If you are unfamiliar with Mundane astrology and the Aries Ingress chart, please see this earlier post for a brief description.
A cardinal sign is rising so we will need to consider three further charts for the Sun’s ingress into the other cardinal signs. As such, this chart holds for a quarter.
Initial observations and impressions
Aries is on the cusp of the 7th house of open enemies, and the number of planets in this house suggests a focus on conflicts with the enemies of the Russian people.
The fixed star Algol is conjunct the 9th house cusp indicating severe trouble from the country’s from foreign affairs and international relations. Anything regarding such matters are likely to be significant and potentially deadly in nature since Algol is widely considered to be the most malefic star in the heavens and it is associated with murder, beheading, violence and war.
The Mars-Saturn conjunction, which perfects at 8’57” of Capricorn, occurs at the immum coeli of the Aries ingress chart (exact to within a minute) and this is likely to bring issues to to the land itself, but also to the government and the ruler of the country as the conjunction opposes the midheaven of the Aries ingress chart. The conjunction itself also sextiles the Moon (who is significator of the country’s ruler as ruler of the midheaven) in the 8th house. Although the sextile is a friendly aspect, in the case of malefics it can simply indicate the ease with which a negative event is likely to manifest. In this case, both malefics are in the terms of the Moon but also in its detriment, which is to say they do not like the Moon and may bring their malefic effects to bear without much opposition. We may know for certain at the time the aspect perfects on the 2nd of April or even earlier.
The Lord of the Year, and the condition of the people
We will use Ramesey’s method to determine the Lord of the Year, that is, we will take the ruler of the Ascendant to be Lord of the Year and the significator of the people.
Venus is Lady of the Year as She is the ruler of Libra, the sign ascending at the time of the Aries ingress. Venus is peregrine and in her detriment and therefore in as weakened a state as it is possible to get. She is also in the 7th house which, although an angular house, is the house of the open enemies of the Russian people. Her placement in the 7th house can show both a concern of the people with their open enemies but also being under their power. It’s an uncomfortable position to be in, rather like being in the lair of a vampire.
Venus is just separating from conjunction with Mercury who is in the terms and in the detriment of Venus. Although Mercury is not by its universal significations a malefic, in this case, as it rules the 12th house of hidden enemies of the country (as well ruling the sign of Gemini intercepted in the 9th house) its conjunction with Venus likely produced a malefic affect.
In a symbolic sense we might say that the people of Russia (Venus) came into close contact with the covert enemies of Russia (Mercury as ruler of the 12th) who were agents of a foreign power (Mercury as ruler of Gemini intercepted in the 9th house) under the auspices of the open enemies of the people (it all takes place in the 7th house). As noted earlier, any 9th house activity is likely to be extremely dangerous for the country’s affairs. It’s also interesting to note that Venus (who also rules the 9th house of foreign affairs) in her detriment is traditionally associated with poisonings.
This aspect perfected just before the Aries Ingress, and to my mind at least, it seems to describe perfectly the events orchestrated by various nefarious agencies to essentially frame Russia for an attack using poison on former Russian agent Sergei Skripal in the UK. It seems likely that this will be used as an excuse to bring further sanctions against Russia and potentially a military response by NATO or an attempt to remove Russia from the UN Security council. But more on this later.
2nd house – the wealth of the country, its economy
The second house, the house of wealth and substance, is also ruled by Venus in our Aries ingress. As above, there may recently have been moves to place economic sanctions to weaken the nation’s economy by other foreign nations, covert enemies and not so covert enemies of the country. This may be a prelude to further economic actions designed to hurt Russia’s economy, and since Venus does not receive any assistance from other planets, and is in the middle of the sign of its detriment with another half to traverse before it enters its home in Taurus, Venus’s fortunes are not going to improve any time soon. The likely result is a significant weakening of the economy.
On the plus side, we do have the benefic Jupiter in the second house who is conjunct the very benefic star Spica, but Jupiter is retrograde and peregrine so is unlikely to be able to offer much assistance. Jupiter is still in orb of a separating trine from an exalted Sun, but given that the Sun is out of sect and in the cadent 6th house, it may not offer much assistance at this point.
The Part of Fortune is in Leo in the 11th house and receives a trine from the sect luminary, the Moon, who is exalted. However the dispositor of the Part of Fortune, the Sun, although exalted in Aries, soon meets with a square from a very strong Mars followed by a square from an extremely strong Saturn. Although considering the state of the economy from the Part of Fortune and its ruler suggests its not as bad as taking the signification from the second house would imply, the squares from both malefics (and the fact that the Sun is in the cadent 6th house and ruled by Mars, significator of Russia’s enemies), the square aspects from both malefics do indicate that serious issues with the economy are likely to arise.
