2014 in L'Alpe di Siusi, fresh from the US and Australia.
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Current Moon Phase
THE LEO/SIRIUS FESTIVAL 2023
1 AUG 2023
© Malvin Artley
A sunny disposition:
Leo in the orthodox
Esoteric Leo
The full moon
Some significant developments
The Leo/Aquarius continuum
Nations and charts
The EU, NATO and Ukraine
Leo working charts
Maps
Ideals and values
A grain of truth
A turning point
Leo and gold
The Zionist question
Jenin and the State of Palestine
Election season
In conclusion
Greetings Everyone!
You may have heard already that it is been an interesting summer here in Italy, as well as in other parts of Mediterranean Europe. Much of Mediterranean Europe – Greece southern Italy, southern France, Spain – have suffered under sweltering heat, often over 40°C for days on end. On the other hand, we here in northern Italy have had a very different summer, with wild storms including heavy rain, hail sometimes the size of tennis balls, high winds which has blown down trees, and widespread crop damage. We already see food prices in the supermarkets trending upwards. We appear to be on the tail end of that weather now, as July tends to be the hottest month in Italy. Here in Rovereto overall, the summer has been rather pleasant, especially compared to last year, when it was quite hot. They keep forecasting rain for us, and we do get some, but not to the extent of the other northern regions of Italy. The northern regions just below us in the Po River plain have seen some of the wildest weather. The mountainous areas to the northwest have also seen severe winds. We saw similar weather a few years back. The musical instrument makers saw a bonanza with some of the trees that were knocked down, because some of those trees, like spruce, are quite valuable in stringed instruments.
Here in Rovereto we live in a microbiome, which protects us from much of the wilder weather. Some of it has been quite interesting. The light shows at night from the tempest passing over the mountains have been quite spectacular. We have a couple of dogs who don’t much like the thunder that comes with it, while some of the older dogs are quite deaf and they just sleep through it. But, on the whole the weather here has not been that bad. The local rivers are all full to capacity, brown from the soil washed down from the mountains, and the mountains themselves around here are spectacular in their verdure. We took a drive the other day with the four dogs that are able up to one of the mountain passes and there is not a brown speck to be seen anywhere in the panorama. The cloud formations have been stunning also and it is interesting to watch the winds, often at cross purposes, forming and dispersing these clouds, bringing the rain with them. Of course, we hear all the reports of how the heat in the wild weather is caused by climate change. Whether or not one believes in the climate change narrative – and opinions seem to be as divided on that matter is anything else – we here at the house seek is much as possible to maintain a sunny disposition in the midst of everything that is happening. Darkness of mood shuts out the light of the soul.
A sunny disposition: Speaking of sunny dispositions, a rather interesting study came to light for me the other day when researching cycles, especially related to the weather. I had known for some time violence in the world tracked with swings in sunspot activity, and we are reaching a peak of such activity over the next two years. Yet, rather than speaking of personalities here we are looking at the current disposition of the Sun itself. Consider the following:
“The activity of the Sun over the last 11,400 years, i.e., back to the end of the last ice age on Earth, has now for the first time been reconstructed quantitatively by an international group of researchers…from the Max Planck Institute for Solar System Research…The scientists have analyzed the radioactive isotopes in trees that lived thousands of years ago. As the scientists from Germany, Finland, and Switzerland report in the current issue of the science journal “Nature” from October 28, one needs to go back over 8,000 years in order to find a time when the Sun was, on average, as active as in the last 60 years. Based on a statistical study of earlier periods of increased solar activity, the researchers predict that the current level of high solar activity will probably continue only for a few more decades.”
Is this ringing any bells? Climate change? Is there a ‘smoking gun’ here? The article ends with the following from the final paragraph:
“The researchers…stress the fact that solar activity has remained on a roughly constant (high) level since about 1980 – apart from the variations due to the 11-year cycle – while the global temperature has experienced a strong further increase during that time. On the other hand, the rather similar trends of solar activity and terrestrial temperature during the last centuries (with the notable exception of the last 20 years) indicates that the relation between the Sun and climate remains a challenge for further research.”
