The case of the London kangaroo

There is a kangaroo loose in London. We’re not talking about a Qantas jet that just landed, or a real kangaroo that escaped from the London Zoo, or the Aussie dude on trial there. Many Americans would ask, “What was his name? Assange? Oh yeah…the weird English dude with the white hair who betrayed the US. Hang him!” (Aussies will get the point.) No, instead we are talking about a court case – a clear instance of a kangaroo court – that is a threat to journalism everywhere. And yes, it is Assange who is in the dock, fighting against extradition to the US to face the rest of his life in a US maximum security prison. Every good journalist should be outraged at this travesty of justice. Why? – because Assange is one of theirs, his only crime being…well, there was no crime. He did the job of any good journalist. He exposed crimes. This trial is actually about political revenge. So what awaits him, in terms of his astrology? For more on all of the preceding, read on.

We covered last year’s arrest of Julian Assange in a post from last year, as well as his natal chart, so we won’t cover those here. As an update on that post, Assange was arrested yet again (even though in prison already) on his appearance in the dock at this current show trial. There were 18 new charges levelled against him. The judge declined to exclude the new indictments or to adjourn the present trial until January so the defence team could review them. He now faces, if convicted, 175 years in prison. The powers-that-be want this guy gone in a bad sort of way.

What is really going on here, then? That is the real question worth answering. Americans will remember the Pentagon Papers and Watergate, the latter which brought down a president. The Pentagon Papers exposed the secrets behind the Vietnam War and were published by Daniel Ellsberg, which nearly landed him with a lifer’s prison sentence. Watergate was exposed by Woodward and Bernstein. Quite a few people went to prison over Watergate.

The Pentagon Papers have echoes in today’s show trial in London. Daniel Ellsberg was a military analyst who worked at the RAND Corporation. He was charged with 12 counts of conspiracy in 1971 for a possible sentence of 115 years. The charges were later dismissed. Ellsberg commented last year on Assange’s arrest and charges and noted it was a political matter and not one of national security, further noting that the charges sent a clear message to journalists everywhere – that they are possibly subject to prosecution for doing their job and that the 1^st Amendment in the US Constitution no longer applies to journalism.

It is also notable that Assange is not a US citizen, meaning that journalists of any nationality who expose crimes by the US are possibly subject to prosecution by the US and subject to extradition to the US, unless they happen to be in a nation that does not extradite people to the US. And the US government has just stated as much. All journalists everywhere are fair game if they expose US government secrets.

The most alarming facet of this case against Assange is the relative silence of the media, especially in the US, regarding the case. Only independent media outlets are covering the case to any great degree, most notably Consortium News. Even more to the point, journalists in the US skewered Assange for his actions – as in being a journalist – for doing the very thing that Daniel Ellsberg did, a man they hold up as a hero of journalism.

The very news outlets who trumpeted Ellsberg’s efforts at journalism were cheering at Assange’s arrest, outlets like the Gray Lady and WaPo. Opinion from the Gray Lady went on to say, upon his arrest last year, the Trump administration had, “…begun well by charging Mr. Assange with an indisputable crime.” Whether or not what Assange did is ‘indisputable’ or a crime is disputable.

Trump stated that he loved Wikileaks while on the 2016 campaign trail, while at present he denies having any knowledge of it. Prior to that, when the Vault 7 leaks were released, Trump was heard to say Assange should get the death penalty. Some comments to news outlets in the US put forward the idea that WikiLeaks helped to get Trump elected and that the organization is somehow a tool of the Russian government (example). But Trump’s own words in 2010 betray the real intentions at the extradition hearings. We can expect no pardon for Assange by Trump unless he sees some significant political gain from doing so. Recent talk of a possible pardon for Assange is just political hearsay.

So, before we get to the astrology, it is best to be clear on why the US is keen to have Assange extradited and why the UK is complicit in it. The reason is simple: Governments, or at least factions within them, want to be able to act in secrecy and with impunity for their actions. This is the real reason why Julian Assange is seen as such a problem for the US establishment, including the military. Exposure of war crimes and nefarious activities that run counter to international law and norms bring down the facade of government rhetoric, in this case American exceptionalism, and embarrass and derail efforts at expanding influence abroad and crimes at home. The UK has a stake in this, too.

The UK has been called the most corrupt country on Earth. It has also pretty much gone in lockstep with the US in the wars in Afghanistan (their 2^nd such) and Iraq, where they, too, have committed war crimes. But there is something more, something even more secret that the British establishment and financial sector does not want exposed, even the possibility of it. It was also one of the biggest drivers behind Brexit. The same is true for the United States. We are talking about the secrecy surrounding the offshore financial shenanigans that hide ill-gotten wealth and which shield financial transactions that are otherwise illegal and would not be acceptable to an informed public.

