Russia and 19º Libra Originally published: October 11th, 2014. | Author: Smiljana Gavrančić

Russia and 19º Libra

Originally published: October 11th, 2014. | Author: Smiljana Gavrančić 

Largest country in the world by territory, Russia, traditionally is linked to the sign of Aquarius, where Sun (life, king...) is in detriment. However, Neptune is exalted in the sign of Aquarius, and Russia can be linked to the sign of Pisces, since it has Pisces symbolism related to Siberia in its history (endless space, prisons...).Russia is a country where human heads (Sun) used to fall very frequently, just like the last Russian royal family, the Romanov dynasty, and it’s not a surprise that it can be linked to 19º Libra, where Sun falls.

Russia was at war against Sweden for 200 years, which also fits into the importance of 19º Libra to Russia, because I mapped Sweden inside the Zodiac on 19º Aries, where Sun is exalted (You can read more about it in my article Sweden and 19ºAries). Sun on 19º Aries is at its strongest, and in opposition, on 19º Libra – Sun is weakened and sees an enemy in everybody across it, and starts conflict, subconsciously led by fear (Mars – war, is in detriment in Libra). This is a place to work on refinement in relationships (Venus is the ruler of Libra) but also responsibility (Saturn is exalted in Libra). Before establishing a relationship with anybody in front of it, Sun on 19º Libra has to establish a relationship with itself! Sun is our third energetic center, our third chakra, and the key question here is – who am I and what am I? The issue of identity is very important here!

I also have to emphasize that the axis of exaltation and fall of Sun – 19º Aries – 19º Libra – is very near to axis of exaltation and fall of Saturn – 20º Aries – 20º Libra), the axis which represents Berlin in the Zodiac (You can read more about it in my article Berlin and axis 20º Aries – 20º Libra), so this is a clear sign that Russia is linked to Germany, which has been proved throughout history, with the division of postwar world to East and West block among other things.

Moscow and Algol

Finally, from the angle of fixed stars, the Russian capital itself, Moscow, has a pronounced Algol story, since the first Russian emperor, Ivan the Terrible, placed a guillotine in front of Kremlin where heads were cut off, which also links the story to the degree of Sun’s fall, 19º Libra! Stalin’s ‘purges’ also share this symbolism.

USSR

If we take a look at the chart of founding of USSR, we find Saturn (natural ruler of the 10th sign, sign of Capricorn, and a ruler of 10th house – rulership, authority in this chart) in the sign of it’s exaltation, on 19º Libra, degree where Sun falls. This is a symbol of Soviet leaders that don’t have a strong awareness about themselves, and they see danger in everybody in front of them... They have a strong need for weapons, motivated by fear. The keyword for Mars chakra (our first energetic center, our roots, grounding) is – fear! This is an image of the very authorative Soviet leaders, because, when Sun is strong, it works on the principle “All for one and one for all”, then it’s a Sun that cannot be defeated, exacly how it vibrates across the Zodiac, on 19º Aries. I’ll also add that Moon (the people) is located very close to fixed star Algol from constellation Perseus...

Vladimir Lenin

The leader of October revolution in 1917., founder of the first Communist party, Vladimir Ilich Lenin, in the moment of founding Bolshevik Russia (a chart that still ‘works’ very well due to the fact that the awareness of  the Russian people still vibrates on that level), on November 7th, 1917. had his secondary Moon (the Russian people) on 19º Libra, the degree of Sun’s fall... This was a clear image of the Russian people and their not-so-easy destiny inside the borders of USSR. Lenin’s secondary Moon was conjucting Saturn on 19º Libra (fall of life) in USSR founding chart, and as we all know, a royal family had to pay the price of the founding of Bolshevik Russia – the price of life...

War in Afghanistan 1979

If we look at the chart of Bolshevik Russia and look back at the moment when the war in Afghanistan started, on December 27th, 1979., we’ll find the directive Mercury (moving around 1º  in one year) on 19º Capricorn, squaring 19º Libra (Russia). Mercury is the ruler of 8th house (war, conflict) and intercepted Virgo in 9th house (foreign countries) in the chart of Bolshevik Russia. The war ended after 10 years and Soviets failed in imposing communism, which was their goal, which is represented by the square of 19º Capricorn to 19º Libra. A square is always an image of things stopping halfway and unsuccessful actions. On the other hand, a square subconsciously urges to be active...

