This is turning out to be a challenging day to write a horoscope. So far, anyway — but the distractions are one revelation after the next. What we’re witnessing in the world is not a scandal in the UK, or with one big media conglomerate; we are getting a rare window into how the world works, and what exactly we’re going to change. Before I get to my latest discovery about the centaurs in the charts of England, I want to make sure you’ve seen the story about the whistleblower journalist formerly of News of the World found dead today. The Guardian reports today, “Death of Sean Hoare – who was first named journalist to allege Andy Coulson knew of hacking – not being treated as suspicious.” No, it’s not suspicious at all. In fact, it’s perfectly obvious.
Now for the discovery. I dusted off the UK chart, that is, the well-trodden horoscope for the creation of the modern United Kingdom on Jan. 1, 1801 and had a little shock. Whenever I cast a natal chart, I cast the progressed chart, which moves the natal chart one day per year. I have yet to write an article about progressions, though I use them every day. It’s a method of scaling time. In this case, the scale is 1/365 for the movements of the planets. There are at least two ways to move the ascendant and I use the one degree per day method, which is called quotidian secondary. Here are both charts on one large page.
Casting that chart for today, the progressed Moon is conjunct Pholus and Nessus, respectively the second and third centaurs. There you see it — plain as day. The Moon in this chart is moving one degree per month. It takes about 28 or so years to go around, so the Moon is in that position about once every three decades, and it’s there right now. For the past week or so I’ve been thinking, this story has a lot of Pholus (the release of a pressurized substance, described in Friday’s subscriber edition).
But it sure feels like Nessus, too, with the abuse of privacy, the cycle of karma, the boomerang coming back, the involvement of sex and death, and that insidious feeling of betrayal that can be so distinctly Nessus-like. And there it is.
For a thrill, take a look at how close both Nessus and Pholus are to the 7th house cusp (the dark horizontal line on the right side of the chart), which is the environment in which the country is living its life. There is a reason this kind of volatile, boundary-free scandal-sheet journalism was born in England. Note also the presence of Pallas exactly on the 7th house cusp — it’s politics above all else. All of this is set in Aries: feisty, even embattled, conquering, a bit wild, a bit naive.
Happy to hear other observations on these charts in the comments area or Facebook. Now, back to trying to write the August stars.
Gary — really interesting point about the midpoint of the squares (& christ, that’s my natal north node & sun/moon midpoint at 23 Leo). Those riffs on the square don’t seem to get much attention. Nessus is at the Uranus/Pluto midpoint, in a semi-square to them both and currently opposite Mercury, so we’re reaping what we’ve sown both in the US and UK situations. Re: the debt limit standoff, how long have we been building up to this, this suicidal polarization in our politics? Since Clinton? Reagan? Nixon? Truth is it goes all the way back to the Uranus-Pluto conjunctions of the 60s-70s, doesn’t it? And make no mistake, it’s our collective karma (Aquarius).
Vesta will join Nessus at the midpoint in November. What happens then? How does Vesta operate in transit in national/global situations like this? Does Vesta work hard to redeem some of that karma or is there a sacrifice in store?
I like your Shakesperean Hubris naming. Indeed.
and the other”big boys” – being of like mind – will drive out one who’s lost touch with the rules of the game.
yes, the moon at north bending (both today and in uk natal chart) is when she is as far above the ecliptic plane as she gets -something like the sun at noon (as far above the horizon as he gets) -it is a place of high outward manifestation AFTER the piercing and “taking in” or “being revealed” at n node…
dreamastrologer,
I’m glad you pointed out the Moon and Sun in the bendings. If I remember correctly, isn’t the Moon in the bending that takes in energy while the Sun would be in the releasing bend?
There is so much to read about this story I might have missed any observation on the yod in the UK natal chart that has Pluto at 2 Pisces in the apex, powered by the sextile of Uranus (conjunct black holes at 1-2 Libra) near the ascendant and Jupiter in the 10th house? With Neptune and Chiron passing over the UK Pluto, especially at this time with the active transiting Pluto-Uranus square, it will be years before they can wash away all the garbage. Or will it just dissolve? Whatever, it will be quite a show with Leo hosting Jupiter, but there should be much healing for that country as a result.
