Murdoch, Pholus and Pluto: An Extraordinary Case of Astrology

Today's subscriber edition of Planet Waves covers the News of the World/Rupert Murdoch scandal, looking through the lens of astrology. Subscribers -- watch your email inbox between 9 and 10 am.

Anyone wishing to read the full story of this astonishing Pholus-Pluto connection and this week’s Full Moon horoscopes can do so for free! Just send an email to pholus@planetwaves.net, and you will receive an automatic reply with the URL to this issue. Be sure to check your spam folder if you do not see a reply within moments. If you’d like to continue watching the world unfold through the lens of Planet Waves on a weekly basis, click here for a free one-month trial subscription to our premium content.

24 thoughts on “Murdoch, Pholus and Pluto: An Extraordinary Case of Astrology”

  1. Hey , thank you for your stuff Eric.
    Seeing the chart of my fellow Australian (orig), Rupert, its also nice to see that Neptune, who has fogged the media all through aquarius, is opposing itself in Rupe’s early Virgo w Chiron and Pallas holding the arms tight. Good luck in there Rupert the bear…

  2. delroy:

    Thank you for such a beautiful and heartfelt comment on the British. The similarities between us on either side of the Atlantic are remarkable – as is with all cousins of the same cultural-social (though not necessarily racial) cloth.

    Try to imagine trying to tell someone in liberal SF Bay Area about the stunning events happening in the UK, and the possibiilty of Rupert Murdoch and ilk may be taking down the Prime Minister of England. You then get a “huh?”, wherein you need to go back to basics and tell the whole tale, emphasis added.

    This is one of the many reasons that Planet Waves is hot on the story, we need the whole picture to help serve justice. And much wrong needs to be righted.

  3. Eric, thank you.
    As others said, this article is superlative. Such clear exposition of the truth about our way to be informed/to dwell on certain news/to perpetuate the system in our private conversations maybe/ and the necessity to stop and change.
    Thank you for your courage.

    All our brains (along with our consciousness) are being reborn.
    And it’s really exciting to be on this planet NOW.

  4. Violet is very healing/light energetically, not to mention v. springlike = fresh, and with it being assoc. w/ Greece, how fitting (pun intended) that these wonderfully fragrant delicate flowers are filling an ancient bowl…..w.o.w. how v. centaurian that such significant healing powers can emanate fr. such a potentially painful place….

    & as for the Bach, of which I am a big fan of as well, one of the Twelve Healers is the remedy Water Violet. I did a little research on it, ahem. and well, here’s what I came up with:

    in Dr. Bach’s words:
    “For those who in health or illness like to be alone. Very quiet people, who move about without noise, speak little, and then gently. Very independent, capable and self-reliant. Almost free of the opinions of others. They are aloof, leave people alone and go their own way. Often clever and talented. Their peace and calmness is a blessing to those around them.”

    – The Twelve Healers and Other Remedies

    In a 1933 article on the “Twelve Healers” Bach revealed that the twelve primary types of personality “are indicated to us by the MOON according to which sign of the Zodiac she is in at birth.

    Water Violet, interestingly enough, corresponded to Moon in Aquarius…. so there you go.

    here’s another little gem:
    “”Water Violet… knew the right road and yet was a little proud”

    – Dr Edward Bach, 1934

    mm. (prob. only of her mane..swishhhhh !ha!)

    smiles, Everyone!
    ahhh, we are intertwined, Valentine, as I like to say…….wink!

    I am sure I will see All shortly,
    until,

    peace.

    ps. oh, just for fun, or for serious, if you want to look up your Moon sign/remedy
    http://www.essences.com/vibration/mar00/bachmoon.html

  5. The Psychology of The British People……..by delroy murray

    The British people on the whole can be described as schizophrenic like the well known Dr. Jeckal and Mr. Hyde. Unlike the schizophrenic they have the ability to run the two polarized personalities simultaneously rather than flitting from one to the other. It’s as if they hear voices when they come to cast a vote or show their support. All due to a real identity crisis as a result of repression and denial.

    On the bus in south london (camberwell/brixton) the morning after the news of the world was published for the last time i was sat on the upper deck of the 176 bus at morning rush hour. A man came upstairs with his two daughters. His two girls were very well dressed and quite well behaved by todays standards. This man was very well to do i thought, for the 176, as he could easily have gone to Eaton judging from the way he spoke (i have friends who went to Eaton, which is basically the poshest public school in england). When the one girl would ask him questions he would respond without hesitation and in confident voice by saying “yes pickles”………..this man obviously wasn’t worried about street cred. To every question I asked him before I left him on the bus there was a if ing and but ing, a humm and a ahh. Where as I was expecting answers like yes close the paper down and string up this Mr. Murdoch at the same time, all this man would say was “I feel sorry for the people who lost there jobs”. Such is the nature of the British public psyche.

