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Nelson Mandela – Voice of Africa

Nelson Mandela Rolihlala (July 18, 1918 — May 12, 2013) is the South African politician, revolutionary leader, and statesman whose efforts ended the regime of apartheid in South Africa.

The son of a Xhosa chief and a student, he joined the 1942 African National Congress (ANC), an organization that fights for the rights of the majority black population in South Africa. He later became one of the main organizers of the initially non-violent struggle against apartheid. Once these measures had not yielded results, Mandela became convinced that only armed struggle would bring down apartheid. He organized the military wing of the ANC and began a campaign of sabotage. But before long Mandela and his comrades were arrested and later sentenced to life in prison.

While he was isolated and marginalized with a long prison sentence, he became a symbol of the struggle against apartheid, and the South African government was under pressure to release him. In 1990, he was released and, with South African President F.W. De Klerk, began negotiations toward a peaceful termination of apartheid and the transfer of power to the black majority. For these efforts, Mandela and De Klerk won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1993.

In 1994, the ANC won the elections and Mandela was named the first black president of South Africa; he remained president until 1999. Although his term was marked by a dramatic increase in the crime rate and the HIV epidemic, many praised his policy of national reconciliation and fidelity to democratic institutions.

After leaving government he was dedicated to humanitarian work and became one of the most popular and most recognizable icons of the modern world. Many regarded Mandela as one of the few universal moral authorities in the world.

Nelson Mandela was born in the sign of Cancer with the Ascendant in Sagittarius and Moon in Scorpio. (1) His Ascendant falls at 23°40′ Sagittarius; at the time of his birth the Galactic center was at 25° Sagittarius. (The Galactic center is now at approximately 26°30′ as it moves as the fixed stars, 1° every 72 years.) The Ascendant at the GC suggests a spiritual and socially conscious person, a scholar, someone who became famous for his knowledge, work, and dedication.

His Ascendant ruler is Jupiter in Cancer, the sign of its exaltation, in the 7th house, which represents the public, crowds, and public speeches. Mandela’s life was indeed very significant — the whole world was interested in following his case and his struggle. The 7th house also rules the field of law and justice. Mandela  finished law school and spent his entire life fighting for the rights of  the black people in Africa — Pluto (black) conjuncts Jupiter.

We can find something about his origins if we take a closer look at the position of the Moon in his natal chart. The Moon is in detriment — Scorpio in the 12th house. His ancestors were tortured, oppressed, and imprisoned by the white minority. This difficult Moon in Scorpio in the 12th house also shows Mandela’s detention, mental anguish, and constant struggle.

The Moon has a mutual reception by sign with the ruler of the 12th house, Pluto in Cancer, which conjuncts the ruler of the Ascendant, Jupiter, and “points at” the Sun in the 8th house (also the 8th sign from the Ascendant). (2)

We clearly see the captivity (12th house represents prisons) and the torture (Pluto) of Mandela’s soul (Moon) and body (Jupiter).

We can examine one’s origins by considering the 4th house, i.e., the motherland, family, the people one comes from. The 4th-house cusp in Mandela’s chart falls in the sign of Pisces. The 1st-house ruler, as mentioned, is Jupiter conjoining Pluto, and the co-ruler is Neptune, pointing at Saturn (confinement) in Leo (by the government). Neptune in Leo as the ruler of the 4th house indicates its royal roots (his father was a chief), but Neptune points at Saturn, which limits the power of his family.

After the long imprisonment, Mandela was set free on November 2, 1990, in his 72nd year. Transiting Jupiter was conjunct Mandela’s natal Jupiter and transiting Pluto was 3° away from his natal Moon position. The exact conjunction of Pluto and Moon brought a new massacre of the Negro people, prompting Mandela to toughen the fight and bring people to the streets.

Moving Mandela’s natal Mars 1° for each year of life, Mars conjoined his Ascendant in his 72nd year. This undoubtedly gave Mandela a good pat on the back, liberation, and increased desire to fight without surrender, until achieving the final goal — the downfall of apartheid.

During his lifetime, Mandela became very popular, and that popularity remains today, even after his death. He has won many prestigious awards and honors, including the Nobel Peace Prize. Glory and honor and the high point of one’s life will be presented by the 10th house, the 10th sign from the Ascendant, and their rulers.

Mandela’s Mercury is in Leo (the natural symbol of glory) in conjunction with Saturn in the 9th house. He was the first (Leo in its leadership function) black (Saturn) President (Mercury ruler of 10th house — Head of State).He was also a great orator (Mercury) and an ascetic and martyr (Saturn in exile). He is someone I will remember (Saturn) because of his profound statements (Mercury). The previously mentioned mutual reception between Pluto and Moon explains his enormous influence (Pluto) on the masses (Moon).

