If you’re following the situation in Ukraine, you may be wondering about the astrology that led to the rapid turn of events that started this past Friday afternoon. Ukraine always seems to be an important place in my life — one of my closest friends, our webmaster Anatoly is there, close to Kiev. As a kid, my best friend Eric Olynik’s family came from what was then called The Ukraine, and I am still not fully comfortable dropping the ‘the’ but Amanda in her capacity as copy editor has suggested that I catch up with the moment.
Anatoly says things have quieted down considerably since president Viktor Yanukovych fled the capital, abandoning the presidential palace to demonstrators. He reportedly fled to pro-Moscow eastern Ukraine but press reports say his plane was not allowed to take off.
Scenes of protesters lounging around his opulent residence were reminiscent of that infamous 1968 photo of student leader Mark Rudd with his feet on the desk of the president of Columbia University. This was more than symbolic, however. Yanukovych had “privatized” the presidential mansion, meaning that he made it his own private property. This was a taking back of collective property by the people.
What happened, in effect, was that demonstrators pushed the corrupt president out of power. Though this is an old struggle, it has been heating up since late 2013 and came to a head the past two weeks. The protests were a kind of tug of war between Moscow and the European Union with Ukraine in the middle. Some factions in Ukraine want a greater connection to western Europe; others don’t want to westernize and want to keep their main connection to Moscow.
Big Boss Putin had been treating Ukraine like we were all back in the USSR days, encouraging Yanukovych to crack down, and bribing him with huge loans that Ukraine is likely to default on. Then last week Yanukovych’s special forces started firing on protesters, killing about 80 of them. Here in the States that would have been more than enough to make everyone flee for cover. The protesters fought back against an army of paramilitary police using sticks, rocks and fireworks — and beat them back, and kicked out the president.
Americans concerned about the corruption of the government and the banks, who are concerned that they are losing half their money and more than half of their rights to these institutions, might want to study this as an example.
That the escalation happened during the Winter Olympics did not help Putin. It meant that the eyes of the world were on Russia and its neighbors. While that did not stop Yanukovych and Putin from using deadly force on the protesters, they looked like serious assholes for doing so. They killed a bunch of people and that did nothing for them.
Anyway, we have a chart for when Yanukovich split town. It is quite a chart — note that it’s exactly at sunset, with the Sun conjunct Neptune. Pallas Athene is rising. The Moon is about to square the Sun and Neptune. We know this is a loaded, energized chart because there are angular planets and the Moon is about to knock some sense into them.
My favorite bit about this chart is the degree of the 10th house cusp — 24+ Taurus. There’s this set of symbols for each degree of the zodiac that turns astrology into a 360-card tarot deck. The 10th house cusp is the line that indicates the top executive power in any situation. In this case, the chart involves the actual president, who had taken public property as his own.
The symbol for this degree (one of my favorites in the whole set) is “A Vast Public Park.” The people took back their own property.
Here were my first impressions of the chart when I saw it Friday:
— This is part of a larger strategy that is under wraps; hidden but not quite secret. Strategy is indicated by Pallas rising, who I think might represent Yulia V. Tymoshenko, the former prime minister who was released from jail that same day.
— Chart suggests that ‘big lie’ is happening at same time as spiritual awakening. These are indicated by the prominence of Sun-Neptune. There is an actual populist element about this, indicated by Pisces. His leaving could be very good for the country.
— Now is time for bold speech, communication with neighbors, total devotion to the cause. This is potentially a positive, creative moment of spiritual awakening. For more information about that, look at the 3rd house — Mars and Vesta there, among other things.
— As everywhere, much growth needed in areas of intimacy and sexuality among wide public. Chart indicates that ideas and values are changing, evolving. A conservatism is breaking down. That is shown by Pluto and Venus in the 5th house.
This part about conservatism breaking down will really start to reveal itself as Mars moves into a square with Pluto and opposition to Uranus over the next six weeks. We are about to see what the Uranus-Pluto square can really do — thanks to Mars.
Would love to hear your comments about this chart. Thanks to Amanda Painter and Elizabeth Michaud for taking hours and hours last week to help sort out this situation.
