BBC.com reports this morning that the Pope told reporters, “This is a voyage marked by sadness…We will witness the worst humanitarian disaster since the Second World War….And we are also going to a cemetery, the sea. So many people never arrived.”
Politicians and
religious leaders probably have more than a few things in common, but one major
thing leaps to mind with today’s news: both
types of leaders are expected to “walk their talk.” This regrettably rare
occurrence doesn’t require much explanation because we know it when we see it—and it
always leaves an impression. The impression, I would argue, is like
entering the less-traveled corridors of the “Saturn-Neptune-Chiron Zone” (cue
eerie music!).
Such is the case with
Pope Francis I—the Roman Catholic leader who has demonstrated the depth of his
commitment to humanitarian and environmental imperatives from day one of his papacy (3/13/2013). The
nearly 80-year old Pope—known affectionately as Papa Pancho— has had a busy
travel schedule promoting these causes since then, as well. His latest visit was
this morning—a short, but memorable one to Lesbos, Greece, where the Pope was joined
by Eastern Orthodox Church leaders to visit thousands of migrants seeking
asylum in Europe from war-torn and crisis-ridden countries. Lesbos is only one
of several encampments where migrants have been stranded in squalid, often
inhumane circumstances.
This crisis is not a new concern
for the pontiff—his first official visit as Pope was in 2013 to Lampedusa,
an Italian island that has also been a landing point for hundreds of thousands
of migrants. BBC.com reports this
morning that the Pope told reporters, “This is a voyage marked by sadness…We
will witness the worst humanitarian disaster since the Second World War….And we
are also going to a cemetery, the sea. So many people never
arrived.”
The main message the Pope conveyed
to the refugees themselves was “Do not lose hope. The greatest gift we can
offer to one another is love.”
The visit was marked by many heart-breaking and emotional moments. It’s not
difficult to see that Saturn, Neptune and
Chiron—key planets (Chiron a dwarf planet)—are transiting significant points in
the pontiff’s natal chart as we speak. (More on that soon).
Pope Francis and the Orthodox
leaders signed a joint declaration
“urging the international community to protect human lives and extend temporary
asylum to those in need.” Even though the Vatican claims no criticism is
intended, the controversial EU-Turkey deal that has started deporting migrants
who have reached European shores (many in Lesbos), in exchange for migrants now
held in Turkey, is clearly on the leaders’ mind with this action.
The Pope then proceeded to “walk
his talk” with a most tangible gesture: he returned home on his Vatican
aircraft with 12 Syrian
refugees—three Muslim families with six children between them, whom he invited to live
in Vatican apartments prepared for them. Clearly the pontiff understands that
spiritual sentiments—even those based in the deepest empathy (Neptune-Chiron)—fall
short unless they are made “real” (Saturn) in this way.
A keyword phrase that says it all
Saturn, Neptune and
Chiron are clearly key players in the Pope’s quest. Even his comment that there
is a “cemetery, the sea” speaks to
this difficult combination of energies with brilliant precision—with Neptune
and Chiron in Pisces, ruling the seas. As with any thorny mix, however, there
is a path of transcendence available to live out the higher potentials of these
energies. The solution demanded by the migrant situation reads like an
astrological keyword phrase: Compassion
and healing love (Neptune-Chiron) directed at the material lives (Saturn) of the stranded and victimized (Neptune-Chiron).
The Pope and his
Eastern Orthodox colleagues are calling attention to this crisis in their own ways: the Pope handles the situation with a softer, more Neptunian touch, while Patriarch Bartholomew, the spiritual head of the Orthodox Christian
Church, reassured the migrants with a more Saturnian message: “The world
has not forgotten you. The world will be judged by the way it has treated you.”
Considering how incompatible Saturn's judgment and Neptune's compassion seem
to be on the surface, their energies are clearly and deeply interdependent in
situations like this. Chiron may well be
the key to unlocking the enigma
of Saturn-Neptune dynamics.
Let’s first examine
how these points figure into the Pope’s nativity. A more thorough analysis of
his chart appears in my September
25th post on this site, but let’s review the pertinent highlights
here. Interestingly, they’re mostly contained in one powerful configuration:
Chart 1. Natal, Jorge Mario Bergoglio (future
Pope Francis I), December 17, 1936, 9:00 p.m., DST, Buenos Aires, Argentina
(chart rated AA: BC in hand).
Grand Square:
Saturn (Pisces) opposes Neptune (Virgo); this axis is squared by Nodal axis conjoined
Sun (Sagittarius) opposite Chiron (Gemini).
Sensitive Cancer rises in this chart, with the Moon and Neptune co-ruling; here we see that dramatic mutable energies fall
in the Pope's mutable houses, stretching across the 3-9 and 6-12 axes. Clearly, the
Pope radiates the higher potential of these often challenging houses with his
strong belief (9) in the call to serve (6) the “least of these” (3) with
compassion (12).
The strong Sun-Chiron-Nodal axis convergence here (Sun within
2° of the Galactic
Center at 27°Sagittarius) speaks to
the Pope’s spiritual calling and his capacity for empathy and healing love.
Chiron expert Martin Lass notes that the GC is thought to represent “Truth,
consciousness and Love, beyond the confines of the solar system,” pointing out
that its position in the Sagittarius constellation is connected to the mythical
story of Chiron, “immortalized as a star” in that constellation.[1]
Fulfilling the transcendent possibilities of this placement is a lifetime
project, however.
