I come from a land downunder…

Virgo 2017

… and so I  thought it was time to give the south some attention. As I write, the coming weekend – 23rd September 2017 – New Zealand goes to the polls. And it’s getting exciting. The main rivals are the sitting Prime Minister, Bill English, of the National Party (centre-right – in power for 9 years), and the new kid on the block, the new Labour Party leader, Jacinda Ardern. A wave of support for Jacinda is gripping the country. ‘Jacindamania’, as it has become known, means there is a genuine contest, even though Ardern is untested as a leader.

Symbols?

I find the contest symbolic – a 55-year-old Catholic man with 11 siblings and 6 children against a single, 37 year-old woman, who is childless – however she does have a partner who is apparently obsessed with fishing, and a cat! The old guard vs. the new? Time for the patriarchy to give it a rest? It is encouraging to see so many women standing for both of these parties (and the smaller ones), particularly for the Labour Party. Of the 77 candidates shown on the site, 37 are women, with all candidates being various ages, sizes and colours!  New Zealand has 119 MPs. 64 come from general electorates and 7 from Māori electorates. The other 50 come from party lists, giving some proportional representation.

The astrology of elections 

When considering elections I usually look at three things astrologically. The first is the type of leader that New Zealand wants. I think countries attract the right leaders, so what type of leadership fits the country horoscope? The second is to match potential candidates to the country horoscope – how do they fit? And lastly –  I look at what’s in the air on voting day.

What does NZ want?

Although New Zealand already had a constitution and was self-governing, the country became a dominion on September 26th 1907. This meant it was no longer a colony of Britain, although there were still links. See below in the website section for some history. Our passports said ‘British subject’ as well as NZ citizen until January 1978. The horoscope:

I touched on this chart in another post from 2012 and when I wrote about the NZ flag proposal in 2010. The change of flag didn’t go through eventually – perhaps they should have taken my advice! In this post I focus on leadership. NZ is very strongly Libran – a beautiful country and one that should value balance, justice and fairness. It is fitting for parliament to have equal numbers of men and women and for ethnic groups to be represented. Discussion and debate are important, so any leader should be good at these things, as well as being seen as someone who is diplomatic. One who can focus on partnership on the global stage and perhaps act as a mediator. The other archetypes that fit Kiwi leadership are Saturn (as a Capricorn, Bill English fits this one well), someone who can manage and take responsibility. Someone with authority. Then we need Uranus – someone innovative, bright and different, and Pluto – someone who can take control when required and has a passion for their work. A person who dares to analyse and take on what is really going on. A powerful people-leader.

Potential candidates

Jacinda is a Leo – a good leader rather than a manager. A good Leo is generous, warm and encouraging. She is happy in the spotlight. What I find interesting is that she is a ‘pure’ Leo astrologically. Most people (in the way I use astrology) have other planets making contacts to their Sun, adding a flavour to their vocation. But Jacinda has what is known as an unaspected Sun. Astrologers differ as to what this may mean, but I see it as one pure part of her that is separate from the rest of her inner dialogue. Her vocation is to be seen as a ‘ruler’ or a ‘queen’. She can become the ‘face’ of anything she runs.

If I look at her talents she has all three archetypes available to her, Saturn, Uranus and Pluto. She can be good in all of these areas, responsible, innovative and she can step up to the plate and take control. How well she can do this depends on her own level of self-development. And she has two more things she values, Neptune – helping victims or others who need support such as in healthcare or prisons, and Ceres, women’s rights and also the environment – a hot topic this election. Jacinda, having both Mars and Pluto in Libra, will strive passionately for NZ’s Libra ideals of fairness, justice, harmony and balance. So she fits.

