Events in Egypt are moving quickly as Cairo is flooded with people in the streets demanding the resignation of President Mubarak. He has been President since October 14, 1981 when he took over leadership of the country after the assassination of Anwar As-Sadat. On that day, Saturn was at 14º Libra, with the Sun at 21º Libra and Pluto at 24º Libra. It is a Saturn return for his administration as his regime appears to be in a downfall and his family has fled the country. It is also a Saturn return for the horoscope of modern Egypt, set for June 18, 1953. (1)
The present uprising in Egypt was seeded in December in Tunisia. On December 17, just days before the lunar eclipse on December 21, a 26 year old fruit seller named Mohamed Bouazizi set himself on fire. He died on January 4. Bouazizi was protesting years of abuse and humiliation he had endured from the police. His act led to the successful overthrow of the corrupt Ben Ali regime, in power since November 1987. (2)
The horoscope for Tunisia has the Sun at 29º Pisces. (3)
The total lunar eclipse on December 21 was at 29º Gemini, square the Sun. The Sun symbolizes the leader or ruler of a country; the eclipse square the country’s Sun signifies the sudden change in power at the top. The nation’s chart also has Mars at 13º10’ Capricorn, the degree of the solar eclipse on January 4 at 13º38’ Capricorn. As mentioned above, the young man whose self-immolation lead to the overthrow of the regime, died on the day of that eclipse. (This natal Mars is especially powerful as it is sesquiquadrate (135º) to natal Pluto at 26º13 Capricorn.)
The Midheaven for the Tunisia horoscope progressed to December 17 has 15º49’ Scorpio, on the Aries Point. (4)
Jupiter ingressed into Aries on January 22, newly igniting all degrees connected to 0º Aries.
As shown above, the horoscope of modern Egypt is set for June 18, 1953 at 11:30 p.m., GMT in Cairo. This horoscope has 19º05’ Cancer on the IC. The IC in a mundane chart shows the ordinary or common people, in contrast to those in power. There was a total solar eclipse on July 11, 2010 at 19º23’ which shows that the people, i.e., the base of support for the rulers shown at the MC, were aroused and shaken.
Uranus at 17º26’ Cancer is at the natal IC and Mercury is there as well, at 20º58’. Natal Uranus was squared by transiting Saturn, which stationed at 17º14’ Libra on January 26. The natal Sun at 27º24’ Gemini has also been squared by transiting Uranus throughout 2010. The square was exact for the last time on January 16. On January 25 thousands of people took to the streets protesting against poverty, high food prices and overall government corruption.
The progressed horoscope for Egypt has 29º Gemini ascending, the degree of the December total lunar eclipse. (5)
The progressed Sun, at 22º26’ Leo, has just passed natal Pluto (21º18’ Leo) and is conjunct progressed Pluto at 22º Leo. Progressed Venus (in Cancer, the sign of food and security) is at 13º opposite the solar eclipse on January 4 at 13º38’ Capricorn.
This is all very simple astrology, yet strikingly demonstrates the impact of eclipses, transiting and progressed planets in a national horoscope.
Charts and references:
(1) June 18, 1953; 11:30 p.m. GMT, Cairo, Egypt (29ºN53’, 31ºE15’); source: astrologyweekly.com
From the website: “Realizing that their time had come, the radical [army] officers engineered a second coup on 18-19 June, the culmination of which was the proclamation of the Republic at 11:30 p.m. GMT on 18 June in Cairo. . . .” Campion, “The Book of World Horoscopes” (Second Edition), p. 144.”
(2)
wikipedia
(3) March 26, 1956; 12:01 a.m. 1E; Tunis, Tunisia (36ºN37’, 10ºE11’); source:
astrotheme.com
(4) Tunisia, progressed to December 17, 2010.
(5) Egypt, progressed to January 25, 2011.
13 responses
Mary, I am glad that you have posted all those explanations concerning this extraordinary entrance in 2011 through the gate of the fire element…Mohammed immolated himself just days before Jupiter entered Aries,(on the 22d,) igniting the first sparkle….I see him as an icon of this rebellion…Here, in France, where I live and teach astrology, we are very much concerned by those “food “rebellions, because our government has been practising with the “tyrants” of the Middle east,our foreign minister, Michelle Alliot Marie, spent the New Year in Tunis, and was picked up at the airport by Ben Ali’s staff, never realizing anything about what was going on….She didn’t know about the eclipses, for sure…You should read the french papers…
I’m going to study those charts for my students, and will come back to you,..Thank you for your contribution, I was searching the web for meaningful commentaries….And here you are….This event could be the equivalent of the fall of the Berlin wall, except we deal with the arabian territories…
The SE of 1/4/11 was also squared the Saturn of the Mubarak regime, which is itself exactly on a Black Hole, indicating it is subject to sudden reversal and dramatic change of circumstance, setting the stage for the rising, as well as square Mubarak’s natal 15 Aries Sun.
But for me the kicker was TNO Rhadamanthus, which turned retro at 20 Libra, on Egypt’s Saturn/Neptune and the regime’s Sun/Jupiter, as well as sextile Mubarak’s natal Saturn at 19 Sag, just 5 days before the protests began. Rhadamanthus is named for a mythic Greek king and judge, noted for his scrupulous integrity, but also for rigidity and the harsh sentences he meted out to wrong-doers, and this certainly seems to be a time of judgment for Mubarak, who is found lacking by the people of Egypt. Rhadamanthus is also squared the 19 Cap MC/Chiron/Black Hole conjunction (worldly position/wounding/reversal) for Egypt, semisextile the Moon (the populace) at 21 Virgo, and sextile Pluto (destruction, transformation) at 21 Leo, more broadly squared Uranus (rebellion, revolution) at 17 Cancer. There’s no asteroid named for Egypt per se, but there is a Sphinx asteroid, one of the country’s most recognizable symbols, and on the “Day of Anger” it was exactly squared Damocles, the doom hanging overhead, from 18 Scorpio to Aquarius.
Of course, for Tunisia, we’ve also had revolution-prone Uranus on and off the 29 Pisces Sun for the last year, in addition to the LE in square.
Great analysis, I thought the SOTU being delivered on Saturn R was telling ,as well.
Well done Mary.
Thanks so much for all your work with current transits & current events. Those of us who live in an area where little astrology gets discussed appreciate your insights. It pulls us back into the community.
Great post, Mary. As you said, simple astrology, but it shows a lot.
Thank you for this great post!
One of the most obvious indicators for me for what’s going on in Egypt’s Chart is the transiting Pluto (in the ninth House – international implications very prominent) opposing “natal” Mars in the 3rd House (Streets), showing how deep the need for changes.
this post was excellent, thank you. also for printing the wheels.
I appreciate this piece focusing our attention on the eclipse openings for change in the Arab world.
No mere act of defiance – with T Pluto squaring his Aries Sun – Bouazizi’s human sacrifice is nothing less than a geopolitical flashpoint. A shocking reminder of the power of one.
Mohamed Bouazizi, b. March 29, 1984; Sidi Bouzid, Tunisia; time unknown (Wiki).