In 2018, the Dalai Lama made the following statement regarding China. This especially was concerning the spiritual direction for that nation and relations between the Tibetan Autonomous region and China:
“It is possible that after just five years China will undergo great change. At present the situation in China is evolving with great impetus. Now there are many Chinese officials and those who are educated who do not call the Dalai Lama a splittist but instead they express the need for us to develop a relationship, and their voices are growing louder. In particular the Chinese people have high hopes for this and such news has also appeared recently in Chinese newspapers. Since making India my permanent home I have felt at times that if I could visit China and Tibet then there would be much benefit for China and Tibet.”
The statement was made at a meeting where he was greeting the reincarnation, recently found, of the one he calls “Australian Lama” for the first time. It has a special meaning for me, but that is beside our purpose here. There were a couple of key phrases in his statement that warrant our attention regarding the unfolding situation with China. Actually, it has nothing to do with the Hong Kong protests, which are actually a more isolated matter than the general changes the nation is undergoing. The general changes especially are: 1) the Belt and Road Initiative, and 2) the trade war that is taking place now, specifically with the United States. The astrology is proving to be quite interesting in the near future. The Dalai Lama’s statement refers more likely to a subjective change that is sweeping through the nation, possibly with an event indicated a bit later in this piece.
This is the third of the articles on what’s going on with China. To start, one thing we have not done in the past two articles on China, is to look at China’s national chart, the founding of the People’s Republic of China. The chart is below (bigger):
The PRC was founded on 1 Oct 1949 at 3:01 pm in Beijing, by pronouncement by Chairman Mao. The immediate thing that stands out is the cardinal t-square with revolutionary Uranus at the apex of a Sun/Eris opposition. Of interest is that Uranus is at the infamous degree of the Sabian symbol: At a railroad crossing, and automobile is wrecked by a train”. China was born out of revolution. It will never be anyone’s vassal and it was always going to be a challenge to the existing order. That is never likely to change with its current governmental structure. China is one of the truest expressions of Libra’s ‘iron fist in the velvet glove’ approach to world relations. The Chinese come across as very accommodating at first, and then over time people and nations come around to their way of thinking, if you get the drift.
The base opposition in the t-square straddles the 2nd/8th house axis – banking, international banking and finance. There again, its actions worldwide are revolutionary, as we see now with its moves to multi-polarity in the world financial order. It is offering an alternative to the SWIFT-based-dollar-based system. And this is where China’s difficulties arise, because they buck the system. We’ll look at that shortly.
Then, we see a septile triangle including the Sun, Mars and Jupiter. Septile triangles represent a visionary approach to life and give a way of seeing things that is out of the ordinary. With that combination, China has a bold and expansive outlook, taking on large projects, as witness with its infrastructure and social progress (despite what we hear in the western press). Not only have they pulled 500 million people out of the worst forms of poverty, but their vision of world cooperation, ruled by international law and win-win relations between partners is winning over nation after nation – again, despite what we hear in the western press. This is reflected in the PRC Aquarius Ascendant, with the Sabian symbol of, “An unexpected thunderstorm.” That will have significance as the discussion unfolds, but it also reflects the fact that no one initially expected the Chinese to do as well as they have.
Then, there is the little stellium of Ceres, Neptune and Ixion, which again speaks of independence, especially of independent women. This is in a close sextile with Mars, which gives a magnetic influence with others, broad intuitive powers and adds to the mental abilities. China has made big strides in technology in just a few decades, from being before an overpopulated, poor backwater.
As to China’s wealth and luck, that is indicated by the Moon/Sun trine, giving quite a bit of luck in life (it is one of the ‘lucky’ aspects) with the Moon on the Ascendant in the 1st house (its people as a resource) and the Sun in the 8th (foreign investment, international banking, and in a way that has transformed the society). It is further shown by the Venus/Jupiter sextile, one of the ‘money aspects’, in that it creates the urge to acquire ‘the good things in life’, which they have done. But it also makes for ease in relating with people, draws friends to them and so forth, especially considering that Jupiter co-rules the Ascendant. The latter is especially important in any business relationship.
The last point to take up is the Mars/Pluto conjunction, and that is square the Ceres/Venus/Ixion conjunction. It is a combination that can make for strange bedfellows, to borrow the phrase. It is behind their failed one-child policy, forced abortions in the past and now for their rapidly aging population which is a very real weak point for their economy. With the 5th house (children) Uranus that policy was accentuated. In turn, Venus makes a sesquisquare with Uranus, which also points to relationships that are out of the ordinary and not necessarily long term.
