The Dutch government is another one in turmoil. In this case over an escalating scandal in which thousands of parents were wrongly accused by tax officials of fraud, plunging many families into debt by ordering them to repay childcare allowances. They were pursued through the courts, ordered to repay benefits and denied the right to appeal over several years from 2012. Some were pushed close to bankruptcy or forced to move house by unjust claims for tens of thousands of euros when the alleged fraud amounted to an incorrectly filled-out form or a missing signature. Several couples separated under the strain.
PM Mark Rutte, has said he opposes dissolving the current coalition government, arguing the Netherlands needs stability amid the coronavirus pandemic, but has not ruled it out.
This coalition government was sworn in on 24 October 2017 around 10.30 am, which puts Saturn in Sagittarius in the financial 2nd, in the line of fire of the December Solar Eclipse – which hints at a need to accept responsibility for past actions, which sounds spot on. Chickens finally coming home to roost. The chart does have a lucky Sun Jupiter conjunction which will have squeaked it out of trouble at times; but there is a destabilising tr Pluto square Uranus picking up late February and running off and on after that which may be the deciding factor.
Mark Rutte, 14 February 1967 6.53 pm The Hague, is a hard-working, idealistic though vague and elusive Sun Aquarius square Neptune; with a Water Grand Trine of Neptune trine Saturn in Pisces trine Jupiter in Cancer – not always good at connecting with reality. He has his Solar Arc Mars also catching last month’s Solar Eclipse for a shock and incendiary arguments in the months ahead. Tr Neptune is undermining several of his planets ahead; but he also has a bullishly confident tr Pluto opposition his Jupiter from late February, on and off till late 2022, so he’ll bounce back no matter what happens.
The Netherlands chart, 26 July 1581 JC, will catch the brunt of the unpredictable and high-tension tr Uranus in Taurus square tr Saturn in Aquarius as both planets hard aspect the Leo Sun Venus opposition Uranus in Aquarius over the next two years. The country will need a steady hand on the tiller.
Shades of the UK and the Post Office scandal where poor postmasters were hounded, and some imprisoned for years, over a computer snarl up that no one would own up to. God rot bureaucrats and pen pushers with far too much power. I hope they imprison the tax officials who were guilty.
Add On: There can be several significant moments in a country’s history for which charts can be erected. They can all be valid and productive charts checked against subsequent events. Both the Netherlands 1581 and 1815 charts showed up the German invasion of 1940 clearly – if anything the 1581 chart was more informative. But both worked well.
Usually older charts work better than mewer ones – for instance the Spain 20th century chart isn’t as helpful as the 15th century one. But obviously older charts may not have verifiable start times.
The 1815 chart indicates a Neptunian slide for two to three years ahead as tr Neptune is conjunct the Pluto, Mercury and Sun, all in Pisces. With a short sharp shock at the moment from tr Uranus and Solar Arc Mars both colliding with the Netherlands Saturn in Aquarius.
Hi Marjorie, Steph, J and others. I’m also Dutch and like J, I use the 1815 date for the State of Holland.
The respected astrologer Karin Zondag Hamaker (or Hamaker Zondag) used it and I think it makes sense to use that one for as long as we are a Kingdom (which you never know may end soon).
The dates of 1954 or 1959 don’t speak to me. The 1581 date makes more sense in that Willem van Oranje, the forefather of the current King, was involved, but still.
One of the things of the 1815 date is that it resembles the US chart a bit and Holland is always very USA-loving and following.
In any case, it’s interesting to exchange about the Dutch chart and politics!
Hello Margriet, thank you for contributing additional arguments in favor of the 1815 chart as a very suitable one. I did, by the way, pick up the use of the 1815 chart from Karen Hamaker Zondag, who was my astrology teacher.
And you are right, these things are always very interesting to discuss. I was pleasantly surprised that Marjorie had written a blog on our PM Mark Rutte and The Netherlands. Even if the occasion is a very regrettable one…
Hi For ancient countries there can be several to choose from – and it’s usually a point of heated debate amongst astrologers as to which is best. I can only tell by checking against subsequent events to see which works best. I’ve added the 1815 chart and a para at the bottom.
Thank you, Marjorie, for responding, and for taking into consideration the 1815 chart.
I myself will also keep an eye on the 1581 chart from now on
Hi Marjorie, thanx for showing the chart of Mark Rutte’s third term, with Sun and Jupiter at 3 Scorpio. At the moment transit Uranus (stationary) and Mars make oppositions to Sun Jupiter in the birthchart of the cabinet and Saturn squares it. But Neptune and north node both make sesquisquares (135 degrees) to Sun and Jupiter. Would you consider it a Thor’s hammer?
Thank you Marjorie, I really appreciate your blog. I do have to say that I have always used yet another chart for The Netherlands, namely the one which has as a birth time March 16 1815, 10:30 AM, Amsterdam. It is the chart for the newly founded United Kingdom of the Netherlands with Willem the 1st as king. I am Dutch, have lived in The Netherlands for most of my life and in my experience the conjunction of a Pisces Sun and Mercury at the Midheaven is very fitting for my country. We have been a seafaring and a trading nation forever. Pluto close to the Pisces conjunction seems to indicate the shadier side of The Netherlands, to do with drug trafficking etcetera. The Leo Sun of the 1581 chart does not seem to fit at all.
