Astrology of the Iraq War

Astrology of the Iraq War

Updated 5-20-2006

The Iraq War has become the most divisive national issue since the Vietnam War. Representative John Murtha’s 2005 comments in which he advocated a six month pullout of troops ignited a partisan firestorm. In the subsequent debate, Republicans and Democrats alike have alluded to Vietnam, as either the supreme Ur-quagmire or as the triumph of cowardly peaceniks. We thus have one conflict—the Iraq War—super-imposed on experiences of an earlier one. It’s a bit like an adult whose responses to external events are shaped by childhood experiences.

Neptune in the Iraq War

In an earlier article published in The Mountain Astrologer (“Clouds of War: Neptune, the U.S., and Iraq”), I wrote about the planet Neptune as a significant connection between Vietnam and Iraq. Neptune is the planet of deception, stealth, and hidden motives. While it is often lauded as a spiritual, poetic planet, it can also be a planet of deception, illusion, and veiled truth. When astrology is applied to politics and world events, an afflicted Neptune (that is, when it is in a challenging aspect) can indicate deception and illusiveness.

In the horoscope for the “new” Iraq (see below), Neptune is part of a T-square also involving Mercury and Saturn. A T-square creates tension and release of energy. In addition, the U.S. Neptune and the Iraq Pluto are exactly square (see bi-wheel below).

In my article in The Mountain Astrologer, I wrote about Neptune’s role in the Iraq War, then noted the following:

“If we look back at previous international conflicts, we also find that Neptune has a large role to play. Neptune figured prominently in another war: the Gulf of Tonkin resolution is now recognized by historians as a deception by Lyndon Johnson to get Congress to enact the closest thing we ever had to a Vietnam war resolution. On the day that the Gulf of Tonkin resolution was approved by Congress (August 7, 1964), a conjunction of the Sun (the president) and the Moon (the people) exactly squared Neptune. Perhaps the strength of Neptune at these times has to do with the fact that in most armed conflicts, there are always degrees of deceit, hidden elements, and appearances are at variance with the truth.”

The power of Neptune in the Iraq War comes out in statements like John Murtha’s when he said, “The war in Iraq is not going as advertised. It is a flawed policy wrapped in illusion.” The fact that the U.S. Neptune and the Iraq Pluto are exactly square shows that this conflict is about the illusion of power.

A recent article in the New York Times noted the high degree of confusion, treachery, and rumor (all facets of Neptune) faced by American troops on the ground in Iraq. One of the American generals quoted in the article said,

“We get lots and lots of reports, tips and rumors, and we have to sort out which are real, and which are not. We get a call and somebody tells us that these men came during the night and took 25 men, and that they were found dead in the road the next morning, and they tell us that the American Army came with these men and stood by and did nothing. By the time we get the call, the next morning, we have to figure out whether this was the Iraqi Army or police, or a militia, or a gang that has used stolen trucks and painted them and used stolen uniforms. It's very hard for those of us who are fighting this war to ferret this all out."

The Iraq Horoscope

Since the Bush administration is trumpeting the new Iraqi coalition government, the horoscope for Iraq can give some insight into what the future might actually hold. The first question is: Which horoscope? There have been many milestones and benchmarks from which to choose, from the initial invasion in March, 2003, through the installation of the cabinet on May 20, 2006. However, October 15, 2005, the date when Iraqis voted to ratify the new constitution, was a supremely important date and it is the one I am using for the new national horoscope for Iraq (see below).

The Iraq constitution ratification horoscope, set for 5:00 PM (when the polls closed, according to news reports) in Baghdad is very revealing. I believe that the closing of the polls is important in this case, because that is the “sealing” of the ballots and the moment when the new Iraqi future began. The opening of the polls is good to use for a horoscope when one is trying to predict an election outcome, but in this case, we are looking for the moment of the creation of a new nation. The handover of Iraq from Paul Bremer, the provisional governor of Iraq, to a transitional Iraqi government on June 28, 2004, is also a possible date of national birth. However, the purpose of that handover was to put in place a transitional government which would oversee the writing of a new constitution and national elections for a permanent Iraqi constitutional democracy. The defining moment of national birth was the subsequent national election which ratified the constitution.

