Hanging in the Balance

Posted on February 15, 2015 by P. James Clark

I think that by now the vision of an Aquarian Utopia populated by highly evolved, spiritualized beings devoted solely to the perfection of humanity has very little currency outside the lunatic fringe. At least I wish that were the case. The fact is, the idea has been marketed very successfully. If you can get a population to believe such things, they are very easy to control.

The illusion of progress makes real progress all but impossible to achieve. If you don’t realize there is a problem, there is no motivation to solve it. There are of course highly evolved and spiritualized beings here on Earth. There always has been. Humanity didn’t need to wait for Saturn.

This is likely to be the last article in a series regarding the nature of the Aquarian Age. The series of articles have been in large part a response to Robert Zoller whose views are notably dystopian. I’m accepting Zoller on his own terms and methodology for this project. Although I’ve added many of my own thoughts, I find myself in general agreement with Zoller.

When we are talking about an Age, we paint with a very broad brush. This makes most astrologers understandably uneasy (or it ought to) but this is the right tool for the occasion. However, we do need to be careful of using the correct terms. For example, the word “fascist” have become so overworked that it’s oftentimes used in ways that are cliche and not helpful at all.

When the courtyard attendant asks someone not to smoke within nine meters of the door, he might be called a Nazi in an absurd attempt to link the enforcement of rules designed to protect asthmatics and non smokers to Nazi atrocities during the Third Reich. This sort of trivial use or misuse of the term makes it a bit more difficult to recognize when we see the real thing.

Chart showing the angles to which Zoller is referring

Zoller suggests that “In the Age of Aquarius, religion will be humanistic love of fairness and justice. While feeding the people with Libran platitudes, the Scorpionic rulers will work tirelessly toward the realization of their goal – absolute power over others, as Leo is seen in position on the 7^th house.” (The Use of Archetypes in Prediction .)

In this we can find either hope or despair. Venus is nicely placed in the Ninth House which informs the Tenth. Libra, however, is the Fall of the Sun. Venus will tickle the ear, but lack authenticity that comes with a stronger sense of self. But the placement itself is benign, even if misguided. Optimism is a wonderful thing but that doesn’t mean the pessimist has nothing to be concerned about.

There are no goose stepping soldiers in Montreal, London, Berlin or Manhattan, but the police forces in many Western countries have become increasingly militarized, to the point that someone from a previous era wouldn’t recognize them as police at all. The right to even peaceful protest has been greatly diminished. The implications that what used to be called citizens are now the *enemy.* The term used most often to refer to the population is “consumers.” They are guilty if the powers that be say that they are.

Again, the implication is that this world is in the hands of a small, but inestimably rich plutocracy. According to Oxfam less than 1% of people in the world have more than half of the wealth (The Guardian).

Even these figures distort the reality because the Plutocracy is a tiny fraction of that 1%. It has become virtually common knowledge that this wealth contributes in no small way to foreign and domestic policies in all of the most powerful countries. It’s called lobbying but in many cases it’s rewarding what is demanded and implied threats of consequences if the donor fails to get what he or she want. .

The International Monetary Fund which we are lead to believe is a benevolent institution devoted to the development of the third countries sound very humanitarian. However the IMF loans amounts the country cannot afford to pay back as the interest compounds. The recipient then has to offer its resources in lieu of payment. This keeps the third world in thrall while making the *humanitarian* bankers richer than ever. There is nothing new about greed and injustice; but packaging these things as benign acts of altruism and humanitarianism soars to a new level of cynicism, which is decidedly Saturnine.

r-SOMALIA-FAMINE-WAR-CORRUPTION-large570w

Somalia – Famine, war and corruption – only one case of a failing state resulting in massive refugee populations.

I also concur with Zoller: “As the Aquarian dream of humanistic science and universal brotherhood is a vision of the world to come in Pisces, and realized in Aquarius, so too, the Aquarian avant-garde will look forward to an Aquarian Golden Age on the one hand, while the Aquarian technocrats will look for a world corporation to fossilize society into a rigid caste system run technologically.” The Use of Archetypes in Prediction

The key problem is that the proponents of an Aquarian Golden Age are blinded by unfounded optimism. Ironically perhaps, if they were more realistic they would see that the agenda of the Aquarian technocrats must be curbed, not just for a better world, but for our survival as a species.

