THE FUTURE FOR IRAN
At the time of writing – four days after the chaotic Iranian election on June 12th 2009 – there are still wild protests on the streets of Teheran and other major cities, as supporters of candidate Mousavi demand that there be an accounting for their disappeared votes. An estimated ½ to 1½ million people have taken to the streets in defiance of a ban on demonstrations, the current president Ahmadinejad has mobilized the feared Revolutionary Guard militia, and at the last counting seven people have been shot and killed.
Both in Iran and in the West people are asking whether there has been an election swindle, but in reality there always is. Iran is not a democracy. As Ahmadinejad himself said: Iran “did not have a revolution in order to have democracy, but to have an Islamic government.” Elections in Iran are not transparent. There is no independent monitoring of the results, voting is in the open, officials help the often illiterate population to fill out ballot papers, so the possibilities for rigging are huge. The people of Iran know this; they expect some manipulation. What has driven them crazy is that Ahmadinejad won a landslide victory with over 65% of the vote, even in the cities, where Mousavi was known to be strong, and even in Mousavi’s home province. The vote rigging has been so obvious that the people are offended. As one young person in the crowds in Teheran said: “If 65% of the people here voted for Ahmadinejad, where are they?”
What everyone wants to know at this point is whether the open opposition of the people will result in a reassessment or annulment of the election results, or will the popular revolt be crushed by the extremely efficient Revolutionary Guard. It is a complex question because true power is said to rest in the hands of Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Khamenei. He in turn has now ordered the powerful guardian council to investigate claims of election fraud. But in reality Khamenei has earlier – in conflict with a tradition of neutrality – shown his support of Ahmadinejad, and has no interest in seeing him ousted. In fact Khamenei endorsed his victory labeling it a “divine assessment” immediately after the election. And he has strong allies in the guardian council.
To complicate the issue, former president Rafsanjani appears to be mobilizing support to have Khamenei dismissed by the powerful “Assembly of Experts”, which under Iran’s constitution, it has the power to do. Rafsanjani is respected as one of the Islamic revolution’s founding fathers. He has the support of the mayor of Teheran and former president Mohammad Khatami.
In reality nobody at this point has any idea what is going to happen, and the general consensus is that with the guardian council not meeting for about a week, and with the efficient repressive militia forces, protests will die out or be crushed.
However, the astrology of this moment in Iran puts the situation in another perspective. Hearing news reports of the unrest, there is a constant comparison with a similar period of unrest prior to the removal of the shah of Iran in 1979 – thirty years ago. And of course, whenever an astrologer hears “thirty years” the Saturn cycle comes to mind. For 28 – 30 years is the natural time scale of survival for rigid structures, after which time they are torn down – just like the Berlin Wall was (1961 – 1989) and the Israeli separation barrier will be (2002 – 2030).
Islamic Republic of Iran April 1, 1979 15.00 Teheran AS 17.17 LE [Note1]
The horoscope for the Islamic Republic of Iran is a timed horoscope which seems to very accurately describe the modern history of Iran after the iconic return of Ayatolla Khomeini on February 1st 1979 at 9.00. With the foundation of the republic we see Saturn is at 8.18 Virgo after retrograding back from 13 Virgo. At the election in 2009, Saturn was at 15 Virgo. If we go back three Saturn cycles, the original shah dynasty can be traced back to a coup on 21st February 1921 with Saturn at 22 Virgo. If we go back two Saturn cycles – to 1951 – this was the time when Iran nationalized their oil industry, which ultimately ended in a CIA coup that installed the last shah, who was deposed by the 1979 revolution.
Looking back at these historic Saturn cycles there is evidence that the Saturn return here in 2009 will also channel popular uprising into structural change. The Islamic Republic chart has an Ascendant at 17 Leo, which means that the Saturn/Neptune opposition which took place shortly after Ahmadinijad was elected activated the 1st and 7th houses making the image of Iran and foreign relations very confusing indeed. With Iran actively pursuing nuclear power, to the grave concern of Israel and the USA, as well as the rest of the world, including the Arabic world, the influence of Neptune made clarity about Iran’s intentions impossible to achieve.
When Ahmadinijad came to power in August 2005 (with transit Neptune exactly on the Republic Descendant) the country’s progressed Ascendant actually conjoined Saturn, and prior to the current election the Midheaven has squared Saturn, and this gives some indication about the nature of the regime, which is obviously authoritarian and restrictive. As I wrote in a previous article [Note 2] in his early career he had been a senior commander in the elite Qods Force, from where he directed assassinations of dissidents in the Middle East and Europe, including the assassination of Iranian Kurdish leader Abdorrahman Qassemlou, who was shot dead by senior officers of the Revolutionary Guards in a Vienna flat in July 1989. At a Teheran conference The World without Zionism, on October 28th 2005, Ahmadinejad stated that “Israel must be wiped off the map”, further stating that a “historic war between the oppressor and the world of Islam” would occur in Palestine. Later that same day, at a gathering of students, he called for “the annihilation of the Zionist regime.”
Mahmoud Ahmadinijad: 28.10.1956 Garmsar, Iran. Solar Sign.
This is the kind of rhetoric to be expected by someone with Sun in Scorpio in square to Uranus, which can be a really dangerous combination; it is also shared by Kim Jong-il of North Korea. Ahmadinejad also has Saturn in Sagittarius conjoining the North Node and square Pluto (and probably the moon) which is a clear signature for a religious hard-liner.