It is a challenge for further research, indeed – along with all the other research going into climate change. We wonder if they had to moderate that final comment in light of the fact that people who buck the trending narratives in academia get their funding cut. A few years back (2018) I wrote a piece on climate change in the Virgo letter for that year, which was meant to provoke some thought. The Virgo letter for the following year addressed the environmental movement and the ongoing arguments about the subject. Then, there was COVID, followed by the Russian SMO in Ukraine, which has brought forward probably the most important considerations for everyone: censorship, the control of the information available to us and facts being suppressed in the effort to control ‘The Narrative’, whatever flavour that might be in the current social milieu, in whatever camp one might find themselves or to which they are told they have to belong. Take your pick these days. Personally, I never was that big on camping. But there is a quote I always remembered regarding the changing cycles, especially the one just upcoming:
“We only need more light, in the esoteric sense, in order to see the soul, and that light will shortly be available and we shall understand the meaning of the words, “And in Thy light shall we see light.” This intensification of the light will continue until A.D. 2025, when there will come a cycle of relative stability and of steady shining without much augmentation.”[1]
Esoteric and physical light are connected, and the sun literally lights our entire solar system. It is not really much of a stretch to see the connection between the augmentation of solar activity, the increase in heat (esoterically the ‘burning ground’) and the increasing awareness of humanity as to what is taking place under our collective noses. A point to consider here is the period of “a few more decades” referenced one of the quotes above, and the period of “steady shining without much augmentation” in the quote just cited. It is useful to review what was forecast for the year 2025 in that respect and onward every now and then (The Emerging World Order From 2025). It would appear we are tracking pretty well, especially as to the evolution of economic blocs for mutual benefit and the devolution of colonialism and empire, even amongst all the confusion in the world. It will take time.
The effects of solar activity on human consciousness are not taken into account in astrology, by and large, which is why the article from the Max Planck Institute was included here. Of course, from 1940 we had the start of WWII and the amazing changes to the world order that came from that, as well as the technological advancements which evolved in kind, too many to mention here. Now we are seeing the culmination of those changes from WWII and the shifting of the world order once again in ways which are yet to unfold – a sort of settling of accounts. But all this talk of the sun brings us to our current theme, the astrological sign Leo, which of interest is ruled in all three levels (orthodox, esoteric and hierarchical) by the Sun,[2] the only astrological sign that is thus ruled.
Leo in the orthodox: Just as the sun is the center of our solar system, around which all the planets and planetary bodies revolve, so the world and all of its people revolve around the Leo type, or so the Leo would like to believe. Leo is known for its leadership qualities, for its ego, for its presence within a group of people, and for its magnetism. Just as the sun gives vitality to everything in the solar system, so the Leo type, whether Sun-sign or Ascendant, exemplifies that radiance when the Leonine qualities are well expressed. Leo rules the heart and the spine in medical astrology. We are all acquainted with phrases like ‘having the lion’s heart’ and ‘having a spine’, representing courage and the ability to stand against the odds. And Leos often have to overcome serious personal obstacles before they can exemplify the higher Leo traits.
Esoteric Leo: Esoterically, the situation for Leo changes because the Leo at that point is not interested in personal aggrandizement. This is one of the hallmarks of the developed Leo. The emphasis for Leo esoterically is purely upon enlightenment, starting with self-enlightenment and culminating in full enlightenment. In this case, instead of looking at the Sun we look at the planets which the Sun veils. For Leo, the Sun veils Neptune and Uranus.[3] Neptune rules ‘the heart of the sun’, while Uranus rules the central spiritual sun, which is only registered during the final initiatory process on The Path. The emphasis upon the heart is exhibited through Leo on the path of self-enlightenment. The emphasis on the heart is found often in esoteric Buddhist practices. Leo first becomes a thinker and then in the process transcends thought itself. Through self-mastery, the leadership qualities of Leo are developed. But in the process, great sensitivity is also developed. Neptune rules the development of such sensitivity. The sensitivity is developed in the processes of purification, in which the grosser elements of the personality are figuratively and sometimes literally burned away, leaving a very open and the sensitized set of energy fields. The fire element of Leo is a signifier of such processes.
In esoteric Buddhism there is a process in the Buddhist sadhanas called ‘taking birth on the path’, wherein one arises as the deity of the sadhana within a mandala, surrounded by its retinue. At that instant one develops ‘divine pride’, in that one realizes the deity as one’s own buddha-nature. In the practice of the sadhana one adopts the attitude of thinking ‘as if’, instead of wondering ‘what if’. There is no doubt, no discussion in such a case about the effects, aftereffects, etc. Instead, one expects and focuses one’s attention on becoming a fully enlightened being. The deity in the sadhana only represents the person’s higher Self, or spiritual Triad. Taking birth onto the path is a vehicle to enlightenment, but it is also exemplary of Leo typology. The Leo sees him or herself as perfected, acting as if they are as they envision themselves. Conversely, there is nothing essentially wrong in thinking or wondering what if, if used as a scientific method, i.e. taking in every possibility in a scientific investigation, as in seeing life as an experiment. That again can be seen in the process of Leo, as one masters some aspect of their being, as shown in one’s horoscope where Leo is prominent and rules. To master something, one must practice as if one already has mastery. Yes, mistakes will be made, but without practice there is no progress. And in that focus, that practice, self-confidence is generated and competition is replaced with ‘personal bests’. With the Leo interval each year we recognize what is needed in the goal of self-perfection, and from there we set to work, all the while knowing that all self-perfection is to be done with the aim of helping those around us to their own goals in like manner. With these thoughts in mind we move on to the full moon and topical matters to this interval.
