October 21, 2002
U.S. Military Build Up Around Iraq
In what it describes as "routine training exercises", the Pentagon is quietly building up a huge military presence in the Persian Gulf. Military headquarters is relocating from Germany to Qatar, and about 57,000 troops are already in the area. Five aircraft carriers will provide additional troops, fighter jets, and an oceanic home base if Arab countries aren't supportive of an Iraqi invasion.
The Pentagon's horoscope (July 26, 1947; 12:15 pm; Washington DC) reflects the pressing urge for major military action according to the natal conditions and current transits to Mars, the war planet. Mars is prominently placed in this chart by its network of aspects, notably, the trine to the Ascendant, a quincunx (150 degree aspect) to adventurous Jupiter, and a conjunction to Uranus.
Mars and Uranus are both in information-oriented Gemini, a combination reflecting the identical placements in the U.S. horoscope. Mars and Uranus underscore the technologically advanced nature (Uranus) of the military apparatus (Mars). Over the past several months transiting Saturn and Pluto have been aligning with the Pentagon's Mars. While Saturn has moved on, Pluto remains in a close opposition with the Pentagon's Mars.
In November, when the "training exercises" begin, transiting Jupiter in flamboyant Leo will be forming a sextile to the Pentagon's Mars and a square to its Jupiter. This combination promises a big show of force, displaying all manner of military equipment (Jupiter in 2nd house of assets). The weeks leading up to December 18 when transiting Pluto is exactly opposite Mars should be filled with the urgency to act.
Venus Sparks Market Rally
Last week for the second week in a row stocks ended with gains, but not without breath-taking surges and dips of 200 points and more. The upward momentum began on October 10 after both the Dow and the tech-heavy Nasdaq reached five-year lows, inspiring some analysts to speculate that the bear market is over.
October 10 was significant from an astrological view because that was the day that Venus turned retrograde. As financial astrologer Ray Merriman points out, four out of five times that Venus turns retrograde, the market hits a major turning point, which he suggests usually happens within 12 trading days of the retrograde station. However, Merriman concludes in his book*, "Venus retrograde doesn't appear to have a strong correlation to longer term cycles."
This Venus station may be different because it was exactly square the U.S. Midheaven when it turned retrograde, explaining both the precision of the timing, and the likelihood that it marks a significant turning point. Theoretically, using the planetary markers as delineated by Merriman in tandem with their connections to the U.S. horoscope will result in better timing and a more accurate outlook.
The daily 100+ swings in the Dow and similar wide fluctuations in the Nasdaq are symptomatic of a Uranian influence. Uranus is now in a lengthy conjunction with the U.S. Moon, making American investors quite jumpy. This influence remains in effect over the next few months. Watch for sudden reversals and increased volatility around the time Uranus makes its direct station on November 4, and then again when it conjoins the U.S. Moon around December 10.
Arnold Schwarzenegger and Maria Shriver
Is Arnold Schwarzenegger running for political office? Last Thursday while promoting Proposition 49, an after-school programs initiative that he sponsored, he joked to an exclusive California audience that he doesn't want to run for governor because just filling out the forms is so complicated. "Let's say I put down 'actor' as my profession," he said, "I may get sued for perjury."
Arnold Schwarzenegger was born a warm-hearted Leo (July 30, 1947; 4:10 am; Graz, Austria) with his Moon in ambitious Capricorn. This Sun-Moon blend is shared by Napoleon, General Norman Schwartzkopf, and Lucille Ball, all of whom rose from relative obscurity to become heroic figures. Schwarzenegger's Mars-Uranus conjunction squares his career point, the Midheaven, defining his body-building, action hero route to stardom.
His wife Maria Shriver (November 6, 1955; 5:12 pm; Chicago) has a no-nonsense Sun-Saturn conjunction in Scorpio. With her Sun and four other planets in the sixth house of work, Shriver is a workaholic and a dedicated TV journalist. Venus, the ruler of her horoscope, is found in the 7th house and conjunct Juno, the marriage asteroid, making her devoted partner.
Shriver is receptive to Schwarzenegger's superstar status with her Leo Moon in his Sun sign. She also steadies his political image (her Saturn trine his Cancer Ascendant), while he in turn loosens her up a bit (his Jupiter conjunct her Sun). Shriver probably acts as his political consultant since her Pallas (the political strategist asteroid) is conjunct his Capricorn Moon. Developing transits** mark this couple as one to watch over the next few years.
* See Ray Merriman's volume 3 of "Stock Market Trading, Geocosmic Correlations to Trading Cycles"
** Perceptive readers will notice the close parallels between Arnold's chart and the Pentagon's, with both experiencing transiting Pluto conjunct Juno (alliance with partners or not?) and opposite Mars.
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