The Mars/Pluto conjunction points to their powerful military, and adds a repressive tone to the chart when they are challenged. It is in the 7th house (litigation, public enemies, partnerships, combativeness). On the other side, it speaks to the tremendous progress they have made in their infrastructure, technology, society and science, because that conjunction gives a powerful focus to their energies when it is well-directed. When it is not directed well, it can give a tendency to sit and wait too long, because the Plutonian side can sabotage the Martian side.
With these points in mind, we mentioned in the 1st article of this series that China has directed Saturn on the Midheaven now, which is dampening their progress, holding the government’s feet to the fire and casting a pall over their initiatives. Mention was made at the start of the two areas that are facing China in this period – the BRI and the trade war. There are several factors that are immediately causing trouble for China and which they face now and in the near future:
- Washington’s trade war, which is causing disruption in China’s economy
- Washington’s meddling and belligerence in the Taiwan Strait, as well as its support of Taiwan
- The Uighur terrorists who have been battle-hardened in the Syrian war, of which there are thousands. China wants to prevent them from returning to Xinjiang. These were recruited through Turkey, supported by the alliance against Assad and trained to cause ischief wherever needed.
Hong Kong will not be a real issue. These are counterbalanced by the following:
- The Russia-China cooperative agreements on trade and military. This has strengthened dramatically in the past year.
- China’s good relations with a great many nations, which is only expanding.
- The Shanghai Cooperation Agreement
Is there cause for China to be very worried, from an astrological perspective? Not especially. Yes, there is the direction of Saturn to China’s Midheaven, but that is not activating anything else, nor is it aided by other directions. There are no transits to the Midheaven. The main worry for them, really, would be the two eclipses we just had on their Jupiter, activated by Saturn and Pluto both. But of interest there is that Jupiter in a sense offsets the energy of that conjunction, and the eclipses energize Jupiter.
Jupiter rules the 11th house of alliances in the PRC chart. There may be a cooling of some alliances through that period, such as maybe North Korea, but that would appear to be unrealistic given present trends. What it points toward more so is the nation’s aspirations – a slowing of growth – and that is to be expected with the trade war as it is. The eclipses and transits will also serve to highlight religious and social fanaticism, which is what we are seeing now in Hong Kong. It could also point to an epidemic of some sort, to which China is prone.
The Moon rules China’s 6th house. But it is well aspected, being trine the Sun. It is linked to Pluto, which gives unexpected events, which we would also expect from the t-square described previously. But there is one ore factor that we have not examined.
Washington wants Beijing to ‘change its ways’ and to ‘start behaving like a normal nation’ – a bit of psychic projection going on there. Is there any chance of it? Not by looking at the natal chart. However, if one is looking for regime change or something of that nature, we look to the old standard Uranus/Pluto midpoint – the ‘revolution midpoint’. It has been directed to Eris recently, starting last year, or around the time the tariffs started to get high, remembering that the Sun/Eris opposition is across the financial axis of the PRC chart.
In two months the ‘revolution midpoint’ comes within orb of the PRC Sun. Will that mean upheaval? Possibly. But for a change of government that midpoint needs to be directed to the Midheaven. It won’t approach that any time soon, and not in the next five years, referring to our quote at the start. What that direction to the Sun means could be any of the following, or a combination thereof:
“The urge for independence and freedom, untiring creative work, the tendency to make the highest demands on one’s physical energy, strong emotional tensions. – Over-excitement of the nerves, a breakdown, a catastrophe.”
Like maybe, an earthquake. Also, and probably of greater concern, there is a direction of Mars to the revolution midpoint axis, starting within orb in January next year. In and of itself, since the Midheaven is not involved, it indicates possible violence, “the mania of destruction”, fanaticism, the stage of bending or breaking, injuries or accidents. It will be exact when directed Mars enters the 9th house a year later, which would imply a foreign actor. It could mean any of a number of things, possibly violence in Xinjiang, possibly an incident in the Taiwan Strait, even a major seismic event. We’ll have to see how the news is trending then.
The sense we get overall is that Washington is not going to get what they want from China, which is essentially capitulation and bowing totally to IMF and WTO rules, and in addition, divesting itself of ties with Russia. How likely do we think that is? A snowball’s chance, we might say. Instead, what we will see with China is hinted at in the description of the midpoint – a test of nerves and a game of economic ‘chicken’. There is too much at stake for the Chinese. Don’t look for them to cave to Washington’s demands. They may make some token agreement to appease Washington a little and give Trump a little ‘win’ before the elections, but it will not really amount to anything. China is in this for the long haul.