The full moon takes place on 1 Aug 2023 at 18:31 UT (2 Aug at 4:31 am AEST). The Sabian symbol for the lunar degree is of particular interest to us this festival, considering Leo is so much associated with leadership. The symbol reads as follows:
Aquarius is the opposite pole to Leo, and as such should always be considered along with the Sun sign for any of the solar festivals. We will discuss this shortly. Who, though, in our current social strata, would think so highly of themselves as to be the embodiment of an ideal? Or who among our popular and political leadership would have had that appellation applied to them? Let’s see…Macron, Zelenskyy, Thunberg, Baerbock, Biden, Borrell, Von der Leyen, Trump? Anyone? I can think of a few. Readers can decide on their own favorites. But there is one in particular in our current world affairs who was recently shown he is not, shall we say, ideal: Zelenskyy. Many of our present world leaders would fit the same bill. When Pluto entered Aquarius some months back mention was made of icons falling and so forth, and that applies to people as well as institutions and symbols. Along with the lunar symbol we also have the solar symbol which complements it. It reads as follows:
Finishing with the full moon figure, we find Jupiter completing a t-square with the full moon axis, which tends to highlight the hubris of leadership, along with overconfidence. A good deal of pride is associated with Jupiter squares and oppositions to the luminaries, as well as an inability to admit defeat when justifiably challenged. Otherwise such Jupiter squares give great optimism, indulgence even to the point of extravagance, a very easy-going nature and a sunny disposition.
Some significant developments: So, before we get to the main topics to follow, there have been several quite significant events since the last letter. It’s long a list, to be sure, but to save pages of explanation, here they are with links:
We recall from the last full moon figure there was the likelihood of ruptures in relationships (Putin-Erdogan, Strelkov, Zelenskyy given his bag of coal at Vilnius, Hunter, China export controls, the grain deal, RFK censoring, Jenin, and so on). We will only touch on a few of these items here, as most of them are developing stories. See the above bulleted points for further info.
The Leo/Aquarius continuum: We must begin our wider discussions here by looking at the astrological continuum in terms of the pairs of opposite signs in the zodiac. In this particular incidence we are looking at Leo and Aquarius. The two signs influence each other and are reflexive, figuratively speaking. We see this in the astrological houses as well. For instance the Meridian axis – the 4th and 10th houses – (all the pairs of opposing signs and houses can be seen as axes) must not be analysed in isolation as to the individual houses. The 10th house is public standing and career, while the 4th house is home, property and family. Changes in one or the other of those houses very often affect the affairs of the opposite house. A change of work may bring a change of residence, for instance, or growth or ruptures in family life may prompt a change in career. Problems at home can impinge on work performance, or overwork can adversely affect family life. A better job can mean a bigger home or expanded property is possible, and so on. The opposites wax and wane in influence, as each pole seeks its fullness of expression. Initially these exchanges in influence may seem to be conflicting, but what is actually happening is a movement toward equilibrium. There are astrological meditations where the sign opposite the Sun sign is an essential part of the meditation. Fullness of expression by one pole cannot be had without the influence or at the expense of the other. People advance more quickly in group fashion than they do alone.
With Leo and Aquarius we have the ‘social axis’ as it relates to individuals and groups. All human groups (Aquarius) are comprised of individuals (Leo). We in the West have constantly had the ideal of the value of the individual hammered home. Individual property rights are a manifestation of that, for instance. And that sense of individuality has been important in human development. Without the development of the individual the value added to groups remains stagnant at best. Yet, the interaction of the individual within the group spurs the development of the individual. Our friends (Aquarius) are quite important to us, and the tendency in Aquarius is to accumulate friends, acquaintances and contacts by the bucket-load. The worst case scenario for any Leo type is self-isolation, unless for a very specific spiritual practice. Every group involvement by an individual has the capacity to greatly broaden one’s vista and contacts, and vice-versa. And in fact, our involvement in groups very often brings us into contact with the most important people (‘significant others’) for the fulfilment of our destiny. So, our collective environment is as important as is the individual. At the moment the focus in the West is over-much on the individual, whereas the opposite has been the case in the East. Now we are beginning to see a balancing taking place. Dane Rudhyar once stated astrologers should not see the emergence of the Aquarian age in isolation, but the evolution should rather be seen as the Aquarian-Leo age:
When we come to consider the astrology of nations, this axis emerges as a prime mover in the evolution of the multipolar world. The nations that have opposing signs as soul and personality rulers are said to be more positive, expressing either equilibrium or consummation, especially if in fixed signs. Of those we know thus far, they are Belgium (Sagittarius and Gemini), Ireland (Virgo and Pisces and Russia (Leo and Aquarius). Of those three, Russia has achieved a sort of equilibrium at present, tending toward a consummation of its destiny (“I link two ways”), linking Asia and Europe in all areas of human activity, much as the West may not wish to see it. Belgium is tied very strongly to Washington and the US in general, as well as the UK through its rulers. Ireland (noting it is listed separately from Great Britain) is a special case, as its rays are not given, though it is obvious rays 4 and 6 express strongly there. But returning to our theme, the Leo nations are reclaiming their sovereignty and are expressing their individuality, though the West European Leos are currently under Washington’s yoke. Interestingly as it turns out, they are doing so in the context of nations expressing Aquarian energy quite strongly. This is something to keep in mind as we go along here. Western Europe is torn between Russia and the US, but resolution is coming.
