Since the July 1 eclipse, I’ve been thinking of the ever-growing Murdoch scandal that has rocked England. This story is huge in its implications and as the saying goes, “the balloon has gone up” on the Murdoch empire. Keeping up with the mushroom cloud of developments is mind-boggling.
There are dozens of charts to consider but the main ones I looked at are those of Rupert Murdoch and his paper, News of the World (NOTW).
This scandal has been festering for years so I looked at two eclipses: the lunar eclipse of October 17, 2005 and the solar eclipse of July 1, 2011. Granted, there were 24 other eclipses between those two dates, but I was looking for what triggers might have been in place to bring this story to light.I chose the October 17, 2005 lunar eclipse because in November 2005, the “News of the World” (NOTW) printed a story about Prince William making a doctor’s appointment due to a knee injury. This small story prompted royal officials, suspicious that the report had so much accurate detail, to complain to the police about probable voice mail hacking.
Remember Watergate? This stuff always starts out small!
Oct 2005 eclipse points: the Moon was in 24 degrees of Aries and the Sun was in 24 degrees of Libra.
Murdoch’s Chart
The eclipse highlighted his 5th and 11th houses. The 5th house represents gambles as well as the arena where personal energies can be released into the world. It is the house in which things are created. The 11th house represents goals. It is where the work in society represented by the 10th is released by the individual’s activities. This is where visions for the future and group associations will operate in life.
There was a lot going on for Murdoch that day. He was born with the Moon in 24 degrees Sagittarius in his 12th house of karma, secrets, the subconscious, confinement and self-undoing. A big player, Pluto, was transiting his 12th house and on the day of the Oct 2005 eclipse it was sitting right on top of his Moon. This action would be interpreted as a process that would lead to significant and far-reaching changes. One source I have says it would be “stirring up feelings of thwarted infantile desire for power.”
Go back to the eclipse point: Sun in 24 Libra. Moon in 24 Aries. Natal Moon in 24 Sagittarius holding hands with transiting Pluto in 22 degrees Sag.
NOTW Chart
Ironically, the transiting eclipsed Moon is sitting right on top of the paper’s natal Pluto in 22 degrees Aries in its 6th house. This is the second Moon/Pluto combo. Murdoch had one, too.
There are a few other points of interest for the paper. As mentioned above, transiting Pluto was in 22 degrees Sag moving through the paper’s 2nd house of money and values. The day the paper was first published, Pluto, also mentioned above, was in 22 degrees Aries falling in the paper’s 6th house of work and service to others. This means that in the fall of 2005, transiting Pluto was shaking hands with NOTW’s natal Pluto: “the death and rebirth energy of Pluto is up during this time and significant life changes are certain to result. These life changes may manifest on an internal level or sometimes outer events may bring them to the surface.”
I can’t move on without mentioning that NOTW was created on a day that put Chiron in 26 degrees of Leo in its 10th house of career and public standing. This placement means that Chiron represents making a responsible contribution to society. It is rebellious of authority yet compulsively drawn to it. It can mean overexerting authority and making others feel oppressed. Chiron in Leo means that the paper would want to shine on the public stage but would find itself thwarted in its attempts to shine. NOTW was first printed on October 1, 1843 and was aimed directly at the newly literate working classes. It quickly established itself as a publisher of “titillation, shock and criminal news.” NOTW has long had to defend itself from libel charges and complaints of entrapment as a tool for gathering “news.”
Go back to the eclipse point: Sun in 24 Libra. Moon in 24 Aries holding hands with natal Pluto in 22 Sag. Transiting Pluto in 22 Sag. Natal Chiron in 26 Leo.
Were the cosmic strings being pulled that would lead to the unraveling of NOTW and the Murdoch empire? Let’s toss the ball onto this roulette table and see where the spin takes us.
August 2006: Because of that small November 2005 story about Prince William’s knee injury, Clive Goodman (photo below), a NOTW reporter, and Glenn Mulcaire, a private investigator hired by NOTW to illegally intercept phone messages, were arrested.
January 2007: Goodman and Mulcaire were jailed for 4 and 6 months respectively. NOTW editor Andy Coulson resigned. Ironically, the investigating policeman on the case became a columnist for NOTW.
May 2007: Britain’s Press Complaints Commission cleared NOTW of wrongdoing in a report that stated there was no evidence that anyone at the paper was aware of phone tapping. Andy Coulson, the resigned editor, became Director of Communications for British politician David Cameron of the conservative party.
