Alexei Navalny

“The use of such a weapon is horrific.  Nato allies are united in condemning this attack.  It shows a total disrespect for human life.”

~ Nato spokesperson Piers Cazelet

The main opposition leader in Russia, Alexei Navalny, was poisoned on 20th August, falling ill on a plane trip to Siberia, after drinking a cup of tea at Tomsk airport. He was taken to hospital where the Russian doctor declared he was probably hypoglycaemic.  Two days later he was transferred to the Charite hospital in Berlin, where he has been receiving top level care.  He has now been diagnosed with poisoning from novichok, the same substance which was used two years ago in Salisbury and which caused severe illness and the death of Dawn Sturgess.  He currrently remains in an induced coma on a ventilator.

Birth Chart

We are fortunate to have a birth time for this Russian opposition leader, a man of great courage.  He has the Sun in Gemini conjunct Venus, so inspires genuine devotion among his allies.  The Sun in his chart is sextile Mars, showing the brave warrior.  Venus exactly sextile Mars gives him great charisma.  Neptune closely opposite Sun/Venus shows the often subversive nature of his work, but his strength comes from the Sun/Venus trine Pluto, imbuing him with a deep sense of purpose and powerful allegiances.  The Moon is closely sextile his Midheaven: he is for the people in his career  – two of the political movements he has been associated with have been named “The People” and “The People’s Alliance”.  He has been endangered and injured during the course of his career, and has Chiron, South Node, Jupiter and Mercury in the 8th House of death – hopefully he can cheat death on this occasion.  He has a powerhouse of energy and enthusiasm, from Mars square to Jupiter and sextile Pluto.  But Mars square exactly to the Nodal Axis means he is constantly pitted against danger in his karmic path.  Saturn square Uranus has also brought personal earthquakes.  That he has great faith in himself comes from Jupiter on his South Node in Scorpio, a never-say-die attitude brought in from past life experiences.  The not inconsiderable healing challenges brought about by the injuries inflicted by his enemies, may be shown by Saturn in 11th House exactly square Chiron in 8th House.  His Rebel Archetype comes through in his conjunction of Uranus with the  North Node.

Life and Career

Navalny was born in the Ukraine, and gained a law degree from the People’s Friendship University of Russia. He is married and has two children.  He has for many years fought against the corruption of Putin’s leadership in Russia, describing the ruling party in 2011 as a “party of crooks and thieves”.  He has been arrested and imprisoned several times for his activities (with his natal Moon in 12th House of imprisonment).

In 2007 he co-founded a new political movement which he called “The People”.  The transits for that statement of political intent were triggered by Mars, but also included Jupiter conjunct his natal Neptune in Sagittarius in his 3rd House (an expression of his idealism) and Pluto conjunct by transit exactly his natal I.C. in Sagittarius also in his 3rd House (a deep expression of how he saw the right foundations for society).  “The People” joined forces with other nationalistic movements the following year, but in 2011 he admitted that the venture had not succeeded in practice.  By 2012 there were moves afoot by his comrades to create a new vehicle for his political path, but he took a low profile in order not to endanger these efforts.  He was elected leader of a new party (which had to change its name a few times) in November 2013, when he was literally flying in the face of opposition astrologically, with Saturn opposite his natal Jupiter, Uranus opposite his natal Pluto exact to the day, Pluto exactly square his natal Pluto.  Blocks were immediately put up by the government towards the new party’s political ambitions, for example the Ministry of Justice deprived the party of its registration.

On 27th June 2017 Navalny was attacked in the street outside his office and his face was sprayed with some toxic substances, an attack which he attributed to the Kremlin.  He lost 80% of the sight in his right eye.  At that time, Neptune (toxin) was square his natal Sun in Gemini, and the North Node was transiting his natal Moon in Virgo in 12th House.

In the Moscow City Duma Elections in 2019, Navalny supported various independent candidates.  He was arrested in July and then hospitalized briefly for damaged eyes and skin, before being sent back to prison.  An ophthalmologist suspected his condition was due to a chemical attack.  On this occasion, Mars was square his natal Jupiter, and Jupiter was opposite his natal Sun.

Russian Poisonings

The Russian government have denied involvement in the recent poisoning of Navalny in August.  However, novichok is patently their calling card, they developed it during the cold war, and on Newsnight it was suggested that they not only do not care what the world thinks, but they actually want it to be known that they perpetrated this act.  Navalny’s transits on 20th August were: Uranus square his Mars (a sudden, dangerous attack) and Uranus on his South Node in 8th House (a life-endangering sudden karmic attack).

When writing about the Skripal poisonings in Salisbury 2 years ago, I looked into other cases of poisonings by Russia.  There is no definite pattern in the transits of the victims: Sergei Skripal was poisoned with Neptune (poison) exactly conjunct his natal North Node in Pisces – a karmic act again (that of revenge by the Russian government).  Litvinenko died of polonium poisoning in 2006 with Chiron transiting his natal Saturn. Going even further back in time, for Giorgi Markov (who was spiked with an umbrella), Pluto was exactly square his natal Pluto (disempowerment).

