Astro Blog

The Future of Iraq

Saddam Hussein had an unhappy childhood. He was born in the total poverty typical of rural villages near Tikrit, north of Baghdad. His father died or left the family soon after birth, and he was brought up by his mother and a brutal criminal stepfather, who relentlessly beat his stepson and forced him to steal. Only at the age of 10 did he escape this home to live with an uncle in Baghdad who grew to have tremendous influence on him. The uncle had nazi sympathies – and was instrumental in getting Saddam into the fledgling nationalist Baath party in his late teens. Schooled in violence from an early age, Saddam participated in an assassination attempt of General Qassim, who had just overthrown King Faisal II, at the age of 22, got wounded in the leg, and fled to Syria and later Egypt to continue his “education”.

Apart from the childhood, there are few mitigating circumstances in Saddam Hussein’s life, although the whole climate of Iraq was pervaded by a unique brutality at the time. When Baath party officers overthrew General Qassim, he was tortured and assassinated, and this and the subsequent execution and mutilation of his followers was shown on television for all to see.

Rise to Power

Hussein quickly returned to Baghdad, where he excelled as interrogator and torturer, rising through the ranks of the fascist Baath party. He built up an all-pervading security network of spies and informers, not dissimilar to the agent network in East German during the same period, which he had studied in detail. When he finally took power in 1979, his first act was to “cleanse” the party, and he and his henchmen personally executed 20 of top officials in his own party. Add to that the millions killed in the debilitating war with Iran, and the killing of 5000 Kurds in poisonous gas bombings, it is safe to conclude that Saddam Hussein is not a nice man – difficult childhood notwithstanding.

The Future Trial

This man is now a prisoner. The time ahead will be a collective remembering for the people of Iraq, as he goes to trial, and his crimes against humanity are listed. It seems the Americans in Iraq had learned from their lamentable handling of previous high-level fugitives, the sons Qusay and Uday, who were quite unnecessarily killed when located. Unless Saddam Hussein was taken alive by error, as some Arab commentators suggest. He has a lot of truths to tell, which will be very embarrassing to the West. Britain, America, France, Germany, Russia… they kept him well supplied with weapons and all the ingredients needed to make chemical and nuclear weapons throughout the eighties.

A Possible Birth Chart

Officially, Saddam was born on April 28, 1937 and this date was made a national holiday in 1980. Whether this is his actual birth date or not is a matter of dispute. The tradition with poor peasants at the time was to give them all the same birth date: July 1st, and there is evidence to suggest he borrowed his birthday from an associate with a better pedigree. Still, the official birthday is a fascinating chart, and definitely worth using.

See chart for Saddam Hussein

The Journey of Progressive Mars

Taking a noon time for the birth, which often works well for public figures, because this places the sun in the 10th house, there is a dominant Sun/Uranus conjunction in Taurus that could show his revolutionary rise to power. What is fascinating about the chart is Mars, which (like Venus) is retrograde at birth. During the course of his life Mars moves back into Scorpio first trining Saturn and then Pluto, indicating his relentless and ruthless consolidation of power through an all-pervading informer network. In the buildup to the 2nd Gulf War, Mars finally stations at 19 degrees Scorpio, which just happens to be the unchanging position of the actual planetary node of Mars. This degree is associated with evil in horary astrology, and has the name Serpentis . Currently his Mars is at 19.49 degrees, moving direct at just 3 minutes of arc a year, and soon to make a sesquiquadrate to Saturn progressed at 4.57 Aries.

With the capture of Saddam Hussein, George W Bush, certainly a believer in the corrective powers of the death penalty as governor of Texas, has called for the “ultimate penalty” to be imposed. The Mars/Saturn connection in Saddam’s birth chart indicates that this is not an unlikely fate, no doubt at the hands of a court run by the provisional government of Iraq. In the meantime CIA experts are interrogating Saddam, and entertaining him with his own torture videos from the past between sessions.

Venus and the Trial

Another interesting progression in the chart is Venus, which moved direct at the age of 10, when Saddam moved to Baghdad, and is now at 26 Taurus, trining Jupiter on the one hand at 26 Capricorn, and Pluto on the other at 26 Cancer. This Pluto/Jupiter opposition may indicate the elevated position and power of Saddam’s clan based around Tikrit, and the ruthless political power that was evoked in him through the influence of his uncle. This will almost certainly culminate in a high-profile court case, and the Venus trine from Taurus may indicate that he receives tremendous support, both financially and in terms of support from his clan. It is probable that a high profile lawyer will defend him well. Mind you, Venus is currently 26.06 Taurus and the ill-fated star Algol is currently placed at 26.09 Taurus. This star is particularly associated with injuries to the neck, such as hangings.

The Capture

The capture of Saddam Hussein was an interesting and predictable moment. This took place at the Sun/Pluto conjunction… obviously a completion of the process started at the Sun/Pluto trine which took place at the exact moment Saddam’s statue was toppled in Baghdad back in April. Mars was also leaving Pisces, after a 6 month sojourn in the sign. Quite obviously the direct and retrograde motion of Mars during the latter half of 2003 related to the chaos in the country at the time, and the deterioration of conditions for the US military. Mars in Pisces also represented Saddam on the run, and when Mars’ time in Pisces ran out, he ended up as a prisoner. Curiously, when the invasion took place on 20th March 2003 at 3.34 am the Sun was at 28 Pisces. Mars finally arrived at this degree with the capture.

See chart for capture of Saddam Hussein

At the time of the arrest Mercury was in exact opposition to Saturn, and because of Mercury’s retrograde motion this aspect will take place two more times in December and January. Despite reports that Saddam was cooperative, this hardly indicates a talkative prisoner. One would imagine that a painstaking interrogation would take place until at least January 22nd, when the final Mercury/Saturn opposition takes place. As Mercury retrogrades to conjoin the Sun it makes a square to Mars, now in Aries, which certainly indicates high stress levels, if not an element of brutality. Still, with the three Saturn/Mercury trine, it seems like there is a triple lock on information.

The Future of Iraq

See chart for Republic of Iraq

There are a number of horoscopes for Iraq for the last century. I have ignored the earlier horoscopes that relate to an Iraq under the control of the British, and concentrated on the military coups that established republics, the first one being in 1958, and the subsequent one when Saddam Hussein came to power. The 1958 coup shows a Moon/Venus conjunction in at 19-20 Gemini opposition Saturn at 20 Sagittarius, and obviously the current Pluto transit has been activating this opposition, and will continue to do so in 2004.

Amongst other influences it was this Pluto transit that suggested that the Americans would go to war. As I wrote in a previous article (Sept 2002): “This suggests that the long-suffering Iraqi population will undergo a hammering throughout the year, but it also suggests that the yoke of oppression will be removed, especially for women and children.” The American invasion has brought tremendous destruction to the people, and the loss of a good deal of their cultural heritage through plunder. Whether Iraq continues to be plundered as American corporations make lucrative contracts in the country remains to be seen. Still, whatever the ravages cause by western capitalism, they are unlikely to equal the material and spiritual destruction of Iraq, which Saddam is responsible for.

An Islamic State

The actual chart for the foundation of modern Iraq (23.08.1921 6 a.m.) has a Jupiter/Saturn conjunction at 22-24 Virgo. Pluto will activate this in 2005, which will almost certainly indicate an ongoing transformation and upheaval of all existing political and religious structures, typified by extremism and ruthless power play. Saudi Arabia also has a Jupiter/Saturn conjunction, (conjoining the Sun in Capricorn), and this may indicate the union of religion and politics in government: namely, the Islamic state. Therefore it is likely that elections in Iraq in 2004 do not result in a stable government, but rather bring extremist religious groups to the fore. Pluto transit in square to Jupiter/Saturn simply does not promise a democratic country or democratic reforms. Indeed, 2005 is the year when there is a full Uranus return to its position at 8 Pisces at the original creation of Iraq – another indication of revolutionary upheaval at this time.

Adrian Ross Duncan 19.12.2003

Mars in prison by the sea – Guantanamo

Planets visiting Pisces have many manifestations, and when depicted in an upbeat light, they can be said to be uplifted, transcendent, creative, caring and spiritual. These qualities are arrived at by a process of refinement of the grosser manifestations of human behavior. In Pisces, humans can no longer get away with how they might like to act as a normal member of society – it just does not seem to work. Perhaps that is why so much suffering is associated with Pisces; material pleasures pall, ambitions seem empty, desires run riot but do not bring satisfaction. Learning spiritual lessons comes at the cost of having to give up the ways of the world. So when the astrologer tells the client that he or she is entering a great period for spiritual growth, that’s often code for a long and trying period.The Fate of Pisces

Many Pisceans, or people affected by a difficult Neptune aspect or transit, will be able to tell a story of repeated efforts ending in dissolution, of a sense that the world is weighted against them, that they are misunderstood or hard done by. Hence the tendency of Pisceans to withdraw – either mentally into a world of fantasy and imagination, or physically to remote places. Undisturbed by the dreary demands of so-called reality, they can pursue their errand with who or what they perceive to be God. Some discover that the world is nothing more or less than what you perceive it to be, and rejecting martyrdom make life a playground for their creative ideas, often becoming rich and successful in the process. Others identify with fellow sufferers, and become shepherds for lost souls. Others still discover that, yes, the world is out to get them and fight imaginary battles against imaginary enemies. But even those Pisceans who descend to the absolute depths find redemption through giving themselves up totally to the battles within their soul.

And it is possible to imagine these battles right now, in the souls of those imprisoned in the world. With the transit of Uranus through Pisces from March 10th 2003 to March 12th 2011, prison is just one of the areas that will be highlighted. And with the current movement of Mars back and forth through Pisces from June 17th to December 16th – six long months – 2003 will be the year when the greatest trouble and suffering will manifest. Problems to do with prisons in this period will capture the public imagination… and they won’t go away.

Guantanamo

That is the significance of the closely-guarded Guantanamo prison camp in these months, which has all the qualities of the Mars/Uranus conjunction in Pisces. It’s a prison housing religious militants on an island . Therefore, by following the aspects to Uranus and Mars in Pisces over the coming months, it should be quite possible to predict how things will develop. Guantanamo is an American outpost on the tip of Cuba, which is not technically a part of America (and obviously the Cubans don’t dare demand it back). Guantanamo is not a country, so it’s not subject to international law, which is quite useful, because prisoners can be held indefinitely and without charge for as long as the American military want. The militants – Mars/Uranus in Pisces – are having a hard time there particularly because they have no status, no international protection, and no way of knowing when – if ever – they will be released. The prison houses almost 700 people most of whom are very young, teenagers really. Three are between 13 and 15 years of age. Ten attempted suicide in 2002, and 11 more in the first three months of 2003.

The only journalist to enter the camp is Ted Conover (Note 1), who reports that prisoners can see documentaries about the ocean, Disney cartoons – and the only feature film: Cast Away (with Tom Hanks starring as a man surviving alone on a desert island.) Like Tom Hanks, these prisoners dropped from the sky onto some unknown island to experience indefinite detention. The slogan at the camp’s main gate is “Honor bound to Defend Freedom”. (Slightly reminiscent of war-time Germany’s “Arbeit mach frei”?)

Legal Limbo

As Guantanamo holds combatants from 42 countries, it’s a bit of a foreign relations disaster for the USA, especially as some are allied nationals, coming from countries like Denmark, Sweden, Canada, Australia and England. There are conventions ratified by the UN, which protect child prisoners, but then Guantanamo is not part of the UN. Each prisoner lives in a 7 ft by 8 ft cell (about 2½ meters by 2 meters) with wire mesh walls, and is allowed out 3 times a week for 20 minutes of solitary exercise, and when leaving the cell must be shackled. Had the inmates been designated as prisoners of war, then they would have enjoyed protection from the Geneva Convention that would have prevented solitary confinement and interrogation, but with their status legally undefined, they are subject to repetitive interviews from different US intelligent agencies who all have an agenda.

In April this year, Secretary of State Colin Powell – chided by foreign ministers around the world – sent Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld a strongly-worded letter pointing out the dangers to America’s reputation which Guantanamo represents. Here in July 2003, matters are reaching crisis point. Tony Blair, already under pressure from member of the Labour party to assert his independence from Bush, is facing concerns that the coming military tribunals in Guantanamo could result in the death penalty – also for the British prisoners. Apparently officials at Guantanamo have begun planning for construction of court facilities and an execution chamber.

Activation of Uranus/Jupiter opposition

See how Mars and Jupiter trigger Uranus and Pluto

The first obvious crisis in this respect is the coming opposition between Jupiter and Uranus, which happens on August 30th at 0.34 Virgo/Pisces. This opposition takes place on the borderline between two signs. Looking at the graph, it can be seen that retrograde Mars goes back to oppose Jupiter on September 7th and then goes direct at 0.07 Pisces at the end of September, narrowly avoiding a second conjunction with Uranus. This period will be a time of uproar about justice. There will be world indignation about matters of international law. The fact that zero degrees is activated emphasizes the issue of borderline matters – that Guantanamo is on (the edge of) an island and outside international law and that detainees have no official status is part of the picture. Although there can be many other crises in the difficult month of September, Guantanamo will certainly be a major one.

Cuba

It is interesting to note that the chart for Cuba (Note 2), when it was granted independence from the USA in 1902, shows an Ascendant/Descendant axis of 0.17 Virgo/Pisces. This further emphasizes the focus on Guantanamo in the months to come. This chart for Cuba shows a Mercury/Pluto conjunction at 17-19 Gemini in opposition to Uranus at 20 Sagittarius – just the spot for extreme manifestations of the law perhaps. The current Pluto transit of this aspect will show upheaval in the legal status of Cuba, and radical change in its international relationships over the next year. Actually, the Cuban government ended a 3-year moratorium on the death penalty this year, and sentenced to death three hijackers in April provoking bitter international protests. America has obviously chosen the right place for it’s future trials of the detainees.

