(1815-1898)
April 1, 1815, Schoenhausen, Germany, approximately 1:30 PM, LMT (Sources;
Sabian Symbols, and Notable Nativities. Birth was recorded
between 1:00-2:00 PM. Also McEvers Quotes Lyndoe in American Astrology,
November 1967, “drawn for a family member”.)
Note:
It is conceivable that the birth occurred before 1:15 PM, LMT,
which would have placed military and militant Aries on the MC, with
its ruler, Mars, rather than more peaceful Venus, ruler of a Taurus
MC and more or less conjunct the same.)
Died, July
30, 1898, Friedrichsruh, Germany.
(Ascendant,
Leo; MC, Taurus or Aries, with Venus in Taurus conjunct MC if in early
Taurus, or near the MC if the MC is to be found in later Aries; Sun
in Aries; Moon in Capricorn; Mercury in Pisces conjunct Pluto in Pisces,
Chiron also in Pisces; Mars and Saturn in Sagittarius; Jupiter in Libra;
Uranus and Neptune in Sagittarius; NN in Cancer, H11).
Bismarck, the
“Iron Chancellor” as he was called for his Martian/Vulcanian
policy of “blood and iron” was, according to the Tibetan,
a lesser avatar upon the first ray and associated with the Forces of
Materialism (i.e., with the “Black Lodge”). Lincoln, also
upon the first ray, was a racial avatar affiliated with the Great White
Lodge and counterbalanced him. The Tibetan has this to say about such
appearances:
"Racial
Avatars. These Appearances are evoked by the genius and destiny of
a race. The typical man (in quality and consciousness, not necessarily
physically) foreshadows the nature of some race. Such a man was Abraham
Lincoln, coming forth from the very soul of a people, and introducing
and transmitting racial quality—a quality to be worked out later
as the race unfolds.
Coming
forth correspondingly from the realm of cosmic evil, and responsible
for the focus of materialism upon the planet today was Bismarck. Both
men came forth within the same one hundred years, thus demonstrating
the balance in nature and the constant interplay of the pairs of opposites.
They are both types of the most powerful Avatars which humanity itself
has as yet produced. They emerge along the lines of government, of
the first ray and in the department of the Manu, and are very sensitive
to Shamballa force. Such Avatars frequently emerge at the founding
of a nation. This is true of both Bismarck and Lincoln." (EXH
297-298)
These are strong
words. It is clear that the Tibetan, with the insight of a Master, sees
deeply into the psyche of individuals and their relationship to the
psyche of humanity. To state that an individual has come forth “from
the realm of cosmic evil”, and to name him “responsible
for the focus of materialism upon the planet today” is an extraordinary
declaration.
Bismarck was
Prussian statesman, a towering political figure who put his stamp upon
his age by uniting the German people under the government of one empire.
He led the initially weak kingdom of Prussia towards increasing strength,
through three victorious wars and astutely opportunistic political maneuvering.
In forging the German Nation (Vulcan
in Aries) he demonstrated himself responsive to the Shamballa Force
with its emphasis upon synthesis; however it was the same negative,
materialistic synthesis which united “Hitler and his evil gang”
(to use the Tibetan’s words, R&I, 430).
In this case
the Moon in Capricorn (bearing the legacy of past incarnations) brings
out all its materialistic potentials, and since it conjuncts the South
Node (and the fated Vertex—depending upon the exact time of birth),
it indicates a materialistic past. The Tibetan referenced the lives
of selfishness and materialism which were characteristic of the members
of Hitler’s group. Venus in Taurus on the MC also brings forth
material (Taurus) values (Venus).
Let us remember
that Hitler, too,
had Venus in Taurus (in his case, conjunct Mars). Every energy can be
misappropriated; the five-pointed star of Venus can express as the inverted
pentagram—the symbol of those inner materialistic forces which
both Bismarck and Hitler, perhaps unwittingly, served.
In true Venusian
manner, Bismarck could be charming (Venus) for his own selfish purposes,
and it is clear that an elevated Venus in its own sign (exoterically
considered) gave him what he and many considered to be a good marriage.
