Update from Russia

Zip Dobyns

I have a variety of news from Russia, all second or third-hand so far though I am informed that a letter is on the way from Farida. Not long after the Winter 1990 Asteroid-World went into the mail, I talked to Mark Lerner on the phone and found out the time and coordinates that Farida was using for Gorbachev’s horoscope. One of Mark’s subscribers to his journal Welcome to Planet Earth had been to Russia, had seen the chart Farida was using, and had copied her data. Unfortunately, she had the wrong latitude and longitude, for a town with the same name as Gorbachev’s birthplace but many hundreds of miles away. His birth town, Privolnoe or Privolnoye is too small to be listed in any of our atlases but we know from his biographies that it is about 100 miles from Stavropol and in the Stavropol Krai (region) in the Krasnogvardeisk district, about 9 to 12 miles from the town with the same name as the district. Gorbachev attended high school in Krasnogvardeisk and walked back and forth from home except for his final year when he lived in the town with another boy from his village. Since I don’t know the direction his town is, I decided to calculate the chart for the district center which I assume is the town listed in our atlases as Krasnogvardeiskoje. Mark Lerner also got the impression from his informant that the chart Farida was using had been rectified, and this was confirmed by another contact, the psychologist who first told me about Farida and who talks to her occasionally on the phone. So, I decided to do my own rectification and am including a chart which is slightly different than the one printed in the Asteroid-World.

The chart with 13 Aries rising had some appropriate progressed aspects involving the angles for the major events of Gorbachev’s life, but it seemed to me that it was not quite “on” for some important events. There were many dramatic events to check, including the winter of starvation when Gorbachev was just a baby, when Stalin took all the food to break the will of the peasants and force them onto the collective farms. During that period, from the fall of 1932 to the spring of 1933, all the children under two years of age died in some of the villages. The birth time I am suggesting puts Gorbachev’s P Ascendant square Pluto for much of 1932 and into 1933 while his P MC was quincunx the Moon and his P Antivertex was square the MC-IC. The fourth house, Cancer, and the Moon are all variations on the same principle, signifying basic food and the land. Gorbachev’s long trine of P Jupiter to his Sun is one of the keys to his protection and survival. The south lunar node in a long opposition to the Ascendant also fits the constant tensions of life under Stalin while the north node on the Ascendant is again a protection. This birth time also makes Gorbachev’s Uranus even more dramatic. By progression, it is on the natal Ascendant for years while its natal position is on his Moscow Ascendant within one degree. He is certainly living up to Uranus on the Ascendant.

Other early events include the loss of a beloved Grandfather who was exiled when Gorbachev was six years old. The family feared that he was being sent to his death, but he was able to return a year and a half later. At the time of the exile, Gorbachev’s P MC was square his Uranus, nodes and Ceres. The latter two signify relationships and nurturing, parental issues. Hitler invaded Russia and Gorbachev’s father went into the army when the boy was ten with P MC coming to the opposition of Pluto. At age 14 when P MC reached Saturn, Gorbachev joined the Youth section of the Communist Party which has continued to be his life work. P MC was opposite Mars when he went to the University in Moscow, his first trip away from his home region. P Ascendant was trine Venus when he married and P MC was octile natal Juno and sextile P Juno. That is probably enough to give the idea. The chart seems to be working well. Gorbachev’s P Moon is on his Moscow Descendant in mid-March 1990 as he is being voted vastly expanded powers in a revised Presidency.

I hope he can continue to ride the tiger. The next year is going to be tough, with his P Moon setting off his cardinal cross. The Russian empire may well continue breaking apart or suffer local ethnic strife, and the crises over food and other necessities may get worse. P Moon will be going over the south lunar node during the months immediately ahead, and that means lessons in relationships: when to compromise and when to stand firm. P Vesta will continue to conjunct Saturn, an incredibly intense aspect.

I noted in the Asteroid-World that P Mars and P Atlantis held a long opposition and that P Sun was moving to square both of them. I have also added Halley’s Comet to the picture. It was in 10 Leo 48 at birth, retrograding toward the Moon. If our data is accurate, P Halley reached the standard one degree orb to Gorbachev’s natal Moon when he was 25 years old and it will be on it the rest of his life. It is making a station this year, going direct! A change of direction, either to go retrograde or direct, indicates a high focus on the principle of the astrological factor. I have consistently found comets involved with power and think that they may be surrogate suns as they blaze in toward the sun and then retreat into outer darkness. Halley’s station on Gorbachev’s Moon and P Mars as he is given dictatorial powers seems very appropriate. P Mercury has been squaring Moon-P Mars-P Halley and P Atlantis as the Soviets have engaged in the most open and vigorous debates permitted in their history, but the coming P Sun square may be more violent.

The other news from Russia is that Farida is organizing an astrology conference in Moscow. It is scheduled from September 29 to October 5, 1990, at the Academy for Communist Studies. Unfortunately, the price is high. I think the Russians think that all Americans are rich. I have been informed that the fee for the conference is $485 though they deduct $50 if the fee is paid by May 1. The hotel is $100 a night for a single or $80 each for a double room. Meals (breakfast, lunch, dinner and bar) are $28 a day, with opening and closing banquets priced at $29 each. The Bolshoi Ballet, a concert, a circus, and sightseeing excursions and interpreters will be available for additional fees. 25 Russian astrologers will be presenting a variety of techniques with mutual translations. Visitors will be invited to participate in panel discussions. If any of our readers are able to attend, write to 1st Moscow Astrological Conference, International Joint Venture “Intercontact”, 119048 Moscow, U.S.S.R., Luzniki 24 BSA, room 86.

It sounds like an interesting experience, but it is not in my budget at this point. If any of our readers are able to go, we would love to include a report from you in a future edition of The Mutable Dilemma. At present, we have repaired our lemon Minolta photocopier, but don’t know whether we will have to spend more money to get a reliable machine. Also, I may need to contribute to the printing of some of my books which have been translated into Spanish. We need to do some earthquake proofing to the foundation of our house. Priorities. I expect to get to Russia some day, but probably on a budget tour.

Copyright © 1990 Los Angeles Community Church of Religious Science, Inc.

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