    On the one hand we have the stiff upper lip that is determined that we are and “seen to be” good and decent people. This side of the psyche will naively get behind murdochs unrelenting calls for a free and independant press. This side of the psyche will send millions of pounds quite spontaneously to countries at the mercy of natural disasters ect. And quite proudly propogate the fact we are a multicultural society or cosmopolitan. Yet beneath it all or rather at exactly the same time (which I find farcical most of the time) we seem to thrive on a prurient, self obsessed, of the cut off your nose to spite your face fame, interest in the shadow or dark side of human nature which we can only acknowledge or get a nice little sneak preview of when pointing it out in “others” (projection) who have fallen foul of the stiff upper lip moral code.

    And fall foul they have seen to be doing in the police, government, and the media. The schizophrenia is the same with the paedophilia/pornography pandemic. In the news here at the moment is a man who has downloaded, wait for it over 1 million grossly indecent images of children. If you are down the pub with a group of british men you’d think that this couldn’t possibly happen in their midst and you have to be a real animal who deserves to be shot to do such a thing. Yet British men are sitting down to this kind of pornography in their multitude every single evening. And the worse thing is you just wouldn’t know it in that pub.

    After the sham of the recent general election here where we got an idea once more of exactly what these politicians are like and this split personality syndrome. Gordon Brown the then Priminister, patriot with a keen desire to serve, and champion of equality and human rights, is caught on tape vilifying and berating a voter who was just voicing her concerns as a voter which ran counter to his way of thinking…….. We were already aware that these seemingly correct people/politicians have got to the point where they simply do what they like in terms of the mps expenses revelations……… The public naturally thrown into disarray, no more than usual I have to say, don’t know who to vote for, there is a hung parliament and everyone passionately arguing about about a necessary change in the electoral system.

    A new and positive change in the electoral system will more readily facilitate new political parties with a fundamentally new mandate like the green party for example instead of the centuries old 3 who seem to be stuck in the old school boy chums club that doesn’t allow for a more genuinely compassionate dare I say spiritual presence in politics. With the british cultural identity its like Caliban and Prospero of shakespears tempest side by side. On the one hand Its like they are unbridled passion, the drive and will to succeed and exert their will at, as we can clearly see, the most base level, displaying unchecked jingoistic tendacies similar to caliban without the imagination, art and sensitivity of prospero……… The “great” in Great Britain can be witnessed on Radio Four of the BBC and The Guardian newspaper, The National Geographic society and the NHS, to give a few examples which can be likened to the artistic Prospero.

    Rupert Murdoch the man can be likened to the sociopath Caliban, and Joseph stalin I might add for obvious reasons, without any sign of Prospero, and plays very cleverly on this dual nature of the british where he can be seen to be the morally correct champion of a free press in the worlds greatest democracy and at the same time week after week churn out sewage. Last night the said radio four of the bbc ran a 15minute profile on Rupert Murdoch. Basically they revealed to us, to paraphrase, that he thinks he will live forever, he is ruthless and has an insatiable apetite for malicious gossip, he loves the media because of the power it gives him because anyone who crosses him he can use the power of his media empire to deal with them. Where ever he saw wealth he pursued it, he is a very tough ruthless proprioter and phones up editors when he has the inclination angrily demanding to know why certain stories were on the front page.

    In answer to the final question I put to the confused gentleman on the 176 bus “do you think he (murdoch) will get BskyB?” this is what the confused gentleman said, “Oh he will…I think”, to which I replied, most emphatically “oh no he WONT…I think.

    I’ve witnessed for myself growing up in the uk intelligent men academically, people from the say working class, all types of british people, pander to this gutter type press that has influenced world conciousness so. I have despaired at the way this mans negative jingoistic influence has gone totally unchecked as if we were all out on a stroll on a lovely spring day. Eric Francis addresses the question which I was asking many years ago, what is it about human conciousness that will allow ourselves to be courted by this man and his empire all the way down the royal road to Hell.

