Shock & Awe: the Brexit vote postmortem

On Friday the 24th of June 2016, many Brits woke up to the shock of their life – the EU Referendum poll had yielded a voting result no one had expected – the Brexit camp had won by a margin of 4%.

As the reality began to sink in, Leave voters began to celebrate, whilst elsewhere, there was an unearthly hush as Remainers, numb with disbelief, tried to process what they were hearing.

As if that weren’t enough, at 08:30am, the British Prime Minster and chief Remain campaigner, David Cameron came out of his residence at 10 Downing Street, to announce that he was stepping down, essentially putting the brakes on proceedings by falling on his sword.

Elsewhere, Nigel Farage was crowing with delight at the results, declaring that June 24 should become a national holiday known as ‘Independence Day.’

A somewhat more muted Boris Johnson, Cameron’s main political opponent and rock star of the ‘Leave’ campaign, later ventured out from hiding, looking rather sheepish, to make a speech about how this was not the end of the world and that people needed to see this as an opportunity for Britain to ‘find its voice in the world.’

As with the last UK general election, these results were definitely not what anybody was expecting, least of all the Leave camp, with Nigel Farage even predicting the night before that the Remain vote would narrowly clinch it.

So what happened? And what do the current auguries suggest might happen next in this story filled with twists and turns? I thought this might be a good opportunity to review my last column and the Brexit chart,  as well as look at a few key transits in relation to the charts of a few key players in this saga, including David Cameron and Boris Johnson.

So, firstly, the Brexit chart.

A Second Look at the Brexit Chart

Looking back, it seems clear that my main reason for suggesting a Remain vote was because:

a) the signifier for the Prime Minister, the Sun, was conjunct the Part of Nobility and Honour and that,

b) the end of the matter seemed to be indicated by Jupiter, ruler of the IC, making a trine to Pluto, which in general terms, signified dramatic but positive changes.

As it turned out, the Prime Minister was not vindicated but instead resigned with his honour intact – many MPs complimented him on the gracious way that he decided to step down – so that change was indeed, the order of the day – just not in the way I expected.

That said, I did also point to Uranus in the 8th house as a possible indicator of a Brexit win – something that indeed seemed to bear out. I also suggested that, as with the Sun-Pluto transit which seemed to end the careers of many political party leaders in the last general election, that I thought that the Jupiter- Pluto trine on Sunday the 26th of June might also precipitate similar changes to politicians’ careers – and a few days later, we have both the Tory and Labour parties potentially choosing new leaders, as well as a new Prime Minister.

Looking back, it seems clear to me that Mercury and its position at the top of a T-square to Saturn and Neptune seems to be really key to how things ended up playing out. Mercury is in Gemini, which can be very persuasive. Here it is negatively aspected, which does indeed suggest trickery and thievery. Add Neptune to this mix and you have out-and-out deceit and gullibility. When Saturn in Sag is thrown into the mix, this T-square begins to look as though many older voters, (Saturn) were deceived (Neptune) by the false propaganda (Mercury) of the Leave campaigners, who began to distance themselves from many of their pre-election claims the minute that the result was announced.

What’s more, that Mercury is coming off of a square to Jupiter – a combination that can lead to impaired judgement, and then goes on to sextile Uranus, which suggests a certain amount of rebellious motivations for voting as they did – Uranus rules freedom and independence, and this is echoed by the position of the Moon in Aquarius, ruler of the 11th house of groups, in the 5th house of gambling. Together seems to indicate that the British voting public were in a defiant but speculative frame of mind, which seems to be borne out by people like Sun editor Kelvin MacKenzie, who, after encouraging people to vote for Brexit via a column in his newspaper, describes of his own state of mind at the time that he voted:

Writing in The Sun newspaper afterwards, he said:

“When I put my cross against Leave I felt a surge as though for the first time in my life my vote did count. I had power….

