Russia invaded Ukraine last night under the pretext of wanting to “denazify” the country. In yesterday’s post, it was already noted that the new lunar return of Ukraine, which came into force on Monday, did not look exactly peaceful. Given the exceptional circumstances, this lunar return is already discussed in this special additional post.

The first thing that stands out in this lunar return is the remarkable conjunction of Venus and Mars – the planets of peace and war – in Capricorn that has been in the sky for some time. This conjunction falls with the usual five degrees orb on the descendant, which of course can indicate the beginning of an invasion. This picture is reinforced by the fact that the Mars/Venus conjunction is through antiscion in conjunction with the Sun on Antares, also mentioned in yesterday’s post, in the radix of Ukraine. The theme of the battle against Orion associated with Antares, is thus activated this month very strongly.

Pollux

Pluto, which is a little further away in the seventh house, also makes an opposition with the Pars Fortunae via antiscion, emphasizing it and Pluto is in conjunction with the radix position of Mars (via antiscion). The Ascendant of the lunar return is on royal Pollux, the immortal Twin, one of the few stars that has a pure Mars nature. The Twins are warriors, that Pollux the immortal brother,who does not perish in battle, is on the Ascendant is of course favorable for Ukraine. If we look at transits, Mars and Venus will move over Pluto, fate star Terebellum and finally over the radix-Descendant of Ukraine on which Saturn, Lord 7 is placed. These are nasty positions indicating  the course of the battle. The city of Rotterdam has just decided to fly the Ukrainian flag on the town hall, we will continue to monitor the situation.

The tensions in Ukraine continue to increase, the intensive diplomacy of the past months has not led to any success. There is quite some fake news circulating, although according to the Americans the decision to launch an attack on Ukraine was taken in Moscow some time ago.  On Monday Russia indeed recognized the rebel regions in Eastern Ukraine as independent states and decided to send troops to these regions. The question is what exactly this will mean, a limited action in the east of the country or a more large-scale war?

A while ago, the tense progressions in the horoscope of Ukraine were discussed on this blog, as a time to calculate the chart, the proclamation of independence after a referendum was taken (December 1, 1991, 20:00 Kiev, Asc 3.30 Leo). The tensions that could be seen in it are partly past their peaks now, but that does not mean that they are immediately gone. In order to be able to see in more detail how things are going now, it is therefore a good idea to take a look at the lunar returns of the moment.

Antares

To be able to interpret the returns, it is smart to keep two important points in the radix of Ukraine in mind. The first point that immediately stands out in the radix of Ukraine (not shown here) is Saturn which is Lord 7 of enemies and stands right on the descendant! That is Russia always so present as a shadow in the background in Ukraine. The second point in the radix that strikes the eye is the Sun/Lord 1 on Antares, the intensely red martial Scorpio heart. The myth of Scorpio, the battle with the proud and powerful Hunter Orion is therefore an important story in the country.

Saturn at the gate

In the lunar return that covers most of February, Saturn which in the radix is Lord 7 of enemies on the Descendant, falls on the Ascendant! With the knowledge of the context and in the framework of what the progressions already showed, you can interpret that as the enemy (Lord 7) rattling at the gates (Ascendant). The conjunction of the Sun and Mercury in the lunar return also falls on Saturn /Lord 7 in the radix, the position of the Sun is always worth some extra attention in a lunar return.

Profections

Furthermore, it is noticeable that the MC falls in the lunar return on Antares, the martial Scorpio heart with which the Sun / Lord 1 is conjunct in the radix. The theme of battle with proud, mighty Orion will therefore come to the fore very strongly in this month, it did indeed bring the country to the brink of war. This lunar return ran until February 20th and there is now a new lunar return in force which we will look at next week (but it doesn’t look very peaceful).The profections – in which every year gets a house starting in the first house for the first year of life – have arrived in the seventh house this year, the house of enemies in which again that Saturnus / Lord 7 is on the cusp. So that confirms this year’s theme very clearly.

