With the colossal might of the world’s only superpower at its fingertips, the Bush administration seems drunk on its grandiose schemes and sense of omnipotence. The bludgeoning of the United Nations and the disdain for world opinion can lead to only one conclusion: this administration will allow nothing to interfere with its neoconservative goal of global hegemony - neither international law, nor treaties, nor the concerns and protestations of allies.
As has been true from the dawn of time, those who seek unrestricted power have invariably come crashing down from the heights. Such self-delusional attempts to move beyond the healthy boundaries of human communal interests inevitably meet up with a rude awakening. The Greek myth of Icarus and his father, Daedalus, tells the tale succinctly. These two, in attempting to fly too close to the sun, went hurtling into the ocean as their waxen wings melted from the heat of the solar presence.
And so it will be with the Bush Cabal, though unfortunately, we are along for the ride. The planetary picture for the duration of this presidential term suggests increasing turmoil and difficulties for the administration. Mr. Bush will continue to take risks based on a false sense of divine authorization for his grandiose and ill-conceived schemes. Eventually, Pluto crossing his South Node in 2004 will lay bare, through crisis, the reckless gambles and the shallow ideology that have fueled Bush's endeavors. His overwhelming hubris will be shot down by the increasing pressure of the two-year passage of Saturn through Cancer, beginning in June 2003. Unfortunately, the cult-like nature of this administration – a kind of group-think that shares a messianic sense of destiny that justifies harsh, thoughtless, and aggressive means to fulfill majestic and deluded goals – is insular and self-perpetuating. Only a series of massive failures will stop it – economic, military, and political. With the invasion of Iraq, the unfolding of their demise has begun.
The chart for Gulf War II is drawn for when the first bombs were dropped, on March 20, 2003, at 5:33 AM in Baghdad. The most significant feature in this chart is the Pluto conjunction with the Midheaven opposing the Saturn conjunction with the Nadir, suggestive of an overwhelming power taking full and brutal control of the situation, polarized by the crushing sorrow, suffering, and sullen resistance at its roots – the Iraqi people. By using the solar arc to progress the meridian axis, we find that the Nadir (or IC) moves to the precise conjunction of Saturn exactly during the notorious “shock and awe” devastation of Friday, March 21 (through approximately 8:30 PM EST). This movement of the IC serves to trigger a time of great suffering for the Iraqi people, as well as the deep feelings of shame and sorrow for many Americans who are witnessing this war.
Another particularly brutal stage of the war is likely from mid-day Sunday, March 23, through late on Monday, March 24, EST. During this timeframe, the Moon will cross the Pluto/Midheaven conjunction and oppose Saturn (3/23), and the War chart Ascendant will move into an exact square with Pluto (3/23) and then Saturn (3/24). The anguish and distress of the Iraqi people, as well as a savage power struggle between the opposing forces, will likely be at the forefront.
The most significant period of military engagement would seem to span from March 20 through March 30. March 27 through 30 is likely to bring a few days of considerable violence and perhaps a final decisive victory of some kind. The transiting Sun will square Mars in the War chart, and transiting Mars will be semisquare to natal Uranus. This first, active stage of the war continues until about April 6, after which the predominant military focus may subside. However, potentially huge difficulties still loom on the horizon.
The Sun’s position in the War chart is 29 Pisces, the very last degree of the zodiac. The 29th degree of any sign brings with it a certain sense of sorrow and loss. The last degree of the entire zodiac brings as well a very strong sense of the end of a cycle and of things no longer quite right, but without the comfort and hope of having yet begun the next phase. In addition, the Sun position in the Gulf War II chart is Void of Course, meaning it is in a no man’s land where it will make no further aspects until it gets to the next zodiacal cycle, beginning in Aries. The VOC Sun position here suggests that the thrust of war could lead to unexpected and unwanted results. It is as if the goal (Sun) of the chart is no longer anchored in an organized and logical reality. There is an inherent weakness or flaw in the entire venture that can lead to a weakened, confusing, or disjointed outcome.
In addition, the 29-degree Pisces Sun squares the Pluto /Saturn opposition mentioned above. Thus, the goals of the war (the Sun) are continually in a tension relationship with the US military aggression and assumption of power (Pluto/MC), as well as with the suffering and intense resistance of the people (Saturn/IC). As a result of this natal T-square, enormous problems are likely to develop, especially during May, when transiting Saturn squares natal Mercury and the natal Sun of the War chart. With Leo ruling the 6th house cusp, we may see all kinds of complications and difficulties relating to health, sanitation, food and other daily living issues. We may also see the limited ability (Saturn) of American power to control the situation (the Sun) despite considerable power struggles (Sun square Pluto/Saturn). Moreover, beginning on March 22, transiting Pluto is going retrograde and once again moving towards the Moon in the Iraqi chart. This also suggests a period of great struggle, fear, and affliction for the Iraqi people from now through most of May.
The Mercury station quincunx Pluto from April 21 through May 1, 2003, will be triggering inflammatory and difficult progressions or transits in Bush’s chart, Kim Jong Il’s chart, North Korea’s chart, and the Iraqi chart, as well as setting off the Pluto/Midheaven configuration in the Gulf War chart. This planetary station is likely to unleash a crisis period for Bush on two fronts: North Korea and Iraq. Whereas the circumstances surrounding North Korea may well be of a bellicose and confrontational nature, the Iraqi situation is more likely to be a chaotic unfolding of unforeseen and very troubling events that take Bush further from his stated goals. Though Mr. Bush may see a slight jump in his popularity and approval polls over the next couple of weeks, by mid-April, difficulties will abound as his arrogant and misbegotten foreign policies begin to bear their toxic fruit.