The Aquarian technocrats require powerful militaries and endless wars which are justified as necessary for the security of the nation. For “our own good” we give up freedom and human rights,

With Mars on the MC the Scorpionic “overlords” will have no scruples about using whatever force they deem necessary to put down the perceived enemies of complete global domination. In the spirit of Aquarian egalitarianism, a one world government sounds like a good idea. Just as George Orwell wrote in 1948, the world is divided into larger and larger sections, such as East Asian (“we have always been at war with East Asia”). Those not complying with the agenda are called terrorists – Orwell showed how the masses can be convinced that lies are true and visa versa.

1Aquarius - Delv - Kova by al-Sufi 'Book of Fixed Stars'1

Aquarius – From al-Sufi ‘Book of Fixed Stars’

Neither will their domestic critics be spared. This is all out fascism, largely concealed by the velvet glove. Wars are no longer fought for the nation state in the West, They are fought mostly to further the interests of corporations and to make the very wealthy even wealthier.

Some will argue that there have always been wars and tyrants to send good people to fight them. However, the level and scope of what have become endless wars since the Age began, with the dominance shifting from Naval Power to Air Power, is truly unprecedented. To a very real way we have the technology to have wars that don’t end but become their own reason for being.

Predator drones are controlled from the other side of the world with impunity; but the target is people who are often unarmed ,with no chance of self defense They are destroyed without warning.. Arbitrary extrajudicial executions, carried out at the press of a button from CIA locations in California or Virginia, require no transparency or accountability. They operations are secret and above and beyond even international law.

The current President of the United States has insisted on his right to kill anyone, anywhere in the world, including the US, simply on the basis of alleged suspicion, This comes from a Democratic President with a Peace Prize. There is no trial and often no specific charge at all, All youths 16 or older can be considered enemy combatants. Almost 200 children have been killed by drones in Pakistan and Yemen alone on his watch. This mechanical, high tech form of slaughtering people is particularly ghoulish. The victims are often innocent and remain anonymous in our media. The globalism so commonly espoused in the Western world is often blind to who it kills, except of course for those who ordered the strike.

The astrological Saturn, by Hans Sebald Behamd 1539

Many scientists, political commenters, environmentalists and others now consider nuclear war the most likely existential threat to the human race and thousands of other species, even if the exchange were limited to India and Pakistan. A nuclear winter would ensue and it would be difficult to imagine a more Saturnine fate. Rapid climate change, accelerated by the burning of fossil fuel is a threat as well. An accidental or deliberate leak of biological agents having the affect of a rapidly spreading plague of pandemic proportions is often cited as close to the top of the list of doomsday scenarios. These are created, exacerbated or potentially ameliorated by human beings.

Optimists are becoming less numerous regarding outlooks for the future. As Zoller stated, the two malefics on the angles lacks the optimism and idealism of a Piscean Jupiter. Steven Hawking, one of our most brilliant and best loved physicists, has said many times that the only chance of human survival is for us to leave this planet. We have the technology to do real harm to the environment on an epic scale. In the meantime, famine, so often a result of war is obscenely commonplace considering the tools we have at our disposal,

Just as Libra in the Ninth is good at whispering sweet nothings into the ears of the rich and powerful, so it is an opportunity for renewed moral balance of a spiritual nature. Libra is after all the Exaltation of Saturn and the higher impulse is for true justice. We live in very dangerous times, If we can invoke the positive collective qualifies, we have an opportunity to take back what is ours. The real enemy is stealthy and the fist looks so much nicer in a velvet glove. Certainly denying or trivializing our powers of destruction will yield nothing but more of the same.

Saturn is the Reaper and what we reap is what we sow. Saturn is all about consequences and revealing limitations, often in very challenging ways. It’s said that the path of good intentions leads to Hell. When humanism becomes a rallying cry for the availability of every human whim, it becomes something very different. The most poignant irony is that humanism, always attributed to Aquarius, spells the end of truly human life.

Clearly, this is no longer seen in an entirely negative light. For some, it’s the only solution. Why not have a humanoid that’s “Forever Twenty One” to do all the work and be able to function in the most extreme conditions, should they occur. Japan would prefer robots to immigrants in a rapidly aging society. And of course, the humanoid has perfect manners and can teach Japanese in Viet Nam.

The Aquarius / Leo axis has brought a culture of conspicuous consumption, unparalleled technological innovation, the rewarding of selfishness and celebrity for its own sake (one can now be famous for being famous) as well as opportunities to defeat the most miserable illnesses, illiteracy and some forms of inequality. The scales offer us a choice and until we make that choice we will be ever hanging in the balance waiting for “Godot” the Aquarian messiah or the end of everything that matters.

