Astrology for the 21st Century

There is much talk at the moment of a 'smooth and orderly transition of power' from Tony Blair to Gordon Brown. What does astrology have to say about this?

If these two people are intending to pass the baton, they need to be very careful indeed that they don't have slippy fingers. In astrology, power is associated with Pluto. If we find Pluto in Blair's chart, and Pluto in Brown's chart, then the halfway point between them is this 'baton-passing' point.

This point is at 19 degrees 35 minutes of Leo, and also at 19 degrees 35 minutes of Aquarius. Why two points? Because in finding the halfway mark between two points on a circle we can go around the shorter arc, or the longer. In Blair and Brown's case the shorter arc brings us to 19 Leo 35, and the longer to 19 Aquarius 35.

Transiting Neptune was exactly at 19 Aquarius 35 on 23rd April 2006, just prior to the local elections in early May. It is now at 19 Aquarius 47. Blair and Brown want people to stop focusing on this transition of power, but astrologically the time is right for it to be brought into the open. Where Neptune is concerned, full honesty and transparency is critical; any secret dealings, refusal to face facts, ostrich impersonations, and lying should be avoided.

Neptune is now appearing to slow down in the Earth's sky, and will appear to stop moving and then turn backwards on 22nd May 2006. It will spend 4 months appearing to go backwards, then will stop moving again and resume its forward movement. This will happen on 29th October 2006.

These slowing down periods are very intense and potentially chaotic. Blair and Brown both love to be in control. This is therefore not likely to be a comfortable time for them, and as a consequence tempers will probably rise and control attempts are likely to be increased. It's counterproductive, however, because the lesson to be learned is to let go.

After that, Neptune will once again be exactly on this Pluto/Pluto area three more times in total: 11th February 2007, 26th September 2007, and 5th December 2007.

Neptune on this Pluto/Pluto halfway point could resemble the smooth, easy, flowing transition that both Brown and Blair say they want. Or, alternatively, it could easily represent them kidding themselves. Where Neptune is involved, things can slip through your fingers. Transiting Saturn on this point could help stop the losses and enable them to get a grip, however given the fact that Labour's support has been constantly waning since they were elected, it is unlikely that the sinking ship can be made sea-worthy by adding a patch here and a patch there.

There are ample indications - in politics and in astrology - that the Labour party is itself heading for meltdown, not least of which is the current Saturn-Neptune opposition that links with the party's chart, as well as Blair's chart, Brown's chart, and the UK's chart. If it does, Blair will have nothing to pass to Brown except a quagmire.

Arguably, this is already the case - the party is more unpopular than ever, and is facing increasing defeats and losses in elections, Parliamentary votes, and opinion polls. It's just those Neptunian rose-tinted glasses that the politicians, the media, and some of the public, keep insisting on wearing despite the overwhelming evidence that the glory days are long gone.

For more information about the Saturn-Neptune opposition, Tony Blair, Gordon Brown, and the UK, please visit:
www.astrology21.co.uk

Between 1967 and 1973 plans to illegally and forcefully evict natives of the Indian Ocean's Chagos archipelago - who were UK citizens - were put into action by the UK government. The evictions were carried out using deliberate subterfuge at the UN and under the 'radar screen' of the media. The manner of eviction was not only undignified and ill-befitting a country that claims to promote human rights, democracy, and the rule of law, it was shameful, cruel and utterly unnecessary. In 1971 the UK government banned the Chagos Islanders from returning home. The purpose of all this? To lease one of the islands - Diego Garcia - to the USA to build a military base.

In case you're thinking this abuse of power belongs to a bygone era, consider these facts:

~ In 2000 the Chagos Islanders won their case in the High Court declaring the 1971 ban unlawful, thus recognising the islanders' right to return home.

~ The UK government refused to allow it, however, and in 2004 used the royal prerogative (actually a governing politicians' prerogative) to once again ban the islanders from returning home, effectively overturning the Court's decision. Another benefit of using this procedure was that it allowed the government to bypass Parliament.

~ On 11th May 2006 the Chagossians won another victory in the High Court, again recognising their right to return home. The judge ruled the government's Order in Council of 2004 "null and void".

Unfortunately, despite this track record of abusing the powers entrusted to them for the greater good of the citizens, the UK government is able to appeal this latest judicial decision. Also, the UK and USA governments have both granted themselves veto power over who lives on the archipelago. These are the next hurdles for the Chagos Islanders to overcome.

Astrologically, the use of power to disrupt the daily lives of a peaceful people can be traced to the Uranus-Pluto conjunction in Virgo, opposed by Saturn and Chiron in Pisces. The Uranus-Pluto conjunction came within 8 degrees of orb in the summer of 1962, and remained within that orb almost continuously until the summer of 1969. It was exact three times: October 1965, April 1966, and June 1966.

We can take this Uranus-Pluto conjunction opposed by Saturn-Chiron and see where, from the UK's point of view, the planetary line-up fell on the Earth's surface. This map below shows Diego Garcia. The first four red vertical lines are the ones we're interested in. Reading from the left they are: Saturn on the IC, Uranus on the MC, Pluto on the MC, Chiron on the IC.

The UK's transits shown in this map are for November 1965. This is when the UK created the British Indian Ocean Territory (BIOT), which comprises the Chagos Archipelago. BIOT was created for the express purposes of leasing Diego Garcia to the USA government for military use. This, then, was the first major concrete step towards evicting the inhabitants.

After 1965, these transits continued to sweep across this map towards the right. In other words, the four vertical red lines of Saturn, Uranus, Pluto and Chiron moved across the Chagos Archipelago one by one. Towards the end of 1967 Pluto - symbolising the power to sweep away the old in order to make way for something new - arrived there. This was when the evictions began.

For more information and to support the remedying of this disgraceful flouting of domestic and international laws, please visit:

http://www.chagossupport.org.uk/