Deception, Illusion and Idealism

Last month we mentioned the 10th of March as a time when there might arise further issues of deception, illusion and idealism, especially in regard to military matters. This is because the characteristic Neptune square Mars in the U.S. chart was triggered by the Full Moon, transiting Saturn and transiting Uranus, while transiting Mars conjuncted U.S. Moon.

A few headlines from this period – March 9th and 10th:

Montreal - International Women's Day: thousands rally calling for a new world order

Israeli Apartheid Week took place in cities and on campuses around the world last week...

At Least 25 Die in Iraq Bombing

Obama Admits US Isn't Winning War in Afghanistan; Considers Talks with Taliban

In an interview with the New York Times, President Obama admitted the US is not winning the war in Afghanistan. His comment came weeks after he ordered 17,000 more troops to fight as part of an escalation of the seven-year-old war. Obama also revealed that the US is considering reaching out to moderate elements of the Taliban, much as it did with Sunni militias in Iraq.

These last three headlines point out the increasingly serious world situation that the U.S. faces in its attempts to provide the world with military solutions to pressing social problems, such as the tribal splits between factions in the Middle East and in Afghanistan.

Perhaps the most startling headline, in view of this saintly man's known restraint in such pronouncements:

Dalai Lama: China Has Turned Tibet into "Hell on Earth"

The Dalai Lama marked his fiftieth year in exile earlier today by demanding "meaningful autonomy" for his Tibetan homeland, where Chinese authorities have tightened security to stifle protests against their rule. The Dalai Lama slammed China for bringing "untold suffering and destruction" to Tibet and turning the region at times into a "hell on earth." His words came on the fiftieth anniversary of a failed uprising against Chinese troops, which led to his exile.

All these items reflect a growing realization that the solution to the world's problems can no longer be considered to depend on military methods; that this is an illusion endemic to the American foreign policy (represented by Mars in the 7th house of partnership in the U.S. chart, and incidentally square to Neptune). Instead the world and the United States must begin to rely on a broader and more high-road manifestation of Neptune that reflects compassion and the unity of humankind. This is where the idealism of the American people would like things to go, and where perhaps things could go if the illusion of progress through military might could be transcended.

In the current month, the First Quarter Moon of Thursday, April 2nd, is likely to provide a moment of tension, since it conjuncts and squares U.S. Sun, while aspecting Mars in trine with U.S. Sun and inconjunct U.S. Saturn. The outer planet aspects that have been so powerful lately are also still in effect and likely to be triggered at this time as well, and at the Full Moon of April 9th. Transiting Pluto is opposing U.S. Venus, the chart's 10th house ruler, while also squaring the Midheaven, indicating the depth of the transformation that this country is in the midst of. More and deeper revelations will surely follow in the weeks and months ahead.

Tricky politics in the new era

The Astrology of the US chart reveals that there is potentially more going on in government circles right now than meets the eye and this indeed seems to be the case when we closely examine the facts of the matter. This is because transiting Uranus is just opposite US Neptune, and the recent Full Moon configurations, including the one for March 10th, have triggered this aspect. Meanwhile, Saturn has made one pass in close conjunction to US Neptune with another on the way in late August. With US Neptune so activated we think of oil, and confusion or even deception in high places, as well as support for the high ideals of this country.

The high ideals are certainly evident in the mood of the electorate in hopeful approval of the new president. But the deception is there as well, as evidenced in some recent news items. This is an exchange between Bill Moyers and MIT economist Simon Johnson, a guest on his news show, dating from February 13:

Bill Moyers: And, yet, Secretary Geithner's chief-of-staff is the former lobbyist for Goldman Sachs. How - serious question - how do they make a dispassionate judgment about how to deal with Goldman Sachs when they're so intertwined with Goldman Sachs' mindset?

Simon Johnson: … the new administration has a lot of rules about lobbying. And they have rules that basically say, I think, as understood the rules, when they were first presented, I was very impressed. They basically said, "We're not going to hire lobbyists into the administration. There has to be some sort of cooling off period."

    Bill Moyers: And the next day Obama exempted a number of people from that very rule that he had just proclaimed.

    Simon Johnson: Yes. It's a problem. It's a huge problem.

    Bill Moyers: So here's the trillion dollar question that I take from your blog, that I read at the beginning, quote, "Can this person," your new economic strategist, in this case Geithner, "really break with the vested elite that got you into this much trouble?" Have you seen any evidence this week that he's going to be tough with these guys?

    Simon Johnson: I'm trying to be positive. I'm trying to be supportive. I like the administration. I voted for the president. The answer to your question is, no, I haven't seen anything. But you know, perhaps next week I will. But right now, as we speak, I have a bad feeling in my stomach.


Full transcript of BMJ for February 13

This is but one indication that there may be some difficulty in the new administration being able to meet the high ideals expressed by Barack Obama during his campaign. Another would be the actual carrying out of the anti-war platform that he ran on. Even though there has been a plan for a draw-down of troops in Iraq, there has been mention of "50,000 advisors" even after that draw-down has been achieved. And sending 30,000 additional troops to Afghanistan, while matching campaign promises, is not exactly an anti-war move. It is possible, as has been alleged, that more civilians are being currently killed in Afghanistan by the US army than by the Taliban. If true, this is also a serious problem for this president.

Also, even though President Obama has with great fanfare made plans for the closing of Guantanamo, ending the imprisonment without trial for some 200 prisoners there, his justice department has simultaneously refused the right of prisoners in Iraq and Afghanistan the right to a trial, using exactly the same argument as the Bush administration.

See truthout on Bagram prison

In another disturbing fact, a lawsuit pending against illegal wire-tapping by the Bush administration was attempted to be shut down by the current justice department, using, again, exactly the same argument as the Bush administration did.

See truthout wire-tapping legal battle

It may well be that the moneyed powers behind any Washington administration have more to say about the way the country is run than the public. For a discussion of this topic, see

Michael Winship blog entry

All of this is disturbing, and matches the astrological determination that the Obama administration, inaugurated under a void of course moon and Mercury retrograde, might begin after a while to look a little different than the promise that was initially held out, once in office.