As the Olympic Games held in Moscow, starting on July 19th, 1980.  (the first that were held in a communist country) were boycotted by the western part of the world because of this war. This was the biggest boycott in the history of the games, which fits into the image of 19º Libra – where Sun falls (the fall of country’s reputation).

The last USSR president

It all started with Vladimir Lenin, and ended with Mikhail Gorbachev. The last president of USSR, a man credited for ending the Cold war. In the moment when he became the president of USSR, on March 15th, 1990., his secondary Moon (the Russian people) was exactly on 19º Libra! Secondary Moon moves 1 degree in one month.

Saturn return of USSR chart in 2011.

Namely, recently, just before the series of historic Uranus – Pluto squares, during autumn 2011. happened the Saturn return of USSR founding chart. It’s the chart for the moment when Saturn returned again to its natal position. It happened on October 6th, 2011., just one day before the Solar return of present Russian president, Vladimir Putin. Russia was preparing for presidential elections at the time, which took place in March 2012. (You can read more about this in my article Russia and 26º of fixed signs). This chart is very significant for the events that followed, and still are happening, in the mandate period of Vladimir Putin, because in this chart Sun is on 13º Libra, exactly where Putin’s natal Sun is. This certainly shows us the crucial role this man will have. If we look at the Ascendent itself, we find it on star nebula Vertex, from constellation Andromeda (The Chained Princess). The famous Roman astrologer Manilius mentiones this star in his book ‘Astronomica’: “The man whose birth coincides with the rising of Andromeda from the sea will prove merciless, a dispenser of punishment, a warder of dungeon dire; he will stand arrogantly by while the mothers of wretched prisoners lie prostrate on his threshold, and the fathers wait all night to catch the last kisses of their sons and receive into their inmost being the dying breath. From the same constellation comes the figure of the executioner, ready to take money for a speedy death and the rites of a funeral pyre, for him execution means profit, and oft will he bare his axe; in short, he is a man who could have looked unmoved on Andromeda herself fettered to the rock. Governor of the imprisoned he occasionally becomes a fellow convict, chained to criminals so as to save them for execution.” [Manilius, Astronomica, Book 5, 1st century A.D., p.351.]

Now, let’s take a look at the 2nd house of this chart, because it describes the period in which Russia is now (every house of this chart describes a period of around 2.5 years). It’s significant that the cusp of 2nd house is on Algol (the star linked to Moscow and decapitating). Venus as the ruler is well positioned, in the sign it rules over – Libra, on the cusp of 7th house (diplomacy), which is a clear indicator that peaceful diplomatic approaches are very important when dealing with issues. Venus forms a trine with exalted Neptune and an applicating trine with Moon in Aquarius, which is also promising... Venus is the dispositor of all planets in Libra in this chart, so a diplomatic solution to problems is more than evident...

Since the return of Saturn represents an intersection in time, let’s take a look at the position of secondary Moon in that moment. We find the secondary Moon of Bolshevik Russia on 19º Capricorn, the same place where directive Mercury (ruler of 8th house of wars and intercepted Virgo in 9th house of foreign countries) in the moment when USSR started the war in Afghanistan in December of 1979. Of course, the square with 19º Libra can speak of some actions the Russian people will get into lead by their country, but also that those actions will somehow be interrupted. As the Moon of Bolshevik Russia is in 9th house, it’s clear that these are actions done in a foreign country... On the other hand, progressed Sun was exactly on 19º Aquarius, creating a trine with 19º Libra (Russia).

Annexation of Crimea 2014

Something that has captivated the attention of the entire world these days is the crisis in Ukraine. Namely, it’s well known that the referendum of annexation of Crimea was held on March 16th, 2014. Now let’s take a look at the position of secondary Venus (ruler of 7th house of diplomatic relationships) in that moment. We find it exactly on 19º Aquarius, trining 19º Libra (Moscow, Russia), but, as it is retrograde secondary Venus, we can conclude that it’s going to take some time for an agreement to happen, but it is more than certain due to the fact that it is a trine, so time will bring harmony for sure.

The chart of New Russia

New Russia was founded on June 12th, 1990. Mercury rules the Ascendant in this chart (opportunities in country, capital – Moscow), but also rules 10th house (authority in the country). Since 2014. was a very challenging year for this country, and the Eastern Cardinal Cross (across 13º cardinal signs) ‘touched’ Vladimir Putin’s Sun on 13º Libra (where Sun was positioned in the Saturn return chart in 2011.) and the progressed Sun of New Russia on 13º Cancer, it’s interesting to take a look at the directions of New Russia, but also tertiary progressions for the moment of writing this article.

