Coronavirus – War Against “the Invisible Enemy”

By Edith Hathaway © 2020

The last time we fought “the Invisible Enemy” – in real and also astrological terms –  was in Sept. 2001, with the attacks on the World Trade Center in New York City and elsewhere.  This time a public health crisis is affecting almost all nations in the world, most of which are currently on lockdown.  Again as in 2001, international trade  and travel are radically disrupted, this time to an unprecedented degree, at least from mid-March 2020 onward. Most schools, universities, and businesses were ordered to close through April 30th at a minimum. Other businesses require staff to work from home. 

Travel, trade, and information exchange are symbolized by the Gemini-Sagittarius axis more than any other, with Sagittarius giving the international component. The lunar nodes (Rahu and Ketu) complete their full orbit every 18 ½ years.  This is the eclipse axis.  Previous major flu epidemics have often occurred with tr. Rahu and Ketu on the Gemini-Sagittarius axis, especially when in the nakshatras of Ardra (6:40 to 20:00 Gemini) and Mula (00:00 to 13:20 Sagittarius).

The Spanish flu (1918-1920) killed over 50 million people. In the first half of 1918 tr. Rahu was in Sagittarius, Ketu in Gemini.  With the Russian flu (1889-1890), Rahu was in Gemini and Ketu in Sagittarius. This coincided with the start of that pandemic in Oct. 1889. Tr. Jupiter was also in Sagittarius up to Jan. 20, 1890, and in each of those pandemics tr. Mars was in Virgo for about two months, aspecting either Rahu or Ketu in Sagittarius. (All planetary positions are given in the sidereal zodiac, Lahiri ayanamsha.)

But when Mars conjoins Ketu, especially in a FIRE sign (Sagittarius), there is an added ferocity and revolutionary quality to the implications for world politics and economics. It turns any event into a battle on many levels.  Danger comes from the potential poison of Ketu triggered by Mars, with Ketu being also Mars-like and a co-ruler of Scorpio along with Mars. They both are in the fierce Mula nakshatra.

With a pandemic it is a battle not just to save lives but to deliver accurate information about the scope of the disease.  Since this is also an information axis, there is a battle to convey what is actually happening.  With conflicting agendas, some of the big players try to increase the panic level through the mainstream media.  There is the understandable push to find medical solutions through new vaccines or already tested medicines with new applications, but this brings strong opinions on all sides. We also see the hoarding of much needed medical supplies and equipment to create the impression of scarcity and an excuse to level blame.  Some private citizens acting on panic generated from mainstream media then mimic the panic created in various medical supply chains by hoarding items such as hand sanitizer and toilet paper from their local stores.  At times this is to sell later with jacked up prices.

Since most of the medical equipment and supplies were previously manufactured in China, we suddenly realize how dangerous it is to depend so completely on China for these products, including their pharmaceuticals. China has now been producing these medical supplies on an emergency basis, but unfortunately large quantities of these products are being returned as defective.

This brings us to the larger picture and the larger battlefield, in which Globalism is fighting for continued dominance over the nation-state. I have predicted that Globalism will lose dominance in 2020 as we approach the Jupiter-Saturn conjunction Dec. 21, 2020.  I have said that this is part of the major change of trends due in 2020, bringing the world back to nations ruling themselves and no longer being pushed into enforced mass migration and Open Borders, with transnational companies or faceless bureaucrats calling the shots. With the Covid-19 pandemic, suddenly even EU nations have closed their borders, along with many other nations in the world who are reassessing their relationship to Globalism.

The Mars-Ketu Conjunction 2020

A brief review of how to read a North and South Indian chart.

After an 18 ½ year orbit Ketu returned to Sagittarius March 6, 2019, and almost a year later it formed an exact conjunction with Mars in the same sign and nakshatra as in Sept. 2001. On Sept. 12, 2001 tr. Mars and Ketu were exactly conjoined at 8:18 Sagittarius in Mula nakshatra. In a chart set for the U.S. capital, the 2001 MA-KE conjunction occurred in the 12th house of loss and hidden actions or players.  On Feb. 24, 2020 the MA-KE conjunction occurred at 11:13 Sagittarius. It is in the 2nd house with Jupiter 13 degrees later in Sagittarius. Both conjunctions occurred close to the USA natal Ascendant at 8:59 Sagittarius (Kelleher chart), giving extra power and relevance to the affairs of the United States. Adding to its intensity and importance, the 2020 MA-KE conjunction was close to the Dec. 26, 2019 solar eclipse at 9:58 Sagittarius (1:15 orb).

