Greco-Indian astrology

Many Western astrologers assume modern Western astrology owes its origins to the discovery of astrology by the ancient Babylonians. [1] They also consider that astrology was further developed by the Egyptians of antiquity before reaching its penultimate stage in the Hellenic world. Further, they consider that the 'horoscopic astrology' of the Hellenic world informed astrology in India. At the same time, the evidence suggests 'horary astrology' was originally developed by Indian astrologers. [2] The above conclusions are strictly based on an interpretation of the literary record. One important anomaly has, however, emerged in this story, which this article explores.

Fully formed birth
As in the story of the Greek goddess Athena, it appears that the highest stage of astrology, horoscopic astrology, sprang forth fully formed in Hellenic literature of the late 2nd century BCE or early 1st century BCE, without any evdience of astrology appearing earlier in Greek thought. This is a startling feat. But how realistic is this theory? There is one Indian book that survives from the earliest time of recorded Greek astrology and it is called the Yavanajataka (Astrology of the Greeks) by Sphujidhvaja. [3] While these facts present us with a case for concluding that Greek astrology informed Indian astrology, it ignores a number of critical historical facts. There is also considerable controversy over the timing and origin of this work, as discussed below.

Ancient Indus Valley civilization
There is no doubt that an advanced tantric civilization existed in ancient India that predates the Greek and Babylonian civilizations. [4] The religious text of the Upanishads, which many date to the 2nd or 3rd millennia BCE or earlier, was likely recorded later. These texts contain a variety of advanced astronomical calculations, including planetary combinations and eclipses. [5] David Frawley has shown that the zodiac was described in the religious texts of the ancient Vedic civilisation, at least one thousand years before astrology appeared in Greece. The Vedanga Jyotishya, the earliest known astrology text, based on Sun-Moon astronomical calculations for ritual purposes, was written around 1200 BCE but is likely much older. [6] The fact that the term for astrology, Jyotishya, was known in vedic India is another confirmation of its earlier existence there. Studies of the ancient Indus Valley civilization, even before the Greek civilization emerged, reveal an important role of astrologers in royal courts and daily village life. [7]

Dearth of documentation
The problem scholars are encountering with regard to Vedic astrology is the lack of historical documentation. In addition to the risk of ancient information simply becoming lost over time, the most profound reason for the absence of such written information in modern times is "The Vedic veneration for Sanskrit as a sacred speech, whose divinely revealed texts were meant to be heard, recited and memorized rather than transmitted in writing." [8] Moreover, in the stratified Indian society, the Brahmin class of intellectuals, to which astrologers belonged, is known to have preserved some of their knowledge through an oral transmission of the 'sutras' (verses of knowledge) from one generation to the next rather than through transcribing. These reasons suggest that, aside from the major or foundational works, not much would have been written about the ancient enlightenment knowledge of the Vedas. This could have been more relevant when it comes to the propagation of Vedic astrology knowledge over time. This makes it more important to study and understand the circumstantial evidence concerning such knowledge, its emergence, social importance and development in the ancient Indus Valley civilization.

Alexander the Great opens up the world
Alexander the Great blazed a trail into India in the late 4th century BCE, exposing the Greek world to new ideas and techniques from the East and creating the Hellenic civilization in the process. Among the influences coming from India were an advanced and humane cosmology and stunning scientific discoveries in mathematics. In turn, Greek became the 'lingua franca' of the Bactrian Greek kingdoms, which extended into India.

Greco-Indian civilization
Following the Classical period of Greece from 490 BCE to 323 BCE, the Hellenic civilization is considered to represent the zenith of Greek influence in the ancient world. This period ran from 323 BCE to sometime during the 1st century BCE. In the Greco-Roman civilization that followed, Greek culture, art and literature permeated Roman society, whose elite spoke and read Greek as well as Latin. After the conquest of Alexander the Great, Hellenic kingdoms were established throughout south-west Asia and ancient Egypt. While this resulted in the export of Greek culture and language to these new realms, there is strong evidence that these new kingdoms were strongly influenced by the indigenous cultures.

Earlier links
The cultural link between the Mediterranean peoples and those of India goes back well before the Alexandrian conquests. There were the Silk and Incense trade routes as well as transport of animals and goods by sea for thousands of years before the Hellenic age. One manifestation of this is the fact that mathematical numbers were discovered in India, perhaps in the early 1st millennium BCE. These numbers found their way to the Mediterranean region and transformed the mathematics of the Arabs, although much later.

Babylonian and Indian Astrology
Scholars have less to go on when it comes to the relationship between Babylonian and Indian astrology. While it is certain that Babylonian astrology developed before Greek astrology, it was for the longest time not a horoscopic form of astrology. As astrology and astronomy developed together in antiquity, it is important that scholars have determined that Indian astronomy concepts predate the emergence of comparable concepts in Babylonian astronomy. [9] While the scholars do not assert that Babylonina astronomy was derived from Indian astronomy, at least they have shown the independent earlier development of Indian astronomy. This indicates that also astrology developed earlier in India. That said, the oldest surviving Vedic horoscopic astrology texts are from the period when horoscopic astrology had already been established in west Asia and around the Mediterranean sea. While future research will hopefully shed more light on this, let's look more closely at the circumstantial evidence.

Pythagoras' debt to India
It has been suggested that the theorems of Pythagoras, from the early Classical period in Greece, are of an Indian origin. The Apastamba Sulba Sutra (circa 600 BC) contains a numerical proof of the general Pythagorean theorem, which many believe was based on earlier traditions. Further, it was theorized that Pythagoras visited Arakonam, India, and copied it. [10] While not much is known of Pythagoras based on his own writings, it is thought that he believed in reincarnation, a concept of Indian origin. In any event, there is much historical evidence for the notion that principal discoveries came from India that transformed the understanding of the peoples of the Mediterranean world. In the same way, the spread of Indian ideas to East Asia resulted in the transformation of the preexisting cultures.

Greek communities in India
It is also a fact that following the conquest and colonization efforts of Alexander the Great around 323 BCE, Greek communities were established in India. However, shortly after his death, the Mauryan Empire extended its reach and overtook the Indus Valley region, which Alexander had conquered. The founder and ruler of the empire, Chandragupta, was a devotee of the Jain religion, which is part of the tantric civilization. The Greek communities were in the northwest region of Pakistan, notably ancient Gandhara near Islamabad, and in southern Afghanistan in the region of Gedrosia. Chandragupta was in conflict with the Greek king Seleucus I, ruler of the Seleucid Empire, who tried to reconquer the northwestern parts of India, during a campaign in 305 BCE, but failed. The two rulers finally concluded a peace treaty with the exchange of gifts, where Chandragupta received the territories of Kamboja, Gandhara, Kandhahar and Gedrosia, while Seleucus I received 500 war elephants. Diplomatic relations were established and several Greeks, such as the historian Megasthenes, Deimakos and Dionysius resided at the Mauryan court. Megasthenes wrote a major source book on India. [11] In ensuing centuries, the rulers of Greece continued to send ambassadors to India, with one, Heliodorus in the 1st century BCE, becoming a devotee of the Upanishads. These high level contacts and Greek communities in India confirm a steady flow of information between Greece and India. The Greek communities were still significant during the reign of the emperor Ashoka the Great, who ruled the Mauryan Empire from 273 to 232 BCE.

India and the Stoics
Legend has it that Chandragupta gave up his throne and adopted asceticism under the Jain saint, Bhadrabahu Swami. He breathed his last in 298 BCE in present day Karnataka. A small temple marks the Bhadrabahu Cave where he died. Ashoka was influenced by the spirituality of his grandfather, emperor Chandragupta. However, he converted to Buddhism, another prominent religion of the tantric civilization, after unleashing a bloody civil war to gain power. It is said that his conscience bothered him when surveying the battle fields after his victory. He then wrote the 'Edicts of Ashoka' which were carved in large stone pillars and placed throughout his empire to encourage citizens to emphasize goodness in daily life. It is likely no coincidence that the Stoic school of philosophy also empahsizing goodness in life and a universal divinity emerged in Athens some twenty or thirty years after Alexander's conquest of India and became popular among astrologers around the Mediterranean sea some one hundred and fifty years later. The influences and the direction of causality seem compelling.

Ascetism and the divine
There is a thread of ascetism running from ancient Vedic India, through Buddhism, to Judaism (the Essenes) and on to Christianity and finally, Islam. [12] A recent theory is that the idea of a God-man in the Christian and Islamic religions is an influence of earlier such expressions of divine men in the tantric religions of India, including the legends of Shiva and Krishna in the Vedic religion and of Buddha in the Buddhist religion. This notion represents a clear break with the existing monotheistic religion of the Jews or the ahistoric personified gods of the Greeks and Romans. Such influences suggest the Hellenic age would more appropriately be considered a Greco-Indian age; in the sense that new ideas came to the Greek controlled Mediterranean region from India. [13] To examine the literary record without considering this historical context may explain why some have rushed to judgment about the origin of horoscopic astrology. Let us now turn to the astrology of the ancient world.