Consequences for Washington

The astrological picture is clearer looking at the chart for the New Moon around this time, calculated for Washington.

See chart for New Moon in Washington

Here, with the opposition between Jupiter and Uranus about to form, the new Moon also draws the Mars/Venus opposition into a massive constellation of tension, which falls on the MC/IC axis in the US capital. As new moon charts tend to describe events over the following month, this presages many troubles and worries for the US government. It’s a time when the US progressed Mercury retrogrades to conjoin the Sun – a very rare event which takes place coincidentally on September 11th (happening extraordinarily synchronistically just as transit Mercury retrograde also conjoins the Sun and squares Pluto.)

The Venus/Jupiter conjunction in early September is a force for peace and mercy, but both planets are weakly placed, suggesting that their influence will be ineffectual and swept aside. The Mars/Uranus conjunction is perhaps a more powerful influence, indicated continued anxiety about terrorist threats – an anxiety that is probably justified. During September opposing forces will be arrayed, one representing the voice of logic and reason, the other the presenting the specter of irrational fears. Obviously there will be virulent criticism of the US government, both from within and from abroad.

The Jupiter/Uranus cycle

The fact that Mars is retrograde until September 20th shows many old issues returning to haunt the administration, not least the misleading of the country about those infamous weapons of mass destruction which Iraq was supposed to possess – part of the big lie of the earlier Neptune/Jupiter opposition. Thus there will be battles on many fronts, and the planets in Virgo will strive to get clarity, whilst the planets in Pisces will strive to maintain the smokescreen. The backdrop for all these developments is the Jupiter/Uranus opposition, which takes place every 14 years, bringing revolutionary justice, battles for intellectual freedom, and struggles for transparency in international law. Going back 14 years, this was the time of revolution in Eastern Europe, and subsequent freedom of movement between borders. 14 years prior to that, when the opposition took place from Taurus/Scorpio the US high court upheld that the death penalty did not constitute unnatural punishment. It is very likely that the death penalty will loom large as an international issue as Jupiter moves away from its opposition to Uranus to make a square to Pluto in July 2004. However unnatural it is, anxiety will probably win out anyway at this time.

Suicide

After the September crisis in international relations through developments in Guantanamo, the next key period will be in November. At this time Mars, now direct in Pisces, will again oppose Jupiter and go on to square Pluto. Of course, a major theme of Mars in Pisces is self-immolation and suicide. This relates to suicide bombers just as it does to the Iranians who set themselves on fire in June (just as Mars entered Pisces) to protest at their political party being branded as terrorist and banned in Europe. Not just prisoners at Guantanamo are affected either – the whole issue of prisoner releases in the ongoing negotiations between Israel and Palestine is part of the larger picture. It is possible that that as Mars stops at 0 Pisces (imprisonment), and does not go into Aquarius (freedom) that neither prisoners in Cuba, nor in Israel will be released in significant numbers. November will again see these issues coming to ahead amongst a growing atmosphere of extremism.

These developments reach their finale in April 2004 with a Mars/Venus conjunction in Gemini opposing Pluto, which by this time is exactly opposing US Mars at 21.23 Gemini). There can hardly be any doubt that the USA will assert its power at this time notwithstanding international opposition, and they are unlikely to be intimidated into avoiding the death penalty. It is in these months, leading up to the US election, that America’s military will be high on the political agenda. A vast restructuring of the US army is unavoidable, and indeed it is part of Donald Rumsfeld’s grand plan for change to have highly mobile and smaller elite forces placed strategically around the world. What is likely however is that the Mars in Pisces will show US troops getting bogged down, both in Iraq and Afghanistan, so that restructuring can be more far-reaching than anyone in the State Department imagines right now.

It is unlikely that the current US government will bow to pressure about the prisoners in Guantanamo Bay. But the polarization of world opinion regarding this peculiar manifestation of American justice will be a volatile issue for months to come. Guards at Guantanamo have cut a large hole in the canvas that had been shielding the prisoners from a view of the bay, and say that the prisoners now derive great pleasure from looking at the ocean. Well-fed, and with the requisite health care, they have put on weight, and can learn more about their hosts through watching Walt Disney cartoons. Yes, torture has many forms.

Adrian Ross Duncan 14.07.2003

Note 1. The Observer: 13.07.2003
Note 2: Cuba independence: 20.05.1902. 12.00 Havana 82W22 23N08 (Book of World Horoscopes: Nick Campion)

Storytime

There are times when it is simply ineffective in the astrological consultation – and indeed any other form of communication – to convey information in a conventional, explanatory way, because the conscious mind of the receiver for one reason or another is not capable of absorbing the explanation. Especially when strong emotional, intellectual or identity issues are at stake, there can be considerable resistance. In the psychological discipline of NLP there is a ground rule which states “communication is the response you get” . In other words it is not what you say that counts, but how the listener responds to it. In circumstances like this it’s useful to have some stories up your sleeve.

Brighu Samhita

Which reminds me of a tale that a Vedic astrologer colleague of mine named Finn once related. Visiting India for the first time he set out to find one of the famed “palm-leaf” astrologers, who have the fate of every visitor stored on their archive of palm leaf charts and readings, written thousands of years ago by the legendary Bhrigu. In the northern city of Hoshiarpur he located such an astrologer, who after a few minutes search in his archive placed a horoscope on the table which replicated Finn’s planetary positions exactly. He commenced his reading:

“The man is born in Varn-mahadweep ( Europe?) in a city beginning with K. ( Finn was born in Copenhagen, which begins with the sound of “K”) . He will come here at the age of 35 to hear my predictions between the rivers Satluj and Vays in a city called Chachadpuri (Hoshiarpur?) . His name will be Pinn Wandahl. His father’s name will be from Kai-namsa” (his father’s name is actually Kai). (See Finn’s website www.wandahl.com )

After describing Finn’s recent past in accurate detail, there followed a long story about his previous life, in which Finn got a curse, which was supposed to destroy his family happiness in this life and the coming two incarnations as well. The curse could be canceled through a religious ritual, performed by the astrologer himself, for which Finn was to pay him Rs. 51.000, equivalent to US Dollars 3.600. For reasons I have never been able to fathom – I mean the astrologer was accurate in almost every respect – Finn refused to pay up. Mind you the astrologer did get that first letter of his name wrong. Accuracy is important.

Shadows

Finn also told me – or did he? I have to confess that recently my progressed Mercury conjoined natal Neptune, and in a few years will go retrograde to conjoin it again, insuring that the rest of my life will be a rather fuzzy affair. Though, being born with a Mercury/Neptune square, it’s hardly been an example of crystal clarity up to now. Mercury/Neptune could explain my predilection for something as illusory as astrology. Could it? Anyway, when you are telling stories, there is no virtue in being truthful – what counts is the response.

So, Finn also told me about another Indian astrologer… He was famed for his simple methods. When the querent arrived the astrologer simply placed his staff in the ground. Discerning from its shadow the time off the day, and being cognizant of the planetary positions at any given time, he could then read the nadi (horary) chart for the person’s arrival, and accurately relate his or her fate. It is indeed the simple methods that work.

Interdependence

And practicing astrologers in the West can certainly emulate the methods of this esteemed astrologer with very little extra study. We are quite capable of making detailed predictions about the lives on anyone we encounter without the help of computer-generated charts. This is the case because nothing can arise at any given moment that is not in harmony with the movement of the spheres at that moment. Events unfold interdependently with everything else in the environment. The individual consciousness is like an energy node in the flow of time, and when it is focused on an instant in time, all the interrelations are revealed. The astrologer is rather like a wandering question mark, or the Descendant of the chart for the moment, and any event or person entering into this field of consciousness, arises, as it were, on the Ascendant, and is represented by the planet that rules the Ascendant. If you accept this, and have a knowledge of the planetary movement at any given time, then you can develop the same predictive skills as our Indian astrologer. Planets in signs have their stories, and a mastery of these stories is the key to the understanding not only of current events, but of the main life stories of clients.

The Iraq story

At the time of the US invasion of Iraq, both the Sun and Mars were exalted, in Aries and Capricorn respectively. Catching the zeitgeist of the time, news stories picked on the split between the US executive in the form of Bush/Rumsfeld on the one side and the generals on the other. TV documentaries wheeled out retired generals (Capricorn) who criticized the risky nature of rapid advance with extended supply lines (the Aries story) and counseled a slower build up of massive force. Both may have been right, but the combination of these exalted planets was certainly unstoppable. When the Sun finally made the trine to Pluto, Saddam Hussein’s statue was pulled down in Baghdad, a truly iconic moment. As Venus was in Pisces during this period, there was huge humanitarian concern too, making this second Gulf war unique. The holy texts of hundreds of hand-illustrated ancient Korans in Baghdad did not fair so well though. As Venus squared Pluto and went on to square Saturn, plunder was in the air and a thousand years of Iraq’s religious history went up in smoke and filtered down over the city as fine ash over the following days. That’s probably a Uranus in Pisces story too.

Another story – Same time

Basic stories on a macro level, will be reflected by corollaries on a micro level. The people you met during this same period will have embodied the planetary stories of the time. There will have been the efficient and ambitious Mars in Capricorn, who had worked hard all his life, and did not ask for any reward but the satisfaction of a job well done. This Mars will have had a tense relationship to a highly respected Sun in Aries, who had brilliant leadership capabilities (exalted) but an element of ruthlessness (trine Pluto). In the scenario there was a kind and selfless person – represented by Venus in Pisces – struggling with her own private suffering.

This is a person who:

  • Has a life-changing shock (illness, loss?) and entered a completely new phase of life. (Meeting Uranus at 1 degrees Pisces).
  • Goes through a trauma or loss, perhaps an operation, a break-up, or a bereavement. (Squares Pluto at 19 Sagittarius).
  • Meets heavy challenges or crushing difficulty (squares Saturn in Gemini), but rises above all these to gain new spiritual powers. (Exalted in Pisces).

Traditional rules

In meeting people during any particular period, you will be able to identify what planetary energy they are associated with through listening to their story. Even the activities of peripheral people in their lives will be reflected by one of the personal planets and its movements, and will therefore be predictable. If someone talked of a sister who was suddenly diagnosed with cancer, and received radiation therapy, you can safely assume that Venus and its movements will reflect this person. Of course these principles are enshrined in traditional (horary) astrology, though in terms of dealing with clients and meetings it is not necessary to master complex sets of rules. Accurate results can be obtained by simply following the movement of the planets, accurate judgement made by understanding the quality of a planet in a particular sign, and accurate prediction made by ascertaining what aspects were made (the past) and are to be made (the future). Sometimes it helps to invent a story for the benefit of a client, so that the myth or basic energy of a planetary configuration in the client’s chart can be elucidated. This can be particularly useful when the client has a powerful ego, or when pride obscures self-knowledge.

Fibbing

This reminds me of… One client had national renown as a New Age group facilitator with a very successful teaching institute. He worked with his wife, but she was threatening to leave him, because she claimed he took all the credit in their joint work, and behaved liked a guru. As he had a Mars/Pluto conjunction in Leo in the 11th house, I had a feeling his wife had a point… but how to tell him? This is what worked…
“Gosh, I can see you have a Mars/Pluto conjunction in the 11th house. I’ve got that aspect too. (Oh that Mercury/Neptune!). I used to teach astrology in my own school, a bit like you. My wife used to get so annoyed, and she said to me < You flirt openly with your pupils, and they always end up hero-worshipping you, because you lay on the charm so thick > . Personally I didn’t think this was true, but I did find that a lot of women clamored for my attention, and it was getting rather tiring. Maybe she had a point so I said to myself < Make the following experiment. Turn down the energy and force you are using to make an impression > . I found teaching became less exhausting, and I must say my wife preferred the more laid-back attitude and our relationship improved”.

Here the statements in < quotes > are said directly to the client, whose unconscious mind gets the message that his conscious mind would never allow him to receive. As the astrologer you can choose to simply tell a story, or design a metaphor that fits to a particular aspect, claim the aspect yourself and describe how you dealt with it, or recall or make up a client who has the influence. The important thing is to describe the aspect in a way that fits the client, describe its consequences, and describe its solution.

Another story

Which reminds me: I have this friend who has an extremely strong Mercury/Pluto square… I found him extremely perceptive with an amazing ability to get to the root of the matter [Get in your praise at the beginning] , but he had a recurrent problem. People who knew him well got exhausted listening to him because he was so relentless and intense in his communication. His intimate relationships degenerated, as partners ended up either arguing for hours, or maintaining a stubborn silence. [Describe the manifestation] After a period of therapy he discovered that his insistent communication was related to anxiety about a secretive atmosphere in his childhood, which made him feel things were left unsaid, so that he tended to interrogate others. [Describe a probable cause]. He found his relationships were transformed when he relaxed and ceased boring into the secrets and motivations of others. By saying what was on his mind, and then dropping it, anxiety-ridden communication became a thing of the past. [Describe positive alternative behavior.]

The elegance of this kind of interpretation delivery tends to bypass the resistance clients have, enabling them to “try on” alternative behaviors without necessary openly admitting their insecurities. Sometimes clients themselves supply the metaphor that can be the guiding image for their life, either through their dreams or through real events. When this is the case, the astrologer can seize and expand on the client’s metaphor.

