Astrology by Paul Saunders : Tunisia
Showing posts with label Tunisia. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Tunisia. Show all posts

Sunday 20 February 2011

Mohamed Bouazizi – From street vendor to revolution martyr

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Following on from my last post looking at the fire of revolt sweeping across North Africa and the Middle East, I am today concentrating on the humble man who became a martyr after standing up for what he thought right. Yesterday, I connected the recent Solar Eclipse of 4th January to the events now happening. The man who sacrificed himself and whose actions precipitated all this was connected to the eclipse too.

Below is Mohamed’s birth chart. We don’t have a birth time which is a shame as a lot of crucial detail is lost by not having it, but the basic outline of his character and thus his motivations remain. 

MohamedBouazizi-natal4

 

Mohamed’s Aries Sun was square to Jupiter and trine to Uranus which gave him an independent streak, generosity and an optimism to succeed in life, however he would struggle with limitations imposed on him. His Moon in gentle Pisces bestowed a kind and sympathetic nature, however beneath was a far deeper intensity. Normally those with Aries Suns are full of vim and vigour, however an Aries Sun with a Piscean Moon dissipates all that energy, the need to be first is not so prevalent but rather the need for ideal is what he will search for. This Pisces Moon really smoulders with intensity as it trines Pluto in Scorpio. The Moon/Pluto trine formed a grand mini trine with Neptune in Capricorn at the point. Here was the signature of this ideal, the ultimate (Pluto) sacrifice (Neptune) to show the authorities (Capricorn). This Neptune was also at the point of a wedge formation feeding out to a Pluto/Mercury opposition.  This is a quite difficult aspect as Mohamed would have questioned everyone’s motives, not trusting anyone, feeling paranoid. He would have had powerful convictions and would have wanted to prove a point. He certainly did that!! 

Mohamed’s Saturn was retrograde suggesting that he missed the love of his father through his childhood. True enough, Mohamed’s father passed away when he was just 3 years of age. Even though his mother remarried, Mohamed at the age of 10 became the principle breadwinner in his family due to the ill health of his stepdad. Life must have been hard as he towed his barrow 2km each day to town laden with fruit & vegetables to sell, so that he and his family could earn enough money to exist. He would have been an hard willing worker, with a Saturn sextile Jupiter and generous with it too. Venus in Pisces is very gentle and selfless allowing those he loved to become overly dependent on his actions.  This generosity and selflessness is accentuated by the Jupiter square to the Sun, he would have kept optimistic throughout any troubles looking after those in need even if he had little himself, although anyone limiting his actions would have been hard for him to deal with. How would he have reacted if someone curtailed his business, thus threatening his ability to look after his loved ones? Look to Mars and the answer was there. Lying beneath that gentle exterior was a peregrine (unconnected to any other planet by major aspect) Mars in vengeful Scorpio. That Mars would harbour a fierce “I’ll show you at any cost” temper.

I understand that throughout his life, Mohamed had been subject to intimidation from the local police, being made to feel totally inadequate, and it was after one such incident when he was fined for selling without a license and having his scales and produce confiscated that his patience finally snapped. He went to the local administrator to complain, however no-one there was available to hear it. At around 11.30am on 17th Dec 10 having bought a can of petrol and in front of the administration building in Sidi BouZid probably angry and confused, he carried out the ultimate sacrifice; the act that had been lying in wait 26 years on his chart since his birth – he set fire to himself. Looking at the transit chart for that moment, the Uranus/Jupiter conjunction (having the belief to rebel) that had been one of the signatures of the recent uprisings was trine his natal peregrine Mars in Scorpio and square to Mars was transiting Neptune, the planet of sacrifice. Transiting Mars was square his Aries Sun making him feel angry, and transiting Mercury was exactly conjunct his impressionable Neptune causing confusion. In the background looking at his Solar Arc chart for the day, Mohamed had Solar Arc Pluto almost exactly conjunct his stand alone Mars in Scorpio as well as having Solar Arc Neptune being sextile to natal Mars, a mirror of what was happening on the transit chart.  Under all this planetary pressure, he vented the anger and rebellion inside him the only way he knew.

