On September 12, 1943, the Germans rescued Benito Mussolini from his mountain prison. At 1415, he walked out of the hotel with his German rescuers. The Italian police had not fought to keep him imprisoned. This moment captured by photographers show him appearing in the 6th house. Prisons are 12th house places. The prison gate is a 6th house place. It is a disorienting moment, he is no longer a prisoner of the Italian police but he does not yet know what awaits him. The 6th house is the natural house of Virgo. As Proserpina or Persephone, the archetype of the captive stepping free is present.
The horoscope shows the Germans are represented by Jupiter. They are on 15° Leo, “a pageant”. While Pluto lies close at 8° Leo, “a Bolshevik propagandist”. This raid would mean many more weeks of war. The news reels were running as the commandos paraded Mussolini to the aircraft that would take him north. Strategically, this was a necessary move for the Germans but it also represented a propaganda win. Without Mussolini, Italy could not be counted as an ally to Germany. His return to rule would keep German soldiers fighting in the Italian peninsula. Even as a captive, Mussolini offered Italian land and authority both represented in the 7th house as Ceres and Saturn.
The partner to the Germans in this is Gemini and this points to Mussolini being Mercury. In turn, Mercury is most closely associated with Mars and Uranus in the 6th. Other than Mussolini a German officer, Skorzeny, pushes himself forward and is present right beside him. He even demanded to be taken in the two man plane because he would not part with him. This intrusive military commando is Mars. Mussolini is his war prize and he is transferred from one prison to another type of prison. The other Germans pictured are Vesta. They are standing on the threshold of the hotel and provide the escort over the threshold.
Mussolini was a 6th house South Node. He is very familiar with the prison threshold. This type of space is known as a liminal space and represents the moment of the return of the captive. Not all liminal space is related to prison but it is disorienting transitional space. He was arrested four or five times in his life. He was arrested at least twice before he became Prime Minister of Italy. As a Taurus south node, he came into this life as Persephone right after she was kidnapped and in his 7th house you see the gylph of Persephone (♇⚳). He was kidnapped and came to rule Hades. The kidnapping does not need to be literal. In my own experience, it was a religious kidnapping. The Gran Sasso raid by the Germans to free him was much like Persephone being released from Hades back into her mother Ceres’ waiting arms. Persephone never really is totally free she only has a choice between Pluto’s obsession and Ceres’ possession. The Italian people showed a great deal of obsession for Mussolini but, in the end, the Germans owned him. From this moment until he was killed and strung up by his heels, Mussolini was a prize to be won or lost.