Welcome to the COSMIC UPDATE
My COSMIC UPDATES are a way
of looking at items and people in the news from an astrological perspective. And
while I try to make the text as understandable as possible I realize that some
of the astrological jargon baffles the general reader.
COSMIC UPDATE: 31st December 2001
Included
in this week’s Cosmic Update:
Pakistan and India - a war of words?
I am writing this Cosmic Update on 30th December, some three hours after the lunar eclipse in Cancer. Now, I don’t want any sympathy, you understand, but in the wake of this eclipse all kinds of bugs have descended upon your astrologer. The ubiquitous ‘throat’ (at least the one doing the rounds here in the South of England) has tracked me down – fortunately I don’t have to speak now – and my computer has crashed several times – once on my astrological programme and at least ten times on AOL necessitating a call to the technical department. Thus, while there is much to talk about I am going to beg your indulgence and keep this week’s CU on the brief side.
But before we look at the tense situation building on the border between India and Pakistan let me wish you all a very Happy New Year.
Pakistan and India - a war of words?
In keeping with December’s conflict-ridden stars Friday the 20th brought news of the build up of military forces on the India/Pakistan border. In a nutshell, the Indian Government is responding to the suicide attack, launched by two Kashmiri separatist groups, on its parliamentary building in New Delhi on 13th December. India is effectively voting with its feet, stating that its aggressive stance is also a response to the failure of Islamabad to ban certain terrorist groups – or, indeed, arrest the leaders and officers of such organizations.
Now, if we weren’t in such tricky astrological waters I might consider the actions taken by India to be of the sabre-rattling kind. But since, the military build up is taking place on a lunar eclipse, which is backed by a Mars-Pluto square, I believe we have to assume that India is prepared to go the whole nine yards.
Here for your astrological collection are the charts of India and Pakistan and the charts of the lunar eclipse (30th December) in relation to the capitals of the two countries.
India
India and Pakistan take their astrology seriously. Thus, both these timings for the proclamation of their Republics would almost certainly have been chosen by astrologers. I must admit I am rather baffled as to why my Indian peers considered Mars on the Descendant, not too far from Neptune, to be auspicious – after all this placing suggests a trend for attacks from outside India’s borders and for betrayal, broken treaties and agreements! Fortunately, the sun-Jupiter-Venus stellium in Aquarius in the altruistic eleventh house trines Mars and the Descendant so the opportunity to resolve conflicts and to benefit from alliances with other countries is also present. Then there’s Uranus on the IC – ground-breaking and iconoclastic at best but prone to revolts, U-turns and serious instability at worst. And, Uranus is square to Mars and the Ascendant-Descendant axis! I am not an expert in Mundane (Political) astrology but I am really at a loss to see how this configuration could work in a positive way for the country. And with a chart like this it is no surprise that the Indian Government believes it should have a nuclear capacity!
Pakistan
Pakistan’s chart is marginally better. Here we have the sun in Aries caught up in a Grand Trine with Saturn and Uranus. However, the sun is closeted in the twelfth house. No wonder the country is considered a haven for terrorists – such individuals and groups can safely hide within Pakistan’s twelfth house borders. And maybe we can also see why Pakistan is a chameleon of a country and appears to be unreliable and irrational.
The stellium in Leo – moon, Jupiter and Pluto – is impressive to say the least and certainly reveals that the Pakistani people (portrayed by the moon) have a tremendous sense of national pride and will go to any lengths to preserve Pakistan’s sovereignty - even nuclear, thanks to Pluto. Pakistan, like India, has Neptune in the seventh house – again something that is anything but desirable from a Western astrological viewpoint since Neptune, with its themes of deception, loss and betrayal make Pakistan vulnerable to such treatment from other countries. Also, Saturn in the eighth house of financial exchange is not what I would consider a recipe for a thriving economy. Indeed, Pakistan has had its fair share of troubles with foreign trade agreements and this placement will no doubt give rise to sanctions being imposed on the country in the future. And while we’re on the subject of money, Venus in Taurus, on the cusp of the second house of self-worth, is squared by the stellium in Leo, thus hindering the ability of Venus to keep Pakistan in the black!
