where it stationed before going retrograde. This man carried the wound of the trauma of his wife’s death, and his wounded mind led him on an odyssey of blind and hopeless revenge, for, even if he succeeded in finding the murderer, and killed him, how would he remember the accomplishment? Mars has already conjoined Pluto, and will return to 15.06 Sagittarius to almost make the conjunction with Pluto again. Almost, because Pluto is also retrograde and has by this time slipped back from 15 to 13 degrees Sagittarius. There is no final solution.

Sorrow and Revenge

During the film, his wife is a shadowy figure whom he revisits in flashbacks, sometimes alarmingly changing the details supposedly engraved in his memory. He is driven by the tragedy of loss, and the longing for a supposed ideal marriage, and this is shown by the Venus/Neptune square. It is interesting to see how Neptune and Venus configure with the Mercury/Sun/Jupiter stellium opposing Mars by semi- and sesquisquare, connecting the theme of lost love with revenge. In actual fact at the moment the film started all these planets configured with the MC/IC axis with squares and half-squares. Retrograde Mercury (exactly opposite Chiron – how about that for a damaged mind?) is about to conjoin the Sun, with both sesquiquadrate Neptune.

The Stellium in Gemini

The movie is punctuated by the flash of the polaroid camera “capturing” reality, the flash of the Sun, and the subsequent etching of the words of Mercury on the photograph. All this in the pursuit of a supposed justice, for Jupiter is also in the picture, still touched by its previous opposition to Pluto. Leonard is the judge and executioner, but his mind is flawed, just as Jupiter’s capacity is flawed in Gemini, where it is in exile. What Leonard simply cannot do is create an overall picture – his world is circumscribed by his scribblings and his pictures but he cannot make a connection between them or gain any kind of time perspective. A nice detail is the tattoos, which ultimately cover his body, as he frantically adds new “facts” to his most trusted memory bank – his skin. What better expression for Saturn in Gemini?

Astrological Timing

But wait! The film had been showing in Copenhagen for some time, and had been seen at European film festivals last year. For what possible reason can the horoscope for my viewing the film with a fellow astrologer be so apt and accurate? What if we had gone to see the film a couple of months later with a completely different set of aspects? Of course, a film like Memento has its own astrological dynamics and, as might be expected, its release in America fully accorded with appropriate astrological patterns. The first public showing in America (Note 1.) was on March 16th 2001 when it was released simultaneously in New York and Los Angeles to rave reviews. This was the day when a retrograde Venus was returning to activate the Mars/Pluto conjunction in Sagittarius, triggered by the Moon, so the theme of love, justice, murder and revenge was equally powerful. It is interesting to note that Mercury had at this time almost returned to the point at which it went retrograde in February at zero degrees Pisces square Jupiter in Gemini, a pattern which also reflects the ambiguity and confusion which characterises the film.

Astrological Reality

The amazing congruence between the film and the astrology of the moment, reminds me of other episodes when I have watched a TV film, and the film has been so perfectly in tune with the planetary positions of the time. In a way it’s very understandable when a broadcast reflects astrological events so well, because it is a collective event. It’s a bit more worrying, when my partner rents a video, and that also encapsulates the astrology of the moment. That is simply a personal event. As an avid follower of planetary movement, I enjoy seeing the changes in my environment as a planet changes sign. On one occasion, as Mars moved into Gemini, I left my house, caught the morning train, and found myself sitting next to a man in jogging trousers, who was opposite another man in identical jogging trousers, identical T-shirt, identical faces… they were twins.

Your World and Your Beliefs

And I couldn’t help asking myself if the show was put on for my benefit, for I was the one looking for a sign from the heavens about Mars in Gemini, and twins were provided. There are not enough twins around to put this show on for everyone, but then not everyone’s chosen belief is astrology. In India there is an astrological tradition in which horoscopes are inscribed on palm leaves. Analyses and predictions were written – thousands of years ago – describing the life and karma of every seeker who visits the astrologer. A common question the astonished visitor poses to the astrologer is, “How can the lives of everyone on Earth be contained on these palm leaves”, and this prompts the answer from the astrologer: “Goodness gracious, not everyone… we only have the horoscopes for the people who come to ask”.

