Will David Cameron Survive the News of the World Scandal?

i newspaper headline 19 July '11

As I write, calls for British Prime Minister David Cameron to quit or at the very least apologise over his part in the News International crisis are growing. The criticism is centred around Cameron’s appointment of disgraced former News of the World editor Andy Coulson to a government advisory position. Coulson resigned this post earlier this year and has since been arrested over the phone hacking scandal. Betting odds on Cameron resigning were yesterday slashed from 100/1 to 8/1.

Why is Cameron in such a dangerous position now? Well, the two most senior officers in the Metropolitan police resigned yesterday over the scandal, specifically over the Met’s appointment of former News of the World journo Neil Wallis. Wallis has also since been arrested over the hacking scandal. So the question is, if that is enough to bring down two Met chiefs, why not Cameron, whose appointment of Coulson seems just as dodgy as the Met’s hiring of Wallis?

Let’s take a look at the charts. Below is a tri-wheel. In the centre is the UK 1801 chart, Cameron’s chart is in the middle, and around the outside are the transits for tomorrow when Cameron will be back in parliament. (Tri-wheels can look at bit busy, so the individual charts are posted at the end.)

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The first striking thing is that Cameron’s Venus in Libra falls exactly on the UK’s Ascendant. The ASC and first house is arguably the most important point in a country chart, because it represents the country and its inhabitants as a whole.

With a Libra ASC and first house, the UK prides itself on its fair and just society, as well as on its diplomacy, its negotiating expertise and its ability to get along with other countries. Simply put, the UK wants to be liked, it aims to please. With Cameron’s Venus so tightly conjunct the UK ASC and because Venus is highly dignified in Libra by ruler-ship, it is easy and natural for Cameron to channel and represent these positive UK ‘qualities’.

Cameron’s Sun in Libra also falls in the UK’s first house and this is where the picture gets more difficult for him. Traditionally, the Sun in Libra is in its fall. Planets in their fall are said to feel uncomfortable and weak, with reduced power to assert themselves. The Sun in Libra therefore needs the support of others to achieve its goals. We can see how Cameron has made the most of his networks to gain power, starting off with an Eton/Oxbridge education, a combination that is still a ticket to power, if you can afford it. Even before the hacking scandal blew up, there were rumblings about Cameron’s background amongst certain sectors when he announced his government austerity measures (severe cuts in jobs and services). They asked whether a man of his privilege could have any understanding of the ordinary concerns of the ordinary citizens he represents.

Now, during this hacking scandal, we are learning more about the other networks that have helped Cameron into power, notably, his personal friendships with influential News International executives and the ill judged role he gave to Coulson, who had resigned from the News of the World way back in 2007 over phone hacking. It has also been implied by commentators that News International dropped any residual support of the Labour party by its tabloids before the 2010 general election because Labour didn’t back Murdoch’s BskyB bid. It is rumored that the conservatives were more willing to support the deal so the papers went with them. It can’t be underestimated how influential the newspapers still are when it comes to elections in the UK.

Now these relationships, and others, so carefully nurtured by Cameron are starting to fall apart. Often, when a planet is in its fall, there is a humbling experience when those factors or people who ‘propped up’ the planet start to fall away. This is certainly what is happening now.

What of the transits? Well this is where it gets very interesting. Transiting Saturn is moving through the crucial 1st house in the charts of both the UK and David Cameron. Transiting Saturn is urging us, as a nation, as well as urging Cameron personally, to see reality as it really is. It is asking us to take responsibility for our actions and address wrongdoings. With Saturn you get out what you put in and if what you put in is criminal or immoral or not in the best interests of the collective, Saturn will not let you get away with it. Saturn transits also teach us lessons and ask us to restructure aspects of ourselves, or in this context, to restructure our media, government and police force. In Libra, Saturn also speaks about how we handle our relationships and about justice and the law. Transiting Saturn has already made two hits on Cameron’s Sun and will make the final hit in early September. Cameron needs to put things right. He cannot get away with cutting corners, fudging or not telling ‘the whole truth and nothing but the truth’. Lies will be exposed.

