America at War by Jim Lewis

AMERICA at WAR IN 1980?

     Carter’s Mars Confronts Crisis in the Middle East…

     by Jim Lewis

      Jimmy Carter’s administration has at least presided over one major change-there has been a shift in the locale (if not the frequency or gravity) of the world’s problems.  Israel, Vietnam, and the Far East, seemingly impossible quagmires for Presidents Kennedy through Ford, though far from settled, have taken a back seat to a whole new set of crises, centering in Iran, East Africa and that part of the world know to the ancients as “Arabia Felix”, a misnomer now as then.

      Is there some way that astrology can explain this shift in the world’s problem zones? More importantly, can astrology suggest the next stages of development in these crises, which seem to evolve so rapidly that anything written about them is out of date before going to press?  It should be mentioned here that this article is being written in December, 1979, at which point the hostage crisis in Iran has entered its second month, and the Soviet Union has just made its first bold play in Afghanistan.

      Two years ago, in another publication, I was able to correctly forecast problems in Iran and Korea for Carter.  At a time when the Shah was being called in the press “an island of calm in the troubled Middle East”, I suggested; “…if trouble occurs, we can expect it in those areas where Truman also committed troops and material. Korea and Iran seem most dangerous, with the Horn of Africa and various adjoining areas also pinpointed.”

      This parallel to President Truman, which has proven all too accurate, was drawn from the fact that both men held a rather unusual trait in common-Mars was on the horizon in Iran and the other places mentioned above when each of them was born.  A coincidence?  Perhaps, but it seems less so when one realizes Mars also occupied angles in Vietnam for Presidents Kennedy, Johnson and Ford, and dominated Pearl Harbor in Roosevelt’s natal chart.

      It has long been by contention that location plays a more important role in astrology than it has been assigned. The horoscope is a product of both time and space. The positions of the planets are calculated from the moment of birth, but the houses into which they are put depend, as well as upon the time, on the exact latitude and longitude at which the birth took place.  Time and space are very closely associated; clock time is a function of the earth’s rotation, so that if one moves rapidly over the surface of the earth, the time is changed as well as the space. Air travelers know if they move fast enough, they travel in time also-gaining or losing several hours.

      It seems reasonable that change in residence should have an effect on the horoscope, and I assert that the emphasis of a chart can be consciously changed by moving to bring its various natural factors into sharper focus at different geographical locations.  This is done by seeing where the new “angles” (Ascendant, Descendant, Midheaven, and Imum Coeli or I.C.) fall in the new, relocated horoscope.  While the planets in a relocation chart remain in the same degree and minute, the house cusps, including the all-important horizon and meridian, move as one traverses distance across the surface of the earth.

      In a new location, there is a new Ascendant and Midheaven, and, in certain places, these may coincide with a planet.  This may be simply understood by recognizing that at the moment of Carter’s, or anyone’s, birth, somewhere on earth the planet Mars was rising exactly; somewhere else the Moon was straight overhead, and so forth.  It has been my observation, one in keeping with the work of Gauquelin, that the planet that occupies a local angular position dominates the personality of the native in that place.  For example, residence in an area where Jupiter was angular at the time of birth will bring out statesmanlike, optimistic, conformist, and religiously-oriented parts of the personality.  Residence under an angular Mars, on the contrary, will bring out assertion, belligerence, sexuality, and perhaps a proneness to violence.

      There is a method that simplifies the selection of a location where certain astrological conditions should prevail. Instead of casting a new chart (complete with its houses and signs) each time a person moves, a map is computer-generated on which lines are drawn that show where certain planets would occupy the “spotlight’ of angularity.  All places at which, for example, Mars would occupy the exact Ascendant lie on a line; therefore, instead of drawing up hundreds of new charts for each of those places, a map is calculated on which is drawn a line, labeled “MA ASC”, identifying the places on earth where the individual’s natal Mars was on the Ascendant.  The entire map contains 40 lines-10 planets and 4 angular positions for each one.  With these all identified and drawn, a person may select an area at which any particular planet would be most prominent and active in his or her life or experience.

      So, what has this to do with the Presidents, and Carter in particular?  In calculating maps of this sort for the seven Presidents since Roosevelt, it becomes apparent that nearly all of them have made war in parts of the world where Mars was wither rising, setting, or on the upper (MC) or lower (IC) meridian when they were born.

     Carter’s Trouble Spots

      A quick glance at Jimmy Carter’s Map, which accompanies this article, shows that this pattern prevails in his case as well-the Mars Ascendant (MA ASC) line dominates Iran (I), Iraq, Arabia, Ethiopia, Kenya, Tanzania, Zambia, Rhodesia, and South Africa-an almost complete list of the areas most troubled since Carter took office. Another Mars line, the Midheaven (MH), cut through Korea, the Philippines, and Indonesia, as well as Australia, and while as of this writing open conflict has not broken out in any of these places, Korea has recently seen a coup d’etat, while the Philippines grows restive under an escalating martial law similar to that of the deposed Shah. The Mars Descendant line barely touches land in the mid-Pacific, while the IC line outlines Brazil and Uruguay, though only in the case of the latter does it go near populated areas.  This, the map immediately identifies the regions of the world most likely to encounter problems with President Carter in office.