These charts share some astrological themes – notably the strong Aries influence, Uranus in the fourth house and Neptune in the seventh, plus stelliums in the opposite signs of Leo and Aquarius – factors I believe underline the sentiment expressed by some of the Indian and Pakistiani people that they are the same and they should not be at war with each other.
However, they are on the verge of war – not for the first time, of course, but the first time since 1971 when the signs of a serious conflict are there.
Relevant transits and the Eclipse Charts
India
The current Saturn-Pluto opposition, which started out
(August 2001) at thirteen degrees of Gemini-Sagittarius and will finish (May
2002) at seventeen degrees is squaring Saturn
at eighteen Virgo in the chart of India. (At this latter point of December,
Pluto is at sixteen degrees of Sagittarius while Saturn rests at nine degrees of
Gemini.) The only other major transit is that of Neptune, which is separating
from a conjunction to the sun.
We could say that the Indians have been in a bit of a fog about what to do about the state of terrorist affairs but now that the Neptunian mist is clearing, the combination of Mars, Pluto and a lunar eclipse has goaded them into action.
In the eclipse chart, taken from the standpoint of India, the Mars-Pluto square is very prominent. Mars is the most elevated planet, being nearest the Mid-heaven (although Uranus is giving Mars a good run for its money) and Pluto is applying to the Descendant, upon which the Part of Fortune is ‘sitting’. The eclipse itself, at eight degrees, forty-eight of Cancer/Capricorn is square to Mars in the chart of India. Mars and Pluto are a powerful and uncompromising duo thus I think we can fairly say that India is in no mood to play the paper tiger – it means business.
Pakistan
In the chart of Pakistan, the transiting Saturn-Pluto opposition is tweaking the nodal axis. Admittedly, Pluto is some five degrees away from it but Saturn is drawing it in and Saturn at nine degrees has yet to pass over the south node before the opposition has completed its cycle. And Mercury at nineteen degrees of Pisces is by no means out of range of this opposition either. These connections infer a chickens-coming-home to roost process at work. Transiting Uranus is a big player in Pakistan’s chart at the moment: this planet of change and upheaval is opposing the Jupiter-Pluto conjunction in Leo, which also draws in the moon and squares Venus. These transits have all the hallmarks of a country under threat and certainly one facing terrific political unrest.
As for the 30th’s eclipse, this straddles the MC/IC axis, thus thrusting Pakistan into a crisis of immense proportions. That the Saturn-Pluto opposition flanks the Ascendant-Descendant axis in the eclipse chart underlines the seriousness of the situation and the high level of danger Pakistan is facing.
A word about Venus and Jupiter
Jupiter has been in a prominent position in many of the event charts that we have covered since September 11th. Indeed, the Twin Towers’ attack featured Jupiter on the Midheaven, which in turn connected with the USA’s natal sun, Venus and Jupiter. And Jupiter is a philanthropic and expansive influence. However, if we consider some of the subsequent developments it is crystal clear that a considerable amount of good has come out of these desperate and dark events - the spiritual re-birth of New York and America, for instance, and the reincarnation of Afghanistan. Thus, if we look at the current transits of Jupiter we can see that it is still no stranger to events (on Pakistan’s IC, squaring India’s nodal axis and, not least, conjunct Venus and the lunar eclipse) so there is a real possibility that out of this current alarming state of affairs, good will eventually come.
At least we can hope.
Recommended Reading:
Click To Order
 |
The Astrologer's Handbook Frances Sakoian, Louis S. Acker |
| Planets in Transit Robert Hand |
|
 |
The Final Prophecies of Nostradamus Erika Cheetham |
Copyright © 2001 Penny Thornton
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