This is dramatically underlined by the relationship of the UK chart and Cameron’s chart to the moving Uranus-Pluto square. The challenging alignments of these two planets are associated with huge and often revolutionary changes in society, culture and politics. They symbolize energy for change and revolution. They bring shocks, breakdowns, breakthroughs and seemingly sudden, but far reaching events that alter everything. This is a long transit. We are already feeling it quite obviously in the collective even though it’s yet to make an exact hit. The first of seven hits comes in June 2012 and the final hit will be in March 2015. The rounded up cardinal degrees for the exact alignments are 8, 7, 11, 9, 14, 13 and 15. Notice how the first four hit the angles of the UK chart. Notice also how the Uranus-Pluto square will form a t-square with Cameron’s Venus and then his Sun, giving him a mega-transit that will last until 2015!

Whether he ‘survives’ this scandal or not, there seems little doubt that the fate of the UK is tied up with the fate of Cameron. Uranus-Pluto can mean a metaphorical ‘sudden death’ in this context, but on the other hand, Pluto is the survivor. I wouldn’t like to make a call either way on whether Cameron will lose his office, except to say that I will not be totally surprised if he does go as a direct or indirect result of this mess, if not immediately, but further down the line. Perhaps he will charm his way through the Uranus-Pluto transit to his Venus, but then fall when it hits his debilitated Sun in Libra?

Time will tell us the fate of Cameron and his government, but will the UK establishment ever be the same again? For myself, I very much hope that things will change for the better. Or maybe after the hacking scandal has blown over and few heads have conveniently rolled, we will go back to ‘business as usual’ at UK plc, like we did after the banking crisis and the parliamentary expenses scandal. For all our sakes, I truly hope that this is not the case.

With love,
Mandi
http://www.mandilockley.com/
Related posts:
No More Secrets, Pluto in Capricorn
The Lid Comes Off the Jar, Pholus, the Murdoch’s and the News of the World Scandal

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The Lid Comes off the Jar ~ Pholus, the Murdochs and the NoW Scandal

Watching news coverage of Rupert Murdoch’s personal apology to the Dowler family this evening, the reporter likened the whole News of the World scandal to the lid coming off the jar as the revelations continue to unfold in the phone hacking scandal.

The lid coming off the jar reminded me of Melanie Reinhart’s description of the centaur Pholus. It was no surprise then to discover that Murdoch is having a Pholus transit. Pholus is currently positioned at 14 Sagittarius 38 retrograde. Sagittarius of course is the sign of internationalism and publishing. Transiting Pholus is squaring Murdoch’s natal Mercury (news, communication, information) at 15 Pisces 56.  Yes indeed, the lid has come off the jar, as the world finally understands exactly what went on at his News International business and possibly beyond.  

Zane B Stein describes Pholus as “like a pressure release, akin to shaking up a bottle of Pepsi on a hot day, and promptly opening it. It's just that the stuff keeps coming out. A genie coming out of a bottle is perhaps a better metaphor, but that, too, comes with the sense of materialization. Pholus has a quality of opening the door to the infinite. Depending on the door, that may or may not be helpful, or seem helpful, but it is what it is and when Pholus has become active, it's necessary to get out of denial and work with the energy consciously.”

You can easily draw your own conclusion about how the themes of Pholus are reflected in this massive current news story.  Stein goes on to say that Pholus, “is the Centaur of fast-moving changes, or rapid transformations.”

Stein also explains how Pholus’ orbit crosses that of both Uranus (shocks, revolutionary energy, breakdowns and breakthroughs) and Neptune (media, deception, scandals). Therefore, it’s safe to assume that Pholus picks up and carries the energies of both planets as it moves through the zodiac and we can easily see those themes here.

Robert von Heeren adds that Pholus is "the catalyst and provider for a landslide-like change (in history for example) and turning points....in some cases, Pholus activity represents or instigates situations in which something gets out and you cannot get it back in, such as when riots begin and the government cannot stop them, or you make one change and it cascades into a series of other developments. This same quality also gives Pholus experiences the quality of a leap to a new level.”

