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Astrology:Starlight Musings:
Baghdad Blues
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by Nancy Sommers |
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Conceived in a swirl of blinding hubris and amidst glorified fantasies of global omnipotence, George Bush’s Iraq War has been an unparalleled disaster in the saga of American history, the full consequences of which have yet to be told. The astrological birth chart for the war, drawn for March 20, 2003, at 5:33 AM in Baghdad, tells a tale of chronic and bitter struggle between potent outside forces that are attempting to exercise dominance and the indigenous, recalcitrant power structures and traditions of the population. This ongoing struggle works directly against any successful implementation of the goals of the war.
The basic dynamic of this irresolvable conflict may be seen in the configuration of Pluto conjunct the Midheaven opposing Saturn conjunct the IC, with both of them squaring the Sun/Mercury conjunction in the first house. Pluto in the war chart represents a desire to impose control from the top (MC) which is pitted against Saturn, the rigid patterns of traditional power structures inherent in the indigenous population (IC). This ongoing clash repeatedly obstructs the goals (the Sun) and planning (Mercury) of the war effort. In addition, the Sun in this chart falls on the 29th degree of Pisces, the last degree in the zodiac, giving it the qualities of a “void of course” position. This implies that the original goals of the war were not grounded in any sustaining reality and soon were transformed in an attempt to meet an entirely new situation. But despite the subsequent and repeated shifts in the war’s expressed purpose, the 29th degree Pisces Sun has continually reaffirmed the central weakness in the war’s implementation, a lack of coherent mission that has belied the entire misadventure.
There are various techniques in astrology used to determine how the natural inclinations described in a birth chart will unfold. By using these “progressions” and “transits”, it is possible to see an almost continuous series of activations of the irreconcilable power struggle inherent in the Iraq War chart from August 2003 through what appears to be a final ignominious contraction in the war effort from November 2008 through early August 2009. These planetary configurations began a few months after the onset of the war, when transiting Saturn moved to oppose the war chart Mars from August 2003 until mid-2004. In late 2003 and 2004, transiting Pluto crossed the war chart Midheaven. In late 2004 and 2005, transiting Pluto opposed the war chart Saturn. And from March 2004 through March 2005, the solar arc Midheaven opposed war chart Saturn. These aspects gave increasing flesh to the definition of the war as a resilient insurgency (activated Saturn) forcefully resisting what it saw as an occupying power. By 2006 and early 2007, the transformative and explosive Uranus had reached the war chart Ascendant, bringing the nation to the early stages of an erupting civil war. This incredibly disruptive force will return from mid-October to mid-December 2007, likely bringing a deepening chaos and a rebellion against the status quo in its wake.
Of further note in the Iraq War chart is the transit of Pluto, already square to Mercury (27Pisces14) and the Sun (29Pisces04) at the war’s birth, but now reaching the exact square to these two bodies and consequently activating all the inherent force of the power struggle latent at the war’s inception. Pluto brings with it an obsessive and unbending desire for control, with an attendant fear, almost paranoia, of anything that is not completely dominated. Its presence describes essentially what feels like a desperate battle for survival where compromise is impossible. The first Pluto square to war chart Mercury came in December 2006, and, with it, a new strategy (Mercury) came into being, including the idea of a “surge”, in order to reclaim control of the deteriorating situation. As the progressed Moon moved to conjunct natal Pluto (19Sagittarius57) and the chart Midheaven (20Sagittarius42) in February and March 2007, this new strategy went into effect. But February and March also brought the first Pluto square to the war chart Sun, and, with it, an overwhelming power struggle was unleashed. By mid-April to mid-May, the progressed Moon had moved to oppose natal Saturn (22Gemini45), and it became clear that the surge was failure, and the battle between the administration and Congress over setting some limits on the endless quagmire had begun in earnest.
Pluto will return to its square with Mercury for a protracted period from late May through early November 2007. Further recalibrations of strategy are likely, well-seasoned with a terrifying fear of the devastation that failure would bring (Pluto). By December 2007 and continuing through early November 2008, Pluto will move into a square with the war chart Sun, especially potent from June through October 2008. This transit could mark the final period when the US attempts to exert its will upon the situation in Iraq, creating the ultimate battle for control that Pluto invariably manifests. Other planetary aspects in the war chart help to further describe how this final push for control will unfold.