The 3rd house – infrastructure, in country transport systems, media, communications, the internet
In a nativity, the third house is a general significator of siblings, neighbours, short journeys and messengers. By an extension of this principle, in Mundane astrology the third house might be considered to signify the domestic media, a country’s infrastructure – such as roads, railways, bridges – and those things which connect us on a local level – the internet, public transport, etc.
The cusp of the 3rd house is ruled over by an exalted Mars who is in the third house. Although any planet can take on signification of the matters ascribed to the houses, it’s quite often the case that the universal signification of the planet will have some degree of influence over how that matter is expressed. For example, in a nativity, the significator of the native’s husband might be the feminine planet Venus, but that does not necessarily mean that your partner is going to be female. It does usually, however, indicate that your partner might have some of the characteristics associated with Venus, e.g., he might be very good looking, artistic, well dressed and gentle natured (depending, of course, on the dignity of Venus).
Similarly, although Mars is not a planet we might naturally associate with infrastructure or communication systems, we can expect some martial uses for communications and infrastructure associated with military communication systems to be significantly improved and perhaps deployed. Whether this is a defensive or an offensive use of such technology remains to be seen, but I think we can expect some beefing up of Russia’s defences against cyberwarfare and perhaps a less diplomatic and measured tone than we are used to from the Russian government.
Mars is afflicted first by a square from the Sun, who is ruler of the 11th house of government and in the cadent 6th house which is considered an enemy house in Vedic astrology. By whole sign houses, the Sun is in 7th house representing open enemies. There may be an attack on Russia’s technology and communications infrastructure, particularly military SIGINT capabilities, by its open enemies and also potentially by members of its own government. It will remain to be seen whether Russia manages to beef up their defences sufficiently to protect themselves, but Mars is also conjunct the malefic fixed star Facies which is associated with blindness and accidents, and is afflicted by a conjunction with Saturn that may place some limitations on it.
As the third house also signifies in country transport systems, it is possible that Mars might indicate some sort of accident or event involving public transport resulting in injury, blindness or death. There seem to have been a fair few aeroplanes falling to earth recently and I wonder if we might not see more of these types of incidents involving Russian planes.
4th house – the opposition party, land, property, homes and buildings
The 4th house cusp is conjunct the malefic fixed star Facies. It is also where the Mars-Saturn conjunction will occur on the 2nd of April, exact to within a minute. The ruler of the 4th house is the malefic Saturn who is strong in its own sign Capricorn.
A strong Saturn is not a bad thing for property since Saturn is the natural ruler of property, buildings and so on, but the conjunction with Mars may bring outs its destructive side, and there may be some damage to buildings and property around the time of the Mars-Saturn conjunction. Saturn is also afflicted by a square from the Sun in the 6th house by house sign and the 7th house of open enemies by whole sign houses. This aspect is not likely to be beneficial since the Sun is in the detriment of Saturn. The 4th house is also afflicted by the presence of Cauda Draconis, the tail of the dragon, or the south node.
Well, that all seems rather unpleasant, but what does it portend? A strong Saturn would suggest significant building, agricultural development (both for domestic use and export), but the conjunction with Mars and the fixed star Facies is troubling. I believe that this might suggest some event that destroys buildings and crops. There has been some significant pushback from countries like Russia and India against GMO farming and the large multinationals like Monsanto (and the countries that support them), and I wonder if there may not be some blowback from these companies targeting Russia’s agricultural exports and farmland.
Saturn by natural signification also rules older people and powerful men, or oligarchs, if you will. The Mars Saturn conjunction may also see some action against them and their holdings and businesses.
5th house – children, envoys, ambassadors and media personalities
This house is also ruled by Saturn and, as above, there may be action taken against representatives of Russia (ambassadors, business men, Russian media) that is violent or offensive in nature by the enemies of Russia.
6th house – health system, health of the people, epidemics
The 6th house cusp is afflicted by the presence of Neptune which is conjunct within a degree. This may suggests increase chance of poisonings, allergic reactions, or an increase in substance abuse, alcoholism. The ruler of 6th house is Jupiter retrograde in Scorpio. Respiratory diseases may be a concern, and also diseases afflicting the genitals, STDs and so on.
7th house – open enemies, negotiations, partnerships, allies(?)
