A Path to War?

Oil tanker attacks of May 13, 2019.

The signs of war, involving the USA, are ever increasing at this time, as predicted at the end of last year. European and Asian oil tankers in the Strait of Hormuz have in recent months been repeatedly attacked. The US government has presented clear evidence that Iran (or its proxies) orchestrated the attacks. The USA is now ratcheting up pressure on Iran, by effectively threatening war if Iran does not cease threatening its neighbours by funding terrorism in the region and trying to acquire nuclear weapons. On June 20, 2019, Iran shot down a US Navy spy drone, which it claims entered its airspace.  The US refuted the claim, saying the drone was in international airspace. The situation is therefore rapidly becoming more tense. China and Russia have criticised the USA for provoking Iran, while France and Germany, which are more dependent on oil from the Middle East, have urged caution. The UK, like the USA, has reinforced its military assets in the region, while Israel has begun "war games".

Iran has been under ever tighter economic sanctions since May 2018, when President Trump pulled out of the Iran Nuclear Agreement (Joint Comprehensive Plan for Action). Trump said that Iran's long standing efforts to export terror and instability to various countries in the region, involving Hezbollah in Palestine, Hamas in the Gaza strip (Israel) and various terror groups in Syria, Iraq and Yemen, needed to stop. Only then can a durable agreement be signed and upheld, allowing Iran to sell oil on international markets. The Iranians have steadfastly denied the US and Israeli allegations.

Iran's Rev. Guards downed US drone on June 20.

Evidently, Iran's recent acts of war are attempts by the leadership in Tehran to force the USA to call off ever tightening sanctions. The Iranians are fully aware of the vulnerability of oil-dependent countries in Europe and Asia, which is seen in the reluctance of the European's to leave the nuclear agreement. It is also seen in Japanese Prime Minister Abe's trip to Tehran in mid June to seek a resumption of negotiations between the USA and Iran, which Iran flatly refused, saying it was a waste of time to talk to the Americans. Based on huge advances in the extraction of shale oil, the USA has become energy independent and thus has more degrees of freedom in dealing with Iran. Meanwhile, America's allies in Europe and Asia have a bigger stake in how the conflict is resolved. A war that stops oil from reaching Europe and Asia would be a worst case scenario. These countries are therefore trying to persuade the USA to peacefully resolve the situation. The Mullah´s have flesh in the game too. Their popular support in the country has been steadily dwindling as the ever tighter sanctions continue to bite. Public discontent with the regime was on international display in the election uprising of mid 2009, which was accurately predicted on this blog. 

ASTROLOGY OF 2019

Astrologically, this situation is reflected in the transit conjunction of Saturn and Ketu at 26°-20° Sagittarius from February to October 2019, which is already being reflected in worldwide events, but more so in countries with national horoscopes that connect with the transit, such as the USA and Iran, but also the EU,  Germany and the UK. 

The difficult transit conjunction of 2019.

This rare stationary and long standing transit conjunction took place at 12° Capricorn during the Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962. Interestingly, it was active in the SAMVA USA chart then, as it is now. The transit conjunction, highlights that the authorities and the public do not always know what is going on in the shadowy world of international intrigue, where things can suddenly escalate with horrifying repercussions. In 1962, the two sides were in the end willing to negotiate a solution. This time around it does not look likely and the Iranian's may just as well want to welcome the twelfth Mahdi in a final battle between good and evil.

With the benefit of astrology and an authentic horoscope for the USA, we can say that the transit and period influences today are, if anything, suggestive of a more difficult situation than at that time of the Cuban missile crisis, even if it may not become clear until later this month. On the upside, the SAMVA USA chart is undergoing a more propitious major period now, with Sun as 2nd lord in 7th house MEP, compared to the 1950s and 1960s, with Saturn as 8th lord in the 5th house.

CUBAN MISSILE CRISIS

The Soviets placed nuclear missiles in Cuba

The Cuban MissileCrisis was a 13-day confrontation -- from October 16 to October 28, 1962 -- between the United States and the Soviet Union. The crisis began with the American discovery of Soviet ballistic missile deployment in Cuba. The confrontation is often considered the closest the Cold War came to escalating into a full-scale nuclear war. After the failed Bay of Pigs invasion of Cuba in 1961, the Soviets began in July 1962 to move troops and missile batteries to Cuba. The Saturn-Venus period was operating.

