kim jong's ill

North Korean dictator Kim Jong Il died on Saturday. The death was apparently due to natural causes, although like everything else coming out of North Korea, there is plenty of room for speculation.

Kim died on the same day as Czech poet, philosopher and one-time president, Vaclav Havel. The difference between the two men could not be more blunt, and the world's reaction reflects this. Havel's death was met with sadness and recollection of a liberating moment in Czech history. Kim's death was met with curiosity about who will succeed him at the helm of the wackiest country in the world.

The astrology of these events leads to the eclipse of December 10th. At the eclipse, the nodes of the moon (points associated with eclipses) were angular in Prague, the capital of the Czech Republic. That's no reason to think a past or present president will die, but it does signify comings and goings.

The lunar eclipse, and particularly the nodes, is square to the sun in the chart of North Korea (using Nicholas Campion's
Book of World Horoscopes; there isn't a specific time). Eclipses have a reputation for being bad news for the leader's of affected countries. It's not such a big deal these days, of course, unless you happen to be running an egomaniacal show a la Ramses the Great (which, uh, Kim was in fact trying to do).

At the solar eclipse of November 25th (considered even worse for kings and the like), Mars was square to North Korea's sun (the sun stands for the ruler in the chart of a country - especially one with a king, dictator, etc.).

Pluto was also just past a trine to North Korea's sun (exact on December 5th), an indication of transition and transformation in leadership.

2012 will see more hits to the country's sun from Mars, as he retrogrades in Virgo. Jupiter will be offering a supportive trine throughout the year.

If the sun of North Korea is being hit, so is Kim Jong Il's son, Kim Jong Un. He is the third Kim to be in line for the leadership of the country. That's good news and bad news for him: He may be getting a country for Christmas, but it's North Korea.