Of Whales and Men

The following story, which unfolded when the client’s progressed Mercury retrograded to make a station on radix Neptune in Scorpio in her 3rd house, contains a great spiritual lesson. I wonder if it can explain my own progressed Mercury/Neptune conjunction?

“This woman took a long break from work pressures to travel on a small boat with a group of friends across the Atlantic Ocean. Halfway across the boat was becalmed for two long weeks, the sail just hanging there, and with no land or ships on the horizon. [The Mercury stationary direct] . Very early one morning she was on watch, and she saw a large whale approaching the ship, coming closer and closer…. until it dived and disappeared under the ship. Curious and bored, my client put on her swimming goggles and dived under the boat. Just a few meters from her was the huge whale, with enormous eyes, which stared placidly into her eyes. In those eyes she saw a world she never imagined could have existed, and she told me that she was never quite the same again.”

That might very well be a true story.

Adrian Ross Duncan 29.04.2003

 

Oliver Stone – tornen i USA´s øje

Oliver Stone er manden, der har gjort det til sin mission at pege på de korrupte svagheder i det amerikanske samfund og blandt dets skiftende ledere. Ofte kredser hans film om mangel på menneskelig og politisk moral, som det bl.a. kom til udtryk i Vietnamkrigen, ved mordet på John F. Kennedy (JFK) og ved Watergate-skandalen under Nixon-regeringen. Jeg har kigget på hans horoskop.

USA´s skyggesider

Stone viser os i sine film de mest afskyelige sider ved krig og menneskeligt forfald, det være sig fysisk såvel som åndeligt og etisk. Intet går hans samfundskritiske øje forbi. Han fremstår da også som en kulturel oprører, der på én gang bevidstgør, vækker og forvirrer med den karakteristiske blanding af fiktion og fakta, der ofte kendetegner hans film. Sidste nye skud på stammen er filmen “Comandante”, der skildrer Fidel Castro. I den forbindelse tilbragte instruktøren en del tid sammen med Castro, hvilket førte til adskillige interviews. Da “Comandante” rummer optagelser af interviews med Castro selv, tilfører det filmen historisk karakter, og dermed sprænger Stone atter rammerne for filmgenren og efterlader os nysgerrige og tvivlrådige. Er det facts, vi får serveret, eller er det fiktion?

Tidligere film

Oliver Stone er uddannet fra Yale og New York University, og han meldte sig frivilligt til tjeneste i Vietnam i 1968-1969, hvor han blev såret to gange og dekoreret med et “Purple Heart” og en “Bronze Star”. Hans far var succesfuld børsmægler på Wall Street og iøvrigt en af præsident Eisenhowers rådgivere. Faderen blev efter nogle fejlinvesteringer skilt fra Olivers mor. Oliver Stone selv kom ud af et kokainmisbrug og har produceret adskillige film, bl.a. “Platoon” i 1986, “Født den 4. juli” i 1989, “The Doors” i 1989, “JFK” i 1991 og “Nixon” i 1995 – alle med et stærkt provokerende og samfundskritisk budskab.

Kritiske røster

See Oliver Stones horoskop

Oliver Stone’s radix er præget af meget eksakte aspekter. Det mest iøjnefaldende er hans Sol/Merkur konjunktion i Jomfruen i 5. hus kvadrat Uranus i Tvillingerne i 1. hus. Merkur, der hersker i Jomfruen og som disponerer over Solen samt ascendanten, er som skabt til at stille kritiske spørgsmål ved magtfulde lederes metoder (Solen). Fordi Merkur er forbrændt, vil den ofte finde på at afsløre viden fra de inderste kredse og inspirere os til at analysere og fordøje de facts, vi ellers ikke ville være kommet i nærheden af. Merkur inspirerer os med kreativ journalistik fra sin position i 5. hus, og den slipper tilsyneladende godt af sted med det, måske fordi den er forhøjet og i stand til at grave alle detaljerne frem. Sol/Merkurs kvadrat til Uranus i Tvillingerne i 1. hus stiller skarpt på USA’s akilleshæl og gør det på en utrolig kontroversiel måde. Det ligner faktuelle og velunderbyggede argumenter, men er samtidig fuld af påstande og forvirrende omstændigheder. Som man f.eks. ser det i “JFK”, der da også er blevet kaldt “Dancing with facts” af sine kritikere.

Men svært er det ikke at bifalde de afsløringer, som han fremstiller i sine film, og meget bemærkelsesværdigt er det, at hans Sol/Merkur i 22 Jomfru aspekterer USA´s Mars 21 grader Tvilling kvadrat Neptun 22 grader Jomfru. Derfor må hans film nedbryde de myter, der af USA’s politiske ledere i 60´erne og 70´erne skulle retfærdigøre krigen i Vietnam. I “Platoon” skildrer hans kamera de rædsler, der som en anden virkelighed i junglehelvedet var en realitet for soldaterne i Vietnamkrigen. Sol/Merkur kvadrat Uranus er et afsindigt farligt og eksplosivt aspekt, og det er vel blandt andet på den baggrund, at han selv blev såret i krigen. Samtidig er det et mentalt, nervøst og eksplosivt aspekt, der sandsynligvis har det bedst med at skabe for ikke at føre til hyperaktivitet. Hans kokainmisbrug bærer jo også præg af Uranus’ trang til at være “høj” og aktiv og Uranus befinder dig også i 1.hus.

“Medierne skal være lønsomme, og angst sælger”

Ofte langer Oliver Stone ud efter medierne som værende ansvarlige for en tendens til angst og frygt for fjendebilleder i USA. Han siger: “…jeg har set, hvordan man byggede Khomeni op som et monster, og nu er det altså Saddam Hussein”.
Videre roser han Michael Moores nye film “Bowling for Columbine”, idet den beskriver det amerikanske samfund som et samfund, der er offer for mediernes fokus på angst. Eller som han siger det “Medierne skal være lønsomme, og angst sælger”. I disse udtalelser skærer han med sin Sol/Merkur kvadrat Uranus helt ind til kernen af, hvordan medierne og de aktuelle politikere manipulerer. Han er som super-provokatør stolt af at stille Fidel Castro alle de spørgsmål, som amerikanerne aldrig stiller ham, og hvad kan være mere oprørsk over for “Fader Amerika” end at lade sig fotografere arm i arm med Fidel Castro, som jo er en ærkefjende? Læg også mærke til, at faderen ses ved Sol/Merkur konjunktionen i horoskopet som rådgiver for præsident Eisenhower, og som værende en del af inderkredsen afspejler det igen den forbrændte Merkur i Jomfruen. Måske er en del af hans oprør også rettet imod denne far, der ikke kan have været helt traditionel…

Skyggesider

Oliver Stones Måne i Tyren i 12. hus inspirerer med sin kunst, og bringer samtidig stabilitet og realisme til instruktørens karakter. Han må besidde en indre ro og en enorm evne til at arbejde og manifestere sine ideer i praksis med trigonen til Sol/Merkur. Det er ofte bemærkelsesværdigt at se, hvordan filminstruktører og skuespillere eller folk, der virkelig er kommet til tops, som regel altid har flere forhøjede planeter eller planeter, der er hjemme i deres eget tegn. I Oliver Stones horoskop er Venus i Skorpionen kvadrat Saturn og Pluto i Løven vidnesbyrd om den fokus, han ofte har på skyggesiderne af den menneskelige og dermed den verdenspolitiske karakter. I Vietnam-trilogien ser vi helvedets forgård, i JFK nedskydningen af præsidenten, og i Nixon serveres alle Nixons svagheder for os. Der er som om, at Stone er forudbestemt til at “prikke hul på bylden”, og hans værdier (Venus/Pluto) går i retning af nedbrydning og servering af det ulækre, korrupte og ondskabsfulde. Man bliver hurtigt mindet om svaghederne i den menneskelige karakter.

Det er klart, at han med sin Tvillinge-Ascendant har en stærk trang til at undersøge, stille spørgsmål og formidle. Hans film har ganske givet en magtfuld effekt på det billede, vi danner os af USA. En anden historie må være, at kvinderne i Oliver Stones liv sikkert kæmper en hård kamp for kærligheden og opmærksomheden, der sandsynligvis rettes mest i retning af karrieren. Det vidner også om forældrenes skilsmisse, der givet har været traumatisk, og har afstedkommet savn og en indre følelse af at skulle overleve i tider, hvor det var småt med kærligheden.

Retfærdighed

Interessant er det at se, hvordan Oliver Stones Sol/Merkur falder i USA´s 9. hus konjunktion USA’s Neptun og hans Uranus på USA’s Mars i Tvillingerne i 9. hus. Han motiveres af retfærdighed og har nægtet at lade sig skole, selv om han blev uddannet på landets egne universiteter (9. hus) og dekoreret i krigen (Mars). Dertil kommer, at hans Mars konjunktion Jupiter får ham til at optræde som en utrættelig kunster, der drives frem at et ønske om fred og retfærdighed (Vægten). Saturn/Pluto konjunktionen i Løven, hvor af Saturn er i opposition MC, viser den nedbrydende drift, der eksisterer i hans horoskop. Han må gennemhulle dem, der sidder på magten for at nedbryde deres styring og kontrol (i øjeblikket Bush). Efter “Comandante” står han da også over for at blive korsfæstet i sit hjemland.

Progressive historier og filmografi

Til dem, der elsker at studere progressioner, er hans filmografi et sandt udtryk for de progressive bevægelser. Da den første film i Vietnam-trilogien, “Platoon” havde premiere, befinder Måne, Merkur, Venus og Mars sig i Skorpionen, så vi skal altså høre om død og ødelæggelse. I 1989 da “Født den 4. juli” kom som næste led i trilogien, var progressive Sol i Skorpionen kvadrat radix Saturn i Løven, og filmen langer stærkt ud efter de ledere, der sendte unge mænd i krig med lokkende æresbegreber. Da filmen om J.F.K kom, bevægede progressive Merkur sig ind i Skytten. Den er et sandt virvar af dokumentaroptagelser og fiktion; alligevel er den meget overbevisende, og kredser om refærdigheden. I 1994 kom “Natural Born Killers” og – gys – hans progressive Sol i Skorpionen var konjunktion Venus og kvadrat Pluto… en passende titel!

Her i 2003 er transit Saturn konjunktion Uranus i Tvillingerne kvadrat Sol/Merkur i Jomfruen og han har jo lige interviewet den gamle soldat Castro, og meget provokerende atter undermineret USA´s fjendebillede. I 2002, da optagelserne til “Comandante” fandt sted, befandt Pluto sig på hans Måneknudeakse, og måske er hans seneste film en slags endeligt opgør med de medieskabte monstre. Næste projekt fra hans hånd er filmen om Yasser Arafat, som vi kan glæde os til.

Kilder: Politiken, den 22.februar 2003. Fødselsdata: 15-09-1946 kl. 9.58 P.M i New York (Kilde: internet)

Overgangstider

“Det var ikke en bevægelse, det var en følelse. En følelse, som drev bølge efter bølge af mennesker ud i en stor flod, der pludselig opstod i Londons gader før middag, og som stadig var i bevægelse efter nattens frembrud”.

Sommetider formulerer journalister – her er det Richard Williams fra The Guardian – de astrologiske begivenheder bedre end astrologer. Hvis nogen er i tvivl, er dette den perfekte beskrivelse af en positiv manifestation af den aktuelle Jupiter/Neptun opposition fra Løve til Vandbærer. Jupiter/Neptun aspekter forbinder ofte mennesker, der deler den samme drøm om en bedre verden, og oppositionen forener typisk mange mennesker fra forskellige dele af verden og samfundet. Hvis man går tilbage til den sidste serie af oppositioner for 14 år siden i Stenbuk/Krebs, så var det tidenm, hvor opløsningen af Sovjetunionen blev højaktuel, samtidig med at en million mennesker i de baltiske lande rakte hænderne over grænsen for at markere deres solidaritet overfor besættelsesmagten. Oppositionen nåede til sit euforiske klimaks, da Berlin-muren blev fjernet i november 1989 af tyskerne, der rev den ned med de bare hænder. Øst og Vest blev forenet i en flod af følelser, som sendt et sus gennem hele verden.

Verden i bevægelse

Se horoskop for fredsmarch i London

Demonstrationen i London begyndte ved middagstid med Tvillingeascendant og Merkur i 9.hus i konjunktion med Neptun i Vandbæreren, hvilket må siges at være passende for en fredsmarch. Fredens fjende er krig, og det kunne ikke skildres mere tydeligt end gennem Mars/Pluto oppositionen som det onde og truende krigsmaskineri. Denne dag fandt fredsdemonstrationer sted overalt i verden fra Bagdad til Washington i de største demonstrationer siden Vietnam krigen. Den stærke tilkendegivelse af ønsket om fred i England blev rettet imod regeringen og dens tidligere nok så idealiserede leder Tony Blair. Hans Sol befinder sig 15 grader Tyr kvadrat Månen 11 Vandbærer, og han går nu en tid i møde, hvor hans magt og popularitet vil blive truet, idet Neptun aktiverer hans kvadrat. Som han udtrykker det: “Jeg beder demonstranterne om at forstå, at jeg ikke ønsker at opsøge upopularitet. Men til tider er det prisen for lederskab. Og prisen for overbevisninger”. Blair kunne have brug for at vide, at hans Sol 15. Tyr i 12.hus kvadrat Pluto påvirker hans overbevisninger hen imod det selvdestruktive.