Controvery over the Yavanajataka
There is an ongoing debate in India about the 'Astrology of the Greeks', both its origin and time of writing. Rather than being written in the time of Alexander the Great as some have suggested, scholars have concluded it was written in the 2nd or 3rd century AD. Agastya Rishi has suggested Yavanajataka was not a Greek but a Yavana work. In this regard, he notes that the Yavana's used Navamsa (9th house divisional) charts while contemporary Hellenistic astrologers like Vettius Valens, Firmicus Maternus and Theodorus of Sidon did not. [14] He also points out that while all Greeks were Yavanas not all Yavanas were Greeks. Some Indian scholars have concluded that the Greeks didn't have astrology at the time of Alexander, but that astrology was introduced to Greece after 280 BC by a certain Berrossus, more than 50 years after the death of Alexander. In other words, there is considerable controversy surrounding the conclusions that may be drawn from the existence of this book, the Astrology of the Greeks.

Origins of Horoscopic Astrology
Horoscopic astrology is a form of astrology which uses a graphical representation of the Sun, Moon and planets with reference to the twelve signs of the zodiac at any given moment in time. A critical ingredient of horoscopic astrology is the use of twelve houses, beginning with the ascendant, the sign that rises over the Eastern horizon at any given moment of time. The word for the ascendant in Greek is horoskopos. Meanwhile, the word for the study of the stars in the West is astrology, meaning the ‘logic of the stars’. Over time, horoscopic astrology has come to denote the study of astrology in terms of a chart as a whole. The debate whether this most developed form of astrology originated in the Hellenic or Vedic civilization is examined more closely here.

Horoscopic formats
In the respected work Greek Horoscopes, by Neugebauer and van Hoesen, three basic horoscopic formats are shown. [15] The two to the right are found most often in "Latin and Islamic astrological literature." The middle one is the very same horoscope format used in North India to this day.

Primacy of the ascendant
In Holden's History of Horoscopic Astrology there is the following reproduction from the translation by Pingree of the Astrology of the Greeks. [16] It is the earliest literary horoscope recorded in Greece. While not exactly shaped like a Vedic chart it is of considerable importance that the ascendant is placed at the top of the diagram, which is the ancient custom of Vedic astrology. It is known that later practitioners of Greek and Roman astrology moved the ascendant to the left side of the chart, the horoskops. This was linked to the increased focus of astrologers on the Sun and its physical appearance over the horizon in the morning. This emphasis on the Sun was also related to the seasons, which the solar cycle governs. In effect, this was part of a gradual transformation of astrology, which over time became modern Western astrology. At the same time, it is likely that this transformation was a critical evolutionary mistake in the practice of astrology in the West.

Vedic astrology
In India, the birth chart is known with its sanskrit name as a Kundli or Rasi chart, while the rising sign is called the Lagna. The term for astrology is Jyotisha, meaning the ‘science of light’. The astrology of India is alternately called Indian astrology, Hindu astrology or Vedic astrology. The term Indian reflects the geographic location of the astrology. The term Hindu represents the modern cultural expression of the astrology. Meanwhile, Vedic reflects the ancient tantric philosophy of this type of astrology. In the Vedas, astrology was considered the sixth limb of enlightenment knowledge. The cosmology of the Vedas is arguably the most important ingredient of astrology, including the 'law of karma'. In fact, the planets, grahas, represent the accumulated karma of the soul, to be expressed in the life, but giving scope for the expression of our 'free will'. Hence, the term Vedic astrology is preferred. Vedic astrology is still practiced today, much like it was many thousands of years ago. It is the modern system of horoscopic astrology closest to that practiced in the Hellenic world.

Signs, houses and planets
Horoscopic astrology is based on signs, houses and planets and their meaning is well established. The sanskrit names of the signs and planets are shown here. The mythology of Rahu and Ketu streteches back into antiquity, related to the knowledge of the ancient Rishis (sages) of the eclipses.

Houses and their meaning
What gave birth to horoscopic astrology as we know it is the concept of houses. The logic of the twelve houses is tied to the twelve signs. The houses show the areas of life where the influences of the planets and signs manifest. The rising sign is considered to be the first and most important house as it represents the person. The others houses, which represent key areas of the life, are counted from the sign falling in the first house. The twelve houses have been identified to represent the following meaning in the life of the individual.

1st: SELF, e.g. physical attributes, personality, fame & well being.
2nd: RESOURCES, e.g. family, wealth & status.
3rd: EFFORTS, e.g. younger siblings, actions, speech & courage.
4th: INTERESTS, e.g., mother, education, inner harmony & home.
5th: CREATIVITY, e.g. children, romance, speculation & trading.
6th: OPPOSITION, e.g. enemies, fixity of views, debts, health & conflict.
7th: PARTNER, e.g. husband/wife, foreign trips & leisure.
8th: ENDINGS, e.g. obstacles, death, inheritance, fathers income & beliefs.
9th: SUPPORT, e.g. father, guidance, higher thought, fortune & foreign things.
10th: CAREER, e.g. public persona, professional activities & fame.
11th: GOALS, e.g. elder brother, friends, plans, hopes, ideals & income.
12th: SEPARATION, e.g. grandfather, losses, far away places & prison.

Systems' Approach
The logic of house rulerships by the planets is also unique for each ascendant and this is the essence of the Systems' Approach (SA) to vedic astrology. The planet 'ruling' a Moolatrikona (MT) sign becomes a functional ruler of the house that the MT sign falls into. In addition to its general nature, the planet carries with it, more importantly, a functional nature of the particular house its MT sign falls in. The other sign a planet may 'own' (excluding the Sun and Moon) and the house it falls in becomes less important for the overall horoscopic interpretation. That said, whatever house a planet resides in, its functional and general indications get expressed in that area of the life.

The dynamic changes for each ascendant. Those with the sign Aries rising are expected to approach life differently than those with say the sign Virgo rising.
Mars becomes 1st lord for Aries while Mercury becomes 1st lord for Virgo. By comparison Mars becomes 6th lord for Scorpio ascendants and Mercury becomes 4th lord for Gemini's and this means the planets take on a different functional meaning for these ascendants. There are many more considerations for a horoscopic reading based on SA vedic astrology, but this gives some sense of the logic.

Whole sign house system
Importantly, in the original horoscopic astrology the houses are considered to be equivalent to one whole sign. While the whole sign house system appeared in Greece, later developments in Western astrology changed this original scheme.

A singular problem
A singular problem in the history of astrology is the fact that many of its students and practitioners have shown a tendency for insufficient wherewithal to master the basic elements of astrology. Alternatively, they may have been working with an ineffective method or system of astrology. In any event, due to their failiure to achieve success in interpreting horoscopes or making accurate predictions, the disaffected astrologers have tended to seek new ideas or techniques, with many such efforts of doubtful value. Over time this has led to the introduction of a confusing array of ideas and techniques in astrology, which have obscured the essence of astrology as a language of the stellar influences. In general, while Vedic astrology has also been saddled with this tendency, an even greater tendency for this has been seen in Western astrology. After science and the scienctific method emerged in the Hellenistic age, with advances in astronomical knowledge, there arose a tendency to incorporate new astronomical insights into astrological practices, which reduced the interpretative and predictive accuracy.

Evolutionary wrong turn
There are several key mistakes that can be linked to the practice of astrology in the Roman Empire, its disappearance during the dark ages and the rediscovery of astrology in the West in the early middle ages. A key mistake was that medieval astrologers took to heart a recommendation in the grossly overrated astrology text Tetrabiblos, by Ptolemy. [17] Not only did this book reproduce an altered and incorrect version of older astronomical tables, showed no evidence of basic horoscopic astrology, but it provided the flawed advice to anchor the 0° Aries of the zodiac on the vernal point rather than to adjust the zodiac for the drift associated with the precession of the equinoxes as the Indians have consistently done, with the aid of the ‘ayanamsa’ calculation. The sidereal zodiac is therefore fixed in real sense. [18] Or as David Frawley points out, the Indians, who knew about precession for a long time, kept the zodiac fixed on the outer constellations while the Western astrologers kept theirs focused on the narrower seasonal cycle of the Sun. This mistake led to the evolution of the 'tropical' or moving zodiac in the West and the associated drift of the signs away from their original and visible constellational locations, such that the signs are now almost a whole sign away from their visible counterparts. Western astrology also developed an overemphasis on the role of the Sun in astrology, with the Sun sign becomnig the predominant key to a reading, rather than the ascendant as in the original horoscopic astrology. Moreover, in Western astrology houses became to be considered as independent of the signs, due to astronomical innovations or errors, such that they were allowed to overlap signs and become unequal. Thus, to compound the zodiac problem, the whole sign house system fell out of the astrological practice of the West. In the modern age, Western astrology has been further burdened by the tendency of its practitioners to adopt newly discovered invisible planets, often tiny outlying bodies in the solar system, and graft on to them ancient Greek mythological meanings as possible influences, with little evidence aside from their assertions of their influences. While the planets were given names of Roman gods, there is scant evidence that the astrology of Hellenic age was driven by Greek mythological meanings. That said, in renaming the planets and signs, and altering the horoscope format, a truly unique Greek astrology was born. No matter, the result of all these wrong turns is that Western astrologers have mostly been left with the study of planetary influences, stripped of the accurate sign and house meanings. While this is a sad state of affairs for those beholden to this form of astrology, hopefully this article will help some to rediscover the roots of the more comprehensive horoscopic astrology of which the astrology of the Vedas is still a living branch.

Visible astrology of the Vedas
The practitioners of Vedic astrology have never lost view of the visible planets, the original sidereal zodiac or the whole sign house system. As a result, Vedic astrology has been spared the greater confusions of Western astrology. The contribution of the Systems’ Approach has been to remove the accumulated contradictions and confusions, to further hone the interpretative and predictive accuracy of Vedic astrology.

