GORDON BROWN AND CHIRON

For the last 10 years, the relationship between Tony Blair and his Chancellor Gordon Brown has defined the British Labour Government. Despite his unprecedented success in winning 3 consecutive Labour victories and his huge majorities in Parliament, Tony Blair has at the same time been at the mercy of his Chancellor in a way no other British Prime Minister has ever been. Gordon Brown has a big following of his own within the party, and for Blair to have sacked him at any point would have made it extremely difficult for him to govern. And Gordon Brown has used his position as Chancellor to control the other ministerial departments to a degree that is also unprecedented.

In the election to become leader of the party in 1994, Brown did not stand so as not to divide the party (so he said: he would have lost had he stood). He has since built on this myth that he sacrificed his own ambitions for the sake of the party, and has made it seem like he has a right to be the next leader, and that Blair has been repeatedly treacherous in not standing aside for him.

It looks like his moment will finally arrive during the course of this year. There have been mutterings about someone standing against him in an election to be leader, but no prominent MP has put their name forward yet. If one did stand and lost, he/she could expect no largesse from Gordon Brown: their ministerial career would be over.

If I admire anything about Tony Blair, it is his ability to contain the feud with Gordon Brown. Unlike Brown, Tony Blair is not vindictive. I don’t think Gordon Brown is a leader of people – I think he is tyrannical – and I think his reputation as a brilliant Chancellor, so necessary for his self-esteem, is overblown. The fact is that the West has been in a period of sustained economic growth for a long time now, and Brown has managed not to get in the way of that. It was the Tories who set up the conditions for the boom in the UK. If he has achieved anything, it has been in raising large amounts of cash through taxes to put into the public services, without alienating the voters by raising personal income tax.

There seems to be a widespread perception that the man is ‘not right’, and also a sense that we have no choice but to have him as our next leader. This is not a good omen, and the opinion polls put the Tories well ahead if Brown becomes leader.

Astrologically, he continues the Chiron/Damage theme that we have seen in both Bush and Blair. Both men have a prominent Chiron, and in both cases the transits to or from Chiron have reflected the irrevocable and self-inflicted damage they have done to their reputations through the Iraq War.

Bush’s Chiron is central to his chart, being both conjunct his Moon and square to his Sun, and the failure of his Iraq venture has fatally damaged his whole Presidency. In 2003, as the Iraq War got under way, transiting Chiron in Capricorn squared his natal Moon-Chiron and opposed his Sun. This was not a good omen, and as Chiron moved on to conjoin his Descendant at 7 Aquarius in 2006, the chickens came home to roost. Public opinion turned decisively away from him, and he is now a lame-duck, ‘damaged’ President.

Blair’s Chiron is not so central to his chart, but it is conjunct his MC in Capricorn. And we see the same pattern as with Bush. In 2003 Blair had his Chiron return, and in 2004 Chiron conjoined his MC. In 2006, as the failure of the Iraq War became accepted politically, Chiron conjoined Blair’s North Node at 7 Aquarius. This year it conjoins his Moon. The Iraq War has not been central to Blair’s leadership in the way that it has been with Bush, but it has still done him enormous damage. Apart from the damage to national self-respect that his toadying to Bush has caused, the huge issue has been the falsification of evidence in order to provide grounds for war. To my mind, there could hardly be a more serious offence than this, and a lengthy jail-term should be the outcome. But it won’t be, and I think Blair has that common psychopathic ability to cheerfully carry on as though he’s done nothing wrong.

Gordon Brown has natal Chiron at 1 Capricorn, conjunct his MC at 5 Capricorn. Given that his leadership appears flawed before it has even begun, it is not hard to predict that Chiron is going to play a major part in his trajectory as PM. Blair had 5 years as PM before Chiron was activated and damaged his premiership. In Brown’s case, the transits to and from Chiron will begin almost straight away. Being PM is not going to be a happy experience for him. He has lusted after the job for years, and it is going to turn into ashes. And it will be a self-inflicted wound.

When I do readings for people, Chiron normally reflects some psychological injury early in life, and not of one’s own making. So it is interesting to see, through these political figures, Chiron representing the self-inflicted damage we can bring about later in life, if we don’t develop the self-awareness that Chiron necessitates.

