March 26, 2001
Russia: Friend or Foe?
Like the faded dreams of the Soviet empire, Russia's Mir space station
completed a controlled descent into oblivion last week, falling harmlessly
into the Pacific Ocean. Several other major news stories last week from and
about Russia, including three simultaneous bombings and the tit-for-tat
expulsion of 50 spies, indicate that something astrological is in the air.
Russia's horoscope is set for the Bolshevik Revolution (November 8, 1917;
Petrograd; 2:12 am BAT), an historic change that still represents the
foundation of the Russian government after the fall of the czarist empire.
The chief planetary culprit in the latest round of Russia's political trouble
is Pluto, which is now squaring the Virgo Ascendant.
Since Russia is a Scorpio nation, Pluto's transits frequently correlate to
major developments. Transiting Pluto, the planet associated with death and
rebirth, was conjunct the Sun from 1989 to 1991 as the political overlay of
the Soviet Union (established by Stalin in 1922) disintegrated. When Pluto
entered the Russian fourth house, a new political system was established
under Boris Yeltsin. Now Pluto is squaring the Russian Ascendant, and over
the last week was galvanized by fast-moving Mars which formed a conjunction
with Pluto.
The transiting Mars-Pluto square to the Ascendant is a perfect astrological
formula for hard-core antagonism against national interests, and the Bush
administration and the Chechen rebels were quick to take action. Although
both Bush and Putin declared the espionage debacle insignificant to
U.S.-Russian relations, political astrologers can watch the momentum shift
into the danger zone as first Jupiter, and then Saturn opposes Pluto over the
coming months.
Hoof-and-Mouth Epidemic Hits UK
The televised mass slaughtering of British cattle and billowing fire walls
painted in stark images the epidemic proportions of hoof-and-mouth disease
raging through England. American farmers watched and worried as infected
animals were discovered in France, Netherlands, and Ireland. On Thursday Tony
Blair learned of the crisis' true dimension, and ordered a doubling of
eradication efforts to save Britain's $21 billion farming industry.
In traditional astrology Saturn is the ruler of farming. More recently, the
asteroid Ceres has become known as the ruler of grains, and the livestock
that is nourished with grains. The symbols for Saturn and Ceres are virtually
identical, with Ceres represented by the glyph for the sickle, and Saturn the
same but upside down. We can say that Saturn and Ceres co-rule agriculture.
In the UK horoscope (December 25,1066; 12:00 pm; London) the Sun is conjunct
Ceres and trine Saturn, reflecting how traditional rural farming has shaped
British society. The same farming combinations can be found in the U.S. (Sun
trine Ceres, Sun square Saturn) and Russia (Sun conjunct Ceres, Sun square
Saturn). Unfortunately for the UK, transiting Pluto, the planet associated
with epidemics and disasters, is now squaring the UK Saturn.
Pluto's hard aspects to the UK Saturn have corresponded to major events
specifically associated with hoof-and-mouth disease. The last major outbreak
was in 1967 when transiting Pluto was conjunct the UK Saturn. Hoof-and-mouth
was first identified in 1897 when Pluto made its previous hard aspect to the
UK Saturn. Over the next few months as transiting Saturn and Pluto oppose
each other we can only expect this epidemic to worsen.
David McTaggart, Rainbow Warrior
Last Friday David McTaggart, one of the founders of Greenpeace International,
was killed in a head-on car crash near his olive farm in Umbria, Italy.
McTaggart was the driving force behind many of Greenpeace's most successful
efforts, including campaigns to save the whales, stop dumping nuclear waste
in the ocean, and protecting Antarctica from oil and mineral exploitation.
David McTaggart was born a caring Cancer (June 24, 1932; Vancouver, BC; time
unknown) with the Moon in sensitive, compassionate Pisces. The Sun and Moon
in these water signs gives what astrologer Grant Lewi called "a sailboat
personality," which in McTaggart's case proved to be far more than an analogy
since the environmental crusader spent most of his time harassing polluters
from his 36-foot sailboat Vega.
The communications planet Mercury plays a prominent role in McTaggart's chart
by virtue of many connections to other significant points. Mercury's
conjunction with Pluto gives an intense, persuasive mentality with a penchant
for shaping public opinion. Mercury also squares unpredictable, eccentric
Uranus, and this combination fomented his early reputation as a beat poet,
and later as a radical crusader against corporate polluters.
Mercury opposes Ceres, the asteroid known for its ecological awareness, and
this connection establishes a framework, a cause for his powerful,
anti-authoritarian genius. Mercury is further amplified by its opposition to
Vega, a first magnitude star that confers charisma and mysticism, and in
ancient times was the pole star. Vega was obviously McTaggart's personal pole
star, and he died when transiting Ceres was exactly conjunct Vega.
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