Four days later I don’t feel quite the same. I have buyer’s remorse. A sense of be careful what you wish for. To be truthful I am fearful of what lies ahead.” 1

The Main Players

Before we consider the possible consequences of this vote for the UK, I thought it might be useful to have a brief look at how some of these transits played out in the charts of the main players, including David Cameron, Nigel Farage, Boris Johnson and Jeremy Corbyn.

David Cameron

First David Cameron.

Now, apparently David Cameron is known in some Westminster circles as the ‘lucky politician’ because he has taken a number of political risks or gambles in his time as head of the government and the ruling Tory party which have, up until now, paid off. Tell this to any astrologer and they will immediately look to Jupiter in his chart to see what is going on there. Now, it is fair to say that Cameron has a Moon-Jupiter conjunction in the 10th house, which is trine to his Part of Fortune in the 3rd – a nice placement for a politician, but also one that bound to make him both good-natured, as well as likeable. It does also seem to bring him a certain degree of luck when it comes to fulfilling his career ambitions. Just think of the recent general election, where his party won by a much greater majority than expected – all of which happened when he was experiencing his Jupiter Return.

However, at the time of the Brexit vote and indeed, for some months before, Cameron was experiencing a Sun-Pluto square, which can be very challenging, often precipitating an identity crisis that requires complete and utter psychological transformation. Given the house placements involved (12th, 4th and 1st), this transit could suggest a major crisis of conscience, as well as profound questioning about where he feels he belongs, especially in terms of group memberships (so possibly in terms of his position as leader of the Tory party whose infighting about Europe is said to be one of the main factors behind his decision to hold this election) and what he privately believes is the right path, both for his family and his country. It is the intimate nature of these transits that suggest that he took the defeat in the EU referendum very personally – something that appears to be confirmed by transiting Mercury’s square to Cameron’s natal Pluto in the 12th house.

Notice too that the transiting Moon in Aquarius is opposite his Moon-Jupiter conjunction, an indication that he was out of step with his electorate. However, notice also the mystic rectangle developing around Jupiter, Neptune and the nodes. This suggests that the wake-up call he received from this event may shift his focus towards a more service-oriented approach to leadership and his job as a member of parliament (both Neptune and Jupiter have an affinity with Pisces, the sign ruling his 6th house of servants and work) while the nodes straddle the 2nd and 8th house of income and resources, ruled by Mars, which happens to be sitting on his natal Neptune in this chart. So I think he may find that Fate will urge him now to use his skills, resources and position to try and steer the ship in a direction that helps to secure the best possible financial deal for Britain and help shore up its economy. Free from the pressures and scrutiny of being Prime Minister, he may actually find that he is able to get more done behind the scenes and also have more time for his family. At any rate, it seems that history (and fate) is not yet done with him, so he needn’t worry about being pushed to the sidelines, going forward, even if his ego has temporarily taken a bit of a battering.

Nigel Farage

Nigel Farage’s chart suggests an altogether different scenario. Firstly, we have a Neptune-Pluto opposition going on, which suggests a tension between his beliefs and attitudes towards foreigners and what he says and thinks. Here I am thinking about the accusations of hypocrisy and dishonesty levelled at him by members of the European Parliament yesterday,  including details of his offshore bank account, with one comparing his controversial poster, showing a queue of refugees (whose immigration status is not affected by EU policy) as being similar to Nazi propaganda. He hit back, saying they were all in denial.

Relationships with others are also about to change, judging by transiting Pluto’s move towards the Descendant. In fact, several of the outer planets are moving to oppose his natal Chiron in the 9th house, which makes him appear a little vulnerable. Given Saturn’s square to Pluto from the 5th house of love affairs, it is possible that the latest furore about his alleged affair with a UKIP co-worker may blow up in his face and short circuit any feelings of vindication that he may have been enjoying as a result of the Pluto-Neptune sextile in his chart.

