Finally, Rishi has put us all out of our misery and called an election for July 4th. Why now?
We don’t have a time of birth for his chart, so we cannot know the Ascendant or the houses, although for my money he is either Gemini or Virgo rising, physically he has one of those Mercury-like bodies, slim, boyish, slightly androgynous. But we cannot know. Without a time, we cannot know for sure where his moon is, as at 0 hours the next day the Moon is at 01’35 Taurus, so it may be late Aries or early Taurus.
For such a momentous decision, as the polls say he will lose the election, his job and even possibly his seat, we look to the outer planets and Jupiter and Saturn for clues as to why now. As he is of Indian heritage, I suspect he consulted an astrologer, as India, like China and probably Russia use astrologers to make decisions about business, marriages and other life changing matters. So what is happening in his natal chart?
The first thing we see, is that his natal Uranus is at 23’37 Scorpio, which is currently opposite Uranus at 23’40 Taurus, this is his Uranus half return, or the classic mid-life crisis time in a person’s life. Transiting Uranus has just passed over his Sun, and has been going backwards and forwards over Sun, Mercury, and a year ago Chiron. Taurus hates to let go of things, and he has held on to power doggedly, beyond the point of reasonableness you might argue, through a typical Uranian experience of shocks, upsets, unexpected setbacks. Uranus half return gives us an urgent message that things cannot continue the way they have been, change is coming whether we want it or not.
If you didn’t see his announcement he was also standing in the pouring rain as he made his announcement yesterday, looking bedraggled and shivering. You can watch it here. I am not sure why he choose to do it in this way, as his predecessor built an expensive press suite for just that purpose, talking to the press, not resigning. Perhaps he was looking to elicit pity, or it was a suffering/masochistic move. Certainly, in his chart there are martyr/victim symbols.
He has a Jupiter Mars conjunction in Virgo. Jupiter is in detriment in Virgo, weak and worrying, and Mars has no dignity there (peregrine). Mars in Virgo is hyper critical of self and others. Jupiter expands but in Virgo, in a negative way, he will probably be a person who gets caught up in details and forgets the bigger picture (Jupiter), a tendency to nitpicking and rigidity.
His Sun, Mercury conjunction is widely conjunct Chiron, the deep wound, this suggests his wealth (Taurus) is a source of pain for him, he married a heiress, which can never be easy and certainly, his fortune has be a bone of contention with the electorate, as he is definitely out of touch with ‘ordinary’ life. And, Uranus in Scorpio is opposing his Sun Mercury, so there will be surprises and sudden upsets, irritability and eccentricity, things that Taurus likes the least. Taurus likes their feet firmly on the ground, the transit of Uranus through the sign has been more shocking and disruptive, than Uranus’ recent transit through Aries. Aries loves a shake up.
However, he did become Prime Minister, (25 October 2022)which in itself was surprising, he had not had much of a political career previously. Notoriously, he was Chancellor under Johnson and therefore responsible for the greed fest that government oversaw during the plague years. Interestingly, Uranus was at 19’32 Taurus, applying to his Sun Mercury and separating from Chiron and Neptune was at 23’4 Pisces separating from the opposition of his Saturn at 20′ Virgo. Uranus shows rashness and splits from the past, while Neptune can show illusion, deceit and manipulation, for sure he stabbed his old boss, Johnson in the back to win the prize. As often occurs, the desire for office is not backed up by the skill of staying in office. He wanted to be PM but once he reached his goal he had no idea how to govern or ‘do’ politics.
If his Moon is in Aries, which I suspect it is, he was the first Asian Prime Minister. Aries are pioneers and often before their time. Aries likes a fight and he would have relished the battle for the leadership, although once gained he was fairly clueless about how to proceed. He is a bean-counter (Taurus, Virgo) rather than a visionary. If he was born earlier in the day, his Moon would have been opposite Pluto. Moon Pluto is explosive, reckless sometimes and certainly power hungry, but his Virgo Taurus planets prefer a more stable, calm life. He would have bitten off more than he could chew.
Below is the chart for when the polls open on July the 4th. What else can we see? Saturn is at 19’25 Pisces, opposite his natal Saturn at 20’17 Virgo. If I were choosing a date I’m not sure a Saturn opposition would be my first choice, but the other possible date for an election was October, when Saturn was retrograde (it may be Saturn rules his MC). Mars, is at 18’19 Taurus on election day, applying to a conjunction of his Sun Mercury.
This is perhaps why he elected to pick this date. The following day, the 5th of July, there is a New Moon at 14’23 Cancer, perhaps his personal astrologers understood the significance of the degree.
So, what does the election chart suggest? The government is shown by the MC in Aries ruled by Mars in detriment in Taurus. The opposition leader is shown by the 7th house and its ruler, (open enemies) and that is both Saturn in Pisces in the 9th and Uranus in Taurus in the 10th. Saturn is also without dignity in Pisces. I feel this describes both men accurately, damp squibs, with little charisma or dignity. And what of the people, they are shown by the Moon in Gemini in the 11th house, which is also without dignity. The people are divided and underwhelmed. Interestingly, Mars is applying to a sextile of Saturn, is this Rishi handing over the reins of power? Probably. The Moon is applying to a sextile of Chiron in Aries in the 10th house and then a square to Neptune in Pisces in the 9th house. The 9th house rules lawsuits, I wonder if there will be some confusion or legal challenges over the ballot. The Moon in an event chart shows what happens next. I feel both leaders may suffer a bloody nose, Rishi due to the failure of 14 years of government and Starmer as fallout from his stance on Gaza.
Have I answered my question? I suspect Rishi cut his losses (Uranus) calculating her might suffer a worse defeat if he delayed until October.
Last call for Greek Island Summer School Horary Astrology June 12th-19th
Greek Island Summer School offers the opportunity to learn some great astrology, enjoy the sun and sea of Greece and share your holiday with like-minded folk. The school was started by astrologer and Tarot reader Joanna Watters over 20 years ago. It provides high quality Astrology and Tarot tuition in a relaxed, friendly atmosphere. Students return year after year to get their dose of astrology, fabulous Greek hospitality, sea, and sunshine.
Maybe you don’t fancy a solo holiday, Greek Island Summer School offers a mix of learning new skills in a friendly environment, people to share an evening meal with if you wish, time at the beach and adding a new skill to your Astrology toolkit.
You may be beginning your astrology studies or have learnt lot and want to learn a new technique. This week which consists of 4 days of teaching with free afternoons and evenings and two free days.
I teach a different class each year, each one is a one-off experience.
The classes are held in the sunny patio of Joanna Watters (the founder of the school) and are kept deliberately small so students can get individual attention. Beginners, improvers, and advanced students are welcome as the mix of levels makes for a lively and interesting class.
Horary Astrology is another form of divination, different from Tarot and the I Ching, in that it provides both practical solutions and awareness into deeper motives. We will look at questions the students may bring as well as examples from my practice. Example questions include, should I by this house? Will I get this job? Where is my…? What is wrong with me? Should I take this trip? One day will concentrate on questions of health and herbal remedies that can be helpful. At the end of the course, each student should be able to answer their own horary questions with confidence and understand the meaning behind questions.
Details here Joanna writes a great weekly Astrology blog, details here
Elisabeth Brooke 