Astrological Musings — 2024, A look ahead Part 3 – More National Charts and World Leaders
(If you wish to listen to the show instead, here is the link on BlogTalk or Apple Podcasts)
Today I would like to examine the charts of countries and world leaders that we did not cover in the last two shows, and if we have enough time I may circle back to the USA and look at the History of the USA through the lens of its series of Progressed New Moons as I mentioned briefly in our last show.
Personal Astrology examines the character and life of individual people. Mundane Astrology, which we are working with today, uses many of the same techniques but applies them to the world of nations, organizations, and their leaders. In our last show, we looked at the chart of the USA with regards to 2024, and also examined the charts of Joe Biden and Donald Trump. We then examined the Astrological indications for the charts of Ukraine and Russia, along with Zelensky and Putin. We also examined China and Xi Jinping, North Korea, and Kim Jong Un, and Israel and Benjamin Netanyahu.
I will certainly come back to consider the USA chart throughout this year, as well as Joe Biden and Trump, along with Ukraine, Russia, and Israel, but I thought that it would be good to look at some other major players on the stage of world history here in 2024.
Iran
Since we ended our tour of other nations last time with Israel, let us continue with the conditions of the Middle East and start with Iran and its leader Ali Khamenei. Iran was experiencing in 2023 a major transit of the planet Neptune, a conjunction over both its Mars and Mercury, and in 2024 Neptune continues to conjunct Mercury.
Mars in a nation’s chart rules the energy-form of the actions that hold a nation together or drive it apart, and equally the characteristic manner in which it meets up with other state and non-state actors on the world stage. Iran has its Mars in Pisces, which means it would hold itself together by Faith (or Fear), and that it would “defend” and define itself as being in a struggle to preserve and extend its faith, to sometimes act as a martyr, and to act sometimes with subterfuge or deception. With Neptune, the ruler of Pisces on Mars in 2023, Iran would certainly have leaned into these actions with even greater intensity, so that its internal measures of cohesion and external measures of defense or aggression would have been extreme as well, with obscure or hidden means to maintain internal control and outward defenses or offensive actions.
Mercury rules all forms of communication and networking in a nation whether that be transportation physically or messaging systems, so it is like the nervous system as well as the “mind” of a nation, and therefore indicates education, literature, intellectual matters, and schools. With Neptune conjunct Mercury for 2023 and 2024, Iran’s messaging could have seen more than its normal level of misdirection and subterfuge.
In addition, all through 2023 Iran had Pluto opposite its Jupiter. Jupiter rules a nation’s common values, beliefs, and truths; it rules its ideologies and religion or religions. Of course, given that Iran is a state defined by one religion, Shiitism, it is also the means to political control as well as the governing principle of Iran’s relationship to the rest of the world. With Pluto going over Jupiter, Iran would on the one hand see itself under tremendous pressure from the other world actors, needing to reinforce their defense against the threat of being diminished or defeated in a battle of faith, and equally feel the need to increase their attempts to spread their “truth”, to support other Shia communities and to convert others. Now with Pluto moving beyond Jupiter, I would expect Iran to pull back somewhat in its attempt to expand its influence for now.
If we look to the chart of the leader of Iran, Ali Khamenei, (for which we have no time of birth, so one has to be a more circumspect in delineations), it is probably not surprising, but certainly reaffirming, that both the transiting Neptune and Pluto were very active in his chart in 2023 too. Neptune was conjunct his Jupiter, the planet of truth and belief, and so he was going through a rather challenging year of questioning and confusion, less confident and uncertain as regards his understanding and motivations. Moreover, this transit, especially for an older person, oftentimes indicates a health issue regarding the liver or pancreas. Meanwhile, Pluto was squaring his Sun, so he most certainly felt the need to protect his power and boundaries, and perhaps push back quite strongly against any real or imagined threats to his power. Both these transits are fading away, again possibly indicating a more subdued leader and Iran.
