Peace – what does that even mean?

Libra 2013

One of my Autumn photos

Libra time … 
… a time for beauty. Depending on where you are, Autumn and Spring can both do that!

… a time for negotiation. Well done the US government, who finally reached an agreement of sorts on debt!

… a time for trying to reach an agreement on nuclear weapons – again!

… and a time for peace. So it is an excellent time for the Nobel Peace Prize to be awarded.

Not for Malala
Although there was not complete peace and happiness about the winner, as it was NOT Malala Yousafzai! Many people had wanted the young Pakistani woman, who was shot in the head by the Taliban, to win. But instead the prize went to the OPCW. The Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons. They have a Facebook page on which they posted: “We are overwhelmed and humbled by the well-wishes we have received in the 24 hours since winning the Nobel Peace Prize. A common question we have been hearing is “Who are you?””

I must admit I had the same response! I was glad that they received the prize – or, perhaps since I had never heard of them, it might be more accurate to say that I was glad that Malala didn’t get the award. It’s not that I don’t think that she is an extraordinary young woman and a brave campaigner for something I believe in – education for girls. But something about all the hype, and the fact that she might win it, didn’t sit well with me. I thought it might be just my usual Aquarian thing of not really liking heroes. Well, not those that other people declare to be heroes – my own are fine!

Photo of Malala from theguardian.com

OPCW to the fore
So apart from finding out who the OCPW actually are, (a link to a wonderful video, which endeared them to me, is below), I of course made a chart for them. There has been a lot made of the fact that Malala is only 16, so I found it striking to discover that the OPCW is the same age. It too was born in 1997 – in April – which makes it a couple of months older than Malala. Since the OPCW is an organisation, I can make an accurate chart for it, and I interpret their mission to be a Libra one – negotiation, discussion and indeed, peace! In his speech about the prize, OPCW Director-General Ahmet Üzümcü said: “I truly hope that this award, and the OPCW’s ongoing mission together with the United Nations in Syria, will help broader efforts to achieve peace in that country and end the suffering of its people.”

Photo Ahmet Üzümcü from OPCW site

Perhaps the universe knows best about prizes and does its bit to get the right winners! The OPCW has a very earthy chart. There are 6 planets in earth signs, clearly an organisation that ‘does’ stuff. It showed its Taurean qualities by bluntly mentioning the fact that the US and Russia should abide by the agreements to destroy their chemical weapons too! It gets it hands dirty and carries out practical work and I, for one, am glad someone is doing this.

But what about Malala then?

I have yet to find a birth time for Malala, but I can see that she has the Moon in the ‘peaceful’ sign of Libra. However, she has the planet Mars near the Moon in the same sign. So although her way of getting what she wants is diplomatic and reasonable, she is a real fighter. She’s Marsy! She needs a cause. She might seem to be fighting for peace, but actually she’s fighting for another Libra thing – fairness. She is a true feminist, and as a Cancerian, she wants education and respect for her countrywomen. So she should get a prize, but not this one. She should get an award for bravery and courage, and for sticking up for herself and being a pioneer and an initiator, and for having a huge amount of guts – Aries-Mars qualities.

Yes, the universe knows this. And possibly, so too do the Nobel Prize deciders. The Nobel rules for the Peace Prize state that it should be awarded to…” the person who shall have done the most or the best work for fraternity between nations, for the abolition or reduction of standing armies and for the holding and promotion of peace congresses.” This definitely fits OPCW better than Malala. I had to laugh when I looked at the chart for Alfred Nobel himself though. He is actually a Libra and he has Mars close to the Sun. Again this idea of fighting for peace. What I found amusing is that he is known for inventing dynamite!

Photo from Wikipedia commons

You can’t have one without the other

No, not as in the song – ‘Love and Marriage’, but Mars and Venus, Libra and Aries – the equinox signs. They go together. Now is not really a time for peace. With Uranus, the breakthrough planet, in Aries for a while longer, it is time for the underdog to come out fighting to create a new world. Aries is needed to get the ball rolling – you can’t start to change things in this climate by being nice and sweet and diplomatic. You need to confront what is not working. Eventually peace comes when equilibrium is needed again. And then, when we have had enough of sweetness and light and harmony all over the place, we need to do something daring again. Of course there must always be balance between the two. If Mars (Taliban?) goes too far and gets too aggressive, Venus (Malala) needs to put him in his place and Malala is a good example of how strong Venusian energy can be.

Mars disarmed by Venus by Jacques-Louis David – photo wikimedia

So back to my original question: Peace – what does that even mean? I’m really not sure. I don’t think the world has ever seen it, perhaps because it can’t exist on its own. This is true not only globally, but also within companies. But at least trying to get rid of terrible weapons is a start.

Faye Blake-Cossar

Interesting Websites of the Month

A link to a video on OPCW,

They are Taurean but also have Venus strongly placed – it feels like they really value their staff as well as wanting to negotiate and bring peace.

A quite long, but very interesting article from the New York Times 2006 on why the Nobel Prizes nearly didn’t happen.

This Month’s Quote

“Certain states have not observed the deadline, which was April 2012, for destroying their chemical weapons. This applies especially to the USA and Russia.”
The Nobel committee in its official announcement of the peace prize.

Notes for Astrologers

Birth data

Malala Yusafzai: 12 July 1997, Mingaora, Pakistan, time unknown although she is quoted as saying daybreak.
Malala probably has a Sun (Cancer)-Moon-Saturn T-square – someone who wants respect for women. I found it interesting that she also has a quintile between Mercury and Ceres (speaking on behalf of women rights) and a wide trine between the Sun and Ceres. For me these are signatures of someone involved in the women’s movement.

OPCW: 29 April 1997, The Hague, Netherlands, 0:00.
I take Libra MC to describe the mission. They have Sun Mercury and Venus conjunct in Taurus.

Albert Bernhard Nobel: 21 October 1833, Stockholm, Sweden, time unknown.
He has the Sun in Libra conjunct Mars in Scorpio opposite Jupiter in Taurus – I wonder what he would have thought about the Big Bang theory!

Related posts:

Fighting Talk Money, money, money No Guts, No Glory – Grow up Aries She who dares – or should it be he? Dear European Union… The Moral of the Sydney Siege Dogs Sadiq and Bernie – men of the moment What is it about January 1st? Backwards to go Forward Negotiation: it’s a good time for it …  Planets do #metoo too