Desillusion og sorg

Jupiter/Neptun i Løve/Vandbærer kanaliserer folkets desillusionerede opfattelse af prestige og magt. Den første opposition fandt rent faktisk sted den 11. september 2002 – på årsdagen af ødelæggelsen af World Trade Center. Hvad der siden er hændt er, at George Bush har forspildt den enorme sympati for Amerika, som alle lande i verden følte meget dybt for blot et år siden. Sympatien er blevet udskiftet med en voldsom afsky overfor det, andre lande opfatter som kynisk manipulation og grov magtudøvelse… USA’s forsøg på at vende verdensopinionen til deres fordel med udgangspunkt i en magtsyg og olie-begærlig amerikansk elite. Den oprigtige årsag til Amerikas krigeriske indstilling overfor Irak kan være svær at regne ud – i det mindste for ikke-amerikanere. Enhver ved, at argumentationen for krig imod Irak spiller fallit. Efter 10 år med sanktioner kan landet ikke længere udgøre en trussel imod nogen, selv ikke overfor dets naboer, som alle er imod krig. Der er mange andre lande med masseødelæggelsesvåben. Dertil kommer, at andre lande som f.eks. Israel også ignorerer FN resolutionerne. Nordkorea, der har både atomvåben og teknologi til at rette dem imod USA’s kyst, er sandsynligvis en langt større trussel, og har samtidig fastslået med en pinlig timing tomheden i USA’s argumenter overfor Irak. (Og har ved samme lejlighed slået fast, at hvis du udvikler atomvåben, kan du samtidig ophæve USA’s trusler).

Nordkorea

Den Nordkoreanske atomtrussel vil være et emne i Kim Jong II’s udenrigspolitik, så længe han styrer landet. Som Vandbærer med Solen på 26 grader i eksakt kvadrat til hans radix Uranus 26 Tyr, har han atomar magt på sin dagsorden. Samtidig er hans radix Uranus i konjunktion med Saturn og Mars i Tyr, hvilket sandsynliggør, at han vil fremstå fuldstændig urokkelig i en presset situation. Det er en meget ubehagelig udvikling for Amerikas regering. Ligesom det var det i 1993, da transit Pluto i Skorpionen aktiverede Kims Sol/Uranus kvadrat. Det var i løbet af det år, at USA opdagede hvor tæt Nord Korea var på at fremstille atombomben, og efterfølgende gik ind i forhandlinger omkring ophævelse af sanktioner, der havde været i kraft siden 1953. Transit Uranus aktiverer nu Kim Jongs IIs Sol, hvilket indikerer, at det er eksplosive tider på den koreanske halvø. Snart vil Uranus bevæge sig henover hans Måne i Fiskene og varsle uro i landet. Ved Nordkoreas uafhængighed fra Sovjetunionen omkring den 10. september 1948, fik landets horoskopet Solen på 17 grader Jomfru. I øjeblikket er transit Pluto i kvadrat til Nordkoreas Sol og i konjunktion med Jupiter (20 Skytte). Det er noget, der tyder på, at tiderne heller ikke er fordelagtigt for Kim Jong II, da Pluto i konjunktion med et lands Sol kan medføre, at dets leder bliver skiftet ud. Dog har Kim Jong II overlevet tre Uranus konjunktioner til hans Sol i 2002, og har haft succes med at ryste fundamentet i nabolandene Japan og Sydkorea.

USA’s trauma

Hvis vi ser bort fra den eksisterende amerikanske angst i forhold til Nordkorea, er det meget sandsynligt, at USA’s ønske om at neutralisere Irak er et ægte ønske om at sætte et eksempel overfor lande, der tænker på at true USA i fremtiden. De, som ikke er amerikanere, kan umuligt forestille sig traumet i forbindelse med 11. september, som var tæt på at lamme Amerika fuldstændigt. Da Bush har sin Sol 13 Krebs på samme grad som USA’s Sol, har han taget denne trussel meget personligt. (Vi ved alle i hvilken retning passagerflyet, da faldt ned i Pennsylvania, var på vej imod). En anden Krebs – Donald Rumsfeld – har Sol/Pluto konjunktion kvadrat Uranus, og hans indre terror har fundet i denne tid de perfekte ydre fjender at projicere på. For et Krebse-land som Amerika har forsvar og beskyttelse af indbyggerne høj prioritet, mens en permanent følelse af sårbarhed bliver pustet op til uanede højder af en ekstrem nyheds- og medieindustri, som forlængst har opdaget salgsværdien af angstfremkaldende journalistik.

Uventet modstand

Uanset argumenterne, har Bush regeringen slet ikke formået at overbevise nogen, bortset fra dele af sin egen befolkning, om nødvendigheden af at fjerne Saddam Hussein. I en tidligere artikel i september 2002, da jeg forudsagde krig mellem februar og maj 2003 (se notat 1), nævnte jeg, at Saturn går direkte på USA’s Mars den 22. februar 2003, hvilket bebuder tiden, hvor deres militære forberedelser er klar. Hvad jeg ikke tog med i mine overvejelser dengang, var den enorme modstand som USA mødte fra hele verden og specielt fra Tyskland, Frankrig, Rusland, og Kina. Da transit Saturn i øjeblikket befinder sig i USA’s 7. hus, repræsenterer det de politiske stemmer fra omverdenen, som ligger en dæmper på bulldozer-effekten af transit Pluto i USA’s 1. hus, som Mars slutter sig til i de to sidste uger af februar. FN har sin Måne også på 22 grader Tvilling, netop hvor USA har sin Mars. Saturn i Tvillingerne viser derfor både modstanden overfor USA og presset på de øvrige nationer i FN.

Næstekærlighedens ånd

Her i Februar 2003 er spillet ikke helt slut; de endelige konsekvenser kommer, når den sidste Jupiter/Neptun opposition bliver eksakt den 3. juni på 13.06 Løve/Vandbærer, mindre end 24 timer før Saturn bevæger sig ind i Krebsen. Dertil kommer, at en endnu større fokus på de Neptunske temaer og idealer vil opstå på grund af Uranus’ indtræden i Fiskene den 11. marts. Med de to mastodonter Saturn og Uranus’ overgang fra luft til vand er det usandsynligt, at vi ikke vil tillade os at fascineres af højteknologiske billeder fra en højteknologisk krig, som kun viser ødelagte bygninger og fly, der letter og lander. Disse billeder skjuler, hvad der virkelig sker – mennesker, der sprænges i luften, og børn, der bliver forældreløse. Ingen vil lade sig narre af en ny Hollywood-krig i 2003. Deres empati vil række ud efter de lidende mennesker. Det er på grund af disse stigende følelser, at vi har set de største demonstrationer nogensinde her i februar 2003. Uranus i Fiskene fremkalder nogle interessante metaforer, og én mulighed er, at Bush “skyder sig selv i foden”. Et andet billede kunne være oliekilder, der eksploderer. Men det essentielle budskab er, at en 7-årig periode skaber øget opmærksomhed omkring menneskelig lidelse.

Columbia

Se horoskop for Columbias forlis

Samtidigt med at USA skal forholde sig til en massiv verdensprotest imod krig, må de også håndtere traumaet som følge af den nedstyrtede rumfærge Columbia. “Columbia” har rødder i det franske ord “colombe”, som betyder “due”, og symboliserer fred. Som et varsel for landet må det siges at skildre et klart budskab. Tabet af besætningen har også haft stor effekt på Israel, som fulgte deres første astronaut Ilan Ramons færd med stor spænding. Han var en Israelsk pilot, som tog del i bombningen og destruktionen af den første Irakiske atom reaktor i begyndelsen af 1980erne. Rumfærgen styrtede ned over Bushs hjemstat Texas, men delene spredte sig over hele staten, også i Palestine . Altså Palestine, Texas. Denne ulykke fandt sted næsten præcist, da nymånen gik i konjunktion med Neptun/Jupiter oppositionen. Stor sorg er en anden facet af Jupiter/Neptun. På tidspunktet for rumfærgens forlis var Uranus i konjunktion med ascendanten og i konjunktion med USA’s Måne. Samtidig med at Saturn befandt sig stationær på USA’s Mars.

Når Saturn bevæger sig ind i Krebs, er det sandsynligvis ikke gunstigt for Amerika, og i resten af 2003 kan amerikanerne se frem til en lang tid, hvor Saturn går i konjunktion med deres Venus/Jupiter konjunktion fra 3-5 Krebs. Det kunne indikere økonomisk depression. Hvis man går tilbage til den sidste Saturn transit konjunktion Venus/Jupiter, så var demonstrationerne imod Vietnamkrigen højaktuelle, og Nixon kæmpede desperat i de to sidste år af sit præsidentembede. Det var ikke en tid, hvor den amerikanske regering var populær, hverken indenfor dets grænser eller udenfor. Det sandsynlige scenario er, at Bush og hans oliebegærlige venner vil angribe Irak, og at de vil vinde ret hurtigt. Men da de samtidigt er ansvarlige for gendannelsen af demokratiet, er Irak måske en større mundfuld, end de kan håndtere. Den bedste måde at klare transit Saturn konjunktion Venus/Jupiter er en begrænsning af ekspansionen og en konsolidering af økonomien. Det kan være ret svært at opnå, hvis Bush skyder sig selv i foden. Sandsynligheden er, at han vil halte i resten af sin præsidentembede.

Washington snigskytterne

Mens jeg sidder ned for at skrive denne artikel om den frygtede og morderiske Washington snigskytte – den 24. oktober 2002 – er to mistænkte lige blevet anholdt i sagen. Ifølge CNN kilder er de to identificeret som Golfkrigs veteran John Allen Muhammad 42 år og hans 17-årige stedsøn John Lee Malvo, der er Jamaicansk statsborger. Jeg skulle lige til at forudsige, hvem der kunne stå bag ved disse frygtelige mord, men blev overhalet af medierne i opløbet og derved sparet for at tolke forkert…

Horoskopet som detektiv

03_attack

Første mord: October 2, 6.04pm 
Wheaton, MD 39N2 77W03 AS 22.16 PI

Selvom der endnu ikke er nogen bekræftelse på, at de arresterede mænd er ansvarlige for mordene, så tror jeg, at det er meget sandsynligt. Når man betragter horoskopet for det første mord, der forbindes med snigskytten, så kan man se at det fortæller en fantastisk historie, og det understreger hvor anvendelig astrologien kan være i en sådan sag. Da alle tretten mord er er timet til minuttet, er det muligt at opstille ganske præcise horoskoper. Det første offer som døde af snigskyttens skud, var James Martin 55, en hvid mand som blev skudt ned på en parkeringsplads i Wheaton, Montgomery, og horoskopet for den tragiske hændelse kan tolkes som en mulig personlighedsprofil af morderen. Det første der slog mig i forbindelse med dette horoskop var, at der sandsynligvis var to mennesker involveret. Man kan tolke et øjeblikshoroskop på mange måder, men alligevel syntes jeg, at det her taler for sig selv – det er ikke nødvendigt at gøre mange overvejelser over hvem, der repræsenterer morderen. Da Mars på 21.50 Jomfru befinder sig præcis på Descendanten, tegner det et klart billede af en erfaren præcisionsskytte, der kombinerer Jomfruens planlægningsstrategier med det morderiske aspektmønstre Mars kvadrat Saturn.

Et morderisk aspekt

Mars/Saturn aspekter er ofte aktuelle i forbindelse med mord – langt mere end med Mars i aspekt til de ydere planeter såsom Neptun, Uranus og Pluto, hvor de sidstnævnte aspekter snarere repræsenterer voldsomme kræfter i den kollektive sfære. For eksempel var Mars 5 grader Skorpion involveret i opposition til Saturn 5 grader Tyr ved massakren på Columbine skolen, hvor 15 mennesker blev dræbt den 21. april 1999 (Hitlers fødselsdag). Den 26. april 2002 blev 18 studerende skudt i Erfurt Tyskland af en udvist studerende. På det tidspunkt var Mars 8 grader Tvilling i konjunktion med Saturn.

Merkur som spejder

Hvad der er interessant i forbindelse med Washington snigskytten, er Merkurs bemærkelsesværdige rolle. Den korte afstand mellem snigskytten Mars og hen til Merkur er for mig et tydeligt tegn på, at to personer arbejdede sammen. Professionelle snigskytter arbejder ofte med en observatør, og fra et praktisk synspunkt fungerer det optimalt, når en anden person holder udkig, mens snigskytten koncentrerer sig om sit våben. Merkur er observatøren og styrer Mars, fordi den kender territoriet, mens Mars kender sit våben. Så hvad kendetegner egentlig forholdet mellem Merkur og Mars? Faktisk er Merkur kun lige netop trådt ind i Jomfruen, fordi den gik retrograd og befinder sig på 29 grader Jomfru i kvadrat til Saturn 29 grader Tvilling i en periode på 9 dage. På den ene side henviser Mars/Saturn til en meget frustreret person og på den anden siden skildrer den en meget tålmodig og omhyggelig type. Hvis det viser sig at John Allen Muhammad og hans ledsager er skyldige, så vil Malvo være Merkur. Hvorfor? For det første er han ung… 17 år, og har sandsynligvis lige forladt skolen. [De seneste nyheder mens jeg sidder og skriver viser, at snigskyttens riffel er fundet i deres bil, så deres skyld bliver nu mere presserende]. Merkur/Saturn aspektet viser en meget frustreret studerende. Dertil kommer, at han er fra Jamaica og bevæger sig over tegngrænsen mellem Jomfru og Vægt, hvilket tegner et tydeligt billede af én, der lige er ankommet fra et andet land. Det er mest nærliggende at Muhammad er Mars, da han er veteran fra Golfkrigen. Merkur i Jomfruen er sandsynligvis en lærling af Mars og jeg ville ikke være overrasket, hvis den unge Malvo selv udført nogle af mordene.

