| This article written in April/May 2006 has been superseded by Pope Benedict's speech on 12 September 2006. His lecture included controversial quotations that have inflamed the Muslim world. Pope Benedict's actions are exactly as predicted below in the 7th paragraph entitled "Direct Approach to Islam". See the main news page for my current thoughts. |
Was Pope Benedict XVI prophesied by St Malachy in 1140?
Rome 1140 AD - the Irish prophet St Malachy foretells a motto for the next 111 Popes. Since then, every papacy appears to have fulfilled Malachy's unique prophecy for them.
From the labours of the Sun to the Copernican System -
 For example, Malachy described John Paul II as De Labore Solis - (from the toil of the Sun). Some astrologers, felt this might be connected with his birth chart showing a strong emphasis on the Sun, being born at a Solar Eclipse and the sign of Leo (Jupiter, Neptune conjunction on MC in Leo). His funeral [Rome, Friday, April 8, 2005, 10:00 am] was also on a solar eclipse (see comments on Prince Charles later). However, more compelling evidence was that Karol Wojtyla was Archbishop of Krakov in present day Poland. This was the city where Copernicus established that the Earth orbited the Sun and the Copernican or Solar system.
Benedict and the Glory of the Olive -
 Malachy's motto for John Paul II's successor was De Gloriae Olivae - The glory of the olive. Ratzinger's choice of name Benedict is significant due to the connection with the order of St. Benedict. The Benedictines are otherwise known as the "Olivetans". Maybe he sees himself as farmer. Pope Benedict's first public statement is that "he is a simple, humble worker in the vinyard of the Lord."
Could Benedict be the last Pope?
There is plenty of information on the web about the prophecy of Malachy. The most controversial point is that the next pope, Petrus Romanus - Peter the Roman is the last on the list. Theories accounting for this range from the Second Coming to the end of the Catholic Church to the first female Pope.
Pope Benedict resonates strongly with the planet Jupiter - He has Jupiter (conjunct Mercury and Uranus in Pisces) on his ascendant. So his Astro*Carto*Graphy Jupiter ascendant line runs from his Bavarian home and Munich to Rome. Also, he was ordained on his second Jupiter return in 1951 and his Papacy was announced when Jupiter was on the ascendant. A challenging Saturn in Sagittarius in 9th house tempers the expansive and tolerant nature of Jupiter.
Birth chart for Pope Benedict XVI
16 April 1927 4.15am (3.15am GMT) Marktl am Inn, Germany
Birth Details: officially recorded in Original der Standesamtanfrage, Geburtsurkunde lag vor and provided by Peter Niehenke, AFAN coordinator for Germany.
Much has been written about Ratzinger's essentially conservative history (or baggage as critics call it). Though he has said that he will continue John Paul's policies, he will prove to be his own man (Sun in Aries and Uranus in 1st house.) Pope Benedict will rise to the role of Pontiff and will be controversially involved in the world outside Italy.
Direct approach to Islam.
 Pope Benedict's Sun (Aries) ACG setting line falls near Mecca. I expect that he will approach Catholic differences with Islam in a direct manner. As much as he is sceptical about deviating with tradition, he is equally sceptical of all forms of fundamentalism. So the new Pope is likely to be confrontational with Islamic spiritual leaders but in a way that can lead to an extraordinary spiritual accord. Will he fulfil the prophecy with an olive branch for the Muslim religion or is the choice of a German Pope an olive branch from the world to the people of Germany?
Did astrologers chose well for a Papal Funeral and badly for a Royal Wedding? Going back to JP II's funeral on a solar eclipse ... this is by chance the same date selected by Prince Charles for his marriage to Camilla. Several astrologers in the Press and in news groups questioned the wisdom of selecting a solar eclipse as a marriage date. To have the Sun overshadowed by the Moon may be appropriate for the mourning of a charismatic, solar, heroic figure in the form of John Paul II. However, it doesn't seem fitting for a marriage where the man, symbolised by the Sun and the woman, represented by the Moon should be together but neither body should obscure the other.
National celebration of a marriage overshadowed by International Mourning of a Spiritual Leader.
My take on this is that both dates, the papal funeral and the royal wedding were elected by astrologers or people aware of the significance of the celestial line-up. The reason I am certain Charles' date was elected was that in December 2004, I was commissioned to elect a chart for the launch of a business and I could only find two dates in 2005. One was the day chosen for the announcement of the engagement!  The announcement went according to plan. However from that point onwards - various seemingly fated events caused havoc to plans for the wedding on the eclipse. These disruptive events seem to have symbolised the nature of the eclipse and the stressful aspects from Jupiter and Saturn. Problems included ruling out Windsor Castle as the venue and then the presence of the Queen at the ceremony in a local town hall. Eventually the whole event was overshadowed by the funeral of the Pope and had to be changed. It was reported that there was much royal disappointment when Tony Blair declared that he would attend the Pope's funeral before the announcement that the wedding date would be changed. Here the Prime Minister allowed his personal Roman Catholic sentiments (the Moon) to eclipse loyalty to his Monarch (the Sun).
Was Charles badly advised by his astrologer? I am going to assume that Charles received astrological advice. I believe there was sound advice for the date of the announcement, but the wedding date was poorly chosen in a number of ways - suggesting an inexperienced or unschooled astrologer. For example, I don't believe a diploma holder from the London Faculty of Astrology would make that kind of error of judgement. Most of the time astrologers are given a narrow range within which they must elect a date while taking account of the charts of the individuals involved. There is never a correct answer. It is usually the best of a bad bunch of options and often they will advise the client of the limitations of the date.
Rules for Election: I use a number of simple rules for electing a launch date.
- Avoid hard aspects (squares and oppositions) between the inner personal planets and the outer planets. Whether it is a business launch or a wedding day, these aspects tend to bring complex, sometimes intractable and seemingly fated issues.
- Give preference to a harmonious Sun/Moon relationship especially a new moon.
- Though I favour conjunctions and trines in the elected chart, I think some hard aspects between inner planets is positive. This creates what I would consider some healthy stress because it is stimulating and can be easily recognised and dealt with.
Strangely, the elected wedding date conformed to all those rules. However, the choice of the eclipse appears to have been a misjudgement, because it was not appropriate for the type of event. Given this decision and other PR blunders, maybe Charles should invest in some professional astrological counsel.
Robert Currey
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Rob Hand
and Lynne Palmer...
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