Mars, Pluto and the assassination of Benazir Bhutto
Former Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto was assassinated on December 27, 2007, at a campaign rally, two months after returning from exile to attempt a political comeback.
Birth data for Benazir Bhutto: June 21, 1953; 7:59 pm; Karachi, Pakistan (source: StarIQ.com).
Here is the natal chart:
The occurrence of tragic events such as the assassination of a prominent political leader can be understood in astrological terms and it's usually Mars and Pluto involved.
Mars was retrograding in its fall sign, Cancer, since November 15 2007 until January 31, 2008 and this is usually a period of overall increased aggressiveness which accumulates in the background only to burst into indiscriminate violence from time to time. In Benazir Bhutto's case, she was already the target of a failed assassination attempt at her arrival in Pakistan on October 16, when Mars was not yet retrograde but during the so-called "shadow period", when the planet travels the same area of the zodiac which will be later passing over in retrograde motion and the influence is intermediate and preparatory to the retrograde influence.
Then, the violent planetary aspects to her natal chart were still loose, only to tighten up later. It was a clear warning she received, but she couldn't back off.
In both cases, the suicide bombers represent the symbolism of Mars retrograde as a indiscriminate method of also killing of tens/hundreds of bystanders.
The other main influence of the period surrounding the assassination was the tightening transiting Mars - Pluto opposition which represents a culmination of the Mars-Pluto cycle and favors violent resolutions (Mars) of power struggles (Pluto): Benazir Bhutto was the leader of the Pakistani opposition party, with real chances of winning the upcoming January 2008 elections in Pakistan.
This particular astrological aspect, highly enhanced by the presence of the Sun and Jupiter in conjunction with Pluto, triggered a specific sensitive point of Benazir Bhutto's natal chart: the Sun - Mars conjunction [highlighted by the red rectangle in the image below]. This natal conjunction is particularly important and specific for her death as the Sun is the 8th house ruler.
The chart below displays Benazir Bhutto's natal chart in the inner wheel and the planetary transits on her assassination day in the outer wheel.
Also notice the transiting Moon smack on her natal Pluto, acting as a trigger for the event [blue rectangle].
Another interesting observation allows considering that the given birthtime (7:59 pm) is quite accurate => we find a very specific transit (by both the nature of the planet and of the aspect) to the specific (Placidus) house cusp - there is transiting Pluto semisquare natal 8th house cusp, which correlates very well with the actual event: her death by assassination.
Timeline of Benazir Bhutto's life
[source: www.telegraph.co.uk]
Jun 21, 1953, at 7:59 pm (-05:00): Born in Karachi, Pakistan
1976: After spending her childhood in Pakistan and embarking on her higher eduction at Harvard, she is elected president of the Oxford Union while reading PPE at Lady Margaret Hall.
Apr 4, 1979: Her father, Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, is executed for the murder of a political opponent, two years after he was ousted as prime minister in a military coup.
Apr 10, 1986: Miss Bhutto returns from exile in London to lead the Pakistan People's Party that her father founded.
Dec 1, 1988: Aged 35, she becomes the first woman prime minister of a Muslim nation after winning parliamentary elections.
Aug 6, 1990: Her government is dismissed on grounds of corruption and a failure to control ethnic violence.
Oct 19, 1993: Miss Bhutto takes the oath for a second term as prime minister.
Nov 5, 1996: Second administration is dismissed amid accusations of nepotism and undermining the justice system.
April 14, 1999: A court finds Miss Bhutto guilty of corruption while she is out of the country. The conviction was later quashed, but Ms Bhutto remains in self-imposed exile, living in Britain and Dubai.
Oct 5, 2007: President Pervez Musharraf signs a corruption amnesty covering other cases against Miss Bhutto, opening the way for her return and a possible power-sharing agreement.
Oct 18: Miss Bhutto flies in to Karachi and her welcoming parade is hit by a suicide attack, killing 136. She later accused the government of a cover-up in the investigation.
Oct 22: She receives a death threat from a "friend of al-Qa'eda" in a letter which says she could be stabbed, attacked in her car or in her bedroom.
Oct 27: Miss Bhutto leaves Karachi for the first time since the attack and is greeted by 4,000 jubilant supporters chanting "Long live Bhutto" in her ancestral village of Garhi Khuda Baksh in Sindh province. She is pictured standing up through the sun roof of her bullet proof car.
Nov 3: President Musharraf announces emergency rule. Miss Bhutto said it was Pakistan's "blackest day" and threatens to bring her supporters on to the streets in mass demonstrations.
Nov 9: Miss Bhutto is put under house arrest in Lahore to prevent her leading a pro-democracy rally and security forces round up thousands of her supporters.
Nov 13: Authorities put her under house arrest for a second time in a week. Miss Bhutto calls for the first time for President Musharraf to quit and bring an end to his "contaminated'' rule of Pakistan. She says she would no longer pursue power-sharing talks with a "dictator". She also indicates a desire to build an alliance with other opposition leaders, including Nawaz Sharif, the former prime minister.
Nov 30: She launches her campaign manifesto, promising jobs, housing and healthcare. The move defies an all-opposition party election boycott. The politician and former cricketer Imran Khan accuses her of "betrayal".
Dec 8: Three supporters of Miss Bhutto are killed when gunmen attack one of her party's regional offices in Naseerabad.
Dec 10: Mr Sharif's party announces it will participate in Pakistan's parliamentary elections after failing to persuade Miss Bhutto to join a boycott.
Dec 15: President Musharraf lifts emergency rule.
Dec 25: Miss Bhutto accuses President Musharraf of failing to stop the spread of Islamic militants and promises to crack down on groups if she wins parliamentary elections.
Dec 27: Assassinated in Rawalpindi.
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