North Node of the Moon in Leo

"Our agenda is simple: We want to rule."

On May 9th, while I was thinking about the Lunar North Node ingressing into Leo from Virgo, I was reminded of an article I had written in 2009 for the newspaper “Radikal 2” entitled “Leo: King or Buffoon.” It starts with a sentence from Mussolini: “Our agenda is simple: We want to rule Italy.”

Benito Mussolini (July 29, 1883), the dictator who ruled Italy during World War II was a Leo. Along with Hitler, he is one of the main founders of fascism. He had given his citizens the promise of a return to the grandeur (Leo) of the ancient Roman Empire. He is known by the name “Il Duce” (leader-Leo).

The Leader principle is the primary mark of fascism. In keeping with this principle, it is proclaimed as the binding ideology that comprises all realms of societal existence. Both state and government are defined and organized according to this worldview and principle of leadership. In the context of business administration, the relationship between boss and worker is based on the power and control of the administrator. (Wikipedia)

In astrology the Moon represents the mother and the Sun, the father. Consequently, people of the Leo sign may go through experiences or problems generally associated with fathers. First of all, this might feel like being in the shadow of the father’s identity and his priorities. Thus, a period of time to assert your identity and express your cherished values to father may be necessary.

A Leo may seem self-confident and full of pride but in reality they seek the approval of others. They may be afraid of disapproval of their behavior and retreat. Or, they may engage in despotic behavior in order to ensure their approval. Leo needs to ensure that the needed approval issues from within the self and the true identity is discovered and expressed accordingly. The rules of work, love, and social life; ethical principles, attitudes, and mores acquired from the father may give rise to a problematic and difficult life for the Leo. In fact, it is easy to identify the influence of his father in Mussolini’s life. Even his name “Benito” comes from the Mexican reformist leader Benito Juares, in keeping with the inclinations of his father who was an anarchist activist and a nationalist.

Now, you may be wondering what links Mussolini being a Leo to the ingress of the Lunar North Node into Leo. Let’s take a look and see what we may find.

Mussolini came to power as prime minister in 1922, upon approximately 30,000 Blackshirts (Mussolini’s hit teams) mobilized toward Rome and he immediately proceeded to implement dictatorial practices. He changed Italy into a police state by censoring newspapers and other publications, changing the electoral system, and closing down all political parties other than his own. He banned workers’ unions and brought the education system under his control. Railroads and highways were built to cover the whole country. Both domestic and foreign affairs, as well as the military, were under his authority. He took on duties of all ministries. He required that all university teaching personnel take an oath to defend fascism; he handpicked newspaper editors himself. Finally in December, 1925 he changed his title to “Il Duce” (the Leader) and became the single governing authority. He gathered all powers in his hands, especially during the years 1925-27.

When we look for the location of the North Node at this time, we see that it is in Virgo in 1922 and in Leo in 1925.

Mussolini’s comrade Hitler became the sole leader of the German Empire after March 23, 1933. At that time, the South Node of the Moon was in Virgo, entering Leo after a few months.

When Saddam Hussein became president on July 16, 1979—after many years of being the chairman of the Revolutionary Command Council alongside governing the country, general secretary of the Ba’ath Party, creating a secret widespread police network and by suppressing all internal opposition—the North Node of the Moon was in Virgo. In December it entered Leo.

As we can see in these examples, the passage of the North Node from Virgo to Leo coinciding with countries’ transition to systems of “Sole Leader” is indeed noteworthy. The Nodes of the Moon move retrograde in the zodiac. Accordingly, they first pass Libra, then move through Virgo, and enter Leo. In this journey, we can identify first themes of rights, justice, and equality (Libra), then establishing own order, categorizing, and delineating (Virgo), and finally imposing and strengthening sovereignty (Leo).

When the North Node is in Leo, the South Node is found in Aquarius. The opposition of Leo where the Sun is most powerful, and Aquarius where the Sun is weak seems to illustrate the tensions between powerful king and powerful populace (that is, powerless king). The king rises when North Node of the Moon is in Leo. During the transition from Virgo to Leo we also notice the passage from mutable signs to fixed ones. In mutable signs, the familiar structures begin to change; in fixed signs, new models are defined.

In 2000s, the North Node entered Virgo the first time on November 12, 2015, and it will enter Leo on May 9, 2017. During this period, many countries changed their political systems via elections. Adjustments to new systems were fraught with unrest and protests. During the elections, promises were made for returning to grandeur of times past. In many countries new single-leader, authoritarian regimes have been established. We started seeing governments coming to power that value money and restrictions of freedoms over humane concerns. For now, the road ahead doesn’t look good. We wish and hope that our story won’t resemble that of Europe in the 1930s.

Translation: Neylan Gurel