Turkey on the Brink 2013

Turkey is recognised by some as the sole democracy in the 'Arabic' world.

That democracy seems to be increasingly under threat and a growing number of the population are not happy. Turkey has long been the bridge between east and west, the middle ground from Europe to Arabia. It has a long history and is known in some form or another going back many millennia, with probably its best known occurrence in history, prior to WWI, during the Trojan war in the 12th-13th century BC.

The Anatolian peninsula, which contains most of modern Turkey, is one of the oldest permanently settled regions in the world. Various ancient populations have lived in Anatolia, beginning with the Neolithic period around 6000 BC, until the conquest of Alexander the Great.

Troy, was a city in northwest Anatolia and is best known for being the setting of the Trojan War, described in Homer's Greek Epic the Odyssey and the Iliad. The Trojan War was indeed an epic battle, between King Priam and his Trojans (Illium in the ancient world) and Agamemnon and his Achaeans (Greeks), in a siege that lasted ten years and only ended through the subterfuge of the Trojan horse. It was one of the most well-known and oft-repeated tales of the ancient world, as shown by the volume of ancient literature on the war, that has survived into modern times. Not only Homer's epics survive but also writing of Virgil and Ovid, among others. The tale had such an impact on the ancient and even the not so ancient world, that many countries have tried to trace their origins to the survivors.

The mythological story is an interesting one in itself but it is based in reality with the ruins of the ancient city now well mapped out in the area near the Dardanelles, in modern Turkey. The ancients never saw it as anything but a true story, with a few embellishments on the part of the story tellers. The war began over the abduction of Helen of Troy, said to be the most beautiful woman in the world, 'the face that launched a thousand ships', a reference to the number of ships that set sail to Troy. She was taken by the prince Paris, the younger son of King Priam, problem was she was already married, to Menelaus, the king of Sparta. He didn't take too kindly to his wife's abduction, even if she was a willing abductee, and with the aid of his brother, Agamemnon, king of Mycenae and a large number of Achaeans, including the famed Achilles and Ajax, they set about righting the insult and thus began the siege of Troy. The story was passed down from generation to generation in the oral tradition through a number of epic poems, on which the later writings were based. The tale was also recorded in Greek art and pottery and the three great Athenian writers of tragedy, Aeschylus, Sophocles, and Euripides, wrote many dramas portraying episodes from the Trojan War. Of all the stories, mythological or true the one that centred on the ancient city of Troy has had the most impact throughout history. What has become the best known story of all time, provoking individuals and countries to endeavour to trace their heritage back in history to Troy, was based on the total destruction of a culture, something that took over a millennium to recover from.

This part of the world again rose to prominence with the rise of the Ottomans at the close of the 13th century. Following the conquest of Constantinople in 1453, the Ottoman state became an empire. The Ottoman Empire became one of the most significant world powers during the 16th and 17th centuries and in particular under the leadership of Suleiman the Magnificent. The empire was multinational and multilingual, controlling much of southeast Europe, Western Asia and North Africa. Constantinople was its capital and with control of vast lands around the Mediterranean basin, the empire was the interface between the Eastern and Western worlds for over six centuries.

The Empire began to falter early in the 20th century, following the revolution of the 'Young Turks', beginning 3 July 1908 and disintegrated very quickly, coming to an abrupt end at the conclusion of WWI. The chart for the rise of the Young Turks is being activated right now and has been for the past few months. This activation will continue for some time to come, so the current unrest and protest is not likely to disappear in a hurry. The horoscope for 1908, unsurprisingly has a Sun/Uranus opposition, a common sight in any revolution chart. The Sun is at 11 degrees of Cancer and therefore currently receiving the energy of the Pluto Uranus square that is signalling the rising against power that is not wielded correctly. Many governments have found themselves under the blow torch since this pair began the current phase of their cosmic dance. In the chart for this uprising the Sun and Uranus are both forming a difficult aspect to Saturn, the planet that represents, elders, government and those in control. It is no surprise that the populace is again rising against those in power and asking to be heard, with the current activation of this tough T-square. The next month or two is likely to see an escalation, rather than quietening of the unrest as all of the faster moving planets move across these degrees, ending with Mars, the planet of war late July.

When the Allied troops began its assault on the Dardanelles in April 1915, it met with a force who were determined not to become Troy II and a fierce battle ensued in which the Turkish forces held the allies at bay, despite the superior gun power of the latter. The battle came at a huge loss with over 250,000, the cream of young men from both sides, joining the ancient heroes Ajax, Achilles, Patroclus , Hector and the thousands of warriors who perished over 3,000 years earlier in the same area.

Following the end of WWI what was left of the Ottoman Empire was carved up and put under new rulership, in Turkey this led to the Turkish War of Independence which lasted from May 19, 1919 until July 24, 1923. This was a war waged by Turkish nationalists against the occupying Allies, following World War I. Although following the rise of the Turkish Independence movement, Turkey had effectively been a republic from April 23, 1920, it wasn't officially recognised until October 22, 1923.