Perhaps we can add that Murdoch’s natal Mercury, in its fall in Pisces, has made self deception and a loss of touch with the reality of a situation an easy space for his mindset to end up in and with that Mercury on his IC, opposing his MC, it's all tied up with his roots, where he came from and how he has expressed himself through his career. Now, with Pholus charging up that Mercury, it’s all coming out, in the most public of ways.

What about Murdoch’s natal Pholus? At just short of 6 degrees of Capricorn, its conjunct his Ascendant (ego, identity), at 2 Capricorn and opposite his Jupiter (again, publishing and internationalism) at 10 Capricorn in his ‘relationship with the public’ 7^th house.

Another quality given to Pholus is that is symbolises anything that involves three generations. The whole News International affair centres around Rupert Murdoch and his son James, Chief Executive of News Corporation, which oversees News International. That’s two generations. The third? Well, today, when Murdoch Snr. personally apologised to the Dowler family, he is reported as saying that the News of the World’s actions were not the standard set by his journalist father. Remember, his natal Mercury on the IC (roots, father) is receiving a transit from Pholus. We can easily surmise that Murdoch can imagine his father telling him how ashamed he is by what has happened. 

James Murdoch, born on 13 December 1972 in Wimbledon London (source Wikipedia) has three planets in Sagittarius (Sun, Mercury and Neptune), the sign that Pholus is currently transiting. More remarkably, transiting Pholus is currently opposing his Saturn (authority, lessons, karma, taking responsibility, father issues) at 16 Gemini 44. Natally, Murdoch Jnr. Has Pholus at 1 Pisces 47, tightly square his natal Mercury at 0 Sagittarius 29.

The lid really has come off the jar in a nuclear reaction type fashion and the astrology is strongly suggesting that these two men, the mastheads at the front of the whole saga, must take responsibility and try to right the wrongs of the past, not just their own personal wrongs, but the crimes and misdemeanours of their whole tribe of news makers.

With love,

Mandi

http://www.mandilockley.com/

Pholus info from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pholus_(astrology)

Special thanks to http://www.serrenu.com/ for the Pholus ephemeris.

Chart data for Rupert Murdoch from http://www.astro.com/astro-databank/Murdoch%2C_Rupert

http://www.zanestein.com/chiron.htm

Additional research: www.bbc.co.uk/news

No More Secrets ~ Pluto in Capricorn

It seems there can no longer be any secrets.

Yesterday’s Evening Standard opinion piece began, “This is an age of institutional and professional crisis”. As an astrologer I would add, “This is the age of Pluto in Capricorn”.

Since the God of the Underworld moved into the sign of corporate business, authority figures, politics, and working practices, revelation after revelation has been dug up and exposed to the light. It’s been hard even to keep up with developments, but here are a few notable examples.

In 2008, just as Pluto was dipping its toe in Capricorn and the expansive, bloated, globalising Pluto in Sagittarius era was concluding, "the financial sector was rocked to its foundations by global nemesis". That’s another quote from The Evening Standard. I couldn’t phrase it myself with more Pluto in Capricorn gusto! The upshot was that the financial world got so high on profiting from reckless lending that they forgot to notice when there was nothing left to lend. I don’t need to point out, dear reader, that we are all still paying the price several years later.

In 2009, the wealth management business of Bernard Madoff was exposed as a fraudulent Ponzi scheme. Thousands of investors lost billions of dollars. 73 year old Madoff was convicted to 150 years in prison. I’m guessing he’ll have to finish his sentence in Hades’ realm.

Sir Peter Viggers' Duck Island

Also in 2009, the UK parliamentary expenses scandal “swept through the Palace of Westminster like a cleansing fire” when the Daily Telegraph published details of controversial expenses claims. The scandal led to the resignation of a number of high profile politicians. Subsequently, a handful of MPs/former MPs and Peers have faced criminal charges, guilty verdicts and custodial sentences. Many more made a gesture of paying back some of the taxpayer money they had erroneously claimed as expenses. Some of the most notorious examples of fraudulent or inappropriate expense claims included numerous unnecessary second homes, a duck island, the cost of maintaining a moat and porn movie rentals.

