Anne Massey’s astrology blog

Power battles on Parliamentary Hill

Thursday, December 4th, 2008 | Current Planetary trends, Mundane astrology

Pluto moved into Capricorn a week ago, and Saturn is slowing down and will station retrograde this month. Pluto’s shift influences us for 14 years and the intent is to change the way we govern our business and our countries. There has to be a solid plan and a sound plan to execute changes. Saturn’s retrograde period lasts 4.5 months and begins this month—this tends to mean that business slows down while we ‘research’ our options. For a year and a half we will have ‘battles’ about what structures need to be broken and which are working. For the first time in ages, Canadians are fired up about politics. This is my analysis of the players in this drama and the potential outcome. Yes, I expect we will have another federal election but if we follow the timing over the past eight years or so, we will have to wait until around the Spring Equinox… if the current government was looking for good timing, I would be saying wait until Venus is in direct motion in May so as not to repeat the World War I conscription issue related election. But this won’t be heard on Parliament Hill.

Confederation Chart

On October 14, 2008 Canadians re-elected Stephen Harper and his Conservative party gained seats over the previous election on January 23, 2008. Those 143 seats were not enough to form a majority government. Canada’s chart is July 1, 1867, and I use the noon chart cast for Ottawa. On November 26 Pluto changed signs and within a day or two the government announced cut backs for our politicians and high ranking civil servants. Canada is a Cancer nation started with the dark of the Moon. I have lived here since 1990 and watched the power battles, political parties disappear and prime minister serve truly short stints at the head of the government. All we really need to note about that is the fact that we have our Sun conjunct our Moon with Uranus firmly lodged between the two. Moon represents the public opinion and the people. The Sun is our identity and the leader of the government. Uranus is the maverick and rebel between the two. The events of this week have illustrated how ugly it can get in parliament.

The illustration shows Canada’s chart within Whole sign houses; Mars is sextile the Cancer planets and opposed by Jupiter, which in turn trines the Cancer Planets. Canada is strongly committed to its people and their welfare. Public opinion is represented by the Moon. Venus sextile Neptune forms a yod to Saturn in the second house and is opposed by Pluto. Our financial decisions are driven by the labour market and our foreign interests (often we follow suit with big neighbour, the United States).Mercury forms no major aspects but is sextile the Ascendant. Mercury is the advisor, the media and collectively government employees. (The declaration of the confederation was made at high noon, newspaper reports state celebrations commenced at 12:05. This was on a Monday and during Venus hour.)

I don’t recall seeing any articles about Canada’s chart in well over a decade. This article was born out of a simple query by an economist client about whether the coup d’état by the coalition formed by the opposition parties would succeed in ousting the newly-elected conservative government. Curiosity won and … with it an attempt to remember the concepts of mundane astrology. The Ascendant is the side we present to other countries. The seventh is the other countries and of course enemies. As this issue is about money and resources the second and eighth houses, we need to note that Canada’s chart houses Saturn and Pluto on this axis. This seems to spell rather sound financial management. There is little stress in this sector. The stressors are influencing unions, the workforce and health care—the dissatisfaction is about the inaction. There is incredible external stress in this area for the next 1.5 years, the build up began escalating at the beginning of November.

Turmoil or a tempest in a teacup?

The conservatives won another minority government—for the election-weary Canadians that was our third election in four years. About half of us bothered to vote. During the two prior elections Venus was retrograde… this time we chose a day when Mercury stationed direct. It was easy to call the result… not much change. Then last week (final days of November), in the face of the global economic turmoil, the government announced cut backs to benefits to members of parliament and civil servants. Actually, aren’t they all civil servants—the people elect them into office. So gone are the approved pay increases for those making in excess of 155,000, the free meals served on the parliamentary hill, and now our MPs have to fly in coach. But the other cut back that ‘stung’ was the attempt to claw back federal funds for political parties based on votes collected during elections.

There excitement over politics all across the country. Is it a tempest in the teacup or has it the potential to topple the government? Canada is a Cancer nation, just like the United States. July 1, 1867, Ottawa, Canada; I use 12 noon as the time, which places pleasant and charming Libra on our Ascendant. We have Moon at 6° Cancer 29’. On November 26, Pluto moved into Capricorn, which naturally opposes Cancer. We would expect bigger changes in about three years, when Pluto reaches that degree. However, the transition of Pluto into Capricorn is a pivotal moment. It tends to spell, let’s go in another direction. It is at a place in the astrological chart that deals with the principles a nation was founded upon. Something Harper is attempting to underscore in his statements to the public and media. Also when we look at Canada’s chart for the confederation, we note that the country came into being with the dark of the Moon and the two luminaries flank unpredictable Uranus. The way we deal with people in power is unpredictable, as a collective we tend to want to oust and then find something new to put in its place.