Mundane Astrology & Janus Geminus

Posted on June 16, 2013 by P. James Clark

The Roman god known as Janus Geminus has a number of attributes, but the most salient is that he has two faces, usually one young and one old, looking into the past and the future at the same time. I find this to be a most apt image to describe the essence of Mundane Astrology, referred to as the jewel in the crown of astrology because it is the most difficult form, requiring many years of practice to master. It is also extremely useful in its predictive capacity.

Prediction, however requires hindsight, or rather, a great deal of knowledge about what is being predicted. To begin with a couple of simple examples: let’s say we want to be able to predict when a volcano might erupt. You don’t have to be an expert vulcanologist, but you do need to know some basic facts about volcanos. With that as a given we need to know what the astrological indicators of volcanoes are. The only way to do this properly is to look at past volcanic eruptions.

I’ve personally had occasion to study major volcanic eruptions of the past, and find that there are recurring themes. You can see my article on Mt. Pelee where I provide some specifics if you wish.

Next, I have to take some geographic notes. It’s pointless to predict anything if it cannot happen. We have expansive zones, such as the Ring of Fire and some which seem more localized. For example Iceland is very prone to volcanic eruptions, while Greenland has none at all. This may sound like a simple matter and it is, but there is no virtue in predicting a volcanic eruption if the geography doesn’t allow for it. So we now have the global ‘where’ The next step would be to localize the event, let’s say Jakarta, Indonesia and environs It wouldn’t hurt to have some knowledge of the tides and other elements

This where the greatest astrological skills come into play. Knowing the conditions most likely to coincide with volcanic eruptions, paying particular attention to Eclipses and the visibility of the Eclipse. Which zodiacal degree is most potent in relation to the eclipse? The number and nature of the elements we examine will not be identical each time at all. Each moment has it’s own power.

Doing all this isn’t at all easy and for most cases we would require some hint or change in a volcano so that we can look at a very precise situation. Some years ago, a friend in Mexico was disturbed by the increased activity of a nearby volcano. According to the astrology I used,it wasn’t going to explode and it didn’t

davfullcardio Courtesy Stanford University

Leonardo da Vinci – Anatomical Drawing – Courtesy of Stanford University

Let’s look at another example: we would all consider the accurate prediction of plagues and epidemics to be very useful. This is of course more difficult than predicting eruptions. This is a highly specialized application of medical astrology writ large. There is no need to rehearse what we have already stated about methodology and volcanoes.

Some of you might be interested in my article on the Astrology of the Bubonic Plague for a practical example.. Certainly a knowledge of medical astrology is required and some knowledge of epidemiology wouldn’t be amiss either. Some resources such as a copy of Grey’s Anatomy, the two volume Oxford Companion to Medicine and of course Hippocrates’ writings on epidemics. Again, we look back at historical epidemics to prepare us for predicting future ones.

Volcanoes, earthquakes and particular epidemics are extremely destructive of human lives. We know that one plague killed one in every two people in Europe and the Spanish Flu killed more people than WWI. The great effort taken to learn the prediction of epidemics is indeed daunting, but within the purview of astrology.

In all cases we need to look at the past to see the future. But there is a lot more to it than that. Whether or not I’m looking at a coup in Kazakhstan or an earthquake in Chile, I also need to know what planets are related to which parts of the world. Ptolemy mentions several in the Tetrabiblos which can be download free of charge in the File section. Unfortunately that isn’t enough though. Obviously he cannot make mention of that which he is unaware of. This includes the Americas, Australia and good deal more. For these we rely on more modern accounts, but by ‘more modern’ we mean the Renaissance is some cases

Religions also have planetary association as do ethnic groups. A wonderful source of much material is found in the works of Mash’allah It is very useful to know that Islam is under the governance of Venus or that Wales is Jupiterian.

Finally, we can see that a Mundane Astrologer should be familiar with a wide range of things. These include history, relevant philosophy, geography and medicine. It is possible to specialize of course, but the various disciplines often overlap. A very simple example would be a war in Thailand: it’s very helpful to know something of the political structure, the history and it’s astrological significations.

Many modern Mundane astrologers treat all areas as if they were the same. Much of Mundane astrology sees the United States as the centre of the world. Check any popular astrological magazine and you will see how this is so much par for the course, that editors take it as it is. While it’s true that it feels like the centre of the world for its inhabitants, it fosters a perception that would implicitly deny, for example, that a Madagascan may feel the same way about her own country.

Crucially, the use of outer planets is counterproductive if only because of their very slow (apparent) movement. On top of that, the traditional attributes of the planets has been unceremoniously given to the outers.