In the ancient Bhagvad Gita of the Upanishads there is the following verse:

"The splendor of the sun, which dissipates the darkness of this whole world, comes from Me. And the splendor of the moon and the splendor of fire are also from Me" (Chapter 15, Verse 12).

This and many other statements about eclipses, the other planets and prophecy demonstrate the complete integration of astrology with the Vedic concept of the divine.

In sum,
- an examination of the Babyloninan, Egyptian, Greek, Roman and Arabic literal record is not giving a comprehensive picture
- the historical setting has to be examined
- knowledge of ancient Indian texts (in Sanskrit) is still incomplete
- oral transmission intra-familia was likely the way that this knowledge was propagated in India in ancient times
- the spread to the West of horoscopic astrology after the invasion by Alexander may have been through Indian court-astrologers
- the trantric civilization opened up human beings to deeper knowledge of a living idealism, through meditation and true assessment. Importantly, astrology was perceived as an integral part of the religious traditions.
- the fidelity of Indian astrologers with the Ayanamsa correction, the horoscope format and horoscopic astrology in its original form is likely the single greatest clue about the source of this knowledge being India.
- despite being continuously modified through astronomy, technique and general knowledge, the divine knowledge has depreciated steadily in the West as a meaningful language of the cosmic influences on human life. The conflict between astrology and the Christian religion as well as the reign of materialism in the modern age are likely contributing factors.

Conclusion
While there is literary evidence of works of Greek astrologers in the late Hellenic age, including the transportation of one such book to India in Roman times, this is far from sufficient proof of the origins of horoscopic astrology. Given the caste system, Indian astrologers likely passed down their astrology knowledge intra-familia, avoiding to disseminate it in book form. It is more likely that an oral transmission of Vedic astrology knowledge to the Hellenic world took place, perhaps through Indian court astrologers. After mastering the horoscopic astrology system, the Greek astrologers set about to modify and enhance it with a number of astronomical innovations, a new naming system, a new horoscope format and likely some novel insights. It would have been transcribed by the Greeks and re-exported to India in that form. Understandably, it would have been recognised as a novel contribution by Indian astrologers of that age. Nevertheless, given the monumental contribution of Indian civilization to philosophy and science - not least the human praxis of enlightenment - it is ahead of us to perform research into the ancient sanskrit texts, to the extent that they exist, and other sources to settle this matter once and for all.

However, we also need to put this issue in its proper perspective. While it is helpful to understand how these ideas emerged, spread and evolved, as my friend Rémi stated so well "what is really important is the development of the practitioner's efficiency in this day and age." In a similar vein, astrologer & author V.K. Choudhry has observed: "All ancient knowledge needs changes for the present era. Tracing history is one thing but finding validity is more important." Indeed, this is the chief concern of those applying the System's Approach.

References
[1] See for instance Rochberg, Francesca, "Babylonian horoscopes," The American Philosophical Society, 1998 or Scofield, Bruce, "The Nature of Mesopotamian and Non-Western Astrology" [retrieved on Oct. 10, 2009]
http://www.onereed.com/articles/nonwesternast.html
[2] Brennan, Chris, "The Transmission of Hellenistic Astrology to India" [retrieved on Oct. 10, 2009]
http://horoscopicastrologyblog.com/2008/12/11/the-transmission-of-hellenistic-astrology-to-india/
[3] Sphujidhvaja, “Yavanajataka,” 2 volumes, translated by David Pingree, 1978, Harvard University Press. See also reproduction of the text in English online at
http://www.astrojyoti.com/yavanajatakamainpage.htm
[4] Frawley, David, “Gods, sages and kings: Vedic secrets of ancient civilization,” 1991, Passage Press and "Vedic Origins of the Zodiac", October 13, 2009 [Retrieved on Oct. 29, 2009].
http://www.indiadivine.org/articles/1090/1/Vedic-Origins-of-the-Zodiac/Page1.html
[5] Scientific Verification of Vedic Knowledge (video)
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=7678538942425297587#
See also R. N. Iyengar, "Dhruva the Ancient Vedic-Hindu Pole Star"
http://www.scribd.com/doc/20298010/Dhruva-the-Ancient-Vedic-Hindu-Pole-Star
[6] Vedanga Jyotishya
http://www.vedicastronomy.net/vedanga.htm and http://www.desitip.com/servlet/drenderer?sel=Astrology
[7] Sen, Sailendra Nath, "Ancient Indian History and Civilization," 1988, New Age Internationla Publishers.
[8] Plofker, Kim, "Mathematics in India," 2009, Princeton University Press.
[9] Kak, Subhash, "Babylonian and Indian Astronomy: Early Connections," Jan 2003. [Retrieved on Oct. 11, 2009]
http://arxiv.org/abs/physics/0301078
[10] Van der Waerden, Bartel Leendert, “Geometry and Algebra in Ancient Civilizations,” 1983 and “Apastambiya-Sulvasutra,” ed. and translated into German by Albert Bŭrk, ZDMG, Vols 55, 56. 1901-02
[11] Dahlaquist, Allan, "Megasthenes and Indian Religion," 1962, Motilal Banarsidass.
[12] Bartram, John A., "Greco-India and Divine Men" [retrieved on Oct. 10, 2009]
http://apps.facebook.com/faceblogged/?t=viewcatentries&cid=6229&_fb_fromhash=a96f9953f90f20b6c152c919c3ada255
[13] Greco Buddhism [retrieved on Oct. 10, 2009]
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greco-Buddhism
[14] Discussion of origin of 'Astrology of the Greeks' (open archive)
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/JyotishGroup/message/24895 and of Indian astrology (membership required) at
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Indian_Astrology_Group_Daily_Digest
[15] Neugebauer, O and H. B. Van Hoesen, "Greek Horoscopes", 1987, The American Philosophical Society.
[16] Holden, James H., "History of Horoscopic Astrology", 1996, AFA.
[17] Ptolemy, "Tetrabiblos," 1822, J.M. Ashmand, Davis and Dickson.
[18] Gleadow, Rupert, "The Origin of the Zodiac," 1968, Dover Publications.

Birth of modern China

Most people look to either September 21, 1949 or October 1, 1949 when the People's Republic of China (PRC) was officially founded as having given birth to modern China. As an astrological examination of these dates has not provided a convincing match for major significant events in China's modern history, further research into the history of modern China was undertaken. An event has now been identified that may represent the actual birth of modern China. This event is the founding by Mao Zedong and his cadre in the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) of the Chinese Soviet Republic (CSR) in Ruijin, Jiangxi province, on November 7, 1931. A 23° Capricorn rising chart has tentatively been rectified for this day, based on Ruijin as the capital and with the proclamation having been given at 13.00 hrs. This chart should be considered work in progress.

The Two China period
The period from 1931 to 1937 is known in Chinese history as the 'Two China' period. At that time, most of China was part of the Republic of China (ROC), which was led by generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek and his Kuomintang (KMT) forces. The CSR was supported by the Soviet Union, while the ROC was supported by the Western powers.

Red Emperor
The single or red thread from the creation of the CSR and its transition into the PRC is Mao himself and the struggle of the CCP, which he led, for rule over China. In this regard it is important to note that China has had a continuos history of dynasties of emperors from around 1600 BCE. The period stetches over almost 4 millennia of recorded history. During this time, the emperors have been the 'central organising principle' of the nation. Mao assumed this role in modern Chinese life and thereby filled the vacum in Chinese society created by the Revolution of 1911. However, he did so in the name of a new ideology, communism as defined by him. As such, he founded a new dynasty in the name of the CCP and not his direct descendants. In October 1934, after the lands controlled by the CSR had been encircled and overrun by the KMT, Mao and his cadre undertook the famous Long March to establish a new base and preserve their fighting capabilities. Things took a different turn in 1937, with the onset of the Sino-Japanese war, which lasted until Japans' surrender in World War II, in 1945. As a gesture of peace with the KMT, in order for the CCP to join in the fight against Japan, the CSR was officially abandoned. However, Mao was ingenious in meeting the demands of the KMT. In its resolution on February 21, 1937, the KMT demanded the "Dissolution of the so-called "Chinese Soviet Republic." The CCP, which saw it essential to safeguard its future by making compromises with the KMT, declared on September 22, 1937: "This party abolishes the present Soviet government... " [1] In other words, the present government was abolished but not the new nation. As soon as it was convenient to do so, Mao's efforts to unite China under his rule continued. As Japan's fortunes in WW II began to wane, Mao turned his undivided attention to conquering the KMT. Those efforts succeeded in 1949 when the KMT fled to Taiwan, an island that had earlier been taken over by Japan. The ROC has continued there, but is increasingly isolated given the might of the Communist regime on mainland China. Due to his increasing alienation from the Soviet communist model, Mao created a Peoples Republic in 1949. However, the earlier proclamation of a Soviet Republic had brought the new nation into existence, and it continued.

History of China
The history of humanity in what is now China is traced back into the ancient mists of time. The history of China as a national entity goes back to the Shang Dynasty, which ruled from around 1600 BCE. The origins of Chinese culture, literature and philosophy, however, developed later, in the feudal Zhou Dynasty, from around 1000 BCE to around 300 BCE. The Zhou Dynasty broke apart into individual city states, creating the Warring States period. However, in 221 BCE, Qin Shi Huang united the various warring kingdoms and created the first Chinese empire. The dynasties of China developed bureaucratic systems that enabled the Emperor to directly control the vast territories. The dynasties alternated between periods of political unity and disunity and occasionally becoming dominated by foreign Asian peoples, most of whom were assimilated into the Han Chinese population.