There can be little doubt that Ahmadinijad’s instincts at this point are to use his military connections to crack down on the unrest. He has placed men with strong ties to the military in key administrative posts, and he has the power to mobilize them. And right now, transiting Saturn is exactly on his Mars at 15 Pisces… which indicates a desire to apply repression. Furthermore his Venus progressed has just entered Sagittarius, squaring his Pluto exactly, and soon to conjoin Saturn. This is a clear sign of unpopularity especially amongst the women he so dearly likes to hide behind chadors. Interestingly he recently introduced female military police dressed in chadors and armed with machine guns, but their appearance was so unsettling that the idea was dropped.
Countering these tendencies for repression, transiting Uranus is creating havoc in all significant horoscopes for Iran, and it is this influence above all others that is creating the revolutionary unrest since the election. Ahmadinejad himself has Venus at 25 Virgo (conjoining Jupiter at 23 degrees) – which curiously is exactly square to the MC conjoining Venus position at 25 Sagittarius for the horoscope when Khomeini landed on February 1st 1979. It is a sensitive point for Iran, and the Islamic Republic chart has Mars at 25 Pisces (conjoining Mercury at 27 Pisces).
With Uranus activating 25 degrees at the time of the election and subsequently in August 2009 and then January 2010 there is quite clearly revolutionary potential for many months into the future. It is an explosive situation. Earlier – in 2006 and 2007 – transiting Pluto had been activating this degree, which is partly connected with the extremism of Ahmadinejad, his inappropriate Holocaust denial, and pursuit of nuclear weapons. It is not difficult to imagine that secret police and secret prisons were quite busy at this time. Furthermore the Republic’s progressed Mars opposed Pluto during these years, reinforcing the idea that Iran was pursuing a nuclear agenda – a fact further emphasized by the position of Uranus in Scorpio in the 4th house. (Underground nuclear sites)
But now Uranus is directly conjoining Mars in the all-important Islamic Republic chart, in a long and dramatic process. The fact that it also goes on to conjoin Mercury means that communication methods like SMS, mobile devices, Facebook and Twitter will bring a constant stream of information from the suffering people. And as Saturn moves to oppose Mars in the Republic chart, which it does only once in October 2009, there is likely to be a monumental struggle between the forces of chaos and those of control. Under these circumstances it is reasonable to wonder whether Ahmadinejad will ultimately be unseated by the revolutionary forces that have been unleashed by the Uranus transit. It is worth noting that the Republic Sun in Aries – chart ruler and exalted in Aries in the 9th house, which indicates strong spiritual leaders – has progressed to an exact conjunction to the Midheaven, which hardly seems to be the signature for the continuation of Ahmadinijad’s lamentable leadership.
Lastly the exalted Republic Venus in Pisces progresses to make a conjunction with the Sun in Aries within a year, which really does seem to be a good indication that the leadership will be interested in diplomacy and peace… something Ahmadinejad is incapable of.
ELECTION: June 12th 2009. 8.00 Teheran AS 19.45 CN
Perhaps the election horoscope can give a clue to the outcome. The chart ruler is the moon, which in Aquarius indicates the people, who are at odds with Mars in Taurus, which may indicate the leader Ahmadinejad. The subsequent conjunction of the Moon with Jupiter and Uranus over the weekend shows the huge crowds and popular uprising. If Mars does symbolize Ahmadinejad, the conjunction of Venus, which disposes of Mars, indicates that someone else takes control. It could also show the powerful Ayatollah Khamenei as an ally. The coming trine of both planets at 15 degrees Taurus to Saturn at 15 degrees Virgo (in opposition to Ahmadinejad’s Mars) seems to indicate a controlled outcome with someone overseeing Ahmadinejad’s role. One possibility is that the guardian council, who are to review the election results, actually back him up. If so, this will take place around June 22nd (in six days time). Of course if this happens, he will remain in power, though weakened. Still, the election chart shows the Sun trining the Jupiter/Neptune (crowds) and squaring Uranus, which might indicate continued popular unrest.
When the polls closed at 6 p.m.- and the 40 million votes had amazingly all been hand-counted by this time – there was a Scorpio Ascendant with Mercury on the Descendant in Taurus and square Neptune, Jupiter and Chiron. This is a strong indicator of election fraud. At this time Mars in Taurus is extremely weak in the 6th house and Mercury rules the Midheaven. As Mercury is about to move from its deceptive position in Taurus to an extremely strong position in Gemini, it is possible that there is a transition period and a leader with dignity will be subsequently be chosen.
The logical conclusion is that protests will be repressed but simmer violently for the next six months. Ahmadinejad will be weakened and may have to share power, and he may fade from the scene. The Uranus transit Mars may indicate violence and continued revolutionary activity, and this is likely to explode in cyberspace. The Republic’s Mercury/Mars in Pisces is highly indicative of martyrdom, and anyone who dies in the repression will be a powerful force in the Iranian psyche. The Saturn return does indicate major structural change; things will not remain as they have been, and the likelihood of a revived leadership making peaceful overtures to the world in 2010 is strong. If controlled calm is established, and the lid replaced on the boiling pot then 2012 will be the next major period of revolutionary leadership as Uranus conjoins the Republic sun and Pluto squares it. The subsequent upheaval that will stretch from 2012 to 2014 will probably bring the end of the Iranian Republic.
Adrian Duncan June 16th 2009
[Note1]
1. Book of World Horoscopes
[Note 2]
2. See: http://www.world-of-wisdom.com/04_articles/2006/05_Iran.htm