Forholdet mellem Mars og Merkur

Mens Merkur dvælede ved 29 Jomfru, bevægede Mars sig op for til sidst at gå i kvadrat til Saturn. Interessant nok mødtes Merkur og Mars ikke, men de gik begge i kvadrat til Saturn, hvilket er et klassisk eksempel på “samling af lys” (Collection of Light). Eller sagt på en anden måde: så er Saturn bindeleddet mellem Merkur og Mars. Retrograde Merkur bliver indprintet af Saturn, og senere kommer Mars forbi og samler beskeden op fra Saturn. Det kan betyde flere ting, men det er sandsynligt, at både Merkur og Mars – Malvo og Muhammad – relaterer til en tredje instans. Da det er en kvadrat, der skaber forbindelsen, så er det sandsynligvis hadet til autoriteter, der forener dem, hvis der ikke også er en tredje person.

Al Qaeda

Tidligere var der en del spekulation om hvorvidt Al Qaeda var involveret, og personligt følte jeg, at det var tilfældet. En mulig teori jeg tog op til overvejelse var, at Mars var snigskytten, som for nylig var blevet integreret i samfundet. Merkur spillede rollen som organisator, som dispositor over både Mars, Merkur og Saturn i kraft af dens herskerskab over Tvilling og Jomfru. Jeg så retrograde Merkur i Jomfruen som budbringeren, der leverer instruktioner til Mars på et opsamlingpunkt, uden at de faktisk mødtes. En mulig grund til at overveje al Qaeda var, at Merkur havde nået 13 grader Vægt, lige før den gik retrograd. Den 11. september 2001 befandt Merkur sig netop 14 grader Vægt, så det kunne henvise til en mulig forbindelse mellem angrebet på The World Trade Center og Washington snigskytten. Der eksisterer også andre overvejelsespunkter. På tidspunktet for det første mord som snigskytten begik, befandt Månen sig på 19 grader Løve. Hvilket er positionen for den berømte “Nostradamus” formørkelse i 1999, og ved angrebet på WTC var Venus netop på formørkelsespunktet 19 Løve. Samtidig var Merkur i trigon til Saturn i 9. hus ved WTC angrebet – ligesom det var kvadrat Saturn ved det først snigskyttermord – og jeg har altid forbundet Saturn med denne strategiske hjerne i udlandet. Merkurs retrograde cyklus er så kompleks. På tidspunktet for angrebet på WTC, var Merkur 14.17 Vægt og bevægede sig op til 29.41 Vægt, før den gik retrograd. Så vendte den tilbage for at gå direkte på den selv samme grad 14.12 Vægt. (Dette er graden, hvor USA’s Saturn i 10. hus, der repræsenterer Kongressen, befinder sig,.) Da Bush blev valgt ind kun 10 måneder før, er det bemærkelsesværdigt at Merkur var stationær direkte på netop 29.56 Vægt. Ved snigskytte mordet berører Merkur næsten Merkur positionen ved WTC angrebet for derefter at gå direkte 29 Jomfru, og om et år gentager cyklusen sig i baglæns forlængelse af sløjfen. Det er usandsynligt, at Muhammad er al Qaeda agent – det er vigtigt at huske, at Saturn mere repræsenterer en personlig affære snarere end en kollektiv. Men det er iøjnefaldende, at Muhammad konverterede til Islam 17 år tidligere og skiftede rent faktisk sit navn til Muhammad for blot et år siden. Jeg er helt sikker på, at han var i stand til at gennemføre mordene på en meget koldblodig måde, fordi han identificerer sig med undertrykte Muslimer, og på den måde handlede udfra en indre retfærdiggørelse.

USA’s horoskop

Det er værd at ligge mærke til de stærke forbindelser mellem horoskopet for snigskyttemordet og USA’s horoskop (Sibley). Romanticeringen af våbenbrug i den amerikanske cowboy myte bliver gennem Hollywood et symbol på Mars/Neptun kvadraten i USA’s horoskop. Sigende er det også, at Descendanten ved snigskyttemordet er 22 grader Jomfru, præcis i konjunktion med USA’s Neptun. Endvidere fandt angrebet sted lige netop, da Mars nåede dette punkt i en præcis kvadrat til USA’s Mars 21.23 Tvilling. Alle snigskytte mordene fandt sted med Saturn stationær retrograd på vej tilbage til Mars. Saturn er retrograd indtil 22. februar 2003, og går direkte 22.08 Tvilling, præcis på USA’s Mars og i kvadrat til USA’s Neptun.

Våbenkontrol

Det lader til, at visse ting bør tages op til revision med hensyn til amerikaners omgang med våben. En Saturn konjunktion på Mars kan være meget nyttig, når det drejer sig om våbenkontrol – en sådan begivenhed kommer kun forbi hvert 30 år. Da der er 200 millioner skydevåben i omløb i USA, ser det ud som om at en lovgivning, der havde til formål at begrænse tilgangen til våben, kunne ligge inden for rækkevidde. I øjeblikket kan enhver person over 18 købe et våben, og individets “rettigheder” ved våbenmarkeder medfører, at man ikke foretager nogen rutinecheck ved våbensalg. Over 10.000 mennesker myrdes hvert år i USA, ( Note 1. ) men det faktiske tal bliver meget større, når man medregner de mange mennesker, der hvert år dør på egne hånd med deres egne eller partnerens våben. Man skulle tro at sagen var åbenlys, men rent faktisk er den seneste lovgivning på området Brady Loven, der blev opkaldt efter Ronald Reagans pressesekretær, som blev krøbling i et mislykket attentat forsøg imod Reagan i 1981. Det tog syv år at føre lovgivningen ud i praksis, idet den skulle diskuteres i kongressen, og alt hvad den i sidste ende medførte var at checke kunders baggrund ved køb hos de officielle forhandlere (med ikke på våbenmarkeder).

NRA

Det er den nationale riffel sammenslutnings (NRA) højeste mål at bekæmpe alle former for våben begrænsning. ( Note 2 ). Foreningen blev dannet i november 1871 for at forbedre unge menneskes skydeevner, og horoskopet for kl.12.00 denne dag er et studie i sig selv.

03_nra

NRA 17.11.1871 12.00 (Solar)
Philadelphia 39N57 75W10

NRAs slogan er at “Retten til at bære våben skal ikke krænkes”, hvilket tydeligvis afspejles af Jupiter/Uranus konjunktionen – individets frihed. Læg mærke til den meget stærke Mars/Saturn konjunktion i Stenbukken (kvadrat Venus), og Solen i Skorpionen opposition Pluto, som også er halvkvadrat- og seisquikvdrat til Mars/Saturn… hvilket utvivlsomt må siges at være en meget morderisk kombination. Det er ikke vanskeligt at få øje på, hvorfor NRA er så stærkt integreret i den amerikanske psyke. Den Nordlige Måneknude på 22 grader Tvilling befinder sig lige på USA’s Mars og i kvadrat til Neptun. Som en afsluttende bemærkning til dette horoskop er det interessant at bemærke, at Venus tilsyneladende ser ganske fredelig ud på 9 grader Vægt. Men dette er netop stjernen Vindemiatrixs positionen, som kaldes for enke stjernen! Det er en meget sørgelig men utrolig kendsgerning, at Venus som enken er i kvadrat til Mars/Saturn konjunktionen. 10.000 dødsfald om året kan give en del enker og personer, der gør andre til enker. Muhammad og Malvo meldte sig ind i denne klub, og måske er det derfor at Solen ved det første snigskyttemord er præcis på denne grad, 9.32 Vægt – enkestjernen Vindemiatrix.

(Note 1).See National Rifle Association’s home page: http://www.nrahq.org/history.asp

Krigens skygger

Hvis man iagttager det astrogeografiske kort for USA (Sibley horoskopet), så er det iøjnefaldende, at Pluto-linjen falder på MC’et ved Bagdad. Eller sagt på en anden måde, så kanaliserer amerikanerne deres mørkeste projektioner over på den irakiske ledelse. Pluto symboliserer ofte noget, der nødvendigvis må fortrænges, elimineres eller fjernes, og tilsyneladende er det Saddam Husseins skæbne at blive genstand for USA’s dybeste angst. Set i dette lys er det nemmere at forstå Bush’s motivation for at fjerne ham fra magten.

Uhyrlig Hussein

Han er en perfekt kandidat til rollen. Da han var 15 år begik han sit første mord (Note 1.), og han gassede 5000 civile i marts 1988 i Halabja, og dræbte 180,000 kurdere i den berygtede Anfal operation. Han dræbte formodentlig sin sundhedsminister ved et møde og fortsatte mødet bagefter, mens liget lå i rummet ved siden af. Han er virkelig en mand, der ved hvordan man opretholder ro og orden til møder.

USA’s projektioner

Når transit Pluto rammer USA’s Ascendant i den aktuelle periode, opstår en fokus på terrorismen på den ene side og på den anden side opmærksomheden på Irak, som en del af Bush’s fjendebillede. I Sibley horoskopet er USA’s Ascendant halvkvadrat Pluto, hvilket vækker det amerikanske behov for at identificere en fjende, der altid ligger på lur. Når truslen bliver en dramatisk realitet som ved det kyniske angreb på World Trade Center med passager fly, så ser USA sig selv som værende i krig mod en ondskabsfuld fjende. Bush’s Sol er 13 grader Krebs, præcis samme grad som USA’s Sol, og derfor er det ikke vanskeligt at forestille sig, at han tog angrebet meget personligt. En Krebs hjem er hans borg og her blev hans stolteste bygninger destrueret. Amerikanerne mistede 3000 indbyggere indenfor en time og fandt sig selv i midten af et mareridts traume, et traume som europæerne kan have en tendens til at glemme.

Uhyrlig Hussein

På tidspunktet for terrorangrebet var USA’s progressive Sol i konjunktion med radix Måne i Vandbærer, hvilket førte til en for amerikanerne stærk identifikation med nationens sjæl. Den 11. september havde en stærk effekt på den amerikanske udenrigspolitik, idet den nye Bush doktrin formuleres som USA’s ret til at bruge de nødvendige midler overfor en potentiel og truende fjende, det være sig økonomiske, diplomatiske eller militære midler. Den nuværende amerikanske politik er at bekæmpe ethvert land, der forsøger at konkurrere militært, uanset om det er Rusland, Kina eller ethvert andet land. Sagt på en anden måde betyder det, at USA har proklameret sig selv som verdens eneste supermagt og styrer målrettet imod at anvende magt for at opretholde positionen. Velkommen til en ny verdensorden.

At kontrollere verden

Set i dette lys, er det en tilstrækkelig provokation at Saddam Hussein forsøger at fremstille atomvåben – en provokation der ifølge Amerika lige præcis retfærdiggør et angreb på Irak. Amerikanerne ønsker ikke endnu et overraskelsesangreb. Problemet er, at Pakistan er også et eksempel på et land, der er i besiddelse af atomare våben, og som samtidig kan sidestilles med Irak i form af et muslimsk diktatur – men Pakistan er (i øjeblikket) en allieret. Dertil kommer, at Kina har atomvåben og midlerne til at bruge dem interkontinentalt. Derudover var den 11. september et frygtindgydende eksempel på, hvor stor en destruktion der kan ske uden brug af atomare våben. Og truslen opstod i selve USA. Endvidere: forestillingen om at Irak vil anvende atomvåben og samtidig sikre deres egen undergang, holder simpelthen ikke vand.

Dobbeltmoral

Der er mange gode argumenter mod et angreb på Irak. Argumenter baseret på Irakisk negligering af FN våbeninspektion må også siges at være lidt tynd. De 11 år der er gået siden Golfkrigen, har efterladt et svækket Irak. Det kan næppe være en trussel mod nogen, selv ikke de nærmeste naboer. De selvsamme naboer har alle fordømt USA’s ytringer om et angreb, hvilket efterlader USA alene på scenen. På selv samme tid har Israel også overtrådt FN resolutionerne. Det er ganske klart at USA leder efter en undskyldning for krig.

USA i krig

I en tidligere artikel skrevet efter angrebet på Tvillingetårnene, skrev jeg “Alt tyder på at Amerika er i krig, og vil fortsat være det i mindst et år”. Årsagen til denne konklusion var, at transit Uranus befinder sig på USA’s Måne indtil januar 2003 og at formørkelsen i juni 2002 faldt i 20 grader Tvilling præcis på USA’s Mars – sammen med Saturn. Med den hurtige og forholdsvist succesfulde krig i Afghanistan, så det ud til at jeg tog fejl, men man kunne også forestille sig at det netop øgede appetitten efter mere krig hos administrative krigsørne som Donald Rumsfeld og Dick Cheney. Forsvarsministeren Donald Rumsfeld har Solen i Krebs i konjunktion med Pluto og kvadrat Uranus, en konstellation det ikke er klogt at stille sig i vejen for. Der eksisterer ikke megen nåde her, snarere et stærkt behov for hævn. Situationen i Afghanistan fejede skeptikere af banen og beviste effektiviteten i den amerikanske krigsmaskine, hvilket muligvis vil nære forestillingen om et lignende kollaps i Irak.

Er en krig med Irak uundgåelig?

Det efterlader spørgsmålet om hvorvidt USA vil angribe Irak og vil de få succes med at “fjerne” Saddam fra magten. Jeg tror at svaret på begge spørgsmål er ja. Der er flere vigtige irakiske horoskoper og én af de tidligste er for kongedømmet Irak, som kunstigt blev skabt, da England forlod territoriet i 1921.

