Pope Benedict XVI

Once again the Catholic Church and the millions of faithful were rocked when Pope Benedict XVI announced his retirement, abdication, resignation or whatever you call it when a Pope lays down his scepter.  The Church has been riddled with scandals from pedophile priest to financial issues involving money laundering for a good many years now and will continue in the upcoming years.  The transit of Pluto through Sagittarius from January 1995 to January 2008 triggered the sexual scandals which in turn sparked many a crisis of conscious among the faithful.  With Pluto now in Capricorn the crisis brings more concrete issues to the table.  Questionable financial dealings and corruption within the church send tremors through the institution known as the Vatican.

Questions regarding Pope Benedict’s knowledge of the pedophiles within the ranks and the alleged cover up continue to dog the Pope and show no signs of letting up. These issues and the Pope’s physical condition were major factors in the Pope’s decision.

Pope Benedict is an Aries, with a Libra Moon and Pisces Ascendant.  The Ascendant, having much to do with the personality of an individual, in the sign of Pisces indicates spiritual leanings as well as a tendency to look at things through rose colored glasses. The Moon in the horoscope points to what the person needs. In Libra, Pope Benedict needs harmony and peaceful relations. All of this is filtered through the Aries Sun. There is a certain amount of aggressiveness, assertiveness and an initiating quality with this Sun sign. Aries wants to be first.  Jupiter in Pisces, (faith) conjuncts the Ascendant as well as the Pisces Mercury and widely to Uranus in Aries. Pisces Mercury is great for meditation and prayer.  Arriving at decisions could prove to be problematic with this placement. In addition this Pisces Mercury squares (90 degrees) Benedict’s natal Mars in Gemini. So Benedict has this Pisces Mercury aligned with Mars in Gemini and if we couple that with the Libra Moon that needs to see both sides of the picture we can see where taking decisive action may be a difficult proposition for this individual.

A comparison between Pope Benedict’s horoscope chart and the chart for the timing of the official end of his reign as Pope (February 28, 2013, 8PM, Rome, Italy, from news reports) is worth a look see.  The transits to Pope Benedict’s chart at that time place Sun, Mercury, Venus and Neptune all in Pisces in his twelfth house of solitude. Traditionally the twelfth house is a house of affliction, exile, banishment and hidden enemies.  The Piscean strength in his natal horoscope leads me to believe that he really does wish to lead a contemplative life.  The scandals and his health were/are the factors in his decision. I am thinking that his health tipped the balance. The twelfth house placement of the transiting planets in his horoscope hint of secrets.  There is more going on than is being revealed. In October of this year there will be a Lunar Eclipse with Sun at 25 Libra and Moon at 25 Aries. The Moon will sit upon his Aries Sun.  From now until then secrets may unfold.  And the questions will be who knew? Who covered up? And where does the church go from here.