@J – that’s interesting about an alternative chart for the Netherlands. Maybe more than one chart works for this country, as seems to be the case for the UK? The Netherlands colour, orange, is certainly a Leo colour though!
Yes, it is possible that several charts work, Jane. I just seem to be attached to the 1815 one Somebody in the comments was suggesting a 1959 chart for The Netherlands, I will be sure to look that one up too. And orange certainly is a fiery color, though it could also fit with the Sagittarius ascendant of the 1815 chart!
Hello, I tried to leave comment and thought I had signed up to subscribe but I don’t see what further to do?
It can be quite whimsical about what needs moderated and what not. URLs always get blocked until I tick them off but others are comme ci comme ca.
Hi suhu,
I live in the Netherlands and have raised children by myself as wel as working (. I am as old as marjorie). I know the Dutch subvention system very wel. At the time i worked, it was appalling. Giving with one hand and retrieve with the other…
I could tell you many stories about this as many working women were confronted wit this kind of ” generosity”.
And as for human rights? Excuse me !!The Dutch are very mindfull of human rights in far away countries or if mister Poutin is involved.. and of course they are always up front to denounce others wrongdoings.
Much less of what happens in the Netherlands, were for example whistelblowers are treated in a shamefull way. And they are not particularly law abiding either, if it suits them.
The EU parliament voted a few months ago a law that forbid electric fishing. English and french fishermen complained about it as it destroys everything, also juveniles. But the Dutch minister of fisheries said publicly that the Netherlands would go on anyway and that they would have to be brought to court to stop. Example comes from above….And when money is involved, they are ferocious.
But i know also very nice people….
The government has now fallen, cabinet resigned en bloc this afternoon. Interesting analysis re Mark Rutte, I would not be surprised if he leads a further 4th coalition administration. What is future of Hugo de Jonge, the widely seen as hapless Minister of Health?
Hi marjorie,
it is not only pen pushers and bureaucrats. Politicians also knew of it. The Hague, center of government has the reputation of corruption among the Dutch.But one should never forget that “apartheid” is a Dutch word. Derived from “apart” meaning different. There always have been a latent undercurrent of racism and xenophobia in the Netherlands , despite the seemingly ” openess” of the Dutch population.
Hi Aline, having lived in The Hague for more than 30 years, I am not sure that it is corruption so much as being completely out of touch with the reality of most people’s lives. The allowance was introduced in the late ‘90s to get more women to return to the workforce after starting a family. The cost of childcare was prohibitively high for people on even average incomes. Don’t forget this was a subsidy, you still had to pay a third yourself so to have the allowance completely withdrawn and then be fined for so called fraud on top of that meant that you not only found yourself facing huge bills but also could no longer work because you had to stay home to take care of the kids who had been in the nursery. So it was a double whammy and the politicians’ failure to understand that and the terrible stress and often crippling debt that such high-handedness created is what is particularly shocking. It shows a total lack of compassion in a country which likes to pride itself as being a ‘world leader’ in championing humanitarian causes. It also has to be said that the tax department is not based in The Hague but in the east of the country where most supporters of the populist right wing PVV party leader Geert Wilders are based. Yes, you are right that this affair exposes the dark underbelly of racism in the Netherlands but also the level of complacency and lack of compassion in government towards the people they are supposed to be serving. Hence it is shocking that no one is held accountable and a kick up the political backside in the form of a motion of no confidence is warranted, IMO!
@SuHu, the cost of childcare is something people coming from Nordic countries to The Netherlands always comment. Not slightly different insurance based healthcare system, which they mostly find reasonably functioning (although my friend who has lived there for over 20 years has a lot to say about how covid-19 testing has been mishandled).
Apparently, they are not alone, since The Government fell.
My husband is Dutch but we live in New Zealand, I would not have known about this without your analysis Marjorie, many thanks.
It is indeed a shocking scandal, bad enough in itself as it was clearly racially motivated from within the tax department but to add fuel to the flames the cabinet decided last week that no one in either the tax department or the ministry of finance (which drafted the wholly inflexible all-or-nothing rules) was going to be held personally accountable. During the enquiry fingers were pointed back and forth between these two government bodies and neither accepted responsibility. It is now only because the Greens are about to submit a motion of no confidence to parliament about the lack of accountability (some of the affected parents are now bringing a civil action because of this) that there is a possibility of the coalition falling. However elections are scheduled for March (15, 16 &) 17 (possibly spread over three days because of the pandemic) which is why Rutte is calling for stabilty to get the already delayed vaccination programme properly rolled out before people go to the polls. This ‘protecting our mates in government’ attitude smacks of the same type of ‘corruption’ as the UK’s chummocracy! However your analysis seems to suggest that ‘steady as she goes’ Rutte will get in again, which is astonishing really. The country needs a kick up the proverbial, if only as a wake up call!
Thanks Marjorie for your article. One comment though: I believe the chart for the Kingdom of the Netherlands should be cast for december 19, 1954. On that date the late Queen Juliana signed the statute including the oveseas Antilles Islands, but without the former East Indies. This is a new monarchy, declared after the handover of sovereignty to Indonesia in 1949. And very different from the ‘old’ Republic you are referring to (1581).