This does two things. It distorts or weakens the use we can make of reading the traditional planets, which are to many modern astrologers nothing more than a secondary concern. The attributions which are supposed to belong to the new planets have all been stolen from the traditional ones. It ignores an ancient and highly effective system of astrology based on light (see my post “into the Outer Darkness’)

It’s very easy to say after the fact that the Arab Spring was caused by Uranus, but we then have to ask why the effect wasn’t global. Modern astrology cannot answer that because, as already noted, no distinctions are made from one culture or continent to another

Generation or Epoch ? Part I

Posted on April 3, 2013 by P. James Clark

At the time of writing, the earlier members of “Generation X” start turning 50, I thought this would be a good time to take a fresh look at what constitutes a generation in Traditional Astrology.

I believe that generation, , as we’ve been encouraged to look at them over the last fifty years, has lead to great misunderstanding and unconsidered stereotyping for the purposes of marketing and commerce. Instead we need to revisit this phenomenon and find context based on geography and many other considerations in concert with astrological ones.

Looking at society in terms of specific and unique generations is a relatively recent pheomenon. Thinking in terms of unfolding epochs marked by celestial events is ancient, as is the all too human penchant for lamentaing the failures of youth. The first consideration ought to be the Superior Conjunctions because these set the nature of epochs, lasting until the next conjunction of Jupiter and Saturn..

Let’s take a look at the so called Post War or “Boomer” generation for example. Predictably, the generations who made it through the Great Depresssion and World War wished, first and foremost, for little more than to have families and live in peace, pereferably in the suburbs. That was the generation that brought us “My Blue Heaven” which refers to a house.

At any rate, there was a surge of children born in the years following WWII. This generation remains the largest to this day and was easily dubbed the Boomer Generation. You will notice the title tells us nothing about the characteristics of the generation other than the size. It wasn’t meant to.

Generations are typically considered to be about twenty years in duration. So generalizations quickly become strained. We are not only looking at two decades, but limiting our view to a very small select portion of the population.

In the meantime during the heyday of the Civil Rights and Counter Culture Movement from 1966 – 1976, China underwent the bloody Cultural revolution, largely coinciding with the American involvement in the Viet Nam war.

Only a few years before in 1961, the Berlin Wall was built. There was a string of assassinations in America, from the Kennedys to Martin Luther King. College students chanted Communist slogans amd the Red Book of Mao Tse Tung, perhaps the worst dictator of this period actually got attention. The war in Viet Nam was the ugliset ever to have been filmed at that time. United Staes atrocities became common fare on daily news reports.

Clearly, most of the above would immediately effect those in the United States. Meanwhile, back in the UK, things were a bit more civilized and much less violent. It wasn’t too big on indigenous protest songs beyond the relatively gentle chiding of Donovan. Punk was yet to come. Be that as it may, they still had a lot more in common than not. Nevertheless, this would only leave us with the experience or a small portion of the English speaking world.

Attempts to define the so called baby boomers have always been awkward. They went from being described as a birth rate statistic to something of mythic status.

The actual baby boom occurred after 1945 and after the 20 year expectation of a generation, it should extend to 1965. What we can’t say is that the entire period was a *boom.* This isn’t how its done.

Modern astrologers have long used the outer planets to describe generations. In fact one of the greatest ironies in the overuse of the Transpersonal Planets is that they are far away from Sol as possible. I often thought this a poignant commentary on the last century, the “age of alienation.” So one might argue that there is a certain logic in using the outers to identify generations with specific traits.

The boomer generation were (and still are) sometimes refered to as the Pluto in Leo Generation and then sub-divided between those who had Neptune in Libra or Scorpio. and so forth. It doesn’t fit if you lok too clsoely, but the evocative language has power. Perhaps we sometimes have cases of reality imitating bad astrology.

Pluto in Leo has been directly related to Rock & Roll. They were a rebellious generation, questioning and most condemning societal mores, conventions and institutions. So we need to add Uranus transits to reflect the revolutionary spirit to go with that Plutonian megalomania.

Statistically, this is pure fantasy. While we can point to the Black Panthers, Yippies and Weathermen in the USA, the most frequent theme pretty much globally is extreme Political upheaval, including for example war between India and Paksitan. We have largely been sold a bill of goods in the interest of marketing.

It is a terrible injustice that those protesting these atrocities all over the world were trivialized and still are, recreated in a media which is more a propaganda machine than a source of reliable news.

The reality of the violence was almost beyond human comprehension. In Viet Nam the US pathetically legitimized the war as a necessary attempt to stem the flow of Communism

We have said that Traditionally generations and epochs are associated with the Superior Conjunctions of Jupiter and Saturn, which occurs approximately every 20 years. In actuality the “baby boomer” generation began years before the boom, back in 1940.

