Trials and Tribulations for the American Military Machine

Last month we stated that April 2nd to the 9th would be a time of trials and tribulations for the American administration and its military machine, with the possibility of deception surfacing. This was due to transits affecting U.S. Sun and also its Mars – Neptune square. It turns out that April 2nd was the day of massive protests at the G20 summit in London, as world leaders gathered in the midst of an increasing economic melt-down, and after the Obama administration had put so much money into the banking system with so little actual oversight. One group of protestors wrote “thieves” on the wall of a London bank, and one person died in the protest. The next day, NATO’s 60th anniversary summit in the city of Strasbourg met with hundreds of protesters. Police used tear gas and rubber bullets.

In the week to follow it became clear that violence was increasing in Iraq, even as President Obama requested nearly $84 billion in war funding. There were also tens of thousands of Iraqi protestors on the 6th anniversary of the invasion.

Of course the biggest story involving deception and the military from April would be the release of the Bush administration’s torture memos, authorizing torture and making arguments for its legality, together with the assurance from the Obama administration that CIA operatives who followed these guidelines with prisoners would be spared from prosecution. This story significantly broke on April 17th, the same day as the Last Quarter Moon which exactly conjuncted U.S. Pluto. The timing on this was quite similar to that of another related story, namely that the Spanish attorney general has recommended against prosecuting six Bush administration officials for promoting the torture of Guantanamo prisoners, yielding to pressure from the Obama administration.

The above stories indicate that the Neptune–Mars square in the U.S chart is alive and well, if ‘well’ is the applicable word. The transits of April highlighted this aspect.
In the current month, the dates that stand out are May 8th and the 16th - 17th, and May 24th. May 16th is when Saturn stations direct in sextile to U.S. Sun. The Full Moon of the 8th as well as the New Moon of the 24th aspect transiting Pluto, just as Pluto squares the U.S Midheaven and opposes U.S. Venus. We might unfortunately see further revelations during this month regarding the eroding situation for the U.S. economy.

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.