Egypt in turmoil: protests push Mubarak to the edge

Egypt is currently in the throes of an almost unprecedented wave of civil unrest as protesters are calling for the resignation of President Hosni Mubarak and the end to his autocratic regime. Starting in Tunisia in November, the Middle East has been the scene of a series of popular uprisings as runaway inflation and high unemployment have exposed the rotten core of a corrupt and undemocratic system of government that prevails in most Arab countries. The situation is quite chaotic at the moment with both sides digging in -- the opposition is organizing a huge rally against the regime while the Mubarak is relying on the army to keep the lid on things.

The current astrological circumstance shows an fairly high number of potentially significant coincidences. Just from a transit perspective, it is quite telling that all this upsurge in popular opposition is occurring at the time of the conjunction of the Sun and Mars in sidereal Capricorn. This conjunction takes place about once every two years and often reflects a time of taking initiatives and being in a state of competitiveness. It's worth noting that the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989 occurred just a month after another Sun-Mars conjunction. The Sun and Mars are the two fiery planets of the solar system and their combination here suggests a time of courage, assertiveness, and aggressive actions. The Sun is usually seen as a planet of vitality, confidence and leadership while Mars symbolizes the more action-oriented side to the equation as it reacts quickly to stimuli, and is impatient for change. It is also the planet of aggression and violence. The fact that this conjunction occurs in sidereal Capricorn, the constellation that represents government and leadership structures, highlights how all this fiery energy is being directed towards changing the Egyptian government and removing Mubarak from office. Since Mars is exalted in Capricorn, some its more positive qualities are more likely to come to the surface: courage, stamina, and heroism. We can see that these qualities are clearly in evidence over the past week as the unarmed mass of Egyptian citizens are defying curfews and standing up for what they think is right. It's also worth noting that the Egyptian army (Mars) is similarly rising to the occasion by refusing (thus far, at least) to crack down and shoot on unarmed protesters.

What makes this Sun-Mars conjunction more unusual and problematic, is that it is occurring this week while in a close trine aspect with Saturn. While the 120 degree trine aspect is not a full strength aspect in Vedic astrology, it nonetheless exerts some influence when it is this close by degree. In the best of circumstances, Saturn represents tradition, routines, structures and prudent constraints on human freedom for a higher purpose. The Sun-Mars desire for change and action is coming in conflict with Saturn's preference for stability and order. More ominously, Saturn's darker side symbolizes loss and destruction, so we cannot be too surprised that there has some loss of life already thus far.



We can see the specifics of the uprising from the horoscope of Egypt. There are several possible candidates for this chart. Britain granted independence in 1922 but it was a conditional sovereignty that was still seen as constraining Egyptian freedom. The July 1952 revolution created an independent state and is commemorated today as a national holiday. However, the final step towards complete autonomy appears to have occurred in the early morning hours of June 19, 1952 when Egypt was declared a sovereign republic. I have to admit a certain level of ignorance of the finer historical points here -- especially on the accuracy of the exact time (1.30 a.m.) of this latter chart -- but for the moment, let's see what the this Republic chart reveals.

The protests began on January 25 just as the Sun and Mars were passing over the natal Rahu in the 10th house of government and leaders. Rahu in the 10th house suggests a tendency towards an acquisitive and headstrong approach to government. Rahu does like not constraints on its action and can be materialistic and devious when it is subject to transit affliction. The Sun-Mars conjunction was therefore activating Egypt's 10th house of government and bringing it into focus. But this is only one fairly short-lived and "triggering" transit influence and it cannot explain the occurrence of the whole uprising.

The historic importance of the current popular movement is better seen through the dasha periods and the transits of slower moving planets. Egypt entered its Saturn major dasha period in August 2009. Saturn can be a difficult influence symbolic of loss and delays and in the natal chart we can see that rules the 10th house (Capricorn) of government and leaders. Moreover, it is weakly placed in the dussthana 6th house with the withering effects of Neptune. This is quite a difficult placement and suggests weakness or deception (Neptune) and confrontation or "illness" (6th house). Saturn is likely to produce more negative results since its sign dispositor (Virgo) is Mercury and it is with Uranus in a square aspect with Saturn again.

Amazingly, Saturn stationed and turned retrograde on the day the protests began -- quite a coincidence. Of course, astrology suggests that such coincidences are not random and planetary positions have a special significance for events on Earth. Here are a few more more coincidences worth pondering: Saturn has turned retrograde while returning to its natal position within just a few degrees -- a so-called Saturn Return that occurs every 29.5 years. It's worth noting that the previous Saturn return corresponded quite closely (just a few months before) with the assassination of President Anwar Sadat in 1981. Saturn Returns seem to be quite unforgiving to government and leaders since Saturn rules the 10th house (govt.) and it is weak in the natal chart. The recent Saturn retrograde station at 23 degrees of Virgo casts its square aspect to the unequal 4th house cusp (25 Gemini) of people and the population and thereby afflicted both Uranus and Mercury. This Saturn influence emphasizes the hardship of the population and underlines the stressful conditions that the country is facing at this juncture.

