The Future of Scotland

At the time of writing – one day before the Scottish referendum on independence – England is shaking in its boots. When an overconfident David Cameron agreed with the leader of the Scottish National Party (SNP), Alex Salmond, the terms of the referendum a couple of years back, just one question was agreed on: “Should Scotland be an independent country?” This unwisely allows people to say Yes for independence, rather than Yes for continued union with Britain. Back then, Cameron along with everybody else assumed that there could not possibly be a majority for independence. But now, one day before the United Kingdom can be torn asunder, the bagpipes have a different tune. Yes and No voters are so evenly divided, nobody can say who will win.

Actually the Scottish people have never wanted to be part of England, and even when the two countries were united in 1707, it was the political elite of both countries who were responsible; the common people were so discontent, that martial law had to be declared. Scotland has historically wanted to be free of England, and even after 1707, there was a major uprising behind Bonnie Prince Charlie, which was abruptly halted at the Battle of Culloden on April 16, 1746, after which Prince Charlie fled to France and never returned. The Scottish people have never forgotten.

Now, for the first time in history, the Scottish people have the chance to become free of England through a democratic political process. Will they take that chance? Alex Salmond argues that of the 100 or so countries that have become independent over the last century, not one of them have regretted it. He offers a Scotland free of the rule of a remote government in Westminster, and especially free of a Conservative government, which Scotland feels no affinity with. (Only one Conservative Member of Parliament comes from Scotland.) His Scotland would have a welfare state based on Scandinavian ideals, be free of weapons of mass destruction, have free education, and be rich on the proceeds of North Sea oil.

All the logic in the world will not influence the outcome of this referendum – it will be the result of what Scottish residents feel in their guts. I wish I could vote, because it would be No, for the selfish reason that despite my great-grandfather being Scottish, I don’t want to be resident of a diminished England without the Union Jack. What about the sun never setting on the British Empire? I don’t want a flag without blue in it – no way. We lost India in 1947, now Scotland? What next? Goodbye Wales, Northern Ireland, Cornwall. Goodbye the North of England. All that will be left is the playing fields of Eton, and who wants to live in a country ruled by Eton? Oh… we are already.

For the Labour Party, Scottish independence would be a disaster, because they have until recently been the largest political party in Scotland and without Scottish votes England would have a Tory government for ever, which is enough to make you want to move to the rainiest part of the United Kingdom – and yes, that’s Scotland.

If you need another reason to vote No to independence, it might help to look at the horoscope of Alex Salmond, who would become leader of a newly independent country.

 

 

With an exact Uranus/Jupiter conjunction rising in Cancer, it is easy to see where the fierce drive for independence comes from. Perhaps this exalted Jupiter in Cancer also shows his lifelong love of horseracing. What stands out in his chart is the powerful grand trine involving six planets. Clearly this shows a man of strong feeling and considerable empathy, and if it were not for the powerful placement of Moon/Mars in the 10^th house, which destines him for public life, perhaps a man who really values his privacy. With a Mars/Saturn trine dominating this grand trine, this is a man who will be very dominating emotionally, perhaps rather bullying and temperamental.

The Venus/Saturn conjunction in the 5^th house reflects his marriage to a woman 17 years older than him, with whom he has no children. It is interesting to note that Venus had a couple of months prior to his birth moved retrograde at 0.03 Sagittarius, which means that it had conjoined Saturn three times up to his birth. That’s a Venus weighed down by a lot of heavy experience. It is hard to imagine that Salmond would attract younger female voters.

Venus constellates extremely strongly with Saturn and Pluto, and generally this is a signature for a very poor economy. This may be mitigated by the trine to Jupiter and the Moon, which are in fact in mutual reception, but still it does seem to indicate the depletion of resources. You have the same kind of pattern in the different horoscopes for Russia, which has traditionally suffered economically.

This grand trine in water signs, and particularly the Moon/Mars conjunction in Pisces in the 10^th house, has had a profound influence on his career. His father was in the navy during the war, and Salmond himself started his career as an economist in the Department of Agriculture and Fisheries. Later he was appointed Oil Economist. Clearly he knows all about North Sea oil, and probably this forms the basis for his optimism about Scotland’s financial future. However 16-year-old voters, now eligible to vote in the referendum, will not be enjoying much revenue from oil in 20 years time.

The trine of Jupiter and Saturn should give Salmond a firm grasp of financial realities, and this combination in water signs does incline towards a socialist view, partly because of a strong awareness of poverty and – with the Moon/Mars in Pisces – an idealistic need to help the underprivileged. Salmond has been strongly left wing in the past, but nationalism became his driving force – the Uranus/Jupiter conjunction rising in Cancer.