The three parties not in power, the NDP, the Liberals and the Bloc Quebecois want to form a coalition to oust the recently elected government. Stephané Dion, whose party lost some 17 seats at the election, would become the declared prime minister… The three leaders signed the document on December 1, 2008; stating that the government has lost the support of Canadians. In the sky, Jupiter, Venus and the Moon were all together in Capricorn at around 22-23°. That was a prominent degree during the 2006 Winter election on January 23. Venus stationed retrograde at that degree and was retrograde on Election Day.

Harper's planets within Canada's chart

Unfortunately for Canadian astrologers birth times are not available for our elected leaders only the date and place. Working without timed charts leaves quite a few unknowns. But let’s look at what we do know. Stephen Harper was born April 30, 1959 in Toronto. He is a conservative Taurus Sun, with Saturn in Capricorn trine his Sun, gives him staying power and he can be rather decisive. He has Mercury in Aries and Mars in Cancer with Uranus in Leo adding to that configuration, he debates rather well—knows how to win arguments, and I expect he can be rather difficult about how he makes his views known, or fights for his opinions. I doubt he’d give in without a decisive fight—potentially no holds barred. In the image, planets for Canada are in grey and the planets for Harper in red. His Taurus Sun is with Canada’s Pluto in the eighth house of shared resources, wealth and the treasury. His Mars is within two degrees of our Sun-Uranus conjunction in the tenth house.

Both his Sun and Mars are tempered by realistic Saturn in its own sign of Capricorn. But he also has Neptune configured to that Mars, which adds an element of idealism and the potential of taking action without explaining why. With these connections he aims to build his kind of Canada, however, his tactics may be rather good for our collective finances. His Mercury with our Neptune can be somewhat troubling; he can make us believe in the surreal. Perhaps as a nation we have a hard time figuring him out. I find it amazing to observe how calmly and slowly he communicates on TV and during debates, yet he has his communication planet in Aries square Mars. Perhaps he has learned that he tends to say the wrong thing unless he follows a script. For him personally the stressors are with his status and job, but there is a lot of planetary support saying he will be highly successful into the future as well. He might want to talk to one of the three leaders for the proposed coalition; compromise.

Stephane Dion's planets inside Canada's chart

Stephané Dion, the leader of the Liberal Party, was born September 28, 1955 in Montreal. He has Sun, Venus, Neptune and Mercury in Libra. His communication planet Mercury is conjunct idealistic Neptune. The strongest criticism toward him is his inability to communicate effectively. People might not hear what he has to say. Mercury-Neptune is typically delineated to mean that the mind does not work in a logical manner, thinking is not linear and thoughts are not expressed in a straightforward, no nonsense manner, so that others could understand us with ease. That Mercury is also in an aspect with Uranus, thus he may have a brilliant mind but it is ‘lost in translation’.

Dion’s Sun hides in the twelfth of secrets and backroom politics as does his Mars.(Note   all the charts for the ‘players’ in high drama on Parliament Hill are looked at in terms of the Canadian National Chart).Not a very nice placement, we don’t see him with clarity. His communication style, that Mercury-Neptune connection as our representative in the World might not be our best option… Communication is not his strength, Mercury at its purest is clarity of thought and with speech and Neptune at its best is dreamy, surreal and interested in the ideology—not it’s execution. It is interesting how often he blurts out ‘sick of his lies…” about Harper. In astrology we look at Mercury-Neptune connections as potential—at its worst—of not being honest in communication avoiding giving straight answers. His planets do not form nice harmonious aspects to Canada’s chart, and the powerful conjunctions from personal planets to the planets in the Canadian chart are missing. The twelfth house connection might imply that he has many ‘behind the scenes’ meetings and is not adverse to ‘backroom politics’. Could it be that someone, behind the scenes is coaching him along.

