September 29, 2003

Pluto Shapes the Big Picture in Iraq

Last February 27 shortly before the war in Iraq began Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said, "It's not logical to me to think it would take as many troops to keep the peace as it would to win the war." Last week the Bush administration was scrambling to find thousands more troops amid growing signs that they vastly underestimated what it would take to stabilize Iraq.

Astrologically, transiting Pluto is making a beeline for the U.S. Mars, and will make its first of three oppositions in January 2004. The U.S. Mars, representing the nation's military machine and self-assertiveness, is modified natally by a square to Neptune. Neptune's effect on Mars, in its best sense, represents America's spiritual warriors, those soldiers who go to battle for altruistic reasons.

Neptune has a downside, the tendency to get bogged down in corruption, misguided purposes, or drifting along without a clear goal. When transiting Pluto forms a challenging aspect to the U.S. Mars, it's also picking up Neptune's influence. The last time transiting Pluto entered into the U.S. Mars-Neptune square was between October 1967 and June 1969 at the height of the Vietnam War.

Pluto's next extended passage into the U.S. Mars-Neptune square lasts from January 2004 through October 2005. Pluto's connecting aspect to the U.S. Mars, the opposition, refers directly to intensely polarized opposition groups. The likely manifestation indicates continued guerrilla operations against the occupying forces, international opposition to U.S. military strategies, and internal political opposition as occurred during the Vietnam era.

Ahmad Chalabi and the Neocons

Last week Ahmad Chalabi, the White House's handpicked president of Iraq's Governing Council, broke with American policy at the U.N. by agreeing with the French position for a quick move to self-rule. Chalabi later downplayed any disagreement with Washington and his request for more control over finances and security, but the incident demonstrated that the Bush administration's grip over Iraqi affairs is weakening.

Ahmad Chalabi (October 30, 1944; Baghdad, time unknown) was born with a powerful Sun-Mars-Mercury triple conjunction in Scorpio. These planets square Pluto, giving Chalabi a warrior's instincts. As a leader of the anti-Saddam forces, he has been the object of numerous assassination attempts, but gained in international prestige by working closely with the Pentagon.

To many Iraqis, he is seen as a U.S. puppet, a view astrologically confirmed by his Scorpio planets closely aligned with the U.S. Scorpio Ascendant. As transiting Neptune squared his Sun during 2001 and 2002 he convinced the neocons* (the Pentagon strategists) that Saddam was building weapons of mass destruction, and that the Iraqi people would welcome American forces as liberators.

Neptune's influence makes it difficult to know the truth. Either Chalabi himself was misinformed, or he consciously deceived the neocons. This coming week Chalabi will address the U.N., and then visit Washington to answer questions from Congressional investigators. Transiting Neptune is now nearly exactly opposite his Pluto, a phase described by astrologer Robert Hand as an encounter with "forces that try to reveal aspects of your life that you have long kept hidden."

Nicole Kidman and Lenny Kravitz

Oscar-winning actress Nicole Kidman has not had a serious relationship since her split from Tom Cruise, but all that may be changing now. The Moulin Rouge star has been staying at rocker Lenny Kravitz's stylish Soho apartment while her $8 million flat is being built nearby, and last week they showed up together to attend memorial services for dancer Gregory Hines.

Nicole Kidman (June 20, 1967; Honolulu; time unknown) and Lenny Kravitz (May 26, 1964; New York City; time unknown) were both born with the Sun in versatile Gemini and the Moon in trendy Sagittarius. As these highly mobile placements indicate, Kidman travels a lot for her career, while Kravitz, with three planets in stable Taurus, hasn't flown far from his birth place.

Both Kidman and Kravitz have their Suns squaring the epochal Uranus-Pluto conjunction of the mid-1960s. They both personally embody the highly charged mythic qualities of that revolutionary alignment, she with her dramatic movie roles, and he with his wild music and personal lifestyle. On a personal level, his Mars squares her Venus, giving their relationship an immediate sexual chemistry. Plus both have a natal Venus-Saturn trine, which adds loyalty and stability to their partnerships.

Is their budding romance serious? Transiting Saturn tells the tale. Without a solid Saturn connection, relationships fizzle or never go anywhere. The two were first seen together in July when Saturn entered Cancer. Saturn advanced to conjoin his Venus, and is currently squaring her Saturn. By linking up with each's natal Venus-Saturn trine, transiting Saturn is testing the practical side of their affair, as they look at themselves in the mirror of public reactions.


* For a closer look at who the neocons are, and their relationship with Chalabi, see www.nybooks.com/articles/16378

source for Chalabi's birthdate and additional biographical info can be found at www.khaleejtimes.co.ae/ktarchive/201102/editor.htm