NewsScope for January 1, 2008

The Cauldron of Pakistan

Over the weekend, the Pakistan People's Party selected Benazir Bhutto's husband and 19-year-old son to succeed her as co-leaders. The PPP's first action was to launch an international investigation into the cause of Ms. Bhutto's death. Meanwhile, Musharraf's government has indicated that elections will be postponed by up to four months, as violence and rioting continue across the grief-stricken nation. What lies ahead for Pakistan?

Pakistan's national horoscope (August 14, 1947; 9:33 am*; Karachi) tells the story. Throughout 2008, Pluto will be hovering around the fourth house cusp while opposing Mars at the Midheaven, making Pakistani politics an ongoing hotspot. The next three months are particularly confrontational, since transiting Mars is also aligning within this volatile degree area. Expect increased hostilities around the militant tribal areas protecting Osama bin Laden and Al Qaeda.

As for the elections, confusion is bound to prevail due to a strong Neptune  influence. On January 8, transiting Neptune opposes Pakistan's Sun, while the progressed Moon and Neptune are conjunct. This leaves the leadership in doubt, with Musharraf (August 11, 1943) hanging onto power. However, a Solar Eclipse on February 7 happens to be exactly opposite his Leo Sun, when he may be forced out, perhaps by his military colleagues.

Ultimately, the resolution of Pakistan's chronic instability lies in radical reconstruction of the social fabric, a process that has actually been underway over the last few years. Pakistan's Venus-Saturn-Pluto triple conjunction describes the tight hold an elite faction of society holds over the rest of the country, which remains largely impoverished and illiterate. India, which shares this configuration, had its caste system, but is now growing a strong middle class through socio-economic restructuring. Change is possible.

Benazir Bhutto, The Daughter of Islam

Benazir Bhutto was often asked to explain where she got her courage, and she always attributed this to her father, Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, who was Pakistan's Prime Minister from 1971 to 1977. When she was a child, her father encouraged her to set aside traditional Muslim roles for women and to have ambitions beyond the home, like Joan of Arc and Queen Elizabeth I.

Ms. Bhutto was born with her intellectual, vocal Gemini Sun conjunct courageous Mars (June 21, 1953; 7:59 pm; Karachi, Pakistan), a dynamic combination that motivated her to obtain advanced degrees at Oxford. With Capricorn Rising, Benazir's ruling planet is Saturn, which naturally assumes earthly power by its conjunction with the Midheaven. Saturn is also conjunct the Moon and Neptune, reflecting the emotional idealization of her father.

The asteroid Pallas, often known as the Goddess of Wisdom, is specifically associated with the father-daughter relationship. In Benazir's horoscope, her Pallas conjunct philosophical Jupiter bestowed her with a supportive relationship with her father, as well as a popular political ideology. The Pallas-Jupiter at 10º Gemini is also conjunct Juno at 8º Gemini, perhaps describing her political partnership with him.

Zulfikar Bhutto was hanged by his political enemies on April 4, 1979, when transiting Saturn was at 8º Virgo. Saturn here was in Benazir's eighth house  of death and inheritance, where it squared her Juno. Naturally, she became the next leader of her father's political party, the PPP, and was soon elected as the first woman Prime Minister in the Islamic world. She was assassinated on December 27, 2007 when Saturn was once again at 8º Virgo – exactly one Saturn cycle after her father died.

Charlie Wilson's War

A NewsScope reader writes, "Now that the wonderful, beautiful, brave Bhutto is dead, I think you will write about her. But I really want to know about the wild but effective while still naive Charlie Wilson...." Charlie Wilson's War opened last week to wide acclaim, and stars Tom Hanks as the eccentric Texas politician who (allegedly) single-handedly and inadvertently caused the rise of the Taliban and Al Qaeda.

The real-life Charlie Wilson was born with his Sun in Gemini (June 1, 1933; Trinity, TX; time unknown), where it squares Neptune, Mars, and Jupiter in Virgo. This combination first found expression in the Navy (Neptune rules the seas, Mars is the military, Jupiter adds adventurism), and later in covert operations in Nicaragua and Afghanistan. Venus is also in Gemini and squares Mars and Jupiter, accounting for his "Good Time Charlie" partying ways.

Tom Hanks (July 9, 1956; 11:17 am; Concord, CA) also has Venus in Gemini, and it's prominently placed at his Midheaven. Venus here is exactly aligned with the U.S. Mars, giving him a keen interest in U.S. military affairs. This Venus is what pushed him into making films like Apollo 13 and Saving Private Ryan, and is the closest planetary connection he has with Charlie Wilson's horoscope.

But Charlie Wilson's chart reveals additional, much stronger, connections to the U.S. horoscope, thereby substantiating the pivotal role he played in geopolitical developments. Most notably, his Saturn at 16º Aquarius is exactly opposite the U.S. Midheaven and conjunct Ronald Reagan's Sun. Wilson's efforts in Afghanistan are credited with inspiring the Reagan Doctrine, which some believe caused the collapse of the Soviet Union.

* For the most recent article on Pakistan, see NewsScope for November 12, 2007. Also, please visit www.neptunecafe.com/pakistan.html for a collection of relevant articles and horoscopes.

Reader feedback is welcome. Email wolfstar3@aol.com.