Putin has seized the start of his fifth term with all-systems-change Uranus in the 10th to shake up his senior security officials and rein in military spending, indicating a major shift in the handling of the Ukraine war. Out goes Defence Chief Sergei Shoigu, rumoured to be involved in corruption as well as criticized for runaway spending, chaotic mobilisation of reserves, poor tactics and setbacks on the front line. In comes a pliant technocrat, economic expert Andrey Belousov, who has never served a day in the army. Shoigu moves to head the country’s security council, distancing him from discontent over patchy progress in the war.
The outgoing head of the security council, Nikolai Patrushev, is also moving to a new post as yet to be revealed.
With the exception of tr Uranus square the Jupiter in the Ukraine 24 August 1991 2.31pm chart, which might bring a moment of light relief this June, December and early 2026, there is not much to suggest an easing of strain on beleaguered Ukraine. There’s a deprived-slog tr Pluto conjunct the Ukraine Saturn till late 2025. The relationship chart between Ukraine 1991 and Russia 1991 also indicates the two still being caged together with frustration, fear and destructive influences through this year and on till late 2026.
Belousov, the economist, 17 March 1959, now handed the poisoned chalice of the Ukraine campaign, is a late Sun Pisces trine Jupiter; with confident Jupiter square Pluto. He looks slightly overwhelmed this year with his SA Pluto conjunct his Neptune. His relationship chart with Putin (1952) looks rattled across July/August and through 2025 with wins and losses. That odd July hot spot which appears in many Middle Eastern and other charts pops up between them as well so there may be more than Ukraine on their plate. Though the Ukraine invasion chart also has a 26 degree Taurus North Node so it will be part of the celestial pinball hit.
The Putin 7 October 1952 birth chart which has been disputed may well be accurate since the relationship with Shoigu shows yup precisely with tr Uranus square the Mercury Pluto exactly now. And is also reflected in the shift with Patrushev on that relationship chart.
Marjorie,
Perhaps the most dramatic fall from power in my lifetime was the December 1989 fall of Nicolae Ceaușescu (born in Scornicești, Olt County, Romania on 26 January [O.S. 13 January] 1918, all according to Wikipedia) in Romania. He became General Secretary of the Communist Party of Romania on 22 March 1965.
He went from being eulogised to being booed in a matter of days, fled and was captured and summarily executed live on TV. His was the only Eastern Bloc dictatorship to face that fate (of being executed). The fall of communism in other Eastern Block countries was relatively more peaceful.
Are there any particular aspects of his charts that jump out to you? Are there any lessons for the situation in Russia, Georgia and Ukraine?
It will be interesting to see where Patrushev ends up. He’s one of Putin’s main rivals and possibly even more extreme. Also his son, who is agriculture minister.
The other day Marjorie posted the Russia 1999 chart, and pointed out that SA Pluto would be over the sun in three years’ time, which takes us to 2027. She suggested that this would be highly significant, and it is hard to disagree with her. In June 2026 Uranus goes over Putin’s moon (assuming we are talking about the 7 October 1952 chart) and makes its final forward pass over his moon in April 2027. The great thing about Uranus transits is that even if you know they are going to happen, what happens is something that you never saw coming. Saturn is opposite Putin’s sun throughout much of summer 2026 and comes back to oppose it in March 2027 before going on to oppose the rest of the stellium in Putin’s 12th. Meanwhile Neptune in hovering around the cusp of his 6th house and quincunx his ascendant. Throughout much of 2026 Pluto is square his ascendant. He will be 75 by 2027; few of us at that age would want to be facing this array of transits. I wouldn’t be surprised if health became a problem for him, never mind political unrest.
I’ve been reading Sebag-Montefiore’s “The World, a family history of humanity”, which retells the astonishing number of dictatorships which suddenly collapse, just when the dictator least expects it, and despite all his best efforts to prevent anyone ever deviating from his wishes. The populace gets fed up, the economy starts to collapse, young people don’t buy into the dictator’s message, or he loses the confidence of the army – and within days he’s out, often baffled at the turn of events and outraged by the people’s ingratitude. And not long afterwards, he’s usually dead.
I am ever mindful of Lincoln’s pronouncement about fooling some of the people all of the time, and all of the people some of the time, but you can’t fool all of the people all of the time. The thing is – dictators think they can, and there’s no-one who will dare to tell them otherwise!
So we shall see.
I remember studying Aeschylus’s The Persians, written 472 BC which for those unfamiliar with the play, we see the defeat of the Persian invaders at the battle of Salamis through the eyes of the Persians themselves, the devastating loss of so many of their leading generals and the humiliating retreat of the Queen of Persia’s son, Xerxes. We see how this great empire was defeated at the hands of this upstart Greek Democracy, which the Persians, with their hierarchical society, ruled by an autocratic monarchy presumed would easily collapse in the face of invasion by a mighty empire.
