November 19, 2001
The Taliban Collapses
Last week on the same day that Flight 587 crashed in New York the war in
Afghanistan took a stunning and unexpected change of direction. Following
weeks of relentless U.S. bombing of Taliban positions, the Northern Alliance
forces moved swiftly into Kabul and seized control of most of northern
Afghanistan. The turning point arrived last Tuesday when the Sun squared
Uranus, the planet of unexpected change of fortunes.
Uranus is also associated with liberation and freedom, as the heartwarming
sights and sounds emerging out of Kabul demonstrated. Women's oppressive
burkas were removed and burned, radios and TVs were unearthed, and men shaved
their beards. In the U.S. many pundits critical of the bombing ate crow as
the unexpected swift victory gained praise for Pentagon planners.
While the manifested turning point arrived on the date of Sun square Uranus,
the strategic shift was put in place on October 30 when the Bush
administration decided to give full military support to the Northern
Alliance, a ragtag band of diverse ethnic groups with a checkered past. Prior
to October 30 the Bush administration's actions were largely directed by
Colin Powell's diplomatic and political priorities.
The shift favoring Donald Rumsfeld and the Pentagon's priorities came as the
Pentagon's horoscope (see NewsScope October 24 for details) reached maximum
voltage on October 30 when the heavy bombing began. Pentagon strategists are
known to be keen on chasing terrorism into rogue nations, and are being
astrologically boosted through March 2002 by transiting Pluto opposite the
Pentagon's Mars. If the Pentagon's chart is gaining in strength, will Iraq be
next?
Terrorism during the Atomic Age
Last week Russian President Putin and President Bush each pledged to
radically reduce their stockpiles of nuclear weapons, although they failed to
reach agreement on Bush's plan to push ahead on aggressive testing of missile
defenses. Meanwhile, renewed attention was paid to the vulnerability of
nuclear power plants, even as Osama Bin Laden said he had nuclear weapons.
The surge in news events related to nuclear weapons can be tracked
astrologically by using the horoscope for the foundation of the atomic age,
set for the first successful testing on July 16, 1945 in Alamogordo, NM
(5:29:45 am MWT). This chart features Saturn on the Cancer Ascendant,
reflecting the highly defensive nature of this devastating weapon. Notice
that transiting Jupiter was exactly conjunct this Saturn during last week's
summit.
Aside from Jupiter's activation of this Atomic Age horoscope, several other
prominent transits and progressions are now in play. Disruptive Uranus has
recently been opposing Mercury, the ruler of Atomic Age documents, which in
this case reflects the broken ABM agreement. More importantly, the third and
final opposition between Saturn and Pluto aligns with the Atomic Age Uranus,
buried in the secretive twelfth house.
Uranus* in the twelfth house could symbolize the lawless terrorist
organizations seeking to secure atomic weapons. Transiting Pluto is heading
toward its opposition with this Uranus now, and will be exact in
mid-December. This Pluto-to-Uranus configuration gets energized by transiting
Mars at the same time, making the last two weeks of December a potentially
vulnerable time for those who live in the Atomic Age.
Pierce Brosnan, the Sexiest Man Alive
Pierce Brosnan has been getting a lot of attention lately. At age 48 he still
looks fit and dashing enough to play the leading man. Brosnan, a devoted
family man, is scheduled to begin shooting his fourth James Bond flick in
January when he will display his rugged good looks and charm as he saves the
world from evil, and still has time to woo the infamous Bond girls.
Pierce Brosnan was born a traditional Taurus (May 16, 1953; Navan, Ireland;
time unknown) with his Moon and Ceres strongly placed in the family-oriented
sign of Cancer. With his Sun is conjunct Jupiter and trine Chiron, good
fortune in his chosen career seems inevitable, but he has also had more than
his share of hardship, as can be seen from the several tense configurations
within his horoscope.
Brosnan was born with a Grand Cross in his horoscope, connecting the outer
planets Uranus, Saturn-Neptune, and Chiron with the personal planet Venus.
Major transits to the planet Uranus have brought the most unexpected or
challenging changes. In December 1991 when transiting Neptune entered his
Grand Cross and was exactly opposite his Uranus, his first wife died in his
arms.
Not all the outer planet transits can be devastating. Jupiter, the bringer of
fortune and new opportunities, recently turned retrograde on the exact
location of his natal Uranus. The Jupiter-Uranus combination is known to
bring sudden good luck and fame, and since this contact was exact, it carried
extra power. As Jupiter reached maximum beneficial force, Brosnan was
selected as People magazine's Sexiest Man Alive.
Reader feedback is welcome. Email: [email protected].
* In the Atomic Age ACG map a Uranus line runs right through the
Pakistan-Indian border near Kashmir.