Saudi Arabia
For Saudi Arabia in 2023, the main transits were Neptune conjunct the Moon and Saturn conjunct Venus. The Moon in a nation’s chart represents the masses, what we call the common people and also the entire population. It is the vessel of popular opinion and mass movements. With Neptune on the Moon, the people of Saudi Arabia were experiencing a dissolving of their previous sense of themselves as they dreamed and wondered about who they are and who they are becoming. The mood of the public was shifting from one understanding into another. Venus in a nation’s chart is the value of the nation, sort of “the glue” that holds a people together to form a state or nation. The likes and loves of a people hold them to one another and to their state without force but by affection, as realized in the arts, entertainment, and other shared pleasures. With Saturn conjunct Venus, the people of Saudi Arabia, and maybe even more the women of Iran, (as Venus can be seen as ruling especially too), were “not feeling the love” in 2023. Whether the dissatisfactions were formed internally by some loss of value including economic conditions, or by a weakening or breaking down of relationships externally, and so equally forming a test of agreements with other nations or other world actors. I certainly could see the crisis in Gaza, Israel, and the relationships with both of them and other states in the Middle East, that this would certainly have been a major source of the loss of value for Saudi Arabia.
And in 2024, Neptune is squaring Neptune, while Uranus is trining the Sun and Jupiter. Neptune in a nation’s chart is the vehicle for the visions, dreams, and ideals of a better future. Whether a return to a golden age, or dreams of a new age, Neptune inspires but can also lead to delusions, deceptions, and disillusionments. With Neptune on Neptune, Saudi Arabia is in the midst of wondering and wandering regarding what is “the good”, or what is our national dream, for 2024. The Sun in a nation’s chart rules its character and core energy-form and will often indicate the supreme authority or leader too, whether they be president, prime minister, king, or queen. It often shows the central character or persona of a nation, the story or myth that it projects to the world. The influence of Uranus brings change, hopefully chosen and not imposed, to move towards a more expansive and truer expression of the entity in question. It can bring shocks, surprises, and upsets, but the whole purpose behind Uranus is to lead to liberation and freedom. But if misunderstood and misapplied it can lead to rebelliousness and extremes of contrariness and defiance. Here with a trine, there is a much higher likelihood of a growth in the Sun nature, so that Saudi Arabia (and its ruler) will be more inclined to move in a direction of ingenuity, innovation, and openness to change, and that this will also be seen with regards to its approach to its truths and teachings with Uranus on Jupiter.
Let us turn to the ruler of Saudi Arabia, Mohammad Bin Salman (Al Saud), and again we do not have a time of birth, so we must proceed with some greater degree of conditionality regarding our observations. In 2023 and 2024, MBS is going through a very strong series of alignments of Uranus to several planets in his chart. For 2023, he had Uranus squaring his Mercury and opposing his Saturn, and in 2024 he has Uranus squaring his Mars. 2023 was going to shake up Bin Salman’s mind and thoughts (Mercury) and challenge his understanding and experience of reality (Saturn). But through the challenge to his Mercury, he would have had an opportunity to, or had to, open his mind, and consider other data points and points of view. In the end, he would have hopefully experienced the shock as freeing him from a more limited understanding so that he would have been able to grasp and work with new approaches and solutions to the challenges he faced. And with Uranus on Saturn, he would have had the experience of his old reality, his set of certainties and structures of his world, that they were challenged and sometimes broken or thrown down. He might have seen this as a great loss during part of this period but may have come around to realize that the old reality was not enough, and it was time to reset and create a new reality structure in his life. I most definitely believe that the earthquake in the middle east initiated by Hamas, and the ongoing crisis there was a major component of this shift in reality for him.
For 2024, the transit of Uranus over Mars holds even greater possibilities but equally greater dangers too. MBS may be a Virgo by his Sun type, but his Venus, Mercury and Mars are all in Leo. So, he wants to be a Leo with Venus, he thinks like a Leo through Mercury, and he acts like a Leo by Mars, and that Mars is the planet leading his Sun around his chart, so it forms a very defining and prominent feature of his character. Mars is the planet of desire, of action, of our “thrust” in this life. A Leo Mars will forge a purposeful and strong type of leadership, but if misaligned or misunderstood can make a person prideful and arrogant too. Mars in Leo will lead MBS to be a person who believes that he acts with respect and honor, and that he deserves to be honored as well. But if he feels that he is being disapproved of or disrespected, well he could become very angry.
Uranus brings shocks, forcing a break but also eliciting strong actions and reactions with Mars. It can manifest as unforeseen upsets or obstacles blocking his aims and actions, and he might react with anger, and he may lash out, (which of course may only make things worse). Or he may respond to Uranus with understanding, hold himself more in a manner of positive self-assertion and leadership rather than aggression. He may realize the time has come to pursue a new goal, or a new way to a goal, and if he does then he can be an agent of freedom for himself and for others.