If we were to look at how Harper and Dion might get along and/or be able to work together. The first thing we would note that the pragmatic Taurus, Harper might have little in common with the ideological Libra; his assertive Mercury in Aries might want to scream ‘spit it out already, don’t beat about the bush’. I see little love loss here. While there is room for negotiation and compromise, these two are choosing to play the roles of ‘bitter’ enemies. The communication planets of these two men are in opposite signs and adversarial rather than cooperative, which of course is a shame. Politics was never pretty, right.

Jack Layton's planets within Canada's chart

Jack Layton, the leader of the NDP, is a Cancer Sun with Mars and Neptune conjunct in Libra— idealistic about his actions but also very ‘patriotic’. He was born in Montreal, July 18, 1950. The connection between Layton and Dion is interesting, and bring to life the quote “politics makes interesting bedfellows”. Dion’s Libran planets connect with Layton’s Mars-Neptune pair; that in a romantic relationship would spell love and sexual energy. Layton’s chart has many connections to the Federation chart, and with his Sun atop Canada’s chart and in Cancer plus his Mercury almost identical to Canada’s Mercury, he is ambitious to be seen as a leader of Canada—he did campaign for the prime ministerial position in October not just for the leader of the Official Opposition. He failed to capture either, but here we are… if the coalition government is formed he is guaranteed a cabinet post. He is willing to fight for his ideologies, that Mars-Neptune in his chart might explain why he favours politics, which ensure security for all. I don’t expect Layton to fade out of the political arena; he is passionate about what he does. His communication planet is the same as Canada’s so his rhetoric resonates with the working man, whom he represents with ardour.

In the graphic we see the connections between Layton and Canada. He has a Uranus connection to our Moon, in Dion’s case that was to Mercury in Canada’s chart. Uranus can be disruptive because it wants to break down old structures, disrupt the status quo—but we can see if we look at how all of his energy is tied in with Canada’s that he firmly believes that his goals are the best for Canada. 

Duceppe's planets within Canada's chart

Gilles Duceppe was born July 22, 1947 in Montreal and is the leader of the Bloc. The Bloc only votes in Quebec and he cannot form the government. However, I thought it might be interesting to scan his chart against that of Canada as well; his assistance and cooperation would be required for the NDP and the Liberal to form a coalition government. He loudly claimed that he would not be a part of any coalition government, but had an apparent change of ‘heart’ before Monday (December 1), because he chose to sign the documents. The Bloc Quebecois is a separatist party, whose goal is to have Quebec as a sovereign country within Canada. His planets flank Canada’s planets prominently falling in the tenth house. He also has a Neptunian as well as a Uranian theme in his chart.

In the October 15 election, the Conservatives won 143 seats, Liberals 77 seats, the NDP 37 seats and the Bloc holds 49 seats. Simple math states that the Liberals and NDP seats combined only amount to 114, so all three parties have to band together to outnumber the Conservatives. I am not a political astrologer, but it seems to me that the clear winner, in the case of a coalition, is the Bloc, without whose vote nothing will be done. Duceppe’s chart states he is highly idealistic and not a conformer. He has always stated that he works for the people of Quebec not for Canadians at large. He will work hard to get the benefits he believes belong to Quebec. A quarter of Canadians live in this primarily French-speaking province. There are 308 members of parliament—the proportion of people from Quebec and the number of seats held by the Bloc based on mathematics alone…

He is likely to get along with all four leaders, because he has so many planetary connections to Canada’s chart. His chart pattern is a contained bowl, all planets within 180 degrees as opposed to the three others who have at least one opposition in their charts. Oddly enough Harper’s pattern seems to indicate more versatility and a propensity to seek advice. It just doesn’t translate in the media.

GG's planets with Canada's chart

The woman, who decides on December 8, is Michaëlle Jean, who was born September 9, 1957 in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. She has the Pluto, Sun, Mars and Mercury in Virgo and Venus in Libra. Saturn is square her Virgo planets. She is likely to analyze all of the facts, and steer on the side of caution. She would be looking at what choices her predecessors may have made in similar circumstances. Let’s wrap her planets around Canada’s chart. At a first glance we note that her personal planets fall in the twelfth house in Canada’s chart. The Queen’s representative, the power behind the ‘throne’. Her Venus in our first house free of hindrances shows what a charming representative she is. Her Venus in Libra is in a trine with Canada’s Venus. She is clearly in a ceremonial role rather than a political force. Saturn is currently on her Mercury, encouraging her to hold onto what is and work on it rather than throw caution to the wind. The biggest issue with this ‘storm in a teacup’ is about throwing 30 billion dollars at the global economic problem. So let’s look at Canada’s treasury. The eight house in the chart. It is ruled by Venus and houses Pluto in Taurus. Jean’s Virgo planets form a beautiful trine (120 degree aspect) to our Pluto. Might the pragmatic Virgo ask where is this money coming from?