Nations and charts: The astrological influences of nations as given in The Destiny of the Nations by Alice Bailey have been oft quoted in these letters. You can refer to the linked web page as we continue here. But there are some ideas that would pay us to parse regarding nations, astrology and charts. To start, it is easy to assume there must be some ‘commencement’ chart for any nations where the influences are given in Bailey’s books, like one would see with a human birth. But then inconsistencies between national charts and astrological influences readily appear. Note the difference. From my own perspective what is given in Destiny of the Nations are synthetic representations of the astrology of nations. The US national chart is a case in point. The national chart for the US is cast for July 4th, which gives Cancer Sun and Sagittarius rising, the rising sign depending on what time of day independence was declared. There is controversy around the matter of the time of day. Just the same, in Destiny of the Nations the astrological influences are listed as Aquarius for the soul of the US and Gemini for its personality.
There are many other inconsistencies we could list between national charts and astrological syntheses. The whole matter of national charts is a vexed matter anyway, with every astrologer who studies the matter having their own interpretations. All opinions are valid and needed on the subject because the debate advances the art. What we are about to examine here are what should rightly be called (in my opinion) intermediary charts for nations, based primarily on their independence days. Another name for such charts are ‘working charts’ for nations, as those charts describe the events that go on in the present manifestation of every nation, as well as describing the general character of said nations. We won’t quibble over the matter here, but instead just lay out a general presentation. People can take the information given as they will, or not. What interests us here in particular are the independence/working charts for nations who express Leo, with one exception, as follows:
Ukraine was locked into NATO’s planning from the time of Ukraine’s independence (Ukraine Mars to NATO Mercury, trine NATO’s Jupiter), wherein NATO saw the opportunity for Ukraine to be used militarily as a cudgel against Russia. And NATO from the late 2000s had promised Ukraine NATO membership, which was dealt the death knell at the Vilnius summit this year. Zelenskyy cut a tragic and lonely figure at the summit. NATO has found, much to its surprise and chagrin and despite the rhetoric otherwise, Ukraine has become the proverbial albatross around NATO’s neck (Ukraine’s Saturn square the NATO horizon). Zelenskyy angrily called out NATO after the summit for its misgivings, for which he was castigated by outgoing British Defense Minister Ben Wallace for ‘being ungrateful’. We might rightly ask who, in fact, is being ungrateful, given the fact Ukrainian casualties in the conflict (dead and wounded) are somewhere around one million souls, gone for the sake of American and European elitist aims. The ration of wounded to those killed in a conflict is generally seen to be 3:1, respectively. That is an appalling figure, and one the mainstream media assiduously avoids, for avoidance of a public outcry to stop the senseless war. Those same elites care not one jot or tittle for the lives and welfare of Ukrainians, or for their own people for that matter, one of the basest manifestations of Scorpio. The conflict there in Ukraine is all about money and power and the subjugation of Europe, as was recently explained by Col. Lawrence Wilkerson (ret.). He should know. He has had to deal with the type in the past. We will have a little bit more on NATO later, but this introduction brings us to the Leo construct, especially regarding Europe, which in its way is drawing out and serving the purposes of the Aquarian souls of Russia and the United States.
Leo working charts: There are several nations as they are currently constructed who express Leo, either through the Sun or their rising signs. Those nations are Iran, the Russian Federation, the EU[5] and Austria, for the rising sign and from their importance here. For the Sun-sign we have South Korea, India and Pakistan, the Gaza Strip (proposed), the Palestinian State (proclaimed by Yassar Arafat in Algiers) and Bolivia. We should add here, given the Leo/Aquarius polarity, that China has Aquarius rising in its current national chart, connecting the current state with the US and Russia as an intermediate influence as the multipolar order evolves. All of those states just mentioned share certain things in common, as one would expect from Leo: an insistence on independence, centralization of government, overt sense of identity, the ability to rise against the odds even to autarky, the capacity for self-examination (yet to come for the EU) and the desire to be of importance. The organizations with Leo are another matter regarding some of the points just listed, largely due to the fact they are comprised of competing states. The synastry of the EU and NATO is of interest here regarding the last statement.