The Persians had in effect underestimated the strength, determination and unity of their opponents. Of course, this play was propaganda to an extent, glorifying and contrasting the Greek system of democracy with the social hierarchy and monarchism of the Persians. That the Greeks had more to fight for, because their city states were democratic, that the thought of autocracy was enough to drive them to victory is emphasised in the narrative, because the Persians were subjects of autocracy, wheteas the Greeks were citizens of democracy and had the right to vote.
“Forward, Greeks, for your homes and the temples of your gods, and for your father’s tombs: all are at stake to-day!”
The point is that when democratic nations are threatened by autocracy, there is far, far more at stake for those who support democracy and freedom. The Putins of this world, these terrible, dark father figures who abuse, torture and imprison their own citizens, no one is driven to unite in brotherhood or lay down their lives to defend such a tyrant.
I hope Americans, like the ancient Greeks, wake up to the threat of autocracy before November’s critical elections that threaten survival of democracy.
@ Nicole Sours Larson,
We are in a mess, aren’t we? I too hope common sense prevails this November.
“the Ukraine invasion chart also has a 26 degree Taurus North Node so it will be part of the celestial pinball hit.”
Thanks Marjorie. I noticed that Putin’s 5th Term on 7th May is one day off the ‘last Tsar’,Tsar Nicolas II birthday, 6th May 1863 JC. Gregorian date is 18th May. His Sun is 27 Taurus, square the Mars in Aquarius for Putin’s 1999 Presidency, trine Pluto 27 Capricorn for the Invasion of Ukraine, and conjunct the Uranus/Jupiter for the 5th Term chart. The Tsar’s Pluto, 15 Taurus, is conjunct the Sun for 2024.
Looking at the October Solar Eclipse 10 Libra, which seems to keep on cropping up, the Tsar’s chart also resonates. Moon 10 Aries, Jupiter 5 Aries are square Uranus 10 Cancer, with Venus 12 Cancer. Ukraine 1991 has Uranus 10 Capricorn. With Putin’s 5th Term Mars 5 Aries, and the Invasion Chiron 10 Aries.
The end of the Monarchy, 16 March 1917 (Book of World Horoscopes), has a 9 Aries MC – faint hopes!
For the ‘fog of war’ perhaps, there’s also US Defence Department’s Neptune at 8 Libra (26 July 1947).
As you write, nothing will be solved easily, but perhaps we can hope for a little progress towards peace and rebuilding at some point in the not too distant future…..
Just look at how many retrograde planets the Ukrainian natal chart contains.
..thanks Chris for your comment. So many men are disabled because of the war on Ukraine. It will take decades to get the country back to any normalcy.
@ Delia,
I think Ukraine persevere but it will definitely take many years to rebuild. I’m just glad Russia won’t be getting off so easy.
Thank you, Marjorie, for the astrological update on Ukraine and the Russian Federation.
I’m better at reading charts for personal figures. However, I haven’t come anywhere close to accurately interpretating outcomes for global affairs. So, I appreciate all of this detailed information.
Some Geoeconomics and Geopolitical experts are predicting that this war will likely come to a stalemate in the near future given that neither side appears to have much of an advantage over the other.
I too am wondering if it will come to that. Having followed this war since 2022, Ukraine has been able to reclaim some of their stolen territory, but neither side has been able to advance much in the past 2 years.
Some of the astrology for Ukraine suggests to me that even if the actual fighting were to draw to a close, Ukraine is going to be overwhelmed with having to rebuilt their infrastructure, their economy, and try to encourage their citizens to return from diaspora. I imagine that’ll be a colossal task for Ukraine, a nation who’s GDP and development is more on par with the Global South than with nations of the Global North.
According to UNN, Zelenskyy is urging Ukrainians to have more children and hopes for a big “baby boom” after the war. Ukraine does need to improve its fertility rate….in order for a much needed baby boom to take place, millions of young Ukrainians who fled the country would need to be convinced to return…and that looks like that might be a challenge in the near future.
For example, according to a number of articles I read in Human Rights Watch, The New Humanitarian, and Radio Free Europe, many Ukrainian children living in countries like Portugal, Georgia, Poland, the UK, Ireland, Italy, and Germany have begun living the languages of their host nations and they’re starting to integrate. The Ukrainian mothers who were interviewed said they’re not sure how they’ll be able to return to Ukraine if too much time goes by and their children get used to living abroad.
All in all, as an ardent supporter of Ukraine and the Ukrainian People, I sincerely hope the fighting will end much sooner than later. However, I can only imagine the many challenges Ukraine is going to face for years to come because of this unjust war.