Hope-inspiring Jupiter in polite Libra in the third house of communication
gives more evidence in the same direction, as did conjunctive Juno,
conjunct Jupiter, in the sign of marriage and partnership, Libra. Regardless
of his true motives, he was generally successful in matters of diplomacy.
His Aretian energy served him as well in the overcoming of his enemies,
for he was said to “disarm with frankness”.
Bismarck’s
early years were undistinguished. He was an indifferent student. Enrolling
in the civil service he was easily bored and unable to acquiesce to
a bureaucratic hierarchy (Aries has a strong streak of rebellion and
Leo cannot brook orders from others). Summoned to assist his father
to assist in the management of the family estate, he settled down to
the rather ordinary life of a country squire—a lifestyle which
reinforced his basically conservative and even reactionary attitudes.
It could be
said that Libra on the IC ruled by Venus in Taurus seems a suitable
position for one who later romanticized the idyllic life. The Libran
IC would naturally give an Aries MC, somehow fitting for Bismarck's
aggressive expansionism (Mars in Aquarius).
From 1835 Bismarck
had been a lawyer, and during the 1840’s his political thinking
was very conservative. He abhorred the thought of social disorder (Capricorn
Moon exactly conjunct the South Node, Saturn in Aquarius—regimenting
the group, placed conjunct the proposed Aquarius Descendent).
While courting
his wife he had experienced a religious conversion (Neptune in religious
Sagittarius, square the planet of Mind, Mercury, in faith-prone Pisces),
and he cultivated the ideal of an orderly, Christian State ruled by
an authoritarian God. Many have remarked about the extent to which Bismarck
could rely upon ‘God’ to agree with him.
He earned his
reputation as a political reactionary out of touch with his times. He
spoke forcefully in 1847 against Jewish emancipation and the fashionable
liberalism of the period. We can see here a harbinger of the anti-Semitic
policies which had begun subtly to infect the German and Austrian psyche.
His method of
speaking was, on occasion, crude and even vicious (though for his own
purposes he could be urbane and apparently conciliatory). As his power
grew he abandoned restraint (selectively). He sometimes spoke of his
political enemies as “rats” which needed to be “exterminated”.
He thus introduced
into German politics a tone of discourse which built up gradually into
the lying, hateful propaganda typical of the Nazis. One of the signs
characteristic of those under the influence of the Black Lodge is the
resort to barbarism in language (however strategically employed). This
later led, by a path not too indirect, to the atrocities for which the
Nazis were responsible.
We find Pluto
in conjunction with Mercury, and hurtful Chiron (its lower meaning)
also conjunct Mercury with the distributive, inoffensively unitive planet
Cupido conjunct Mercury as well. Vulcan may be quite close to the Sun,
conveying an emphatic personal forcefulness and crudity.
Bismarck was
elected to Parliament in 1849. His rise in life can be seen by an elevated
Sun in first ray Aries, trine willful Uranus and loosely trine the first
ray/separative fifth-ray Leo Ascendant, forming a grand trine in fire.
His expansionistic ambitions can easily be seen from the opposition
of expansive Jupiter to the Sun in Jupiter’s house, the ninth.
He eventually became a court representative and secretary of foreign
affairs.
In 1862, he
became prime minister of Prussia, reaching a peak of power, second only
to his chancellorship of the German Empire ten or eleven years later.
He was now in control. Europe after Bismarck was never the same. Its
center, once weak and diversified, had evolved into the foremost industrial
and military power on the Continent.
In 1864 Bismarck’s
offensive for the aggrandizement of Prussia began. He attacked and decisively
defeated first Danish and then Austrian armies, increasing German territory.
He next courted northern Germans with a new liberal constitution (conciliatory
Venus near the MC, generous Jupiter in polite Libra) Then in 1870 Bismarck
goaded Napoleon III of France into war. German forces soon routed the
French, captured Napoleon, and gained land in eastern France.
In 1871, Bismarck
proclaimed Wilhelm as German Kaiser, or emperor. Though he himself was
not king or emperor, he might as well have been, for Kaiser Wilhelm
was a puppet in his hands. Bismarck’s support for a German monarchy
can be seen in his first ray Leo energies. He served for twenty-eight
years as prime minister of Prussia and for nineteen years as chancellor
of the German Empire—a position far more powerful than that of
the Kaiser to whom his loyalty (externally at least) was unquestionable.