      A secondary technique that has proven most useful in the interpretation of these “Astro*Carto*Graphy®” maps, by defining where on a line problems are most apt to occur, is that of line crossings (paranatellonta). The principle behind this idea is that anywhere along the latitude line at which two planetary lines cross, there is to be a manifestation of the nature of the two planets. That is, if the Saturn and Pluto lines cross, as they do in Carter’s map in Algeria, the experience of the combination of Saturn’s and Pluto’s concepts will manifest anywhere along that exact latitude, which in this case includes Teheran. Following the line across the map at the latitude of Teheran (35N40) one sees also nearby crossings of Moon and Neptune, Jupiter and Mars, and Venus and Jupiter.

     Mars Over Teheran

      Saturn and Pluto can be interpreted (with the acuity of hindsight) as painful responsibility.  One senses the frozen energy of this combination in the frustration of Carter’s plight with the hostages. In the booklet that accompanies Astro*Carto*Graphy® maps, I wrote of this combination: “Quiet resistance to injustice…unwanted burdens and recognition of personal powerlessness in the face of tyrannical forces or fate.  This is where you weigh your own soul, make decisions for the rest of your life, and where the past closes behind you firmly and for good… Dependents may pass away in this local…”

      Moon-Neptune seems less appropriate, although the combination of sensitivity and deception leads to a sense of uncertainty exaggeration of the unknown aspects of problems, and “a weird and hysterical climate”.  Venus-Jupiter, with its pursuit of art work, love of pleasure and indolence, can only be said to apply in the passivity that Carter was forced to adopt when dealing with the hostage situation.

      Of course, of all these influences, the Mars is the most important, as it is the planet actually occupying the angles in Teheran, along with Jupiter, which is very nearby.  In fact, the two cross exactly over Azerbaijan, the area that has resisted the Ayatollah’s government most fiercely, and that has for millenia been fought over by its inhabitants, Iran, Turkey and the U.S.S.R. Mars and Jupiter are militant, aggressive, and tend to get involved in the defense of ideals, a righteous and , or course, religious combination, but one belligerently so.  The pair’s meaning is redolent of the types of moral insults the Ayatollah has heaped on Carter, as well as the obvious religious problems-a perfect combination for the “jihad” (holy war) that the Ayatollah has called upon his people to prosecute.

      In Carter’s natal chart, Mars lies in the 4th house and the sign of Aquarius, closely opposite Venus and Neptune.  Mars in Aquarius is belligerently idealistic, enforcing ideals, in this case ones drawn from patriotic and familial roots (the 4th house). Carter has the outward (10th house Venus and Neptune ) posture of a pacifist, eschewing violence and threats as a mode of diplomacy-but once he is cornered on his own terrain, or threatened in a way he feels in compromising his loyalties or nationality, the cold, calculating, and amoral fury of Aquarian Mars is released.

      Mars trines the rising Saturn, so anger is not superficial-there is personal identification with causes, decision, purposes and follow-through once this man is aroused. Mars rules the 2nd and 6th houses, so most of this energy seeks outlet, in addition to the 4th house patriotism and idealism, in work and material gain.  It is ingenious (recalling his interest in nuclear engineering), technical and forthright, loathing above all the bully and the braggart. Once aroused, there is little opening for compromise, as the opposition to Venus and Neptune assures that there can be no trusting framework for negotiation or compromise once belligerence has surfaced.

     Degrees of Significance

      But Mars’ position in Jimmy Carter’s nativity takes on even greater meaning when it is compared to the charts of others in the Iranian and world crisis.  It occupies 25 degrees 53 minutes Aquarius, and we are not surprised to find the former Shah’s natal Uranus nearby-27 degrees 50 minutes Aquarius. Both of these lie opposite the natal Venus in the U.S. chart (I use the Boyd “Declaration of War” chart for July 6 1775) at 25 degrees 14 minutes Leo, which, significantly, rules the 2nd and 9th houses-economy and foreign affairs. Also, Israel’s natal Mars lies opposite this degree, hinting at a slight cooling of relations since Jimmy Carter has taken office. The Ayatollah’s Sun in 25 degrees Taurus (conjunct the Tropical longitude of Algol, a star of singular malevolence), squares (and thus agitates) all of the above, while his government'’ accession chart (February 11 1979) has no less than the sun, Moon, Mercury, Mars and Uranus making hard aspects to these degrees.