The main caveat to this horoscope is that it presupposes new Iraqi national sovereignty. The birth of a new Iraqi constitution may have been controlled by the United States to such an extent that a true national identity for a unified Iraq is not now possible. In fact, the U.S. Pluto (power) very closely squares the Iraq Jupiter. Jupiter is the planet of religious beliefs, as well as laws which guarantee freedom. It is important, therefore, to let history run its course before concluding that such a thing as an Iraq horoscope actually exists at this point. What I have supposed as the Iraq horoscope is best viewed in the context of the U.S. horoscope, either through synastry or composite.

Mercury Square Saturn

The new Iraq horoscope shows a tight fixed square between Mercury and Saturn. Mercury in political astrology rules political speeches, communication, and change. Saturn rules the “formal side of the state…the law from the standpoint of its restraining purposes” (quoting from Charles Carter’s Political Astrology). The square between these two planets in the Iraqi constitution horoscope is going to make the formation of any new unity government very challenging.

One example: The new prime minister, al Maliki (who was so little known that upon his ascension it was revealed that his actual first name is not Jawad but Nouri), is described by U.S. government representatives as a coalition builder and someone who will be tough on the insurgents. This may mean that al Maliki will fold the Shiite militias—which have been accused of torturing and killing Sunnis—into the regular Iraqi army. This would have the adverse effect of further empowering the militias, giving them access to more and better weapons, and thus fueling sectarian hatred and resentment.

The Iraqi constitution horoscope when overlaid on the U.S. horoscope shows two significant contacts. First, the U.S. Neptune and the Iraq Pluto are exactly square. Second the U.S. Pluto is exactly conjunct the Iraq Chiron. Not a lot has been written about the applications of Chiron in mundane astrology, but I believe it has much the same meaning as it does in personal astrology. Although it is somewhat of an oversimplified cliché to say that Chiron represent the “wound,” this meaning resonates with its close contact with the U.S. Pluto: wounded power, powerful wound, etc.

The Yod in the Iraq Horoscope

The horoscope for the new Iraq has a yod, which is a triangle pattern formed by three planets: two planets which are sextile each other. both qunicunxing a third planet at the apex. It is not very common. In the Iraq horoscope, the Sun and Pluto are sextile, and they both quincunx Mars. Bil Tierney wrote a classic book, Dynamics of Aspect Analysis, on basic chart aspects. When simply looking at the energy of a chart aspect, this book is an invaluable guide.

Tierney notes that a true yod has the slowest-moving of the three planets at the apex. This would make the Iraq yod in actuality a double quincunx, although Tierney says that much of the energy of a yod can still be activated even with a faster-moving planet like Mars at the apex. The apex planet of a yod represents a very significant principle in the overall expression of the horoscope.

Pluto is associated with the Iraq 8th house and the upper half of the Iraq horoscope. The Sun is associated with the Iraq 5th house and the lower half of the Iraq horoscope. These two planets quincunxing Mars denote “a special challenge to constructively alter and bring into clearer focus that which hinders or impairs the total functioning of the individual” (p. 146 of Dynamics of Aspect Analysis).

Tierney assigns special significance to the focal point opposite the apex. In the Iraq horoscope, that would be 21° Scorpio. Transits or progressions to this point trigger the energy of the yod. It is especially significant when slower-moving planets transit over this degree. We would look therefore for Jupiter’s transit over this degree in October, 2006, coincident with Saturn’s square to the apex degree at the same time, to activate the yod, an aspect also known as the “finger of God.” In my Mountain Astrologer article on the Iraq War, I commented on the importance of the Jupiter cycle in Iraq’s national evolution. It is the planet of religious beliefs, strongly held principles, and the law. Jupiter can sometimes point to prosperity and peace. As a triggering planet, however, it is the yod itself and not Jupiter which will be expressed.

Tierney describes the Mars apex yod as being one in which there is “difficulty initiating personal matters in a direct and open manner.” Active efforts may “miss the mark” and have unintended consequences. Does this not sound like the current situation in Iraq, in which it has taken five months to form a new government?

Tierney goes on: “Once this yod is ripe for activation [i.e., once it is transited by a slower-moving planet, like Jupiter], the individual can find himself centered upon a new life course requiring him to mobilize his vital forces in an externally demanding manner…perhaps under an acute crisis situation…As an apex planet, forceful Mars could suggest that this individual might have to sever ties from the past or directly break away from former comforting securities during this appointed time of self-confrontation. (italics added for emphasis)