Mr. Shbillat mentioned Shabi, the poet, who died as a young man in 1934. “If one day, a people desires to live, then fate will answer their call,” his most famous poem went. “And their night will then begin to fade, and their chains break and fall.”
Tempted to agree with the headline in Manchester Guardian about the Arab world, I am reminded of the Saturn Jupiter opposition of 1989 when, while still in government service and, forbidden to make any political prediction, I had ventured to make two public predictions for the first time openly: the first was that in the central government of India there were going to be major changes and Rajiv Gandhi’s government was toppled with a non-Congress government at the centre: it was made in an interview to a Bombay monthly at the end of 1988 and more importantly in my article on Jaya Prakash Narain in January 1989 issue of the Astrological Magazine on the basis of the Indian Independence horoscope mainly and of course the well-known phenomenon of Saturn Jupiter opposition.
The second prediction I had made was about USSR in the Times of Astrology in which I saw something like a revival of interest in religion in that country. Later, I came to know that Prabhupad of ISKCON had gone to USSR, perestroika had made the collapse of communist USSR inevitable and eastern European countries under the control of USSR became independent; they are all reached the climax with the collapse of the Berlin Wall.
I have commented briefly on the Saturn Jupiter phenomenon occurring in 2011 in my previous pieces but never even thought of its impact on the Arab world, particularly the northern countries like Tunisia which has witnessed its jasmine revolution and is still to get a settled shape.
The domino effect of the Tunisian revolution is being felt in Egypt where Husne Mubarak is struggling to survive (30 Jan) and the echoes of revolution are being heard in Jordan and Yemen loudly and, are slowly emerging in other Arab countries. Thrones are shaking. The tremor of it all can totally alter the Arab world, affect Israel in a very dangerous way and lead to radical revaluation of America’s Arab policy, more so because Egypt is the mainstay and bulwark of its policy towards Muslim countries of west Asia.
Changes adverse to the interest of USA and Israel will have all the provocative ingredients of a major war in that region after Rahu moves into Vrischika and later Saturn and Rahu join in Tula. World awaits with anxious and abated breath these developments. That is the time when India will find herself in the grip of a religious frenzy, communal in tone and violent in expression and Pakistan will undergo a great change.
An astrological analysis is worth an effort against this background. The visible revolution in the Arab world at the moment is the TEJY revolution, Tunisia, Egypt, Jordan and Yemen. Revolutionary messages spread fast through the internet, Facebook and Twitter. The sight of a Tunisian vendor Mohammad Bouazizi self-immolating himself was like a single match stick creating a conflagration now out of control in the Arab world. The martyred hero toppled a 23 year old government in Tunisia and is the inspiration to throw out the 30 year old Husne Mubarak in Egypt.
For Obama administration, it is an ordeal like 1979 when backing Shah of Iran, it lost the sympathy of the followers of Ayatollah Khomeni and Iran continues to be its enemy till now. Yet, the rise of Islamic forces is what Israel and USA fear now. At the moment it has the appearance of a non-Islamic tenor and color.
But first a brief glance at four horoscopes first all of which are being looked into now when all the fires of revolution have spread. Neither the Indian media nor any political analyst drew our attention to all that has happened and is now happening.
Tunisia
The tenth lord Moon in Kanya is under the grip of both transiting Saturn and Jupiter these days, fitting into my research on double transit and explaining the change that has taken place after the fleeing of Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali and the intense hatred generated in the hearts of unemployed Tunisian youth for the first lady Leila Trabelsi and her family when Wikileaks revealed some details of their loot and opulence at the cost of average Tunisian citizen.
Saturn-Saturn-Mercury from 28 Nov 2010 to 2 May 2011
It happened on 14 January when Sun and Mars from Makar aspected the tenth house of the Tunisian horoscope and Moon in Mesha was causing Astama Chandra or was in the eighth house from the natal Moon.
The dasha is of Saturn (R) which began in June 2010 signaling the dasha chiddra or change of mahadasha. The antardasha too is of Saturn but the pratyantar dasha is of Mercury, the ninth and twelfth lord in the eighth house under heavy affliction.
The change of the dasha is end of a chapter and the beginning of a new one.
Egypt
Like so many Asian countries of Asia which have witnessed glorious civilizations when the west was plunged into barbarism, Egypt is the glory of world history. It is now dependent on the west for its aid, particularly USA and UK in return for preventing the rise of Islamic Brotherhood and for forging friendship with Israel.
Saturn Saturn-Venus 19 Sept 2010 to 21 March 2011
DOB: 18th June, 1953, 23:30 GMT, Cairo
In the New Statesman an article is very insightful The truth about Egypt-Mehdi Hasan - 28 January 2011 15:00: The US and the UK have backed and funded Hosni Mubarak's corrupt and tawdry dictatorship for far too long. Mubarak might be a son of a @#!*% but, as the saying goes, he is very much OUR son of a @#!*% . Some facts to consider:
* Egypt is the one of the biggest recipients of US economic and development assistance - $28 billion since 1975, according to USAID. Only Israel, Pakistan and Afghanistan have received more cash.
