Civil War – God given rights versus progress

Civil wars do leave their mark, sometimes for centuries. The English Civil War 1642-1651 pitted authoritarian Royalists against democratic progressives. Though underlying it, was the bitter Roman Catholic v Protestant battle which had been waged since Henry V111 baled on Rome (Vatican) a century before. And that antipathy carried on into the 20^th Century with the Irish troubles and general, lingering anti-Catholic prejudice in the UK. So power and identity politics.

Taking the 11 May 973 JC AD chart for England: When civil war broke out it was on a Uranus Return and tr Pluto was trine the North Mode; so similar to the USA Civil War (see previous post). Neptune was also around in quantity with the devastating Solar Arc Neptune conjunct Pluto; and the undermining tr Neptune opposition the England Taurus Sun, Mars, Mercury and square Pluto.

The last civil war in Portugal was in 1828 which again saw progressive constitutionalists versus authoritarian absolutists arguing over royal succession. The absolutists alarmed by liberal reforms and the French Revolution (1789), controlled the rural areas, combining the aristocracy with a peasantry galvanized by the Church; they lost. There are two charts for old Portugal – 24 June 1128 and 5 October 1143. The 1128 shows the kinds of influences you’d expect with a civil war with tr Pluto square the Cancer Sun and opposition Neptune Saturn. But the 1143 chart has much clearer indications of Nodal pressure with tr Pluto trine the Leo Node, and being conjunct Solar Arc Pluto conjunct Saturn; with the transiting North Node conjunct the Libra Sun. There seems to be less residual hostility from this civil war, perhaps because it did not have the toxic identity/reiligous politics underlying it.

Aspects to the Nodes do seem to point to significant moments in a country’s history. The UK vote for Brexit happened in the aftermath of the tr Pluto square tr Uranus hitting on the UK 1801 Aries North Node in the 7^th house of partnerships and the Sun/Moon midpoint. When Henry V111 split with the Roman Church in 1534 tr Pluto was trine the England 973 North Node.

When Nelson Mandela became President of South Africa, post-apartheid, tr Pluto was opposition the South Africa 1910 Taurus North Node; and it was on its First Uranus Return. When Mandela was released from 27 years in prison in 1990 tr Pluto was just over the square to the South Africa Solar Arc North Node with the tr Node in opposition to the Solar Arc Node.

Other stray thought is how much religion is tied into, not just conflict, but ideas of superiority – the Bible Belt’s notion that the white man was created superior isn’t that different from King Charles 1’s firmly held belief of his divine right to absolute power. In South Africa, the Dutch Reform Church believed that the Apartheid laws were God’s will; races should be kept apart; mixed marriages and relationships are discouraged so races remained ‘pure’. Reverend Ian Paisley’s views on Roman Catholics in Northern Ireland were hair-raising. “They breed like rabbits and multiply like vermin” . Which isn’t too different from some of the Confederates’ views on slaves.