From Brown’s progressions and transits, we can see that 2007 is mainly about the ascent to power, but that the trouble will begin straight away.

Gordon Brown: 20 Feb 1951 8.40am, Giffnock, Scotland. (See also my 2 earlier blogs on Gordon Brown, Should Gordon Brown Be Leader? and The Sexy Mr Brown.)

This year he has the following: Prog Moon opposite Prog MC and natal Sun, and Prog MC conjunct natal Sun. His solar return (SR) has Sun sextile Pluto and (a bit of trouble here) Moon and Venus square to Pluto. His converse SR has Pluto and Neptune conjunct the MC. Tr Chiron is opposing his natal Moon all year. So he certainly looks likely to become PM, but he will have problems around people accepting him and liking him – popular appeal – from the word go (the Venus, Moon, Pluto trouble in the SR, tr Chiron opposite Moon).

Brown has a natal 12th House Mercury (much of his chart is hidden in the 12th) opposite a Moon-Pluto conjunction, which describes his continual power-seeking and plotting. In 2008 Chiron will conjoin his Mercury and oppose his Pluto. This way he has of going about things is likely to seriously damage him next year. Pluto will also be conjoining his natal Chiron all of 2008. With natal Chiron conjunct MC, his general reputation will become damaged. This theme is repeated in Converse Prog Chiron conjunct CP ASC all year.

Uranus will also be conjoining his passive-aggressive 12th House Mars in Pisces in 2008, reflecting the infighting that will be going on, and his difficulties in genuinely asserting himself in relation to others. His Solar Return for 2008 has Pluto conjunct ASC opposite Mars conjunct DESC, further confirmation of the likely power struggles and infighting within his government. This SR chart repeats the Chiron theme through Moon opposite Chiron, and reflects his difficulty in governing through a Sun-Saturn opposition.

Brown’s astrology for 2008 suggests his premiership will be everything one might have feared from his current reputation. He will be forced to call an election by 2010 at the latest, and that year he will have transiting Pluto conjoining his MC. It seems to me that this will signify him losing the general election.

There is, of course, a very slim chance that Labour will come to its senses and not elect Brown as their leader this year. This would be extremely difficult for him to accept, and in this case I think his upcoming astrology would reflect that lack of acceptance, and the damage it will do to his reputation.

THE US PLUTO RETURN

According to one poll last year, 27% of 18-26 year old college students in the USA had doubts that NASA went to the Moon. In another 2006 poll, 38% of Americans suspected that the government assisted in some way with the 9/11 terrorist attacks. A 2003 poll found that 70% of respondents believed there was a plot to kill Kennedy.

I’m not concerned here to pass any sort of favourable or unfavourable comment on these beliefs. What I’m more interested in for now is the enduring level of mistrust in the US government that these beliefs reflect – a level of mistrust that may or may not be justified. This mistrust, if anything, is intensifying. The 27% who doubt the Moon Landings are educated college students from the younger generation, a sign of things to come. And the level of mistrust over 9/11 is phenomenal.

It is not just this particular Bush administration that is mistrusted: it seems there has been a heightened mistrust ever since the cover-ups over both Vietnam and Watergate. (I didn’t know it, but the young Colin Powell was involved in the My Lai cover-up). But it is reaching new heights as Pluto finishes his time in Sagittarius and moves on into Capricorn. Pluto in Sagittarius demands the Truth, and in the UK Blair’s lies over Iraq have become an honesty issue in an unprecedented way. But in the UK we do not have the level of mistrust in the government per se as you get in the USA.

What occurred to me recently is that this level of mistrust cannot endure indefinitely, something has to give, and with Pluto soon to enter Capricorn, it is likely to be the form of government itself that changes. AMERICAN DEMOCRACY AS WE KNOW IT MAY WELL NOT SURVIVE THE PASSAGE OF PLUTO THROUGH CAPRICORN.

The planet Uranus was discovered in 1781, 5 years after the American Declaration of Independence, and just before the conclusion of the War of Independence. The revolutionary nature of this struggle is rightly associated with this planet, particularly as it was discovered during this period. But Pluto was at 28 Capricorn at the time of the Declaration of Independence, and I think this is just as important. Pluto is also revolutionary, but not in the sudden, precipitate, ideological way of Uranus. Pluto change tends to be more of a gradual process with an enduring outcome, in which the old is completely cleansed and a new centre of power is established – either within oneself, or in this case, within a nation. And it was in Capricorn, the sign of government.