Now, this week, we are in the midst of the latest and the worst episode in the News of the World phone hacking scandal. The heinous practices of the tabloid rag were first exposed in 2005 following intrusion into the private lives of the Royals, leading to two criminal prosecutions. Then, in July 2009 the story resurfaced when The Guardian newspaper alleged that over 3,000 celebrities, politicians and other public figures had been hacked. It was also alleged that NoW paid off some of the victims to avoid legal action.

Remember, for most of 2008 and 2009, Pluto was on or around the revelatory Aries Point, the point at zero degrees of the cardinal signs (Aries, Cancer, Libra, Capricorn) where the private becomes public and the personal becomes political. Well, Pluto at 0 Capricorn certainly didn’t disappoint on that score!

Also in late 2008 and through to mid 2010, we were in the midst of a series of status quo shaking Saturn and Uranus oppositions. These oppositions, the half way peak of the current Saturn-Uranus cycle, symbolized a societal crisis point and the collective urge for change. Out with the old, in with the new was the rallying cry. In the US, it was Barack Obama who answered the call, becoming America’s first black president. In the UK it was out with Labour and in with a Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition.

In late 2009, Saturn dipped his scythe into Libra and began a sequence of dynamic and stressful squares with Pluto. The information dredged up under Pluto in Capricorn’s energies met the energies of harsh but fair Saturn in Libra. Out came the scales of justice and the purging began. In fact, it was in Feb 2010, just days after the second exact hit of this aspect that it was announced that a number of individuals would face criminal charges in the parliamentary expenses scandal. All of them were convicted.

Sienna Miller, phone
hacking victim

Back to the hacking scandal and it now seems clear that Pluto isn’t through with the News of the World. The story has been rumbling on and refusing to go away since the 2009 Guardian allegations and has slowly been building momentum. That said, the general public seemed quite ambivalent about tales of celebrities being hacked, perhaps because they understood the mutually dependent relationship between celebs and the tabloids in the PR driven fame game.

Everything changed this week. The tipping point in public and media opinion came when it was revealed that the mobile phone of murdered teenager Milly Dowler was hacked and messages deleted, giving her family false hope that she was still alive. It’s also been revealed that this was by no means a one off. The bereaved families of other murder victims and terrorist attack victims were also hacked. More names are being added to the list daily. Advertisers are pulling out of NoW faster than you can blink.

What is also shocking is that these hackings go back at least as far as 2002. Furthermore, the evidence of this week’s revelations was unearthed way back in 2005/2006. Why was it sat upon for so long? What was the true nature of the relationship between NoW and the Metropolitan Police? Already, it’s been alleged that NoW paid the Met for stories. Did the NoW editors of the day really know nothing about what was going on at the paper they were in charge of, as they claim? What about NoW’s relationship with government? Certainly, two former NoW editors who were at the helm when the alleged hackings took place have been closely linked with the Prime Minister David Cameron.

The News of the World is ultimately owned by media plutocrat Rupert Murdoch. It will be interesting to see how he comes out of all this and what becomes of his takeover bid for BSkyB, a dealing facing ever growing mass public protest. Transiting Pluto has already completed a series of conjunctions to Murdoch’s Capricorn Ascendant, but it seems that Pluto is not through with him yet. (Astrodatabank)

Click on the link for a timeline of how this story has unfolded.
For the BBC’s Q&A, click here

The words heinous, disgusting, repulsive and shocking have all been used extensively to describe the NoW scandal. These are very Uranian words. Pluto in Capricorn and Uranus in Aries are rumbling ever closer to their first exact square next year. In fact, they have been close enough to count as ‘in aspect’ for some time now, for the purposes of mundane (world) astrology anyhow. Uranus-Pluto is the revolutionary, everything must change, nothing will be the same again aspect. Just look at what has been unfolding in the Middle East and North Africa.

This powerful Uranus-Pluto square alignment, the first major crisis point for this planetary cycle since their world shaking mid-sixties conjunction, takes us right through to 2015. What we are seeing now is merely the tip of a very large iceberg. When Uranus and Pluto find their momentum, no government or corporate ship will be unsinkable. If you’ve anything to hide, you’d better find out where the lifejackets are kept.

With love,
Mandi
http://www.mandilockley.com/