Al-Jazeera, Broadcasting Islamic Views, U.S. Relocated to Tehran, Steve Martin Evokes Peter Sellers

February 13, 2006

Al-Jazeera, Broadcasting Islamic Views

Perhaps the most important battle in Bush's so-called War on Terrorism is over the hearts and minds of the Islamic people, and in this confrontation, the U.S. is losing. One of the biggest thorns in this media campaign is Al-Jazeera, which broadcasts from the oil-rich nation of Qatar, and is best known to Americans for airing the Osama bin Laden tapes.

Al-Jazeera's first broadcast was on November 1, 1996 (Doha, Qatar, time unknown), a date which can be used for its natal horoscope. The Sun-Mercury conjunction in Scorpio squares Uranus, reflecting the managers' longstanding "freedom of expression" line when questioned about its editorial policies. This Sun happens to be exactly conjunct the U.S. Scorpio Ascendant, showing how much impact Al-Jazeera has on Americans.

Al-Jazeera's Mars in detail-oriented Virgo is given a warrior's edge by hard aspects to Saturn, Uranus, and Pluto. The Mars-Pluto aspect by itself attracts intense power struggles, which seems manifest in Bush's depiction of the news station as Al-Qaeda's mouthpiece. The U.S. military "accidentally" bombed Al-Jazeera headquarters in Afghanistan and Iraq, and rumors abound that only Tony Blair talked Bush out of bombing the main studios in Qatar.

In May, Al-Jazeera will begin broadcasting in English, and has hired the venerable British journalist David Frost and former CNN anchor Riz Khan to boost its credibility. Transiting Jupiter will be conjunct Al-Jazeera's Sun then, bringing new opportunities by expanding its audience. However, transiting Saturn will be squaring its Sun, and we might expect severe legal challenges or other hurdles for this 24/7 news broadcast from the Islamic perspective.

U.S. Relocated to Tehran

One way to track the U.S. relationship with Iran is to relocate the U.S. horoscope to Tehran. This technique* uses the same time, date, and time zone (July 4, 1776; +5:00:40), but with the longitude and latitude of Tehran. The planets remain in the exact same degrees, while the relocated Ascendant becomes 22º25' Pisces, and the Midheaven is 25º36' Sagittarius.

Neptune (oil), located at 22º25 Virgo, dominates this chart by being the ruling planet, and by being located precisely on the Descendant. In Philadelphia, Mars (military) is in the 8th house, but relocated to Tehran, it's angular – conjunct the chart's fourth house cusp. The U.S. Mars-Neptune square becomes the primary signature of this relocation chart, making Tehran a key focus of the U.S. military-petroleum complex.

The CIA's first successful coup put the Shah in power on August 19, 1953 with all five of the outer planets forming tight aspects to this Mars-Neptune square. Iranian actions against U.S. interests are also shown in this chart. One example is the hostage crisis that began on November 4, 1979 when transiting Saturn was conjunct the relocated Neptune-Descendant, and transiting Neptune was entering the natal Mars-Neptune square.

Now and throughout 2006, transiting Pluto hovers over the relocated Midheaven, which accounts for the U.S.'s keen interest in Iran's nuclear program. Watch the rhetoric heat up when transiting Mars enters vocal Gemini on February 17. Mars then heads into an opposition with transiting Pluto, becoming exact on April 8. Mars-Pluto aspects can create extremely hostile confrontations, with increased likelihood of military action well before the aspect is exact.

Steve Martin Evokes Peter Sellers

Critics agreed that Steve Martin playing the bumbling Inspector Clouseau is a passably good show, but only makes one hunger for the real thing: Peter Sellers' in the original Pink Panther series. Martin's "meticulous, witty performance" was a better portrayal of the classic comic character than that given by previous pretenders. Still, none can match Seller's "clueless poise between idiocy and refinement."

Steve Martin (August 14, 1945; 5:54 am; Waco, TX) originally shot to fame playing an over-the-top rock star, a role perfectly suited to his Leo Sun and Pluto conjunct his Leo Ascendant. And what better astrological signature is there to play the "wild and crazy guy" schtick than an excitable Mars-Uranus conjunction in restless Gemini? Martin's fourth house Moon conjunct Ceres facilitates his more domestic roles, such as Father of the Bride.

Peter Sellers (September 8, 1925; 6:00 am; South Sea, UK) has a Sun-Mars conjunction in Virgo, a planetary combination that reflects Clouseau's tendency to get so wrapped up in the details that he misses the Big Picture. Sellers once remarked, "When I got his voice, I knew exactly how he should look." The voice is ruled by Mercury, which Sellers has in Leo conjunct imaginative Neptune.

In the current version, we can see how well Martin has assumed "the voice" and consequently the character, which is astrologically reflected by Martin's Sun conjunct Sellers' Mercury-Neptune. However, Martin's Mars squares Sellers' Mars, putting the two film stars into a comparative competition. Peter Sellers died in 1980, but transiting Uranus on his Descendant is awakening his memory.

* Akin to Astro*Carto*Graphy*, relocated horoscopes offer more precision and forecasting capabilities. Chapter Five of my book Political Astrology explains the method in detail. For more on Political Astrology, including the latest (rave!) book reviews. See here.

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by WolfStar

February 13, 2006