The conjunction finally went direct on 27 February 1941 but it had first formed the Conjunction on 22 July 1940 . This was also a triple conjunction, each having it’s own qualities. However, to keep it simple, I chose a chart for 10.00 am 11 October 1940 BST (wartime).

To put things in context once again, John Lennon was born two days prior. If we can accept the fact that Lennon barely made it into the generation known as boomers and that Ringo Starr belongs to the “silent generation” then all is well. The fact is the Beatles are iconic of that generation but these two show us how shaky these stereotypes really are.This generation unfolded for another 20 years. There were several modifying factors such as eclipses and the phase of the cycle itself, as it opposes, sextiles, squares or trines the triple points of conjunction as well as other Celestial events accompanying this unfolding.

If you wish, you can draw the chart for say San Francisco, Moscow or Beijing. You will find differences, but when you look at them closely they are not so dissimilar. This is among the most important elements of Mundane Astrology: Things will unfold as they can unfold.

The chart for what has become known as Generation X is easily to determine because this is a single conjunction, rather than three. The generation is now turning 50. The experience of Generation X has been far less one of political confrontation. It is also decidedly more conservative overall. Both are suggested by a Cardinal Capricorn

As is to be expected both charts show superior conjunctions in Earth signs, the first in Taurus and the second in Capricorn. The Fixed nature of the first and the cardinal of the second are major differences in themselves. Fixed bring more overt conflict. The greatest error we can make here is what I call the bias of context. We constanltly see so called the middle class American experience held up as universal, as I have already indicated.

So, we can do the same thing with the rest of the world and you will find that humans are surprisingly similar when all is said and done. However, the context in which they live differs immensely. This is where one can refer to Claudius Ptolemy or others for the astrological indicators for different parts of the world. The phases of the unfolding conjunction must be noted. For example, there might be an opposition .. of course in a fixed sign. Mars transits and particularly squares are indicators of violence or war.

The Strange Case of the Meiji Constitution

Posted on March 2, 2013 by P. James Clark

Most often the chart for the post-WW II Japanese Constitution is used as representative of the country. That of course has its own merits, but the chart for the Meiji Constitution was an attempt to combine elements of modernization in Japan while embedding absolute power to the Emperor. It was essentially a Constitutional Monarchy, but the Emperor was to be granted infallibility. There are many highly informative articles and resources and there’s no need for me to rehearse that here in depth, but the following article from Britannica serves as a helpful introduction.

Meiji Constitution, constitution of Japan from 1889 to 1947. After the Meiji Restoration (1868), Japan’s leaders sought to create a constitution that would define Japan as a capable, modern nation deserving of Western respect while preserving their own power. The resultant document, largely the handiwork of the genro (elder statesman) Itō Hirobumi,called for a bicameral parliament (the Diet)

Ito Hiribuni

with an elected lower house and a prime minister and cabinet appointed by the emperor. The emperor was granted supreme control of the army and navy. A privy council composed of the Meiji genro, created prior to the constitution, advised the emperor, You can read the details here

According to Nicholas Campion: “promulgation of the constitution took place during the day, and in the absence of accurate information [the chart] … is set for 12.00 noon LMT, for the capital, Tokyo.” (The Book of World Horoscopes,” p. 215. )

This has since been rectified to 12:53 PM, the time used for our chart. We now have a chart for February 11, 1889, Tokyo, Japan 12:43 PM*

The Moon has just parted from a square to Mars and is now Void of Course. She has also separated from a Trine to the Sun. This presents something of a dilemma.

It is not normal practise to start anything when the Moon is Void of Course, because nothing will come of it. Think of the Moon as a trigger. Her contacts with other planets and the Sun are what sets things into motion. It is equally hard to imagine that the Emperor and all his advisors forgot to consult an astrologer.

There is no definitive way of knowing for sure whether an astrologer was consulted or what he had in mind. I’m going to respect that and continue with the reading for the time being.

A Rising Moon chart would bestow power to the ordinary people, That isn’t what an Emperor wants, so perhaps catching her Void of Course just after leaving a Trine with the Sun was thought to be a good idea.

The Moon always represents the people, even when Void of Course. I realize this is a different way of looking at things, but we cannot underestimate what’s going on here. That might have the effect of putting the people in thier place.

