The Al Jazeera Three

On 29 December 2013, three journalists were arrested by the Egyptian government on trumped up charges. They are employees of Al Jazeera, the international broadcasting organisation based in Doha.

Today Mohammad Fahmy, Peter Greste and Baher Mohammad were each sentenced to seven years for reporting what they saw happening on the streets of Cairo.

The politics behind these arrests and the “trial” are too baroque to go into. Here’s the astrology that I can dig up. Canadian-Egyptian Mohammad Fahmy spent his 40th birthday, April 27, incarcerated at Tora prison. I don’t have any other birthdays except to note that Australian Peter Greste was born with the Uranus-Pluto conjunction in Virgo opposite Saturn in Pisces.

No birth time available

This gives him a Taurus Sun and Moon in Cancer. At the time of his arrest, Chiron, in his guise as wounder, was transiting his natal Jupiter at 10° Pisces, the planet of boundlessness in the sign of sacrifice. On the same day, aggressive Mars sent a quincunx to his natal Jupiter. Meanwhile, his natal Chiron was receiving a quincunx from transiting Saturn in Scorpio (secret police perhaps, certainly underhanded machinations. Prisons are Saturn’s.). This was triggered by the Moon on that day.

His Moon in Cancer — give or take a few degrees because we don’t have a birth time — was caught on the claws of the Uranus-Pluto square already. During this whole period, Mars, the planet that rules armies, has been in the sign of law, Libra, and indeed the Egyptian army is in charge of the country’s legal system.

This is Mars in detriment, of course. Obviously, that is often an excellent placement in a natal chart (warriors for peace), but by transit it has not been so great. Much of that time (March 1 – May 20), Mars was also retrograde. During those weeks, the trial of the Al Jazeera Three was repeatedly postponed by the Egyptian courts.

On the day of the arrests, Mercury, who rules speech was at a nasty square to Uranus the planet of freedom, and was coming up to a conjunction with Pluto. Freedom of speech was stamped on.

Fahmy was born with a powerful square between Mars in Cancer and Pluto in Libra which has been set off by the Cardinal Cross of the past few years. He was born to live dangerously. In fact in some ways, he feels at home in danger — useful for a foreign correspondent.

Today, Mars is still in Libra and about to oppose the planet of the unexpected Uranus. The Canadian government has already expressed “shock” at the verdict. Mercury is currently retrograde in Gemini, the journalist’s own sign and planet. This is another symbol of the repression of free speech.

The most likely route for these journalists to get out of jail will be through an act of “clemency” by the Egyptian government. This will be due to behind the scenes horse-trading (Saturn in Scorpio with Jupiter in Cancer perhaps). Saturn is currently retrograde, but will turn direct on July 20. On the same day, Jupiter moves into Leo, Egypt’s own Sun sign. This is important because Jupiter is the planet that brings justice. A few days later Mars will move into Scorpio, back into his own territory.

This verdict has gone down with Mercury in retrograde at 26° Gemini, so it’s not beyond the realms of the imagination that it will be overturned or changed when Mercury returns to 26° Gemini on July 8.

There won’t be freedom of the press any time soon in Egypt but at least these men might get back their freedom. It would be a good thing if Fahmy were to be released before the transit of Neptune reaches his Jupiter.