We note the EU has a particularly ‘challenging’ natal t-square (Mars/Pluto opposite the Moon and squared by the Saturn apex), which can be quite brutal in its expression when challenged, as the Greeks found out, along with Yugoslavia, and the British when they were negotiating Brexit. EU nations readily contribute to NATO (American) interests, as we saw with the Iraq war. France was a hold-out then, and they paid dearly for it, AUKUS being a notable such event. Washington holds grudges for a long time. There is no negotiating with that EU t-square, which may be reinforced if it happens that ‘Cookies’ Nuland takes the place of Wendy Sherman, who is set to retire. That t-square is favourably aspected by NATO’s Mars and Jupiter, giving the sense of security for Europeans and rendering the EU easy to mobilize militarily and financially when it suits American interests, as we are seeing now. Dissent is not allowed. As Col. Wilkerson stated, though, NATO may be starting to break up over the next few years if the Ukrainian conflict continues for much longer. This is shown in NATO’s astrology, too, which we will have to leave for this post. The same is true for the EU. There is a larger point to these considerations, however: NATO, the EU and Ukraine all fit in with the Leo/Aquarius astrology of Europe as outlined in The Destiny of the Nations. We keep these points in mind from here as we move forward with our considerations, especially of Leo as it applies to Europe.
Maps: It helps many people to understand topics better when there are visuals. In that regard and with what follows there is a web page of Helpful Maps posted on my site to which one can refer when certain organizations are being discussed. Having listed briefly the working charts for nations and organizations in the news we turn now to the esoteric Leo connections, shown in one of the maps on that page, hereafter denoted by ‘(map)’ if it is to be found on that web page. Certain things stand out: The circled areas on the Leo in Europe map are where Leo is said to be the soul expression. The circle in Switzerland refers to Geneva, one of the synthesizing centers on the planet.[6] From Geneva flows the force that energizes especially the Leo centers in Europe, both souls and personalities, especially by Leo sympathy of vibration. Aquarius must be included in that, too. The souls of Italy and Romania, along with London are thus stimulated. London is also one of the synthesizing centers on the planet, relative to Europe, via its being the center of the old British Empire and what remains of the British Commonwealth. In this letter and in our current situation, however, we are more concerned with continental Europe and the EU.
Rome is the synthesizing center for the Latin (Romance) nations and as such would be the de facto capital of the Romance economic bloc, deemed to have been preferable[7] to the current Pax Americana. Italy is one of the few nations that expresses Leo as both soul and personality, the soul being Italy as the nation, while the personality is expressed through Rome. We note that Geneva is in the central point of the ‘Big Three’ Leo centers on the continent in Western Europe (Italy, France and Berlin). When one includes London and Russia in the mix we see the main European belligerents in the two World Wars. There is no accident there. Switzerland via Geneva maintained its neutrality during those wars, but was at the same time the financial center enabling financing of both sides (Axis and Allies) in those wars. That is one of those inconvenient facts about which we are not informed in historical accounting. Switzerland is not exactly neutral, either, as the current European conflict is showing. Its Aries soul is independent, but its Aquarian personality has served other more nefarious ends at times. We note Davos (meeting place of the WEF) is also in Switzerland along with Geneva, too. And in the current European setting, Austria displayed some sovereignty by proclaiming neutrality after WWII, as shown in the Leo rising of its current national chart. But we return to Italy, as its actions into the future will have a large impact on Europe, as was beginning to be shown recently, until Atlanticist PMs were installed (Draghi and Meloni) due to pressures from abroad and from Brussels. That is another story.
Italy is said to be one of the nations into the future that will host an advanced esoteric school (probably in the mountains in the north), along with Russia (Kamchatka, maybe, or the Urals?).[8] Southern France is said to eventually host a preparatory school linked with the Italian school, while the preparatory school linked with the Russian one is said to be in Sweden. There is a little work to be done in that latter relationship for obvious reasons at present. We note the Leo connections here, with the exception of Sweden, which may itself (in isolation from Scandinavia) have Leo characteristics prominent. It too was once neutral but now seeks absorption into the NATO blob. With any luck it will remain outside that bloc, for reasons to follow.
Italy is said to be mentally polarized and expressive of world illusion (or was at the time), while Berlin (as representing Germany, Leo personality) is said to be emotionally polarized.[9] At least that was the situation during the World Wars. Italy is also said to be among the enlightened nations, even though there was fascism here for a time. Of those times (the World Wars) it was stated:
“There is no freedom in Germany or in Japan. In a lesser sense and for a brief time, there was no freedom in Italy, but Italy must be counted among the enlightened nations, for it could not be held in duress.”
