The Stars This Week — April 4th v. 2/13

Another week of frustration and less than cheery news from Japan.  Recovery efforts have suffered another setback as authorities have failed in their efforts to stop the flow of radiation leaking into the Pacific Ocean from the damaged Fukushima reactor.  Local officials are now saying that it could take months before the situation is brought under control.  As I suggested at the outbreak of the disaster, I thought the early April period would likely be difficult and could bring fresh challenges as Mars conjoined Uranus in a very sensitive spot in Japan’s national horoscope.  Fortunately, nothing too dramatic has occurred but there is now a growing sense that there is no easy solution to this crisis.  As I noted back in  mid-March, the planets did not favour a quick recovery as April’s alignments pointed to more stress and hardship.  The long Saturn transit to the natal Mercury in the chart will last for several months and will likely keep progress in the clean up slower than expected.  This nuclear crisis is a sobering reminder of the limits of human knowledge in the face of the awesome power of nature. 

Meanwhile in Libya, the NATO-backed rebels have made some progress against Gaddafi’s army but many observers now believe that a stalemate is the most likely outcome in the near term.  I thought we might see a little more trouble for Gaddafi at this point but so far his control over the western part of the country looks fairly solid.  His horoscope (born June 7, 1942) suggests a person with a strong will and determination as his Sun and Saturn are in the sign of Taurus — the bull. His dogged determination is further enhanced because these planets are in the 3rd house from his Pisces Moon.  Since the 3rd house is associated with efforts and initiative, Gaddafi’s Sun-Saturn definitely increases his capacity to pursue his goals.  At first blush, it might seem strange that such a power-hungry dictator could have a dreamy Pisces Moon, which supposedly confers a sense of sympathy and intuition.  While that stereotype can be true of Pisces, I feel it doesn’t adequately describe the broad range of possibilities.  While Pisceans do place a great emphasis on beliefs and belief systems, this doesn’t mean they can’t also be calculating and rational.  While we do not know for sure, Gaddafi may well rely heavily on intuition to make some of his decisions. More importantly perhaps, throughout the course of his political life he has attempted to legitimize his rule by appealing to higher beliefs of Islamic socialism and African unity.  Perhaps those higher Piscean ideals of brotherhood and unity are a better manifestation of Gaddafi’s Pisces Moon.  Even here, however, I would note that some Pisces people may only use beliefs in a superficial or instrumental way in order to realize their goals.  In that sense, the meaning of the signs cannot be taken too literally and have to be thought of at a more abstract level. 

Perhaps the strongest part of Gaddafi’s chart is his powerful conjunction of Mercury and Jupiter in Gemini.  He may be crazy and ruthless, but he is also smart and quick-thinking.  Gemini is a thinking and communicating sign and the placement of Mercury (intellect) and Jupiter (achievement) there is excellent for making accurate and quick judgments and staying ahead of the game.   And we would expect nothing less for a military man who has been leader of the single-party state in Libya for over 30 years.  His Mars-Pluto conjunction in Cancer may provide a partial explanation for his ruthlessness and power-hungry approach to politics.  Mars-Pluto conjunctions tend to be quite forceful in their actions and can sometimes become extreme if other factors in the chart confirm.  Mars is debilitated in Cancer, so that adds to the tendency for his anger to overflow and for actions to be taken without regard for ethics.  Of course, many normal, even-tempered people may have this same combination in their charts but it likely does not figure prominently.  Since we don’t have Gaddafi’s birth time, it’s impossible to say just how these planets are placed in terms of the houses and the angles (Ascendant, Midheaven). I suspect though that Gaddafi’s Mars is probably quite prominent and may form a close angle to the ascendant.  This would tend to emphasize the role of force and action in his life. 

The current transits reveal some of the pressure Gaddafi is under at the moment.  The key source of his troubles may be transiting Ketu (South Lunar Node).  Ketu is now closely conjunct his Mercury (1 Gemini) and creates instability in situations relating to Mercury’s areas of rulership including thinking process, decision-making and communications.  Literally, this may translate into an unstable or changing mind as Ketu tends to alter our usual rational approach to perception.  There may be quicker shifts in his ideas and goals during this transit and he may be more prone to relying on intuition and gut instinct.  Not surprising perhaps, since his country is being bombed and his seat of power is under threat by rebels who want to banish him.   Since Ketu moves quite slowly in its gentle, sliding backward motion, its effects on his Mercury may last for some time, perhaps into May or beyond.  We can also see that Mercury is placed in the 4th house from the Moon.  And since Mercury also rules Gemini, it has an extra influence on 4th house matters.  As we know, the 4th house is associated with home and residence.   This Ketu transit would therefore tend to put pressure on Gaddafi’s home life and force him to adapt to many unexpected changes.  We might also speculate that this is a transit that might cause someone to leave their current residence.  No doubt, Gaddafi has already left his compound (which has been bombed already), but it’s possible this could signify that he may leave the country entirely over the next two months or so.  It’s hard to say with any certainty when the birth time is unknown, but there are the outlines of some kind of displacement or dislocation in this chart.  We shall see how it all unfolds, but this chart does not indicate Gaddafi will face increasing pressure and may not be able to hang on for long.

For the rest of us, this week may have a distinctly Piscean feel to it as there will be no less than five planets in the sign of the fishes — Sun, Mercury, Mars, Jupiter and Uranus.   This multiple conjunction has been accumulating for the past few weeks but it was always anchored — or it that burdened? — by the opposition to Saturn.  The Saturn influence may have kept a lid on excessively Piscean flights of fancy and compelled a greater adherence to convention and tradition in our goals and dreams.  The Piscean focus on belief may have taken more traditional forms such as we might find with institutionalized religions or mainstream political ideologies.  Both of these areas are somewhat conservative in their goals in that they do not seek fundamental change.  Now that these planets in Pisces have begun to escape from the full force of Saturn’s influence, it may open up some imaginative space for "dreaming of things that never were".  That inspiring and often mystical side of Pisces may have more room to fully flower this week so it may be a good time to reflect on the true nature of your beliefs and ideals.  Belief is often a better motivator than empirically-based knowledge because it taps into our desire to transcend this earthly life.  The belief in some inherent harmony of all beings and all matter, for example, is a way to transcend the solitude of our individual lives. As precious as our individuality may be, it is still defined in terms of our connections with those who share our lives.  Perhaps in that very Piscean way, the self exists only in context of a larger whole.  

Have a great week,
Chris