•     August 1962: CIA Director John McCone becomes suspicious and writes a memorandum to the President recommending surveillance flights over Cuba.
•      September 11, 1962: Transit 8L Saturn moved in retrograde motion over natal 3L Mercury at 12° 05‘ Capricorn and 7H. At that time, tr Ketu was at 15° 00‘ Capricorn. The Soviet Union, which were busy building a missile battery in Cuba, publicly warned on this day that a US attack on Cuba or on Soviet ships carrying supplies to the island would mean war.
•      October 15, 1962: Start of the Crisis in the USA. Transit Ketu became exactly conjunct natal 3L Mercury. Transit 8L Saturn was at 11° 38‘ Capricorn, with an orb of 0° 27‘ from these two planets. On this day, President Kennedy was shown photos proving the presence of Soviet medium range nuclear tipped missiles on Cuba.
•      October 22, 1962: President Kennedy delivers a nationwide television broadcast to inform the public about the crisis. The public becomes alarmed.
•      October 25, 1962: Transit Ketu became conjunct tr 8L Saturn at 11° 36‘ Capricorn. The crisis peaks but at the same time begins to be defused with a Security Council meeting at the UN and secret negotiations between Premier Kruischev and President Kennedy.
•      October 28, 1962: The crisis is considered to have effectively ended on this day.

The strength of 3th lord Mercury is considered to have avoided any major setback to the USA on this day. However, the Soviet-US negotiations resulted in comparable Jupiter medium range nuclear tipped missiles being secretly removed from Turkey within six months. Some viewed this a setback for the USA, but it also paved the way for sharply improved relations with the Soviets ten years later.

IRAN WAR CRISIS

Trump is dealing with a well equipped adversary.

The Sun-Saturn period is operating in the SAMVA USA chart between February 2019 and February 2020, with transit 8th lord Saturn becoming conjunct transit Ketu from March until October 2019. Astrologers can never know exactly how the karma seen in a chart will be expressed, in terms of what will happen. However, this transit involves three functional malefic planets in malefic houses, afflicting a sensitive natal planet, which is a recipe for disaster. So far, there have been significant tensions in USA - Chinese commercial relations as well as the fear of a war breaking out between the USA and Iran around oil shipping in the Strait of Hormuz. Domestic terrorism or a natural disaster are also possibilities.

•      May 10, 2019: USA raises tariffs on $200 billion of goods from China.
•       May 12, 2019: Two oil tankers attacked, likely by Iran or its proxy, near the Straits of Hormuz.
•       May 13, 2019: USA places Chinese company, Huawei, on a list banning it from purchasing US companies.
•       June 1, 2919: China raises tariffs on $60 billion of US goods.
•       June 3, 2019: Transit Ketu moved over natal 4L Venus at 23° 50‘ Sagittarius and 6th house.
•       June 4, 2019: Massacre at Virginia Beach, 13 dead and 4 injured.
•       June 13, 2019: Two more oil tankers attacked in Straits of Hormuz, likely by Iran or its proxy.
•       June 20, 2019: Iran downs a US Navy spy drone outside/inside its international airspace.
• .......
•       June 29, 2019: Transit 8th lord Saturn becomes exactly conjunct natal 4th lord Venus.
•       July 4, 2019: Transit 8th lord Saturn and transit stationary Ketu become exactly conjunct at 23° 29‘ Sagittarius and 6th house.
•       July 10, 2019: Transit 2nd lord Sun becomes conjunct transit stationary Rahu at 23° 30' Gemini and 12th house most effective point (MEP) and opposite transit 8th lord Saturn at 23° 01' Sagittarius and 6th house MEP.

As natal 4th lord Venus is weak in the SAMVA USA chart, the setbacks from these severe afflictions are expected to be greater than during the October 1962 period. At that time, the leadership and the nation resolutely faced a death-like fear but without any real harm. This time, the discontent of the public over another costly war is likely to surge. Moreover, as the transits continue difficult for the USA into the fall, there will likely not be a quick resolution if the situation comes to blows. The Iranian regime may also resort to terrorist attacks in the USA. As transit Saturn moves into Capricorn and 7th house of the SAMVA USA chart in January 2020, it is likely the communal strife seen from the onset of Trump's term will then begin to ease. 

As for Iran, the difficulty seen in the horoscope for the Islamic Revolution, suggest the theorcratic regime may collapse. If so, this would pave the way for a new chapter in the Middle East, based on increased commercial prosperity and peaceful relations among Shia and Sunni factions.