Aspects for the week beginning 18 February 2024

Alexei Navalny (1976 – 2024)

“The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good people to do nothing”

~ Alexei Navalny

We learned on Friday of the death at the age of 47 of that bravest of men, Alexei Navalny, who dared to stand up to Vladimir Putin, in the hope of keeping democracy alive and possibly being a contender for his replacement.  He identified fear as being the stumbling block, and urged people to never give up.

On Friday evening’s Newsnight (a programme they should not be axing) an array of experts appeared, speculating on what had happened.  They ranged from a Russian arguing that the Ukrainians killed him, to another expert positing that he died of natural causes.  The widow of Alexander Litvinenko was there, who had lost her husband to poisoning.  One stated it was definitely murder.  It was pointed out that his prison, within the Arctic circle, was extremely cold.  Georgian-Russian writer Boris Akunin told us that Navalny’s relationship with his wife was a story of true love, and described Navalny as the Nelson Mandela of Russia.  Speculation yesterday included the theory that Alexei appearing the day before in jail joking, was a taunt to Putin, and may have evoked an order to kill.  There was also the timing with the Munich security conference, at which Yulia spoke with great dignity after the rumour of his death.

His death was confirmed yesterday, but his mother was unable to gain access to his body, so the current mystery is the whereabouts of his body, and what would it reveal about the manner of his death.

I start this blog with some observations from my original blog of 2020, when he was poisoned with Novichok, and then continue to follow the story, through his documentary of 2022 and his return to Russia, and look at the amazing woman he married and their bond.

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.” [2020]

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.” [2020]

Relationship with Putin

“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 [2020] 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.” [2020]

2022 Storyville Documentary”Navalny”

This film premiered on January 25, 2022 at the Sundance Film Festival, a year after he returned to Russia, when transiting Uranus was on his South Node.  It is 1 hour and 34 minutes long, and was broadcast again on Friday night.  It’s apparently available to watch for 28 more days.  It is hard to watch at times, but extraordinary in showing Navalny’s resilience.  It showed Navalny, after recovering from the poisoning by novichok, working to uncover the truth about the poisoning, and obtaining crucial information by telephone from a chemist Kudryavtsev. Then it showed him preparing for his return to Russia.  The film proved to be an eye-opener for the west.

Return to Russia

Navalny returned to Russia, against the wishes of his supporters, to certain re-arrest on 17th January 2021.  Amnesty International declared him to be a prisoner of conscience.  On that exact day, transiting Saturn came to square his natal Uranus in Scorpio in his 2nd House, representing a hazardous act of defiance.  For his wife Yulia, who accompanied him and poignantly kissed him goodbye at passport control, her hand was forced (Mars squaring her natal Saturn) and matters were taken out of her hands (Uranus squaring her natal Saturn).

Yulia Navalnya

Theirs was undoubtedly a strong marriage.  Their synastry shows her Mercury conjoins with his Mars (she has a supportive mental interest in his fight), her Mars squares his Venus (a romantic spark), her Mars sextiles his North Node (her inner warrior is on track with his karmic mission) and her Pluto trines his Venus (a deep love).  They have a daughter Dasha and a son Zakhar.

Her own birth chart is very interesting.  They were born within a few weeks of each other in the same year.  She is an economist, and has a superbly literate exact conjunction between Mercury and Venus which is exactly trine her Neptune, giving her exquisite sensibility.  In the documentary, they joke about the fact that she is the best chess player in the family, and in fact she does have the Strategist Archetype, in the form of Saturn sextile Pluto, in her chart.  She also has the North Node conjunct Uranus (the Rebel karmic mission) and the Sun exactly square Chiron (she is no stranger to crisis).

His last few weeks

On 11 December 2023, Navalny was declared to have been out of contact for six days.  Neptune at that time was sextile his natal Mercury (mystery surrounding communication) and Pluto trine his Ascendant (his life in a state of flux).  He had apparently been removed from the penal colony where he had been situated.  It was reported on 15th December that he was moving to a harsher prison, and this was under the same transits as the previous week or two.  He was moved to the harsher facility, where he would face his demise, by 25th December, with Saturn trine his natal Uranus, the previous transits still operational, joined by two harsh transits from Pluto (Pluto opposite his Saturn, and square his natal Chiron).  On Friday we learned that he had gone out for a walk and collapsed, and that they could not revive him.  The time of death has been given at 2.17 p.m., which would put last week’s explosive Mars/Pluto conjunction was opposite the Ascendant [on the day of the conjunction last week, the shootings at the Super Bowl Parade took place].

At his death, Navalny’s main transit was the difficult opposition of Pluto to his natal Saturn in Cancer in 11th House.  For Yulia, Pluto (death) was exactly opposite her Sun (significant man in her life) and Mars (violence) square her natal Uranus (shock).

It remains to be seen how she will sculpt her future without her heroic and charismatic husband (he had Mars exactly sextile Venus).  She joins Litvinenko’s widow and the spouses of others who have met their ends through their opposition to Putin.  His cheerfulness in the face of his impossible position was remarkable.  In his faith, he started as an atheist but later joined the Russian Orthodox Church, crediting that with making him feel “a part of something large and universal”.  Many have laid flowers for him in Russia, despite also a number of arrests for showing support for him.  He holds a unique place in history, and in our hearts.

Aspects

In the small hours of tomorrow (Monday 19th) the Sun enters Pisces.  We become more introspective and aware of our deeper emotions with the Sun in Pisces.  We become more aware of the sentience and oneness of all life.  The Sun in that sign shines a light on such matters.  It is our final stage of quietude and incubation before the Spring arrives in a month’s time.  Hang on, though…we have spotted a mass of blossom emerging on the trees already, this February week.  We all know why.

Later in the day, Chiron conjoins with the North Node, or at least comes into orbit with it.  Chiron ephemerides differ, as do those of the Mean and True Nodes, and so you could say that the next fortnight or so is the season for this conjunction, to bear in mind.  Here in this conjunction, the potential for crisis or healing combines with collective karma.  For example, we may see groundbreaking health innovations during this time, or international crisis talks about the state of the world (for Ukraine, the Middle East, or about Putin).  In our own lives, we may be shown where we next have the need to focus our healing efforts.

An easier conjunction to navigate occurs on Thursday (22nd), in the shape of Venus with Mars.  This is the most romantic day of the week, if you missed out on Valentine’s Day.  Tell those you love how you feel about them, and tell yourself how you feel about yourself (hopefully that will be a positive!).  Enjoy the moment.

Friday (23rd) sees Mercury enter Pisces at breakfast time, bringing the mental focus on to compassion, as applied to the most vulnerable in our society.  The focus in the world right now is very much focussed on what is and will be happening in Gaza.  It is a good time to apply your mind to wider perspectives and solutions generally, and those that can turn compassion into practical action.  Mercury is in this sign until 10th March.

The emotion may build, towards lunch time on Saturday (24th), as we approach the Full Moon at 5 degrees Virgo at that time.  There may be some strangeness in the air, building up from the previous evening, resulting in insomnia for some.  Things may not be all they seem, and emotions may be running high.  Or people may be looking industrious, but underneath their desks they may be paddling nervously. If you have health issues, or ecological interests, focus on your best outcomes, and release negativity and paranoia.

The week in bullet points:

• Tomorrow – introspection; healing avenues
• Thursday – sensuality
• Friday – compassion
• Saturday – emotional high tide