Severe Northern Ireland data leak
Northern Ireland police data leaked.
Yesterday, the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) answered a Freedom of Information (FOI) request. Instead of sending the truncated data that was asked for, a representative of the PSNI inadvertently sent out the source data. The Guardian reports that the data shared online included the "surname, initial, rank or grade, location and the departments of all current Police Service of Northern Ireland officers and civilian staff members." This mistake has heightened security concerns, especially for undercover officers whose safety may now be at risk.
According to The Guardian, the data was leaked around 2:30 pm local time. The following is an astrological analysis based on the timing and location of this incident at the PSNI headquarters in Belfast, Northern Ireland.
This is an interesting chart for a leak of this magnitude, mostly because the signatures seem to innocuous. The Moon is conjoined Jupiter, translating between Mercury (dignified in the midheaven), Jupiter at 14° Taurus, and the Sun at 15° Leo, to Mars at 17° Virgo.
The role of Mercury in this chart seems clear enough. It rules the midheaven, pointing to matters becoming public knowledge. Mercury also rules the 8th house, which introduces themes of threat through mercurial devices (like data).
Jupiter tends to amplify situations. Given its presence, the data leak isn't just significant; it's monumental, drawing attention globally, especially among cybersecurity experts. The Moon's separation from Jupiter may imply that the person responsible for this error bypassed the regular procedure. This could resemble situations where someone takes unusual measures, believing they will get the details right, but ultimately more important details are overlooked — much like misplacing keys after putting them in a "special" spot you'd never forget.
The Sun/Moon square brings luminaries into hard aspect with each other, both essentially strong in their own signs (the Sun in its home sign of Leo, the Moon in her exaltation in Taurus). Strong luminaries in hard aspect show information coming to light in a way that can be shocking, forceful or dangerous.
Mars rules the 6th house, bringing attention to civil servants. Firefighters could have fit the bill, but armed officers (Mars) or desk clerks (Virgo) are also indicated. Mars is hovering over the degree that Mercury will eventually station, hinting that we may expect further breaches in this upcoming Mercury Rx cycle.
But why these signatures? The ultimate truth of it will evade us, as it always does, but we can turn over a few stones and see what there is to see.
Radicality of the FOI leak.
No moment exists in a vacuum. The data leak chart can only be properly understood in the context of other relevant moments – many of them unknown to us, as outsiders. For instance, I might like the birth chart of the person who published the leak, their date of hire & first date/time of paid work, any astrology related to the FOI being filed and the birth chart of the requester, the adoption of FOI law by PSNI, etc.
Without these, I tend to turn my attention to what's available: lunation charts.
The PSNI press conference was held by Assistant Chief Constable Chris Todd (and he seems the one to be answering for the leak), and so I have decided to take a look at the lunation preceding his appointment to that post (below left; source, PSNI policing board notes).
This lunation at 12° Pisces falls in opposition to the leak's 10th- and 8th-ruler Mercury at 13° Virgo. The 10th and 8th cusps of the leaks are the cusps of the ascendant and midheaven, respectively, for the new Moon preceding Asst Chief Constable Todd's appointment. Todd's 3rd cusp, at 23° Libra, was on the leak's 12th cusp, uniting themes of data and unintended dissemination.
Perhaps more fascinating, though, is the lunation preceding the leak. Notice the midheaven at 14° Scorpio was rising on the ascendant when the FOI request was returned with sensitive employee data. Mercury is in the 8th house, in exact opposition to Saturn, a clear indication of threat to data in this period. When the leak occurred, Mercury moved to 13° Virgo, where Mars was in the pre-leak lunation; this degree, if you remember, is opposite the lunation preceding Todd's appointment to Assistant Chief Constable, uniting these themes in each other.
The Moon and Sun are in opposition across the 1st and 7th houses, and both apply to a square with Jupiter on the 4th cusp. This Jupiter is interesting because it rules the 12th, disposits a malefic (Saturn), and is placed in the dark 4th house, so there does seem to be some indication here about private details being brought to light in a difficult and very public way.