The Emperor is restoring himself with God-like status. There is no better place for the Sun god than in the Ninth House

Satsuma Samurai Fought for the Emperor during-Boshin War Period

Venus in the Eleventh House of the Good Spirit is helpful, but she is in her Fall in Aries. Mars in Pisces in the Tenth House is not auspicious, and even less so because he is weakened by sign and Sect. Mercury is also in the Tenth House in his worst possible manifestation – in his Fall and Retrograde. So is Saturn. Using other house systems such as Porphyry offers no relief from this disaster.

Jupiter has just left Sagittarius. Other than the Sun, which is after all in detriment, there is nothing to commend this chart. Yet the date and time are well established and moving the time backwards of forwards a bit isn’t going to make any significant difference.

Meiji Emperor (1868 – 1912)

What we can do is to monitor events after the fact until the end of WW II and assess exactly how this chart will play out. That is for another time. At this point, I’m inclined to take the view that the Void of Course Moon meant that the chart was completely ineffective. There has been at least one attempt to rectify this chart and the houses are a bit better but it isn’t really enough to change the overall effect. Also, the outer planets have been used to perform the rectification. In it, the Moon is no longer Void of Course, but is completing a rather nasty Square to Mars. The time is 10:44 am

After examining all the options I’m inclined to think that there was no chart drawn up. It’s too much of a stretch to imagine even a moderately competent astrologer drafting such a chart.

We are not left empty-handed, however. We still have a chart for the event. The Constitution remained valid until the end of WWII.

I must say I’m struck by the sense of hubris I find here, regarding the Solar placement we discussed and the language of the Constitution itself with regard to the Emperor. I think that sentiment is well-founded, albeit admittedly anachronistic

From there, we can read the chart as representing the Emperor out of touch with his own population as testified by the Moon. There are only minor receptions, all of which are unremarkable. For example, there is a mutual reception between Saturn in Leo and Sun in Aquarius. But Saturn is in detriment and retrograde. Of course, the separating opposition isn’t helpful either.

There is also that Partile Sextile of Mercury to Jupiter, but Mercury is Under the Beams, Retrograde and in his Fall. Jupiter is in the Eighth House and Disposited by Venus in her Fall. Everywhere you look reception is undermined.

Further, the Sun is made stronger by the presence of the Part of Spirit in the same degree of Aquarius in the House of the Sun God. It looks like he would have a very difficult time communicating with other State

Katsura Imperial Palace

officials, including the military for the reasons described. The reception required is conspicuous in its absence.

Islamic Republic of Pakistan

Posted on March 1, 2013 by P. James Clark

Blogs provide a dynamic medium well suited to fairly brief, but frequently posted articles. Often, this proves to be very challenging. In some cases it inevitably requires either a narrowing of focus or leaving out significant elements. I would like to have included the various Time Lords events over the last six decades. I would have preferred to discuss the relationship of the charts to each other and to other elements. If there is significant interest I will post a second article addressing these issues. In the meantime, this venue lends itself to interaction and discussion.

There are two charts of immediate relevance to Pakistan. The first is of course the 1947 Foundation Chart. The Second, which will be the primary focus of this article, is the 1956 chart for the inception of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan.

The first chart appears to be an arbitrary one, with little or no astrological considerations. A brief survey of this chart reveals many weakness and few strengths.

Mars in his Fall in the third House, indicating among other things, quarrels with brethren. Using Porphry, he is in the Second House which isn’t any better.He is also Lord of the Twelfth House of hidden enemies. Venus, dispositor of the Ascendant is Combust, Oriental and Peregrine. According to the rules of Bonatti the Ascendant is the Hyleg. Luna is well placed in her Domicile as is Sol.

But the house placements do little to help the situation. Had the chart been cast after sunrise there would have been a few possibilities for a far better chart, albeit far from perfect. A weak Jupiter in the Seventh House with the South Node is far from ideal. I think it’s fairly safe to say this was not the work of competent astrologer. Of course, that doesn’t mean that what is promised in the chart won’t come to be.

The Muslim state of East and West Pakistan was created out of the partition of India at the end of British rule in 1947. This immediately lead to the deaths of hundreds of thousands in widespread communal violence and made millions more homeless.

Jinnah with Gandhi

In 1948, Muhammad Ali Jinnah, founding leader of Pakistan, died amidst hostilities between the new State of Pakistan and his previous homeland.

The first war with India over the disputed territory of Kashmir ensued. Pakistan and India have been hostile to each other ever since.

Jinnah, like Gandhi, was educated in England, enjoyed wearing his tweeds and had adopted many of the habits of an English gentleman. He was embarrassed by Gandhi’s traditional dhoti.