A chart set for Washington, D.C. shows the effects of the global pandemic on the USA, with the exact MA-KE conjunction in the 2nd house of finance. For China, it occurs in the 7th house of both allies and open enemies.  With Mars-Ketu in the 7th house, this could escalate tensions for China with other nations, who are now discovering that China initially withheld the truth of how fast the pandemic was spreading in their country, while systematically hoarding their medical supplies. Many Chinese doctors and citizens were suppressed and/or punished for sharing information about the disease in Nov. and Dec. 2019 and possibly later as well.

The Feb. 24, 2020 chart contains a Kala Sarpa yoga (Time-Serpent yoga), in which all physical planets are situated between Rahu and Ketu. This yoga denotes dramatic and fated types of events in the life of a person, or in this case of the effects of the conjunction. Since Rahu and Ketu extend across two financial houses (Houses 2 and 8), we know this conjunction will have radical implications financially for the United States.  But since Jupiter is also in the 2nd house and in its own sign, there is reason for optimism that the economy will recover and do well, especially with the new multi-trillion stimulus packages recently passed.

Given the MA-KE conjunction within a Kala Sarpa yoga as well as in Mula nakshatra, ruled by Nritti, there may be more profound consequences from this pandemic economically than from the death rate.  For instance, it appears that the number of deaths so far from Covid-19 do not outstrip a serious seasonal flu season, for which there has never been a shut-down of the economy. However, some regions are getting hit harder with Covid-19 than others, especially those with larger elderly populations.  Nritti is known as goddess of destruction, but she is also considered very powerful in her ability to break things down if they need complete rebuilding.   Further, she has enormous healing energy.

Mula in Sanskrit means “root” and contains the Galactic Center. Mula nakshatra is at the center of the Milky Way, and planets located here impact the entire world in some way.  The USA birth chart (Kelleher) has an Ascendant in Mula at 8:59 Sagittarius. Being so close to the Galactic Center, the U.S., its economy and culture impact the world more than most.

What do the Doctors and Statisticians Say?

Dr. Deborah Birx, one of Pres. Trump’s top medical advisors, is now saying that “even if we do everything right” there could still be up to 200,000 deaths in the U.S. from Coronavirus. Her colleague Dr. Anthony Fauci gives a worst case scenario of 1.2 to 2.6 million U.S. deaths.  As of March 31, 2020 there are 3,176 deaths from Covid-19 in the U.S., and 164,388 confirmed cases.  That amounts to 0.0001056% of the total U.S. population of 330,515,390 and far less than the death rate during recent flu seasons.  Even if Covid-19 is said to be highly contagious, the chart below shows the relatively low death rate compared to the number of confirmed cases.

Source: https://blog.datawrapper.de/coronaviruscharts/#table-yesterday Updated to March 30, 2020.

Let us next compare the U.S. to some other countries.  Once again we see from the graph below that the number of cases are still rising up through the end of March 2020, notably in Italy and Spain, the new epicenters. We also note that cases around the world tended to rise in the week after the MA-KE conjunction on Feb. 24, 2020. Not that it was a key start date of some new cases, but it was an indicator of increased dramatic activity in many arenas of life. It ends up showing a dramatic rise in cases as well as volatility in the financial markets.  The World Health Organization (WHO) announced a Global Pandemic on March 11, 2020 and two days later President Trump announced a National Emergency in the United States.

How Long is the Moratorium?

Though up to March 31, 2020 cases were rising outside of China (where they have declined), even so – the planetary transits show the tr. Moon moving outside the Kala Sarpa yoga April 2-12, 2020. This should improve conditions temporarily and could lead to a peaking of the death rate in mid-April, just as China’s death rate capped out and moved into decline after about three months – a time span noted by at least one Nobel-prize winning scientist.  The first lab-confirmed case in the U.S. was announced in Washington State on Jan. 21, 2020. If three months prove to be the average lifespan of Covid-19, barring a few later minor outbreaks, three months from that date comes to April 21, 2020 – the day before the auspicious New Moon in Aries, and 8 days after tr. Sun enters Aries, marking new beginnings for that quarter. We will discuss that New Moon shortly.  But the April 2020 message also resonates with another chart – the 2020 Mars-Ketu conjunction chart.

