November 24, 2003

Al Qaeda Morphs

Timed to coincide with President Bush's visit to London, the two suicide bomb attacks striking within five minutes of each other in Istanbul last Thursday was the signature of Al Qaeda terrorists. Intelligence officials noted that the recent attacks in Turkey and Indonesia were carried out by terrorist groups affiliated with Al Qaeda, but not Al Qaeda itself.

From an astrological view, the 9-11 event horoscope (September 11, 2001; 8:46 am; NYC) provides a geopolitical map for the war on terrorism. The Sun is placed on the cusp of the twelfth house, and can be correlated to the hidden Al Qaeda leadership. The Sun is in Virgo, which is associated with the armed forces, and squares Saturn in the ninth house of religion.

The Istanbul bombings led analysts to say that the terrorist threat has evolved or "morphed", and points to Pluto as the lead planetary indicator. In fact transiting Pluto was forming an exact square to the 9-11 Sun at the time. The location of Turkey is further indicated by looking at the 9-11 A*C*G* map, which shows a Jupiter line passing very close to Istanbul. Transiting Saturn is now conjunct the 9-11 Jupiter.

Although the Al Qaeda leadership is on the run, it has become an inspiration to angry, young Islamic men. This process can be seen in the transit of religious, expansive Jupiter near the 9-11 Sun. Jupiter here reiterates Turkey as a target zone, as well as Jakarta where another Jupiter line crosses. Transiting Jupiter turns retrograde while exactly conjunct the 9-11 Sun on January 3, pointing to an approximate time and place for increased terrorist activities.

JFK's Eighth House

The fortieth anniversary of John F. Kennedy's assassination was widely commemorated last week and will continue through the coming week with numerous media presentations. The vast majority of Americans remain skeptical of the Warren Commission Report that Lee Harvey Oswald acted alone. Conspiracy theories point to the KGB, the CIA, the Mafia, Cuban exiles, and even Vice President Lyndon Johnson.

John F. Kennedy (May 29, 1917; 3:00 pm; Brookline, MA) was the first Gemini President in the United States. His Libra Ascendant forms favorable trines with Venus and Uranus, giving him an abundance of charm, good looks, and charisma. These planets in socially adept air signs point to a proficiency in the communications media, a talent which helped him during the first televised Presidential debates.

The eighth house is the house of death and legacies in astrology, and Kennedy has several planets there including Mars, which indicates the possibility of a violent death. Kennedy's Mars forms a square to Uranus, heightening the likelihood. On November 22, 1963 transiting Saturn and Neptune were both forming challenging aspects to Kennedy's Mars.

In the U.S. Scorpio Rising horoscope, Mars is also located in the eighth house and challenged by a square to Neptune. This is the only U.S. horoscope that explains the Presidential Death cycle as a natural unfoldment from the natal chart. Every twenty-one years transiting Neptune makes a hard aspect to the U.S. Midheaven, as it did on November 22, 1963. Reagan developed altzheimers during the 1985 Neptune cycle, and the next one is due in 2005-2006.

Michael Jackson, One Last Chance

Setting the stage for what is likely to become one of the most sensational celebrity court cases ever, Michael Jackson was handcuffed and booked on suspicion of child molestation last Thursday. The self-proclaimed King of Pop posted $3 million in bail and returned to Las Vegas where he has been shooting his latest video, appropriately named "One Last Chance".

Michael Jackson was born with Chiron conjunct his Midheaven (August 29, 1958; 11:53 pm; Gary, IN*). Chiron, often known as the Wounded Healer, tends to wound more than it heals, especially when stressfully linked to other planets. In Jackson's chart Chiron has challenging aspects to the love planets Venus and Mars. Jackson's reputation as weird and perhaps a sexual predator can be seen in this configuration.

Jackson has Saturn placed in the seventh house of "others", which includes partners and the public at large. Saturn here describes challenges to personal relationships, and often signifies a great age difference between partners. At the time of his arrest transiting Pluto was right on this Saturn, bringing any latent psychosis into the public realm.

Mars in Jackson's twelfth house plays a major role in these proceedings. Mars here reflects the hidden passageways and chambers that are accessible only through his bedroom at the Neverland Ranch, as well as the secret, possibly deviant activities that take place behind the scenes. Mars (by secondary progression) is nearing a square to natal Pluto, which indicates that he will fight with all his resources. This set-up may also indicate suicide.


* Time is from Basil Fearrington's research and communications with Jackson associates. See last week's profile on Paris Hilton for how the Venus-Chiron connection can give a feeling of being an outcast, or socially unacceptable, and NewsScope's December 24, 2002 for more on Jackson, but please note that the time given there (11:43 pm) is a typo.