Ghandi had told Jinnah that Islam and Hinduism were the two eyes of India. It is a very great irony that Jinnah wasn’t considered to be religious at all. Gandhi offered him Muslim control of Parliament and many other concessions, but Jinnah wanted a separate state, secular if possible. India and Pakistan were never again to enjoy mutual friendship. The cut had been too deep.

Pakistan has also been at war with China, fought a proxy war against the Soviet Union and been in a state of undeclared civil war for most of its existence.

Let’s turn now to the chart for the foundation of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. If astrologers were involved in the creation of this chart, we can at least see what they might have been trying to do. It certainly provides a rich portrait of the intrigues of Pakistani politics and society.

Pakistani Shiite Muslim women shout slogans during a protest to condemn Saturday's bombing in Quetta, Pakistan, Sunday, Feb. 17, 2013. Angry residents on Sunday demanded government protection from an onslaught of attacks against Shiite Muslims, a day after scores of people were killed in a massive bombing that a local official said was a sign that security agencies were too scared to do their jobs. (AP Photo/Arshad Butt)

Pakistani Shiite Muslim women shout slogans during a protest to condemn February 16 2013 bombing in Quetta, Pakistan, Sunday, Feb. 17, 2013. Angry residents on Sunday demanded government protection from an onslaught of attacks against Shiite Muslims, a day after scores of people were killed in a massive bombing that a local official said was a sign that security agencies were too scared to do their jobs. (AP Photo/Arshad Butt)

The Aries Sun rising in it’s exaltation makes for a very strong Ascendant / First House. Venus, strong in her Domicile in the Second House should be a great blessing, sparing the new Republic from poverty. Islam is under the governance of Venus . This chart has Venus for Day and Hour lord. She is also Lady of the Geniture, dispositing the Libran Seventh House of partnerships and open enemies.

Pakistan is rich in resources with adequate, fertile land to feed all its people. It also rich in emeralds and copper, both under the governance of Venus. Oil and natural gas is plentiful and until recently the northern regions of Pakistan were a popular destination for tourists and adventurers until its domination by the Taliban.

However, there is another dimension to this. Pakistan has been under dictatorship, mostly by the military for 32 years of its short life and it is very difficult not to associate the Sun in Aries with the military, particularly when we find an Exalted Mars reigning unopposed from the Tenth House.

The Sun is the chart Almuten.. Mars is however informed by Saturn in his Debility, Retrograde and Peregrine. Using Porphry Houses, he is in the Eight House which makes things a lot worse. Moreover, Saturn is in the Exaltation of the South Node, while being with the North, again reversing the possibility of desirable results.

Saturn is disposited by Jupiter, also Peregrine and Retrograde with a Peregrine Moon in Leo. The Moon is in partile suqare to Venus. To me, this reeks of corruption and with the House placement religion cannot be excluded from the equation in a chart for an Islamic Republic.

So we get the sense of the military being supported by corrupt officials, and that includes clerics. Mercury in his Fall in the twelfth House merely amplifies the extent of intrigue. The Eleventh House of the Good Spirit is also disposited by Saturn, so Mars is ill-informed and supported.

The charts tells us that the enemies of the state are also a part of it. Internal corruption is well known both inside Pakistan and Internationally. Internal threats are worse than external ones. A country that carede for its own wouldn’t allow persistent drone strikes killing men, women and children islamic

Pakistan is one of what the UN has refered to as “multi dimensionally poor.” This way of measuring poverty takes many facets of life into account, including of course the distribution of wealth.

The fact is, Pakistan is not a poor country collectively, but with the world’s fifth largest military and cursed with a string of some of the most corrupt politicians in the world.

The ordinary citizen is left in need of basic securities, functioning utilities and protection from seemingly endless sectarian violence against the Shia, the Sufis, the Ahmadi, Hindus and Christians. Pakistan is one of an ever diminishing number of nations to live with this religiously inspired violence, although she is by no means alone.

The people are poorly served as seen by the Sixth House. The Part of Fortune is with the people, but is disposited by a very weak Mercury in his Fall in the Twelfth House where the Syzergy, the New Moon 21 Pisces 58 in the twelfth House.

[The video below is Fatima Bhutto speaking at the Sydney Writers Festival in 2011. Her discussion of the state of Pakistan is well worth watching.]

In closing, this chart matches what we knew about Pakistan, while offering another level of depth and interconnectedness. The strengths of this chart are many, but I think an astrologer would have found a way to diminish the power of the malefics. I also think they would have chosen a chart for zero degrees Aries to align perfectly with the Spring Equinox – Naruz and the Astrological New Year. The chart clearly isn’t the result of adequate thought and skill, unless of course the intent was malevolent.