This is a capacity
that develops very deliberately, in fact, from working (Saturn) on one’s native
and acquired woundedness (Chiron) to strengthen weaknesses, illusions and faith
(Neptune).
Interestingly, the
Pope’s own father escaped the Mussolini regime in Italy by emigrating to Argentina
in 1929, so he grew up
knowing about the pain migrants experience.
Other key moments in
the Pope’s pastoral career have also tracked with Chiron transits: in 1950, the
period preceding his decision to enter the seminary in 1955, Chiron transited
opposite his North Node. By his ordination as a Jesuit in December, 1969,
Chiron had transited to 2°+Aries in his 9th house of religious belief, passing over his
Saturn (triggering his entire grand square) and closely squaring his Capricorn
Jupiter. An astrologer analyzing this passage for the future pontiff might have
noted that he had important work to do in the world. This is certainly clear in
the following biwheel between the Pope’s election by the College of Cardinals and
his nativity:
Biwheel: (inner wheel) Natal, Pope Francis I
(born Jorge Mario Bergoglio), December 17, 1936, 9:00 p.m., DST, Buenos Aires,
Argentina; (outer wheel) Papal Election, Pope Francis I, 3/13/2013, 12:00 p.m.
ST (time unknown), Vatican City, Italy.
Election Stellium (Neptune-Mercury-Chiron-Venus-Sun in Pisces)
clusters around Natal Saturn (Pisces), triggering entire Natal Grand Square
(see Chart 1 discussion); Election Saturn Rx (Scorpio) trines Election
Neptune-Mercury-Chiron.
Clearly, this Pope’s
election was a matter of destiny and mission, and it was perhaps a welcome sign
that all is not lost during these so-called “Mutable middle years.” Who would
dispute that there’s a crying need in today’s world for the lighter side of these unstable mutable energies? Chiron’s prominent role here speaks to the urgent need for
healing in the Roman Church itself, still reeling from its
pedophile priest crisis.
An added note about
Neptune’s relationship with Chiron:
Chiron expert Martin Lass points out how the 1960’s mantra “Make love,
not war” reflected the series of Chiron-Neptune trines that occurred between
1963-1968.[2]
The Pope’s natal chart features the square between these points (with Saturn
chiming in as well), reflecting that he was born during one era of war and is
now reaching his 80th year during an even longer era of war, with no
end in sight. Chiron has been transiting with Pisces Neptune square Saturn for
some time now and is still within orb. Is it any wonder that in his role as
universal pastor (Sun-Galactic Center conjunction) that the Pope’s chief
message is about hope and love in the midst of desperate times?
Election Mars-Uranus (Aries) squares Natal Jupiter (Capricorn);
Election Uranus squares Natal Mercury and Election Pluto (Capricorn).
This powerful
combination reflects the strength of character required by the Pope’s role in
today’s world. The healing discussed above requires not only compassion and
empathy, but the strength to take unpopular—even shocking—action where
warranted. In stark contrast to his predecessor, Pope Francis models the
simple, humble life of his namesake St. Francis Assisi. No palatial Vatican
living quarters; no sumptuous vestments, no gold papal ring, no papal limousine. Disposing his
Sagittarius Sun, the Pope’s Jupiter radiates quiet strength in Capricorn.
Energized by the
election Aries points, with Uranus also square election Pluto-natal Mercury,
the new pontiff was emboldened to take on the broad issues of our day in his
teaching encyclicals (Jupiter-Mercury), and to exercise the “right use of
power” at the heart of this configuration. Granted, many people disagree with
Church doctrine on a number of issues, but it’s hard to disagree with the
humble, graceful way in which the Pope wields influence in surprising places,
including a joint session of the U.S. Congress, a sit-down meeting with Cuba’s
Fidel Castro and now, with the stranded migrants on Lesbos. The right use of
power is a quality badly needed in our leaders today—perhaps it’s no
coincidence that the Pope did a brief stint as a nightclub bouncer in his young adult years!
Cracking the enigma
I referred earlier to Chiron perhaps being the missing key to reconciling
tense Saturn-Neptune energies. Clearly, to reconcile Saturn and Neptune we must consider the higher
implications (Neptune) of our material lives (Saturn), and Chiron's reversible wounding/healing dynamic can help. Being made of the “stuff of stars,” our material
lives are something we share with all on
this planet, and with the Universe,
for that matter, so the right use of Saturn’s barriers and borders—like the right use of Neptunian power and compassion—is a delicate
balancing act that tips one way or another, depending upon the choices we make to inflict or heal the wounds (Chiron) inherent in this material life. Chiron’s
remaining years in Pisces (to early April 2018) promise to keep these choices on our minds.
[1]
Martin Lass, Musings of a Rogue Comet:
Chiron, Planet of Healing. Galactic Publications, Nyack, NY, 2001, p. 275.
[2]
Lass, p. 211.
Raye
Robertson is a practicing astrologer, writer and former university English
instructor. A graduate of the Faculty of Astrological Studies (U.K.), Raye
focuses on mundane, collective-oriented astrology, with a particular interest
in current affairs, culture and media, the astrology of generations, and public
concerns such as education and health. Several of her articles on these topics
have been featured in The Mountain Astrologer and other publications over the
years. Raye can be contacted by comment here, or
at: robertsonraye@gmail.com.
© Raye Robertson 2016. All
rights reserved.
No comments:
Post a Comment