“It is interesting to note that the fourth Ray of Harmony or Art, which will begin before long to come into power again in its major aspect, is to be found prominent in the destinies of India, Germany, Italy, Austria and Brazil, and it is for this that there is so much preparatory turmoil in the three European countries. The sixth ray is potent in Russia, the United States, Italy and Spain. It is the fanatical adherence to an ideal which is responsible also for the potent changes in these four countries; in Germany and Italy, as we have seen, the harmonising power of the fourth ray is also seen. Hence we have in all these countries a process of breaking down, and of destruction of old forms, prior to an adequate responsiveness to the influence of the incoming ray. It should be remembered that as with individuals, so with nations—the reaction to an increasing influence of the egoic ray is ever accompanied by a breaking down period, but this demonstration of destruction is but temporary and preparatory.”
Ideals and values: The primary struggle being faced in Europe today is presented as a struggle for the maintenance of European ideals – Borrell’s ‘garden of Europe’, for instance, all the while the real struggle is for dominance and economics, dominance over Europe by the United States in particular. The emotional pull of the rhetoric out of the Western press and leaders regarding our Western ideals is palpable. But the realities are a very different matter. Ideals of inclusiveness, open borders, democracy and on and on are constantly paraded before us, and are in fact forced upon our consciousness. If we do not accept or ascribe assiduously to those ideals now, we are cast as outsiders. We are in a period of extremes – in nature, in emotions, in hardened mental attitudes – and this is also in line with the maxima in solar activity we have seen as described above. This is all but what was just described – ‘preparatory turmoil’. This too, shall pass. But ideals are a mental construct, noting the root word, ‘idea’. They are not actually values. Because there is another ray that is ending in influence along with the lesser 4th ray, and that is the 6th ray of idealism and fanatiscism. In that we have the personality of the US as it struggles to retain its dominance. The Russian 6th ray personality has undergone a transformation in recent years (since the ‘90s) and has rejected certain ideals, having chosen to return to its traditional values. Values rest in the heart and are heart expressions, whereas ideals are primarily of the head. We feel values, we intuitively know values. We can think about ideals and get emotional about them, but they are not necessarily values unless we are able apply them to the measure of the heart. Well, we have had our ideals paraded before us recently relevant to the grain deal in Ukraine, ideals which were subverted to more nefarious purposes, instead accusing the Russians of all sorts of sins. Our values say the poor of the world need our help and deserve to be fed and cared for. Here are a few inconvenient truths:
Part of the grain deal involved lifting sanctions on Russia’s exports of grain and especially fertilizer, which the Western powers refused to do. Then, the Ukrainians blew up the ammonia pipeline that ran from Russia, two days before they blew the dam ay Kakhovka (updated report). That pipeline was the longest ammonia pipeline in the world and ran all the way to the port at Odessa. Ammonia is a key ingredient in nitrate fertilizer, essential for the world’s agriculture. There was also the matter of an alternative payment system, since Russia has been shut off from the SWIFT system, regarding which the Western powers had been dragging their feet in implementing. Now Russia is working with developing countries to find alternative ways to get Russian grain and fertilizer to the poorer nations, which the Russians say they will do free of charge. This is also public record. The Western powers, given their economic structure and capitalism, used the grain deal to make money and for domestic politics instead of for humanitarian purposes. The thing is, if there actually was a shortage of grain in European countries that would cause a spike in food prices, which would adversely affect the polling of sitting governments, especially in items like animal feed, bread, baked goods and pasta, etc. But that hasn’t happened, precisely because the grain was coming to Europe instead of Africa. Basically, the West has played politics with grain. Here in Italy the price of bread has gone up a little bit since the start of the SMO, but it is not outrageous, reflecting the fact that there is no real shortage. But yet, we are told there is. However, it is telling that the price of bread has shot up slightly that I have observed since Ukraine’s ports have been blockaded. There may now be a shortage of grain to Western Europe, but as we have seen with energy prices, the shortfall will likely be made up by more expensive imports from the US, Canada and Australia.