The offshore financing is the playground of the moneyed classes and dark governments, the financial secrecy locations dotted across the globe. Those same secrecy locations are also used to avoid having to pay any taxes to the home country, thus taking away from needed infrastructure projects and social welfare. Hong Kong is one such location, which is one of the biggest (unspoken) reasons why the US and UK were so keen for China not to intervene there – democracy, indeed.

If Assange is extradited to the US and locked away for who knows how long, then it sends the message to the public that crimes committed in secret will go on unexposed and unpunished, with the security of the vested interests who use such secrecy for their own ends remaining intact. ‘Security interests’ of the US and UK involve exactly the sorts of activities just described. From here, what do we see with Julian’s astrology, then? To begin, we go back to his first arrest in 2010, because that helps to refine the timing on his chart – essential to see what is to follow. The suspicion here is that the 3:00 time on his chart is rounded off and needs to be rectified a bit.

The chart for Assange’s 1^st arrest is below (bigger):

There are three ‘arrest’ midpoints – Ura=Sun/Plu, Asc=Mars/Ura, and Jupiter/Pluto with either Saturn, Uranus or Neptune. Julian has been arrested twice, the first time on 7 Dec 2010 at 9:30 am in London, and the second on 11 Nov 2019 (no time given), when he was removed forcibly from the Ecuadorian embassy in London. Assange does not have any of those midpoints active in his natal chart. However, there is one of those directed, by ‘hidden midpoint’ – Mars/Plu to his Ascendant, though passed – for the first arrest. It would have been exact about 6 months before.

Looking further, imprisonment midpoints are indicated by Pluto = Jupiter/Saturn, Ura=Sun/Sat, Sun/Ura midpoints in general (and in cases of military call-up) but esp. Plu=Sun/Ura, Sat=Sun/Plu, and Ura=Sun/Mars.

Then, we need to look at the ‘intervention’ midpoints. The Saturn/Uranus midpoint is a classic for this one, indicating sudden losses and changes of circumstance, as well as limitation of freedom, as in imprisonment. ‘Intervention by a higher Power’ also plays a hand and has several midpoints – Plu=Moon/Node, Uranus or Plu=Mars/Sat, Plu=Mars/Ura, Sun=Mars/Plu, and MC=Mars/Plu. Of these, Assange has Uranus within just over 2° from the Mars/Sat midpoint, but it is a bit too far out of orb to be properly counted. However, Uranus transits or directions to that point can show catastrophic events in his life, especially since he has the midpoint Sun=Mars/Ura. What do we see at the time of his 1^st arrest, then?

At his 2010 arrest, we see Uranus transiting opposite Julian’s Pluto. Pluto forms a couple of interesting midpoints, Plu=Mer/Nep and Plu=Mer/Sat. The Mercury/Neptune midpoint is of particular interest to us here, because by itself it can indicate deceitful people, actors and liars. His arrest at that time was for an alleged rape that was said to have taken place in Sweden. The charges were later dropped and were perceived to have been trumped up. Weight was given to that assumption by virtue of the Swedish prosecutor dropping the charges immediately after he was hauled out of the Ecuadorian Embassy. The latter point will be important presently.

We also see a direction of Saturn square to his natal Uranus, forming the background energetics of his situation at the time, and a classic direction indicating limitation of freedom. Uranus also forms the midpoint Ura=Mars/Jup: “Independence, the urge for freedom, an active resistance to guardianship or to tutelage, ambition, quick determination or resolve. – The inclination or ability to make sudden decisions; sudden incidents between partners in business or in marriage.” The direction of Saturn brought a halt to that, but it also highlighted his sudden decision to seek asylum in the Ecuadorian embassy, thus violating his bail conditions in London.

The clarifier for his birth time is the transit of Pluto sesquisquare to Assange’s natal MC. If the birth time is taken back to 14:58, roughly figured, then the transit would have been exact. Pluto can indicate subterfuge, betrayal and actions by hidden actors. That initial rectification also shows the directed MC within one minute arc of his natal Pluto and the directed Ascendant square to his natal Uranus. This alone points to a sudden and life-changing events.

Mention was made previously that the ‘arrest’ midpoints were not active in Assange’s chart. It brings up an interesting point, in that he was not arrested, actually. He turned himself in. Arrest is an involuntary action. Turning oneself in is voluntary. Does the voluntary submission to authorities show? Would he have been arrested regardless? Even with the 15:00 chart (the original chart), the Mars/Plu midpoint had directed past his Ascendant. Again, we refer to the chart.