Charles I : End of an Epoch

Posted on January 16, 2013 by P. James Clark

Declaration of War

The English Civil War had numerous causes but the character of Charles I must be considered as one of the chief reasons. He had what we might call today, delusions of grandeur. Of course in those times it was better known as the Divine Right of the Monarch.

Like his father, he felt Paliament was there to serve his needs. Being questioned about them was not cheerfully accepted. From 1625 to 1629 the King argued with Parliament over almost everything, but money and religion were at the top of the list. Charles subsequently suspended Parliament for eleven years. The period is now known as the Eleven Years Tyranny.

To add much fuel to the fire, Charles married Henrietta Maria, a devout French Catholic. This would heavily influence the court and to some extent the fate of Charles, particularly during the initial years of marriage. Charles liked to call her Maria, with the Catholic leaning English people calling her “Queen Mary.” The association with Charles’ Catholic grandmother could hardly be missed.

Fear and loathing of *popery* in the English seventeenth century should not be underestimated. Even so, it’s unlikely that most could have predicted that the civil war, started in 1642, would end with the public beheading of Charles. His arch nemesis is considered to be Oliver Cromwell who was among those signing the death warrant of the King. Cromwell and his circle were vindictive, not only seeking the demise of the King but the brutal conquest of Ireland. Regicide was something most would have considered impossible and probably unforgivable, but not so Cromwell.

William Lilly had developed a great interest in the politics of revolutionary England. His first almanac, Merlinus Anglicus Junior, was published in April of 1644. It was immediately popular. In it he predicted the King’s humiliating defeat at the Battle of Naseby in June 1645.

As far as I know, there has been no astrological study published on the Declaration Chart with consideration given to Superior Conjunctions as well as the preceding lunar eclipse. I’ve also drawn a chart for the Vernal Equinox to determine the Lord of the Year according to the rules of Bonatti. Here’s the chart for the equinox.

Vernal Equinox 1642

The Sun is in the Ninth House of his Joy, in Sect and Exalted in Aries. The Sun also disposits the Leo Ascendant. The Moon in Scorpio is separating from a square to the Ascendant, to trine the Sun as she enters Saggitarius.

This is one case where the Lord of the Year is very easy to find. It’s the Sun and the Sign of Royalty. This is the annual background chart, setting the tone for the year of the Declaration of War. Let’s now look at the chart for the declaration itself. The English Civil War between the English King & Parliament began at 6:15pm on 22 August 1642 when Charles I raised his standard at Nottingham, according to John Gadbury (Campion).

It seems clear that no astrologer was consulted. Although it isn’t a complete disaster it is far from ideal for something as important as the declaration of war. It’s as if he had turned a dagger on himself

The Ascendant in Aquarius is disposited by a Peregrine Saturn in Pisces in Conjunction with a dignified, but retrograde Jupiter in the same sign. Saturn is the undisputed Almuten Figura.

The Lord of the Geniture is Mercury in Virgo, opposed to his house of Joy and Under the Beams. The Moon at zero degrees Leo is peregrine. She is below the horizon in the sixth house, representative of the King’s subjects and servants. We can say the King and those closely associated with him were, in this respect, in essential harmony. He did have his supporters. This was to be a civil war after all. She is transiting into her domicile, but is still relatively weak and separating Mars in his detriment, Venus is in her fall.

If we consider the Sun as the Monarch, we find him out of Sect and in Anorectic degree, a polite term for *pretty much toast.* The Year and Epoch of the Sun only brings our attention to the monarch and indeed the monarchy itself.

Saturn-Jupiter Conjunction – 1623

There was a Superior Conjunction at 06 Leo 36 which began 05 July 1623. The next would occur 16 February 1643. It’s the end of an epoch. The element changes to water. The sign changes to Pisces. If we were to reduce the nature of the crisis to Monarchy vs Religion we wouldn’t be far off the mark. A Solar epoch is giving way to the Jupiterian epoch of Pisces..

Lunar Eclipse

Prior to the Declaration there was a Lunar Eclipse @ 29 April 164 2 @ 09 Taurus 39 in partile conjunction with Mars in the Conjunctional Chart. The Moon is in Aquarius and Mars is now in the eighth house. Having Mars marking the same degree as the declaration chart doesn’t bode well. But even in this chart we have an angular Leo Sun in the tenth

The declaration was very badly timed. Many factors were in his favour but his intransigence and rash behaviour changed it all. Ironically perhaps, it was the very strength of the solar forces that gave him a sense of invulnerability

The Classical Astrologer

Ancient & Traditional Astrology

Category Archives: Mundane