The price of wheat worldwide has fallen €100/tonne from what it was this time last year, for instance, which goes to show there is no shortage. Yet, the middle men make their profits – capitalism at work. Wheat prices for most of the world barely budged when Russia announced it was withdrawing from the deal. Even The Economist, one of the UK’s oldest establishment mouthpieces, admits there have been bumper harvests of wheat from Canada, Australia and Russia, as well as exceptionally high harvests of corn from Brazil. Spanish swineherds will be happy. But Russia is not the only nation unhappy about Ukrainian grain. There is also the matter of five EU nations who have banned the importation of Ukrainian grain – Poland, Hungary, Romania, Slovakia and Bulgaria – who are seeking protection for their own farmers after the cheap Ukrainian grain was dumped in their nations. The five nations have sought to extend the ban until September. The EU Five are not against the grain going through their territories as it makes its way to
SpainAfrica, but they do not want it landing in their nations. This brings us to a short last bit on Ukraine.No sane person goes to war with Russia. NATO will never come to Ukraine’s defense: “…Ukraine—without NATO membership—would be left to its own devices, fighting and dying while the murder industries in the US made a killing. In other words, Ukraine is only useful without Article 5: its assigned role is to die for NATO, not vice versa. It was not only Russia that fell into NATO’s trap; so did Ukraine. (Albeit, Russia fell in wittingly; it had no better option.)” The Europeans fell into the trap as well, now being bled financially and in terms of military equipment. Being NATO members, they will be expected to replace said equipment with overly expensive and less reliable American equipment, adding even more expense to already suffering public coffers. Now the West is paying the price for setting the trap, otherwise known as blowback. There is a reason, and a big one, the war has gone so slowly: The Russians have been very deliberate and careful not to escalate tensions quickly, so as to avoid NATO’s direct military involvement on the ground in Ukraine. The Russians were ill-prepared at the start in February of last year. But they have reformed their military and established a robust military industrial base. If need be now, they could take on NATO and prevail. It is forecast by the end of this year Ukraine will be all but finished.
The Russians are advancing in the north, slowly and deliberately, toward the encirclement of Kharkov. Odessa is blocked now and at some point the Russians will move there. They are not in a hurry. There are two scenarios that might call for a quicker resolution – Russian elections in the spring of next year and the possibility of Polish and Baltic intervention in the west of Ukraine. The presence of nuclear weapons in Belarus and the Wagner group being on the Polish border are causing the Poles and Baltic states to rethink the matter. Prigozhin may have had his fit with the Russian General Staff, but he still features in the conflict, this time in estero from Russia. There is also quite an informative video that has been posted about Belarus, an interview with the Belarusian ambassador, for those who are interested. It is one of those nations about which we know very little, but which would pay us to learn. It will feature increasingly as a future transport hub once the conflict is resolved and they have had promising talks with China, Belarus is also a member of the Russo-Belarus Union State and an EAEU member (map), the latter about to clinch a free trade deal with the ASEAN economic bloc. This brings us to a few thoughts on Leo and gold.
The United States singularly took the world away from gold backed currencies, primarily through its control over post-World War II Europe and thereby through the old financial control mechanisms put in place during the colonial era. That system is currently controlled through the IMF, the World Bank, the SWIFT system and so forth. Now the Russians, with their Leo-Aquarius polarity, are spearheading the movement for a return to gold-backed commodity-based currencies, under the mentoring of Sergei Glazyev. We may possibly see such a system in place in Asia by the end of this decade. I would expect to see concrete results in 2026, with the Saturn/Neptune conjunction at 0° of Aries. It is of no small consequence, therefore, African nations and to a lesser extent South American nations are turning toward China and Russia, as the old colonies throw off the last vestiges of their colonial past. What we can expect going into the future, over the next years of this decade, is the implementation of such a system of gold backed, central bank controlled currencies, controlled by each sovereign nation instead of the hegemon, which in turn will end the dominance of the West of the world trade. The French have already sensed the glimmer of light in that direction, where Macron tried to get a seat at the upcoming BRICS conference. He was knocked back, perhaps unsurprisingly. Speaking of ancient groups at the start of this topic, this brings us to the current troubles in Israel – Israelis being an ancient group, once defunct and currently rehashed – which will have major effects in geopolitical shifts over the next few years.
Israel’s Taurus Sun is square to natal Mars in Leo, marking for a highly nervous and militant tension anyway. With Bibi Netanyahu back in power, however tenuously, those tensions are only increased. Perhaps he is in office now to see an end to the Zionist regime. One ominous prediction is the Zionist regime may not last until its 80th year (2028), given current internal tensions. Who can say? But for all the talk of the Abraham Accords when Trump was in office and hopes of corralling Iran, all that has flown out the proverbial window. Regarding the Accords, Bibi had this to say, the added bolding bits being the most important:
“We want normalization and peace with Saudi Arabia,” Netanyahu reiterated. “This agreement could have monumental consequences, historic consequences both for Israel, for Saudi Arabia, for the region and for the world.” But those are delusions. The Saudi interest in “peace” with Israel peaked when Riyadh felt most vulnerable and needed to shore up its relationship with the US. Now that the kingdom is pursuing a multipolar strategy, what is the rush?