Chinese Soviet Republic (CSR)
The Chinese Soviet Republic was a state established in November 1931 by the future Communist Party of China leader Mao Zedong, legendary general Zhu De and others. Mao Zedong was CSR State Chair and Prime Minister - at once the Head of the State and of its Government. It was from this "small state within a state" that he gained the experience in mobile warfare and peasant organization that he later used to accomplish the Communist conquest of China in the late 1940s. The CSR was destroyed by the KMT's National Revolutionary Army in a series of Encirclement Campaigns eventually designed by the German general Hans von Seeckt.

On November 7, 1931, the anniversary of the 1917 Russian Bolshevik Revolution, with the help of the Soviet Union, a National Soviet People's Delegates Conference took place in Ruijin , Jiangxi province, which was selected as the national capital. " Chinese Soviet Republic " was born, even though the majority of China was still under the control of the nationalist Government of the Republic of China. On that day, they had an open ceremony for the new country, and Mao Zedong and other Communists attended the military parade. Because it had its own bank, printed its own money, collected tax through its own tax bureau, therefore, it is considered as the beginning of Two Chinas.

The Chinese Soviet Republic continued to exist formally after the fall of the Jiangxi soviet, as the communists still controlled some areas like the Hubei-Henan-Shaanxi Soviet. [2]

“It was in the eastern part of that province that on 7 November 1931, the anniversary of the October Revolution, the consolidation and extension of the main base led to the procalamation of a Chinese Republic of Soviets, with Mao presiding over the Council of People’s Commissars. Until its final triumph in 1949, Chinese Communism was to go thorugh many incarnation and terrible setbacks, but the main model was establisehd here: concentrating the energy of the revolution on the construction of a state, and focusing the efforts of that state, which was to be warlike by nature, on forming a strong army to crush the enemoy, which was the central government of Nanjing, presided over by Chinag Kai-shek.” [3]

In November 1931, the First All-China Soviet Congress was convened in Ruijin , Jiangxi and it founded the Chinese Soviet Republic as a national regime and established separate state and military structures to operate at the national level. While direct control over the military was taken away from Mao Zedong, he was appointed to the new post of Chair of the Soviet government. Xiang Ying and Zhang Guotao were appointed as his deputies. Zhu De was appointed chair of the newly established Central Revolutionary Military Commission, with Peng Dehuai and Wang Jiaxiang as his deputies. The Congress also adopted a Constitution for the Republic that designated it as a "democratic dictatorship of the proletariat and the peasantry." However, there was no pretence that the Soviet was anything other than a communist one-party dictatorship. In the remote rural area there were no industrial workers, the proletariat consisted almost entirely of village artisans, handicraftsmen, and farm laborers. This notwithstadning, the Constitution acknowledged that "only the proletariat can lead the broad masses to socialism," and thus they were to have extra representation in the Soviet. [4]

Kuomintang of China
The Kuomintang of China, translated as the Chinese Nationalist Party, is a political party of the ROC, commonly known as Taiwan since the 1970s…The KMT was founded by Song Jiaoren and Sun Yat-sen shortly after the Xinhai Revolution. Later led by Chiang Kai-shek, the ROC ruled much of China from 1928 until its retreat to Taiwan in 1949 after defeat by the CCP during the Chinese Civil War. [5]

Chinese Civil War
The Chinese Civil War was fought between the KMT (or Chinese Nationalist Party) and the CCP. The war began in April 1927, amidst the Northern Expedition. The war represented an ideological split between the Western-supported Nationalist KMT and the Soviet-supported Communist CCP. In communist historiography the war was also known as the "War of Liberation." The civil war carried on intermittently until the Second Sino-Japanese War interrupted it, resulting in the two parties forming a Second United Front. The Japanese assault and occupation of Eastern China was an opportunistic attack made possible by China 's internal turmoil. Japan 's campaign was defeated in 1945, marking the end of World War II, and China 's full-scale civil war resumed in 1946. After a further four years, 1950 saw a cessation of major hostilities—with the newly founded People's Republic of China controlling mainland China (including Hainan Island), and the Republic of China's jurisdiction being restricted to Taiwan, Penghu, Kinmen, Matsu and several outlying Fujianese islands. To this day, since no armistice or peace treaty has ever been signed, there is controversy as to whether the Civil War has legally ended. Today, the two sides of the Taiwan strait have close economic ties. [6]

Second Sino-Japanese war
The Second Sino-Japanese War (July 7, 1937 – September 9, 1945) was a military conflict fought between the Republic of China and the Empire of Japan. From 1937 to 1941, China fought Japan with some economic help from Germany (until 1938) and the Soviet Union (1937-1940). After the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, the war merged into the greater conflict of World War II as a major front in the Pacific Theatre. The Second Sino-Japanese War was the largest Asian war in the twentieth century. Although the two countries had fought intermittently since 1931, full-scale war started in earnest in 1937 and ended only with the surrender of Japan in 1945. The war was the result of a decades-long Japanese imperialist policy aiming to dominate China politically and militarily to secure its vast raw material reserves and other resources. At the same time, the rising tide of Chinese nationalism and notions of self determination stoked the coals of war. Before 1937, China and Japan fought in small, localized engagements in so-called "incidents". Yet the two sides, for a variety of reasons, refrained from fighting a total war. [7]

CCP and KMT join to fight Japan
The Second United Front was the alliance between the KMT and CCP during the Second Sino-Japanese War or World War II, which suspended the Chinese Civil War from 1937 to 1946…It was a moment rarely seen during wars- where both sides join together to face a greater threat…The alliance that was created with the Communists was in name only and the Communists hardly ever engaged the Japanese in conventional battles but proved efficient in guerrilla warfare. The level of actual co-operation and co-ordination between the CCP and KMT during World War II was minimal. In the midst of the Second United Front, the Communists and the Kuomintang were still vying for territorial advantage in "Free China" (i.e. those areas not occupied by the Japanese or ruled by puppet governments). The situation came to a head in late 1940 and early 1941 when there were major clashes between the Communist and KMT forces. In December 1940, Chiang Kai-shek demanded that the CCP’s New Fourth Army evacuate Anhui and Jiangsu Provinces . Under intense pressure, the New Fourth Army commanders complied, but they were ambushed by Nationalist troops and soundly defeated in January 1941. This clash, which would be known as the New Fourth Army Incident, weakened the CCP position in Central China and effectively ended any substantive co-operation between the Nationalists and the Communists and both sides concentrated on jockeying for position in the inevitable Civil War. Within the Japanese occupied provinces the KMT and CCP forces carried on warfare with each other, with the Communists eventually destroying or absorbing the KMT forces or driving them into the puppet forces of the Japanese. By the end of the Second Sino-Japanese War, the Communists were in control of nearly all of the areas of North China not controlled by Japan or its puppet forces. [8]

Quasi-dissolution of the CSR
In any event, when the KMT and CCP joined in the Second Front there was a cessation of the Chinese Civil War, shortly after the outbreak of the Sino-Japan war. As part of the cessation of the Civil War, the KMT, in its resolution on February 21, 1937, demanded the

"Dissolution of the so-called "Chinese Soviet Republic,"

In return, the CCP, which saw it essential to safeguard its future by making compromises with the KMT, declared on September 22, 1937:

"This party abolishes the present Soviet government,... " [1]

Importantly, the CCP it did not abolish the national entity, only the government. This was of course a formal gesture, as the organisation of the military campaign of the CCP continued in the hands of Mao and his generals. Moroever, as this was a temporary truce, to fight a common enemy, which both had reasons to do, hostilities between the CCP and KMT broke out not long afterwards.

People's Republic of China
After its victory in the Chinese Civil War, the CCP, led by Mao Zedong, gained control of most of Mainland China . On 1 October 1949, they established the People's Republic of China as a Socialist State headed by a "Democratic Dictatorship" with the CCP as the only legal political party, thus, laying claim as the successor state of the ROC. The central government of the Chinese Nationalist Party led by Chiang Kai-shek was forced to retreat to the island of Taiwan that it had occupied at the end of World War II, and moved the ROC government there. Major armed hostilities ceased in 1950 but no peace treaty has been signed. An estimated 36 million died during the Great Chinese Famine of 1958–61. [9]

The history of the People's Republic of China details the history of mainland China since October 1, 1949, when, after a near complete victory by the CCP in the Chinese Civil War, Mao Zedong proclaimed the PRC from atop Tiananmen (the gate of heavenly peace). The PRC has for several decades been synonymous with China , but it is only the most recent political entity to govern mainland China , preceded by the ROC and thousands of years of imperial dynasties. [10]

Sino-Soviet split
The Sino–Soviet split was the gradual worsening of ideologic relations between the PRC and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) during the Cold War (1945–91). [11] Their doctrinal divergence owed as much to Chinese and Russian national interest, as with the régimes’ interpretative Marxist ideologies. In particular, Mao did not like the Soviet Union's focus on displacing peasants and forcibly moving them to urban centers for heavy industrial production. His own communist model was based on support from largely peasant population, with an emphasis on establishing light industries in agricultural communities. The ideological differences, as well as border conflicts, led to a public break between Mao Zedong and Nikita Khrushchev, the Premier of the Soviet Union, in the 1960s.