Se horoskop for Iraks kongeri

I marts 2005 har Irak fuldendt sin Uranus runde siden fødslen af staten, og det kunne tyde på en revolutionær forandring på det givne tidspunkt. Dertil kommer, at horoskopet viser en eksakt Sol/Merkur konjunktion i 29 Løve, der symboliserer Iraks leder og hans regering. Uranus er i opposition til dette punkt i marts, september og december 2003, hvilket kunne være en stærk indikation på et bombeangreb rettet mod ledelsen. Jupiter/Neptun oppositionen falder på Iraks Mars i denne periode og kunne motivere Saddam Hussein til overmod og blind tro på sig selv i en eventuel provokation af USA. På samme tid vil Jupiter have nået til en fuld cyklus siden Golfkrigen i 1991.

Husseins fald

Det er indikationer på, at han vil blive forrådt indefra (Neptun transit i opposition til Mars i 12. hus), så det er muligt at den nationale garde vil sætte sig op imod ham. I 1991 gik Mars retrograd og passerede Iraks MC tre gange i optakten til Golfkrigen, ligesom den går retrograd i 2003 og krydser Iraks Descendant to gange. Da angrebet kom fra oven i 1991, vil det komme fra landsiden i 2003. Med en formørkelse på USA’s Uranus ved udgangen af maj 2003, kunne et angreb fra land sætte ind i midten af juni, når Mars passerer Iraks Descendant for første gang.

Februar – krisetid

De første indledende angreb vil sandsynligvis finde sted, når Saturn går direkte den 22. februar 2003 i 22 grader Tvilling, indenfor en halv grads afstand fra USA’s Mars. Når Saturn er stationær henviser det til den militære oprustning, der vil være parat til angreb i februar. Kun to dage tidligere er Mars i Skytten i opposition til Saturn, hvilket udløser USAs Mars/Neptun kvadrat. Pluto vil være 19 grader Skytte og danner en eksakt opposition til formørkelsespunktet fra juni 2002. Hvis man iagttager fuldmånen i februar 2003, med dens aktivering af Uranus og i opposition til Iraks Sol/Merkur er den alvorlige situation åbenbar.

Den irakiske republik

Se horoskop for den irakiske republik

Den nuværende Irakiske republik blev dannet ved et militært kup i 1958. I dette horoskop er Ascendanten 14 Løve og aktiveres af Jupiter/Neptun oppositionen i 2003. Yderligere faresignaler er Måne/Venus konjunktionen i 19-20 Tvilling i opposition til Saturn 20 Skytte, og det er netop her at Mars/Pluto konjunktionen befinder sig i Februar 2003. Det tegner et billede af stor lidelse for befolkningen i løbet af året, men fjerner måske byrden af undertrykkelse, specielt hvad der angår kvinder og børn. Horoskopet indikerer Iraks tendens til at komme i krig, med Mars i Vædder på sydlige måneknude, i opposition til Jupiter og nordlige måneknude og samtidig i kvadrat til Solen. Progressive MC befinder sig i øjeblikket på Venus/Saturn oppositionen, og fortæller om det enorme pres Irak oplever lige nu.

Forberedelsens tid

Saturn går retrograd i oktober i år og vil være stationær på USA’s Mars i februar 2003. På den ene side kan det tolkes som en periode med begrænsninger og selfkontrol, men på den anden side som en tid med militær oprustning. USA har ikke råd til at være dårligt forberedt, hvis Irak stiller sig i vejen for FN’s våbeninspektører, så de forbereder sig på at gribe ind. Hvad konsekvenserne bliver, vil i høj grad bero på de beslutninger som George Bush træffer.

Bush og krig

Når man betragter Bushs horoksop på tidspunktet for terrorangrebet på New York, så var hans progressive Ascendant i kvadrat til radix Uranus, hvilket synes at bekræfte korrektheden af hans fødselstidspunkt. I øjeblikket er hans progressive MC i trigon til Jupiter, hvilket giver ham stor popularitet, og i 2003 kommer progressiv MC i konjunktion med Uranus. Med det internationale samfunds støtte vil han fuldende det arbejde, hans far påbegyndte, ved at lade bomberne falde. Med Bush’s horoskop ser det ud til at en sejr vil være uundgåelig. Han har Venus i første hus i sekstil til Uranus/Nordlige Måneknude i Tvilling på den ene side og Måne/Jupiter konjunktionen i Vægt på den anden side.

Internationale studehandler

Hvem vil begræde tabet af Iraks brutale diktator? Putin forfølger lykkeligt væksten i Rusland. Han har fået klar besked fra Bush om ikke at stå i vejen for et amerikansk våbeneventyr, men har tegnet lukrative oliekontrakter med USA. Til gengæld vil man ikke høre mange amerikanske eller europæiske beklagelser om russernes fremfærd i Chechnya i den kommende periode. Dick Cheney vil være et helt andet sted langt borte fra opmærksomheden omkring finansiel skandale. Bush vil ride på en bølge af popularitet.

Konsekvenser

Dér hvor prisen skal betales – hvis krigsscenarioet udvikler sig – er i forbindelse med en svækkelse af FN, som kunne opfattes som USA’s forlængede arm, i den amerikanske økonomi, og ved en underminering af Tony Blair i England. FN har Månen 22.37 Tvilling i konjunktion med Uranus 17.02 Tvilling, hvilket indikerer den smeltedigel af nationale identiteter, der udgør dets medlemmer. Når transit Saturn går i konjunktion med denne grad i Tvilling og aktiverer USA’s Mars samtidig, vil det symbolisere Bush’s damptromle metoder og hele organisationen vil være under pres. Når Pluto senere går i opposition til Månen, er der fare for total splittelse. Pax Amerika er ikke sundt for FN.

Tony Blair, olie og verdensøkonomien

Med hensuyn til Blair vil transit Neptun i den kommende tid komme i konjunktion med hans Måne på 11 Vandbærer og kvadrat hans Sol på 15 Tyr. Det vil få konsekvenser for hans autoritet, popularitet og for den britisk økonomi. De konservative får en uventet chance til at udfordre hans førhen så sikre position. Ydermere er det sandsynligt, at en krise i Mellemøsten vil skrue oliepriserne i vejret og påvirke både amerikansk økonomi såvel som verdensøkonomien. Hvis det kommer til en krig, er det sandsynligt at Bush vil vinde og Saddam Hussein blive fjernet.

Men økonomiske omstændigheder vil udvikle sig ugunstigt for Bush og påvirke hans popularitet, efter at fjendtlighederne er indstillet. Når Saturn skifter til Krebs og går i konjunktion med både Bush’s og USA’s Sole i 2004, symboliserer det en svær tid for landet, ligesom det var en problematisk periode sidste gang Saturn var her efter Vietnamkrigen og Nixons afgang. USA vil blive konfronteret med at skulle administrere et kaotisk Irak samt omkostningerne ved den militære indsats. Når Pluto går i opposition til USA’s Mars i 2004, vil det amerikanske militær blive udsat for kritik, hvilket en ny præsident vil løse med konsekvente nedskæringer, specielt i marinen.

Det er unødvendigt at sige, at det ikke vil være en republikansk præsident.

Note 1. Quote from Hamid Ali Alkifaey from The Independent 19.09.2002
Note 2. All country data from Book of World horoscopes by Nick Campion.

Den Elektriske fisk

De første billeder af Gud udkommer? Det første TV show med en robot som vært? (Tag patent på den ide). Genoplivelse af elektrochok som terapi? International politik styret af hvaler? (Det stemmer jeg på). Når Uranus træder ind i Fiskene den 10. marts 2003, vil det få fantastiske konsekvenser for den menneskelige fantasi. Man kunne ønske sig at det skabte større frihed og bevægelighed i samfundet, med udgangspunkt i en dybere medfølelse og social bevidsthed som den centrale faktor.

Sidst gang i Fisk – 1919

Desværre kan den historiske cyklus ikke rigtig bekræfte dette, for 84 år tilbage da Uranus trådte ind i fiskene den 1. april 1919, blev spiritusforbuddet i USA en realitet. Det blev forbudt at fremstille, sælge, importere og eksportere berusende drikkevarer. Loven blev ikke ophævet før i 1933 og i mellemtiden morede folk sig med at drikke – og bryde loven samtidig. Tiderne var gunstige for mafiaen og filmindustrien, og Uranus i Fiskene gjorde sig umage for at omkranse alkohol med et magisk skær.

Fængsler

Uforudsigelige outsidere i fængsel kunne blive et andet tema. Hitler blev fængslet i 1923 for sit mislykkede statskup og blev løsladt 18 måneder senere efter at Mein Kampf var blevet til. Da Uranus trådte ind i Vædderen var han godt på vej til sin rolle som leder/Feuhrer. Måske burde vi iagttage hvem vi sætter i fængsel over de næste syv år, især når man tager højde for gentagelsen af Uranus i Vædder i kvadrat til Pluto, som det var tilfældet i begyndelsen af 30erne og som atter bliver aktuel fra 2010 til 2014.

Filmverden

I 1920erne voksede filmindustrien op til at blive en glorværdig og strålende forretning, og den deraf følgende idealisering af filmstjerner nåede nye højder. Det første eksempel på massehysteri var ved begravelsen af Rudolph Valentino den 23. august 1926, og et blad udtrykte det således: “Selvom hans øjne blinkede af sorg og bitterhed, så fik folk øje på en drøm de ellers aldrig så”. Hvilket fanger budskabet fra Uranus i Fiskene ganske godt. Uranus var i de sidste grader af Fiskene på det tidspunkt og Sol konjunktion Neptun, i opposition til Jupiter i Vandbæreren. Rudolph Valentinos begravelse blev en enorm offentlig begivenhed. Det er rimeligt at antage, at visuelle repræsentationer på film, i biografer og i spil vil nå de samme højder som i de brølende 20ere. (Stumfilm forsvandt da Uranus forlod Fiskene og publikum behøvede ikke længere at forstille ordene bag de følelser, der så tydeligt blev udtrykt på lærredet).

Minority Report

Film producere der har fingeren på pulsen, har allerede fået færten af overgangen fra Uranus i Vandbærer til Uranus i Fiskene, og sætter billeder til visionerne af hvad der kommer til at foregå i den kollektive sfære på et imaginært niveau. En sådan film er Minority Report , produceret af Steven Spielberg og baseret på en Phillip Dick science fiktion historie (ligesom Ridley Scotts klassiske film Blade Runner ) og hovedtemaet i filmen er brugen af clairvoyante, der kan forudsige mord, før de finder sted i virkeligheden.

New York – År 2054

Vi befinder os i året 2054 og de clairvoyante befinder sig i New York under politiets varetægt afsondret fra omverdenen i en vandtank, der nøje bliver fyldt med en bevidsthedsfremmende cocktail af stoffer. Den øverste politichef Anderton (Tom Cruise) modtager billeder fra de clairvoyante, som han placerer på transparente storskærme med frit svævende håndbevægelser, og stemmeaktivering, hvilket syntes at være en total frigørelse fra mus og tastatur, i en visionært kropslig verden, hvor menneske og computere har indgået et endnu mere intimt samarbejde. De clairvoyantes evne til at forudsige mord syntes at være ufejlbarlige, indtil Anderton ser sit eget navn dukke op blandt de billeder han er i gang med at sortere.

Overvågning

Han stikker af igennem en fantastisk 3D verden, hvor overlegne overvågningsteknikker har nået højder, som politiet kun kan drømme om i dag. Ved hjælp af strategisk placerede scannere har irisgenkendelse erstattet identitetspapirer, så chancen for at stikke af uden at blive genkendt er forsvindende lille, i særdeleshed fordi de statslige magter kan overtage styring af personlige køretøjer hvis nødvendigt. Når en kriminel (eller en potentiel kriminel – forbrydelse er ikke begået endnu) bliver fanget, placeres en “glorie” eller næsten bibelsk lidelelseskrone på hans hoved, der forsyner ham med stoffer. Det sikrer, at han forbliver i sin egen døs i en smal lodret glaskiste omhyggeligt overvåget af teknologi, der kan læse hans ubevidste. Vi er i et filmfængsel, der giver sit bud på Uranus i Fiskenes symbolverden.

Sidst gang i Fisk – 1919

Når Uranus bevæger sig ind i Fiskene i marts 2003, kan den ikke adskilles fra Saturn og de skaber sammen en serie af trigoner. Først fra Saturn i Tvilling til Uranus i Vandbærer og herefter fra Saturn i Krebs til Uranus i Fiskene.

Se graf for planetbevægelsen

Interessant nok har Saturn/Uranus trigoner, der finder sted inden for en den 46-årige Saturn/Uranus konjunktionscyklus hver 15. år, en tendens til at finde sted hen over tegngrænserne 50 % af tiden. For eksempel fra 1926-1927 fandt Saturn/Uranus trigonen sted først fra Skorpion til Fisk og derefter fra Skytte til Vædder, ligesom trigonen fra 1956-1957 startede i Krebs/Skorpion og derefter fortsatte i Løve/Skytte. Disse transitter henover tegngrænserne markerer store forandringer i samfundet, hvorpå man bygger en bro, der funderes på opfindsomme Uranus og konstruktive Saturn, hvilket fører vores åndelige trafik fra en tidsalder til en anden. Det bringer store forandringer i den kollektive menneskelige bevidsthed.

