The Sun's new Sunday edition
Feb 20 2012
Will it succeed?
I've been touched by the number of private invitations to consider the fate of Rupert Murdoch's just-announced Sun On Sunday (SOS) from an astrological perspective.
First a few intro words for the experts. The Sun's 'birth' chart for 15 September 1964, five years before Murdoch bought it, suitably has its Sun in the 3rd house of media and communication - useful! I wonder whether an astrologer was consulted for its launch date. Its status point (or Midheaven) is in Pisces, emphasising the paper's surfing of (public) mood as raison d'etre.
Mercury, the planet of media and communication, is linked to its essential nature (Sun) via a stellium that includes Uranus and Pluto - a rule-breaking rebel of a newspaper, in other words. And with Mercury opposite Saturn, the paper was always going to be 'hobbled' by self-censorship - like any paper, really: but this feature is pronounced here.
So what of the SOS? It is due to be launched on 26 February 2012 - and because it won't in essence be a separate entity, the Sun's birth chart can be used to look ahead. At present, the Sun's horoscope suggests confusion (tr Neptune conjunct Saturn), at its worst up to early 2013. And tr Pluto in Capricorn, moving backwards and forwards over the Descendant till early 2014, suggests a radical painful change or transformation is ongoing in its relationship with the world through interaction with 'enemies' - a kill or cure time in effect. But while the 'weather' at the Sun is troubled and threatening, closure seems unlikely.
The SOS launch (if it goes ahead) before the next Mercury retrograde on March 12 (which can slow up or disrupt communication or any media activity) is an unwittingly smart move. Tr Mercury in Pisces in the 9th house of expansion is also favourable - though the planet's opposition to the Sun's birth Sun indicates internal tensions over the new paper from the start.
But on the whole, the signs are good for the SOS. The happiest aspect is tr Sun conjunct Midheaven (status point) - this normally denotes publicity and attention through huge effort. Tr Jupiter sextile Midheaven also favours expansion on this day - I would expect good sales and growth despite pessimistic warnings to the contrary. I could go into less pleasant indications of Murdoch's financial situation this year and beyond, the problems James M faces and other grave difficulties: the much bigger picture for News Corp and Rupert M is still highly fraught. But I shall not rain on his SOS.
(The first Sunday edition of The Sun was a sell out)