I was listening to the BBC news coverage of the momentous events in Egypt, and one of the journalists remarked that the protesters in Egypt no longer have any fear of the oppressive government.  His point was that once the inhibitions of fear have been broken there is no turning back, that any attempt to reassert control will just inflame the situation.  

This comment, and the events unfolding in Egypt, perfectly mirror the astrological symbolism at work here.  Jupiter, bringing an expansive confidence and urge for a life with more meaning, is in Aries which is all about bursting through one’s fear and finding the courage deep within to fight for that which is most important.  

An Egyptian American expressed it here:

As the people of my homeland, Egypt, stage a popular uprising against the 30-year dictatorship of Hosni Mubarak, the White Stripes keep singing in my head: “I’m gonna fight ’em off /A seven-nation army couldn’t hold me back!”

I don’t know if Jack and Meg of the White Stripes are watching the breathtaking developments taking place in my country. However, their thumping, pumping “Seven Nation Army” is a perfect anthem for the defiance and adrenaline-fueled determination that must be propelling the tens of thousands of courageous, protesting Egyptians.

And against what odds!

In addition to Jupiter entering Aries, the Sun and Mars have been within a few degrees of a conjunction in Aquarius over the past week, a conjunction which doesn’t culminate until February 4th.  Since the Sun and Mars began to align we have seen protests spread like wildfire throughout North Africa and the middle east.  Mars is the ruler of Aries, the sign that Jupiter is in right now, and the fire of the Sun is inflaming the Martian principles of righteous warfare just as Jupiter is expanding the courageous and primal urge to defend oneself and break through to a new reality. 

In Aquarius, the Sun and Mars are fighting for social justice and personal liberty.  Aquarius doesn’t care much about personal lives – the individual must be sacrificed for the greater good if necessary, and the old structures must be destroyed so that a new Utopian reality can take its place.  

It’s not insignificant that transiting Uranus, the ruler of Aquarius and the instigator of revolution and the destruction of the old and decaying order, is in the final phase of a square formation to the Sun in the chart of modern Egypt right now.  

On Friday President Hosni Mubarak responded to the protests by firing his whole cabinet, honoring the Aquarian pressure to destroy the government and recreate a new one, attempting to save his own position in the name of increasing democracy in the country. This is not likely to quell the rage of demonstrators however; as the Egyptian quoted above writes: 

They will not sacrifice their freedom and dignity so Western allies can feel better about Egypt — which means a future government must reflect all those Egyptians out there, day after day.

Future leaders be warned: a seven-nation army won’t hold them back.

This feels very much like the coming square of Uranus (freedom) to Pluto (oppression) over the next few years.  I’ll be writing more about the dance of Uranus and Pluto, so stay tuned.