Unfortunately, from June 2007 through April 2008, the war chart progressed Ascendant will move to square natal Saturn (22Gemini45) and progressed Saturn (23Gemini00). This period is likely to see little gain for US war aims and a growing resistance (Saturn) from the Iraqi population. The final crossing of Pluto square the war chart Sun, from June through October 2008, however, comes during some very strong Jupiter transits to Bush and the US Sun (July 31 through October 7, 2008), suggesting that some significant successes are likely during that period. In addition, from mid-July through mid-August, the war chart progressed Moon will be conjunct natal Mars, suggesting an increase in focused military action. Furthermore, Uranus will be square to the war chart Midheaven in April and then again, for several months, beginning in mid-August, indicating unexpected and profound changes in the circumstances of the war. But the winds will shift yet again by around mid-November 2008, when Saturn moves to station square the war chart Midheaven, and once again, the aims of the war will seem to be eclipsed by a resistant population and difficult, uncompromising circumstances.
This prediction of a window of promise from about June to October 2008, followed by renewed difficulty and despair is borne out in other charts as well. George Bush’s second Inaugural chart offers a totally different, though parallel, perspective on the same situation. This chart, drawn for January 20, 2005, at noon in Washington, DC, is markedly different from Bush’s first Inaugural chart. Whereas Bush’s first-term chart describes an administration that is bold, rash, defiant, and aggressive, with an exceptionally prominent Mars/Uranus influence, the second-term chart indicates frustration, failure, and setbacks in abundance, due to the preponderance of Saturn in difficult aspect to almost every other planet, with the notable exceptions of Uranus and Mars.
In addition, the second Inaugural chart has a very prominent Chiron, conjunct the Midheaven and the Sun, opposing Saturn and square to the Nodes. Chiron, a planetoid discovered in 1977 orbiting between Saturn and Uranus, is known in astrology as the “wounded healer” and is named after the famous centaur in Greek mythology. Its noteworthy strength in the Bush 2005 Inaugural chart indicates the failure of goals set, a weakened though stubbornly dominating ruler, and a profound and irresolvable “wound” that colors the reputation and reality of the second Bush administration for its duration. It seems quite clear that the Iraq war is the never-ending wound of the current administration, stamping its festering presence on everything.
By progression, Chiron has been particularly strong in the Inaugural chart since December 2005 and will continue to be so through about August 1, 2008 (progressed MC conjunct Chiron, tertiary progressed Chiron conjunct the Sun, and solar arc Chiron conjunct the Sun). It is noteworthy that its energy begins to dissipate right when Jupiter makes its station opposite the US Sun and Bush’s Sun in August and September 2008, an aspect that suggests some kind of success or celebration. But just as Saturn will move to square the war chart Midheaven (20Sagittarius42) and Pluto (19Sagittarius57) in the waning three months of Bush’s second term, so, too, will Saturn square Inaugural Mars (18Sagittarius01) during this time, indicating some restraint and frustration for the administration. In addition, Saturn will also square Bush’s Uranus (19Gemini09) and Bush’s Moon Node (20Gemini35) for these three months, suggesting that he will be feeling that his goals have been thwarted or considerably circumscribed.
Perhaps the most telling aspect that will come during those same three months is the station of Saturn square the US Mars (21Gemini23). Following and then overlapping the Uranus square to US Mars for much of 2008, which will act as a stimulant to military action and bring forth sudden, upsetting and disruptive events, this Saturn transit will bring a feeling of renewed difficulty and loss, particularly poignant, after the heady experience of Uranus squaring Mars and Jupiter opposite the Sun in the summer and early fall. It seems likely that a sudden, upsetting event or events (Uranus) either in Iraq or elsewhere, or both, will adversely impact the US military (Mars) and bring grief to the nation (Saturn). George Bush will leave office with his fantasy dreams unfulfilled and, with the Inaugural Moon opposing Inaugural Chiron in January 2009, the albatross of Bush’s misbegotten war will be securely attached to his legacy. |
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Nancy Sommers,
Astrologer
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Born and raised in Washington, DC, Nancy Sommers has been practicing astrology for 37 years. A graduate of Washington University in St. Louis and New York University School of Social Work, Nancy is a licensed clinical social worker in private practice in Maryland, where she combines her skill in astrology with her training in psychotherapy, imagery, and regression therapy.
Increasingly known for her accurate predictions and her writing style, Nancy crafted her website, http://starlightnews.com
Starlight News, as a response to the dismal first days of the Bush administration.
Her intent was to offer her readers the unique insight and perspective of astrology when applied to the political realities of the day.
You can reach Nancy by email at:
website: http://starlightnews.com/
blog: http://starlightnews.com/
wordpress
email: nancy@starlightnews.com
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