The nation of Pakistan was created when a Muslim state was carved out of India at a time when Saturn and Pluto were tightly conjunct in Leo, with Mercury, Venus and the Sun also in Leo forming a tight stellium of five planets in Leo within a 15 degree range. Leo is concerned with self-expression and recognition, and all five Leo planets are placed in the fourth house of home and ancestry showing that most of the affairs of this nation take place within its borders rather than on the international stage.
With the conjunction of Saturn and Pluto, the force that impels us to build structures and achieve lasting importance (Saturn in Leo) is tied forever to the destructive force of Pluto. Pluto seeks regeneration and will destroy anything in its path that does not lead to the highest good. In the chart of an individual, this aspect indicates a heavily fated quality to the person’s life, and the same can be true for a nation.
In the chart of Pakistan, the Saturn/Pluto archetype is connected to the very essence of the country and its leaders (Sun) and describes the way that its people work together (Venus). Until all people in the nation can work together for the common good of the country, the Saturn/Pluto conjunction will continue to tear the country apart as it challenges those structures that are created for only a segment of the population.
Mars in the chart falls in Cancer, indicating that the drive of the country (Mars) is to protect the tribal family (Cancer). In addition, the Pakistan chart shows Mars in a disassociate (or out-of-sign) conjunction to Uranus in Gemini, adding a reckless and revolutionary (Uranus) quality to the way the nation approaches war as represented by Mars. This is a violent aspect and shows a tendency towards explosive of rhetoric (Uranus in Gemini). The placement of the Moon in Cancer also demonstrates the fiercely protective nature of the country, and the Moon is unaspected (except for a quincunx to Uranus), creating difficulty in forming allies and allegiances to other nations.
We would expect to find a strong Jupiter in a chart of a nation founded as a religious state, and here we find an angular Jupiter in Scorpio sitting right on the descendant of the chart and opposing the ascendant. Jupiter in Scorpio shows an intense (Scorpio) approach to matters of philosophy and religion (Jupiter) and because Scorpio is a fixed sign there is a tendency towards dogmatism. Jupiter on the descendant illustrates the need to share those dogmas with the world, and a square from Jupiter to the Sun describes an arrogance and self-righteousness and an inability to compromise.
Transiting Pluto has opposed Uranus in the chart over the past couple of years, setting off the revolutionary fervor within the country. It is now moving towards an opposition to the Cancer Mars in the chart which will continue to create upheaval for the next few years. In addition, transiting Uranus will make the closing square to Uranus in the chart next year, setting the stage for additional revolutionary activity. Things are coming to a head now because of the passage of transiting Mars over these sensitive points (Mars and Uranus) over the next few months as Mars retrogrades back and forth over the natal Mars and Uranus.
Uranus in the Pakistan chart is one degree from an opposition to the Galactic Center, meaning that the recent opposition of Pluto to Uranus coincided to the conjunction of Pluto to the GC at the time of the Full Moon on October 26 which included a conjunction of the Sun to Chiron in the Pakistan chart, illuminating the wounded areas in the chart which require healing. Chiron in the chart is exactly square to the Midheaven, the outward expression of the national government, and the Full Moon set off that square as well.
Yesterday, President Pervez Musharraf declared a state of emergency and suspended the constitution. He has been rounding up and arresting opposition leaders, and also replaced the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court in advance of the Court’s meeting later this month to decide the legitimacy of his candidacy in the October elections. Neptune in Musharraf’s chart exactly squares Mars in the Pakistan chart, and his rule has always had a mysterious and confused quality. Both will be set off by transiting Pluto over the next few months leading to tumultuous times for both.
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