WILL THE EU UNRAVEL?

The vaccine crisis may prove to be the beginning of the end for the EU in its current form. The UK's departure was a body-blow, though the EU put on a brave face and continued as before. But the vaccine fiasco has revealed the EU to be neither fish nor fowl: neither centralised enough to respond effectively to a crisis, nor loose enough in its federation that individual states could respond in a timely way. Ideals of unity stood in the way of practicality. Jean-Claude Juncker, the last President of the Commission, said some time ago that the EU had lost its libido. Remember the driving ambition of Jacques Delors? All that seems a long time ago.

The chart for the EU as an organisation - the EEC - has mutable Angles, which is not traditionally a time to start something that will last. The characteristic of mutability is adaptativeness, allowing something to dissolve so that the new can arise. In 3 years' time Neptune will hard aspect these Angles. This could point to either a dissolution, or to an increased level of union. Pluto crossing these Angles in the late noughties corresponded to the fiscal crsis and the Greek bailout, when the EU was forced by circumstances to act centrally in a way that it hadn't before. So Neptune's transit will be round two. It is the lack of driving ambition which suggests to me that this transit is more likely to involve an unravelling, as member states look out for themselves, rather than a greater degree of union.

 

And what is the EU for its member states? In the same way that the Moon in a mundane chart describes the people of a country, we can read the Moon in the EU chart as its member states, as well as the peoples: this Moon says shared (8th House) wealth (Taurus). From the point of view of its peoples, then, the EU is primarily about prosperity. As for the idealism, when someone talks like that about themselves, I am a bit skeptical, and no less so in a political context. The EU, via its free trade zone, has the prosperity it needs, why does it need to do more than that? Uranus has been conjoining the EU Moon, describing the separation (Uranus) of the UK from the union.

 

The EU was founded as a means of ending wars involving primarily France and Germany, the main continental aggressors of the past 200 years. Fair enough, but that prospect seems to have well and truly faded, particularly with Germany, the new kid on the block, and insecure as a country, having fully established itself. This is maybe why the 'libido' has evaporated, because it was fear-driven in the first place (albeit articulated in terms of lofty ideals,) 

 

This fear-based libido is perhaps expressed by the natal square from Mars in Sag to Pluto. When the Euro was introduced in the mid to late nineties, Pluto was conjoining this natal Mars. It gradually became clear that monetary union could not be fully achieved without further political union - specifically, centralised control over national budgets. And this has not happened. Political unification has ground to a halt. Maybe Neptune's square to natal Mars, around 2014, was when the loss of drive, even loss of faith (Sag) was occurring.

When the vaccine crisis broke in late January, the EU Progressed Moon was almost exactly conjunct its Progressed MC in Virgo. When the UK delivered its 1st vaccine last December, transiting Moon was in Virgo conjunct the MC in Virgo, which is a fascinating correspondence. It makes you realise that astrology works. Virgo is a sign of healing, which is the intention of the vaccine. It also raises issues of service (Virgo) to the people (Moon) in a very public way (MC). Does the EU serve its people? Maybe the shift in Prog MC from Leo to Virgo in the last few years is creating a change in emphasis as to the function of the EU. Away from ideals about itself (Leo) to practicalities of service (Virgo.) And it has been found wanting. But it is also, maybe, a coming down to earth after 30 years in Leo.