Mundane astrology shows that historical
figures and events of public importance resurface in public consciousness when
both the time and context are ripe. The planets keep orbiting in their various
cycles, driving cultural and collective developments, and the past is forever
being brought forward for reconsideration and further work. Strange
convergences often result!
Among them is a story in the news about how 56 years ago
this September 19th, then-Soviet Union leader Nikita Khruschev—hosted by
then-president Richard Nixon—was barred from visiting Disneyland. The official
excuse was an inability to guarantee the security of the Soviet leader, but
Khruschev didn’t buy that for a New York minute. Many other dignitaries had
been welcomed with open arms in Disneyland, so why not him? (he was really upset about this!)
There were probably multiple reasons for Disney’s actions,
but in retrospect, it’s not surprising he didn’t want to open the “ideal world”
he had created in Disneyland to a man who might construe his manufactured
nostalgia for “small-town America” as capitalist propaganda. Being an avid anti-Communist
with FBI informant credentials, it seems Disney simply wasn’t going to invite that
kind of scrutiny.
Fast-forward...
Fast-forward almost 50 years, and the disconnect between
American and Russian perspectives and values dominates the news again—this
time, on the issue of defeating ISIS in Syria and beyond. Both President Obama
and Russia’s Vladimir Putin spoke to the U.N. General Assembly earlier today (9/28/15)—predictably,
offering diametrically-opposed views of the problem and its solutions. Business Insider online reports
that Putin blames foreign (U.S.) “meddling” in Middle East regimes for creating
the extremist threat of ISIS; further, he believes the only way to defeat this
threat in Syria is to create a “genuinely broad international coalition against
terrorism” to do the job (he’s already formed one with Syria, Iran, and—most
surprisingly, Iraq). Far from wanting the Bashar al-Assad regime in Syria to
crumble and exit, Putin advocates for supporting Assad, saying “No one but
Assad’s armed forces and the Kurdish militias are truly fighting ISIS and other
terrorists in Syria.” Assad’s brutality
against his own people—a counterpoint Obama raised—is apparently not on Putin’s
radar screen.
This leaves us to wonder whether the U.S. will be forced by
geopolitical agreements, relations and/or self-interest to join forces with the
unlikely alliance Putin has mustered against ISIS in Syria. Apparently, the
idea of a “managed transition” for the Assad regime is gaining traction with Obama, Secretary of State Kerry and
others, but can this “broad alliance” really achieve the same goal (defeating a
common enemy) without agreeing on what caused the problem and what the
solutions are? Been there, done that…it resulted in a 45-year Cold War.
There was wild speculation online about the other issues
Putin would raise in his U.N. speech today—even inspiring a
“Bingo Card” by Washington Post online,
which laid out 25 likely concerns and a short discussion of each. Such intense
Russia/Putin-watching certainly feels like a throwback to the Cold War, and
deservedly so. Significantly, on Putin’s wish list is a “new Yalta” agreement
(the 70th anniversary of the original agreement happened this past
February) that would update Russia’s sphere of influence more to Putin’s
liking. Such an agreement—especially as a
means of distributing the “spoils” of a joint war against ISIS—would beat the
gong of history indeed, reverberating all the way back to 1945 when the Soviets
gained control of Eastern Europe and cemented the expansive boundaries of the
Soviet Union. If the Yalta Conference taught us anything, it’s that waging a
war with an “odd bedfellows” alliance—even one against a heinous common enemy
such as Hitler—recalibrates the global balance of power.
So, what now?
So, astrologers have to wonder where all this is headed, and
although the scope of this question exceeds my reach here, there are some
accessible points to ponder. For instance, is it any coincidence that all these issues are welling up in global
geopolitics now, on the heels of a “supermoon” lunar eclipse? Probably not. Are there cyclical (as in
planetary cycles) dynamics in play at this time that makes a “new Yalta” astrologically
conceivable? Very possibly. To explore these questions, let’s start with the Yalta
chart, and then consider that chart with the supermoon eclipse chart (Yalta chart set for noon; see inner
wheel, biwheel below):
· Yalta chart
Air grand trine: Mercury in Aquarius-Uranus in Gemini-Chiron & Neptune in
Libra. Amazingly, this hard-nosed trine features Mercury in mutual
reception with Uranus (a bit wide, but seems allowable considering the bigger
aspect), suggesting the rapid, perhaps overwhelming deployment of ideas,
ideology and power. The cerebral nature of the air grand trine tends to ignore
the human costs at stake; we see that
with the wound of cosmic proportions (Chiron-Neptune) that was inflicted by the
fragmenting of east and west Europe, the parceling out of territorial interests
to the various stakeholders, and so on (more below). As positive as the war’s
end was for the world, the ideas/ideologies swirling about during this
conference were heavy on charm (and hot air!) and laced with double dealing;
the cooperation inherent in the trine
soon became a precarious stand-off of global proportions.
· Yalta
Pluto in Leo opposes Mercury in Aquarius, creating one of TWO “Kite” formations
out of the grand trine (see next point for the second Kite)—the dynamic Us
v. Them of the Cold War and the Faustian entanglement (MAD-mutually-assured
destruction) created by the still fresh unleashing of “The Atom Bomb”
(Mercury-Uranus-Pluto) were seeded here. The world psyche was painfully “split,”
right along with the atom (Neptune-Chiron).