July 2009: A rival paper, The Guardian, known for its liberal slant, broke a story that Murdoch’s company paid an excess of a million pounds to settle cases that would expose the phone hacking. Scotland Yard refused to investigate. The Crown Prosecution Service looked back at 2006 evidence.
November 2009: Britain’s Press Complaints Commission AGAIN cleared Murdoch’s company of any wrongdoing.
February 2010: A Committee in the House of Commons found no evidence of phone hacking but stated it was hard to believe that only one reporter (the afore mentioned Clive Goodman) would have been aware of the practice. The Guardian reported that Scotland Yard uncovered more than 4000 names, 3000 telephone numbers, and 91 pin codes for voicemail access while investigating the only two men to be held accountable for any crime. Only 8 people were named in court.
March 2010: The Guardian reported that a publicist was paid a million pounds to drop a legal case that would expose other NOTW journalists.
April 2010: More hacking allegations led to the suspension of a NOTW feature writer.
May 2010: Three years prior, Andy Coulson (photo below), the disgraced editor of NOTW resigned to go to work for British pol David Cameron. In May 2010, David Cameron was elected Prime Minister and Andy Coulson was now working at 10 Downing Street as the new government’s head of communications.
September 2010: The New York Times (liberal competitor to Murdoch’s conservative Wall Street Journal) reported that the phone hacking was both widespread and encouraged at NOTW. Said Scotland Yard didn’t do its job. Miffed, Scotland Yard reopened the investigation. British politician John Prescott called for judicial review of Scotland Yard.
January 2011: Former disgraced editor and chief talking head for the British government quit` his job. Wonder what door will open when the one that closed belonged to 10 Downing Street? Senior editor at NOTW, Ian Edmondson, suspended for being fingered in the scandal due to evidence from a court case involving actress Sienna Miller. She is getting 100,000 pounds in damages from NOTW for hacking her phone.
April 2011: NOTW editor Ian Edmondson and reporter Neville Thurlbeck arrested on suspicion of conspiring to intercept communications and unlawfully intercepting voicemail messages.
The July 1, 2011 Eclipse Points: The Sun & the Moon in 9 degrees of Cancer
Murdoch’s Chart
The eclipse was in Murdoch’s 7th house of partnerships, open enemies, and issues that relate to other people. The other Cardinal Grand Cross points from that eclipse were: the teacher of all lessons Saturn in Murdoch’s 10th house of career and public standing; powerful tear you down & build you back up Pluto in Murdoch's first house of self and the unfolding of his own personal destiny; bolt out of the blue shaker-upper Uranus in his 4th house of foundations and endings.
News of the World’s Chart
The eclipse was in NOTW’s 9th house, the house of publishing. The other Cardinal Grand Cross points from that eclipse: the teacher of all lessons Saturn in NOTW’s 12th house of karma, secrets, the subconscious, confinement and self-undoing; Pluto in its 3rd house of how it communicates and how it operates mentally; Uranus in its 5th house of gambles and what it creates and unleashes to the world.
Our story continues....
July 5, 2011: NOTW editor and Murdoch favorite Rebekah Brooks (photo left) claimed she was “appalled and shocked” by this news. Britains collectively rolled their eyes.
July 6, 2011: Prime Minister David Cameron announced there will be a public inquiry but sees no reason why Murdoch can’t continue to try to take over Britain’s airwaves.
July 7, 2011: Allegations emerged of hacking of phones of dead soldiers families and victims of the July 7, 2005 terrorist bombing of London’s public transport system that killed 52 people and injured nearly 800. Advertisers and the Royal British Legion pulled the plug on their support for NOTW. James Murdoch announced that the paper will cease to publish.
July 8, 2011: Former disgraced editor and former Prime Minister head spokesperson Andy Coulson arrested. Clive Goodman, the reporter arrested and jailed at the very beginning, arrested again.
July 10, 2011: Last edition of NOTW.
July 14, 2011: The FBI begins to investigate Murdoch media’s phone hacking activities in the USA.July 15, 2011: Les Hinton (photo left), CEO of Wall Street's Dow Jones & Company, publisher of the conservative Wall Street Journal resigned. Murdoch's company purchased Dow Jones on Dec 13, 2007.
July 17, 2011: NOTW Editor Rebekah Brooks arrested. The Chief of Scotland Yard, Sir Paul Stephenson (photo left) resigned.
More to come....
Great piece.
ReplyDeleteThe juxtaposition of Millie Dowler's image with Rebekah Brooks' is more than creepy.