Turkey
2023 was a challenging year for Turkey, with a devasting earthquake in February, followed by lesser quakes, then torrential rains and floods in those same earthquake regions in March. I prefer to look at cycles and processes and periods of time, rather than any one moment in any chart. But it should be noted that Pluto (the ruler of birth, death, rebirth) aligned with Turkey’s Uranus, (the ruler of earthquakes) at the time of the February quake. Sometimes a particular moment and event does matter…
The major transit for Turkey in 2023 was the favorable Saturn trine to its Sun. Since the Sun rules the character of a nation and oftentimes the ruler, it indicates a period where great progress can be made as a nation, and often by its ruler. That is quite interesting as in Erdogan’s chart he had Saturn making a conjunction to his Sun all year and that would also favor an individual with regards to a major moment in their life. Many observers had projected that Erdogan would have faced a difficult reelection in 2023 after the February earthquake exposed much of the shoddy construction that led to so many deaths, but with Saturn on his Sun exactly at the time of election, and with Saturn trining the nation’s Sun, Erdogan won easily.
For 2024, Turkey is encountering a significant double-transit. Neptune is squaring the Moon for 2024 and 2025, and Uranus is opposing Jupiter. The Moon rules the populace, and with Neptune, the universal solvent, the planet that dissolves boundaries in order to allow for transformation and awakening, the mood and character of the people of Turkey will be greatly changed by this experience. Ranging from the most sublime inspirations of spirit to the most illusory or delusional, Neptune’s touch will and does lead to the most uplifting experiences and equally the most disturbing. Certainly, the people of Turkey will be deeply reexamining the question, “what is the dream for our people”, yet equally wondering what kind of people or peoples are we? A cautionary note must be made, as the last time Neptune passed over Turkey’ Moon was in 1984, which is when the PKK, the Kurdistan Workers Party, a Marxist-Leninist revolutionary movement began a campaign of terror in southern Turkey. It is not a coincidence that Neptune rules socialist and communist movements, and though history never repeats itself, there are resonances and echoes that ring through the halls of time. Meanwhile, Jupiter, the planet that rules the common values and truths and faiths of a nation, is being opposed by Uranus, the planet that brings about a challenge to the status quo by asserting the principal of freedom and independence. That might certainly tie into the Neptune transit, combining a movement with dreams for greater freedom taking action that shocks the people. But the drive towards greater self-realization and freedom will swing both ways, and it should be noted that the two previous transits of Uranus to Turkey’s Jupiter were in 1980, when the military seized power in the third coup in Turkey’s history. Civil liberties were curtailed as the military pushed back against both far-right and far-left movements and banned the Kurdish language; and then in 2001, as the religious parties were rising to the point of taking majority power in Turkey, the Constitutional Court banned the pro-Islamic Virtue Party in 2001. Then, in November 2002, the Islamist-based Justice and Development Party (AKP) won in a landslide election.
For Recep Erdogan, 2023 was a very challenging but ultimately a rather successful year, due in no small part to the favorable intersection of Saturn on his Sun while trining the Turkey’s Sun. But 2024 may prove to be more challenging for him as he will experience Uranus square his Pluto. Yes, the same planet aligning with Jupiter in Turkey’s chart in 2001 and now in 2024 is aligning with the planet that rules power and control in Erdogan’s chart. And who was that leader that secured the triumph of the religious movement and its newly formed party, AKP, in 2001? Of course, it was Erdogan who led that party to victory. And he has wielded power and control as prime minister or president ever since. What does that mean for 2024? With Uranus it means change is here, and if properly channeled by the human actor or actors, it will bring about greater freedom, but if misunderstood and mishandled it can lead to instability, disruptions, and in this case political earthquakes.
United Kingdom
Let’s turn our focus to Europe now and consider what 2023 and what 2024 will be like for the United Kingdom. The major influence in 2023 was the semi-square of Neptune to the UK’s Mars. Mars in a nation’s chart rules the energy-form of those forces that internally hold a nation together or drive it apart by assertion or aggression, and equally the characteristic manner in which it asserts itself with other state and non-state actors on the world stage. The UK has its Mars in Taurus, and its expansion outwardly was by being a mercantile and colonial power base on trade and manufacture.
