I have many clients in the UK who have been asking me to weigh in on Brexit, the campaign for the British exit from the European Union (EU). The referendum will take place on June 23, 2016. Will the UK remain in the EU, or will it vote to “leave”? A variety of horoscopes can be used to analyze this issue, and I have chosen a few of the standard mundane charts for the UK and EU, as well as a composite relationship chart for the UK-EU; the natal chart for PM David Cameron; the 2016 Vedic New Year chart for the UK; and transits and secondary progressions to a few of these charts, as well. All charts are cast using the sidereal zodiac, Lahiri Ayanamsa.

Below is a Davison composite chart for the relationship between EU and UK using the 1993 EU chart and 1801 UK chart, respectively. The outer ring is the June 23 transit chart. The 8th house of the relationship chart would show the end of the relationship. Uranus is there at the 29th degree soon leaving the house, but in a 6/8 with Mars, ruler of the 8th house, and both are at 29 degrees. Mars is retrograde which may indicate that the vote will be very close, or that many more negotiations over a long period of time will have to be ironed out if there is a Brexit.

Cameron already won important concessions for the UK in Feb., giving the UK special status within the EU on a number of contentious issues. So it seems change is imminent no matter how the vote goes, and the 29-degree “6/8” (shasta-ashtaka or quincunx) between Mars and Uranus might mean that the vote is happening too late; i.e., the situation is already decided on some level, or by the time the vote happens, the majority of voters will have been convinced to stay due to the massive concessions already made, or due to other factors we do not know about yet (such as events that are yet to transpire, and new information that is yet to be disclosed to the public).

In the Davison chart above, Saturn is transiting retrograde on the IC which can indicate a separation or simply the threat of disruption in the relationship. Mercury, the money planet (dhan yoga lord of houses 2/11) indicates a positive financial result from the vote for the EU-UK partnership as it is well placed in the 10th house but at midpoint of Uranus and Pluto which is a point of extreme sensitivity, fear and turmoil.

Instead, it could just be that the vote is to stay but there is much brouhaha about it ahead of time; or the vote is to remain but concessions then come into effect; or that there is a vote to leave but it will be a long complex process of renegotiating a new relationship after the vote, but that this will be a good change for the UK-EU partnership either way? The nodes are on the ascendant-descendant axis with Jupiter on the ascendant so I feel this is not inauspicious for anyone, whichever way the vote goes. However, eventually the EU is undermined due to other factors, whatever the result of the British referendum may be (read on).

As geopolitical analyst George Friedman says,

A vote to leave the EU seems gratuitous because the degree to which anything is actually binding in the EU is declining. If not Cameron’s government, then certainly future British governments will determine the direction Britain will take. The decline in relevance of the EU will approximate the ends of opponents of Europe. At the same time, among some Britons there is a deep loathing of the EU, that goes back to a loathing of the continent that shaped some parts of British culture. So, it will be a referendum on taste more than substance. And that means the vote will be that much less important, whichever way it goes. If this happens before the referendum in June, and I suspect it will at least become an obviously rising tsunami by then, the entire vote turns away from the issues I have raised here, and away from the issues Cameron has negotiated. The referendum will be about how the British lifeboat stays afloat in the chaos of Europe.” In other words, Friedman said that even before June, Italian (and maybe Spanish and Portuguese) NPLs could trigger some other kind of massive crisis in Europe.

The New Moon of the Vedic New Year chart for London falls in the 9th house with exalted Venus which indicates a favorable position for the UK, denoting the likelihood of peaceful relations with allies, extension of commercial powers, beneficial agreements and improvement of trade. Jupiter is in the second house which generally is a prosperous influence, denoting increase of revenue, improvement in the national finances, success in banking and commercial operations, and it may also point to a lessening of taxation. However, due to Rahu’s and Ketu’s affliction to Jupiter, this can also reflect heavy expenditure, possible bank failures, or some panic on the Stock Exchange which would likely happen in the fall if it were to happen.

