Ceres, Food and Revolutions

Shopping for bread in the middle of a riot can be hectic. Tunisia.

Have you looked closely at your grocery bill recently? It's gone through the roof in the last 12 months right. I'm sure inflation for food is way ahead of the official figure.

So I was intrigued to read this piece in the Guardian that correlates the massive rise in worldwide food prices with political unrest. 

But before we look at the foodie question, let's have a quick recap of some of the astrological factors that have been in play this year. After all, the are many, many reasons for the uprisings across the Middle East this year, chief among them tyranny and inequality.


So here's a summary of the astrological events that have corresponded with this year of revolutions.

• The planet of revolution and freedom, Uranus, moves through the final degrees of the Zodiac and bursts into the sign of the individual, Aries. Where Uranus transits we see change and upheaval.


• Uranus opposes Saturn, the planet of structure, old forms, government and institutions in the very political sign of Libra.


• At the start of the year, Jupiter, the planet of more, joins Uranus - "I want more freedom.".


• Saturn and Uranus are squared by Pluto, the dark power planet, in Capricorn the sign of government. Where Pluto transits we see transformation.


• As the year has progressed, we have seen a series of planets join in this configuration opposing Pluto from Cancer and thus completing the Cardinal Cross, so-called because it is the Cardinal signs associated with beginnings, the sparks that start the flame which are involved. Most recently we've had the god of war, Mars, in the hot-spot. But we've seen Mercury, Venus and the Sun getting their asses fried this summer.

So far, so familiar to skywatchers. I've already written about, a less familiar player, Neptune and the historical parallels with the year 1848. Click here to read it.

So let's ask the food question. What's food got to do with the revolution? First there's the fact that the astrological hot-spot is in Cancer, the sign of the nourishment. Any planet that has the temerity to venture into Cancer is right in the crosshairs, it gets nuked by Pluto.

Another important player to look at is the planet Ceres, goddess of the corn. We get the word cereal from Ceres and, of course, there's been a lousy cereal harvest as she conjuncted her ancient enemy Pluto last summer and then cruised through the wintry signs – Capricorn, Aquarius and Pisces – for the past year.

On December 18, the start of the Tunisian Revolution, Ceres was at 23° Capricorn opposite Tunisia's 1st house Uranus. That put the goddess of plenty in the house of opposition for the following months.

This beautiful painting is, I think, from
the artisan's tombs outside the Valley of the Kings.

On January 25, the official start of the Egyptian Revolution, Ceres was at 8°Aquarius conjunct tr
Mars, exactly opposite Egypt's Venus.

On February 17, the start of the Libyan rebellion, she made the start of the stellium that ran Ceres, Mercury, Mars, Sun, Neptune, Chiron.

This July and August, she's been close enough to revolutionary Uranus to call it an out-of-sign conjunction. She from idealistic Pisces, he from action-oriented Aries. Right now, she has reached the spot where Uranus stood on February 17, poised at the end of Pisces. She's going backwards through the sign of the Fishes until mid-November.

Those final degrees of Pisces and initial degrees of Aries are, arguably, the most pivotal in the Zodiac. They represent the transition from one age to the next. Pisces is completion and Aries is beginning. We are witnessing a new beginning for the world, a rebirthing – most noisily in the Middle East, but we are all effected.

Now that  both Ceres and Uranus are moving backwards until winter. It'll be interesting to see if the revolutions stall – and what will happen to the price of food.