Just curious, did the earlier expose’ of phone hacking take place when transiting Saturn crossed over the UK natal Uranus last August? I’ve seen the date but didn’t know about the Uranus position at the time and now I can’t remember.
be
Great point re hubris Eric, and BC i just realized that Mercury in Leo is also at the mid-point of the Uranus-Pluto square (made sesqui-squares to both of them around the Full Moon)
thus the double media circuses right now (US “debt crisis” and NoTW)
i’ll have to watch for his other crossings of that square and its midpoint as we go forward
but I think that basic fact that the mid-point of these squares is in Aquarius/Leo means we can expect the theme of “collective hubris being revealed” to continue, especially in the later stages as the midpoints approach the royal stars regulus and fomalhaut in 2014
This was pure unadulterated Shakespearean hubris: ambition and the drive for total power.
or does “someone” ‘in the US’ now desire to bring Mrdock down visavis the Monarchy he was using to prop himself up (financial) Was there a falling out of somekind? Or a monkey wrench thrown into the Bushco program after the setup?
what intrigues me is the timing with the supposed unresolvable financial conflicts in DC.
BC — well said.
The angles are what it’s all about. And the Sun is angular in this chart.
So the UK is, as we’re seeing, totally engulfed; this is not a company scandal, it’s about the Kingdom.
Pluto conjunct the Sun is one of the most profound transits of them all. It is a total transformation, and because this is the Sun, the monarchy is involved.
Uranus on the 7th requires more careful handling than politics, or most large companies, can handle.
Notice that Full Moon in Cancer (opposite the Full moon in Capricorn we just had) square the Nodes -which means both Luminaries are at the bendings. Moon at north bending says the people will not be kept down or hidden, but the authorities (Sun in Capricorn at S Bend) will try to…
Also they are having a mid-life crisis (Uranus demi-return)
I just keep seeing how this is part of a larger story involving the movement of Pluto and Uranus across the angles of the UK natal chart — and of course, the upcoming squares. You could say it started with Pluto and Uranus entering Capricorn and Aries — though I don’t have the facts to build stories around those astrological events, the UK has been truly shaken up by the banking crisis, which we associate with Pluto’s entry into Capricorn. We here in New York City are preoccupied with the fear that London has or will soon overtake NYC as the financial capital of the world. Is there a connection between the ongoing financial crisis and the installment of David Cameron, Murdoch’s new man, as prime minister? Anyway, then you have Uranus entering Aries to stay this past spring, and setting off the UK’s natal Pholus. The News of the World admitted to its involvement in phone hacking in April, and published its first apologies, after several of its current and former staff members were arrested. This was as Uranus was solidly in Aries and within a degree or two of natal Pholus. And thus the leak, and the buildup to the denouement, began.
(As an aside, here’s a good timeline of the events: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/phone-hacking/8634176/Phone-hacking-timeline-of-a-scandal.html)
It looks like all of what has happened so far is only a prelude, because those Uranus-Pluto squares, when they happen, will not only coincide with the transiting of those karmic lords across the angles of the UK’s natal chart. The squares themselves will also fall within a degree or two of, in order, the natal 7th house Nessus (June 2012); the descendent and 7th house Pallas (Sep. 2012); the 4th house sun (May 2013); the nadir and sun (Nov. 2013); and the 7th house north node three times (April and Dec. 2014, March 2015), with the vertex closely involved the third time.
I don’t know what any of this portends, but it’s certainly astrology to watch!
The Moon Monster in Aries rules the 9th house of the progressed chart. Mars in Virgo echoes Luna’s 6th house placement from the planetary house, 11.You suppose any Earth spirits are involved in cracking this open? Rupert’s media monopoly plays a huge role in maintaining the ignorance and emotional emergency states necessary for us to sustain the trances that fuck up Earth’s living systems.
Eric……and on progressed charts…..when things quiet down, article/s on that would be wonderful.
I’m noticing that they can be a bit easier to read; maybe because more in the moment?