However, Mercury in the tenth is good for the UK; and again, the New Moon in the 9th house of bhagya (fortune) is very very lucky especially as the Moon’s own sign of Cancer rises. Ketu is in the 8th house which could indicate a break or change in relationship with the EU but none of this looks to be devastating for the UK if that happened. No serious economic analysis suggests that all trade with the EU would cease in the event of Brexit. The process of leaving the EU has risk associated with it, and much of the fear is that it would bring a fall in sterling and a fall in the price of UK assets.

In the UK Chart below for Year 1066, secondary progressed Ketu (South Node of the Moon) is transiting across the 7th lord in the 10th house which can indicate dissolving or shifting a treaty or agreement/alliance. Progressed Venus/7th lord is also at 29 degrees conjunct the natal IC which can indicate that something is radically changing. Yet again, no matter what the vote, change is ultimately coming and the EU alliance is not necessarily the best one for the UK anyway, as the EU’s power is said to be in some decline. All that said, I am not sure this shows a Brexit but it might.

With the transits on June 23 to the 1066 UK chart above, the Moon in the 10th on Venus is auspicious for the UK whatever happens, but it seems to suggest that some kind of alliance remains after the referendum vote even if there were a vote to leave. But the Mars-Uranus 6/8 from the 7th (alliance, allies) to 12th house (the end of the treaty or alliance) is a tricky, hard-to-reconcile aspect.It’s formed between planets that are 150 zodiacal degrees apart.

The very different energies of the 6/8 create a natural conflict. Mars represents the UK (it rules the Aries ascendant) and it is forming a tension aspect with Uranus in the 12th house (representing sudden breaks, changes, and freedom). This aspect is mismatch, and creates stress or a sense of feeling conflicted, which can be creative or destructive (or both). On the positive side it could mean the vote to leave, but on the less auspicious side, it could be a deadlock (like the vote could be 50/50 or something could go wrong before the referendum which turns it to a “no-go”)…this is very unpredictable and maybe volatile.

The friction of the inconjunct aspect creates something new from that conflict. On surface it seems to indicate the vote to leave the EU but it’s hard to say because Mars is retrograde, and it could be indicating no-go and just a divisive split down the middle (or close to the middle with not meeting ground). This is very confusing and indicates that there could be something we do not know and never will know which is happening behind the scenes and orchestrated by the “powers that be” to try and block the Brexit, or to push it through?

Could it be that the referendum is called off? Or maybe it means even if the UK votes to leave then further referendums can also not be ruled out. Or there will need to be a re-vote if it is too close to call? Or the vote to leave wins, but does not bind parliament, as some pundits have argued? It could also be that there is a Brexit but it ends up not being that different in the short term. This is all so confusing with these planets and seems not black and white!

Back to this 1066 original chart: Mars is important as it rules the Aries chart set for high noon. Mars is an important planet to look at in questions of disseverance. It will be retrograde and ready to station direct within a week after the vote, so this can indicate an unexpected turn of events in the weeks before the vote. Mars “The Crooked” becomes ever more crooked when retrograde, and indicates sudden and surprising shifts in the situation, especially due to the 6/8 with Uranus and the 29th degree of both.

Additionally, the solar eclipse of March 9 will occur in the 11th house of the Year 1066 UK chart with Ketu, which will transit back across the Sun-Moon eclipse points in the coming months, while Saturn is conjunct the ascendant of the UK solar eclipse chart which falls with Mars in 8th house of UK chart, indicating the possibility of changes in the Brussels Compromise and many more back door deals and mysterious machinations between now and June 23. Additionally, Mars will also be retrograde on the MC at 10 PM on June 23 (at close of the vote), and Pluto will be retrograde on the ascendant, which could indicate a “remain” or a need for a revote or recount.