The English Prime Minister Boris Johnson is still not out of the Partygate problems and in a previous post we looked at his progressions. This indeed showed that there are strong tensions to be seen and that those tensions will reach a climax in the next two months. These progressive positions are the MC in conjunction with Uranus (Uranus is symbolic castration, a very painful limitation is imposed), the Moon approaching  Antares (a star that indicates the end of a cycle) opposing the natal Part of the Sun (the “boss point”) and the PF opposing Pluto.

That is  quite a lot and these progressions will become full in April, which is why Johnson still has to worry about what happened during the Corona parties in Downing Street. We have already seen that the current solar return does not exclude stepping down, so it is extremely interesting  to see what the lunar returns of the coming months indicate. Are there big problems to be seen? And especially  the lunar returns around April are of course important, when the progressions reach their maximum effect. You can determine the time so accurately with the progressions because the Moon and the PF move at a rate of one degree per month.

Fallen Sun

In the current lunar retunr that started on January 25, the problems are clearly visible. The Sun, the General Significator of the premiership and Lord 10 of the position in the lunar return, is conjunct the IC. So the Sun has fallen from its high position and is at the place of midnight, where it should not be. That reflects very clearly how he is doing now, he is under heavy fire, his popularity and support for him in his party have decreased considerably. This lunar return is not shown here because the next lunar return looks even more interesting, it starts on 21 February and therefore roughly covers the month of March, click on the link below to view it.

Double South Node

This lunar return immediately stands out, it is a typical example of how you deal with lunar returns. If you know on the basis of the progressions, the solar reaturn and the context that something is about to happen, then you look in the lunar returns of the months around that time for the one that jumps out.  And the horocope of Boris Johnson’s life in March 2022 has the South Node on the MC of the job ! The South Node is the point that forces a painful sacrifice, in the context that is of course very telling. The importance of the painful South Node sacrifice is repeated again via the mirror point, the antiscion of the South Node is on the Ascendant, this is a double South Node, which falls on the two most important points of the horoscope.

What is also striking, is Mercury in the first house not far from the Ascendant but via antiscion also on the MC in conjunction with again that South Node. Mercury in this return is not only Lord 8 of the end but also Lord 5 of the end of the job. After all, the fifth house is the eigth house of death seen from the tenth house of the job, the death of the job, in this context that is relevant. “It” will therefore happen between February 21 and March 20 (when this lunar return expires). It could well be that the results of the police investigation would then become known and that this will have serious consequences for him.

At the end of December we wrote the following on this blog about the developments in the horoscope of the British Prime Minister Boris Johnson: “The progressive Moon is also of great importance, the Moon is Lord 10 of the job in the radix. At the moment, the Moon is not under pressure, but it is on its way to Antares, the star that brings the end. He’s not there yet, that’s going to take another four months. What does all this mean now? The tension of the moment is clearly visible and it is not over yet, especially the opposition of the PF with Uranus to the MC. That opposition will have influence for another month or two. In about four months, the PF will come into opposition with Pluto when the Moon is on Antares. So it does not look like the tensions will subside for BoJo in the new year, around April there is another precarious moment on the way.”

Increasing tensions

So far that turned out to be true, the whole scandal around the English prime minister that has now come to be called Partygate, is not yet over. A report has come out that was not exactly favorable for Boris Johnson, the support he has in his own Conservative party is waning and there is also an investigation carried out by the police. The results of this investigation are not yet known, so in view of the Moon approaching Antares and the PF applicating on the opposition with Pluto, it is not yet time for him to sit back relieved.

That is what the progressions show, but what does the current solar return have to say, the annual horoscope that indicates how the developments visible in the progressions will work out further? It is immediately clear from the solar return that it will be a year of fighting because fiery Mars is on the Ascendant. The fighting planet is Lord 10 of the job in the return and in the radix Lord 7 of enemies so it is clear that there will be a battle around his position as the prime minister. On the ascendant of the solar return Praesepe is found, the Empty Manger, a star of crisis that has to do with great division, chaos and loss.