The Saudis with their vast oil wealth will always have something to offer other countries, and therefore other options. What can Israel offer? Its spy technologies and overhyped hi-tech may be useful to some regimes but are hardly unique.
Israel has a tiny and uncompetitive manufacturing industry and isn’t a major energy producer. It is, rather, a toxic settler-colonial project of the West that is only becoming more horrifying and extreme. It has little prospect of finding another sponsor as devoted and generous as the United States. That means that as US power continues to recede regionally and globally, so will Israel’s. At the same time, no one should be under the illusion that the Saudi regime has any principled objection to embracing Israel and Zionism. It has already demonstrated that it is more than willing to do so if it suits regime interests.
But if and when Saudi-Israeli normalization does arrive, it will much more likely be because the Israelis, not the Saudis, are desperately seeking a lifeline wherever they can out of a permanent, existential crisis: Without massive external support, the Zionist settler-colony in Palestine faces a grim future.”
One might doubt, given the costs to the West of the war in Ukraine, that any such massive external support would be forthcoming. If there is one area in West Asia that needs watching and resolution, it is the Zionist element in what is now Israel. The entire region needs healing, which would be a very fruitful avenue of effort for the healers of the world.
Election season: We need to step back and take a look especially at RFK Jr. this election cycle. What follows may be unpalatable for some readers, but hear this out. If there is one area RFK Jr. needs to be held to account, it is on is his stance on Israel, which rivals that of Donald Trump. Now, we do not know if he really believes the things he says about his undying and unconditional support for Israel and his negative views on the Palestinians, or if he feels he has to say them to make any kind of showing in the US elections. Either way it puts many people in serious doubt about him. For instance, would there be war with Iran if he would happen to be elected? Something smells of fish here, in terms of who is being put forward for the election. War with Iran would be another unwinnable American/NATO war, as they would be unable to establish air superiority over Iran. Meanwhile American bases and Israel would be bombarded from several directions, not to mention the dire effects such a war would have on the world economy, because it would disrupt shipping through the Suez Canal and stop oil flowing out of the Persian Gulf. But this mention of RFK Jr. does further highlight the foundation charts for Gaza and the Palestinian State, both of which feature Leo, and which show their ability to resist against Israeli aggression. We would face much the same scenario with Trump regarding Iran, were he to be reelected.
An inspired leader will end the wars, work to reset the broken economy, work to overhaul and restore the original intention of the balance of power in the US, restore truth in media, end Washington’s belligerence and bring the money we need to rebuild back home. An autocrat will wave the flag, carry the Bible and say all the things people want to hear but take us deeper into debt and war. It has been a common theme in the past for wars to ‘save’ the American economy and stimulate industry and growth, but wars also sharply increase debt and worsen people’s lot. As for the rest of the world, outside The West (map) they have had enough of Washington’s mischief and are starting to move on from American and ‘Western values’. Biden has not been the man to ‘save America’ (never look for a savior), and given the powerful interests at the back of American politics, no one president will ‘save’ America. As for Biden, it is looking more and more as though he will not finish his term. Resignation may well be in the cards, or at the very least dropping out of the race, which at the moment would leave RFK Jr and Trump. But then, it has been said a week is a long time in politics. Given all the items listed in the bullet points since the last full moon, anything can happen between now and January of 2025. Better that we develop ourselves and show leadership at the community/grassroots level as much as possible. It is there the Western world will begin to be restored. In the Aquarius-Leo age, self-enlightenment contributes to group initiation.
In conclusion: All of us have Leo ruling one of the 12 sectors in our charts. In those areas of our life where Leo is prominent, we have the opportunity to develop all the Leo qualities described at the first of this letter – self-examination, developing leadership, developing self-confidence, acting as if, and so on. These days call for that sort of activity, and it will become increasingly so as we move into the Aquarian age, wherein Leo becomes prominent as well. So, we move not into the Aquarian age, but instead into the Aquarius-Leo age, where we increasingly develop ourselves spiritually, to advance along our respective paths, and thus contribute to the groups and nations in which we find ourselves. As the world evolves and changes from 2025 onwards, as the Western world comes to recognize that it is not the exception but instead only a minority in the greater world, we are called upon to show a greater Leo characteristic – humility combined with exemplary performance, for the greatest gift of Leo is that quiet magnetism that stands as an example for others to follow. The heart, which Leo rules, draws us close to people and other people close to us. Let us show the positive expressions of heart and spine in these days. Militarism must give way to the radiance that pulls us all into cooperation. As the sun rises and sets, as our lives come and go, as the cycles chart the evolution of our societies, so Leo will become ever more important as these next centuries pass. Of course, we are all up to the task, as we act ‘as if’ our world will continue to prosper and evolve, that peace will ensue, that our spirituality will overcome and surpass the gross materialism we now see around us.
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