Robert Mugabe Revisited

There were extraordinary scenes on the streets of Harare and Bulawayo in Zimbabwe yesterday, as the hitherto repressed populace marched in favour of a new regime and in favour of replacing the long time dictator Robert Mugabe, watched on by a friendly militia who seem to have engineered a bloodless coup, the outcome of which is still uncertain.  Is this a new model for how to replace a tyrant peacefully, or will they be unable to sustain the peace?

Robert Mugabe Record

93 year old Robert Mugabe has been in power in Zimbabwe for 37 years, and began as a freedom fighter against white minority rule, winning the battle against Nkomo to found a government.  The initial years of Mugabe’s government was characterized by social and economic reforms.  After two years, Nkomo fled the country, when Mugabe denounced him as a “cobra in the house”.  Since then, Mugabe has had a reputation for unpredictability.  In recent years, and increasingly, Mugabe’s regime has come to be known as one of repression, poverty and economic failure. He and his wife have become embroiled in accusations of corruption and profligacy.  In the words of Archbishop Desmond Tutu, he has become “a cartoon figure of an archetypal African dictator”.

Birth Chart

I wrote about Robert Mugabe’s chart in August 2013:

” Robert Mugabe, in power since 1980 in Zimbabwe, unsurprisingly has power issues brought in from past lives, with his natal Sun conjunct the South Node (past lives), though maybe in other scenarios, such as Egypt.  His Sun exactly trines Saturn, making politics and ambition major themes of his personality and life…

Another interesting feature of his chart is his Mars conjunct Jupiter (indefatigable energy and enthusiasm combined) squaring his Uranus (changeable, unpredictable and incident-prone).  Note that he and Zimbabwe share the Mars square Uranus instability.”

Transits for Robert Mugabe today show forcefulness from Pluto in a sextile to his Uranus (Change) and Pluto square his Chiron (enforced healing).

Zimbabwe

I also wrote:

” The Zimbabwe nation chart has a striking exact conjunction between the North Node and Mars squaring Uranus, violence and instability being part of its karmic make-up and path.  The North Node/Mars conjunction is also trine the nation’s Sun, increasing the fieriness but heightening its self-expression and the will of its leadership…

The chart of Zimbabwe is also the chart of Mugabe’s coming to power in 1980.  This is clearly shown by Pluto (Power) exactly sextile his natal Mars (Self-Will) signifying that it has been a vehicle for his drives and ambitions.”

Today’s transits for Zimbabwe show Saturn trine its Mars (decisiveness), Saturn trine its North Node (karmic discipline) and Uranus trine its North Node (karmic change), with Neptune sextile its Chiron (spiritual healing).

Emmerson Mnangagwa

As I have been preparing this blog this morning, it has been announced that Robert Mugabe has been removed as the leader of the Zanu-PF party and Emmerson Mnangagwa has replaced him.  Whereas Mugabe denounced Nkomo as a cobra, Mnangagwa was known as “the crocodile”, and was fired by Mugabe on 6th November (an act which led to this crisis).

Ex-vice president and former intelligence chief Mnangagwa is a Sun in Virgo (the opposite sign of Mugabe), with Mars conjunct Neptune exactly in that sign (which can be deceptive), and Moon in Scorpio.  He also has a disruptive square between Uranus and his Nodal Axis.

Mnangagwa’s relationship with Zimbabwe is not an easy one, and indeed some fear that his rule might not be that different from Mugabe’s, but it is hoped that he will preside over a coalition with opposition leaders.  There is a lot of repression between his chart and that of Zimbabwe, which might characterize his rule (its Saturn is conjunct his Sun, its Venus is conjunct his Saturn, for example).  A struggle for power is shown by its Pluto square his Jupiter.

On the day he was fired and fled,  Jupiter was square his Pluto (power struggle) but sextile his Venus (potential silver lining) and Neptune was square his Saturn (banishment).

Grace Mugabe

Grace Mugabe, the wife of Robert Mugabe and would-be president in her own right, comes across as a combination of Marie Antoinette (“let them eat cake”) and Imelda Marcos (“let me buy shoes”).  She is unpopular in the country generally, but had a following in some younger members of the population.  She is a strong-willed Leo, with a very individualistic unaspected Sun, and an extra hunger for power shown by Jupiter square Pluto.  She is also a warrior (Mars trine the North Node) and has disruptive features (Uranus square the Nodal Axis).  Her bid for power was one of the precipitating factors for this crisis.  She has been expelled from the party today.  Saturn is trine her Mercury, Pluto is sextile her Saturn, and Pluto is sextile her Neptune, sombre but not too damaging transits (maybe the Universe is protecting her from herself).

In a State of Flux

When I began writing this blog this morning, there was a great state of flux in events.  Something has since been resolved, though things are still in a state of flux for this nation.  Let us hope that the anticipation of change and joyfulness of the peaceful revolution  on the streets, and the exemplary conduct of the military so far bears fruit for a nation which has suffered for so long.

Aspects

Today’s Mars square Pluto speaks of coercion, and we have already had a graphic example of that in the enforcement of Robert Mugabe’s departure by the military in Zimbabwe today.  In this case it was peacefully executed, and for the common good.

In your own life, you may forced to act, and hopefully it will be a peaceful event and for the common good also, but bear in mind that under this aspect there are elements in our society which will continue to have unruly drives which don’t help anyone.  In today’s removal of a tyrant, there is hope that constructive forces can outweigh the destructive ones.

A happier prospect to contemplate occurs on Tuesday (21st) when Venus sextiles Pluto.  Love and money prosper under this  combination.  Both Venus and Pluto represent money in Astrology, so it may be a good time for investments or cashing in insurance policies.  Love is not frivolous under this aspect, so it is not flirtatiousness which flourishes, but deep understanding and feeling, and coming to a new psychological level between you.

On Wednesday (22nd) the Sun enters Sagittarius, one of the more joyful sojourns for the Sun, and including the pre-Christmas warm up and planning festivities, taking us up to the Winter Solstice.  For those of us who enjoy the Sun in Sagittarius, this period goes a long way to dispelling the seasonal affective disorder of the lessening of the light.  For those who find it a strain, e.g. finding the money to fund all the jollity, it can be a positive time for philosophical contemplation, one of the resources of the Sun in Sagittarius.

Wednesday has an additional gift for us, in the fact that Neptune is stationary prior to turning Direct.  Neptune has been retrograde since the middle of June 2017, the 16th of that month to be precise.  Perhaps that was the beginning of a spiritual process of self-examination for you, for example in relation to sensing the suffering in the world.  So Wednesday may give the gift of extra spiritual lightness and the ability to move forward in this respect.  For example, some insight into how you can help someone, or balance your feelings and responsibilities in such a way that you do not feel overburdened.

The last gift of the week comes on Saturday (25th) in the form of Mercury trine Uranus, a mental light bulb of an aspect.  Minds work quickly under this aspect, computers tend to work more efficiently (which is fortuitous, timely and welcome because Mercury goes retrograde on December 3rd), and ideas can come from the realm of genius and invention (even from the future). It is a good aspect for scientific discovery, and weird and wonderful tales.

The week in bullet points:

  • Today – keep a cool head
  • Tuesday – a deeper level of relationship
  • Wednesday – seasonal uplift, and spiritual progress
  • Saturday – mental light bulbs
Date: Nov 19th, 2017 · Comments RSS · Tags: News