In the US, Independence was not just about the country ridding itself of rule by what had over time become a foreign power – i.e. the British. It was also the British – and European – form of rule, monarchy, that was overthrown, to be replaced by elected government (even then there were many who didn’t have the vote.) It was a shift of power (Pluto) to the people (Moon): Moon conjunct Pluto in the July 2 chart, Moon in Aquarius – democracy – in the July 4 charts. It also emerged as a radical de-centralising of power, which was spread between the legislature, the executive, the judiciary, and the individual states.

So with Pluto returning to Capricorn next year, and reaching its natal position of 28 Capricorn in 15 years time, America is about to complete its first full Pluto cycle as a Democracy. It seems to me that the system was very well thought through and in many ways works well. I like, for example, the fact that Senators are only elected every 6 years. This means they have the leisure to take a considered, long-term view, without having to worry all the time about responding to changeable public opinion. And I also like the fact that members of the House of Representatives are re-elected every 2 years. This means that in an urgent situation such as Iraq, where the national self-interest is being harmed by an intransigent President, the situation can be addressed relatively quickly via the ballot box.

But there is also this huge mistrust, which Pluto in Sag has revealed and heightened, and which I think Pluto in Capricorn is likely to address – gradually, culminating around 2022 as Pluto reaches its natal position. What form this will take is anybody’s guess.

Revolutionary activity began in America long before 1776. It started around 1760, with Pluto in late Sag conjunct the Galactic Centre, which is what we have now. So the Revolution itself was the outcome of Pluto’s journey through Capricorn over about 16 years, having been seeded by Pluto’s conjunction to the GC. When the time was ripe, Uranus joined in, and the USA was born.

It might be worth asking: is the current level of antipathy and mistrust towards the US government comparable to that felt towards the British in the run-up to 1776?

What, I wondered, might be going on around 2022, when the US has its Pluto return?

First of all, the Presidency itself has a transit of Uranus conjoining the MC in 2023.

The US Sibly Chart has Prog Uranus conjunct Prog MC in 2023-4.

The Sibly also has a converse Prog Pluto, Moon and MC conjunction in 2024, all around 25 Cap, near the degree of natal Pluto, and within 1/2 a degree of each other. (Converse Progressions are calculated by going backwards a day for a year instead of forwards, and they can indicate conditioning from the past that is influencing the current situation.) With the MC signifying the government, this converse line-up suggests that around 2024 the US government will be experiencing a shake-up that was inherent in its founding.

The 2 July 4pm chart has a natal Moon conjunct Pluto (the chart ruler) in Capricorn, and in 2022 this chart will have Prog Moon conjunct Prog Pluto.

The list seems to just keep running. There is going to be a big shake-up, some fundamental re-thinking of the way America is governed, around 2022/3, and there will be a long process between now and then to get to there.

Other charts also say something similar. The chart for the Federal Constitution in 1787 has a conjunction of Prog Uranus, MC and Moon in 2023-4. In 2020/1, Prog Neptune conjoins Prog ASC.

The Presidential inauguration chart for 2021 has Pluto conjunct MC at 26 Capricorn. And a LOT of tension: Sun, Saturn, Jupiter conjunction all square to a Moon, Mars, Uranus conjunction. Also Sun conjunct Pluto, Moon square Pluto.

The inauguration chart for 2025 (assuming there still is a President by then) has Sun conjunct Pluto conjunct MC opposite a Mars-IC conjunction. So these Presidents won't be having an easy time of it.

The thing about Progressions is that they take centuries or even thousands of years to repeat themselves (except the Moon). If we were dealing with transits, we could more easily say oh, this is a cycle the US has been through before. But with progressions, we are encountering something entirely new, partly because America is a young country. For example, the US Sibly Prog Mars went retrograde for the 1st time ever in 2006, and will remain so until 2087: and what we may be seeing, via Iraq, is a long-term military reversal - the first ever - for the USA.

So with all these Progressions around Pluto, Uranus, the MC and the Moon ganging up in 2022/3, we are likely to see something completely new come into being, a whole new phase, a reformed governmental system. And it's likely that the process is beginning around now.