Summation of historical evidence
It is likely that Mao, given his alienation from the Soviet development model led him to create a new image for China, the People's Republic. This act was, however, not the real birth of the nation he created as this had been achieved with the proclamation of the Soviet Republic. In sum, it is held that the creation of this national entity, CSR, in 1931, even if not ruling over the entire country at that time and formally being called the PRC in 1949, represents modern China.

ASTROLOGY OF THE CHART
Capricorn ascendant fits well with the 'personality' of the Chinese people. It is a sign owned by Saturn, a planet characterised as being stern and representing old things. Indeed, the country is based on a history stretching back into the hoary mists of time and is based on a phenomenal cultural legacy.

According to Author & Astrologer V.K. Choudhry, the rising sign Capricorn
"...is a negative, non-human, earthy and semi-fruitful sign. It signifies tact, cheating, lethargy and melancholic nature if its ruler, Saturn, is weak....Capricornians are social as Venus rules their tenth house. They are conservative, selfish and selective in approach. They are secretive, pensive, organised, proud and fastidious. They are vigilant and tactful. They have compromising nature in order to achieve leadership...They long for leadership, political power, practice of law and business. Their major pursuits in life include acquisition of assets, partnerships and social contacts for personal benefits and selfish ends...The significator for the soul, the Sun and significator for morality and generosity, Jupiter, are functional malefics for Capricornians." [12]

The major elements in the natal potential of the chart are as follows:

- 2nd lord Saturn is in the MEP of the 12th house of losses and foreign things. By itself, this is not a good placement for status, wealth or relations with neighboring countries. It is interesting that in its history of the 20th century, China enjoyed preeminent status in marginal countries like communist Albania under Enver Hoxa, the North Korean dynasty of Sun Il Jung and the islamist Republic of Iran.

- 10th lord Venus is conjunct 9th lord Mercury in the 11th house. There is fortune in the international presence and it is rooted in ideals. There is an emphasis on equality, order, centralisation of political power, decentralised progressive economy, foreign trade, etc.. Importantly, this chart shows the importance of foreign trade for China in obtaining revenue. In recent decades, China has acquired a huge trade surplus viz-a-viz the rest of the world.

- There is one problematic affliction of FM Rahu in the 3rd house of initiatives, which closely afflicts 4th lord Mars in the 11th house. This placement would explain the many gigantic earthquakes which have befallen China. It would also explain a tendency to manipulate peoples expression to maintain central power. This tendency would greatly reduce the happiness of the people.

- A debilitated 8th lord Sun is on the MEP of the 10th house, afflicting also the 4th house. There have been frequent large earthquakes, with loss of life and property. The influence on the 4th house is seen in the decade long culturual revolution (1966-1976), which decimated the education system in China. The powerful placement of the Sun, while giving obstacles and endings, also gives China a power status in the world. With the prominent influence of 8th lord on 4th house, there would be the atheistic tendency of the Communists, albeit the placement of 10th lord Venus and 9th lord Mercury find expression in the 11th house of ideals.

- Another grave affliction is that of Ketu being conjunct the 7th lord Moon in the 9th house. This suggests sudden setbacks in foreign policy. Ketu in the 9th house also indicates isolation or uniqueness with respect to the philosophical outlook.

- As 12th lord Jupiter is at the edge of the MEP of the 7th house, there are foreign entanglements, which are not that helpful.

The following significant events are also exmained as the chart must explain all such events in a convincing manner. Should there be a major event identified that does not match the history, this would be reason enough to reconsider the chart.

Significant event 1: The Long March, Ocotber 16, 1934, for two years
Moon-Saturn period. The Moon is natally conjunct Ketu, the planet of isolation. The Saturn sub-period also suggests deprivation and losses, as Saturn is placed in the 12th house. The over 6000 mile journey saw significant loss of life but brought the communists in touch with their future political base, the peasants.

Significant event 2: Tangshan earthquake, 28 July 1976
Jupiter- Moon period was operating. Moon is conjunct Ketu the lord of sudden and explosive events. Transit 8th lord Sun was conjunct 2nd lord Saturn, ruling the masses, resulting in hundreds of thousands of lives lost. Transit 12th lord Jupiter, the sub-period lord, was opposite natal 9th lord Mercury, undermining the divine protection.

Significant event 3: Tinnamen Square protests, 4 June 1989
Saturn-Venus period was operating. Transit 10th lord Venus was in the 6th house of conflict under aspect from Rahu, the lord of crisis, in 2nd house. Transit 8th lord Sun was conjunct 12th lord Jupiter in the 5th house of universities.
.
The future
Looking forward, we can note that the chart is running the Mercury - Rahu period until December 11, 2011. From December 2009 to February 2010, transit Rahu will be stationary at around 27° Sagittarius in the 12th house. In that degree it will be conjunct natal 2nd lord Saturn at 25° Sagittarius. At that time, the dispositor of Saturn and Rahu, transit 12th lord Jupiter will be placed in Aquarius and the 2nd house. Moreover, transit 2nd lord Saturn at 10° Virgo will be conjunct natal Ketu in the 9th house. This suggests a crisis having to do with China's status, wealth or relations with neighbors. As Jupiter is natally placed in the 7th house, a foreign policy issue is likely. Moreover, as Rahu natally afflicts 4th lord Mars, some problems for the military and police cannot be excluded, especially as transit Mars will be stationary at 24° Cancer, were it is debilitated and conjunct natal Jupiter. A major earthquake is also possible at this time.

References
[1] The China White Paper: August 1949, United States. Dept. of State, Lyman Van Slyke, pages 48-50.
http://books.google.com/books?id=HuB6gPHeP_cC&pg=PA151&lpg=PA151&dq=Lyman+Van+Slyke+Chinese+Communist+movement&source=bl&ots=EFv28RnbQP&sig=ufdJNy1ScuGOSL3zmXlqzbLP-08&hl=is&ei=bZDISrHgHZK04Qbf4rzHAQ&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=6#v=onepage&q=Soviet%20Republic&f=false
[2] Chinese Soviet Republic
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_Soviet_Republic
[3] The Black Book of Communism: Crimes, Terror, Repression, 1999, Stéphane Courtois, Nicolas Werth, Jean-Louis Panné, Adrezej Paczkowski, Karel Bartosek and Jean-Louis Margolin, Harvard. http://books.google.com/books?id=H1jsgYCoRioC&pg=PA471&lpg=PA471&dq=China+proclamation+November+7,+1931&source=bl&ots=cYtpROHgh5&sig=sASFSuD6IUYCJefmQMJF3zfSffU&hl=is&ei=RcDISv-gJsS24Qa667HHAQ&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=3#v=onepage&q=november%201931&f=true
[4] The CSR: A new state; one party dictatorship
http://ksghome.harvard.edu/~asaich/chinese-communisty-party-during-comintern.pdf
[5] The Kumonintang (KMT)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kuomintang
[6] Chinese Civil War
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_Civil_War
[7] Second Sino-Japanese War
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Second_Sino-Japanese_War
[8] Second United Front
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Second_United_Front
[9] People's Republic of China
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/China#Post_Civil_War_.281949.E2.80.93present.29
[10] People's Republic of China
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_the_People
[11] Sino-Soviet split
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sino-Soviet_split
[12]Capricorn rising characteristics
http://www.yournetastrologer.com/learn_astrology81.htm

Israel's foreign policy loss

The outcome of the latest round of talks to defuse the international tensions over Iran's nuclear ambitions suggests Iran is, for now at least, the 'winner.' By default, Israel is considered the 'loser' in the high stakes international negotiations. Such outcomes are exactly in line with what has been predicted for Israel at this time based on the Capricorn rising national horoscope (sidereal) for Israel.

Analysis: Iran is winner in nuclear talks
October 3, 2009 -- Updated 1843 GMT
(CNN) -- The United States and its partners in the P5+1 -- Britain , France , Germany , Russia and China -- left Thursday's talks with Iran in Geneva , Switzerland , rightfully claiming progress...Or so they thought...Iran's supposed about-face also blunts the threat of Israeli attack, at least for now. Israel has maintained for years that Iran was not being honest about the scope of its nuclear program and has pointed to the Qom facility as confirmation of its suspicions. [1]

Israel is the loser from the Geneva encounter
DEBKAfile Exclusive Analysis October 3, 2009
After the hype evaporates from the Geneva encounter between the six powers and Iran and the raw emotions fade from the videotaped sight of kidnapped Israeli soldier Gilead Shalit, Israel is left to take stock of where it stands in relation to its enemies, Iran and the Hamas. The score is Israel - nil; Iran and its ally Hamas - two up. [2]


In the article Ties that bind: Israel-USA (March 27, 2009) it was considered what influences the transit of 12th lord Jupiter was likely to bring while stationary at 23°-24° Capricorn and 1st house this fall, where it is exactly opposite 2nd lord Saturn in Cancer and 7th house in the national chart for Israel, and the following was stated:

"For Israel, this transit affliction creates problems with 12th house issues of e.g. "loss" of status in foreign policy sphere". [3]

Further in the article Tense autumn ahead (August 8, 2009) it was stated that the aspect

"...suggests some losses will be felt by Israel."