In 1890 he was defeated politically by a confederation of his enemies.
Embittered,
he went into retirement filled with a sense of failure and full of criticism
for the governmental policies which were pursued after his departure.
However, from the perspective of those malign forces of which he was
the tool, he had been far more successful than he suspected.
These are three
signs or constellations/signs through which the first ray is transmitted—Aries,
Leo and Capricorn. Note that these three signs occur in Bismarck’s
chart in the same positions as in the chart of Charlemagne—as
Sun, Ascendant and Moon, respectively. Aries, in the case of Bismarck,
indicates aggressiveness and the misuse of the assertive will.
This corresponds
to the soul-sign of Germany (Aries) and is a conduit for the first ray
personality of that nation (which he forged). Germany has a first ray
personality because there are so many first ray souls expressing through
it. Leo stands for domination and egotism, and the centralization of
power which he sought to promote in Prussia (as the leading state of
Germany). Capricorn, in this case, represents hardness, rigidity, organization
and materialism.
Curiously, the
Mercury position
(Pisces) is also the same as Charlemagne’s, as well as the
Chiron conjunction to Mercury! Here, in Pisces, Mercury indicates stealth
and subtlety (without which he could not have accomplished his objectives).
Force alone, “blood and iron” were only part of his tactics.
Chiron here demonstrates as the power to wound and mislead (for Chiron,
negatively expressing, can be the one who leads authoritatively in the
wrong direction).
Note that Pluto,
the planet of death (and often, as well, involved in undermining and
intrigue), is also in subtle Pisces and conjunct Mercury. The Mercury/Pluto/Chiron
conjunction makes an effective instrument for accomplishing destructive
purposes (Pisces and the eighth house) with subtlety. Bismarck was a
man of stratagem and craft. His influence grew not only through strength
and a willingness to be aggressive, but through the power to deceive.
Mercury/Pluto/Chiron square to deceptive Neptune, masked by pleasant
Venus and the largesse of Jupiter in apparently peaceful Libra, tell
the story.
Bismarck, regardless
of the potential for outward charm (Venus conjunct the MC and parallel
‘healing’ Rasalhague) was in essence a war-like person.
If the MC is found in Aries, then Mars is the exoteric ruler, square
the MC (indicating an attitude which promotes conflict), and also square
Venus, the planet of peace (esoterically, a war between the soul and
personality).
Interestingly,
in the chart of Hitler (Bismarck’s psychological and, in a way,
political successor), Mars and Venus are found conjunct. Venus represents
peace, Mars war. Bismarck was convinced that a united Germany, dominated
by Prussia, could, in the last analysis, be brought about only by the
assertion of force, by war.
To further his
ends, he sought to create a heavily industrialized Germany, which he
accomplished in the 1870’s. Mars and Saturn in the sixth house
of work and labor, and the Moon in Capricorn supported this objective.
If Taurus were the sign upon the MC, this would emphasize the power
of Vulcan, related to industry and industrialization. It must be remembered
that Taurus also can be very aggressive.
Given his personal
and private behavior, it is conceivable that the fourth ray may also
have played an important role in Bismarck’s make-up. Presuming
that he was expressing through a first ray soul, we would see then,
a reversal of the rays of Germany, which has a fourth ray soul and a
first ray personality. Bismarck through his soul quality emphasized
the personality ray of Germany, as did Hitler and a number of the prominent
Nazis (all of whom were said to be on the first ray in some manner,
if only the first subray of the soul ray). We must remember that the
Black Lodge works primarily through the first ray at this time, reinforced
by the separative tendencies of the fifth ray.
The Tibetan
called the first, third and fifth rays “Prussian” (DINA
II 646). Certainly Bismarck was a powerful example of the first ray.
It is also possible that the third ray—in many respects, the ray
of treachery and intrigue—was also significant in his make-up.
Jupiter in Libra and Moon in Capricorn (Libra and Capricorn being third
ray signs), would reinforce this tendency. Both Mercury and Pluto, as
well, have third ray components. As for the fifth ray, he promoted its
rise in Germany—especially as this ray applied to what has been
called the “Industrial-Military Complex”.