Again, the UK could vote to leave the EU and upset Cameron’s agenda, but even if the vote is to stay, this referendum marks an important turning point in the EU climate. But looking at the bigger question of UK vs EU, if the vote were to leave, the changes will be more immediate and dramatic, and if the UK votes to stay, there might not be any immediate changes, but some of the other countries in the EU might then want to leave as they will perceive the special UK concessions to be unfair to them.

According to many pundits, either way we look at it, the Brussels Compromise of February 2016 is going to kill the EU in time. So the 29 degree nearly stationary Mars in 6/8 with Uranus on June 23 makes me feel no matter what the vote results, the matter has come to an impasse either way (29 degree can mean too little too late/the situation has reached the end of its rope and there is no hope to resolve) and big changes are ultimately going to happen.

If we use this 1927 UK chart below, it is in exact Saturn Return which reveals that the UK is reaching a new stage of maturity, coming into its own as an independent country (vote to leave?)…so whatever happens, this relationship with the EU is changing dramatically and will have repercussions. Yet I think ultimately it can be good for the UK to stay or leave, either way…if they vote to leave there is a free-trade zone from the border of Russia to Iceland, and the UK will still be part of it. If they stay, they have their concessions. Seems a win-win for the UK.

Looking at David Cameron’s chart in relation to transits on June 23, he seems in a much better position than his enemies (Brexit advocates) to get his agenda through. This could mean a vote to stay or it could just be that he is not that badly affected by a vote to leave as he will be moving on to greener pastures. I am looking at the transit of:

1. His 1st house lord (representing Cameron himself), which is Mercury, which is also 10th lord representing the existing status-quo agreement with the EU, vs
2. The opposition shown by the 7th lord Jupiter (7th lord of enemies of his chart); and also the opposition is shown by the 4th lord (4th house is the opposition house to the 10th house of status quo).
3. Jupiter is weakened in the 12^th house transit, whereas Mercury is in the empowered top position of the chart, and much stronger than Jupiter by house transit.
4. Jupiter is also severely afflicted by Rahu, the Moon’s malefic North Node. Interestingly, Rahu with Jupiter represents breaking from the status quo as Cameron’s “enemies” wish to do. But here, in reference to Cameron in his natal chart, the transiting Rahu-Jupiter (enemies) are in the house of secret agendas, back-door deals, weakness and loss.

Looking at the 1957 EU chart in relation to transits on the referendum day, again Mercury is the ruler of the chart and is in a strong position to keep the UK in its fold. Even so, this vote will have repercussions and bring great change to the EU-UK economic relationship, but based on the Vedic New Year chart, it seems a somewhat good outcome for the UK. Mars hitting Rahu here in the EU chart on June 23 is not auspicious for the EU overall. Does that mean there is Brexit? Hard to say, but even if the vote were to stay, the EU may not be in a great economic position overall.

Looking at EU 1993 chart below, transiting Moon and Mercury are in trine between houses 7/11 which seems positive for a vote to stay. That said, they are losing control in some way to the UK as already discussed. Mars at 29 degrees is transiting in exact square to the EU Saturn, opposite the EU Moon, and conjunct the EU Mars, which seems to indicate a deep fissure in the EU. Whether this means an immediate or gradual fissure, I am not sure. It does seem to signify that massive change is coming either eventually or immediately in the EU-UK relationship, and the UK seems in a stronger position (a vote to leave?).

So to summarize, a Brexit seems ever so slightly more unlikely than likely given all this discussion, and also the Horary chart (Prasna) gives me mixed results which means it is not yet determined [as of March 2016], and it really is impossible for me to predict exactly as it will be so close. I think it means what I have been saying in this reading, that the vote is gratuitous and the changes are coming either way for the good of the UK. We should take note of the concessions that have already been given. For instance, Mr. Cameron won guarantees that countries outside the Eurozone, such as Britain, will not be required to fund Euro bailouts and will be reimbursed for central EU funds used to prop up the Euro. Either way, the UK is not looking to be in such bad sorts.