In view of other aspects it was added

"...there is likely to be heightened tension in Israel...especially in the first half of October." [4]

The above mentioned outcomes are exactly in line with these predictions.


References
[1] Analysis: Iran is winner in nuclear talks, at least for now, CNN, October 3, 2009 -- Updated 1843 GMT
http://edition.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/meast/10/03/iran.talks.analysis/index.html
[2] Israel is the loser from the Geneva encounter, Shalit tape release, DEBKAfile Exclusive Analysis, October 3, 2009
http://www.debka.com/article.php?aid=1407
[3] Ties that bind: Israel-USA (March 27, 2009)
http://cosmologer.blogspot.com/2009/03/ties-that-bind-israel-usa.html
[4] TENSE AUTUMN AHEAD (August 8, 2009)
http://cosmologer.blogspot.com/2009/08/tense-autumn-ahead.html

Bay of Pigs Invasion

The Bay of Pigs Invasion was an unsuccessful attempt by a CIA-trained force of Cuban exiles to invade Cuba with support from US government armed forces. The objective was the overthrow of the Cuban government of Fidel Castro. The plan, which was authorised by outgoing US President Eisenhower, was launched in the Spring of 1961, shortly after John F. Kennedy had assumed the US Presidency. The Cuban armed forces, trained and equipped by the Soviet Union, defeated the invasion force in three days. Relations between the USA and Cuba later went 'from bad to worse' during the critical Cuban Missile Crisis in October 1962. The failed invasion has also been linked to the assassination of President Kennedy in 1963. The astrological dynamics are clearly seen in the SAMVA USA chart (Perpetual Union).

Historical background
In 1959, during the Cold War between the USA and the Soviet Union, Fidel Castro took power in Cuba in an armed revolutionary overthrow of the Batista regime, which was closely aligned with Washington. Castro’s success owed to the financial and military support of the Soviet Union.

On March 16, 1960, US President Dwight D. Eisenhower ordered the CIA to use their elite Special Activities Division to equip, train and lead Cuban exiles in an amphibious invasion of Cuba, to overthrow the new Cuban government of Fidel Castro. The CIA helped Cuban exiles in Miami to create the Cuban Revolutionary Council (CRC), chaired by José Miró Cardona, former Prime Minister of Cuba (Jan 1959). Cardona became the de facto leader-in-waiting of the intended post-invasion Cuban government.[1]

During the night of 14/15 April, a diversionary landing was planned near Baracoa, Oriente Province, by about 164 Cuban exiles commanded by Higinio 'Nino' Diaz. Their mother ship, named 'La Playa' or 'Santa Ana', had sailed from Key West under a Costa Rican ensign. Several US Navy destroyers were stationed offshore near Guantanamo Bay to give the appearance of an impending invasion fleet. The reconnaissance boats turned back to the ship after detecting activities by Cuban militia forces along the coastline.

The actual invasion began “at about 00.00 on April 17” with a force of 1500 Cuban exiles led by two CIA operatives. The defeated exile militias were airlifted late in the day on April 19th. The failed invasion severely embarrassed the Kennedy Administration and made Castro wary of future US intervention in Cuba. It has also been alleged that the failure of the US government to provide more military support doomed the invasion force of Cuban exiles, with the anger being directed at President Kennedy, possibly leading to a plot for his assassination. Another theory is that Kennedy ran afoul of the CIA due to his plan to break it up into smaller units in order to better control its undercover activities.[2]

Astrology of the event
The Saturn major period and Venus sub-period were operating from February 1960. The Cold War in full swing, indicated by the major period of Saturn, from April 1953 to April 1972.

In the first half of 1961, transit Mars, as 10th lord of the executive government and the general indicator of the military, was badly placed in Gemini and 12th house of losses. Mars is natally strong in the SAMVA USA chart, in the sign Scorpio and 5th house, receiving an aspect from natal Moon as 1st lord of self. These placements imbue Americans with a pride in their military power. The transit of Mars in the 12th house, however, tends to weaken the indications of this planet, including a sense of courage and expose the military to losses.

Natally, the planet Rahu, indicator of deception and manipulation, is conjunct the most effective point of the 10th house, from where it also afflicts the 6th house of conflict and 2nd house of status. This aspect has been associated with numerous covert actions of a military nature sponsored by the US government around the world. As Rahu's influence is deceptive, its uncovering may result in a crisis and setbacks to the international status of the USA. But life is full of contradictions. At the same time, the strong Sun as 2nd lord of status and wealth is placed in the most effective point of the 7th house of foreign policy. This placement in the SAMVA USA chart reveals the generally positive and powerful influence of the USA in the world at large.

Importantly, transit Jupiter, as 6th lord of conflict, was conjunct natal Mercury as 3rd lord of initiatives where it would remain stationary during the summer of 1961. Mercury, placed at 12° Capricorn in the chart, is also the general indicator of intelligence, including military intelligence. At the time of Eisenhovers decision, transit debilitated Jupiter was also conjunct transit Saturn. Such periodic aspects between the 6th lord and 8th lord are classic indicators of violence in the national life of the USA. The influence of transit Jupiter in the chart at that time was to impel the US government to undertake a covert initiative to enter into a conflict with the objective to overthrow a government seen to be hostile.*

As Mars was in the house of losses, the initiative turned into a fiasco. Soon afterward, recrimminations began and a conflict developed over the failed initiative. It is of interest that prior to the invasion, both transit 6th lord Jupiter and transit Saturn, as 8th lord of obstacles, transited over natal Venus, as 4th lord of communal harmony. As natal Venus is badly placed in the 6th house, communal harmony in the USA is sensitive to matters pertaining to conflict, as the Vietnam and Iraq wars and the attacks on "Pearl Harbor" and "9/11" show. These transits could have aroused popular sentiment against Cuba's new communist government.
.
In authorising the invasion, President Eisenhover was likely yielding to strong pressure from the Cuban community in Florida to liberate Cuba by their own hand but with covert military support from the USA. The cosmic influences were not supportive of success in this case. Rather, the efforts failed, causing considerable strain in the Kennedy administration and the resignation of Allen Dulles, Head of the CIA, on November 29, 1961.[3]

Footnote
*) Interestingly, in the autumn of 2009, transit Jupiter is debilitated and stationary conjunct the natal Sun as 2nd lord in the chart, while transit Mars, as 10th lord, is in the 12th house of losses. The War in Afghanistan is not going well at the present time. Meanwhile, transit 8th lord Saturn in Virgo, under the afflicting aspect of transit Rahu in Capricorn, is in aspect to natal Jupiter in Scorpio, while the 6th lord is also afflicted by transit Ketu in Cancer. These aspects also bring up concerns about the tense situation currently between Israel and Iran, which US President Obama is hoping to resolve through peaceful negotiation.

References
[1] Bay of Pigs Invasion
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bay_of_Pigs_Invasion#Prelude_to_invasion
[2] Kennedy and the CIA
http://mcadams.posc.mu.edu/jfk_cia.htm
[3] CIA's internal probe of the Bay of Pigs
https://www.cia.gov/library/center-for-the-study-of-intelligence/csi-publications/csi-studies/studies/winter98_99/art08.html

Dollar down the tubes?

During 2009, the Russian and Chinese governments have publicly expressed grave concerns about risks to the international financial system from the issuance of enormous debt by the US government to shore up its financial system. In particular, the role of the US dollar as an international currency has been questioned. The Russians and Chinese have also suggested the creation of a truly global currency is needed to reduce risks and share more evenly the benefits of an international currency. Problems with regard to the debt of the US government have earlier been foreseen on the basis of the SAMVA USA chart (Perpetual Union). It has been suggested that while the situation is likely to place strains on e.g. the President of the USA, the dollar, interest rates on the debt and concerns for inflation, the situation will remain manageable.

A well known US investor, Julian Robertson, founder and chairman of Tiger Management, has now openly criticised the US government for becoming too dependent on Japan and China to finance the country's debt. Robertson accurately predicted in 2007 that the USA was in for a "Doozy of a recession". [1] He now thinks the present debt situation has put the US at risk of a severe economic crisis if these countries stop financing the USA.

"It's almost Armageddon if the Japanese and Chinese don't buy our debt...I don't know where we could get the money. I think we've let ourselves get in a terrible situation and I think we ought to try and get out of it...If the Chinese and Japanese stop buying our bonds, we could easily see [inflation] go to 15 to 20 percent.”

While Robertson also said he doesn’t think the Chinese will stop buying US bonds, the Japanese may eventually be forced to sell some of their long-term bonds. He also warned:

“That's much worse than not buying...The other thing is, they're buying almost exclusively short-term debt. And that's what we are offering, because we can't sell the long-term debt. And you know, the history has been that people who borrow short term really get burned...The only way to avoid the problem, he said, is to "grow and save our way out of it...The U.S. has to quit spending, cut back, start saving, and scale backward...Until that happens, I don't think we're anywhere near out of the woods.”

This is in line with the predictions earlier this year for strains this autumn over the increasing US debt, which could result in a drop in the dollar, rising interest rates on the debt or concerns over higher inflation.