The conjunction of Mercury and Saturn also speaks about the prohibition (Saturn) of distant (9th house) travel (Mercury). The state limited his freedom of movement and confiscated his passport. We can see this picture through the almost exact quincunx between Sun, the ruler of the 9th house, and retrograde Uranus (the restriction of freedom), ruler of the 3rd house (travel).

The 3rd house is also related to a person’s way of thinking, and Uranus in Aquarius in the 3rd house speaks of a humanitarian and human rights supporter. When we think of his long fight for freedom, we must take into consideration the influence of Mars as well. Mars is in Libra, a sign that doesn’t throw away energy and does not fight physically; this Mars takes legal actions against the enemies. It is in the 11th house, which describes Mandela’s fight for human rights through organizing a revolution.

Mandela passed away in his 95th year. Indicators of long life include the trine between Sun and Moon, and a strong sign and position of the ruler of the Ascendant, Jupiter, which is exalted in Cancer and conjuncts the Descendant. The first planet after the Sun goes down on the day of birth is called Auriga, or “companion of life,” and it is always somehow related to the moment of death. In this case, Auriga is Saturn. (In this method, we don’t count planets beyond Saturn because they are not visible to the naked eye in the night sky, so they do not have the same impact.)

At the age of 95, Mandela’s natal Saturn came to his Moon in Scorpio (by solar arc, moving 1° for one year of life). The Moon rules his 8th house (death) and has rulership over Jupiter, the dispositor of the Ascendant and 4th-house cusp (the grave, the beginning and end of all things). Transiting Jupiter and Saturn support this story — Saturn was transiting in the sign of Scorpio and Jupiter was near the 8th-house cusp.

Mandela was divorced twice, but his third wife stayed with him until his death. We see that his 7th-house cusp is Gemini, which suggests the possibility of multiple marriages. The ruler, Mercury, points at Mars in Libra (the sign of marriage), which is in the sign of its detriment.

He was the father of five children; the ruler of his 5th-house cusp is Mars in Libra and it points at Moon in Scorpio. Despite the poor dignities of both planets, Scorpio is a prolific sign and his Moon was in good mutual reception with Pluto in Cancer.

Although he had a large family, it is certain that the many timeless statements of Nelson Mandela will be remembered and quoted not only by them, but by many others in the upcoming decades. His character and work will not be forgotten.

“There is no easy walk to freedom anywhere, and many of us will have to pass through the valley of the shadow of death again and again before we reach the mountaintop of our desires.”

Footnotes:

(1) Nelson Mandela; July 18, 1918; 2:54 p.m. EET; Mvezo, South Africa (31°S35′ 28°E47′). DD data.
Editor’s note: The data for Nelson Mandela is rated DD: “Two or more conflicting quotes that are unqualified.”
Source notes from astro-databank: “Frances McEvoy reported that her son and daughter-in-law spent a summer in South Africa with the Kennedy Foundation as lawyers. During an afternoon in the entourage of Mandela, they asked his birth time and were told ‘afternoon.’ Noel Tyl wrote in May/1994 that he rectified the afternoon time with extremely taxing detail to 2:54 PM, then shared his documentation with Rod Suskin, a well-known South African astrologer who responded with “a veritable catalogue of reinforcement for the time.”
Astrodatabank

(2) This is a technique used in the ‘JovanaL27’ Belgrade school of astrology. For additional information about one of the houses, we examine that house’s ruler, and the next planet in anticlockwise direction, i.e., the planet being “pointed at.”

Bio:
Miloš Tomic is a young (age 20), aspiring astrologer from the small town of Gradiška in Bosnia & Herzegovina. He’s been practicing astrology for five years. He did his first paid consultation at the age of 15 and he holds a Diploma from the Belgrade school of astrology, ‘JovanaL27’, where he works as a teaching assistant. Miloš is especially interested in horary astrology and astro-profiling, and he researches the influence of fixed stars in natal and horary charts. His articles have been featured in several astrology magazines and websites in Serbia, Bosnia & Herzegovina, and Croatia. You can reach Miloš at milos.nt@hotmail.com, or you can check out his blog, Wisdom Of Stars. (The blog texts are written in English and Serbian.)

4 Comments

  1. WOW! If this is the quality of our younger astrologers, the future of Astrology is in good hands! KUDOS to a great article.

  2. Very interesting article of Nelson Mandela. I was especially interested in the ‘pointing’ from a planet to one that is counter-clockwise and would like to know more about this technique. Well done Milos and good luck with your work.


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