In 1948 George Orwell wrote the novel 1984. It is said he reversed the last two digits of the book launch year to arrive at this mythical year when Big Brother was omnipresent through screens both visible and hidden. On May 4th 1984 Mark Zuckerberg was born. In our new digital age, where everyone actually carries around their personal screen, we inhabit the online world created by Zuckerberg: Facebook. Over one billion people, a quarter of the world’s population here in 2020 use Facebook. Through his initiative Internet.org Mark Zuckerberg plans to make the internet available to everyone in the world, then everyone will be on Facebook, so perhaps it is worth getting to know who this man is and what Facebook is capable of.
A Brilliant Mind
Mark Zuckerberg is something of a genius. His mother was a psychiatrist and father a dentist; they recognized his talent early, put him in a top private school and hired a top coder to teach him. By the time he arrived at Harvard to study psychology, he had already programmed lots of applications. He also studied the classics and could speak and write French, Latin, Greek and Hebrew. Later, when he married Priscilla Chan he also learned passable Chinese. In 2018 he was summoned to Congress to be grilled by senators because of Facebook’s role in the 2016 election, and when you watch his performance under intimidating circumstances, you get the feeling that he is a lot smarter than the congressmen asking the questions. (Note 1)
Mark Zuckerberg May 14, 1984 14.39 Dobbs Ferry, NY (AS 20.57) (Note 2)
The horoscope displayed here is a rectification, and therefore cannot be relied on at all. There are several rectifications for this chart, but Mark Zuckerberg is nothing if not secretive, so his birth time is unknown. If this time is correct, then in 2020 Neptune transits the Descendant, and squares the MC/IC axis, so there would be some chaotic developments in a number of areas in his life. In fact, this is a safe bet even though his birth time is unknown, as from 2020 to 2021 first Venus and then the Sun progress from Gemini to 0 degrees Cancer, exactly opposing Neptune. Some form of dissolution will take place in this period, although if he focuses on his ideals – like internet.org and his many philanthropic projects – he may find the period spiritually enriching. That will not reassure investors, however. It is the kind of transition when early retirement begins to look tempting.
Intense and Private
Assuming Zuckerberg has a Moon-Mars conjunction in the 3rd house, opposing the Sun in the 9th, this would resonate with his extraordinary intellectual powers and his influence on worldwide communication. At heart he identifies as a hacker, and organizes hackathons, where coders work intensely for 24 hours periods to accomplish miracles. As Zuckerberg says: “The idea is that you can build something really good in a night”. This intense focus is shown by the opposition of Mercury to Pluto, which is exact to within just half a degree. This same aspect reflects his ability to maintain his privacy – even when his company monetizes everyone else’s. This opposition is reflected in the USA’s Mercury-Pluto opposition and the initial launch of Facebook – more on that later.
Power and Money
Late at night on Zuckerberg’s birthday there was a lunar eclipse, which energizes the incredibly powerful opposition of a dignified Mars in Scorpio to a dignified Venus in Taurus. This channels power, and it channels money. It is a virtually indestructible combination which goes a long way towards showing why Zuckerberg is one of the richest people on Earth, and potentially the person with the greatest power to influence the choices of men and women. That Mars also conjoins Saturn shows an iron will, indicating someone who controls his emotions as rigorously as he does all aspects of Facebook. Saturn at 12 Scorpio is in exact sextile to Jupiter at 12 Capricorn, which is the signature of the establishment and corporate power. This guy is impregnable.
Political Accountability
He will need to be. During the 2016 election Russian hackers manipulated Facebook with thousands of fake accounts to create a political chaos that favored Trump. Furthermore, the British company Cambridge Analytica weaponized millions of profiles to micro-influence bands of voters in favor of Trump. This resulted in Zuckerberg being summoned to Congress on April 10th 2018. He was also summoned to the British parliament, but refused to attend. It is worth looking at the horoscope for this event:
The interesting thing about this chart is the exact square of the Sun in Aries to Pluto and the implacable conjunction of Saturn and Mars in Capricorn. The threat to Facebook is that it has grown too powerful, and many politicians, not least Democratic ex-candidate Elizabeth Warren, want to see it broken up. Facebook also owns Instagram and WhatsApp, so in theory it can know what almost every American is saying and sending to each other. In this horoscope Zuckerberg is probably symbolized by the Aries Sun conjoining Uranus (which is transiting his Mercury-Pluto opposition). Retrograde Jupiter in Scorpio in exact sextile to Pluto shows the power of the Facebook corporation, as well as the attempt to dig down into the truth of what information is stored by Facebook and how it is used.