Anyway, that will be good. In the meantime – back to to today’s media circus……
Talk about astrology lessons!!
Thanks everyone!
So some questions bubbling up for me–What was Murdoch’s involvement in getting the US and England to go to war in Iraq; if he was involved, how far back does his involvement go; is there any possibility it could go all the way back to 9/11 or farther? Could Bush, Cheney AND Murdoch be the deadly trio who produced that ‘false flag’ event?
Thanks for showing us the progressed chart too Eric. Astrology never ceases to amaze us with accuracy and detail does it? I noticed for example that the progressed Neptune is now exactly square the natal Venus (and it’s own prog. Jupiter Mercury midpoint). As natal Venus is part of a yod that includes natal Mercury and natal Moon, the deception aspect of Neptune (natally in the 2nd house of values) challenges the natal Venus in the 5th house of entertainment, who sextiles the natal Mercury in the 3rd house of information as they both quincunx the Moon showing us the habits of the people and in the house of government and reputation.
Black Moon Lilith has progressed to conjunct the natal Moon too. They are of one feeling, if not one mind, and in Cancer it’s “all in the family” as we are now seeing. For example, the UK progressed Sun in Leo is conjunct the US Sibly natal chart’s north node, which ties into the US Sibly Solar Return as the apex of a yod in the (US prog.) chart is Mercury only 1 degree away from the UK progressed Sun. This story does indeed have legs as this months New Moon on the 30th will attest.
That the UK progressed Pholus ALSO is opposed the US natal Saturn as well as conjunct it’s own natal north node demonstrates just how far a cork can get blown out of a bottle if it’s explosive enough.
be
Just like Watergate was a demonstration of what the power structure is and how it works, this is similar on a vaster scale. I think we’ll be impressed how far it goes — it really does threaten to take out Murdoch himself. But that’s just a piece of the puzzle — the rest we have to fill in, and fulfill the role that the Fourth State is actually designed to have in a free society of any kind. And with the advent of the Internet, that means all of us.
You wanted to observe the vertex in action, Eric? I don’t know anything, but transiting Pholus is 8 arc minutes off an exact opposition with the UK’s progressed vertex, and moving retrograde, they will soon meet again and yet again.
Eric:
On a minimum, this feels like five Watergates in one.
News Corp faces global investigation into bribery
By Ed Pilkington and Dominic Rushe, UK Guardian
Monday 18 July 2011 19.18 BST
Pressure mounting in US for a full-scale inquiry into News Corporation under the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act
News Corporation faces a global investigation of all its businesses to ascertain whether they engaged in the same acts of bribery revealed to have taken place in the UK between News of the World reporters and police.
With pressure mounting in the US for the launch of a full-blooded inquiry into News Corporation under the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA), the daunting consequences of such a move are becoming evident. Mike Koehler, a law professor at Butler University who is an expert in the act, said a costly and expensive worldwide investigation into possible bribery activities on the part of the company’s subsidiaries in America, Australia, Europe, India and China was now almost inevitable.
“Once the US authorities have started investigating the UK phone scandal, their next question is where else?” he said.
A full-scale FCPA investigation could also see News Corporation forced to hand over to US authorities its most sensitive legal documents, even those covered by lawyer-client privilege. US investigators have the right to call for a waiver to the privilege in order to obtain key documents including witness statements and all legal advice given to the company.
The US attorney general, Eric Holder, has confirmed that a preliminary investigation is under way into News Corporation’s activities.
Several members of Congress have called on the justice department to launch investigations under the FCPA and anti-phone-hacking legislation, and Holder said he was “progressing in that regard using the appropriate federal agencies in the United States”.
It is too early in the proceedings to know precisely in which direction the justice department will take its investigation, or possibly multiple investigations. A justice department spokesman said: “Any time we see evidence of wrongdoing, we take appropriate action. The department has received letters from several members of Congress regarding allegations related to News Corp and we are reviewing those.”
Experts in US company law believe it is increasingly likely that an FCPA inquiry will now follow. The law was introduced in the 1970s to penalise US-based companies from profiting from the spoils of bribery and corruption in other countries.
