Bulgarians Protest Government, Forcing Resignations

By Sue Kientz

With all that’s going on in the world, you may have missed the startling news last month, that in Europe, just a few weeks of peaceful protest in Bulgaria caused its Prime Minister and his entire government to resign in response. The reason so many took to the streets was the release of the PM’s 2026 budget that sought to raise taxes on private businesses so that government service positions could get a pay raise. That and complaints about continued corruption, were the main sticking points that led to a sudden capitulation on December 11, 2025, to the people’s demands and resulting mass resignations, accepted on December 12.(1) Until either a new government is successfully formed by the ruling party, or new elections are held, those who just resigned now serve In “caretaker” roles that allows the government to operate. Such a continuance was crucial as on January 1, 2026, Bulgaria changed its currency by officially joining the Eurozone and switching to the Euro.(2)

Another new election, if held, will be the seventh in Bulgaria since 2021, as the multi-party system has had a hard time forming lasting coalitions or weathering voters’ impatience with each governing attempt. Perhaps it would help to look beyond the surface of this struggle and see what astrology’s viewpoint might offer. The current constitution for Bulgaria was codified on November 15, 1990,(3) and illustrates the current makeup of the populace and provides a basis to see Bulgaria’s progress (or missteps) in time.

Bulgaria’s country chart gives us a multi-faceted view of its people whose ancestors are some of the first humans to arrive in Europe.(4) The chart shows the Sun (22 Scorpio) conjunct (0-8 degrees, can be fortunate but also self-centering) Pluto (18 Scorpio) and fellow dwarf planets Varda (20 Scorpio), Ixion (24 Scorpio), Quaoar (25 Scorpio), and lastly Venus (26 Scorpio). This tight grouping, called a stellium, is square (90 degrees, challenging, but difficulty surmountable with work) another dwarf planet, Gonggong (23 Aquarius), and a portion of the group, Sun/Pluto/Varda/Ixion, is sextile (60 degrees, supportive) Saturn (20 Capricorn) and semisquare (45 degrees, a lesser though troublesome irritant) Uranus (7 Capricorn). This depicts a people with a powerful sense of self and individuality (Sun in Scorpio: emotional, self-driven), with strong desires (Pluto), keen insight (Varda), of an untamed, rebellious manner (Ixion), willing to take a gamble (Quaoar), yet careful with money (Venus in Scorpio). Their sense of self and its power is very preoccupied, if not actively working on (square) managing a highly strung sensitivity (Gonggong), and doing so in both a careful, thoughtful way (sextile Saturn) often punctuated by striking out, complaining, and asserting oneself (semisquare Uranus). The name Bulgaria actually reflects the majority of these traits as it appears derived from an ancient root word bulgha, to mix, shake, stir, and related word bulgak, meaning “revolt” or “chaos.” One begins to see why Bulgarian voters have rejected so many governments’ rules after Soviet Russia loosened its steely grip.

But why have the Bulgarian people’s demands been more vocal in the last five years? Since before the pandemic, transiting dwarf planet Sedna has been moving through the latter part of Taurus, opposing Bulgaria’s strong-willed Scorpio stellium and activating its at times oversensitive nature represented by Gonggong. Sedna’s huge orbit takes 11,400 years to circle the Sun, and brings experiences requiring patience, fortitude, often in response to suffering and deprivation, but with hope of a great reward to those who weather the challenge.(5) Bulgaria’s voters expect the reward after many years of unworkable budgets and unfair plans that take from the least able to pay and give to those like the oligarchs who find ways to line their pockets with public money. Now in the last two years, Uranus has moved into Taurus opposite Bulgaria’s Scorpio Sun group, and the people’s urge to revolt and express their right to reject unacceptable government plans, is more urgent and persistent than ever. May the people of Bulgaria’s persistence be rewarded at last.

Title Image credit: Image described by the author to ChatGPT (https://chatgpt.com)

Notes and References

1. Mcallister, Edward, “Bulgaria faces turmoil after protests topple government on eve of euro entry,” Reuters, 11 December 2025, https://www.reuters.com/world/bulgaria-faces-turmoil-after-protests-topple-government-eve-euro-entry-2025-12-11/
2. “Bulgaria celebrates entry into euro zone, lev currency banished into history,” Reuters, 1 January 2026, https://www.reuters.com/business/bulgaria-celebrates-entry-into-euro-zone-lev-currency-banished-into-history-2026-01-01/
3. Bulgaria, current government founded 15 November 1990, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bulgaria , Sofia and 12 p.m. LMT used
4. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bulgaria (Prehistory and Antiquity)
5. Kientz, S., “Treasure from the Depths,” the Sedna chapter from More Plutos that appeared in The Mountain Astrologer, Feb./March 2015 issue, pp 63-70; https://moreplutos.com/articles/Sedna-SueKientz_MtAstrol-Feb-Mar2015.pdf  

For keywords and example personalities of the new dwarf planets, see “Dwarf Planet Basics,” 6 November 2024, ANS, https://astrologynewsservice.com/articles/dwarf-planet-basics/

For more details about the angles or relationships between planets, see Lynne Hyde’s “Astrology Basics,” 12 November 2024, ANS, https://astrologynewsservice.com/articles/astrology-basics/