There will be boots on the ground from the west soon. France is already saying they will go in. Others will have to follow to save Ukraine.
So what do they want ?… World War 3, Nuclear Armageddon?
The French should be more concerned with the incipient ethnic civil war brewing on their own turf.
That incident of the prison escort guards being gunned down yesterday, to spring a north African origin prisoner is but a mere precursor of what is to come.
Great excuse for old Macron to bring in the draft don’t you think…before old Macron gets his Ceausescu moment!
Ukraine will have to save itself. NATO will do everything in its power to prevent any possibility of a direct confrontation with Russia. To secure peace Ukraine will likely have to give up its eastern territories, with or without Putin at Russia’s helm, and China will get the spoils. Unfortunately, it is still the case that all is fair in love and war. And it is also the case that words of support have translated into only limited action on the whole. Had the US funding gone through last December as planned the Russians would not be making the gains they are now. Other countries in Europe too put their own domestic agenda ahead of our collective security.
Maybe 2026 will bring more a sense of collective vision instead of fear-ridden posturing. We can but hope and pray for Ukraine.
Korea was occupied by Japan for 35 years and see what has become of that nation. The South may have become an economic powerhouse but the people still bear the psychological scars from a century ago while the North shows us the appalling consequences of containment politics in action. I look to astrology for hope but we don’t seem to see much of that at the moment.
@ SuHu,
I disagree with some of what you said. Ukraine should not be encouraged to cede anymore of its territory than it already has. Crimea is a perfect example of why ceding territory won’t put a stop to Russian imperialism. After all, Crimea was stolen from Ukraine in 2014 and Ukraine, reluctantly, accepted that injustice.
Since the occupation in Crimea, only ethnic Russians have reaped the benefits. Despite its small size, Crimea is home to a number of Indigenous ethnic minorities including: Crimean Tatars, Crimean Karaite Jews, Krymchak Jews, Armenians, Pontic Greeks, Bulgarians, and many others – all of these minorities are now opposed.
For example, the Russian Federation has closed schools that teach the endangered Crimean Tatar Language as well as Bulgarian, and of course, Ukrainian. Many Crimean Tatar activists have been sounding the alarm that Russian settlers and “art restorers” are revamping historic mosques, palaces, and other cultural heritage sites that are significant to the Crimean Tatar People. Many Crimean Tatar activists are currently locked up in Russian prisons…and many have been forced to accept Russian citizenship (those who haven’t are now considered “stateless” with outdated passports and documentation). Also, many Crimean Tatar families have been hiding their sons from mobilization because Russia has been deliberately drafting them along with Russian men from other non-White Indigenous ethnic groups from the Caucasus, Arctic, and Siberia. In other words, it’s been horrible for Crimeans.
If Ukraine were to cede the 2 pseudo states of “Donetsk People’s Republic” and “Luhansk People’s Republic” in the Donbas region, I honestly don’t think that would end the fighting. Vladimir Putin would likely feel even more emboldened and unstoppable.
Besides, Vladimir Putin appears to be wanting more than just the Donbas region anyway. After all, he did lead a full-scale invasion of the country in Feb. 2022….and he appears to have his sights on Odessa.
Anyway, if this was just a war about acquiring territory, then perhaps Ukraine might be willing to negotiate. However, Putin’s actions appear to be more than just a military conquest – he’s engaging in what many human rights groups are now calling a genocide. Ethnic Ukrainian children are still being abducted and taken to Belarus and the Russian Federation to be sent to re-education camps and adoption agencies. The Ukrainian Language is now being banned in the occupied territories. Ukrainian civilians are still being targeted in attacks. Ukrainian cultural heritage sites, schools, hospitals, etc. are being indiscriminately bombed. In other words: Ukraine is enduring exactly what the Kurdish People are enduring under Erdoğan and what the Palestinians in Gaza are enduring under Netanyahu.
All in all, I just think the Global North needs to continue to support Ukraine on Ukraine’s terms. Our nations have the money and the resources to do so.
I am not sure that we disagree Chris on the principles but realism may well dictate differently. Sometimes you strike me as very young and still clinging to youthful idealism. Try to see things from a different perspective, because what we want is almost never what we get. The outcome of territorial disputes almost always involves a carve up of boundaries. Of course Putin wants Odessa because then Ukraine becomes landlocked. But as Marjorie points out, you and I need to do our astrology homework first!
@ Anna,
I read something about that in The Kyiv Independent and Al Jazeera. However, I seriously I doubt that will actually happen though….unless France feels personally threatened, I just don’t see the French Military being deployed anywhere near Ukraine.
I mean, it would make more sense if the DGSE were sent to eliminate Vladimir Putin instead….but even that would be a bit fantastical.