Because of the way the orbits of Earth and Mars are coming together, the apparent movement of Mars across the sky is quite unusual this summer. The extreme behavior began when Mars was “out of bounds”. This occurs when Mars, bringer of war and initiative, went further south than 23 degrees 26 minutes South declination, of the ecliptic average extreme. The time period for this was March 4 through March 21, 2003. Sure enough, the war on Iraq began March 18, when Mars was in Capricorn exactly trine (most optimal position) to George W. Bush’s Mars, which is at 9 degrees 18 minutes of Virgo. Mars is exalted in the sign Capricorn, so victory appeared to be quick and easy.

On March 10, Uranus, the planet associated with novelty and quantum shifts, moved into Pisces after residing in Aquarius since 1995. As summer approached, Mars and Uranus moved closer to a conjunction, which is always a volatile combination. On July 16, 2003 we witnessed a Moon/Mars/Uranus conjunction, followed within a few hours by the Tragedy at the Farmer’s Market in Santa Monica. The next day, July 17, Mars was at opposition to Bush’s Mars and you know that the situation in Iraq was not as nifty as when the war began.

George Bush is a Cancer, born July 6, 1946 and has a 12th house Saturn in Cancer, which means he does not pay much attention to public opinion. Transiting Saturn (in the sky in real time) is the one to watch that will bring George to face his karma. On July 26, Saturn was at perihelion, or closest to the Sun in its elliptical orbit. This happens once every 29.5 years, and marks a time of increased potency for Saturn. On July 29, Mars stood retrograde less than one degree from being perfectly opposite George’s Mars. Mars had moved from the easy trine position to the most difficult opposition since March. Headlines the next day declared that George Bush called for a law to ban gay marriages, saying that gay people were “sinners”. Buried in the press release was a note that he also took the blame for the mis-statement he made regarding Iraq trying to buy uranium in Africa. Saturn brings one to task for their actions while Mars at the opposition means that lack of consideration for others and self-aggrandizement are not well received.

On August 9, Mars will be exactly opposite his Mars again, only retrograde this time. This is a time of maximum opposition to his aggressive qualities. It is important to understand that Mars and Uranus are in the sign of Pisces. Pisces is not a warlike sign so overt aggression is improbable. Pisces is associated with behind-the-scenes activity and with illusion and imagination (like Hollywood). It is also associated with paying off of outstanding karma, as there are no more signs left until we begin a new cycle in Aries. Fragmentation within the intelligence community is a symptom of back-room dissent. Probably, the public will never find out what is really going on behind closed doors.

On August 13, we can look forward to another Moon/Mars/Uranus conjunction and there is no telling what will happen then, except perhaps sudden, tragic events. We can look forward to this triple conjunction again on September 9 and October 7.

On August 28, Mars and the Earth will be closer in space than they have been in a long, long time. Various sources indicate closer than in 5,000 to 73,000 years, although the longer estimates come with more credibility. Whatever the numbers, this has not been witnessed in recorded history. Classically, astrology does not deal much with the nearness of planets to Earth, but the closeness of Mars will make it very bright in the sky and with the dictum of “As above, so below” being the cardinal rule of astrology, the assumption can be made that the effects of Mars will be much exaggerated. Only two days later, Mars is at perihelion, which occurs once every two years, but this passage is unusual in that this will be the closest Mars has been to the Sun in 300 years. The last time Mars and Saturn reached perihelion in the same year was 1915, a time of massive carnage in Eastern Europe. All of these circumstances indicate a high degree of novelty, indeed.

We must not forget about Saturn. Saturn is in Cancer which plays out in politics as the weight of public expectations. Saturn works by cutting out that which is unnecessary or harmful and will conjunct the Sun of the July 4, 1776 chart of the US on October 20, 2003. The last time this happened marked the resignation of Richard Nixon, to the day, which is remarkable in a 29.5 year cycle. The previous conjunction of Saturn came on June 26, 1945, which was the day the UN charter was signed and June 27, 1945 which was the day the infamous Bard memorandum was issued that gave the OK to deploy the atomic bomb on Japan. In a most interesting twist of fate, George Bush’s Sun is at 13 degrees 47 minutes of Cancer, while the Sun of the US chart is 13 degrees 13 minutes of Cancer, only 34 minutes away. Saturn will very slowly pass the Sun of the US chart and make a station at 13 degrees 14 minutes of Cancer, turning retrograde within one minute of the US Sun, coming to exactitude on October 31.

This time period from October 20-31 will be a time of intense demand from the public for accountability from our national leaders. Simultaneously will be a worldwide call for answerability to the United States as a nation for our foreign policies. Our popularity as a country will be at a 30-year low. The interesting thing is that Saturn stops 33 minutes short of Bush’s Sun, so he may appear to escape in some manner. In the midst of this, we have the last total eclipse until 2006 on November 3 at 1 degree Sagittarius. Although not impacting anything intensely in Bush’s chart, the eclipse is quincunx to the Venus/Jupiter conjunction of the US chart and indicates erratic forces on the national economy. Eclipses classically mark the comings and goings of national leaders. This eclipse is directly opposite Tony Blair’s Mars/Jupiter conjunction. Also, Mars will have turned direct and is back to the opposition of Bush’s own on November 5, 2003. The following day is the return of Mars to the spot where it turned retrograde. This will be the time when his remarks about gays as sinners will come to roost.

Saturn will turn direct in March, 2004 and pass over the Sun of the US chart on June 9, 2004 and then over Bush’s Sun on June 14 at which time he will have to openly answer for his past actions. The conflicts engendered during the retrograde period will be resolved at this time. At the start of high novelty in October 2004, we see that Saturn will return to Bush’s own Saturn on October 8, 2004. This indicates the end of his 2nd cycle of karma, classically accompanied by the rich rewards for a life of steadfast and earnest work or the resounding crash of speculation and mad schemes. The Saturn return is followed by an eclipse on October 13 that is square to his Saturn, exacerbating the effect of taking responsibility for his actions.

The movements of Mars, Saturn and Uranus this summer and fall are truly unprecedented. Knowing this is the case certainly adds to the fun of catching up on the daily news. Our first president (George W.) had a vision that our current president (George W.) is bringing to fruition. Just prior to the battle at Valley Forge, George Washington had a profound vision that is recorded in many places, including the Library of Congress. I think we are in the second to last stage of his vision right now. The very last scene is yet to unfold and I am waiting with great anticipation to see how this comes about. You can read about his vision at:
http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Aegean/2444/gwvision.html