Predictions
On this blog it was predicted on December 31, 2008:
"From September to November, transit Jupiter, as 6th lord of conflict, will be stationary at 23° Capricorn and the 7th house. In this degree, Jupiter is conjunct natal 2nd lord Sun of SAMVA USA chart. This placement will place a grave strain on the US President, and the wealth and status of the country. Concerns over terrorism or financial stability may reemerge, prompting changes in the US foreign or economic policy at that time. In October, transit Rahu will briefly afflict transit 8th lord Saturn, while transit Saturn and transit Ketu afflict natal Jupiter. These aspects are likely to briefly revive concerns over the economy." [2]

On March 29, 2009 the following was written:
"When the government accumulates debts, tax payers must prepare to foot the bill through either higher taxes or inflation or reduced government services or transfers. Otherwise, the debts may become unsustainable. In the SAMVA USA chart, the astrological reasons, in terms of transit and period influences, of such adverse debt development are readily explained...In the autumn of 2009, US government debt is likely to register further increases and may reach high levels, albeit not as high as during the 1940s." [3]

On August 8, 2009 it was added that:
"As for the transit station of Jupiter, we may note that in the case of the USA, Jupiter is 6th lord of conflict, financial (in)stability and health matters. This energy will place a strain on the 2nd house indications of wealth, status and relations with neighboring countries. As Sun is the general indicator of the leader of a country, the strain will also affect the US President and top leadership. Moreover, the Sun is quite strong in the SAMVA USA chart and transit afflictions thus normally produce a temporary strain rather than a setback." [4]

References
[1] Julian Robertson: US May Face 'Armageddon' If China, Japan Don't Buy Debt, Sept. 24, 2009 http://www.fundmymutualfund.com/2009/09/julian-robertson-us-may-face-armageddon.html
[2] Predictions for the USA in 2009, December 31, 2008
http://cosmologer.blogspot.com/2008/12/predictions-for-usa-in-2009.html
[3] Astrology of increasing public debt, March 21, 2009
http://cosmologer.blogspot.com/2009/03/astrology-of-increasing-public-debt.html
[4] TENSE AUTUMN AHEAD, August 8, 2009
http://cosmologer.blogspot.com/2009/08/tense-autumn-ahead.html

Hadrian's horoscope

The Roman Emperor Hadrian, was born Publius Aelius Hadrianus on 24 January 76 AD in Italica, Spain. He died on 10 July 138 AD in Baiae, Italy. He was emperor of Rome from 117 AD to 138 AD, as well as a Stoic and Epicurean philosopher. The famous Roman military fortification in England, Hadrian's Wall was erected during his reign and shows the reach of the Roman empire at that time. What is of interest for astrologers is that a pictorial representation of his horoscope survives and it is the same as the North Indian horoscope format. 

The life of Hadrian 

Hadrian was from a well-established family which had originated in Picenum in Italy and had subsequently settled in Italica, Hispania Baetica, also known as the republican Hispania Ulterior, near the present day location of Seville, Spain. His predecessor Trajan was a maternal cousin of Hadrian's father. Trajan never officially designated a successor, but, according to his wife, Pompeia Plotina, Trajan named Hadrian emperor immediately before his death. Trajan's wife was well-disposed toward Hadrian: Hadrian may well have owed his succession to her. Hadrian's presumed indebtedness to Plotina was widely regarded as the reason for Hadrian's succession. However, there is evidence that he accomplished his succession on his own governing and leadership merits while Trajan was still alive. For example, between the years AD 100–108 Trajan gave several public examples of his personal favour towards Hadrian, such as betrothing him to his grandniece, Vibia Sabina, designating him quaestor Imperatoris, comes Augusti, giving him Nerva's diamond "as hope of succession", proposing him for consul suffectus, and other gifts and distinctions. The young Hadrian was Trajan's only direct male family/marriage/bloodline. The support of Plotina and of Licinius Sura (died in AD 108) were nonetheless extremely important for Hadrian, already in this early epoch.[1] 

Hadrian's horoscope

The horoscope of Hadrian has survived in at least three manuscripts. The imperial horoscope came down to us from Hephestian of Thebes, who, in the fourth century AD excerpted it with some others from the collection of historical horoscopes compiled by Antigonus of Nicaea. According to ancient sources, the imperial horoscope was well studied by prominent authors who stated that "...Hadrian - whose horoscope is absolutely certain - surely was born in southern Spain.”[4]. 

A salient difference is that the Roman horoscope had the first house placed in the left-diamond, which would be consistent with the modern Western placement. The Greek symbol for Hora=Hour is in that quadrant. The house ordering then follows in a counter-clock manner. The delineation of the horoscope proceeds to discuss the Moon/Jupiter conjunction in Aquarius. Hadrian is reported to have been so expert as an astrologer as to have claimed he knew his own future.[5] 

Based on the birthday of 24 January 76 AD we find the following placements in the sidereal zodiac at midnight: 

Sun 7° Aquarius 

Moon 27° Aquarius 

Mercury 12° Capricorn 

Venus 19° Pisces 

Mars 23° Pisces 

Jupiter 0° Aquarius 

Saturn 3° Capricorn 

Rahu 21° Sagittarius 

Ketu 21° Gemini 

 Sidereal at 08:10 

Ascendant 25° Aquarius 

Moon 2° Pisces 

 Tropical at 08:10 

Ascendant 22° Aquarius 

Moon at 29° Aquarius 

  In the horoscope the sign Aquarius is seen in the left-diamond. Shortly after midnight on this day, the sign Scorpio rises. During the night Sagittarius then rises, followed by Capricorn. At 8 in the morning Aquarius is seen to be rising. What is interesting in this regard is the fact that the Moon is seen to have moved into the following sign of Pisces when Aquarius rises in the sidereal zodiac, but not in the tropical. If the astrologers cast their charts with tropical, the statement is correct but not if it was cast with sidereal, then the Aquarius ascendant becomes incompatible with the above statement. This suggests the calculation was done in tropical. In any event, the Roman horoscope was drawn in the same format as the North Indian chart, but with the ascendant in the left-diamond of the chart, as has then continued in the Western tradition. 

Conclusion 

While the Roman astrologers drew their horoscopes in the same horoscopic format as Indian astrologers have done for millennia and still do today, they evidently placed their ascending sign on the left side of the chart, a tradition that has survived into modern times in the West. Nevertheless, it is shown that the Indian and Hellenic horoscopic traditions of astrology are linked, while important aspects of this tradition were lost to modern Western astrology as the living link to the Hellenistic tradition was severed during the dark ages. At least, what we know today is that after astrology was reformed in Europe in the late middle ages and then continued to develop, it became inconsistent with its ancient forerunners. The most vibrant link to the ancient Hellenistic astrology tradition in the modern age is the astrology of India. 

References 

[1] Hadrian http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hadrian 

[2] Edmond H. Wollmann, “The Evolution of Mythological Symbolism in The Classical Greek and Roman Eras”, San Diego State University: Art in Greece and Rome, 2000. http://www.astroconsulting.com/FAQs/art_evolution_in_greece_and_rome.htm 

[3] F. H. Cramer, Astrology in Roman Law and Politics, Astrology in Rome from Nerva to Severus Alexander, page 164-65. 

[4] Alicia M. Canto, "Itálica, patria y ciudad natal de Adriano (31 textos históricos y argumentos contra Vita Hadr. 1, 3", Athenaeum vol. 92.2, 2004, pp. 367–408 

[5] Tamsyn Barton, “Ancient Astrology” (Sciences of Antiquity Series) (Paperback), Routledge (October 31, 1994). 

[6] The life of Hadrian http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/ancient/aelius-hadrian.html

Collapse!

The financial crisis that shook the world reached a turning point one year ago with the collapse of the major US investment bank, Lehman Brothers. It is worthwhile to review the crisis and its aftermath as well as the many predictions of the impending crisis and its evolution. Most of the predictions have come true, offering further support for the SAMVA USA chart (Perpetual Union) and the Systems' Approach methodology.

Review
A lot has happened since then but most now agree that the 'panic and despair' that broke out on Wall Street on September 15, 2008 has been transformed into a 'veneer of normalcy' accompanied by a tentative view that we are slowly emerging from the crisis.[1]

The financial crisis threatened the very foundation of a modern capitalist or market-based society. In October 2008, policy makers were compelled to present a united front, declaring that bank deposits would be guaranteed in order to calm the markets and stop the bank runs already underway. The policy makers also committed themselves to major liquidity injections into the crippled banking system to prevent its complete collapse. While major policy efforts helped to stem the economic downswing, huge fortunes were wiped out, unemployment rolls increased sharply and government treasuries sank deep into debt. The USA, Britain and a number of other countries were especially hard hit. While recent news on the economy are giving hope the worst is over, plenty of worries and risks remain.[2]

Accurate predictions
It is also helpful to recall the numerous predictions made for the USA in advance of these events based on the SAMVA USA chart. These predictions have turned out to be accurate and to correctly reflect the nature and timing of the developments in the national life. Those who have followed the SAMVA discussion list on Yahoo over the past few years will know this. We must also keep in mind that the predictions were made based only on a reading of many afflicting aspects in the SAMVA USA chart. The events that might occur could otherwise not be seen in advance.