The suicide attempt provoked an uprising in the local community outraged that a popular young man had been treated in such a fashion. As anger grew and in a vain attempt to stem the rising tide of disaffection against his rule, President Ben Ali visited Mohamed in hospital (above). It was to no avail as the protests grew in size across Tunisia. Mohamed died on the 4th January of his burns and injuries, the day of the Solar Eclipse I mentioned before (see link below). The eclipse landed on his natal Jupiter. Natal Jupiter hit by a solar eclipse can be associated with spiritual enlightenment, a belief that you cannot fail, it has an international flavour across nations and boundaries, an influence beyond one’s normal environment. Also at that eclipse degree was the transiting Mars/Pluto midpoint (Mars representing the action of setting himself on fire – Mars rules Aries, the archetypal fire sign/Pluto represents a sacrifice, death and regeneration). Mohamed’s actions and his legacy encapsulated in the heavens; for him it signified martyrdom, and immortality right across the Arab world.

Please also see :-

Tunisia & Egypt revolutions - Seeds sown by a Solar Eclipse...

Egypt and Tunisia revolutions – Seeds sown by an eclipse. Who and where will be next? Bahrain? Iran? Libya? Saudi Arabia?

Egypt

The world has watched in disbelief in the past weeks as the people, first in Tunisia and then Egypt,  rose up as one against  a leader who had “overstayed their welcome” and forced them out of power. It is a big thing for the people to take on the establishment, filled with risk. Let’s look at the astrology.

In the background of the revolutions across North Africa and the Middle East right now is the Solar Eclipse that occurred at 09.02am GMT on 4th Jan 11. That eclipse according to Bernadette Brady is part of the group 13 North of eclipses. She says that this group of eclipses is associated with large, ambitious group projects which require the breaking of a bond that already exists. A very apt description of the people rising up against a leader who had overstayed his welcome and forcing him unceremoniously out of power. The ripples from this eclipse will be felt for another 4-5 months to come.

The eclipse itself had Uranus conjunct Jupiter (revolution given belief) trine Venus conjunct the Midheaven. Venus in Mundane astrology on a mass level can mean the afflicted or the suffering, the Midheaven represents an ideal that the society attains to. There was also a rather angry Mars conjunct the Eclipse square to Saturn. Authority being affected by action & force. If you look deeper the eclipse landed on the Mars/Pluto midpoint, a combination of energies that Ebertin describes as the ability to demonstrate extraordinary force, obsession, great ambition, attaining one’s objectives through ruthlessness, brutality or cruelty. This was an unusually powerful solar eclipse.

Tunisia-Eclipse

Putting the eclipse chart against the Tunisia natal chart is very revealing. Transiting Uranus/Jupiter conjunct Natal Sun (the ruling authority in the the 10th house of government). The eclipse hit on Tunisia’s Mars/Moon opposition – Mars (action) by the people (Moon) and was trine natal Venus in the 11th – group action by the afflicted. Sure there may have been civil unrest at this time anyway but I believe the effect of the eclipse was a galvanising factor in the background. Looking at the Solar Arc transits we see a similar picture. Uranus exactly on the IC opposite the Midheaven just about to enter the 4th house – a revolt against those at the top. Solar arc Moon was also square natal Saturn. The people against the ruler – in this case President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali. Within a couple of weeks he was driven into exile. Under the pressure being exerted on the Natal Tunisia chart, the outcome was almost inevitable.

I move now to Egypt. The natal Egyptian chart is interesting as it has a natal Saturn/Neptune square Uranus/Mercury. It is almost prone to revolution with such a configuration – tension constantly between a potentially evasive conservative ruler and progressive independently minded radicals. The current natal chart was formed off the back of the the 1952 revolution in the country.

