Lost in a reverie of ideology, inebriated by power, and blinded by arrogance, the snake oil salesmen of the Bush Administration have entangled us in an impossible morass. What was portrayed as a battle against an imminent threat and promised to be a quick and noble victory for freedom and democracy has become, instead, an unlawful occupation attempting to crush an indigenous resistance movement. Despite the official denial of words such as guerilla warfare and quagmire, these are the reality in today’s Iraq.
As indicated in detail in my recent article, Summer Fever, fierce fighting is likely to develop during the summer of 2003. The solstice chart, which covers the period from June 21 through September 20, is particularly brutal. In addition, the Mars station of mid-July to mid-August will be stimulating a great deal of aggression and likely military action in George Bush. A recent article in a Pakistani journal suggests that this may relate to a confrontation between the US and the Iraqi resistance. Recent rumblings about sending American troops to Liberia suggest an additional possibility.
With his nose buried in a neo-con travel guide for the past 18 months, King George XLIII studiously ignored the flashing neon warning signs posted ubiquitously on his way into the Swamp of Ineptitude. Not only in post-war (sic) Iraq, but in Afghanistan, and at home, with regard to the ever-crumbling economy, Bush’s misbegotten policies have led to problematic situations from which extrication will be extremely difficult, i.e., a trifecta of quagmires. Saturn’s arrival in Cancer, impacting the US chart and Bush’s chart through June 2005, has assured there will be no simple or straightforward solutions to any of these issues.
Beyond the almost certain increase in military action from mid-July through mid-August, the autumn looks especially treacherous for George Bush and his cohorts. The groundwork is laid by the Saturn station, which falls within 5 minutes of the US Sun. Saturn’s greatest impact will be from September 25 through October 25, 2003, and during most of June 2004, when it melds into the Saturn conjunction to George Bush’s Sun and square the US Saturn. But the entire period from late September 2003 through June 2004 comes under this influence.
The Sun in the US chart represents the president. Historically, transits of Saturn to the US Sun have brought times of great difficulty and burden to the Commander-in-Chief. In 1974, Nixon resigned on the day of the exact aspect. The largely unprepared Truman felt the weighty responsibilities of this transit in 1945 during the final months of World War II, just after the death of FDR. Thus, we can expect that this coming transit will lay a heavy weight and severe challenges upon George Bush’s shoulders.
In addition to its station on the US Sun, the Saturn station will also sit in quincunx to the US Ascendant in the Sagittarius rising chart. This suggests that the events of the period from mid-September through mid-November will bring a somber tone to the whole country and a feeling of discontent and hardship that may translate into severe criticism and loss of popularity for Bush (US Sun/Saturn).
A further look at the planetary picture of that period shows that the Uranus station will be exactly conjunct the US progressed Sun (29 Aquarius) from September 1 through November 30, 2003. Again it is the Sun (Bush) being impacted, but this time with a planet that brings a whirlwind of unfolding events and a continuous stream of upsets and reversals. These are likely to be highly misfortunate for the Commander-in-Chief due to the concurrent Saturn aspects.
Another significant aspect during this same period is the station of Neptune on Vice President Cheney’s Sun, from August through November. This suggests a slow deterioration of his once-solid power base and the potential for a scandal that completely engulfs him. The knowing use of a forged document to make the case for war in Iraq, increasingly pointing to Cheney’s involvement, may be the basis for these events. Also possible is the blatant failure of the policies he has advocated and his subsequent feelings of loss and confusion (Neptune).
Both the Powell/Bush and the Rumsfeld/Bush composite charts show substantial and stressful activity during the last four months of 2003. This suggests that foreign policy issues are one of the main thrusts of the ongoing turmoil. In the Powell/Bush composite, the natal Sun/Uranus conjunction will be squared by transiting Uranus from September 1 through December 15, 2003. This implies that Powell and Bush will be in the midst of turbulent and upsetting events. In the Rumsfeld/Bush composite chart, Saturn will be sitting on the composite MC from mid-September through November 2003, and crossing in square to the natal Ascendant/Moon conjunction in August and, again, in late December 2003 through mid-January 2004. This suggests that Rummy and Bush may be unhappy about the seeming failure of their mutual goals.
The chart for the proclamation of the Kingdom of Iraq is drawn for August 23, 1921, at 6 AM, in Baghdad (source: Nicholas Campion). The current Uranus station, running from April through mid-July 2003, is square the Midheaven in this chart (2Gemini22), indicative of the ongoing agitation and constant upsets currently plaguing the country. During the next Uranus station, from September 1 through December 15, 2003, this planet of rebellion, upset, revolution, and independence will be in opposition to the Sun/Mercury conjunction in the Iraqi chart. This would seem to suggest that the indigenous resistance movement may grow quite strong during this period, and the possibility of a more widespread rebellion exists. Needless to say, the grievous and explosive events impacting Mr. Bush during the same time frame are likely to be related to this volatile scenario in Iraq.
In Mr. Bush’s chart, the final crossing of Pluto opposite natal Uranus, just as the progressed MC is exactly conjunct natal Uranus, comes on October 26 through November 26, 2003, immediately after the Saturn station. At this point, we can expect Bush to go into overdrive, trying to control events that are spiraling out of control, taking on his most commanding and dictatorial persona.
Meanwhile, an astrological event of potentially great significance takes place in early November 2003. The US progressed Sun will move into a void-of-course position. This means it will make no further aspects before it reaches the next sign, Pisces, in November 2004. When the US Sun is void of course (VOC), it often indicates a weakness or inability to fully perform in the presidency. The last VOC Sun ran from May 1974 to March 1975. It began two weeks after the Judiciary Committee began hearing evidence related to the possible impeachment of President Nixon and continued through the first eight months of the largely caretaker Ford administration. With no mandate and no political base, Ford was unable to deal with the problems of the day: unemployment, inflation, and recession.
The previous VOC Sun ran from June 1943 through October 1945. FDR died in April 1945, and was followed by Harry Truman, who was poorly prepared to assume the presidency and had no experience in foreign affairs. Although the war was successfully concluded, it took Truman a while to find his bearings as president.
During the VOC Sun of Woodrow Wilson’s presidency, June 1915 to April 1916, Wilson struggled to remain neutral and out of the war. He unsuccessfully attempted to pressure the Germans to stop attacking passenger vessels and was unable to convince Congress to expand the US armed services. In the spring of 1916, after the VOC ended with the Sun’s entry into Sagittarius, Wilson gave Germany an ultimatum, which succeeded in forcing the abandonment of the submarine campaign for several months. He also finally got the huge increase in military appropriation he had been seeking.
It seems likely that September through November 2003 may bring some form of a policy or political disaster for Mr. Bush from which he may never fully recover. Events may spin out of control for the administration, resulting in a loss of popularity for Bush, the potential for scandal, and the possibility of increasing chaos and rebellion in Iraq. It may be that the emerging catastrophic consequences of Bush’s policies and deceit finally make their way into the public psyche, and Bush finds himself in a far weaker position come 2004, unable to successfully implement any more of his compassionless agenda. Although further war is quite likely in 2004, the VOC progressed US Sun and the continuing Saturn presence near the natal US Sun both suggest that future military action is not likely to benefit Mr. Bush.