The most significant prediction was made on December 31, 2007 for a crisis in the fall of 2008 in the USA.[3][4] The wording of the prediction proved apt. A true crisis broke out. Further predictions made in early 2008 about a likely destruction of assets in late 2008 also came true.[5] A prediction at the opening of 2009 for further financial market troubles through February 2009 came true, as did a prediction for an improvement in the financial market from the spring of 2009.[6][7] Predictions for an improvement in the outlook for the US economy after the summer of 2009 have also proved correct.[8] The prediction of increasing US public debt in the autumn months with an associated weakening and volatility of the US dollar has already begun to come true.[9] The efficacy of the new USA chart based on the SA method is therefore all the more amazing to witness.
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Recent predictions
More recently, predictions have been made concerning the likelihood of renewed volatility on financial markets in the fall of 2009, especially in the first half of October.[10]

References
[1] Washington diary: A year of crisis, BBC News, Washington - 11:02 GMT, Friday, 11 September 2009 http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/programmes/world_news_america/8247597.stm
[2] Global recession: Aftershock, BBC News, Washington - 16:14 GMT, Friday, 11 September 2009 http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/in_depth/business/2007/creditcrunch/default.stm
[3] The year ahead (2008) for the USA, December 31, 2007
http://cosmologer.blogspot.com/2007/12/year-ahead-for-usa.html
[4] CRISIS IN THE FALL, September 16, 2008)
http://cosmologer.blogspot.com/2008/09/crisis-in-fall.html
[5] More accurate stock market predictions, November 20, 2008
http://cosmologer.blogspot.com/2008/11/more-accurate-stock-market-predictions.html
[6] More financial concerns ahead, January 8, 2009
http://cosmologer.blogspot.com/2009/01/financial-concerns-ahead.html
[7] Financial markets to improve, June 3, 2009
http://cosmologer.blogspot.com/2009/06/financial-markets-to-improve.html
[8]Financial markets ease as predicted, July 31, 2009
http://cosmologer.blogspot.com/2009/07/financial-markets-ease-as-predicted.html
[9] Astrology of increasing public debt, March 21, 2009
http://cosmologer.blogspot.com/2009/03/astrology-of-increasing-public-debt.html
[10] TENSE AUTUMN AHEAD, August 8, 2009
http://cosmologer.blogspot.com/2009/08/tense-autumn-ahead.html

The removal of injustice

A major part of early 19th century US history is the sad tale of abuse of non-white peoples by people of European origin. The abuse ranged from the forcible removal of native peoples from their ancestral homelands east of the Missisippi to lands west of it. There was also the continued practice of slavery, even after the importation of slaves became illegal in 1808. This was due to economic advantages of slavery to plantation farmers in the Southern states. With Westward expansion, many slave families were torn asunder due to the westward migration of their old or new owners. There was also systematic abuse of Chinese immigrants in the mid 19th century. In this article we examine the Systems' Approach astrology of the removal of the Indians.

Indian Removal
Prior to the 19th century, with some exceptions, the white settlers signed treaties with Indians mostly for the purpose of ending hostilities with them, drawing new territorial lines between them or to establish the exchange of land for money. As a result, the white settlers gradually encroached on the lands of the many small tribes, especially in the northern seaboard states of the USA. In the 19th century, the push for space became more one-sided and less just as the white man grew in strength. At the start of the nineteenth century a clear cut policy was adopted by the government of the United States to remove Native American tribes living east of the Mississippi River to lands west of the river. It is interesting that the Rahu major period began in 1799 and it lasted until 1817. During this time, the deceptive practice of pushing the indians off their lands took on a more sinister facade. Rahu is placed in the most effective point of the 10th house of the SAMVA USA chart and aspects the 2nd house of wealth and status, 4th house of land and natural resources and 6th house of conflict and health. As such, its periods and transits can inflict harm on these indications, as well as those touched in stationary (or slow moving) transit.

Indian Removal Act of 1830
It was in the 1830s that the indian removals picked up pace. On May 26, 1830, President Andrew Jackson signed into law the Indian Removal Act. This law mandated the removal of the native peoples. The Jupiter major period and Mars sub-period was operating. The transit influences in the SAMVA USA chart on this bleak day were quite stunning in their maleficience. Transit 8th lord Saturn was conjunct the most effective point of the 1st house giving easy gains through an amoral deed, with Saturn also aspecting the natal 2nd lord Sun, suggesting the influence also affecting the leader of the country. In fact, it was President Jackson who became known for his cunning dealings with the Indians in order to remove them to open up space for the white settlers. In addition to the influence of Saturn, transit 6th lord Jupiter was conjunct natal 4th lord Venus in the 6th house. This aspect suggests that conflict over land issues or that conflict undermines the communal harmony. To add to the strain of the above, both natal Venus and transit Jupiter were under the aspect of functional malefic transit Rahu in the 2nd house, suggesting that manipulation was involved in this process, further undermining the communal harmony. Jupiter was also aspecting Rahu suggesting violence. With both malefic planets harming the ruler of land and natural resources, we can see the signature of a brutal grab for land.

Removal of five civilized tribes
In 1830, some of the "Five Civilized Tribes" — the Chickasaw, Choctaw, Creek, Seminole, and Cherokee — were still living east of the Mississippi, while others had already moved to the Native American Territory. They were called "civilized" because many tribesmen had adopted various aspects of European-American culture, including Christianity. The Cherokees had a system of writing their own language, developed by Sequoyah, and published a newspaper in Cherokee and English. In spite of this acculturation and acceptance of the law, the position of the tribes was not secure. Many white settlers and land speculators simply desired the land that was occupied by the tribes. Others believed that the presence of the tribes was a threat to peace and security, based on previous wars waged between the United States and Native Americans, some of whom had been armed by enemies of the United States, such as Great Britain and Spain.

Trail of Tears
The forcible removal of Native Americans in the United States from their homelands to Indian Territory (present day Oklahoma) in the Western United States has also been called the Trail of Tears. The largest indian removals occurred in the Southern states. They involved around 70,000 indians of which 10,000-15,000 died from illness and around 1,000 from hostilities while resisting removal. The five treaties involved were as follows:
- 1830: Dancing Rabbit Creek Treaty, Choctaw indians (emigration from 1831 to 1836)
- 1832: Cusseta Treaty, Creek indians (1834-1837), led to Second Creek War
- 1832: Pontotoc Creek Treaty, Chickasaw indians (1837-1847)
- 1832: Payne's Landing Treaty, Seminole indians (1832-1842), led to Second Seminole War
- 1835: New Echota Treaty, Cherokee indians (1836-1838)
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The first four treaties took place during the dual malefic period of Jupiter-Rahu, highlighting manipulation motivated by strong desire to obtain something, even by unfair means. The Treaty of New Echota, which represented the most egregious violation of the stated intention of the removal policy took place under the Saturn-Saturn period. Even if this treaty was signed by a dissident faction of Cherokees but not the elected leadership, President Jackson rigidly enforced it. The removal resulted in the deaths of an estimated 4,000 Cherokees on the Trail of Tears. About 17,000 Cherokees, along with approximately 2,000 enslaved blacks held by Cherokees, were removed from their homes.

Indian wars
The Second Seminole War broke out in 1835 when the Seminoles refused to leave Florida. Also known as the Florida War, the conflict lasted to 1842. The most important leader in the war was Osceola, who led the Seminoles in their fight against removal. While based in the Everglades of Florida, Osceola and his band used surprise attacks to defeat the U.S. Army in many battles. The Dade Massacre took place on December 28, 1835 when Seminole fighters ambushed and killed 110 US soldiers. In 1837, Osceola was seized by deceit upon the orders of U.S. General T.S. Jesup when Osceola came under a flag of truce to negotiate peace. He died in prison. The Seminoles continued to fight. Some traveled deeper into the Everglades, while others moved west. The Second Creek War of 1836 was a conflict fought between the Creek people and land speculators and squatters in Alabama in 1836. These tragic wars broke out during the dual-malefic Saturn-Saturn period. It is estimated that the indian removal opened up 25 million acres to white settlers. As an 8th house influence, the new land certainly represented an 'easy gain' for the white settlers, but it was achieved in the wrong way. The mal-treatment of these peoples can not be undone, as the harm is done. However, looking forward we can use their memory as inspiration. Their existence and way of life lives on as a light to present and future generations; a reminder for us to ever seek to remove injustices from the national life.

Epilogue
It is noteworthy that during the first half of the 19th century, abuses of non-white peoples by the fast growing white population became a pronounced feature of national life in the United States. This is when the three malefic major periods ran consecutively in the 20° Cancer rising SAMVA USA chart. The major period of functional malefic Rahu ran from 1799 to 1816. The period of 6th lord Jupiter was in operation from 1816 to 1833 and the period of 8th lord Saturn ran from 1833 to 1852. It is no coincidence that such difficult incidents took place at that time. However, the cosmic pattern seen in the birth chart of the country also shows that the fight to abolish slavery picked up speed in the Mercury major period, involving as it did a bloody civil war to permanently expunge the evil practice from the national life. It is testament to the national character of Americans, that there arose a backlash against the injustices and slavery was abolished. The most prominent leader of the fight to free the slaves was Abraham Lincoln, who is now revered as the greatest President in the nations history. After more than two centuries of a constant struggle, all races now broadly enjoy equal rights. With Ketu afflicting the 4th house and 4th lord Venus badly placed in the 6th house, injustices and resultant lack of communal harmony are, however, likely to be a part of the national experience in one form or the other. Further efforts are therefore likely to be required to remove injustices. One such battle rages today; to limit the desire of large corporations for maximum profit in order to ensure that families with low incomes can also obtain basic health care.

References
Timeline of Cherokee removal
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeline_of_Cherokee_removal#1775-1811
Indian removal
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indian_removal
Second Seminole War
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Second_Seminole_War