The Power of Belief
It seems that an intelligent universe proactively mirrors the mind of the consciousness which interacts with it. Whatever you choose to believe in will create a reality around you, which fully accords with your beliefs – unless some enormous change confronts you with another reality. It was a shock for many Western communists when the Berlin Wall dissolved in 1989, and tens of thousands of Eastern Block citizens joyfully streamed in the West. The evidence for their suffering and the indignities they had undergone at the hands of an autocratic and secretive state could not be denied. With these citizens casting away their communist past with such enthusiasm, how could hard core believers in the West continue to hold onto dogma which had previously defined their identity? It was a real crisis for many. But most of us have the luxury of sticking to our beliefs from the cradle to the grave, without them every being challenged.

Using Astrology

For Leonard the defining belief was revenge, but without memory he could not enjoy it. Driving along in a stolen Jaguar sports car, which he had come to decide was his at some point during the film, he desperately asks himself, “The world doesn’t suddenly disappear when you close your eyes, does it?” Well, no it doesn’t, but it’s something you can never be sure of. Astrologers who would like to feel most attuned to their beliefs and to the universe, could perhaps enrich their lives by choosing to do things which best reflect the astrological influences of the time. If Mercury squares Saturn, then applying oneself to serious study for the day would be effective. If the Moon in Virgo squares Pluto, then an hour’s radical clean out would be just the job. Make that bank appointment to get a mortgage when the Moon in Cancer sextiles Venus in Taurus … the bank manager is just waiting to lend money, so you may as well be the lucky one! You have to take your beliefs very seriously indeed, because the universe does.

Adrian Ross Duncan
Information from the official website: www.otnemem.com

 

 

The Power of the European Union

by | Aug 7, 2000 | Adrian's Articles 2000

One of most significant historical developments in the last century was the formation of the European Union. Throughout the last two millennia the countries of Europe fought bitter and bloody struggles in attempts to gain dominance, with vast world powers blocks based on the empires of England, Portugal, Spain and France, culminating in the ascendancy of a unified Germany in the late 19th century. The devastation caused by German nationalism in particular resulted in a deep-seated urge to solve the problems of the nations of Europe. Initially this started as a simple economic union between the Benelux countries, France, Italy and Germany with the EEC on January 1st 1958, but it culminated in the formation of the actual European Union on November 1st 1993 at 0.00 hrs in Brussels through the Single European Act. It was at this time that the expression “European Union” became official.The EU chart and Uranus/Neptune conjunction

See chart of the EU

This is a most extraordinary horoscope, depicting an organisation which not only can match the powers of the USA, China, and Russia, but can also come to be the dominating factor in world development for centuries to come. First of all, it was formed within only one week of the last of three Uranus/Neptune conjunctions, cementing for the next two centuries the significance of this 172-year cycle for political development. With the conjunction taking place in Capricorn – it was also in Capricorn in 1821 – the major theme of this synod was the dissolution and revolutionary change of established political organisations, notably in this case the total break up of the Soviet Union and the birth of a so-called New World Order. Major planetary cycles of this nature bring the end of an era and the beginning of a new. Thus it was no accident that the expression “New World Order” came into currency at this time. However, it is when something new is formed or founded, that there is truly lasting significance, and the creation of the EU, after the Maastricht negotiations of 1992, enshrined in its horoscope the principles of vision and renewal in a European state. However this state is run, this vision will inform its actions: to create a democratic and caring union of states, who share the same ideals.