Another key transit influence was the conjunction of transiting Ketu (South Lunar Node) to the natal Sun and Mars in Gemini. Ketu is a natural malefic that symbolizes unpredictable or unwanted change. It erases boundaries and exerts an inimical influence on the material world. Egypt's Sun and Mars are in natal conjunction in Gemini -- an interesting echo of the current transiting conjunction of those two planets -- and is therefore afflicted by this transit of Ketu, so government (Sun) and army (Mars) are being faced with challenges to its authority by the upsetting energy of this shadowy lunar node. Ketu was likely made more malefic in this instance due to the extreme affliction to its sign dispositor, Mercury. Natal Mercury is being aspected by Saturn, while transiting Mercury is also in a square aspect with Saturn. A very bad chain of planetary energy there.

Finally, transiting Uranus (3 Pisces) is exactly square to the natal Sun (4 Gemini). Uranus has an energy of independence and rebelliousness while the Sun, of course, represents the government and Mubarak himself. Uranus' square aspect is especially difficult to handle as it creates destabilized situations and can reflect sudden or radical changes. For example, the popular protests in France in May 1968 occurred when Uranus formed a square aspect to the natal Moon in France's horoscope. The Moon represents the people, so it reflected the extremely agitated and rebellious mood of the population as the general strike almost succeeded in toppling de Gaulle's government. We can see much the same story unfolding here on the streets of Cairo.

So how will this situation resolve? Since Uranus is not near a station, the maximum intensity of this disruptive transit will not last too long, perhaps just another week or two before it loses some of its power. Transiting Ketu is already past Mars but will still closely afflict the natal Sun for another month or two at least so that suggests the uncertainty of the situation and pressure on authorities may last for a little while longer. It's quite possible that Mubarak could survive this week, but the charts do not suggest that the overall situation will return to normal anytime soon. The Mars aspect to natal Venus over the next couple of days (Feb 1-2) could see intense stresses placed on the country. Then transiting Venus opposes natal Mars on Feb 6-7 so that may be another difficult period where violence could flare up. So Mubarak may well survive in the short term, but he is unlikely to last into next year. Unfortunately, we do yet not have any timed birth data for Hosni Mubarak himself which might have shed additional light on this question.



More troubling is that Uranus will eventually station in exact square to Mars in the summer, on July 10. Since it will form a t-square pattern with Pluto, this marks a very dangerous time for Egypt. Mars symbolizes the army and conflict, so this suggests a likelihood of some kind of violence or explicitly conflictive situation will occur around that time. This may refer to more internal strife, or the army dividing into factions, or it could represent a war with an external enemy. Rahu and Ketu will be squaring the natal Moon (28 Leo) around that time so that may coincide with situations that are disorienting or disturbing to the people. More pointedly, transiting Ketu will be in aspect with dasha lord Saturn in August so that may coincide with disruptions of authority and law and order. Saturn rules the 10th house of leadership, so this does not bode well either for the government in power, whoever it may be. Early August also stands out as quite eventful as transiting Mars conjoins the natal Sun-Mars conjunction in Gemini. In so doing, it will further complete the nasty t-square pattern between Uranus and Pluto. It looks like quite a violent and destructive time for Egypt.

So even if Mubarak survives the next week, there are several more difficult patterns in the Egyptian horoscope this year that suggest further unrest and violence. And with the exact Saturn return due in October, it would appear that the clock is winding down on the Mubarak government. Regardless of who is in control, Egypt looks like it will be a very unstable and and, at times, violent place throughout much of 2011.

US Congresswoman Giffords targeted in Arizona shooting

America was witness to yet another mass killing on the weekend, this one involving US Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords. Giffords was shot in the head but is apparently going to survive, although six people died in the shooting spree outside a Safeway in Tucson, Arizona on Saturday, January 8. While it seems that the shooter, Jared Loughner, did target the Democrat Ms. Giffords, a picture is emerging that he was mentally unbalanced and did not have ties to any particular political group. It seems the tragic American tradition of the 'lone nut' has once again reared its ugly head.

There has been much finger pointing in the aftermath of the shooting, mostly towards the right wing media, the Tea Party and Sarah Palin, who liberals claim have used inflammatory rhetoric that created a climate of intolerance and hate. While that may be true, the desperate actions of the confused Loughner remain his alone. The US is now engaged in a round of soul-searching as it attempts to come to terms with its polarized political culture in which the moderate voices are increasingly marginalized.