We note in particular a transit of Jupiter at the first arrest, trine to natal Mercury, the latter ruling the 7^th house (litigations) and 10^th house (public image). In turn, transiting Jupiter is conjunct transiting Uranus and both are trine Assange’s natal Jupiter, the latter also trine his natal Mercury, That transit shows more self-volition and probably also good advice, in that an arrest would have been quite embarrassing and at the same time more constraining. The fact that he cooperated at that point took the air out of the sails of those factions seeking to put him away. That changed in June of 2012, when he chose to breach bail and enter the Ecuadorian Embassy and sought protection. At that time transiting Saturn was square his natal Mercury, when he was facing extradition and his luck had run out, typical of Saturn transits and directions.

Now that we have a more workable chart for Julian Assange, what awaits him in his current circumstances? If we look at the background directions for about a year’s time (below, bigger), we note some rather troubling ones. In about a year, the death axis will be directed to Julian’s Neptune, indicating a grave loss. That is by a ‘hidden midpoint’ – a midpoint based in the 45° modulus (all of the octal aspects). About a year after that it will be directed to his Ascendant, showing general weakness and obstacles placed in his way by other people.

The Jupiter/Saturn Great Conjunction takes place at the Capricorn ingress trine Assange’s MC, which will present a window of opportunity for him. That will be shortly after the US election is decided, but that will probably mean little to him. If there is to be a pardon, that is when it would come. The weight of empire is on his back and both the UK and US elites would like to see him put away for a long time.

In just over a year the Ura/Plu – our ‘revolution midpoint’ – will be conjunct Assange’s natal Mars, showing a breaking point and the precipitation of an outcome. Papers are usually signed at exact direction or transits to or by that midpoint. Uranus is currently directed to his Mars/Sat axis, showing the extreme toll the trial would be taking on his nerves, plus the ‘intervention of a higher power’, as in the courts and the establishment. That transit can also indicate sudden separations and death.

If the court case drags on, as is likely (such things often do), then the toll on Assange will be heavy. Given the direction of the Uranus/Pluto midpoint to his Mars, there will probably be no resolution of his current status until the end of next year – exact in the 2^nd half of November 2021 – at which point he will either be released or he will be remanded to a US prison, possibly for the rest of his days.

If we look at Julian’s transits for the 2^nd half of November 2021, the situation is writ large. The chart is below (bigger):

We see Saturn transiting square Julian’s natal Moon, the north node transiting his natal Saturn and the south node on his Descendant. These are classic break-up/separation transits. Saturn/Node conjunctions and squares can also show deaths, but not usually of the person. Separation is the key word there. In addition, transiting Pluto is square his Vertex axis, showing a life-altering experience and not usually interpreted positively. On the other hand, it can show the end of situation and can be positive in and of itself, if other factors show a positive outcome. That is not what is showing here, though.

Transiting Pluto will have been across from Assange’s Mercury in the weeks preceding, showing also an end to a situation, in this case a legal matter and affecting his public status, given Mercury rules his 7^th and 10^th houses. That transit can also show sabotage. The only positive we see is the transiting sesquisquare by Jupiter to his Uranus, which can indicate a lucky break. And that transit comes just after Jupiter has transited across his IC. We would like to think that Julian would be going home to Australia, perhaps aboard a kangaroo (Qantas jet), but the outlook at this point is not positive. The one thing we can state with any surety here, though, is that the world is in such a state of flux in these times that virtually anything is possible. That said, we will not count anything out when it comes to Julian Assange.

Looking at Julian Assange’s situation objectively, it is fairly plain to see that the powers that be in the US and UK want to make an example out of him. They want to send a clear message to anyone who has thoughts of whistleblowing that such activities will be definitely ‘frowned upon’ and that there likely will be attempts at retribution if leaked information is embarrassing to the state and puts a kink in their plans. Will they be successful? Given the lack of any comment or care that we are now seeing by the public at large and the mainstream media, Julian Assange is going to prison in the US. That same lack of a response is true for Australia as well on the whole, a sad indictment. His imprisonment in the US would be a very dark day for everyone, for reasons outlined above.

Regardless of what we feel or think about Julian Assange, his actions have opened the public’s eyes to actions by state actors that needed to be seen. We need much more of it. It is our tax dollars that are funding such activities – torture in extraterritorial prisons, extraterritorial renditions, the behavior of our militaries abroad and so forth – and the public has a right to know how its money is being spent. The same is true on moral grounds. There is a definitive effort by intelligence communities in the West that has been in play to keep the public ignorant, passive and distracted, and it appears as though it has been very effective. People like Assange, Ellsberg, Snowden and others call out the powers that be and hold them to account. We need many more like them. May Julian Assange go free and may true journalism regain its status and power as a true 4^th column in every nation, speaking truth to power.

Featured pic from RootsAction