    It’s time to Wake Up people and quickly rub the sleep out of our eyes. Murdoch has championed a free and independant press just so he can perpetuate an anything goes journalism of which he is the head man, and hold his position of power. Incidentally he has also been likened to Mr. Burns of The Simpsons……… The British very much like to be seen to be fair and just and outraged by human trafficking, outraged by child abuse and racism yet at the same time they are voting in BNP candidates, day after day there is evidence in the news of the abuse of children and the lack of their care, slave labour and prostitution cartels exist right under our nose totally unchecked not to mention the abuse of illicit and prescribed drugs and corruption, which we are in total denial of, is rife.

    Britain doesn’t know itself as far as I am concerned and they certainly dont understand themselves which is the real problem. Now that the cancer is finally being removed the healing that is necessary has to be holistic and multidimensional and for sure psychotherapy will be a natural part of this healing process. This shadow nature has to be acknowledged, so too embraced, and given “positive” creative outlets, with an emphasis on forgiveness and love………..Astrology in the New Age can help, relationships dont have to be purely about who can I get to do my bidding, and that sensitive darker side of human nature is exactly that human nature…………….what we are striving for is TRUST, in order that we can comfortably go on and Love “Unconditionally”. I urge you to go deeper into the contributions of planet waves.net……….a website you can Trust for sure!!

  6. Ps in the last few months the Economist has had numerous cover stories about Berlusconi and his shenanigans. People in glass houses shouldn’t throw stones…?

  7. As we say in Yorkshire…let’s call a spade … a shovel…!!

    That pretty much covers it…!!

    “There really is no systemic way to address this deeply personal aspect of the problem. Each person has to make a choice to divest his or her energy and invest it in something else. This does not mean turning away from the whole situation; it’s precisely the lack of awareness, what you could call ‘unconsciousness’, or what some call ‘ignorance’ (the conscious choice to ignore something) that enables and invites the problem to begin with. Most of us from time to time notice how much we look away from something simply because we don’t want to deal with it — even though we know that looking away perpetuates the problem.”

    We really have nowhere else to look..than to ourselves… feasting on all of this junk …. the mire of human consciousness … the addiction to the “salt” and “sugar”

    But given the number of meetings between Cameron and News International these last 12 months…its all starting to feel a bit “stage managed”

    here is what Margeret Drabble has to say….
    http://www.independent.co.uk/opinion/commentators/margaret-drabble-now-we-have-the-chance-to-purge-ourselves-of-insidious-shame-2314592.html

    Big Love

    Paul Hill

  8. Eric, thanks so much for the article. Apologies if you have covered this in the past and I’ve forgotten – I’m interested to know if Pholus featured in the Gulf oil spill last year and the nuclear situation in Japan earlier this year – your observations on the uncontrollable nature of Pholus made me wonder. Also, just thinking today how each of those situations involves a loss of control over technology – either intentional or negligent. Any thoughts on parallels with Atlantis? Cheers, L

  9. Dear Eric,

    Have attempted to join discussion via website link and registration, but not much happened; when it comes to new technology I am not the sharpest tool in the shed – that’s an Australian vernacular for not too bright! However, I’m just not built that way.

    As usual, a brilliant and succinct article on how the individual and collective mind can be deceived, plagiarized, tormented, deceived and ultimately be controlled by fear and manipulative relief that passes for ‘news’.

    Rupert and his News Corporation also have very similar sway here in Australia, http://www.news.com.au and is currently doing everything it can to dissolve the current hung parliament; to me this is similar to 1975 when the Whitlam Government was sacked by the then Liberal leader Malcolm Frazer, referred to here for those who remember as ‘The Dismissal’, only now the main issue that is being used to polarize the nation is ‘Climate Change’ and Carbon Tax.

    Here in Australia, the local paper for us was The Herald Sun, and was part of my parents household. Even at such a tender age, it was a paper that I could not literally stomach, I felt it was not representative then, and have maintained that belief ever since. I prefer to source my news from the Fairfax stable as well as the ABC and SBS and sometimes view the PBS Newshour streamed live from America to get some perspective on what’s happening, along with Planet Waves views.

    What I could not dismiss with your synopsis of this Corporation and its head is how this was also recognized via another medium – that of film and in this instance, from my perspective its more like art imitating life than the other way around.

    There was a James Bond movie released in 1997 – Pearce Brosnan series – Tomorrow Never Dies – and within the first 10 minutes, I knew that I was watching a parody of Rupert Murdoch and News Corporation. If you have not yet had the chance to view it, you may wish to do so. The story revolves around a character and Media Baron named Elliott Carver – Carver Media Group and how he manipulated events for his own personal and political agendas.