We can clearly see this outburst of violence in the US horoscope. Violence is the dominion of the planet Mars. Whether it is through war, violent incidents such as these, or natural disasters, the planet Mars will usually be activated by transit whenever there is a significant symbolic injury or loss of life on a national level. Not surprisingly, we find Mars activated both ways: natal Mars is aspected by transiting Mercury while natal Mercury is aspected by transiting Mars. So this assassination attempt and mass shooting had a double dose of Mars. But why Mercury?



One possibility is that Mercury is the ruler of the 10th house of government in the US horoscope. (An aside: while I acknowledge there are dozens of possible charts for the US, I am using the 6.30 p.m chart as popularized by James Kelleher. It is not perfect, but few charts are.) The target of the attack with a member of Congress, and so she may be symbolized by Mercury. The fact that the Mercury-Mars contact was duplicated in both natal and transit planets likely underlined its great importance for the country as a whole.

Another major affliction to this chart (and all US charts regardless of birth time) is that the natal Sun was afflicted by a t-square involving transiting Saturn and the Sun. The Sun is the planetary significator of government and its involvement in this difficult t-square no doubt played a role in this unfortunate incident. Saturn symbolizes loss, setbacks, delays, and sadness. Some of the questions being asked about the role of the media, the conservative movement, and the entire US political system likely reflects the impact of this Saturn on the Sun. With Saturn slowing down ahead of its station on January 26, it is extra powerful here, so we may see a protracted debate and a possible further erosion of confidence in the US government as this aspect remains in range well into February. It could be a very tough time for the country and the administration.

The other pattern that stands out in this chart is that Rahu and Pluto are currently clustered around the ascendant in this chart. Rahu can be a disruptive influence, as it seeks to interfere with the status quo and bring about change at any cost. In some situations, this can be positive as oppressive traditions are cast off in favour of new ways of doing things. But in this case, Rahu is with Pluto, a planet with a troublesome reputation. Pluto is closely associated with power, and the aggressive pursuit of power. The Rahu-Pluto conjunction can represent a selfish striving to achieve one's own goals, regardless of the consequences. It can bring about change, but it is usually painful and it may not pay sufficient heed to legal or acceptable means. Since the ascendant is the body of the country as a whole, the current climate of mistrust, repulsion, and internal questioning may also be a reflection of this clustering around the ascendant. Fortunately, Rahu will soon move off this point, although Pluto will remain in close proximity to the ascendant for much of 2011. Pluto's square with Uranus in August will highlight the US ascendant once again. The t-square involving Mars, Uranus and Pluto around August 9 also suggests the possibility of more violent and shocking situations. This pattern will be a good test of this particular chart since it will occur right on the angles.

New Year's Chart for 2011

January 1, 2011 00.00 EST Washington, DC

With the coming of a new year brings another astrological opportunity to foretell the future. Lord, what fools these mortals be! I don't claim to make a definitive set of 2011 predictions here; that is way beyond my abilities and the scope of a short article on a website. Instead, I offer an analysis of the New Year's Chart and assess its patterns for any clues for the upcoming year. I have found this chart to a useful tool in forecasting, even if it is often fairly general and impressionistic. But what it lacks in comprehensiveness, it more than makes up for in simplicity. It's all there in one convenient chart. Astrological purists may protest that this chart has no astronomical correspondence (e.g. eclipses, lunations, etc) and it also has no specifically Vedic credentials. True enough, but there is an enormous symbolic significance to the stroke of midnight on December 31/January 1 every year, and one that increasingly involves the whole of humanity. If there is any connection between the cosmos and consciousness, it should manifest in charts such as these that bind the calendar to the human spirit.

The New Year's chart for 2010 had a tight Saturn-Pluto square aspect across the 1st and 4th houses. At the time, I thought this might pertain more to a reorganizing of social institutions and social structures, especially as it pertained to the economy. While there was some changes in the Eurozone and the EU as the debt crisis claimed some early casualties and spawned the introduction of a bailout fund, most of this aspect appeared to manifest more physically in the form of the unusually large number of natural disasters in 2010. The 4th house represents land in general and its affliction here by Pluto and Saturn suggested destruction and damage. The Haiti earthquake of January 12, 2010 killed over 200,000 people. This occurred when the Saturn-Pluto square was triggered by retrograde Mercury when it conjoined Pluto. The US gulf oil spill in May was another major natural disaster that also reflected this tense Saturn-Pluto energy.