A materialistic Moon

So much for the dream. Getting back to reality, the economic values of the EU are shown quite clearly by the exalted position of the Moon, strong in Taurus and in the 10th house. Plenty of beef mountains and milk rivers here. The materialism shown by this position of the Moon cannot be ascribed to the politicians assembled in Brussels (who are represented by the Venus/Jupiter conjunction in the 3rd house). No, the people who put those politicians there – that’s us – sent them there to ensure that our material comforts are not threatened. We want our supermarkets to be full, our loans to be cheap, our incomes to increase. And as a general rule the EU will make this happen, because the chart is so powerful. Apart from the exalted Moon, the planets Mars, Venus and Saturn are strong in their own signs, which is very unusual.

The power of Mars/Pluto

The elevated position of the Moon shows that in the last analysis the EU is a democratic institution, answerable to the people, who secretly will fight to the last breath to secure their material comforts. Because this chart – although it has vision and humanity – is also brutal. Formed on the very day Mars conjoins with Pluto, in the sign which both rule, there is absolutely immense power at the disposal of the EU. Bearing in mind that this conjunction opposes the Moon, it is hardly any wonder that when threatened with Foot and Mouth disease, for example, the EU chooses the most brutal option… slaughter. Other options like vaccination are resisted because this would prevent export of animals. Even though Foot and Mouth is in theory not deadly for livestock, the mountains of sheep, pigs and cattle burning in the British countryside in the months of March and April 2001 – as Saturn conjoined that Moon and opposed Mars/Pluto – the plumes of black smoke, the distraught farmers, the suffering animals… they are offered on the altar of ruthless economic principle. It is in the mindset of the EU that such uncompromising action is for the good of all, but this is not so.

The spider’s lair

If this was the horoscope of a person, then that person would be seen as dictatorial and unfeeling, totally governed by deep-seated anxiety about economic loss. The person cannot see beyond his own wallet. Therefore, citizens of the new proud state of Europe, take care! You are in the driving seat of an organisation whose fixation on material security can be life-threatening. Europe needs long-term therapy, but at the same time is resistant to it. The stellium in Scorpio and the 4th house shows the seat of the EU in the monolithic headquarters in Brussels. This is where the invisible power brokers sit, and though Mars is dignified in Scorpio, the conjunction with retrograde Mercury shows secretive decision-making and power-hungry officials, who are both paranoid of losing influence and dictatorial in wielding it. If the EU seems soft on the outside, there can be no doubt that it is like a samurai on the inside. It might be monolithic, but when it actually makes a move, it will crush whatever is in its path.

Gifted politicians

The secretiveness and power is in the nature of the organisation itself… those kind and idealistic politicians that represent our countries are generally speaking a fine bunch of people, working hard and optimistically to achieve functional compromises. This is clearly shown by the Venus/Jupiter conjunction in Libra and the 3rd house. Venus is the decision-maker as ruler of the 10th, and its position in the third shows all those MEP’s travelling to Brussels, and talking amongst themselves, and having a fine time socially. They do a good job, and have the capacity to accept the disruption of their daily lives indicated by the square to Uranus/Neptune. And the trine to Saturn in Aquarius in the 7th indicates accomplished diplomacy in dealing with other world organisations. It’s a wonderfully dignified process, combining friendliness and formality.

EU diplomacy

The strong 7th house Saturn shows a worthy opposition, whether it be from Russia, Asia or the United States. With Saturn also almost exactly squaring the uncompromising Mars/Pluto opposition to the Moon, then every drop of diplomatic juice needs to be squeezed from Venus. Saturn in Aquarius is the voice of reasonableness, whilst Mars/Pluto to the Moon is the voice of self-interest. As a result, there will be many deadlocks in dealing with other economic organisations. And when you read about these deadlocks in European newspapers, you will almost certainly get a story manipulated (by Mercury in Scorpio) for European consumption. If we hear about the intransigence of other economic blocks, it is almost certain that it is Europe itself that is intransigent. With Europe sitting pretty on its mountain of resources (though this mountain has a volcano churning deep at its root), it is fairly natural that a lot of people want to join the party.