· Yalta
Venus in Aries trines Pluto, opposes Chiron-Neptune and disposes Libra; Venus also sextiles Mercury and Uranus,
forming Kite #2; this speaks to the global balance of power and the intense
financial interests driving the Yalta agreement. With Mars in Capricorn
disposing this militant Venus, we can see how the military-industrial complex
(as Eisenhower warned) would produce untold fortunes and influence (Venus trine
Pluto) and energize relations between
the Yalta signers going forward.
· Yalta Mars
in Capricorn trines Jupiter in Virgo. The powerful, expansive nature of post-WWII
defense industries, the military occupation of the territories doled out, and
the persistence of military conscription is assured here.
· Cardinal T-square: Venus opposite Chiron-Neptune, all
square Saturn in Cancer. This speaks to the human costs of the war that was
ending; population displacements (including the flight of Jews to Palestine)
and a deep economic depression gripped Europe for years, resulting in relief
efforts such as the Marshall Plan and others. Instability and chaos
(Saturn-Neptune) provided a pretext for totalitarianism on the Eastern front
and for a return to pre-war social structures elsewhere (Capricorn opposite
Saturn in Cancer - men reoccupying jobs that women performed in their absence,
etc.).
· Yalta
Saturn in Cancer inconjunct Mercury in Aquarius. This Mercury draws upon
the energies of Uranus through their mutual reception (see above), reflecting
the science underlying the “arms race” of the period; this aspect evokes the
ways in which that competition clashed with human needs.
Flinging open Pandora's Box...
It’s not hard to see the geopolitical “Pandora’s Box” that
was opened in the wake of the Yalta agreement. The question now remains: In
keeping with Putin’s desire for a “new Yalta,” is roughly the same cast of
national players—this time united by a common desire to defeat ISIS—revisiting
the energies unleashed in this chart? If so, what planetary cycles are involved
and what can we glean from those? Let’s consider how the September 28th
“Supermoon” lunar eclipse chart interacts with the Yalta chart (see outer ring,
biwheel below):
· Eclipse
Sun-Moon (Libra-Aries) conjoin the Yalta Chiron-Neptune to Venus axis; Eclipse
ruler Venus in Leo opposes Yalta Sun. Clearly, this “supermoon” is providing
an opportune moment for the Yalta agreement to resurface in our collective
consciousness; a great deal of financial power and political influence is at
stake in this configuration.
· Eclipse
Saturn in Sagittarius sextiles Yalta Mercury in Aquarius and Yalta
Chiron-Neptune in Libra, to form the 6th
sextile of a rare Grand Sextile (Hexagram) interchart aspect. The sheer
magnitude of a joint military campaign against ISIS (and its likely spin-offs
in global anti-extremist efforts) is represented by this configuration, but
Saturn’s key role in completing the configuration reflects the dangers of
exceeding strategic and ideological limits (Sagittarius). The possibilities
Putin is likely seeing for Russia’s restored “superpower” status can also be
seen here—the opportunities (sextiles) are beckoning. (More on how this eclipse
chart interacts with the charts of Putin and Russia another day).
· Eclipse
Saturn in Sagittarius squares Eclipse Neptune in Pisces; Eclipse Neptune
opposes Eclipse Jupiter in Virgo and both square Yalta Uranus in Gemini. Here
we can see the fundamental disconnect: should the “broad international
coalition” Putin envisions pursue ISIS with
Assad in power, or after he’s
been removed? Both the strategic reservations and the ideological differences expressed
by Obama and Putin are represented here. Putin appears to have certain goals for the
situation he’s set in motion and he’s less squeamish about “dancing with the
devil” to get there; it’s less clear what the U.S. and other allies stand to
gain from another round of “boots on the ground” in the Middle East, especially
if undertaken on Putin’s terms. The square phase of Saturn-Neptune can be a treacherous time for action, but the public is likely to be malleable. Jupiter’s recurring presence in Virgo
(military) opposite Neptune, both T-squaring Yalta Uranus reflects the violent stress
the situation will impose upon the masses, the environment (through the
war-time exploitation of natural resources for technology) and the “common
good.”
· Eclipse
Uranus in Aries trines Eclipse Venus and squares Eclipse Pluto in Capricorn;
Eclipse Uranus sextiles Yalta Sun. The
tech industries will be buzzing; chaos, unrest and social breakdown (square to
Pluto) has its upside in “crisis capitalism.” By timing his move to form a
coalition now, Putin may be able to leverage the Uranus-Sun sextile and inject
new life into the Yalta agreement. This belligerent, cardinal Uranus-Pluto
square cycle is slowly separating, but the timing is apt when viewed against
Putin’s chart and the Russian Federation’s chart. More to come on that.
Needless to say, Putin inspires no trust on Capitol Hill, probably
for good reason. On a lighter note, Donald Trump claims he could get
along very well with the Russian leader. Perhaps a tour of Trump Towers is more
appropriate than Disneyland?
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, the astrology of generations, and in
issues of public importance 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 2015. All rights reserved.