The fixed stars
tell their story. Through the parallel Venus with Rasalhague and the
conjunction of Neptune with the same star, we see Bismarck's ability
to lull the opposition, and his ability to heal cleavages for his own
purposes. This may also have contributed to his sentimentality about
the idyllic life.
With the Sun
conjunct Alpheratz, he wished to move swiftly (as his Aries Sun sign
would incline him). It promotes independence and the quest for more
freedom and greater personal space. Clearly it is expansionistic and
evokes memories of Hitler’s call for lebensraum ("living
space"—space or room in which for Germans to live).
First ray/seventh
ray Uranus was conjunct war-like Antares, and thus Bismarck was able
to change or reorganize the map of Europe with his aggressive policies.
As well the strategic asteroid Pallas Athene is conjunct a warrior star,
Mirfak, in the constellation Perseus—more fuel for the fire.
An interesting
“undiscovered” planet, “Vulcanus” (not Vulcan)
sometimes also called “Samson”, is closely conjunct his
Sun in Aries. This is a planet of great strength and overwhelming force.
Behind the diplomacy, the purpose was to rule and control by force and
imposition.
Curiously, Bismarck
was able to promote a twenty-year ‘peace’ in Europe—albeit
won through war and aggression and reinforced by threat. This is perhaps
attributable to an elevated Venus in its own sign, Taurus, on the MC;
Jupiter in the peaceful Libra; and Juno also in Libra. All of these
are peace indications.
But the peace
created was intended to enshrine a rigid and authoritarian government
which believed entirely in the centralization of authority (Leo Rising)
supported by military might. No true Germany unity was created; it was
enforced by the Prussian mentality upon the general citizenry. All this
proved a fertile breeding ground for elitist ideas about German supremacy,
politically and racially, and led to the horrors which emerged later
in the twentieth century.
We could say
that Bismarck could not see beyond his own mistrust—abetted by
his fearful Capricorn Moon. This fear was wedded to his natural egotism
(the negative qualities of Aries and Leo in which the Sun rules or is
exalted) and militant authoritarianism. The aggrandizement of Prussian
Germany became equivalent to the aggrandizement of his own ego.
Though his policies
were ostensibly defeated before the end of his life, they had rooted
deep in the German imagination. The sting of defeat in the First World
War and the sense of betrayal by despised Jews and Communists brought
about an atmosphere at last conducive to Bismarck’s strongest
ideas—a dominant Germany. The idea was extended to mean an all
dominant Germany, and world domination became an acceptable goal to
the glamoured fanatics who founded the Third Reich.
It is well to
remember that the Black Lodge works through fanning the flames of fanaticism
and through obsession. The obsessed ones are glamoured by the apparent
beauty and righteousness of their idealism, and do not see their militant
idealism as an entry point for evil—in this case “cosmic”
evil, according to the Tibetan.
When we look
at the conjunction of Pluto, Mercury and Chiron in sensitive Pisces
in the eighth house related to Scorpio (both Pisces and Scorpio being
signs of related to obsession), we see the open door. Bismarck, blind
to the larger issues, was certainly used. Subtle Neptune, square to
these planets, kept the door open still wider (being with Mercury a
promoter of glamorous thought), and led to conditions in which the “negative”
German people (ruled in their personality by vulnerable Pisces) could
be entirely overcome by obsessing forces.
Humanity cannot
judge these matters with accuracy. We are dealing with a hidden world—the
world of occult phenomena. What we do come to realize is that Bismarck
represented (through Aries and Leo) the exaltation of egoism, whereas
his avataric counterpart, Abraham Lincoln, so strongly Aquarian, represented
Hierarchy, group love and an entirely new form of relationship which
is to develop in the New Age.
An amazing drama
was enacted by two men who did not know each other personally, but who
represented forces which have been at war for millions of years. Can
we see in the astrological chart and proposed ray structure why he was
chosen to be a focal point and, really, spear-head for the forces of
materialism which, in the twentieth century, rose to attempt the defeat
of humanity?