* Egypt is the second-biggest recipient (behind Israel) of US military aid - over $1.3 billion a year.
And about UK’s interest in Egypt, the article says:
* The UK is the largest foreign investor in Egypt.
* Tony Blair, that other great neoconservative crusader for freedom and democracy in the Middle East, visited Egypt with his family on holiday on several occasions, had countless meetings with Mubarak, but never chastised him in the manner that he now chastises, say, the Iranians. Shamefully, Blair, while in office as prime minister of the United Kingdom, allowed Mubarak to pay for his family's luxury holiday at the Red Sea resort of Sham-el-Sheikh in December 2001.”
It is clear that neither USA nor UK want Hosni Mubarak to step down and face the uncertainty of a future government which may be anti-Israel and anti USA. But the horoscope of Egypt does not seem to help them.
1) Here, as in the case of Tunisia, transiting Saturn and Jupiter are influencing the tenth lord, here Saturn in Kanya. A change is visible and change can mean only the downfall of Hosni Mubarak.
2) The dasha is Saturn-Saturn-Venus; again it is a dasha chiddra like Tunisia’s, the dasha of Saturn having begun from September 2009. The pratyantar dasha of Venus will be over on 21 March 2011 and as soon the pratyantar of Sun begins there should be a new head of state of Egypt if not earlier.
If Chara dasha is to be used it is very critical till 9 February in the pratyantar dasha of Dhanu in the Dhanu mahadasha and Meena antardasha. At any rate, 7 March may be the deadline for a change.
In such cases the horoscope of the head of the state, in this case of Husni Mubarak would be helpful. A risk can be taken here and if his date of birth 4 May 1928 is correct, I will give him Karka lagna and proceed thus.
In the Vimshottari dasha of Venus Mercury his fall is clear to me according to the adopted horoscope. Mercury as the twelfth lord and an absolutely combust Mercury has to show him the exit door.
In Chara dasha it will be Karka from where Atmakaraka Mars falls in the eighth house, the antardasha of Dhanu the rashi of rise and fall and again the pratyantar dasha of Karka not promising his long stay in power.
He has to go in a month or two according to this adopted horoscope. On the combined basis of the foundation horoscope of Egypt and tentative and unconfirmed horoscope Husni Mubarak, his exit may be anytime from now to the end of March.
Were I to insist on the correctness of the lagna as Karka, I would straightaway predict a violent end to his life.
The least expected and surprising development in the Arab world now is the hope now of the end of the autocratic rule. The most feared prospect in such a change is the rise of Islamist forces which has been its history. The familiar pattern however is the unabashed support USA has given to dictators, autocrats and not democrats despite its well known hypocrisy of preaching the lessons of democracy and “reforms” which has meant legislation which helps USA militarily and financially. The educated youth of the Arab world, now on the rise, has seen through it all. Even Jordan and Yemen are now fearing to be engulfed by this maelstrom, Al Jazeera the Saudi Arab funded television channel, banned in Egypt now, is spreading the message of revolution and the autocrats are fearing for their regime and life.
A briefest glance then at Jordan and Yemen becomes a necessary epilogue to this assay in mundane prediction.
JORDAN
A constitutional monarch, Jordan’s King Abdullah II has to steer his country between the mighty Israel with whom it has a peaceful relation and the angry Jordanians who, awaked and educated, almost like Tunisians, are now demanding reforms etc. Jordan’s peace ties with USA evoke, additionally, the ire of Islamists who wait in the wings to jump into the national life and capture power.
Venus-Jupiter-Rahu 14 September 2010 to 7 February 2011
The unconfirmed birth time of Jordan, which we are trying to verify, does not help us at the moment except to rely on the horoscope available. Here the period between 7th February 2011 to 9 August 2011 seems to be most critical.
YEMEN
Yemen has been in news, not in such a big way as Egypt with stories of demonstrations demanding the removal of President Ali Abdallah Saleh from power. He has been in power for thirty years, like Mubarak of Egypt.
Venus-Mer-Moon 6 Nov 2010 to 31 Jan 2011 But the Rahu pratyantara from April to September 2011 seems to be the period of explosive change.
Thirty years is a full cycle of Saturn around the zodiac and it brings about historical changes. On the basis of the horoscope of the reunion of Yemen’s, north and south, it is clear that the Rahu pratyantar from April to September 2011 will be the period of explosive change.
Jordan and Yemen can be analyzed further after ascertaining some astrological and historical facts at a later date.
The need to stress it all arises because the Saturn Jupiter opposition is setting into motion some historical changes everywhere but most spectacularly in the Arab world.
From the middle of October 2011 USA is to enter the mahadasha of Mars aspecting the seventh lord Saturn in the second house. In this dasha chiddra, USA may have to replan its west Asian strategies, priorities, particularly seeing Israel getting threatened by changing, unfriendly Arab governments. USA has been helpful to so far. In the impending and inevitable changes, USA may be forced to enter militarily in west Asian politics even after its disastrous Iraq and Afghanistan and despair with tottering Pakistan.
A dead Osama may haunt Obama more powerfully now.
(30 January 2011 10:35 pm)