In the 2010 write-up I noted the close Mercury-Rahu conjunction that occurred in close aspect with Mars. At the time, I thought this might manifest as technology "that goes awry" in some way, and causes some kind of conflict. I noted how this might be more revelations like the Climategate email scandal at the end of 2009. In retrospect, I think the WikiLeaks story in late 2010 encapsulates these planetary influences quite well. Julian Assange's efforts to release leaked diplomatic cables online (Mercury) caused an enormous amount of embarrassment (Rahu) and conflict (Mars) and revealed how vulnerable large organizations have become in the wired world. The possibility of breaches of security and secrecy is very much in the spirit of Mercury and Rahu since Mercury is concerned with communication and technology and Rahu seeks to upset the existing order of things.

With the Moon conjoining malefic Ketu in the 10th house, government was the object of significant opposition and change in 2010. In last year's article, I suggested that this would mean significant change in leadership and policies. While there were some major changes in the US and UK, I'm not quite sure this Ketu influence bore fruit as I thought it might. In the US, the Republicans took control of Congress and forced Obama's Democrats on their heels late in the year. In the UK, the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats swept the ruling Labour Party out of power and began a strict austerity program to deal with a difficult fiscal situation. Meanwhile, many European governments had to cope with the internal contradictions of the EU and the prospect of bailing out its weaker economies in Greece, Ireland, Spain and Portugal.

And the economic recovery continued to sputter along in Western countries as the various government stimulus plans have so far prevented the dreaded double dip recession. This was largely in keeping with the optimism of the Jupiter-Neptune conjunction in last year's chart as well as the close proximity of Venus to the Sun. Since both of these combinations are positive, there appeared to be enough good planets to preclude anything too serious on the economic front. And in many countries, especially in Asia, the economy bounced back strongly, albeit with a disturbingly high amount of inflation. That is perhaps a reflection of Neptune's idealism with the irrepressible optimism of Jupiter -- too much of a good thing?


2011

The New Year's chart for 2011 looks less obviously dramatic than last year's, although there are definitely some powerful aspects. Saturn is still in sidereal Virgo in the 1st house and therefore may extend the general state of caution, if not malaise, for much of the year. This is likely to reflect continued uncertainty in the economy and the sense that we are 'just muddling through'. The economy as a whole looks mixed at best. On the plus side, Venus rules the 2nd house of wealth and assets and it is well placed in its own sign of Libra and receives an aspect from benefic Jupiter. That may well prevent any worse case type economic scenarios from taking place.

But the other money house, the 11th symbolizing income, tells another story. The 11th house contains the sign of Cancer and is ruled by the Moon. The Moon is debilitated in Scorpio in this chart and what's worse it is in an exact quincunx aspect with Ketu and an exact semisquare aspect with Saturn. While neither are considered full strength Vedic aspects, the lack of orb in both of them is reason enough to expect some economic problems in 2011 that could generate major changes (Ketu) and losses (Saturn). The Moon is also significator for the public in general so this will tend to reflect a sense of dislocation and reserve. More positively, the Moon is aspected by Jupiter in this chart, so

In terms of natural phenomena, the 4th house is afflicted by the conjunction of Pluto, Rahu and Mars. This suggests that we may again see a higher than normal number of earthquakes and volcanoes in 2011, although perhaps not as many as we saw in 2010. Mars (violence) is squared by Saturn (destruction) here so there will likely be considerable loss of life as a result of these events. The October-November time frame may be most noteworthy in this respect due to the Sun-Saturn conjunction and Mars-Rahu aspect.

The situation of Mercury is interesting in this chart because it receives the fulls strength 3rd house aspect from Saturn and is also in a partial aspect with Mars. That is a very afflicted condition and suggests that communication, technology, and transportation will be areas of suffering and disappointment in the year ahead. We can therefore expect more WikiLeaks-type intrigues or perhaps computer hacking that causes internet shutdowns or even some incidents of cyberwarefare. All are very possible outcomes with Mercury, Mars and Saturn in alignment. April may stand out in some way in this regard as Mercury will retrograde opposition Saturn at that time.

And as in 2010, Ketu stays in the 10th house in the 2011 New Year's chart. Ketu is a force for change and discontinuity, so there may be increased pressure on government and leadership for 2011. With the 10th lord Mercury also afflicted by Saturn, there is a good case to be made for more significant changes in government and their policies around the world. This is not an election year in the US, but it still may signify some new approaches to problems, perhaps involving the economy.

On a more positive note, Jupiter is in close aspect with Uranus in Pisces in the 7th house. This conjunction will likely bring forth major technological innovations that will make a significant contribution to the world. These innovations may be disproportionately associated with liquids (Pisces) and social interaction, especially between nations (7th house). The fact that this conjunction occurs in the 7th house may also see new or strengthened international alliances that prove to be successful in their efforts.

So the overall picture is very mixed for 2011. The strength of Venus and the Jupiter-Uranus conjunction would appear to provide continuing positive energy to provide hope and optimism for the future. And yet the difficult position of the Moon and Mercury is more worrisome and suggests that there will be major challenges in the economy, communication and transportation.