Looking at the Solar Arcs first, Solar Arc Sun is conjunct Pluto so those in charge due a drastic change. Pluto reminds me of a wildfire – from the ashes of a destroyed forest rises new growth. The Uranus/Mercury conjunction had moved to conjunct the Egypt’s natal Moon – the people being whipped up into a revolutionary frenzy by news – news of the Tunisian revolt days earlier. Uranus/Mercury perfectly describes the internet and I understand it was in the internet cafes where a lot of the organising took place. Without the internet and news being transferred quickly, this revolution may not have got off the ground. Looking ahead on the solar arcs, there may be more instability and confusion in around 4 years time approximately 2015/16 when SA Pluto hits the natal Saturn Neptune conjunction.

Egypt eclipse

Egypt’s natal chart opposite that same 4th Jan eclipse chart demonstrates the violent and confusing reaction that eventually ousted President Mubarak. The eclipse was located in Egypt’s 4th house opposite the Sun/Mars conjunction in Egypt’s 10th house – a change was heralded in the homeland affecting the government. Also in the 4th transiting Pluto was opposite natal Mars and transiting Mars was opposite Uranus/Mercury square Saturn/Neptune. Add in transiting Uranus/Jupiter square the natal Sun and transiting Saturn square Uranus Mercury. No wonder there was violence and confusion with all this disruptive energy, you can almost visualize the two factions pro and anti government opposing each other from all the 4th/10th house oppositions.  In the background there was an exact to the minute transiting Neptune from the 5th house trine the natal Sun. Mubarak at the start tried to hoodwink the protesters with false promises of early elections. It was a gamble that failed miserably.

Looking at Bahrain, the Solar Eclipse picture is nowhere as severe as in Egypt however the revolutionary Jupiter/Uranus conjunction opposed Bahrain’s natal Pluto so changes are on the agenda too. What type? Well Transiting Mercury was exactly to the minute conjunct Bahrain’s natal Sun, will the secretive insular monarchy (Sun in 4th) headed by Sheikh Al Khalifa be forced to communicate major changes and concessions?

The Eclipse hit directly opposite Libya’s Uranus, so revolution is definitely in the air however as far as I see General Gadaffi will not give up without a fight. Libya’s chart has a brutal Saturn/Mars conjunction (rule by violent suppression) and the eclipse squared this with transiting Saturn right on this conjunction and transiting Mars squaring the natal Mars. If there is to be a revolt, I fear it will be a bloody one – Gadaffi will use all force at his disposal to crush any rebellion.

In Iran, the eclipse was trine Iran’s Sun, the transiting Uranus/Jupiter conjunction that has been fundamental to the shake-up in North Africa & the Middle East square Iran’s midheaven. Transiting Pluto was square Iran’s Moon and transiting Mercury conjunct Neptune, so maybe suppression of the people through blanking out the media and the internet may be the tactic used by Iran’s rulers to hold things in check. I suspect this will only be stoking up the fires as in 2012/13 solar arc Uranus hit’s Iran’s midheaven and enters it’s 10th house and Saturn opposes Iran’s Sun. At that point we may see a overhaul of those in power.

Very worryingly Saudi Arabia looks in a perilous state if the eclipse chart is anything to go by. The eclipse hit very close to Saudi’s descendant – a change in the public face of Saudi is imminent. Transiting Uranus/Jupiter this time is opposite Saudis’ Sun/Mercury and square the natal Moon (sounds like an uprising of some sort) and transiting Mars square natal Uranus and opposite natal Pluto. That is an explosive combination if ever I have seen one. The ascendant of the eclipse chart relocated to Riyadh hit bang on Saudi’s natal Uranus. This is a bomb waiting to explode. By solar arc Pluto is exactly square right now the Saudi natal Ascendant, the end of an era is due very soon. The health of 87 year old ruler King Abdullah has been reported to be in decline. I can see all hell breaking loose if there is forced to be a change in leader, a change that could upset the whole balance of the Middle East.

SaudiArabia eclipse

Revolution is in the air in my view caused in a large part by the Solar Eclipse of 4th January. I haven’t had time to look at Yemen, Jordan Algeria and Morocco although looking initially I think Israel will be unaffected for now. Maybe I will at a later date…

Please also see

Mohamed Bouazizi - From street vendor to martyr...