The child abuse scandals that have been rocking the Roman Catholic church just refuse to go away. There have been scandals and cover-ups not just in the United States, but also in many countries in Europe, for example Ireland, the Netherlands and Poland.
And now the focus is shifting to Germany, the Pope’s homeland. A monastery school in Bavaria, the region where the Pope used to be an Archbishop, has recently come under investigation, and so has the Regensburger Domspatzen boys’ choir, that was once run by the Pope’s brother.
We can therefore say that the Catholic Church in North America and Western Europe is in trouble, and it might therefore be a good idea to look at the horoscope of the Pope himself, namely Benedict XVI. After all, if such a thing exists, he is the human embodiment of the Roman Catholic Church.
Benedict XVI, formerly known as Joseph Ratzinger, was born on April 16 1927, which makes him an Aries. Being an Aries he’s very clear about his opinions, and he has some of the aggressiveness associated with this sign. After all, he used to be known as ‘God’s Rottweiler’, because of the heavy-handed way in which he dealt with dissent in the Catholic Church.
Having said that, his horoscope is a text book example of why we should categorise people according to their strongest planet, rather than their star sign. A few days ago I looked at the horoscope of footballer David Beckham, and Mars was by far his strongest planet – and Mars is often connected with competitive sport. In Benedict XVI’s case, his strongest planet is Jupiter. It’s in Pisces, the sign of its rulership, and it’s also very close to the Ascendant.
Traditionally, Jupiter is associated with religion, and it can have very strong beliefs. So it’s not surprising that Joseph Ratzinger was able to reach the top of his profession. It’s also not surprising that he had a reputation for being a ruthless defender of Catholic doctrine.
We also find in the Pope’s horoscope a close, 90-degree aspect between Mercury and Mars. Mercury is the planet of communication, Mars is the planet of aggression, so we have a man who is able to argue his position, without mincing his words.
However in late 2009, and over the next couple of months, the planet Saturn is transiting this Mercury-Mars contact.
Saturn is all about limitation and restriction, and it could be a time of great frustration for the Pope. He is used to arguing with his opponents, and he was no doubt confident that he had the moral and intellectual high ground. It was a question of them and us, right and wrong. Yet the child abuse scandals have torn this to shreds. The enemies that he had been fighting against all his adult life are no longer on the outside – instead they’re ingrained into the very fabric of the church that he leads.
So even the Pope has got things to learn, and the planet Saturn is the perfect teacher.
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