 

Bill is a Capricorn, so his vocation is to structure and build. To manage and take responsibility. He has several planets flavouring his vocation – two of those required i.e. Uranus and Pluto – so his vocation is very well aligned to being the NZ Prime Minister (of course – he is!) He also has Mercury in Capricorn on his side – a good communicator when that works well – and both Venus and Mars in Capricorn; he likes rules, structures and tradition and operates from those values. That might be a bit too much Saturn sometimes, even although he has the potential to be innovative. He too can ‘do’ fairness and balance. He has Ceres as part of his vocation too – he is probably genuine when he speaks up on environmental issues. So he fits too. The difference is that he is more of an earthy, practical manager than Jacinda, who is a fiery leader. So it depends what Kiwis like in their leaders.

So what’s in the air on the day?

There is always a discussion in astrological circles as to whether to use the time the polls open, or the time that they close, to look at elections. There are various arguments for both sides. Voting has already started as there are various ways to vote, so I am going to take the closing time which I quite like anyway. It is the end of the matter. However I look at what the Moon does all day too, as the Moon represents the people and the ‘mood’ of the day. The rest of the polls closing chart shows the current ‘zeitgeist’ – the issues that are in focus now. If you read my blog you will know that I don’t think it is possible to predict a specific outcome. I definitely think we have choices as to how we use energies, both on a personal level and therefore at group level.

The people choose

The Moon is in Scorpio during the main voting day. To me this would mean the people want someone who is passionate and powerful and they might want deep change. Scorpio likes transformation. A definite black or white choice. No ‘fifty shades of grey’. At the end of voting day this is also emphasised by Pluto’s very strong position, which might mean a very decisive outcome. I hope it doesn’t mean sneaky, nasty tactics that create outrage during the results. But the Moon is moving away from talking to Uranus, which may mean that the appetite for a rebellious ‘big shock’ change is diminishing, as suggested by the latest polls. Perhaps the populace has got used to the idea of Jacinda.

Ceres is lining up to talk to the Sun, which has just gone into Libra, as NZ (and the south) will have just had the spring equinox. So that suggests balance and fairness in voting – Ceres values wise women, as well as the environment, so these issues might be relevant to the choices being made. Ceres also wants to feed the populace, so whoever is offering healthy food for everyone will be well placed. Jacinda probably scores better on these two issues. And the Greens should score well because of this.

All change please

But the bigger picture for the world is that Jupiter and Uranus are opposite each other. Jupiter is about vision and strategy and belief systems. It is the ruler of politics – the vision that we have for, in this case, a nation. Jupiter is in Libra at the moment, a belief in all things Libran mentioned above. With Uranus opposing him, it is time for a revolution in politics, as we are seeing. The truth will out. Anything out of balance or unjust will be sorted! A new era is called for, but what does that look like? New Zealand is the first to see the light of each day and it has often been an instigator for innovation. Will it act as a role model for future governments? I hope my home country can do something good! We shall see.

Good luck voting, my fellow Kiwis!

Faye Blake-Cossar

Websites of the Month

An interesting article on Jacinda.

And one on Bill.

This article is the one referred to above – on the history  NZ as a dominion.

My Libra post 2006 also discussed NZ leadership

I think this election is indicative of a consciousness shift, particularly regarding the patriarchal treatment of women. This is a lovely film highlighting women ‘rising’. The time is ripe.

Quote of the Month

“Is it right that your mother, your sister… should be classed with criminals and lunatics… ? Is it right that while the gambler, the drunkard, and even the wife-beater has a vote, earnest, educated and refined women are denied it?… Is it right… that a mother… should be thought unworthy of a vote that is freely given to the blasphemer, the liar, the seducer, and the profligate?”
From ‘Is it right?’ (1892) by Kate Sheppard who was instrumental in making New Zealand the first country to give women the vote in 1893.

For Astrologers

Jacinda Ardern: 26 July 1980, Hamilton, NZ , Time unknown.
Bill English: 30 December 1961, Dipton, NZ, Time unknown.
NZ a dominion:  26 September 1907, Wellington, NZ, 00:00.
Closing of the polls: 23 September 2017, Wellington, NZ, 19:00.