Those reading the title of this post and expecting an article on Carla Bruni, complete with pictures, are going to be disappointed. Ms Bruni is of course Italian and this article is about that most French of all French ladies, La Republic itself.
As readers of earlier posts may have surmised, hindsight is easy, prediction is hard, but choosing the right chart can be jolly near impossible. When I wrote my Ireland forecast I was lucky enough to find a full analysis of the various Irish charts to help me: not so with France. I have finally made a choice, but only after much deliberation and comparison work. So for the benefit of those that are interested I am presenting my train of thought here. Those merely interested in the forecasts should move on to my next post.
Nick Campion’s book of world horoscopes, gives a broad range of charts for France. Whilst the revolution charts are interesting from a perspective of the ideals that founded modern France, they don’t really represent the foundation of anything long term. Similarly the 2nd to 4th Republic charts are of interest for those time periods but less so now. We are therefore left with the charts for the foundation of the first Republic and the current, 5th. Which to use? And are there any further charts we should consider?
Essentially the first Republic chart should still be relevant. And indeed we find that the Campion chart has the same degree for its descendant as the ascendant of the 5th Republic. We can conclude from this that the two are linked and using either is a possibility. In such a case I prefer to use the older chart as it provides more historical context for various transits. So 1792 it is.
The answer to the second question seems to be yes. The Campion book includes charts for the removal of the king on 21st September 1792, but the new administration was deemed to start from the next day. Furthermore there are two possible charts for that day, which we could utilize. Both are based on the information gleaned from the calendar that the new government put into place retrospectively, which can be read at http://www.marxists.org/history/france/revolution/1793/calendar.htm
The intention seems to have been to create a country with a 0 degrees Libra Sun, starting at 9.18am but the practicalities seem to suggest a 29 Virgo sun for a midnight chart. Furthermore the descendant in the Campion chart is the ascendant in the midnight chart ( i.e the same as the 5th Republic) and the Asc/MC for the Campion public announcement chart is the same as for the 9.18 chart. So which works best?
First let us look at the three charts’ key differences:
As readers of earlier posts may have surmised, hindsight is easy, prediction is hard, but choosing the right chart can be jolly near impossible. When I wrote my Ireland forecast I was lucky enough to find a full analysis of the various Irish charts to help me: not so with France. I have finally made a choice, but only after much deliberation and comparison work. So for the benefit of those that are interested I am presenting my train of thought here. Those merely interested in the forecasts should move on to my next post.
Nick Campion’s book of world horoscopes, gives a broad range of charts for France. Whilst the revolution charts are interesting from a perspective of the ideals that founded modern France, they don’t really represent the foundation of anything long term. Similarly the 2nd to 4th Republic charts are of interest for those time periods but less so now. We are therefore left with the charts for the foundation of the first Republic and the current, 5th. Which to use? And are there any further charts we should consider?
Essentially the first Republic chart should still be relevant. And indeed we find that the Campion chart has the same degree for its descendant as the ascendant of the 5th Republic. We can conclude from this that the two are linked and using either is a possibility. In such a case I prefer to use the older chart as it provides more historical context for various transits. So 1792 it is.
The answer to the second question seems to be yes. The Campion book includes charts for the removal of the king on 21st September 1792, but the new administration was deemed to start from the next day. Furthermore there are two possible charts for that day, which we could utilize. Both are based on the information gleaned from the calendar that the new government put into place retrospectively, which can be read at http://www.marxists.org/history/france/revolution/1793/calendar.htm
The intention seems to have been to create a country with a 0 degrees Libra Sun, starting at 9.18am but the practicalities seem to suggest a 29 Virgo sun for a midnight chart. Furthermore the descendant in the Campion chart is the ascendant in the midnight chart ( i.e the same as the 5th Republic) and the Asc/MC for the Campion public announcement chart is the same as for the 9.18 chart. So which works best?
First let us look at the three charts’ key differences:
Perhaps we can pick the chart by looking at the emblems and symbols of the Republic?
Other than the exact degree, the Moon positions are all Sagittarian, perfect for the emblem of liberty as a female. And yet there is another woman that France venerates, the legendary Marianne- perhaps she is more symbolic of the country’s Venus in Libra though. But if France identifies with these women then the Sun sign should also be relevant. Virgo or Libra? If we look at representations we see both. There is no clear line between the symbols or their nature, over time they often have become inter-changeable.
We could perhaps limit ourselves to Delacroix’s famous painting. Liberty wears a red cap, great that must be Aries on the MC, right?............... Or perhaps it is just Mars in Scorpio conjunct the MC? That helps- at least we can rule out the Leo Mc can’t we?
But look at the painting…. Surely Scorpionic? So perhaps a Scorpio Ascendant works after all?
But that tells us nothing since Mars is situated there in all the charts. The only possible determinator from this painting is Liberty’s bare breasts- a very Cancerian symbol.
What about other symbols? France has association with the Coq. But is that Aries with a red top or is a Leo Coq d’or ? It really doesn’t help much.
So what do we see when we look at France? What about buildings that signify the country MC? Shall we pick the very Mars/Aries Eiffel tower, or the “oh so Leo” Arc de Triomphe? No help there either.
Or the people? Well the UK probably associated France with food, either for its Michelin recommended food, its wine industry or just its strong agricultural base. So a Cancer ascendant, Aries MC and Virgo Sun might just work…. But the chefs are hardly associated with humility and the farmers are traditionally rather subversive, so we could equally select a Leo MC and a Scorpio Ascendant instead? In any case, these associations seemed have weakned in the last couple of decades and indeed countries other than the UK may well have a different picture of France.
It is as if there are two Frances; the one they really wanted to be, all balanced and Libran and the one they are, a bit critical of the rest of the world and steeped in Virgoan bureaucracy? Or perhaps these images are just the impact of the Venus or Mercury positions.
Look at what Wikipedia has to say about the symbol of Marianne en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marianne
Two "Mariannes" were authorised: one is fighting and victorious, recalling the Greek goddess Athena. She has a bare breast, the Phrygian cap and a red corsage, and has the arm lifted in a gesture of rebellion. The other one is more conservative: she is rather quiet, wears Antiquity clothes, with sun rays around her head — a transfer of the royal symbol to the Republic — and is accompanied by many symbols.... These two, rival Mariannes represent two ideas of the Republic, a bourgeois representation and a democratic and social representation
In fact it seems that the split is intentional and that all the charts will have something to say about France and it is merely a case of finding the best one for our purpose.
So how about the transits etc, do they tell us more? What follows is a table comparing transits and progressions to mainly (but not exclusively) the angles in the chart significant events in the last century using the two 22nd Sept charts. Note that this is not an exhaustive list of aspects, merely a selection of appropriate ones.
As we can see, both charts in some way pick up almost all the events. The rather delightful emphasis on 
Mars in the Eiffel tower comparison is particularly neat.
In the end there is just a slight bias towards the 0.00 chart for the later and economic events which swings it for me. But I suspect either chart will throw up suitable future transits too. France is complex but, where there is complexity, astrology is only to happy to oblige with amazing synchronicity.
Mars in the Eiffel tower comparison is particularly neat.In the end there is just a slight bias towards the 0.00 chart for the later and economic events which swings it for me. But I suspect either chart will throw up suitable future transits too. France is complex but, where there is complexity, astrology is only to happy to oblige with amazing synchronicity.
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