Current State of the Labour Party

Since the European Referendum, the Labour Party has been tearing itself apart.  The seeds of disunity were there before the Referendum, but the Brexit vote by the British public was the trigger, for first a failed coup, and now a new leadership contest.

There are two existent charts for the Labour Party: 27th February 1900 and 12th February 1906, both drawn up for 12 Noon in the absence of a precise time.

The character of the first chart shows Sun in Pisces, with 3 planets in Sagittarius.  Pluto opposes the North Node in Sagittarius and Neptune exactly opposes the Chiron at 24 degrees Sagittarius.  The Moon is in Aquarius.

The character of the second chart shows the Sun, Venus, Mercury and Chiron in Aquarius, with Sun/Venus being in exact conjunction.   The Moon of this chart is in Libra.  In keeping with socialist principles, this second chart would seem to accord more with the nature of the institution.

In assessing the impact of the European Referendum on these two charts, however, there is much more impact on the first chart.  On 23rd June, Jupiter was exactly square the Nodal Axis, and furthermore the Nodal Axis was conjunct Jupiter and therefore exactly square the Nodal Axis, creating a Grand Cross.  That is a major karmic impact.  Saturn was exactly conjunct the Labour Party Uranus (earthquake!).  Uranus was sextile its Neptune (a need for awakening) and trine its Chiron (a sharp call for healing), Neptune was square its Uranus (chaos) and Pluto was exactly square its Venus (personal relationships ripped apart).

By contrast, the transits for the second chart show Mars squaring its Sun/Venus (inflamed passions).

Division

The battle raging now is a battle for the heart and soul of the party, to determine whether it goes forward with its original principles (Jeremy Corbyn) or a watered down version to please more MPs (currently represented by Owen Smith).  New Labour (as represented by Tony Blair’s regime) is now out of favour, although many Labour MPs still believe in it.  After the referendum, some of the failure of the Remain campaign was put down to Jeremy Corbyn’s lukewarm attitude towards remaining, though officially he was on the remain side of the debate.

Jeremy Corbyn

I would rather not be writing about this subject this morning, partly because we have an internal schism in this very household!  Hubby believes that, as accused, Jeremy Corbyn has indeed proved to be an ineffective leader.  I still want to have a Labour leader with the values that he espouses, plus I have no problem with getting rid of Trident (as a pacifist) which is a sticking point for some.  But there are reports of dirty tricks on both sides of the divide, and our local Labour group, of which we have been members for the last year and regularly attended meetings, are all fervent Corbynistas – so much so, that hubby can barely get a word in edgeways.  Awkward!  Things can be tense over the low blood sugar dinner table, but I have told hubby I am not putting the Labour Party above our marriage.

I wrote about Jeremy’s chart a year ago:

“Sun in Gemini Jeremy Corbyn has 6 of his 10 planets in Air signs, so is a Thinker.  He has 0 Water planets, which reinforces the tendency to reason, although he is not without passion with his Moon conjunct Mars in Taurus.  His speaking talent is shown by Mercury conjunct Venus by 1 degree in Gemini, with a sextile to Pluto giving that depth.  Mercury-Venus also trines Neptune, which gives him his idealism and the ability to put this across.  He is very grounded, with an exact sextile between Uranus (the Rebel) and Saturn (Authority), and can balance these forces well.  His Sun is trine Jupiter, which helps promote a buoyant outlook.  His Sun opposes Chiron, so he has to maintain a balance in his health.  Authenticity is part of his karmic mission, with North Node in Aries.  We do not have his birth time, but know his Part of Fortune is in the 12th House, so he has a quiet sense of inner security.”

As I mentioned at the time, transiting Uranus was on Jeremy’s North Node during the Referendum vote, a sudden change in karmic progress.  That proved to be very accurate.

How does his chart square up to the two Labour charts?  Again, he seems to have more affinity, and karmic connection, with the first chart:  his Mercury/Venus on the South Node (a past life affinity with its principles), Venus conjunct its Pluto (a great affection for its deepest values), Uranus trine its Mars (the ability to proclaim its message energetically), and Pluto sextile its Pluto (a deep psychological connection and affinity).  His North Node trines exactly the Chiron of the Labour Party chart, so his karmic mission is an attempt to heal it (though some would accuse him of tearing it apart – this is the healing crisis).

With the second chart, his Sun sextiles its Mars (an energetic connection), and his Mercury trines its Mercury (intellectual compatibility and oratory).