Immigration

Whilst right-wing European politicians – motivated by the politics of greed – bitterly complain about economic migrants, the Uranus/Neptune conjunction precisely on the 6th house cusp shows how necessary they are to keep the wheels of the machine turning. This conjunction square Venus shows a porous labour market, with exotic foreigners seeping across the borders by land, air and particularly by sea – much to the consternation of the good MEP’s. Yet the trine of the Moon to Uranus/Neptune shows the benefit foreign workers bring, not just materially, but also spiritually and culturally.

The economy over the next two years

So this is our superstate of the next millennium. It’s powerful, sometimes fearsome, and it’s secure, sometimes kind. It encapsulates the democratic vision of the age. The pillars holding up this temple of materialism are subject to the occasional earthquake – especially here in 2001 with the T-square so powerfully activated by Uranus. We can expert dramatic economic fallout from the recession which is growing in strength and will shake the US to its foundations. Fortunately the Saturn/Pluto/Node oppositions of 2001 to 2002 do not hit the EU as hard as the US, so the Euro will probably get comparatively stronger, but the repercussions – for telecoms in particular – will be global, with Nokia, Siemens and Eriksson continuing to suffer for at least a couple of years. Whilst economic experts predict a resurgence of the economy, those in the know should batten down the hatches, sell their technology shares if they still have value, or sit it out for the long term. The secret of success is to expect a turnaround after 2003, not before.

The future

The shadow side of the EU is its dictatorial and secretive nature, which predisposes it to corruption. There will be a shattering example of this when Neptune conjoins the T-square in 2008 and 2009, which will precipitate another economic crisis. It is at this time that the progressed Sun conjoins the Mars/Pluto conjunction, and this will foreshadow major world political change on many other fronts too. This is a time of European upheaval. With Europe here to stay, however, it is important to be conscious of its shadow side. Ultimately the influence of Scorpio is to transform materialism, and to seek deeper values, and it is up to the individual to fight power misuse and create the circumstances for transformation.

Adrian Ross Duncan

King of Hearts

by | Aug 7, 2000 | Adrian's Articles 2000

Astrologers are generally universally in agreement that the horoscope of Prince William, first-born son of Princess Diana and Prince Charles, is the horoscope of a king. It’s an astonishing chart, not least because of the extraordinary similarities with that of his mother. Both have the Sun in Cancer in the 7th house, both have Sagittarius rising, and both have Venus in Taurus, Diana with Venus 24.24, and William with Venus at 25.40 Taurus in conjunction with Chiron at 25.17.A Traumatic Childhood

See chart of prince William

Of all the events that have happened in William’s life, there is clearly one that rises above all others. Privileged as he is as a royal personage, he was not spared the terrible tragedy of losing his mother at the all-too-young age of 15. It is often the case that the star Algol (at 26.08 degrees Taurus in 1997) is associated with tragedy. In myth it is connected to the severed head of Medusa, and is said by astrologer Bernadette Brady to represent the passion and intensity of the feminine, which can be used effectively or destructively. Even though Venus is well-placed in William’s chart, in its own sign Taurus and the 5th, exactly as in Diana’s, it’s obviously connected with the disaster. Ruler of the 4th, it’s position in the 5th does tend to indicate a repetition of the family tradition for giving everything for love.

A Dangerous Mars

See chart of princess Diana

For those who associate the 10th house ruler with the mother, the position of Mars conjoining Saturn in Libra in the 9th also depicts Diana, and certainly her fate of meeting death abroad in an impossible relationship. Indeed, as Mars progressed towards Saturn to exactly conjoin in 1997, she did meet her fate, or – to put it another way – William learned something about terrible implacable judgement which can greet a weak Mars.

Both William’s parents seem to embody the indiscretions of this Mars in Libra, and it is unlikely that William will himself be immune to its allures. William’s Venus is also the focal planet of a yod to Pluto and Neptune, representing perhaps the mythic quality surrounding his mother, and her affairs, and what later will become the myth of his own life and loves. For great love will come to William, just as it came for Diana, and just as she was elected by popular consent to be Queen of Hearts, it takes little imagination to see that William, when he gets to the marrying age, will be King of Hearts. Diana, fulfilled her Sun in the 7th trine Neptune, marrying her Prince Charming, who seemed destined to be king. One of the first great indicators of romance for William, is when his MC/IC axis progresses to conjoin Venus in the 5th at the tender age of 23. It would seem at least that he gets his own home, or palace, at this time, and there will be a lady within.