Konjunktionens frø

Dertil kommer at Saturn/Uranus trigonen vil relatere tilbage i tiden til den tidligere konjunktion og frigøre en kreativ og harmonisk manifestation af de frø, der blev sået, da konjunktionen fandt sted. Ved Saturn/Uranus konjunktionen i 1896-7 i Skorpionen for eksempel, opfandt den tyske fysiker Braun et cathode-ray apparat, som var istand til at registrere signaler på en skærm. Ved trigonen i 1926 havde den engelske fysiker Baird succes med at demonstrere sin nye opfindelse – fjernsynet.

Fjernsyn og biler

De nyskabelser og opfindelser der kommer til syne ved Uranus/Saturn konjunktionen har ofte en dybtgående effekt på samfundet. For eksempel fandt den første (ubemandede) flyvetur sted i 1896, den første offentlige filmfremvisning fandt sted, den første underjordiske metro startede (i Ungarn) og den første bil blev solgt i USA – alt sammen ved konjunktionen i Skorpionen. De første tiltag og opfindelser bliver ofte fuldstændigt latterliggjorte i deres samtid. For eksempel vakte foreslaget om at biler en gang ville blive det fortrukne transportmiddel i stedet for toge, stor latter blandt politikerne i det engelske parlament i 1896.

Perestroika

Hvad der i særdeleshed karakteriserede Saturn/Uranus konjunktionen i Skytte/Stenbuk overgangen fra 1987-1988, var den ekstraordinære frigørelse, der fandt sted i Sovjetunionen (Perestroika), hvilket blev cementeret af møder mellem Reagan og Gorbatchev. Det sovjetiske regering på det pågældende tidspunkt definerede Perestrokia som “det endelige opgør med stagnationen og destruktionen af den eksisterende bremsemekanismer…” hvilket må siges at være en tydelig beskrivelse af hvad der sker, når Saturn møder Uranus i slutningen af sin 46-årige cyklus. (De frigørende kræfter vinder nødvendigvis ikke over de undertrykkende. Se blot på Tien An Men massakren i Kina i 1989 og nedkæmpelsen af studenteroprøret i Burma i samme periode.)

Sidst gang i Fisk – 1919

Vi kan forvente at den første trigon konsoliderer og yderligere frigør Putins Rusland, med stor teknologisk udvikling og materiel vækst. Det er også sandsynligt at forholdet mellem USA og Ruland vil udvikle sig yderligere harmonisk i perioden 2003-2004. Når Uranus bevæger sig fra Vandbærer til Fisk, kan vi forvente et skift fra det rationelle og verbale udtryk, til det mere emotionelle og visuelle. Siden Uranus trådte ind i Vandbæreren, har mange mennesker trådt ind i en verden af Internet, intranet og mobiltelefoner, men når Uranus sætter eftertryk på Fiskene, vil der fremkomme en magtfuld visuel tilslutning og kommunikation.

Visuelle medier

Behovet for altid at være på og altid tilgængelig for omverdenen, vil undergå et karakterskifte. Kommunikationen vil udvikle sig fra at være verbalt fokuseret til at udtrykke sig gennem video og billedmedier, samtidig med at et stigende behov for at være mere privat og tilbagetrukket bliver tilgodeset i den nye teknologiske udvikling. Der bliver sørget for det individuelle private univers, ved at det bliver muligt at foretage individuelle TV valg, i stedet for de traditionelle kollektive udsendelser. Perioden vil inspirere til en enorm blomstring af de visuelle kunstretninger, hvor flere mennesker får mulighed for at blive deres egne filmdirektører, med digital video og Internettet som redskaber.

Miljøet

Den intellektuelle fokus der har præget beslutningsprocesserne i samfundet, mens Saturn var i Tvilling og Uranus i Vandbærer, vil blive erstattet af en omsorgsfuld økologisk ånd, der lover godt for miljøet. Samtidig er det muligt at – i den mere negative kategori – Uranus i Fiskene vil bringe eksplosive forureningsager på banen, og at olietankere og olieraffinaderier kan blive mål for terroraktioner, således at nye beskyttelsesmekanismer må iværksættes.(Bedst at gøre det nu!) Man kan heller ikke undervurdere farerne fra gas og bakterielle angreb eller ulykker. Den tredje verden vil komme højere op på dagsordenen, samtidigt med at humanitære organisationer får større indflydelse.

Vandtegnstrigoner

Ideelt set rummer Saturn/Uranus trigonen fra Krebs til Fisk potentialet til at fokusere på hjælp til de underprivilegerede. Dertil kommer, at trigoner i Vandtegn sjældent leverer den harmoni og glæde som astrologistuderende muligvis forventer. Begivenheder fulde af sorg vækker vores medfølelse og disse hændelser kan for eksempel være oversvømmelser, tidevandsbølger eller katastrofer i vand, der får os til at sympatisere med ofrene. Hvis Bush junior vælger at følge i sin fars fodspor ved at erklære krig imod Irak, vil den offentlige bekymring og medfølelse omkring menneskelige tab og økologiske konsekvenser nå meget større højder end, da Uranus og Saturn var i lufttegn.

Hvor pengene er

De forudseende personer investerede i Dot Com navne før Uranus trådte ind i Vandbæreren i maj 1995. Tilsvarende vil nogle mennesker med fin fornemmelse allerede have fanget bølgen langt ude på havet, som bringer bud om Uranus i Fiskene. Måske vil det være værd at se nærmere på et filmselskab som Dream Worksskabt af Steven Spielberg, Jeffrey Katzenburg og David Geffen i oktober 1994 (samtidig med Uranus/Neptun konjunktionen.) Med aktier til en værdi af $27 her i august 2002, vil det være interessant at følge prisudviklingen, når Uranus forlader Fiskene i 2010. Selskaber der arbejder med billeder og fantasi vil få fremgang, alt imens nye banebrydende reklamekoncepter bliver udviklet. Ny avanceret medicin, kontroversielle sikkerheds foranstaltninger for fanger som f.eks. elektroniske armbånd, vandtransport og hydraulik, kemikalier og nye former for elektriske generatorer vil sandsynligvis se dagens lys på dette tidspunkt.

Gensidig reception

Når Uranus træder ind i Fiskene vil den være i gensidig reception med Neptun i Vandbæreren og det vil fortsætte, indtil Neptun går i Fiskene i 2011. Princippet omkring reception handler om gæstfrihed, mens Neptun er i Uranus’ hjem og omvendt, vil de få større udbytte end problemer i det pågældende hjem. De ulemper der eksisterer for Neptun ved at være i Uranus tegn, vil blive mildnet når Uranus flytter ind i Neptuns hjemland. Princippet omkring udveksling vil finde sted, ligesom studenter der besøger hinandens universiteter eller princippet omkring det at bytte hjem i forbindelse med ferie. Uranus vil bringe opfindsomhed sammen med fantasi, mens Neptun bringer forestillingsevne sammen med opfindsomhed. Uranus i Fiskene vil sætte den tredje verden på dagsordenen i de rige industrialiserede samfund og det er en oplagt mulighed, at de idealistiske principper bliver et trend. Dette frugtbare møde imellem det “primitive” og det “avancerede” vil blive helt utroligt.

Med en smule held vil vi se i den første dekade af det 21 århundrede den samme form for idealistiske ånd, som de sene 60ere bar præg af.

Strength & Weakness – How to handle them

In modern “democratic” society it is politically incorrect to differentiate between people and their potential. Everyone has the chance to be someone, even if they come from humble beginnings. Bill Clinton proved that natural talent can sweep away obstacles, (though George W Bush also proves that being born privileged certainly does not get in the way of success.) Much of the political development since the discovery of Uranus in 1781 has been geared to a leveling process that is designed, in theory at least, to give equal opportunity for all. Similarly, politically correct astrology as taught in much 20th century literature has emphasized equality of opportunity via the horoscope, whatever the planetary strengths and weaknesses. In this light, hard aspects have been viewed as opportunities, bringing character strength through overcoming difficulties, whilst there has been a view that soft aspects can encourage laziness and self-satisfaction.The Good and the Bad

This was hardly the view of astrological tradition, which simply classed Mars and Saturn, for example, as malefics, and Venus and Jupiter as benefics , and saw soft aspects as “good” and bad aspects as no less than “evil”. This change of view has taken place with the discovery of the outer planets. Pluto in particular has brought a new consciousness which forces people to confront their own demons, rather than projecting them on the outer world, making possible an inner transformation process which brings consciousness growth. This psychological view gives a dynamic approach to the problems inherent in difficult aspects and weakly placed planets, empowering people to create change.

Horary Astrology

However, whilst the idea that planets can perform equally well no matter where they are placed can be an empowering view when working with clients, practitioners will be led astray if they apply this view unilaterally in their practice. They will simply not be able to make clear judgements about what to do and what not to do, and therefore their advice will be obscured by a fog of vagueness and generality. Nowhere is this more apparent than in the everyday assessment of trends in society using the astrology of planetary placement and movement here and now. Many of the principles of a “here and now” astrology are enshrined in traditional horary astrology, and these principles can usefully be applied to personal and mundane astrology today. Planets have a particular character dependent on the sign they are placed in, and when making a judgement on any course of action, it is crucial to differentiate between signs.

Rulership

The first clear guideline is that a planet is strong when it is placed in the sign it rules. This sign is its own territory, and other planets must enter this territory with due respect. When a planet returns to the sign (or signs) it rules, it is free to express its true nature in its purest form, just as you would do after a long day at work. You open the door to your home, enter and throw yourself on the sofa with a cup of tea and some nice music. Should another planet now enter the sign, it is as if someone rings on the doorbell. You may invite them in, but they had better be on their best behavior. You can decide how much you will put up with, and the visitor would be foolish to start bossing you around.

Affinity

Of course, planets have affinities for each other, so if Mars was at home in Aries, and Jupiter knocked on the door, then it would be with excitement and exhilaration that Jupiter would be welcomed. But if Saturn happened to be passing through, Mars would groan and open the door, but only out of a sense of duty. Nevertheless, even though Saturn might behave like a Jehovah’s witness laying down the law, Mars would still be in much the stronger position. Likewise, planets have natural attractions, which are based on sign rulership polarities, such that Venus, Jupiter and Sun/Moon are natural partners to Mars, Mercury and Saturn respectively. These planets can be both adversaries and partners. Certainly, if Venus should knock on the door of Mars in Aries, she would be entering dangerous territory, but the attraction would be strong and she could scarcely get through Aries without a dramatic affair developing.

Detriment

The first guideline of planetary strength – that a planet is supreme in the sign it rules – leads to the next: that a planet is weak in the sign opposite to that which it rules. Far from home, and with lines of supply fully stretched, the resources of the planet in detriment are at low ebb. Herein lies the opening for guidance. The client with a planet in detriment must act accordingly, and not pretend anything else. It would be foolish for the Sun in Aquarius in the 10th to try and force through dictatorial policies. He can only rule with the consensus of the group. Similarly it would be unwise for a Venus in Aries in the 7th house to try and push the partner around. She is on foreign ground, and though her nature is to lead and take the initiative, this should not lead to her thinking she had the power. She might find the freedom she fights tooth and nail for – but it would be without the partner she also needs.

Venus in Trouble

See graph for Venus in Scorpio

December 2002 presents a typical scenario in which understanding planetary strength is crucial. Venus entered Scorpio on September 8, 2002 and went retrograde at 15 Scorpio on October 10. On November 21 Venus goes direct at 0 degrees Scorpio, finally leaving Scorpio – the sign of her detriment – on January 7, exhausted and psychologically raw. This can be compared to a sensitive opera singer being forced to perform in a London pub full of testosterone-charged men for four months. Avid newsreaders will have noted the many financial scandals and general doom in the financial markets at this time, as Venus, which traditionally rules finances, struggles through.

False Memory Syndrome

At the time of writing, as Venus becomes stationary, one news story illustrates exactly the dilemma of Venus in Scorpio. The story is of a young woman who has not talked to her parents for 10 years because she “discovered” during hypnotherapy that her father had had an incestuous relationship with her. As Venus reaches the end of its backward journey, she confesses publicly that the incest was imagined (Venus had squared Jupiter in Leo and Neptune in Aquarius – which is stiluatiing for all-encompassing fantasies) and she asks her parents to accept her back, which they forgivingly do. This long period in exile from her family is typical of a planet in detriment. Indeed, such a placement often shows exiled people. Of course the retrograde movement through Scorpio shows the taboo and sexual nature of the story, as well as the emotional catharsis of the family, in what proved to be a long exhaustive investigation of the past.

Meeting the Monster

Venus will feel uncomfortable as long as she is in Scorpio. She has entered a mysteriously empty cave in which shadows play in the half-light. When Mars enters Scorpio on December 1, 2002, the cave dweller returns, and can hardly believe his eyes. Venus has lingered tantalizingly on the threshold (zero degrees for two whole weeks) as Mars falters through the sign of his exile Libra. When he returns, Venus will probably find she gets more than she bargained for. December is a month of sexual fixations, all-consuming jealousy, control and coercion. It is curious to note that Mars gets within 50 minutes of arc of Venus (as both square Neptune) but she gradually picks up speed. It’s a bit like one of those dreams where the pursuer just manages to get hold of the trailing hem of the fleeing beauty’s dress… she may escape, but she will be unclothed.

