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| Poster for the 2004 Korean blockbuster, The Brotherhood of War. |
The two countries were born just a few weeks apart on the 15 August and 9 September respectively in 1948. That gives them similar charts but with significant differences.
South Korea has a powerful stellium in Leo supporting the Sun, which also receives decent help from Jupiter and Mars. It also has a highly stabilising (though depressed) Moon in Capricorn supported by the Saturn-Sun conjunction. Meanwhile, the North's Sun sits, rather wistfully, alone in Virgo with all the other planets scattered in a wide, unintegrated arc.
There's something about North Korea's chart that fills me with gloom. I think it's the fact that there are so few close major aspects, which gives it a sort of weak emptiness. It's fragmented, disconnected. And we all know how a weak character can lash out and hurt people. North Korea's behaviour is attention-seeking and potentially disastrous.
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| The government of North Korea is fond of big show – Neptune conjunct Mercury. |
The only reasonably close conjunction is Neptune-Mercury in Libra. Because it's in a chart with so few close contacts, this becomes powerful. Now Neptune is about projection and Libra's opposite sign is Aries, the warrior. Neptune is a deceiver, positively this manifests as art, music or drama in a person's character, but negatively it shows illusion and delusion; smoke and mirrors, fanaticism. Combined with Mercury, the planet of communicatioin, we see lying and deceit, playacting.
Mercury is also the planet of brotherhood, so there are delusions around the sibling – a story constructed that is fundamental to the identity of this country. South Korea's Mercury is exactly, to the minute, conjunct its Saturn in the solar stellium, so Mercury has been swallowed by father Saturn, who is in his fall, in other words, inclined to cruelty. Poor little Mercury is unable to speak except through the father.
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| Saturn eating his own baby. |
The Sun is the only body in an Earth sign, so the chart is mostly fire and water which is an impractical, irrational, impulsive combination. The planet of war, Mars, is as its strongest in ruthless Scorpio and neatly trines the planet of surprise, Uranus – no wonder Pyongyang has such a penchant for shock tactics.
Is healing possible?
Cast for midday, Chiron, the wounded healer, is rising in both charts. In personal charts, Chiron often shows where and how we experience grief and loss – especially in transits. Here, it shows two countries whose identities are forged by loss. They cry out to be healed.
North Korea is a suppurating wound, but a weirdly optimistic one. With that Moon in Sagittarius alongside, although not properly aspecting, Jupiter, the country's people must believe the government's propaganda. When the two halves of Korea are rejoined - which they will be at some point - it's not going to be a neat stitch together like the two Germanies. On the contrary, a whole belief system will be destroyed.
Despite North Korea's military strength and belligerence, South Korea has by far the stronger and more stable chart with that stoical Capricorn Moon representing the people. Changing North Korea will be a matter of tearing the Neptunian veil of illusion just a little – and then the whole cloud palace will vanish, leaving behind a miserable and bewildered nation.
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| North Korea - click on the chart to enlarge. |
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| South Korea |
If you're interested in looking at more stuff about the astrology of belligerence, look at James MacPhail's website.