Neptune dissolves boundaries so that a particular structure of reality must let go of that ordering and move beyond to a new form of manifestation. But as a result, at least for us humans, it means that we will experience during such times of transition some greater degree of uncertainty, doubt, and confusion. The last time Neptune lined up with the UK’s Mars, it was 2003 and Tony Blair and Parliament decided to join the USA in the invasion of Iraq. In 2023, the mounting series of labor strikes and the lackluster recovery from the Covid disruptions has so deeply wounded the Conservative led government of Rishi Sunak that if elections were held the Labor Party would triumph in a landslide, (and an election will be necessary by at least early 2025). For his part, for much of 2023 and continuing through the first quarter of 2024 Sunak has been experiencing a very challenging double transit, as Uranus formed a conjunction to both his Mercury and Sun. Uranus brings shocks and surprises, sometimes a pleasant surprise or discovery, but also upsets and shocks of a disturbing nature. He is being challenged to open his mind and deal with many different problems and points of views from others, and if handled well it will have stimulated his intelligence to consider problems in a new light and come up with innovative solutions. But no matter what, the juggling of so many minor and major challenges can cause mental exhaustion. Meanwhile, with Uranus on his Sun, it brings to bear a very personal question for himself, which is, "does this role and responsibility I have, does it fulfill me now or not?".
For 2024, the United Kingdom will be experiencing two major transits, Uranus squaring Saturn, and for 2024 and 2025 Pluto opposite Jupiter. Saturn in a nation’s chart is the holder of the State itself, the institutions of the nation and the nature or degree to which the State and the Nation balances order with freedom, so it also rules the legal system, the civil service, and other preserving organizations. With Uranus the disrupter and agent of freedom going over Saturn, we should expect a general shakeup in the State itself, (like a change in leadership, and remember the conservatives have been in power since 2010, which means 14 years, basically half of a Saturn cycle). We should also expect that the continuing disruptions in labor unrest in the civil service, like in the National Health Service and others, will continue but hopefully lead to new and inventive ways of providing such services.
The Pluto opposition to Jupiter is a deeper challenge. Remember, Jupiter rules the common values and beliefs which hold a people or nation together, whether by culture, religion, science, or spirituality. Pluto brings the power of the will to bear, raising the issue of control and self-control, and often leads to strong cathartic changes which may ultimately bring about a rebirth. The last time Pluto aligned with the UK’s Jupiter was 1984, which witnessed one of the most significant labor struggles in its history, the coal miner’s strike. Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher had prepared for this struggle and the state brought many pressures to bear upon the miners. Thatcher prevailed and forced the union to concede in 1985, and power of unions and the labor party was broken.
For 2024-25, we cannot know in what form or in what area a struggle may arise forcing a breakdown and renewal of what holds the UK together, but we should expect that just as the UK moved from being shaped by powerful unions before 1984, something similar today that holds the people of the UK together will be tested and transformed.
For Sunak in 2024, the major transit is Uranus opposite Uranus, while it equally is squaring his dharma/karma lunar nodes. Uranus opposite Uranus is one of the markers of moving through what is commonly known as the mid-life crisis, which I like to call the mid-life time of opportunity. The Uranus-to-Uranus portion of this asks the individual to consider the last 20 or so years of their life and to see where they are now, and ask themselves this, “are you fulfilled with this path, are you happy with your life, are you ‘being you’”? It is a moment to look back and consider whether one wants to continue on this path for the next 20 years or not.
So, Sunak is going to look at himself, his life, his position and either decide to continue or change his path. And, at the same time, the contact with Uranus to the nodes means that fate is forcing upon him a change in direction. He may be influenced by meeting a new group or a person, and his life changes. He will certainly experience shocks and upsets, but some of which may be quite liberating. No matter what, there is change ahead for the United Kingdom, both as a nation as a whole, and most probably in its leadership.
Well, I see that our time is down to when I would begin to respond to callers’ questions, so I guess that is all we will cover for today. I do want to continue at some point looking through this lens of Mundane Astrology, and not only with regards to history and current events, but also with regards to the very nature of peoples and nations and what is going on in the world, such as the world-wide phenomenon of the rise of authoritarian groups, regions, parties and nations and why that is and what that means for the world at large and for us here in the USA. So perhaps that might be a good seed for the next show.
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