The last time a coalition attempted to ‘overthrow’ a government was back in 1926—the King-Byng Affair. Back then Pluto was in the mid-degrees of Cancer, Saturn in Scorpio, Neptune in Libra, and Uranus in Pisces, and Jupiter in Aquarius. The opposition was asked to form coalition party, which held power for about three months, and elections followed in September 14, 1926. On that date Mars was two degrees past the Pluto in Canada’s chart. (The previous election date was October 29, 1925)

My analysis

As an exercise to clarify the potential outcome, I looked at the chart for the moment my client asked me the question (these are known as horary charts).Because I visualize graphics better than tables or lengthy notes, I made a graphic to see what further information I could gather with limited birth information.

The first point I want to make is about Pluto, which marks eras and the changes that are launched. It is at the bottom of the chart and has the word ‘issue’ under it. I could have written the foundation there as well. In a national chart this would represent the land and the founding principles of the nation. Initially we were given to England by France in 1761, in the early part of the 1800s we were the Province governed by a coalition government with both English and French representation. Language was a big issue. In 1867 the Queen granted the request for a confederation with the right to govern itself and appointed a governor general as her representative in the country. For the next 14 years to mid-2024 we have Pluto at this point. This means that we will be questioning our status, our home and pressure is placed on how we govern ourselves. The Queen like her representative holds a ceremonial role, but as we have discovered, she also has a lot of ‘clout’ in our current unusual power battle. I have identified planets as the players in this drama. The conservative government is the Sun, Mars and Mercury combo in Sagittarius (this is based on the horary chart). The Sun and Mars hold no special dignity in Sagittarius but were dignified by placement in the horary chart. Mercury, potentially the government spokesperson or advisor is not well placed in the sign of its detriment, and is likely to play along with the Sun (Harper) and Mars (we must assume the finance minister). The three coalition-party heads are Jupiter, Venus and the Moon. Jupiter is its fall and might represent Dion who has already announced his retirement from the position of the head of the opposition. Venus has no essential dignity in Capricorn and might be Duceppè, sandwiched between Layton and Dion, whose MPs do not add up to a majority. That would leave Layton the Moon, which is in her detriment in Capricorn. 

Let me take a little detour here. Capricorn is the sign of the executive, the administrator and the boss. In order to hold that kind of power and/or office, there has to be a sound plan, a detailed action plan and proof that the task or project that will be undertaken can be carried to completion. This is doubly important now that Pluto is in the sign of business; and Pluto is big business. The representatives of the opposition and the government are identified based on the horary chart in the national chart. The big issue, where the disruption and uncertainty originates is the 6th house. This is where we have workers, unions, teachers, health care workers, government workers—in older astrology text this was the house of servants and soldiers. My crib notes are imbedded in the graphic. What I expect to happen is that the Governor General will grant the proroguing of government and the budget will be presented January 27. Mercury will be retrograde, which spells changes. With Jupiter in Aquarius with the Sun, it will be a reasonable budget. However, the timing is off, which I think spells out that there will be another election in 2009. Maybe at that time more than half of us will bother to make our views known.

All of this ‘hoopla’ will have an impact on our economy and our dollar will have a hard time reaching par with the US dollar. Investors will have brilliant opportunities just prior to the equinoxes and solstices next year—buy low and hopefully sell high. If I were the prime minister, I’d get ready to schmooze with the some of the opposition members who aren’t happy about the coalition… It will be 2010 before we see some consistent stability with the global markets, and astrologically speaking, I think it is prudent not to throw good money after bad investments, but then I am not in politics, nor even a political astrologer. This was just my attempt to address the question a client posed on December 1, 2008 at 11:48, Vancouver, BC, Canada. I am certain I have missed aspects, analysis and many finer details, but I’ll be watching to see what my fellow Canadians opt to do and hopefully I won’t have to help other fellow Canadians relocate…

Written December 1-December 3, 2008

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