March 3, 2003
Turkey Says "No"
Tensions mounted between the U.S. and Turkey over the weekend when the Turkish parliament failed to pass approval for the deployment of 62,000 U.S. combat troops. U.S. and Turkish generals had agreed that opening up a northern front for an Iraqi invasion would make the war go quicker and be less bloody. Although U.S. had offered $15 billion in grants and loans, Turkish legislators bowed to intense public resistance.
Turkey declared its independence soon after the collapse of the Ottoman empire on October 29, 1923 (at 8:30 pm in Ankara). Turkey's history has alternated between military and civilian rule, and this split can be seen in both Pluto's and the Moon's proximity to the Ascendant. Pluto shows rule by dictator, while the Moon is rule by the people. Also, the Sun in dictatorial Scorpio squares Ceres in egalitarian Aquarius, further reflecting the challenge between democratic (or secular) rule and rule by a powerful faction.
The Moon is located in the last degree of Gemini. As transiting Uranus, now in the last degree of Aquarius, forms a harmonious trine to this Moon, the peoples' voices are being heard. An estimated 94 percent of the Turkish population is against the war in Iraq. However, this Moon in the last degree has some misfortune attached to it, a tone of desperation, as if their lunar feelings don't matter.
Mars and Ceres (by secondary progression) are now squaring each other and aligning with Turkey's Moon. Ceres has historically* corresponded with developments with the Kurdish minority. The current dynamic with Mars reflects the growing conflict, and potential for civil war between Turkish and Kurdish forces, and marks northern Iraq as a long-term hotspot.
Operation Clean Break
Last week President Bush talked about his vision for a post-Saddam Iraq, how a democratically-elected Iraqi government would seed similar movements toward freedom in surrounding Arab states. Several commentators unearthed the source of Bush's plan to remap** the Middle East. On July 8, 1996 Richard Pearl, now a key Bush adviser, sent Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu a commissioned report titled "A Clean Break: A New Strategy for Securing the Realm".
A Clean Break chart drawn for July 8, 1996 (Washington DC, noon) reveals the importance of this document. The Sun and Mercury are in Cancer, and very near Bush's and the U.S. Sun. Mars is in Gemini, and has been under major activation over the last two years by the Saturn-Pluto opposition. The connection to Israel's horoscope (May 14, 1948; 4:37 pm, Tel Aviv) is also evident since Uranus in early Aquarius is exactly conjunct the foundation of Israel's chart and opposed to its Moon.
Pluto in the Clean Break chart had just entered Sagittarius, a point now being awakened by transiting Uranus. Uranus will enter Pisces on March 9 and by March 22 will square Pluto. Uranus-Pluto combinations are powerful celestial agents for radical, large scale operations. The ultimate purpose outlined in this document is a Judeo-Christian alliance aiming at regime changes to Israel's most dangerous Islamic neighbors, notably Iraq, Syria and Iran.
President Bush's horoscope reveals the depth of his master plan. With grandiose Leo Rising, and a Mercury-Pluto conjunction right on his Ascendant, he naturally gravitates toward a highly focused objective, and one that creates fundamental changes or reforms. On April 4 Jupiter will turn direct very close to Bush's Ascendant when he will be highly motivated to take historic action.
Fred Rogers, The Sensitive Teacher
The producer, creator, writer, puppeteer and host of "Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood" died last week at his home in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Fred Rogers' slow talking, deliberate style made him an easy target for comedians, but his PBS show became the longest running program on public television, and brought him numerous awards, including the Presidential Medal of Freedom for his contribution to the well-being of children.
Fred Rogers was born on the Spring Equinox (March 20, 1928; Latrobe, PA; time unknown) with his Sun conjunct revolutionary, independent Uranus. One of his favorite lines, and often praised by educators, was "I love you just the way you are." This classic Uranian sentiment emphasizes and respects the value of the individual as opposed to the contrarian attitude of conditional love.
Rogers' Moon in Pisces is extraordinarily sensitive and impressionable, but squares the tough minded, taskmaster Saturn. His Saturn in Sagittarius aspires to be a moral authority, and he naturally studied theology and became an ordained minister. The Moon-Saturn square can be a terribly oppressive force, but made him very much aware of how emotionally damaging a critical parent or teacher can be to the young, undeveloped psyche.
The Sun-Uranus conjunction resonates strongly with his Mars in Aquarius, with both moving him toward a humanitarian life mission. Rogers introduced his young audience to some of the harsher realities of the real world, giving many children their only route to understanding war, violence, and divorce. Rogers' Mars is conjunct Ceres, the parenting asteroid, showing astrologically how his personal mission is uniquely linked to parenting issues.
* For example, on June 2, 1999 transiting Neptune (ruling Turkey's MC) was exactly conjunct Ceres when the leader of the terrorist Kurdistan Workers' party, Abdullah Ocalan, was convicted by Turkey of treason and separatism and sentenced to death. The decision was broadly criticized by human rights advocates. Note that Ceres is in Aquarius, a placement that naturally nurtures human rights and equality among diverse minorities.
** For background article, see http://freelebanon.org/articles/a360.htm
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