Using the horoscope for this date, now is a critical time for Turkey, as the entire chart is now forming a difficult aspect to itself, using the technique of Solar Arcing. This activates any difficulty that was in the natal or birth horoscope for modern Turkey. In this horoscope the Cancer ascendant is very sensitive, set evenly between the moon, the ascendant ruler, and the power planet Pluto. It is also in a difficult relationship to the planet of action and war, Mars. During 2013 and even back to the end of 2012, the birth chart of modern Turkey has been active in a powerful and potentially violent fashion. So why is it flaring so publicly now? Transiting Saturn has come to join the fray, putting pressure on the leader. Saturn shows where there is a lack, or a need for greater effort.

In this case the Prime minister, Recep Tayyip Erdogan (26 February 1954), is being called to account. His progressed sun is in opposition to the sun of the country and is therefore also receiving the opposition from Saturn, literally feeling the opposition from the people. His natal chart does not indicate someone who handles opposition well and with the difficult placement of Mars in relation to his Sun, would indicate he has a temper and a rather short fuse. Martian characters generally don't fare well under the influence of Saturn, as its call for temperance can instead see the opposite with impulsive and aggressive actions in a bid to break out of the chains of restriction they feel from Saturn. To make matters worse, his own Sun/Mars combo is also receiving a charge from transiting Mars, indicating the timing of why this has escalated now. Erdogan puts his own Saturn on the Sun of Turkey, indicating he would bring a conservative, even oppressive government to his country and even though he has won three successive elections with an increased vote each time, he has never drawn 50% of the vote, so 50+% of the voters did not vote for him or his party.

The reason the populace is rising against the government at this time is indicated by the combination of factors listed above. Beginning with the revolution chart of 1908, the planets of revolution, self-determination and questioning the establishment are highly active and this chart is quite telling for current events. The horoscope for the establishment of the Turkish republic, is turned on itself and therefore activating all of the difficult aspects within. This horoscope is also being activated from without by Saturn turning the screws on the leader, who also contributes to the mix by the fact that his own sun, by progression is now opposing the sun of the country he heads. He is literally in opposition to his own position and seems unwilling or unable to see another viewpoint than his own. Finally, transiting Jupiter has been moving across the Moon, which in a country's horoscope represents the people. This would give a sense of something better, raising hopes and expectations among the people. There is so much going on astrologically for Turkey at the moment, too much for one article, but all of these would indicate that this is not something that will be solved quickly and given the government's heavy handed response, could escalate into something far worse before it is resolved.

There have been 2 military coups since the beginning of the Turkish Republic. The first was in 1960, the second in 1980. Both were quick, bloodless and resulted in the sacking of the government and a new regime taking over. In between, in 1971, the military threatened another coup but the then Prime Minister resigned after being presented with the knowledge of planned events, thus preventing the coup. It was known as "coup by memorandum" and one of the key points in the list of complaints/demands the military handed to Prime Minister S�leyman Demirel, was the use of the military against the people in breaking up protests and strikes.

The date of the first coup in 1960 occurred when the planets were activating the chart of the Young Turks in 1908, the 2nd incident, likewise was at a time when the 1908 horoscope was active, as well as the coup of 1960, the final coup of 1980 was likewise at a time when previous incidents were reactivated. The planets involved were the sensitive points of Sun and Moon, the leader and the people, and in every case Uranus and Pluto, indicating an overthrow of the current power structure were involved. These weren't the only repeat themes though, as Jupiter and Neptune have also played a role in each of these events, indicating the desire to create something better and bringing in strong belief systems. All of these planets are currently activating these sensitive areas yet again. To get one planet active is not uncommon, even two may not be enough but when there are 4 planets that have consistently shown up as a herald to change, it is something that cannot be ignored.

The people are calling for a voice and the astrology would indicate they will keep going until they are heard. Perhaps the current president should take a look at the republic's own history and remind himself of the first president, Attaturk's, ambitions and reforms to create freedom and democracy in a secular governance for the Turkish people. There is a need for the government to decide if they wish to be counted part of Europe and finally gain the much sought after membership of the EU or continue down the path of further withdrawal into Islam rule, because although still holding the position of the bridge between worlds, it can't have both..

With a history of the military taking out leaders seen to be not upholding the rights of the citizen, the mood in Turkey could become more heated than it already is. Even though recent constitutional changes have made a military over throw more difficult and risky than in the past, these things are usually not a concern for those doing the over throwing. The next few days will prove critical but the tension will remain for some time. The first week of July is looking quite tumultuous but it is the end of July, particularly around the 30th that seems particularly vulnerable. Looking at the history, if Erdogan doesn't resign, he is likely to be the cause of another coup on around this date and he is unlikely to be remembered fondly, as are the heroes this part of the world is known for.

© Sherrynne Dalby June 14 2013