Mamdani and the Plundering Falcon

An Exercise in the Minor Planets of Politics

Mundane astrology is interesting because it involves the charts of people and events well-known to us all, which is why I use it to show practical astrological technique with an emphasis on the IAU’s Minor Planets (MP). In this piece, we will look at how a subset of those MPs associated with the theme of Communism present themselves in the charts of Communism’s past leaders, organizations, and in the chart of New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani.

Readers who are new to Minor Planet Astrology may find this introduction helpful: Minor Planet Basics

Although I have identified some 15 MPs whose names are associated with Communism, we will confine ourselves to these few:

• 2250 Stalingrad (for Joseph Stalin)

• 26793 Bolshoi (for Bolshevik)

• 852 Wladilena (“Vladimir Ilyich Lenin”, a contraction of his name)

• 2807 Karl Marx

• 29829 Engels

• 28787 PeterPinko - someone has a sense of humor?

• 1283 Komsomolia (All-Union Leninist Young Communist League)

Before looking at Mamdani’s chart, lets’s test the validity of these MPs in the charts of a few well-known people and events connected to Communism. For the sake of brevity, I am only showing conjunctions. However, those who wish to delve deeper will be rewarded with a multitude of fascinating natal and synastry combinations.

MP Karl Marx, MP Engels, MP PeterPinko

Using Josef Stalin’s chart (6 December 1878 jul., noon, Gori, GE) in Fig.1, we see:

Fig. 1

• STALIN Sun is perfectly conjunct MP Karl Marx

• STALIN Moon is conjunct MP Engel

• STALIN Saturn is perfectly conjunct MP PeterPinko

MP Stalingrad

In Fig. 2, we see two details from the natal charts of Karl Marx (5 May 1818, 2 a.m., Trier, GER) and Friedrich Engels (28 November 1820, 9 p.m., Barmen, GER), both of whose birth times are reasonably well established:

Fig. 2

• MP Stalingrad on MARX DC

• MP Stalingrad on ENGELS DC

See how Marx and Engels, Communism’s two intellectual fathers, reach out through the 7th house to their inheritor, Josef Stalin. I found this figurative lineage in many of the charts I studied for this analysis, along with a preponderance of Sun, Moon, and nodal patterns typically seen in parent/child synastry.

MP Bolshoi

I was curious to see if this MP, named for the Bolshoi Ballet, would function as a stand-in for “Bolshevik”. In Russian, “bolshoi” means “big”, while “bolshevik” means “majority”. Let’s take a look at its position in the chart for the starting date of the Bolshevik Revolution (7 November 1917, Petrograd, RU):

Fig. 3

• BOLS Sun perfectly conjunct MP Bolshoi

• BOLS Jupiter perfectly conjunct MP Wladilena, Lenin’s namesake

Communist Party USA (CPUSA)

The chart for its founding (1 September 1919, New York, NY), in Fig. 4, shows:

Fig. 4

• CPUSA Pluto perfectly conjunct MP Engels

• CPUSA Mercury is perfectly conjunct MP Stalingrad

• CPUSA Sun conjunct MP Karl Marx

• CPUSA Venus perfectly conjunct MP Wladilena

MP Komsomolia, MP Harrington and the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA)

The DSA (20 March 1982, New York, NY) is the largest Socialist organization in America. It was founded by Michael Harrington (24 February 1928, 5:10 pm, St. Louis, MO). We will use MP Harrington as his namesake. MP Komsomolia, named for the All-Union Leninist Young Communist League, plays a prominent role, indicative, perhaps, of the DSA’s image as a “young people’s” party. The average age of its members is 30.

Fig. 5

• DSA Moon perfectly conjunct MP Karl Marx

• DSA SN perfectly conjunct MP Komsomolia

• DSA MP Harrington (not shown) is perfectly aligned by opposition to DSA MP Karl Marx and MP Wladilena, emblematic of Harrington’s effort to distance the DSA from Communism.

• HARR Mercury Sun perfectly conjunct MP Bolshoi

• HARR SN perfectly conjunct MP Tito

• HARR Venus perfectly conjunct MP Stalingrad on the DSA Moon, MP Karl Marx and MP Wladiena

Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani

We have good birth data for Mamdani. His media officer, Grace Han, stated: “Zohran’s birthdate, place and time, confirmed by Zohran’s mother: October 18, 1991 / Kampala, Uganda / 1:15 am”. Therefore we can use his angles with confidence. Note that MP Kampala, his place of birth, is perfectly conjunct his Mercury on the IC. How apt!

Mamdani is Full of Stars

Look at his natal Sun, tightly conjunct two very fortunate stars, Spica and Arcturus. who carry the qualities of fame and wealth.

His North Node and Neptune, the planet ruling deception and illusion, align with Vega, a star that gives skill in double-dealing, and is therefore said to bring luck to politicians.

His Moon receives a terrible aspect from his Pluto at 19°16’ Scorpio on Serpentis, an extremely malefic star known as the “Accursed Degree”, 19°00 Scorpio.

In looking for Minor Planets to signify his name, I learned that “Zohran” means “new beginnings”. See his 0°ASC opposite 0°Saturn on the DSC, square 0°Mars. “Zohran” also means “bright” or “shiny”. There is one Minor Planet known for its astounding brilliance: MP MakeMake. Look where it sits in his chart, conjunct Jupiter and Venus, and on their midpoint.

Is it any wonder, then, that Mamdani achieved his recent triumph just two days after the start of his Jupiter-Venus-Jupiter-Rahu (NN) dasa? But with his North Node conjunct Neptune and Vega, should we ever believe what this bright and shiny politician has to say about new beginnings?

Mamdani and the Communist MPs

While President Trump and others have called him a communist, Mamdani says he’s a democratic socialist, which his image on the DSA website banner affirms. However, Communism, Socialism and Democratic Socialism are arguably on the same branch of the Arbor politica, so let’s take a look at how the MPs related to Communism array themselves in Mamdani’s chart.

Fig. 6

• MAM MP Harrington on DSC Saturn on Tarazed, “The Plundering Falcon”, a star of strong will and passion: this certainly has something to say about the true nature of his DSA political affiliation.

• MAM NN Neptune MP Karl Marx on Vega, trine MP Wladilena: likewise

• MAM Sun MP PeterPinko

The Minor Planets do have a sense of humor!

Congratulations, New York, on your new mayor. His chart certainly confirms his ability to win an election, but leaves me wondering. Who do you think the Plundering Falcon is?