Navalny’s personal relationship with Vladimir Putin includes an exact square between their Moons (a clash in the way they see the people and society).  Comparing Navalny’s chart to that of Russia itself, Navalny’s Uranus is exactly sextile Russia’s Sun (his destiny to try and shake up the old regimes), his Mars trine its Mercury (his destiny to stimulate thought), his Sun square its Jupiter (his individuality challenging complacency) and his Jupiter trine its Neptune (his appeal to true spirituality).  The transits for Russia of the current poisoning include: Uranus trine its North Node (an agent of change, towards its karma) and Pluto sextile its Venus (also an agent of transformation, towards its humanity).  But Putin is still firmly at its helm.

Current Global Response

When the Skripals were poisoned in March 2018 Theresa May was Prime Minister and Boris Johnson was Foreign Secretary.  Theresa obtained support from European leaders (in their recall of Russian ambassadors), but notably Donald Trump was reluctant to get too involved, saying he was doubtful the Russians had poisoned the Skripals.  He was not happy about the expulsions of the Russian Ambassadors either.  Angela Merkel has now, from Germany, made her view clear that this act was attempted murder and some action needs to be taken.  The current Prime Minister in the U.K. Boris Johnson has called the act “outrageous”.  Again, Donald Trump is reluctant to get involved.  The Guardian reports that “The father [Stan Sturgess] of the woman who died in the Wiltshire nerve agent poisonings has said he hopes the novichok attack on the Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny will lead to fresh scrutiny of Moscow, adding that he believes Germany may work harder to get answers than the UK has done since the death of his daughter”.  He said that at the time “Boris never asked anything”.

On the Andrew Marr show this morning, Andrew interviewed a friend of Navalny, Leonid Volkov, who was asked what the Russian government hoped to achieve and what was their motive.  He replied that it was not power they were after, it is money that motivates them.  Therefore, the only sanction which may have meaning for them are economic ones. The implication is that seizing or curtailing their assets in London for instance may affect them.  Now there is a call for Angela Merkel to suspend the collaboration over the joint Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline project with Russia.

The Salisbury Victims of Novichok

In the spring an excellent TV mini-series was made of the Salisbury poisonings and how it was dealt with.  Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia did not feature prominently in the mini-series, but in reality they were very seriously ill, and have now gone to ground in an unknown location.  Yulia cannot return to her life in Russia.  The police officer who originally searched their home, Nick Bailey, was also badly affected.  In June 2018, Dawn Sturgess was poisoned by a perfume bottle containing novichok which the perpetrators had left behind, and died from the ravages of the poison.  Her partner Charlie Rowley was also affected, but lived: he continues to suffer eye problems, shortness of breath and mental health issues.

A chemical warfare expert feels that the novichok which poisoned Navalny is unlikely to have been administered in the tea – he would have been even more ill if so, but thinks it was adminstered in a similar way to that of the Skripals, who were poisoned via a door handle.  The world waits to see to what extent Alexei Navalny recovers from his exposure to the substance.  His condition is reported to be improving, with a gradual recovery in his cholinesterase activity, and he is being treated with atropine, which was used to treat the Salisbury poisonings, but the long term prognosis is still uncertain.

Aspects

Venus entered Leo this morning, which is a sunny start to the week.   You can afford to be bold in seeking entertainment today, e.g. in a late summer holiday break.  Alternatively express some rich creativity. Eat out for Sunday lunch, although Rishi Sunak’s eat out to help out scheme has now ended.  Polish up your performance skills…just a few suggestions!

On Wednesday (9th) the Sun trines Jupiter, another encouragement to hedonism.  This is a happy-go-lucky aspect where circumstances allow.  It is a day of good cheer, laughter, adventure, golden opportunity and looking ahead to the future with optimism.

In the evening, Mars is Stationary prior to turning retrograde, at 22.22 Hrs in the U.K. (a note for numerologists).  When Mars went into Aries at the end of June (see my blog for 5th July) it signalled the go-ahead for a certain sphere of activity in your life.  For me, Mars was in my 12th House of Subconscious, stirring up my imagination.  I have subsequently been writing new chapters of my novel, painting the accompanying cards, and being kept awake at night by creativity.  Mars is staying in Aries until early next year, and I hope to finish this project by then.  What area of your life received a corresponding go-ahead at the start of Mars in Aries?  The upcoming retrograde period may see a slightly different manifestation of the energy in that House of your chart, perhaps some revision needed, or some conflict to resolve.  But hopefully, by the end of the year, you will have something to show for your effort.

Chiron opposes Mercury on Thursday (10th) and that is related to health challenges and check ups.  This may bring up some ingenuity in problem-solving, too.  Communications may urge and stimulate you to find solutions.

Issues could be further obscured on Friday (11th) with Neptune opposing the Sun.  Neptune opposite the Sun is the natal aspect in Navalny’s chart which has necessitated his subversive political operations, in the context of the political climate of his homeland.  So look for the picture behind the picture, and be aware of toxic substances in your environment, e.g. go easy on the cleaning fluids which affect the environment (also ruled by Neptune).  Your concentration may not be so acute, and conundrums may present themselves to you.  Get plenty of rest, take some time out to meditate, and social distancing and self-isolation would be beneficial.

The week in bullet points:

  • Today – make hay
  • Wednesday – make more hay; be aware of some slowing down
  • Thursday – problem-solving
  • Friday – purification
Date: Sep 6th, 2020 · Comments RSS · Tags: News