Oh my here we go again. Over the past few weeks the temperature has been rising in Syria. Yet another Arab country with this time the ruling Assad dynasty under pressure. President Bashar Al-Assad has been in power since 2000, when he succeeded his father who had been in charge for the previous 30 years. Seeing what has been going on in Tunisia, Egypt and Libya, it seems the people are in a mood for change, however they have a huge obstacle to overcome in the name of President Assad and the Ba’ath party.
Like the Libya and Saudi Arabia I did in recent weeks, the Syrian natal chart is also very insular in nature with every planet in the Eastern hemisphere. Saturn sits with Uranus, and true enough Syria’s history has been a mixture of unstable government and authoritarian rule. The Moon representing the people is squared by both Mars in aggressive Aries and Mercury. Syria’s human rights record is appalling, the crackdown after the latest set of protests on the people comes right from the top as Mars sits in the 10th house of government. In Syria all forms of communication (Mercury), including the press, the internet is tightly controlled shown by the Moon/ Mercury square. That control is intensified with Pluto in the 1st house, however Pluto here always indicates that a metamorphosis or complete change of the nation will happen at some time in the future.
The transit charts for Syria are looking quite fraught. Syria’s Midheaven sits at 1 degree Aries and transiting Uranus is rapidly closing in on an exact conjunction. It connects exactly on 27th March. Uranus moves on and then goes retrograde in July and finally stations in December just 10 minutes from the Syrian Midheaven. Aquarius which Uranus rules is on the cusp on the 8th house of change. Supporting this rebellious uprising by the people, Saturn is currently conjunct Mercury square the Ascendant and Moon – protests (Mercury) by the people (Moon) against the authorities (Saturn). Transiting Neptune is square Saturn/Uranus so confusion and worries (Neptune) in government circles (Saturn) about the protesters (Uranus).
President Assad has a brutal chart. Born on 11 Sept 1965 in Damascus (no birth-time), he has a Sun, Pluto and Uranus conjunction in nervous critical Virgo opposite harsh Saturn in deceptive Pisces and maybe Moon forming a wedge pattern with Mars and Neptune in deep dark Scorpio at the point. Here is a man who is sly, sneaky, able to adapt to situations as he has 7 planets in mutable signs, and has no scruples in using brute force (Mars), torture (Pluto), unusual underhand (Neptune) or shock tactics (Uranus) to keep his hand on the levers of power (Saturn). By the astrology, this is someone not to be messed with, and a man who will cling onto power by his fingernails if possible. The transits on his personal chart favour him for the minute. He has a constructive sextile between transiting Saturn and natal Jupiter and a trine between that Saturn and natal Jupiter. It would be nice to see how his Ascendant and Midheaven is affected but unfortunately with no birth-time it isn’t possible. I have to rely on the national chart and it’s aspects to see how the head of State may be affected
In my view, Assad will see out this wave of protests, however his power and standing will be weakened, and when Uranus comes round at the end of the year to complete it’s retrograde cycle finally stationing on Syria’s Midheaven in December, then it will be crunch time. It is going a lot of force and sacrifices by the people to get the change in power that they so desire.
