A Look at the Spain/Catalonia Conflict through the Geodetic Zodiac

What does one do when Pluto is opposite your Ascendant and Saturn is square your Midheaven/IC at the same time? How would you advise someone in this circumstance? That’s the scenario in Spain currently, when viewed through the mundane zodiac, the Geodetic. (1) Obviously, the key idea that comes to mind is that a structural metamorphosis is at hand.

Catalonia has sought to break away from Spain for decades, so why is it now heating up to such an intense pitch?

The Geodetic Midheaven of the capital city, Madrid, is located at 26° Pisces, the degree Chiron has been sitting upon for most of the year.

Madrid: Geodetic chart with transits for the New Moon.
October 19, 2017; 9:12 p.m. CEDT
Madrid, Spain (40°N24′ 03°W41′)
Koch houses, True Node

The current square between Chiron in Pisces and Saturn and Black Moon in Sagittarius are trigger points to the leadership in Madrid through the end of October. (2) The squares between Saturn and Chiron have been occurring all year. The first strike from Saturn to Madrid was in February when that transiting planet first came to 26° Sagittarius. But, within the past few weeks, transiting Mars and Venus have weighed in — transiting Venus crossed the 26° Virgo IC on October 10, with Mars arriving there on October 16.

The Geodetic Ascendant for Madrid currently fares no better for peace and quiet. At 15°54′ Cancer, Pluto is sitting at its opposition point now. This is the case throughout most of September and October, with one added element to the mix: Revolutionary Uranus, at 26° Aries, is involved in a biting quincunx to its IC (26° Virgo). This acts like the fly in your face — it’s not going to leave you alone unless you change your position or wind up killing it.

The Sabian symbol for the 26th degree of Pisces is: “People going ahead with their different projects.” As we’ve seen, that is Madrid’s Midheaven degree. Barcelona, however, is a different Midheaven degree. This is one of my favorite examples in Geodetic astrology — in looking at the world’s Midheaven signs, there is a separation between Catalonia and Spain. Spain is entirely within the borders of Pisces while Catalonia is in Aries. Of course, Catalonia wants its independence and needs to make its own decisions, like any true Aries would!

Barcelona: Geodetic chart with transits for the New Moon.
October 19, 2017; 9:12 p.m. CEDT
Madrid, Spain (41°N23′ 002°E11′)
Koch houses, True Node

Barcelona is the center of the current planetary cyclone. Its Midheaven degree is 2° Aries. This Sabian symbol is: “A cameo shows the outline of a man in the shape of his country.” (3) The meaning is clear: If you so completely identify with it, you become it. This is Barcelona, a nation of Catalonia, expressing itself, to the world. The caution, as Lynda Hill suggested, is: “Become yourself — don’t let anyone else define you.” With Aries, that’s always a burning truth.

Your Midheaven’s image proudly displays itself to all — it’s what you are “famous” for. The essential self can be found at the opposite degree on the IC, 2° Libra: “The dawn of a new day reveals everything changed.” This is the hope burning eternal for Catalonia — that tomorrow it will all change. Here are the planets that are currently parading across that degree in the heart of Catalonia:

Sep 23rd: Vesta conjunct Barcelona’s IC
Sep 25th: Sun conjunct Barcelona’s IC
Oct 1st: Mercury conjunct Barcelona’s IC
Oct 16th: Venus conjunct Barcelona’s IC
Oct 26th: Mars conjunct Barcelona’s IC

Meanwhile, Pluto has been slowly dancing across the Madrid ASC/DSC axis (15°54′ Cancer/Capricorn) for this past year.

Stay tuned in to this — we haven’t heard the last of it. Will Catalonians get what they want? Maybe the more important question here is whether they are prepared for sovereignty. Can they exit Spain (as well as the EU) and exist on their own?

This is not simply another crisis situation for Spain right now, but also for Europe and the EU. In 2018 Uranus has the final quincunx crossing to the IC of both Madrid and Barcelona. It will ultimately station at 2° Taurus in August 2018, where for most of the summer it reactivates Barcelona’s vertical axis (2°11′ Libra/Aries). But remember that it’s the quincunx. A forced separation by one or both parties due to the inability to come to a consensus would most likely result in a feeling of exile. No matter which side of the fence you’re on, there’s that fly again.

Footnotes:

(1) Editor’s note: Arielle Guttman uses the Geodetic Zodiac for analyzing political and mundane matters. Here is an explanation of the Geodetic Zodiac from an article she wrote for TMA in 1995.

“To briefly summarize how this system works, imagine the 360 lines of longitude around the world applied to the 360° of the zodiac. Each line of longitude becomes a degree of the zodiac. The most universally agreed upon starting point is 0° longitude, which occurs at Greenwich, England. Therefore, Greenwich = 0° Aries Midheaven (MC). West of Greenwich, the MC becomes Pisces; east of Greenwich it becomes Aries, and so on, all the way around the world. The Ascendant and other house cusps are derived from the local MC. For instance, the MC for 0° Aries at 51° north latitude (London) yields an Ascendant of 26° Cancer (therefore London’s geodetic angles are 0° Aries MC and 26° Cancer Ascendant) — yet the Ascendant for the same degree of longitude at the equator gives an Ascendant of 0° Cancer.”

Readers may also enjoy Arielle’s previous TMA blog on the Geodetic Zodiac. (On a personal note, I thought this was a riveting look at the 2016 election.)

(2) Author’s note: This is the same square that has been affecting Britain as well, with its Geodetic dividing line right through the heart of the country.

(3) Sabian symbols from Sabian Symbols

Bio: Arielle Guttman began her formal studies in astrology in 1974 in San Diego, CA. Based in Santa Fe for over 25 years, she recently relocated to Oakland, CA. Arielle’s work primarily focuses on private one-to-one client sessions, group seminars, and writing books on astrological subjects. Conversant in the many fields of astrology, her specialty areas are reflected in the five volumes she has written and published for the astrological community. Since the publication of her fifth book, Venus Star Rising, Arielle has been touring the country to introduce the Venus Star Point® theory, a revolutionary new astrological point that transforms a person’s chart and their perceptions of how they can function most harmoniously in life.
Contact Arielle via email: arielle@sophiavenus.com, or, visit her websites: SophiaVenus and VenusStarRising.