Brad Simon, a white-collar defence lawyer with Simon and Partners who has represented several FCPA defendants, said the spate of resignations in the UK, including those of two of the most senior police officers in the country, would boost the case for an full-blown investigation.
“The US justice department traditionally responds to fast-breaking news developments and the fact that there have been resignations and arrests in the UK make it more likely than not that the US authorities will pursue this matter,” he said.
In anticipation of any legal action, Rupert Murdoch has begun assembling a crack legal team to represent him before the US authorities, suggesting he is readying himself for a bitter legal battle in America as a result of the phone-hacking scandal.
At the centre of the team is Brendan Sullivan, one of America’s most experienced lawyers, who during 40 years in litigation has acquired a reputation for taking on difficult and sensitive cases. He represented Oliver North, the US marine corps officer, in congressional hearings over the Iran-Contra affair.
At the time of the hearings in 1987, Sullivan was described by the Washington Post as “the legal equivalent of nuclear war”. A fellow lawyer said: “He asks no quarter and gives no quarter.”
Koehler said a full investigation would be likely to last for up to four years and cost News Corporation tens of millions of dollars. “The Department of Justice has a very sharp stick at its disposal,” he said.
The US authorities can bring criminal charges against a firm they believe is not co-operating. Criminal charges were brought against accountant Arthur Andersen after the collapse of the energy firm Enron. The case in effect killed the accountancy firm.
Speculation has also focused on whether News Corporation employees have engaged in any phone hacking within the US. A US liberal campaigning group, ProtectOurElections.org, has put up a sum of $100,000 as a reward for any information leading to the arrest and conviction of “News Corp employees who hacked the phones of American citizens in the US, or bribed officials or others for information about Americans.” The group promised to pass any hard evidence it received to the FBI.
Good heavens.
Well, God save the Queen — fascist regime — and England’s dreaming
BREAKING: POLICE EXAMINE BAG FOUND IN BIN NEAR REBEKAH BROOKS’S HOME
Amelia Hill, Guardian UK
Former NI chief executive’s husband denies bag – containing computer, paperwork and phone – belonged to his wife
Detectives are examining a computer, paperwork and a phone found in a bin near the riverside London home of Rebekah Brooks, the former chief executive of News International.
The Guardian has learned that a bag containing the items was found in an underground car park in the Design Centre at the exclusive Chelsea Harbour development on Monday afternoon.
The car park, under a shopping centre, is yards from the gated apartment block where Brooks lives with her husband, a former racehorse trainer and close friend of the prime minister David Cameron.
It is understood the bag was handed into security at around 3pm and that shortly afterwards, Brooks’s husband, Charlie, arrived and tried to reclaim it. He was unable to prove the bag was his and the security guard refused to release it.
Instead, it is understood that the security guard called the police. In less than half an hour, two marked police cars and an unmarked forensics car are said to have arrived at the scene.
Police are now examining CCTV footage taken in the car park to uncover who dropped the bag. Initial suspicions that there had been a break in at the Brooks’ flat have been dismissed.
David Wilson, Charlie Brooks’s official spokesman, told the Guardian that Charlie Brooks denies that the bag belonged to his wife. “Charlie has a bag which contains a laptop and papers which were private to him,” said Wilson.
“They were nothing to do with Rebekah or the [phone-hacking] case.”
Wilson said Charlie Brooks had left the bag with a friend who was returning it, but dropped it in the wrong part of the garage. When asked how the bag ended up in a bin he replied: “The suggestion is that a cleaner thought it was rubbish and put it in the bin.” Wilson added: “Charlie was looking for it together with a couple of the building staff.
“Charlie was told it had gone to security, by which stage they [security] had already called the police to say they had found something.
“The police took it away. Charlie’s lawyers got in touch with the police to say they could take a look at the computer but they’d see there was nothing relevant to them on it. He’s expecting the stuff back forthwith.”
Rebekah Brooks was arrested on Sunday under suspicion of conspiring to intercept communications, and of corrupting police officers. She is due to appear before the Commons culture, media and sport select committee today on Tuesday afternoon.