Owen Smith

Moving on now to the new incumbent, who saw off Angela Eagle to become the sole contender against Jeremy Corbyn, we have Owen Smith in the other corner.  Owen Smith has 0 Water planets in his chart.  Despite the warm toned voice, he is fairly lacking in emotion astrologically speaking.  But then, so is Jeremy, who also has 0 planets in Water! Jeremy is mostly air (intellectual theory), but Owen has 4 planets in Earth (so is quite practical and pragmatic).  Owen can also be quite authoritarian and strong willed (Sun exactly conjunct Saturn in Taurus), and his leadership aspirations (manifesting so early in his political career) come from the Sun sextile his North Node (karmic mission).  His Mercury trines Pluto, so he is confident of his intellectual power and psychological perceptions.  His Venus is trine exactly Uranus, so he has social popularity.  He has Mars trine Uranus in his chart in Air signs, and would have skill in engineering (he has worked in biotechnology), or even social engineering.  His Mars exactly squares the Nodal Axis, so he is a fighter but he could also divide people (although his stated aim is to unite the party).  I do not personally believe he has the depth and experience to provide a viable leadership, but he seems to be the best candidate the MPs could throw up.

The transits for Owen when Angela Eagle withdrew from the Labour leadership race this week were not outstanding: Mars was sextile his Pluto, giving him some impetus, Saturn was opposite his Mars (a difficult responsibility), and Neptune was sextile his Sun/Saturn conjunction (implying that this is an exercise of spiritual growth for his Soul).

He too has more connection with the first chart for Labour, though nothing like the intimate connection that Jeremy has.  Owen’s Mars squares the Labour Sun (again emphasizing strife and division, rather than unity) and opposes its Jupiter (injecting some revival of fire within the party).  This enthusiasm is reinforced by his Jupiter exactly trine the Labour Party Mars.  Owen’s Pluto squares the Labour Party Neptune (a deep challenge) and squares its Chiron, creating a T-square and deepening the challenge.

With the second chart, his Uranus opposes the Labour Mars (emphasizing rebellion and hinting at participation in a coup).

Labour Leadership Election

The new leader will become known on 24th September 2016.

At this time, Uranus (need for change) will still be on Jeremy Corbyn’s North Node.  If he wins, as is very likely, he will need to change in order to work with other MPs.  Around that time (19th September to be precise) Jupiter will be trine his Jupiter, indicating success.  It could be that a few days before the result, the polls will show a good standing for him, and the polls might be accurate.  A win for him at that time will still bring many problems in its wake as to how to go forward for the party in general, how to resolve differences, whether he can actually form a Shadow Cabinet, and most crucially whether the party will split altogether.

The astrological showing for Owen at that time is most lacklustre: Neptune squares his natal Mars, which could leave him confused and wondering about his direction.  This slow-moving transit does not become exact until 1st/2nd November, at which time he may be under pressure to change his tune.

In a consistent pattern occurring right through this study, the first Labour Party chart again has the most resonance looking at this period.  Mars trines its Mars (onwards), Jupiter squares its Saturn (dilemmas to resolve), Uranus sextile its Neptune (new ideas) and Neptune square Jupiter (trying to keep the faith, but which faith?).

How will the party go forward?  It is anybody’s guess; the same dilemmas will exist, and there will still be divisions.  It’ll be time for another blog on the subject no doubt.

Aspects

The aspects begin on Wednesday (27th) this week, which gives time for those readers who don’t manage to read this at the starting position!  Mercury trines Uranus on that day, which is mentally stimulating and sparkling.  Your mind may be crowded with new ideas, and communication will be zippy.  Make the most of this opportunity, because Uranus is about to go retrograde.

There are three aspects to Mercury this week, so again Geminis and Virgos seem to be strongly affected.  By Friday (29th), Mercury squares Mars, so all this heightened communication may become irritating, wearing you to a frazzle mentally.  Too many emails, too many messages on Facebook, words spoken in haste, that sort of thing.  Minor accidents or incidents could also be possible, such as minor cuts and bruises.  Your instincts may be to work fast, but it would be wiser to slow down and become more contemplative.  You might find that you are trying to work to a deadline, but examine whether that is just a mental construct which you might be able to let go of.

In the evening, Uranus does make that turn, and this may affect long term plans, and the performance of the technologies people rely on so much.  Interestingly, it is the date for the deadline on free conversion to the dreaded Windows 10.  I took the plunge this week accordingly (facilitated by hubby) without any adverse effects.  So if you are reading this, and you are still not plugged into Windows 10, may I remind you of this deadline.  So with Uranus going into spanner-in-the-works mode on Friday evening, you may find that some types of plans (mainly communication or technology based) grind to a halt, or go backwards.  This may cause consternation, but remember that timing is all.  It may just not be the right time for something to go through.  Put your attention elsewhere for the time being.

On Saturday (30th) Mercury enters Virgo.  It may seem too early to be knuckling down to Autumn work schedules or academic planning, but astrologically it is the perfect time.  You can still have some summer holiday fun (indeed with the U.K. weather we seem to have only just got started), but if you can find time to do some early research or documentation you may find that it flows just now.  I always set 31st July as my tax return starting point, so am hoping that Mercury going into Virgo will assist that painful process.

In the meantime, happy holidays!  We will still have the Sun and Venus in Leo to play with.

The week in bullet points:

  • Wednesday – brilliant minds
  • Friday – mental fractiousness and disruption
  • Saturday – quiet application
Date: Jul 24th, 2016 · Comments RSS · Tags: News