I do wonder, though, what he will do now that he is shortly to lose his job as an MEP, now  that he has finally achieved his aim of getting Britain to leave the EU. Given that Jupiter rules his house of work, it may be relevant that he was not elected to be a member of the British parliament, and that the only UKIP MP and he have clashed quite a lot in the past, it does beg the question of what his future role would be within the party, going forward, and indeed, whether the party now has a purpose.

Boris Johnson

Now, for Boris.

Although two years older than David Cameron, Boris has a similar natal house configuration to his political opponent. In addition, he is also the same age as Nigel Farage, and so is also experiencing a Saturn-Pluto square. Now, in Boris’ chart, transiting Saturn has just entered his 3rd house of ideas and self-expression. From here, it squares Boris’ natal Pluto in the 11th house of groups/the collective. I wonder if, given the mutable T-square involving Neptune,  this means that his decision to gamble his political career by supporting the  ‘Out’ campaign may have put him in a difficult position ideologically going forward, which could considerably narrow the policy options available to him with regards to his vision for Britain’s future, in particular the UKs relationship with the EU, especially given transiting Mercury’s position at the apex of the T-square in his 9th house.

Furthermore, both Pluto and Saturn are planets associated with deaths, endings or limits, so could his actions have put the kaibosh on his ambitions to be the new leader of the Tory party? This remains to be seen. Then there is Pluto’s presence on his IC, which looks quite dark and foreboding.

However, this Pluto is making some very positive aspects to both his natal Jupiter and Neptune which do suggest possible added income or some form of affirmation of his skills and abilities such as a job offer (Neptune also rules his 6th house of work and is in his 2nd house). Added to this is a trine between transiting Jupiter and Boris’ natal Jupiter in the 8th house of joint ventures. And then, there is the Sun, ruler of Boris’ 11th house, together with Venus, ruler of his Ascendent, which are both about to culminate in his chart. This certainly suggests that he may be about to receive some form of career honour or take up a position as leader, so it is just possible that he may get the ‘top job’, as they call it. However, I think how long he manages to keep it will depend on who he chooses to work with in and how close he manages to keep his allies (7th and 8th house) because it looks like it will mainly be Tory rebels (Uranus is in the 7th) or that, as a result of his disloyalty to his Prime Minister, he may have inadvertently alienated himself from many within the Tory establishment, and former allies will cut ties with him.

UPDATE: And indeed, Pluto and Saturn have stopped his bid for Tory leader! Uranus turned out to be Michael Gove’s surprise announcement this morning to run for leader. I still think that the Jupiter transits sugeest Boris will land with is bum in the butter – perhaps he will get a plum job in journalism? Let’s wait and see. Watch this space for further predictions as the Tory leadership race gets underway.

Jeremy Corbyn

And finally, what of the leader of the opposition, Jeremy Corbyn?

Well, for once thing, he has a mutable T-square of his own in play involving transiting Mercury, Jupiter, Neptune, and the nodes, as well as his natal Mercury-venus conjunction. The Mercury-Jupiter square on its own is enough to impair judgement and give someone a overly self-righteous outlook. Add to that Venus, ruler of his Midheaven (assuming that he was born around midday of course) and you have a sense in which his career may also be affected by this particular configuration.

Indeed, that Neptune-Jupiter opposition along the nodal axis and his 1st and 7th houses does suggests that sabotage may be affoot by his colleagues. However, as a result of trines to his Moon by Jupiter and Pluto, he may well be obvlious to the danger and equally feel that he has the moral high ground (and a sextile between transiting Saturn and his natal Neptune does appear to confirm  that in principle, he does).

However, the Moon in Aquarius, symbol of public support, is moving AWAY from a conjunction to his natal Jupiter in the 5th house of young people, suggesting that he may soon lose the backing of many of his grassroots members, so it might be best for him to heed the strength of the T-square (and Pluto’s indirect involvement in this via its trine to Jupiter) and do as the Prime Minister urges: “For heaven’s sake, man, go!”

REFERENCES

1.Kelvin Mackenzie admits ‘buyer’s remorse’ after voting for Brexit | The Independent

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