Up to the referendum Pluto has been conjoining Salmond’s Sun in Capricorn, and hovering over his Mercury – he has a lot on his mind. In fact his progressed Ascendant has also been conjoining Pluto, another indication of his relentless confrontation with Westminster as a symbol of power. This is the time of his exact Saturn return, and Saturn will go on to activate his grand trine, ensuring his political relevance for some time to come. In 2017 however, Pluto conjoins his Descendant whilst Neptune conjoins his MC, and as his IC progressed also conjoins Saturn at this time, I suspect we will see his star eclipsed, and retirement will beckon.

To sum up, I suspect that Salmond touches all the right chords amongst many Scots – not least the sense of being a victim – but my guess is that an independent Scotland will find finances drained. North Sea oil is not enough to provide the surpluses that an improved welfare state requires. Banks in Scotland, whose debts are 10 times greater than the reserves of the Scottish state, would relocate to England because only England can be a lender of last resort in the event of another economic downturn. Similarly, Scotland could hardly keep the pound, unless they were willing to subordinate themselves to the Bank of England, and they would have to apply to adopt the Euro and all the inflexibility that that implies. As a very small country, they might find themselves sharing the fate of the Irish Republic, with wild swings of the economy.

If Scotland does vote for independence this Thursday, then the actual independence date for Scotland will be March 24^th 2015, presumably at 0.00 hours in Edinburgh. This is a really great horoscope – the kind of chart you would love to elect for any event:

 

Mars would be Ascendant ruler in its own sign Aries, whilst Venus would be strong in Taurus and the Moon also exalted in Taurus. The sun is exalted in Aries and trine Saturn. This is a great chart for everything Scotland dreams of, with a focus on creativity and the arts, on foreign connections, with Jupiter in 9^th and Saturn rising in Sagittarius, and a thriving working population. The only reservation is that this is the time of the seventh and last Uranus/Pluto square, which the sun would meet by progression in 2027 bringing some serious crisis. Nevertheless I would believe in a prosperous and thriving Scotland, if this chart did come to pass.

If he survives until then, Cameron would lose the next election due in May 2015 (if it is not postponed) and it is expected that Scottish people would still have the right to vote, in which case Labour will win – until the subsequent election, which they would probably lose.

That so much is at stake for the United Kingdom is clearly seen by the transits to the key horoscopes at the coming referendum. The May 12, 1707 horoscope for the Union of England and Scotland has an Ascendant of 16 Capricorn and MC at 21 Scorpio (Saturn transit). The January 1, 1801 United Kingdom chart has Sun at 10.10 degrees and IC at 9.20 degrees Capricorn. Cameron has his Sun at 15.27 Libra. The referendum opens with Uranus at 15.17 Aries and Pluto at 11.00 Capricorn:

 

The opening horoscope for the referendum shows Virgo rising, whilst the polls close at 22.00 with Gemini rising, so Mercury rules both the opening and closing horoscopes. Mercury has been sextile Jupiter, and it will go retrograde at 2 Scorpio and sextile Jupiter twice more. As these are the two rulers of all four angles, representing opposing sides, my guess is that they will choose to be together, and in any subsequent referendum would continue to do so. This is at least the strongest evidence for a No vote… it’s Better Together.

It is striking to see that the Moon is exactly trine Saturn at the opening of the polls. This could be seen to favour Salmond, as Saturn is exactly on his natal Saturn. Indeed, the Moon starts on his Ascendant, and by the close of polls it conjoins his Jupiter/Uranus conjunction, which could bring fireworks and celebrations. Still, Moon in Cancer trine Saturn is very conservative and hardly revolutionary. Earlier the Moon has opposed Pluto and squared Uranus, which may indicate considerable anxiety and alarm amongst voters at the prospect of independence. As the polls open the Moon is square the Nodes, reflecting the dilemma: Union or not. After trining Saturn, the moon finishes the day in sextile to the Sun in Virgo, which does seem to indicate good sense prevails over risk and that voters choose the safe option… Queen and country.

We’ll see. Tomorrow! Alex Salmond cunningly chose the year 2014 for the referendum, which is the 700^th anniversary of the Battle of Bannockburn. The Scottish will never forget that battle, because a force of Scots half the size of the English army totally defeated the invaders and drove all English forces out of their country.

Adrian Duncan September 17^th 2014