What we see in the Solar Arc Direction chart for this moment (where everything moves 1 in one year) is the Ascendant on 19º Libra (It was on 18º 52’ Libra during the Crimea referendum in March of 2014.), on the degree very important to Russia! On the other hand, in tertiary progressions of New Russia we can find tertiary Mercury (natal ruler of Ascendant and 10th house) across the Zodiac on 19º Aries. Tertiary Mercury moves 1 in one month, so we can conclude that October 2014. is very important for Russia, when it comes to events related to foreign countries, due to the fact that Mercury in New Russia’s chart is positioned in 9th house of foreign countries. As we see, the 19º Libra – 19º Aries axis is active, and the only thing that has to be worked on is an ego issue, where a need to establish a relationship with oneself exists...

Eclipses

Sun and Moon eclipses are very important, on both mundane and personal levels. On the personal level, the influence of an eclipse lasts until the next eclipse of the same type, while on a mundane level the influence lasts for several years in some cases. Since the age of Ptolemy, there’s a rule that an eclipse’s effect on a state will last as many years as the eclipse lasted in hours/minutes. The longest Solar eclipse lasted for 8 minutes, while the longest Lunar eclipse lasted for 2 hours, but the phenomena can last 4, 5 or more hours.

By listing the ephemeris, I found three eclipses throughout history that could be a relevant influence on Russia.

The first one happened on October 12th, 1958. on 19º Libra, and it was a Solar eclipse (New Moon close to Node axis). It was the ruling period of Nikita Khrushchev who had an important role during the Cold war (as the creator of the Warsaw pact – you can read more about it in my article Poland and 15ºAquarius). But, the important thing for Russia that happened after this eclipse, a couple of years later, on April 12th, 1961. to be precise, is Yuri Gagarin’s journey to space. He was the first man to fly into outer space, which is the symbolism of Solar eclipse (a new beginning). After a successful flight, Gagarin was promoted and received many awards and titles. However, since this is the degree of Sun’s fall, 19º Libra, life is endangered here... Yuri Gagarin lost his life a few years later, during a routine flight with another pilot on March 27th, 1968.

Now let’s take a look at the cups of 8th house (dangerous situations, death) in the chart of this man. Yes, it is on 19º Libra, the degree where life ‘falls’.

The second eclipse happened on October 12th, 1977., also a Solar eclipse, on 19º Libra. Two years later, the Soviets started the war in Afghanistan, also mentioned in this article. Leonid Brezhnev, the Soviet leader, died after this eclipse, in 1982. Both events fulfilled the symbolism of the degree of Sun’s fall (reputation, leader, president) – the Soviets lost their reputation in the war with Afghanistan, and a leader died...

The third Solar eclipse happened on April 9th, 1986. on 19º Aries. Four years after the eclipse, USSR came to an end. This activated the axis of exaltation and fall of Sun (19º Libra – 19º Aries), which lead to an inner alignment and balance through the last president of USSR, Mikhail Gorbachev, who won the Nobel Prize for peace (19º Aries). Let’s take a second to remember the part of this article where I mentioned that Gorbachev’s secondary Moon was positioned on 19º Libra in the moment when he became president on March 15th, 1990.

It’s obvious that all these eclipses activated 19º Libra, a degree I link to Russia!

Sun (president, king, leader) is weakened on 19º Libra, so, it’s necessary to work on improving one’s awareness of themselves. The moment in which we purify our Sun (identity) is the moment where all fears cease to exist, and every need for conflict or defense (Mars) perishes with them. Then we embody harmony and beauty (Venus) and feel secure (Saturn)...

Chart soruce: 
"The Book of World Horoscopes" Nicholas Campion 

 "Horoscopes of Europe" Marc Penfield
http://www.astro.com/astro-databank/Lenin,_Vladimir
http://www.astro.com/astro-databank/Gorbachev,_Mikhail
http://www.astro.com/astro-databank/Putin,_Vladimir
http://www.astrotheme.com/astrology/Yuri_Gagarin


This article was published at The Mountain Astrologer blog, on March 9th, 2015. 
On September 15th, 2015, Smiljana spoke about this topic on CINASTRO 2015, Brazil - astrological international online conference.
Krishnamurti Institute of Astrology, Kolkata, India, was published Smiljana’s article about Russia and 19° Libra during it’s conference in January 2016.