South node exit

That position alone is enough to cause major problems, a star on the Ascendant of a solar return has a lot of influence on the year.  But are there indications in the return that he will actually have to resign, his progressions do not exclude that.  Only this Mars on the Ascendant is not enough to show that, but there is indeed more that points to an end. The Part of Fortune in the solar return, projected from the solar return ascendant with the radix arc, always points to something that will play a major role that year. The PF is conjunct the South Node, the point where a painful sacrifice is required, and on the star Antares, which indicates the end of a cycle.

The PF on the very painful South Node on the Death Star is in opposition via antiscion with the Pars of the Sun in the radix, which could indicate a break with the Solar position, the premiership. The PF is also the planetary point of the Moon and to get more specific information about the effect of a planet point you can also look at the house that the planet rules in the radix. That is the tenth house of the position which could therefore be an indication that he will have to resign. If we look at the profections in which every year gets a house (in the first year of life the first house and so on) then this year we have arrived in the tenth house of the position. In the radix the Moon is Lord 10 that has just gone to his fall in Scorpio, so that doesn’t look so good for him either. The tension is still rising, if the upcoming lunar returns are unfavorable, it could actually be so that BoJo will have to resign. We will investigate this in another post.

 Tennis player Rafael Nadal won his 21st title in a Grand Slam tournament last weekend, making him the tennis player with the most Grand Slams to his name. The Grand Slam tournaments are the four most important, prestigious tournaments played each year, Wimbledon, Roland Garros, the US Open and the Australian Open. That is a major achievement and that makes you curious about Rafa’s horoscope who is also called “Raging Bull” or the “Gravel King” because he plays best on gravel courts.

It is good to realize that success in a horoscope can be indicated in very different ways. It may be that someone is just the right person at the right time at the right place and does exactly what the spirit of the times is asking. That is astrologically indicated by a synastry between the radix and the prenatal eclipse and/or lunation. Also, it can be a planet that can just manifest itself very strongly through a position right on the MC for example and it can be a planet with a lot of essential dignity so that someone simply fully understands the essence of a field.

There are even more possibilities, powerful royal fixed stars at important points such as the MC, the Asc, Lord 1, the Luminaries or Lord 1 make you live a myth through which you can become a mythe. The seven planetary points can also be of great importance, they symbolize the essential energy of a planet and if this essential energy is connected to an important point in the horoscope, this will lift you above average.  All these points must therefore be checked and often in horoscopes of very successful people it is a combination of these factors.

There are many ways to start a horoscope interpretation, but in a post on a blog you have to quickly get to the core. We therefore take his nicknames as a starting-point, nicknames are no coincidence! Nadal has a bull’s head as his personal logo, which can be seen on his T-shirts and sweatbands, hence the name “Raging Bull”. From what you see in the horoscope you become silent, the Sun that is also Lord 10 of the work, stands within three degrees orb on the royal star Aldebaran, the martial-red Eye of the Bull!  

His other nickname, the Gravel King, leads us to his talent Mars, the planet of battle and the sport that is in exaltation, he knows how to fight, and it is also Lord 1. The strong essential dignity of Mars makes the martial Aldebaran manifest itself better so that it will not become not too wild. What is also striking about Mars is that it is almost stationary and that fits tennis where it is less about pure speed than in many other sports. However, here we also find the Gravel King because the red brick powder is the slowest surface for a tennis court, the speed of the ball is 60% lower than on other types of courts!

Through antiscion, the slow Saturn is on Mars, which strengthens the connection with low speed. Of course, there must also be speed and agility, which you see in the strong Mercury in Gemini that has a high speed and the planetary point of Mercury that is on the MC in conjunction with the Pars of Fame (Asc + Jup -Sun in a daily horoscope like this)! Mars the Gravel King makes a close sextile with Jupiter the Great Benefic who is very strong in his own sign and as Lord 5 of playing is found right on Cusp 5, thus strongly emphasizing the great talent and success in games.