Exaltation and Fall

Another important consideration regarding planetary strength is the concept of exaltation and fall, the roots of which seem lost in tradition. The idea of exaltation is that the planet is like an honored guest. Of course, if an important community leader came into your home, you would make a great effort to impress. You might ordinarily eat meatballs and boiled potatoes, but for your honored guest you would serve the very best meat and wine, and arrange a party in his honor. Similarly, the guest would be on his best behavior, and would hide his weaknesses and just display his strengths. The traditional exaltations are Mars in Capricorn, Venus in Pisces, Mercury in Virgo, Sun in Aries, Moon in Taurus, Jupiter in Cancer and Saturn in Libra. Just as exaltation leads to the finest expression of a planet, when a planet is placed in the opposite sign to its exaltation, it is said to be in fall – and fall is an ignominious place to be. It truly is the lowest of the low, an incredibly weak position in which the person in question is gravely compromised. Mars is in fall in Cancer, Venus in Virgo, Mercury in Pisces, Sun in Libra, Moon in Scorpio, Jupiter in Capricorn and Saturn in Aries.

Horary > Natal

It might seem unfashionable to classify planetary strength according to arcane rules, but daily work with the astrology of the moment, (for example using the consultation chart for the client’s arrival) seems to confirm the validity of the approach. The question arises as to whether judgement can be made according to this yardstick in natal astrology, and if yes, how one can prevent such judgement from being disempowering. I personally have Jupiter in Capricorn in the 4th house, and spent the years from 12 to 17 in a typically oppressive English boarding school. I have vivid memories of the housemaster bending his cane between his pudgy hands and saying in all seriousness to me “Duncan, I want you to think of me as your father”. Sigh… planets in fall.

What is “Good”?

Planets strong in sign are able to express themselves freely, but this does not necessarily mean that they are “good” in the traditional sense. For example, Ariel Sharon has Mars exalted in Capricorn – he’s a great general and an effective politician, but he is also a ruthless man. Mars’ brief has nothing to do with compassion, and everything to do with getting a job done. Similarly, Jupiter is wonderfully placed in Cancer, and its position there in the US chart testifies to a welcoming and generous country. But Jupiter expands everything to do with the country including its appetite, which may account for the prevalence of gas-guzzling vehicles and general over-consumption. Nevertheless, having many planets placed strongly can be a great advantage, because they give a natural dignity that evokes respect. Even Saturn changes character when it is in Libra, Capricorn and Aquarius, and manifest with great fairness and little oppression. Sean Connery manages very well, despite having Saturn rising, perhaps because it is in Capricorn. Mind you, with Jupiter in Cancer and Venus in Libra he has a lot going for him. Bill Clinton also has his Ascendant ruler, Venus, in the first house, which undoubtedly contributed to his popularity. OK, he also had Mars in Libra (detriment), and conjunction Neptune, which Monica Lewinsky could, and did, testify to.

The 20th century also led to the integration of Uranus, Neptune and Pluto into the planetary pantheons, and their corresponding rulership of Aquarius, Pisces and Scorpio respectively. Whilst I am sure this assigned rulership has validity, it would be a mistake to ignore the significance of Saturn, Jupiter and Mars as co-rulers of these signs. The outer planets will always represent collective forces in society rather than human characteristics – and it will be the traditional rulers in mundane, horary and personal astrology, which truly describe the character of the person or object in question. From a spiritual and psychological point of view, it may not matter where a planet is placed, because the planet, its placement and its aspects will in the last analysis simply represent material to be worked on in the process of personal growth. If I had had Jupiter in Cancer, I may have had more than my fair share of happiness, but then I might also be fat.

Adrian Duncan 18th November, 2002

Sharon and Arafat: Nemesis

The Israelis know what it is like to be faced with overwhelming power, with little means of resistance. On April 19 1943, a young 23-year-old, Mordecai Anielewicz, issued a proclamation calling for the Jewish people in Warsaw to resist being sent to death camps. With just a few weapons, 750 fighters kept the might of the German army at bay for nearly a month in the Warsaw Uprising before being overwhelmed… a mythic feat, which has gone over into Jewish history.Jenin

The resistance of Palestinian fighters in Jenin was scarcely as magnificent, though it will certainly be the stuff of myths for the Palestinian people in the years to come. The slaughter and secret disposal of the bodies of hundreds of fighters and civilians by the Israeli army is not of the same magnitude of what happened in Warsaw. When the Jewish fighters were finally overwhelmed. 56,000 Jews were captured and 7,000 shot on the spot, with the remainder deported to concentration camps. The Warsaw ghetto was totally flattened by shells and bombs, but in Jenin, only the central swathes of the refugee camp were completely flattened – though bulldozed sometimes with whole families still within (Note 1)

Later comment:
The United Nations issued a report into the Israeli incursions, which concluded that no widespread killings had occurred. (But Amnesty International points out that as UN officials did not actually visit Jenin, the report was no substitute for a thorough and impartial investigation. While early Palestinian claims that hundreds of people were massacred have now been discounted, Amnesty believes that over 50 Palestinians were killed in the fighting in Jenin, and at least another 80 in Nablus, many of them civilians. Women and children were among the dead.)

The Israeli People

Israel’s chart shows Libra rising, with its ruler Venus in Cancer, which is quite a soft and kind influence, with strong values about home and family. This Venus position is exactly the same as the USA’s Venus position, and shows the strong transatlantic bonds, not least financial, between the two countries. They are a kind and generous people. By no means all Israelis are happy about current developments in their homeland. One Israeli helicopter gunship pilot refused direct orders to fire a missile at a Palestinian house because of the risk of civilian loss of life. (Note 2). There has been widespread condemnation of the use of such gunships within Israel, as well as of firing on ambulances, preventing medical help and access by red cross organizations in series of actions by Israel, which contravene international regulations. A group of Israeli officers have formed an organization, which refuses to do duty on Palestinian territory, and Israeli peace organizations lobby hard against their right-wing government, but the fact remains that 70% of Israelis support Sharon in his attempt to root out terrorism.

Axis of Evil

This is a period in which communication seems crippled, with the extraordinary demonization of enemies. The declaration by George Bush against the “axis of evil” could hardly be a better testimony to the power of the current Saturn/Pluto opposition. It fell last year at 12 and 13 degrees Gemini/Sagittarius, right on the USA’s (Sibley) Ascendant. The USA – and specifically the people of New York, whose twin towers collapsed into dust on September 11th 2001 – has reacted by declaring a war on terror. And Sharon seized the opportunity to declare his own war on terror. This war is the war between Saturn and Pluto. One represents the established power of the state (and its business aspects – Gemini), the other the power of terror, the suicide bomber, the religious fanatic. As is always the case with Pluto, it has the power to create vast upheaval quite out of proportion to its size. Witness the atom bomb.

State Terror

Pluto is also the planet of the disempowered, who use every available method to ensure continued existence. However hard you try, you cannot eliminate Pluto. The forces used to destroy Pluto are the forces of Pluto itself, which then grows in power. Perhaps that is why it becomes increasing difficult to distinguish between the terror “out there” and State terror. This is the paradox of the current situation, which is starkly expressed in the Sharon/Arafat power battle. What seemed a simple equation with the USA versus bin Laden crusade, seems more complicated in Israel. The more Sharon tries to humiliate and crush Arafat, with the mighty display of force and the besiegement and destruction of Arafat’s compound, the more sympathy – and therefore strength – Arafat gains. As usual, Sharon is winning the battle, but losing the war. The damage to Israel is vast. As Gerald Kaufman, the veteran Labour MP who is Britain’s most prominent Jewish parliamentarian says: “It is time to remind Sharon that the Star of David belongs to all Jews and not to his repulsive government. His actions are staining the Star of David with blood.”

The May Planetary Lineup

The astrology of the current situation in the Middle East is not designed for negotiation or peace. Looking at the graph of the third and final Saturn/Pluto opposition, it can be seen how the Moon’s nodes retrograde to trigger eclipses, with the major one on June 10th falling at 19.54 Gemini on USA’s Mars (21.29 Gemini). All this is triggered by Mars and Venus, which also transit Gemini in May, bringing total communication breakdown, but at the same time enormous international pressure for dialogue. It looks dire for the USA, whose ignominious behavior is crowned at the time of writing by Powell’s failed mission. Whilst Israel busies itself with concealing civilian casualties in Jenin – Bush says the Palestinian Authority “must act on its words of condemnation against terror” and calls on Arab states “to step up to their responsibilities”. (Note 4) The rage against Bush – not just in the Arab world, but also in Europe – is palpable. It’s obvious that the current Intifada was provoked by Sharon himself, with his visit to the Temple Mount in 2000, and his policy of encouraging settlements on Palestinian land in a strategy of occupation and encirclement.

Sharon – the General

See chart of Ariel Sharon

With Aries rising close to his Jupiter/Uranus conjunction, Ariel Sharon is a man who believes in action. Apparently his nickname is “the Bulldozer” for his ability to crush the enemy. With Ascendant ruler Mars exalted in Capricorn he is an excellent strategist, and the sextile to Uranus shows his ability for unpredictable, surprise moves. To understand the brutality of Sharon, it is necessary to look at his 7th harmonic chart, where the natal Uranus at the midpoint of Pluto/Saturn configures with Sun, Moon and Mars to make a truly murderous combination Beneath the surface, his Piscean Sun conjoining retrograde Mercury in the 12th shows a sensitive and secretive nature, probably with inner worries about dissolution. When he hears threats of Israel being swept into the sea, he takes it literally, because that is his greatest inner fear. Though I know nothing about his childhood, the period when progressed Mercury stationed opposition his Neptune from the ages of 5 – 16 (spanning the 2nd World War and Holocaust) must have imbued a sense of loneliness, disillusion and isolation in him. He is probably incapable of seeing himself objectively. Curiously his progressed Mars – now currently at 25.49 Pisces – “leads” and opposes the progressed Mars of Israel now at 24.28 Virgo. He will always drag Israel into war.

International Judgement

The major transit in Sharon’s life right now is the passage of Pluto over his Saturn at 18.21 Sagittarius in his 9th house. This culminates in January, June and November 2003. It will result in international opprobrium, with the real likelihood of him being indicted in an international court of law. (Quite apart from the war crimes case prepared in Belgium against him for the Shatilah massacre in 1983). Sharon himself only believes in biblical justice. He has his roots in an eye for an eye, tooth for tooth, and has nothing but contempt for soft-hearted liberals. Nevertheless this transit will almost certainly result in an ignominious fall from power (Saturn rules his MC), which will come sooner (in 2002) or later (2003). It’s possible that the June 2000 eclipse on his Saturn will be enough to precipitate an early fall. Of course the current military madness is related to the transit of Uranus opposite Israel’s Mars at 28.18 Leo, exact on 28th April and 10th July 2002, and 9th February 2003. With this influence it is sure that suicide bombings will continue unabated, and just as sure that Israel will continue a policy of intervention and oppression – a policy that will undoubtedly succeed, as Saturn sextiles Israel’s Mars (and trines Uranus) at the same time.

Yasser Arafat

See chart of Yasser Arafat

Birth data for Sharon’s old enemy and possible nemesis, Yasser Arafat, is disputed. I have previously worked with a Virgo birthdate, but came across a chart used by astrologer Joyce Hoen which seems rather descriptive. Note 6.

The death of his mother when he was 4 would correspond to Pluto’s transit of his Moon, just as the Moon/Pluto rising in Cancer also corresponds to a man desperately seeking roots for himself and his people. Living as he currently does amidst the ruins of Ramallah is an apt depiction of this astrological influence. It is interesting too that the Mars at 18.43 Virgo in this chart configures in exact square to Sharon’s Saturn, and reflects the present military catastrophe. His current virtual imprisonment in Ramallah may be shown by the Neptune transit opposing his Sun, which finally ends in December 2003. Amidst the ruins of Moon/Pluto luck smiles constantly on Arafat. He was the sole survivor of an air crash, which would seem to reflect the Jupiter sextile his powerful Sun/Uranus trine. It will be interesting to see if there is confirmation of this chart when Jupiter conjoins his Sun (and Israel’s Pluto) in September 2002. His fortunes could turn at this time.

The Future

Current planetary transits seem to indicate that the situation in Israel will be explosive for at least another 10 months, but that a change will arise when Uranus finally leaves Aquarius and enters Pisces in March 2003, a time when we’ll see Sharon, if he is still in power, shuttling hectically to Washington and back. Sharon will never make an agreement that lasts, because of the extremely weak position of his Mercury opposite Neptune. He will say anything to pursue his agenda, and will lose all credibility. Israel will remain undefeated and on top for many years – indeed her existence will never be seriously at risk during the whole of the 21st century. Only when Neptune activates her Sun square Saturn and Mars from 2005 to 2011 will her ability to maintain a protective shield be undermined. She will never be able to prevent her borders from being porous, and military methods will be completely bankrupt in these years, which means there is actually hope that peaceful methods will gain a foothold. Finally a turning point will come when Israel’s progressed Venus turns direct in 2007 – exactly on her natal Uranus in Gemini. The future of the State of Israel is coexistence together with the State of Palestine.

Adrian Duncan 19.04.2002

1. Guardian online: www.guardian.co.uk Brian Whitaker Thursday April 18, 2002
2. Guardian online. Peter Beaumont in Jerusalem, Thursday April 18, 2002
3. Guardian online: Ian Black in Brussels, Ewen MacAskill and Nicholas Watt Wednesday April 17, 2002
4. Guardian online: Peter Beaumont in Jerusalem and Julian Borger in Washington Thursday April 18, 2002
5. Isaac Starkman quotes Ariel Sharon’s mom in MH 10/1986, “about one hour after sunrise”. (LMR calculates sunrise as 6:36 AM EET.) Starkman rectifies the time, using over 25 events, to 5:49:19 UT, ASC 12Ari02.
6. The time of 3.a.m and the date of 4th August in Jerusalem was given by Arafat himself, but a birth certificate has been found stating 24th August.