The question then arises…why the US so has it in for China? A quick look at the synastry between the two shows it pretty clearly. The chart is below (bigger):
The clincher is the PRC Saturn sitting in the US 9th house (foreign trade) square the US horizon. China holds the cards in trade, controls the narrative and Washington does not know how to handle it. In point of fact, though, Washington brought this on themselves, by a lack of clarity from the beginning, a lack of oversight, a lack of understanding of Chinese culture and resolve – a combination of many factors.
When Nixon went to China, the West saw a vast, untapped, undeveloped market and manufacturing base with cheap labor. They wanted to invest in that. The Chinese were happy to oblige. And as neo-liberalism and Western-style globalism took hold and grew, all that beautiful manufacturing base that had built the West disappeared into China. Not all, but the point is clear. In truth, we helped create and then enabled modern China, and now we are crying foul. With the PRC Saturn squaring Washington’s horizon axis, who is more likely to win the battle? But there is more.
The allure of the PRC to Washington is clear. The PRC Jupiter is trine the US Neptune, and it has been a godsend to the average US consumer and capitalists, with cheap Chinese goods filling the shelves of US and Western stores – i-Phones and Apple products assembled in China, consumer electronics, cheap clothing, and so on. And with no tariffs, it was a consumer’s paradise. Not so much so any longer. Now Americans are starting to experience what Europeans have experienced for decades, with higher prices from value-added taxes (tariffs). And it is the US footing that bill, not the Chinese.
Then, there is the conjunction of the PRC Neptune to the US Saturn, within a few minutes of arc. China has changed the fabric of American society, but has done so slowly, the West would say stealthily. But another unrecognized effect has been the weakening of the American ambition with all that cheap product. And now with the manufacturing base depleted, it will be difficult to claw that back. Those jobs are not going back to the US. They will go to Mexico and Vietnam instead, for instance. China is also the world’s largest holder of US debt, or has been until recently. That, too, is shown in the Neptune/Saturn conjunction, with Saturn ruling the US 2nd house (banking sector).
Then, there is the PRC Uranus sitting at the midpoint of the US Venus/Jupiter conjunction. That is actually quite a joyful combination. But then we remember the t-square from before. And we also see that the PRC Uranus squares the US Meridian axis, which is both exciting and disruptive. In some ways Nixon’s China opening was a gift to the two nations. There is a whole story there we cannot go into here, but the essence was basically twofold: It helped the US pay for Vietnam and gave us a larger manufacturing base overseas, and for a time it peeled China away from Russia, which has always been part and parcel of Henry Kissinger’s realpolitik.
What the trade war and Western misjudgment has done now is to reverse all of Kissinger’s hard work in a very short time. Since the introduction of the BRI in 2013, Russia’s being sanctioned as a result of Crimea, NATO encroaching on Russia’s borders, Obama’s ‘pivot to Asia’ (meaning encirclement of China), and on and on, Russia and China have been pushed into each other’s arms. Now, Mackinder’s heartland is essentially unity Sino-Russian.
That brings us back to the opening paragraph of this article, which refers to a spiritual shift in China. Rest assured, that what is happening with the trade war and everything else will contribute to a greater spiritual awakening for China. What we are likely to see is a decided change starting in late 2020, when there are simultaneous directions of Venus and Uranus to the PRC Ascendant, and with a kick start early next year.
That combination of factors points to, “The demonstration of love in the presence of other people. – A sudden meeting or contact, a hasty engagement.” There are some powerful reincarnations taking place at this moment in our history, and quite a few in the East. Those directions will be followed by a combined Jupiter/Saturn transit on the PRC Ascendant at the end of next year. Seeds will be planted then for a greater spiritual awakening in China, with events taking place that transit and those directions will set it in motion. We will have to wait closer to the moment to see what that might be, but it looks to be anything other than a change at the top, the CCP caving in to Washington, or some dire event.
And as to The Dalai Lama’s prediction about 5 years’ time? He made his statement at the end of 2018. Just to give a little teaser, Xi Jinping was supposed to meet with the Dalai Lama in 2014, but India’s Modi blocked the meeting. (See the link for the featured pic for more info.) So, there is movement happening in China, albeit very quietly now. In June of 2022 Pluto will come into orb of its square to the PRC Horizon axis. That’s always good for a needed shakeup, or maybe shakedown – exact in 2023. We’ll keep an eye on that space.
Featured pic from Defense News