Aspects for the week beginning 29 September 2013

“No nation should possess nuclear weapons, since there are no right hands for these wrong weapons,”

~ Hassan Rouhani

Iran

These words are music to the ears of peace lovers.  Can Hassan Rouhani, the new President of Iran, in an effort to remove sanctions against Iran, bring about change in the Middle East, and in the non-proliferation of nuclear weapons in the world?  Rouhani has some harmonious personal interaspects with his country’s chart, plus his Sun transits the Iranian Uranus, possibly illuminating a capacity to bring about change.

Middle East and Syria

The new initiative to ban chemical weapons in Syria, mooted just before the Seatun/Pluto sextile, seems to have borne fruit in an agreement.  The corresponding olive branch from Iran’s new president seems to have followed soon after, and is part of the same astrological package.  The US President Barack Obama is hesitant but is embracing this opportunity.  Israel is worried that these new initiatives are a trap and that Iran will continue to develop nuclear weapons to be used against them.

Hassan Rouhani

Is President Rouhani sincere or just extra clever?  A focal point of his chart is an exact conjunction of Venus and Neptune in Libra, the sign of diplomacy and sweet words.  He certainly knows the truth of what he is saying, and has many years of experience in Iranian politics making him a shrewd realist. In another life, with that conjunction, he could have been an inspirting musician.

He has Mercury exactly on the South Node, indicating that in former lives he built a reputation as a teacher, and that may be his soul lineage.  Above all, as a Scorpio Sun, he is a realist who has looked at the edge of danger for humanity, and may have decided to throw a lifeline.  He has a forceful chart, with Mars also trine Pluto.

Saturn closely trines his North Node, so although it has taken him a while to rise to this position he has a sense of responsibility, and leadership.  He does not have a sinister chart, though an innocent chart may be used to sinister ends.  It may also interest readers to know that  he was born two days after Prince Charles in the same year.  We do not know his birth time  Rouhani’s Moon is in Aries or Pisces, depending on his birth time, while Prince Charles’ Moon has just entered Taurus, and conjuncts his North Node.

Ahmadinejad

Rouhani seems more cuddly than his predecessor Mahmood Ahmadinejad, who always gave me the impression of being a loose cannon.  At least Rouhani is saying the right things.  Ahmadinejad used to say he would wipe Israel off the map using nuclear weapons, while Rouhani is acknowledging that the Holocaust was a crime against humanity.  Like Rouhani, Ahmadinejad was a Scorpio Sun sign.  He had an amiable (!) and enthusiastic conjunction of Venus and Jupiter (the more manic side of his pronouncements), but  a confused conjunction between his Sun and Neptune, an overdramatic conjunction of his Moon and Pluto, and a serious conjunction of the North Node to Saturn (which may have indicated a depressive side).

Speech at the UN

At the time of his speech this week to the UN, Neptune (planet of inspiration) was exactly trine Rouhani’s Mercury (speech).  Can he now, put his money where his mouth is, so to speak.

Telephone call with President Obama

In the historic recent telephone conversation between Rouhani and President Obama, Mars was trine Rouhani’s own natal Mars (a significant interface) but transiting Mars was also square Rouhani’s natal Sun, so it will not have been an easy action for him.

Neptune is still squaring Obama’s Moon, so he is still treading a careful line in trying to distinguish reality from illusion, and discovering where imagination may take him.  The telephone conversation does not look to have been easy for either of them, but they are both reaching out in trust and recognizing that there needs to be a new way forward.

Aspects

Today the collective mind (Mercury) moves into Scorpio.  We may have been coasting while Mercury was in Libra, but now it is time to concentrate the mind in more intense scrutinizes and perceptions

On Tuesday (1^st October) Mercury trines Neptune, so as well as gazing intently we can also fathom the mysteries of life and the true nature of reality (along with President Obama).  Mercury trine Neptune is good for making inspiring speeches, and water based activities, such as the efforts of the fishing industry to achieve balance.

On Wednesday (2^nd) the Sun squares Pluto,  beginning to trigger a T-square with the Uranus-Pluto square, so we shall again be confronting the big issues of the day, both personally and globally.  With the Sun in Libra, the focus may be on delicate diplomacy tottering on brinkmanship.  Try to see the view from the other side of the fence, for example in dealing with neighbours.  Then expand your view to the whole picture, which includes your own dilemma, before putting forward your own non-proliferation plan.

On the same day, Saturn trines Chiron, which is a useful leveller for any situations needing  healing.  It provides strength and fortitude for this T-square.  There is some access to healing at hand.

Thursday (3^rd) brings the other leg of the T-square, in an opposition between the Sun and Uranus.  There are no slick solutions, but perhaps the other party are listening to your plans and considering them.  However, be aware that either party could be employing the factor of the unexpected.  The best options for today are telepathic interchanges, where each party knows exactly where the other is coming from – it could happen.

There’s a happy ending to this contentious week in the form of a New Moon in Libra on Saturday (5^th).  Just when you were beginning to think the two parties could never agree, there is a new diplomatic initiative, which may work.  A New Moon in itself cannot solve the problems of the world, but it can make for  a fresh start and new heart.  If you have been struggling the last few days, you may be able to breathe a sigh, put your feet up, and let someone else bring you a cuppa.  The more sprightly can initiate artistic or musical projects, or collaborations with partners.  Solutions may be found, whatever your age and condition.

The week in bullet points:

• Today – think deeper
• Tuesday – mental inspiration
• Wednesday – into the fray, but there is help at hand
• Thursday – the element of the surprise
• Saturday – feelings of peace