    The interesting thing about 1997, apart from this ‘fictional’ parody, is that this is when Rupert Murdoch ended his marriage to Anna of 25 years and commenced his relationship with Wendy Deng, many were quite aware at the time of Murdoch’s ambitions to be a media presence in China, and I had no doubts that this was an MOC at the highest level.

    Its also quite interesting to note that Miss Deng had ended a marriage of some 2 years to a Mr. Cherry, at the same time in 1997 before they subsequently married in 1999; so it seems there is another game being played out here in addition to everything else, very 8th House indeed.

    If I am thinking correctly, and have observed history well enough, this is also a succession for the third generation, as Rupert was the heir apparent from his father Sir Keith Murdoch.

    Yours in Light,
    Heather Macauley.

  10. Thanks Eric, for this fascinating, brilliantly researched and horrifying article. Thank God that the macchinations of the ghastly Murdoch and his empire have come to light. “The Sun is the bestselling daily newspaper in the U.K., and Cameron has had their support right through his candidacy, to his becoming prime minister and beyond. So this goes right to the top of the British government”. I had no idea about this. And it really makes sense. Before Blair lost the last election, Cameron was seen as weak and ineffectual, and it was weird how he suddenly turned into a convincing candidate for the UKs next Prime Minister. Gosh, makes Berlusconi (and his media empire) look like an amateur… We’re certainly living in interesting times!
    Liz xxx

  11. Eric, you have outdone yourself with this article! Such writing, such insight … 10,000 thanks!

    Like you, I trace a ton of planetary and human suffering to Rupert Murdoch. During the 2008 campaign, I knew something had to be done, so I enticed a woo-woo friend to join me in bombarding him with love and light. (It took work, but I was able to find enough benevolent compassion to do it authentically, sans malice). Shortly thereafter, Murdoch made the news by saying he found Obama an exciting candidate.

    My friend and I chuckled over it, cracked some Witches of Eastwick puns, and promptly fahgotaboudit as he plunged back into his darkside and I went back to despising him as co-antichrist (with Rove). Since then, I’ve wondered, if we’d kept it up, might it have made any difference? Your article answered that question–no need! He was a Phollus symbol waiting to self-destruct. It might have been good for my spiritual development, however!

    I have Libra rising with Neptune at 8 Libra in the 12th, a 9th house sun at 12 Cancer, 7th house Aries with Eris at 6 Aries in the 6th, and Phollus exactly conjunct my DC at 25 Capricorn preceded by Lilith at 17 Cap in the 3rd. You invited us to check our early-to-mid cardinals to see how we’ll be participating in this mash-up, but now I kinda wish I hadn’t!

    That said, you have written an enormously important piece on the power and vainglory of a demonic presence we have not seen the likes of since Goebells. I especially appreciated your historic review and analysis of just how much decline and destruction can be laid at his feet. I only wish his unraveling would bring back everything he trashed, beginning with journalistic standards and respect for the truth.

  12. Eric,

    You are on fire. As long as I’ve been reading you, your stuff has been pioneering in both astrology and journalism, but with this you are transcending yourself, leaping onto the crest of a mounting wave like a salty, deeply tanned waterman on a divine mission. The cosmos has knighted you a holy warrior and I feel privileged to be your reader. I’m going to pass this issue on to as many people as I can.

    I cancelled my cable last week. I never watched much TV to begin with (certainly never Faux News), mostly just had it on in the background, but still there was a difficult adjustment over the following few days that continues. Too much silence. A whole chorus of voices, a whole psychic venue that was always open (the capitalist carnival?), just gone from my awareness. I’ve since filled that void with as much music as I can bear, and I do feel, more and more, set free.

    Oh yeah, and I get my Maddow online!

  13. How timely. I am one of your readers who does not tune in regularly to mainstream “news”, but somehow manages to get the info on stories that most of the public I encounter are clueless to, i.e. the ONGOING Fukishima disaster. I recently spent 4 days with my ailing parents, WWII generation, with FOX news running nonstop in the background. 3 days of that, for someone who never watches television, I became very aware of the psychic void that it creates. It’s been 2 weeks and I still feel like I am in recovery! The propaganda machine is extraordinarily powerful. I believe my own mother would be cheering if they took Obama out and lynched him. And at the same time she calls herself a good Christian. I’m placing my bets on Uranus and Pluto to sweep through and clear up the mess. Of course, I have the Uranus-Pluto conj of 1966 sitting on my mid-heaven so I’ve been waiting a long time for the upheaval to begin. Le

  14. I really love that violet in a bowl image for your Phous Sabian symbol Gary–I’m a Bach Flower Remedy registered practitioner. My Pholus is 27 Capricorn: Pilgrims climbing the steep steps leading to a mountain shrine. (The steps this summer are very steep.) Enjoy those violets. Dr. Bach did not use them to be part of his system, but every flower has its gift. Enjoy.