![Gerald S. Upsham, Student activist David Shapiro sitting behind University President Kirk's desk smoking an appropriated cigar during six-day campus uprising and protest at Columbia University, New York], May 1968 Upsham’s image illustrates the attitude perfectly. David Shapiro, in an act of protest over Columbia’s involvement in the Vietnam War, stormed President Grayson L. Kirk’s office—for what purpose, beyond the obvious photo op—it is difficult to say. In this photograph he appears disinterested; detached from the giddy cluster of fellow SDS member crowding the window in the background. He is at ease, reaping the rewards of his impromptu coup d’état. I suppose the city’s romance with cigarettes had to come to an end, but revisiting these images gave me a sense of nostalgia for a decidedly younger and grittier city.](https://i0.wp.com/planetwaves.net/news/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/upsham_gerald_1920_2005.jpg)
Upsham’s image illustrates the attitude perfectly. David Shapiro, in an act of protest over Columbia’s involvement in the Vietnam War, stormed President Grayson L. Kirk’s office—for what purpose, beyond the obvious photo op—it is difficult to say. In this photograph he appears disinterested; detached from the giddy cluster of fellow SDS member crowding the window in the background. He is at ease, reaping the rewards of his impromptu coup d’état.
I suppose the city’s romance with cigarettes had to come to an end, but revisiting these images gave me a sense of nostalgia for a decidedly younger and grittier city.
It is however the desk of Dr. Kirk, the university president — not the dean.
I like how contemplative this one is
Not sure if its LIFE but yes, and its a better photo, in my opinion.
Isn’t there a photo from LIFE magazine with his feet up on the desk?
Thanks, Eric.
I had written “president” in my first response. “Dean” was copied from details elsewhere and I did not catch it.
Mia
Aaaah thanks Mia. I wonder if I’ve been down this road of fact checking before, about 30 years ago. I was certain it was Rudd, this time around. No wonder I could not locate the photo.
From Wikipedia and one other source: it’s Dr. Kirk, the president, not the dean.
A photo of David Shapiro wearing sunglasses and smoking a cigar in Columbia President Grayson L. Kirk’s office was published in the media.[6] Mark Rudd announced that acting dean Henry S. Coleman would be held hostage until the group’s demands were met. Though he was not in his office when the takeover was initiated, Coleman made his way into the building past protesters, went into his office and stated that “I have no control over the demands you are making, but I have no intention of meeting any demand under a situation such as this.” Along with College administrators William Kahn and Dan Carlinsky, Coleman was detained as a hostage in his office as furniture was placed to keep him from leaving. He had been provided with food while being held and was able to leave 24 hours later, with The New York Times describing his departure from the siege as “showing no sign that he had been unsettled by the experience”[7]
Thank you.
Listed as one of the top twenty iconic photos:
“13. Smoking in the Dean’s Office: In 1968, student riots and protests were nearing their height, and Columbia University in New York was among the campuses with unrest. On April 23rd, students took over the dean’s office, taking him and two other people as hostages for more than a day. During the situation, a photograph was taken by Blake Fleetwood showing student David Shapiro relaxing at the dean’s desk, smoking one of his cigars. The image became one of the most iconic photographs of student unrest, and Shapiro eventually became a professor at Columbia.”
In 1990, one year after the Velvet Revolution in Prague, I was fortunate to visit Prague with David, his wife Lindsay and members of the faculty of Cooper Union to attend three exhibitions of the work of architect John Hejduk. President Havel and Shirley Temple Black, then US Ambassador there, hosted a reception where David read his poem, “The Funeral of Jan Palach,” about the twenty-year-old philosophy student who, in 1969, set himself ablaze in Prague to protest the Stalinoid depredations of the Soviet occupation of Czechoslovakia. We were given a private tour of Prague Castle and got to see amazing things not open to the public. David Shapiro has spent a lifetime contributing in countless ways to the betterment of humanity and the arts. Among other things he is a concert level violinist and was asked by Phil Glass to be the original “Einstein on the Beach” performed at the Metropolitan Opera House. A truly amazing man.
A correction, Eric.
The famous photo of the student with his feet on the desk of the president at Columbia University during the student protests is of my friend, the poet and art historian David Shapiro. Not only a brilliant mind but a truly great heart.
well, as for that “the,” i’d still put it in the title of this piece, since you’re talking about “the situation” in Ukraine — kind of like saying, “the Canada situation.”
😉
and yes, the transition to not typing “the ukraine” still feels odd to me, too — but all the big news kids are doing it. 🙂
Thanks for this, Eric (and Amanda, and Elizabeth)! Looks like good and welcome change is afoot (so different from what has happened in poor Egypt – which of course, is a totally different ball game).
Ps I had to Google Ukraine the other day, cos I wasn’t sure about the ‘the’ either!
Analysis of the Ukraine national chart http://bit.ly/1fkUfAX
Heartfelt thanks to Eric, Amanda, and Elizabeth for an astute, yet accessible reading of a truly historical moment. Also, support and prayers to Anatoly and his family as they witness the cutting edge of history. Once again, and on several levels, Planet Waves is there.