Will Prince Charles become King?

Yet astrologers point out that Charles’ life is overshadowed by his own mother – he has Moon conjunction the North Node in the 10th house – and with his ruling planet, the Sun, conjoining the 5th house cusp, he is the archetypal prince, and will in all probability remain so. With the co-dispositor of his Sun, Mars, in Sagittarius and conjoining Jupiter also in the 5th house, Charles is the lusty prince, performing the princely duties of creating sons in line for the throne, when he isn’t indulging his affair with Camilla Parker Bowles. William, on the other hand, has a massively powerful trine from the Sun just 6 minutes of arc into Cancer (i.e. on the Aries point of power), trining a Jupiter almost stationary direct at zero degrees Scorpio conjoining the Midheaven from the 9th house. Obviously this trine suggests kingly good fortune, especially considering that Jupiter is his horoscope ruler. Jupiter will conjoin the MC by progression in William’s early forties, or earlier if he is born a minute or three earlier.

When will William become King.?

Other indications of ascension to the throne would be when the Jupiter/Sun trine is activated by William’s progressed Ascendant. In the years 2010 – 12, on William’s Saturn return, both progressed angles change sign, with the MC moving into Sagittarius, and the Ascendant subsequently moving into Aquarius, thus actvating the Sun/Jupiter. This is probably the time of a marriage, at least, as the change in emphasis will show a completely new way of life. Progressed Venus conjoins William’s Descendant in 2008, and surely here the woman of his dreams will enter his life, just as when Diana’s own Venus conjoined her Descendant, she married Charles and gave birth to William. Venus goes on to conjoin the Sun, trining Jupiter, in the year 2011, at the same time as his progressed MC conjoins Uranus. Quite clearly, this is when it’s all happening for William, certainly in his love life, but very likely too in his career destiny. He will be immensely popular at this time.

Love and Children

William will almost certainly produce heirs. It’s very likely that this will happen when his 5th house ruler Venus conjoins the Moon at the age of 32 to 33. A child will be born here, especially as progressed Mercury conjoins progressed Sun to square progressed Jupiter. Later, when the progressed Ascendant trines the strong Mercury in the 5th on the one side, and Mars in the 9th on the other – in his 35th year – he will have another child, and if the first one was not a boy, this one will be. Perhaps another child will arrive a year or so later, when progressed IC moves to conjoin Mercury… three children in all. As this is the time of his 3rd Jupiter return around October 2017, one could expect that this too would be a good time for accession, especially as the previous eclipse in 2017 is at 28.53 Leo, on the king’s star Regulus, and Saturn conjoins his Ascendant. Failing all this, then William will be crowned when the progressed Ascendant activates the Sun/Jupiter trine, making a grand trine in the year 2029, aged 47. Of course, for this to happen, Elizabeth would have to reign until the grand old age of 103 (the wonders of modern science), or Charles would actually have to become king.

Eclipses

It would be wrong to look at William’s chart without remarking on the significance of eclipses. One took place the day after Charles and Diana married, just as there was an eclipse one day before Diana died. William himself is born exactly on an eclipse, with Jupiter the dominating factor. Like Alexander the Great, Karl Marx and other historical figures born on eclipses, it is likely that King William will have a profound impact on the history of his time. The emphasis in Cancer and the 7th house shows him to be as similarly attuned to the people as his mother. He is a softy, tempered by the traumas and depth of his ruler Jupiter in the power sign of Scorpio. His influence will be profound, and he will be renowned for his kindness and understanding, but also for his judgement, which at times will be hard. But in affairs of the heart, he will be deeply susceptible… that is the legacy of both his parents.

Adrian Ross Duncan