Alot of planets in this house suggests a focus on these matters this year. The ruler of this house is the malefic Mars who is strong in the sign of his exaltation in the 3rd house. This signifies the belligerent and pugnacious attitude of the enemies of the country, largely this may be focused on angry words (since Mars is in the 3rd house), but the conjunction of Mars and Saturn brings out the worst of Mars malefic nature, and there may be an uptick of this when the conjunction occurs. Mars is angular in the 4th house when this conjunction occurs, which increases the likelihood of matters erupting into military action, especially with Mars and Saturn conjunct the malefic fixed star Facies. Hopefully cooler heads will prevail and there will be some rapprochement, but with an hysterical media serving the interests of those who would see NATO engaged in outright war with Russia, this may just be wishful thinking on my part (see below for 10th house matters for more on this).
We have an afflicted Venus in the 7th house. As noted earlier, Venus is significator of the people and the economy, both of which are ruled over by Mars, the open enemies of the people. The enemies of Russia may act on both the people of the country and by afflicting its economy. Mercury is also in the 7th house who, as ruler of the 12th house, signifies the secret enemies of the people and, as ruler of the 9th, is significator of foreign affairs (as well as means of international travel). This indicates enemy countries and their covert agents within the country may have a part to play in any coming issues.
8th house – mortality, taxes, the wealth of open enemies
The 8th house cusp is afflicted by a conjunction from Uranus. This can signify sudden death, death by electricity, death through and from the air or sky. The ruler of the 8th house is Mars. Mars is a planet that seems to have a significant role in this years Aries ingress for Russia, and I think we’ve probably covered this planets role enough to realise that there may be violence and violent death likely through martial means. The presence of Uranus on the cusp suggests sudden and unforseen (well, by those who are not engaged in planning such things) violent deaths, but also deaths by electricity and from “lightning bolts from the sky”.
9th house – foreign affairs, international travel, means of international travel such as shipping, aeroplanes, also the navy and airforce, religion
The 9th house cusp is afflicted by Algol, widely regarded as the most evil star in the heavens. It is associated with wars, beheading, violence and suffering. As a worst case scenario, it may represent affliction and death via foreign affairs, and might suggest confrontation between Russia and its enemies in Syria leading to war, either by proxy or a very direct one. What is clear however is that it suggests a very difficult time for Russia in the international arena and it may find itself surrounded by gorgons, demons, and monsters, all creatures traditionally associated with Algol, intent on destroying it. One sort of requires the help of the gods and perhaps a shiny shield and a flying horse to come out unscathed from these kinds of tribulations, and I’m not sure how easily one can obtain them these days.
Some degree of protection is afforded by the presence of the sect luminary, the Moon, who is exalted in this house, but may simply be an indication that this is an area of concern for the ruler of the country (as the Moon rules 10th house).
The house itself is ruled by Venus, who is weak – peregrine and in her detriment – and She is ruled over by Mars, the significator of the enemies of the Russian people.
10th house – ruler and the ruling party
Cancer is on the the cusp of the 10th house suggesting the ruler and government is in a defensive position and concerned with defending its borders and interests. The ruler of the 10th house is the Moon and She is exalted in Taurus in the 9th house. The leader of the country is in a strong position and focused on international matters.
The Moon has just entered the 4th Lunar mansion Al-Debaran which is associated with violence, enmity, conflict and discord. This suggests that President Putin is not in a happy mood.
This may have something to do with the fact that the Moon’s last two aspects were with Mars and Saturn, and although the aspect was a trine, both malefics are in the detriment of the Moon, so the encounter was likely less than pleasant.
There are no applying aspects to the Moon from the traditional 7 planets (and, since we are traditional astrologers, we are not concerned with aspects to the outer planets unless they are very tight) indicating that the ruler is free to focus on 9th house matters, but note the Mars-Saturn conjunction opposing the midheaven may suggest some malign influence on the government itself, and there may be some pressure on Vladimir Putin when the Mars-Saturn conjunction occurs as it sextiles the Moon in the Aries Ingress chart.
The presence of the North node in the 10th house also empowers government and the ruler by its presence since it is regarded as a natural benefic (that is, it has the nature of Venus and Jupiter).
11th house – government, and those who work under the ruler
This house is ruled by the Sun who is exalted in Aries. Aries, however, as we noted earlier, is the sign on the cusp of the 7th house signifying the enemies of Russia. This may indicate that there are certain members of the government who are agents of other interests that are inimical to the Russian people. The Sun is afflicted by a square first from Mars and then from Saturn which may suggest some sort of affliction to members of the government either from members of the opposition parties and/or from enemies.
12th house – secret enemies, spies, espionage
This house is ruled by Mercury. As we discussed earlier, the conjunction between Mercury and Venus may signify the poisoning of Sergei Skripal by the enemies of Russia and this event may have a significant impact on events for at least the next quarter. It may be used as an excuse to push for all out war between Russia and NATO forces by those intent on profiting from such evil.