Returning to the 2020 MA-KE conjunction chart, and showing the immediate effect of the conjunction, we note that on Fri. Feb. 21 and Mon. Feb. 24, 2020 there were sudden sharp drops in the financial markets. Further extreme volatility followed, all this reflecting new uncertainty over economic fallout from the Coronavirus, which was spreading from China to other nations around the world. The next epicenter became Europe, notably Italy, given the major trade relations between Wuhan, China and Milan, Italy. Both locations also have poor air quality and a high percentage of smokers, making them more vulnerable to respiratory  diseases.

And now reading the MA-KE conjunction chart as a Prashna (horary or question chart), we look at the aspects permitted in Vedic astrology between planets.  Accordingly, there are only three working aspects here and they are applying aspects between 1) Mars and Mercury, 2) Mars and Moon; and 3) Moon and  Jupiter.  (A strong exalted Venus and Jupiter in its own sign are just separating from a square, indicating the large losses and expenditures just incurred. We can read these 3 applying aspects to get some sense of the longevity of the hardships from this pandemic, especially financially. But success in any way implies that the virus is conquered sufficiently before businesses and travel can be opened again and the world returned to normal.  All of the aspects are sextiles (60 degrees), which are considered positive and “secretly friendly,” bringing good solutions to the problems incurred at the time of the MA-KE conjunction.

The 6th lord of health matters is Mars, and it is locked into an exact conjunction with Ketu, describing a health situation that is both mysterious and explosive in its many repercussions, especially regarding the economic well-being of the nation.

Reading the conjunction chart as a Prashna, the Mars to Mercury sextile aspect is 3.5 degrees, the Mars to Moon sextile aspect is 6.37 degrees, and the Moon to Jupiter aspect is 6.43 degrees.  Assigning a time unit of one week per degree, Mars reaches Mercury in 3.5 weeks from Feb. 24th, i.e. on March 19, 2020.  Coincidentally, on March 18, 2020 President Trump signed the Defense Production Act, which is being invoked if and when the U.S. needs it, especially for medical supplies.  Also on that day, the U.S. Senate passed a multi-billion dollar emergency economic package to help workers and industries hard-hit by the Coronavirus shut-down. These are all of enormous importance in helping the U.S. to recover from the economic shock of the Coronavirus.

We know there have to be some favorable results from this chart due to the Kamboola yoga. This occurs when there is an applying aspect (Ithasala yoga) between two planets in the Prashna chart and the Moon is involved.  Mars aspects the Moon, and the Moon in turn aspects Jupiter, all by sextile Tajika aspects.  Mars is the Ascendant lord, Moon is the 9th house lord (very fortunate), and Jupiter rules two financial houses: 2 and 5.

Mars reaches the Moon in Aquarius in 6 weeks 3 days from Feb. 24th, the same time length allotted for the Moon to reach Jupiter, i.e. on April 10, 2020 – also, coincidentally, Good Friday in the Christian calendar.  On March 24th President Trump said he wanted to open up the economy by Easter (April 12th). He said: “The cure is worse than the problem” – which certainly reflects these charts. But his leading medical advisors urged him to extend the moratorium to April 30th.

These charts indicate there should be a peak in U.S. Coronavirus deaths per capita no later than April 22, 2020 and perhaps earlier, by April 10 or April 13, 2020, when tr. Sun enters sidereal Aries. Only this would allow him to open up the economy, or a radical re-evaluation of the statistics, especially if the “medical models” turn out to be wrong. Note in the chart above that Sun, Moon, and Mercury retrograde are in the 4th house of foundations, home and family.  All the planets are below the horizon and out of sight physically, reflecting the guidance for staying at home and maintaining social-distancing. We will see more about this timing when we look at the New Moon in Aries on April 22, 2020. But first, there is one more detail to cover relevant to the chart of Feb. 24, 2020.

