George Bush’s policy failures increasingly litter the globe. In Iraq, the inept and ill-conceived occupation is fueling an indigenous resistance movement that daily grows more fierce and could one day rival Vietnam in the quagmire department. Afghanistan, the killing field of yesterday’s war, is virtually overrun by warlords and criminals, with a resurgent Taliban in the wings. North Korea is getting feisty and threatening, but Bushco rigidly refuses to negotiate. Even the United Nations and NATO have been adversely impacted - severely weakened, perhaps even crippled, by the belligerent and self-righteous diplomacy of the Neocon Nellies. And limping painfully across the desert of Republican tax cuts, the American economy is putting all its faith in a mirage that will soon turn to sand and dust. Perhaps worst of all, the Bush administration has lied to the American people and the peoples of the world in order to gain support for its hegemonic lust. For this, its reputation has been diced and shredded, at least beyond the borders of the American corporate media.
Although the White House spinmeisters continue their attempts to shroud these painful realities, wisps of truth are penetrating the fog. As Saturn continues its relentless march through Cancer during the next two years, reality and its consequences will overshadow illusion. The disastrous results of Bush’s dictatorial and militaristic foreign policy and his hallucinatory fiscal policy will be impossible to ignore. Already we can see the shift begin with the just finishing transit of Saturn square the US MC (1Libra53). The missing weapons of mass destruction story has now metamorphosed into a tale of deceit, lies, and manipulation, a tale of the administration playing on the fears of 9/11 to draw the public and Congress into supporting a war based on falsehood. Every day a new thread emerges in an expanding tapestry of chicanery: intelligence agents complaining about pressure to distort and fabricate results; unwanted information buried; Hans Blix “leaned on” to deceive; and even Wesley Clark told by the White House to dishonestly proclaim the connection between al Qaida and Iraq.
We stand now on the brink of enormous events that may rapidly spin out of control. It may be that Weaponsgate gets relegated to the back burner for a while, though it will continue to simmer. Uranus is now heading back towards a quincunx with the US MC (exact 7/29). Its disruptive energy will be made more potent and dangerous in the next few days with the Mars/Uranus conjunction (6/21 –6/23). As this aspect peaks, a Sun/Saturn conjunction begins (6/23 –24), strongly triggering the current Saturn conjunction to the US Venus (6/21 –6/27). These aspects, taken together, suggest a sudden, unexpected and possibly violent event or series of events between June 21 and 24 that lead to sorrow, loss, and grief, and that impact American citizens somewhere in the world. It is also quite possible that the Saturn conjunction to US Venus and the subsequent Saturn crossing of US Jupiter (7/12 – 7/20) may cause a severe and sharp economic contraction between June 20 and July 20 that diminishes American prestige and power. The continuation of the Uranus quincunx suggests that turmoil and upsets continue through at least July.
As I have mentioned previously, the coming Mars station, from mid- July to mid-August, falls directly opposite Bush’s progressed Sun/natal Mars conjunction, suggesting he will be very angry, belligerent, and likely quite aggressive during this period. The likelihood of both military rhetoric and action is very strong. Other aspects in the US and Inaugural charts reinforce this picture: transiting Mars square US Uranus (7/11 – 7/16, and 8/3 – 8/12) and transiting Uranus square Inaugural Jupiter (7/18 –8/15).
The 2003 Summer Solstice chart, drawn for June 21, in Washington, DC, at 3:12 PM, adds further support to this prediction of a very dangerous and difficult summer. Summer solstice charts have been used historically to describe the three-month quarter from the solstice to the fall equinox. When drawn for the capital city of a country, solstice and equinox charts describe a general picture of the events for the following quarter of the year. Powerful aspects in these charts and their house positions should always be noted.
What is so disturbing about the 2003 Summer Solstice chart is that the dramatic confluence of powerful aspects – the Sun/Saturn conjunction and the Mars/Uranus conjunction - are both captured in this significant seed moment. Thus, the “birth chart” for the summer 2003, continues the impact of Mars/Uranus and Saturn/Sun for the ensuing three months. Moreover, both aspects are repeatedly triggered through mid-September by transits and tertiary progressions. Transiting Uranus will wax into its conjunction of solstice Mars from June 21 through July 26. Tertiary progressed Mars will wax into its conjunction with solstice Uranus from June 21 through August 23. Transiting Mars and transiting Jupiter will each make hard aspects to solstice Mars/Uranus between August 31 and September 10. And tertiary Sun will be conjunct solstice Saturn virtually all of August. These aspects suggest a time of significant violence and turmoil on the world stage from June 21 through early September, with increasing sorrow and grief accompanying these events in August.
When the solstice chart is drawn for Washington, DC, the Mars/Uranus conjunction falls in the 5th house. One possible interpretation is that violence or disruptive events may occur in an area where entertainment is central or speculation and gambling are the main focus. The Sun/Saturn conjunction in the 9th house suggests a severe strain in relations with foreign countries, perhaps over the military activities initiated by Bush or over disputed economic issues.
Of the solstice charts drawn for numerous foreign capitals, the one that is most striking is the one for Pyongyang, North Korea. There the Mars/ Uranus conjunction falls in the 10th house, and Uranus rules the Aquarian MC. This indicates a potential for aggressive, belligerent, and unexpected action by the North Korean government. The Sun/Saturn is in the first house, suggesting that it is the people who will experience loss and deprivation.
There is some corroboration in the various North Korean charts that this next three months will see an escalation of tension. On July 8, 1994, Kim Jong Il took power. When this chart is progressed to the present, we find that the progressed Sun (24Cancer20)is exactly opposite natal/progressed Uranus and semisquare progressed Mars (9Gemini16), which in turn is sesquiquadrate natal/progressed Uranus (24Capricorn22). The Mars station of mid-July through mid-August falls at 9 – 10 Pisces and will set off this very forceful configuration. In addition, transiting Pluto has just begun a three-month station in square to North Korea’s Sun (17Virgo18). Thus, Kim is likely to be more erratic and aggressive (Mars/Uranus/Sun) and feel that Korea is threatened by outside forces that need a powerful response (Pluto square Sun). Whether action, brinkmanship, or rhetoric will come out of this situation is unknown. But the stage is set for the tension to increase several notches.
To George Bush fantasy substitutes for fiscal policy, bullying substitutes for diplomacy, and war substitutes for foreign policy. There is no negotiation and no multilateral endeavor, just an occasional coalition of the coerced to seem appropriate. But this course of action contains the seeds of its own destruction. When pursued to its logical conclusion, it can only lead to disaster. It is no accident that the coming periods of aggression and likely military action by Bush – this summer and next winter – are fraught with the lessons of Saturn. Saturn cannot tolerate arrogance and overextended, shallow endeavor. It insists on compromise and humility. By the time Saturn is finished, George Bush's Messianic Militarism will be revealed for the self-serving empty shell that it is.