  15. Sabian symbol for Capricorn 6 degrees:

    “The need to complete any undertaking before seeking entrance to what lies beyond.”

    “This represents the first stage…(that) establishes what will follow. Here man reaches a threshold where he may have to pause in order to safeguard his further advance.

    Number 10 (logs) is a symbol of completion; it symbolizes even more the revelation of a new series of activities that lie ahead. Yet unless the concluded series is brought to some degree of fulfillment. Nothing truly significant is likely to be accomplished by a restless out toward the yet unknown (our shadow material—which must be faced, processed, transformed to become useful to the greater good). Number 10 is a germination, but the seed, number 9 musty have matured well.”

    My thought is that this has had to ripen to full maturity for the effective significant change to come. It is darkness on the other side—but I prefer to see that as common shadow material that must be addressed by mankind in a productive way, so the non-productive way must bear its fruit in order for discrimination to enter, in order for the common man and woman t0 become more selective in making our choices on how we want to process the darkness.

    And this is on a global scale! Wow. Something’s up, that’s for sure. Thanks for re-emphasizing for me the darkness, Gary. Love all your stuff.
    +’+

  16. Holy Pholus, Centaur-Man!

    News of the World Pholus, Murdoch Pholus, and Transit Pluto all in the same degree

    you couldn’t possibly make this shiite up any better! 🙂

    and burning river that sabian seems perfect to me

    ten logs (that used to be trees but are now cut down -for paper)

    under an archway (a portal, which the logs are perhaps blocking)

    lead to a darker woods (the collective shadow)

    once again, all I can really say is WOW, Eric

    and my natal Pholus opposite Jupiter T-square to Neptune at 27 degrees fixed is sure glad the Sabian for 27 Aquarius is sunnier -“an ancient pottery bowl filled with fresh violets”

    It seems Neptune crossing that degree over the last few years has definitely helped me release collective material in terms of trying to make ancient astrology simple enough to be appreciated, like a bowl of flowers

  17. Excellent, excellent. I am EXHAUSTED from being steamrollered for far too long by the gigantic lies and complicity of corporations and governments, all the more disgusted when I think of the very noble ideals on which America was founded and how badly our nation, indeed the world, has ‘lost its moral compass’, a phrase that seems pathetically inadequate to describe these times. Can I take comfort in seeing the veil of lies slipping away, the house of cards begin to come tumbling down? (choose your metaphor.) Ironically, or not, the phrase that immediately comes to mind is from the brilliant film, Network: “I’m mad as hell and I’m not going to take it any more!” (here it is for a refresher: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dib2-HBsF08)

    Eric & co, your collective reporting and educating today is illuminating. Thank you one and all for this piece.

  18. I found that the position of Pholus in the 3 charts being exact, and your comment, Eric, that the alignment of Murdoch’s Pholus with the News of The World’s Pholus as possibly “designed” (“an element of destiny or alignment of purpose” were your exact, awesome words) to be very compelling so I looked up the Sabian symbol of 6 Capricorn (I believe that is how we are supposed to account which number to use–anything more than “5” (5″ 1′ etc) is assigned to the next higher number).
    It appeared strange at first–logs lying on the ground under a threshold of a new beginning–but as I read more and thought about the idea of destiny and alignment of purpose the thought came to me that perhaps one of my wildest, happiest dreams is coming true.
    Something that started in the mid 1800’s to feed mankind’s lowest level of attempts to fill themselves has grown to such mammoth proportions to have pervaded the cultures of the entire planet has HAD to grow this big in order to be exposed for what it is SO THAT those of us who have been feeding on garbage and toxic waste can see the neon lights over the dump at last, reject it consciously, on a global scale, the world that we have allowed to exist amd grow. AND then collectively we become motivated to begin to create/build something new.
    Sort of like smoking cigarettes. Everyone still loves you if you smoke but you and they know–you are killing yourself and are definitely “passe'”. Perhaps a total shift in consciousness concerning what we feed our minds is about to occur, If this is the future 2012 portends I am delirious at simply the possibility. And it is the very energy of the toxins themselves that are creating their own demise. Eric and PW rocks, rolls, dances and sings
    +!!!:>)!!!+

Leave a Comment