The financier George Soros said recently in Davos, Switzerland, that Zuckerberg should not be in control of Facebook. He said: “Facebook helped Trump to get elected and I am afraid that it will do the same in 2020.” In 2016, Facebook provided the Trump campaign with embedded staff who helped to optimize its advertising program. Soros points to recent meetings between Trump and Zuckerberg, which were kept secret, one of which took place on September 19th , 2019 a time when Mars at 20.40 Virgo exactly trined Pluto at 20.40 Capricorn, which is an astrological signature for secret strategizing.
A Political Liberal?
Zuckerberg almost certainly likes and is comfortable with power, he is obviously secretive, and being rich sits well with him. But he does not see himself as Big Brother, and his actions indicate a strong set of humanistic values. He says: “The thing I really care about is the mission, making the world open.” Zuckerberg receives a one dollar salary as CEO of Facebook and he and his wife have pledged to give away 99% of their wealth during their lifetimes. He criticized Trump for banning Muslims from specific countries, and has volubly defended people in his company who promote Black Lives Matter. He supports Muslims on Facebook, saying: “As a Jew my parents taught me that we must stand up against attacks on all communities”. He supports LGBT rights and, although no one knows where his political affiliations lie, these things define him as a liberal.
Facebook Launch on Stock Market
However, his horoscope defines him as a capitalist and conservative – in fact it is strongly reminiscent of the Conservative Party horoscope in Great Britain, which has Sun conjoining Saturn in Scorpio opposing the Moon and Pluto in Taurus. His horoscope also resonates, naturally enough, with the IPO of Facebook. It was launched on the New York Stock Exchange in May 2012 at $38 per share – shares are worth five times that now.
Facebook IPO. May 18, 2012. 11.32 a.m. New York (AS 17.13 LE)
Facebook could hardly have chosen a better date for this launch. There is a Sun-Jupiter-Mercury stellium in the 10th house conjoining his own Sun in Taurus, powerfully opposing his Mars, Moon and Saturn. And with Venus at 23 Gemini in the 11th house trine Saturn on the fixed star Spica at 23 Libra in the 3rd house, we have all those friends constantly communicating with each other. The Moon exalted in Taurus makes a grand trine with Mars at 9 Virgo and Pluto at 9 Capricorn, bringing survival power, viral growth and resilience.
An Achilles Heel
Mars also opposes Chiron at 9 Pisces, and it is possible that this shows an Achilles heel for Facebook, perhaps linked to the weaponization of data. Unlike Twitter and YouTube, Facebook specifically allows false political advertising on the grounds of not compromising free speech. This is OK with Donald Trump who commented: “I’d rather have him just do whatever he is going to do. He’s done a hell of a job, when you think of it.” If you were Mark Zuckerberg, and despite your liberal principles, who would you want in power – democrats like Elizabeth Warren who wants to break up Facebook… or Donald Trump?
Zuckerberg is going to be at the center of immense controversy and power politics for the foreseeable future. It is extraordinary that his Mars, retrograde in Scorpio at birth, goes stationary direct by progression exactly on Saturn. Imagine that! For 20 years until his mid-forties Mars absorbs the energy of Saturn in Scorpio, and this shows his destiny to confront the very nature of power – a confrontation with the secret forces of society, which puts him under intense psychological pressure. As his progressed Sun and Venus move into Cancer over the next year or so, and oppose Neptune, it is conceivable that he will withdraw from his central position as CEO to live a more peaceful family life. He may even go into politics.
It is worth noting that when Mark Zuckerberg launched his Facebook from his dorm in Harvard on February 4th, 2004, Mercury was at 26 Capricorn. (It’s a great horoscope because Uranus has just entered Pisces and is in reception with Neptune in Aquarius – the perfect astrological signature for the union of all people via technology.) The USA has Pluto at 27 Capricorn (opposing Mercury at 24 degrees) so the coming Pluto-Saturn-Jupiter transit will conjoin the initial launch Mercury and oppose USA Mercury. This could show restructuring. I note that Peter Thiel, the initial investor in Facebook offloaded 80% of his shares in Facebook early in 2020, which – if Trump loses the 2020 election, may prove to be a wise move.
Adrian Duncan 17th February 2020
- See Zuckerberg in Congress here: https://youtu.be/EgI_KAkSyCw
- Rectification by Lauren Delsack rectified to 2.39 pm Asc 20Vir58′