Tr. Pluto entered Capricorn 22 hours after the exact MA-KE conjunction on Feb. 24, 2020, further emphasizing the huge shift in the financial structure of the U.S. coming into being. (Pluto and other outer planets are not shown in the chart above.) The deep-seated nature of the shift is shown by tr. Pluto’s entry into Capricorn, where it remains up to June 29, 2020. (It spends its last six months in Sagittarius, ending a 15-year transit in that sign on Dec. 30, 2020.) On April 25, 2020 tr. Pluto goes Stationary Retrograde at 0:51 Capricorn. This further intensifies the revolutionary transition of financial and business structures globally, but especially in the U.S., since Capricorn is the 2nd house of income and finance for the U.S. national chart (Kelleher), and natal Pluto is at 6:49 Capricorn. This is its first-ever return to the natal position since it left the sign 229 years ago.

Further, in the first 3 degrees 20 minutes of a Chara (cardinal) sign, a planet is also Vargottama, repeating in the same sign in numerous sub-charts, notably the Navamsha, or 9th harmonic chart.  The Vargottama position generally strengthens a planet and gives it greater power. This is major news, confirming the change of major trends as we approach the JU-SA conjunction of Dec. 21, 2020.  With lower interest rates from the Federal Reserve, we already see a weakening of the power of central bankers and a return of that power to the people of the nation.

The New Moon in Aries

A brief review of how to read a North and South Indian chart.

We move now to the chart of the New Moon in Aries.  Once again there is a Scorpio Ascendant for the U.S., with the New Moon in the 6th house of health and legal issues, also police enforcement – which is becoming more important with so many shuttered and unattended businesses.  So the focus is appropriate for this time frame, and it still has the Kala Sarpa yoga, which will be broken finally on July 16, 2020 when tr. Sun enters sidereal Cancer.  This is preceded by 3 eclipses from June 5 through July 4, 2020.  So we will know we are in remarkable times!

This chart has many positive messages. First, the Sun is almost at its maximum exaltation, at 10:00 Aries. This gives the Sun extra strength as well as excellent protection and connectedness, since there are two classical benefics (Mercury and Venus) in houses adjacent to the Sun and Moon: the auspicious Shubha Kartari yoga. They are situated in Ashwini nakshatra, which is the very first nakshatra out of 27, so it likes to get started, as with racing horses. Ashwini also denotes healing abilities.  So we get the sense here of some serious cures being found to combat Covid-19. This could be happening from late April 2020.

Set for the U.S., the Sun in this chart reflects the U.S. President and what he has to contend with.  It is also generally reflective of the health and well-being of the nation. Because the Sun is so strong in this chart, it augurs well for good news re the Coronavirus.  The focus is still on the economy, with a continued Kala Sarpa yoga, and emphasis on Houses 2 and 8, both financial houses. All planets except for Venus are below the horizon.

All planets have special significance due to the following factors: Sun is maximum exalted approaching within a 44 minute orb. The Moon marks the new lunar period, so as such is never insignificant. Its sign lord is exalted and nakshatra lord Ketu is right on the USA Ascendant. This can indicate major changes occurring and perhaps also some big revelations for Americans.  Exalted Mars in Capricorn aspects the Sun and Moon in Aries, which Mars rules. Venus is in its own sign of Taurus and it aspects the Ascendant.  Saturn is in its own sign of Capricorn. Mercury in Pisces and Jupiter in Capricorn are both debilitated, but grow ever stronger over time due to the correction creating a Neecha Bhanga Raja yoga in both cases. This describes the early disadvantages growing into advantages.

In addition, Jupiter is Vargottama in Capricorn, and both Jupiter and Saturn are very close to their respective Stationary degrees on May 11 (Saturn) and May 14 (Jupiter).  This shows how much the financial situation has a chance to improve starting in this lunar period and extending over the next three months from April 22, 2020.  This point must be emphasized, given that Rahu and Ketu are situated in the financial houses, still creating unpredictability and volatility in that arena. Maybe that is also what we can expect when re-starting an enormous economy on all its many levels. But this looks like very good news for the end of April 2020, with earlier indicators when tr. Sun enters sidereal Aries April 13th.

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Selected references

From the author

From other sources

 

 [This article also appears in the April 2020 issue of AstroLogic magazine, an on-line magazine.]

Copyright © 2020 by Edith Hathaway. All rights reserved.