      Thus, we see a rather stunning pattern emerge-Carter’s Mars at 25 degrees Aquarius rose closely at Teheran when Carter was born (a rectification about 15 minutes earlier would make it exact).  Jupiter was nearby, adding a measure of righteousness and power to Mars’ potential violence.  Mars is aspected by the U.S. natal Venus, the Shah’s Uranus, the Ayatollah’s Sun, and the current Iranian regime’s several vital placements, as well as to Mars in the Israeli chart.  The resultant tension seems not at all surprising in light of these contacts, and the fall of the Shah seemed a necessary part of Carter’s destiny.  How ironic it is that the first President to make a public issue of his religion also is the first to risk a “holy war” with a competing one! But such is the nature of Aquarius when its ideals are inflamed by the one-way intensity of mars, and given a sense of righteousness by the somewhat simplistic, superior, and self-righteous Sagittarian Jupiter.

      The Iranian crisis (at least the part involving the hostages) began developing shortly before the New Moon of November 19, 1979; is not a little significant that this lunation occurred at 26 48’ degrees Scorpio in one degree square to the important Carter Mars, opposite the Ayatollah’s Sun, etc., as well as cunjunct (albeit widely) transiting Uranus, at 21 degrees Scorpio.

      As of this writing (December 1979), the situation remains a standoff-fearing to imperil the lives of the hostages, Carter has bided his time, and exhausted most peaceful means of securing their release.  Hints are now dropped daily in the press about economic sanctions, and ominous sounding “other remedies” to be exercised in the near future.

      What these “other remedies” may be, and when they may be exercised, can be seen in the very threatening planetary series of angles to form aspects to these all-important 25th degrees of the fixed signs in the next few months. As most of these aspects will have passed by the time this article sees the light of the newsstand, the reader may judge for him 0r herself if they have eventuated in the manner suggested below.  Of primary interest is the ongoing conjunction of transiting Mars and transiting Jupiter, whose first exact contact occurred in mid-December 1979; as these planets locally identify Carter’s involvement, we can be sure that the almost continuous conjunction of Mars and Jupiter until June 1980 promises an ongoing, accelerating, and very tense period of military preparation, threats, and macho posturing in the international arena, if not actual armed conflict.

      Throughout this period, Mars is moving slowly, approaching its retrograde arc, so its power is intensified.  On January 4, 1980, it makes the first of three squares to Carter’s natal Jupiter (two others occur January 28th and June10th),  As the first of these is almost exactly contemporaneous with the invasion of Afghanistan (marked “A” on the map) by Soviet troops. Mars’ station and the second aspect in January will see that crisis intensify and merge with the Iranian problem.  This seems all the more threatening when it is recalled that the Vietnam War Presidents (Johnson in particular) had Mars and Jupiter angular in Southeast Asia.  The two planets are traditionally associated with extravagance, military spending and inflation.

      Later in 1980, aspects to Carter’s natal Mars (and the other charts’ various critical points) suggest a time table to increasing militarism and provocation.

     CRITICAL PERIODS

      Early January 1980: Saturn makes its station in exact conjunction (22’ arc) to the U.S.A. natal Mars. In all likelihood, events (known or not) bring the frustration of the American people to a peak of tension.  Economic stresses are probably being felt, fuel supplies may be endangered, and the U.S.’s hands seem tied; a time of impotence and quiet insult.  Most projects to release the hostages fail at this time.

      Mid-February 1980 sees a solar eclipse exactly (47’) on Carter’s Mars.  My feeling about eclipses is that they set the stage, and await transits to activate them; it is worthwhile to note that this eclipse culminates precisely over Teheran, as does the next lunar eclipse two weeks later. Activating the Ayatollah’s Sun, the deposed Shah’s Uranus, ets., these eclipses probably hint at change of government in the near future in Iran, as well as the incredible civil unrest that such would be expected to engender. And the wait for activating transits is not long, so events follow fast and furious.

      February 29, 1980 sees a station  of Uranus at 25’ 34’ Scorpio, within 19’ of exact aspect to Carter’s Mars. This is perhaps the second most threatening of all aspects this year and shows Carter is forced to act quickly, decisively, and in response to, or with, violence.  The President takes an unusual risk it would seem, abandoning suddenly his circumspect posture, and the world is probably brought perilously close to a major confrontation as a result. Around this time, transiting Pluto conjoins the natal Moon on the U.S.A. chart, and the fact that this Moon culminates over Moscow in the U.S.A. Astro*Carto*Graphy® map suggests that the U.S.S.R. could use its power in Afghanistan to further threaten Iran. The American people react emotionally as the possibility of armed conflict between the superpowers reaches a fevered pitch.

      In late March 1980, the developing crisis enters a phase of uncertainty, as Neptune’s station closely squares Carter’s Mercury; Congress is confused and unable to act as quickly as events unfold, and necessary secrecy is challenged as a mask of incompetence. The press probably turns against Carter now, and politics enters the picture.

      But it is April that sees the most difficult aspect, one that is probably in force as you read this magazine.  Mars, which turned retrograde in January, in close square to Carter’s Jupiter (Mars-Jupiter again).  April 7th, makes its direct station in exact opposition to Carter’s Mars (1’ of arc orb). Considering the previous stress on the President’s Mars-a solar eclipse, the station of Uranus, as well as its involvement with the U.S.A. and the other relevant charts-this looks ominously militant in nature. It is probably the final stage of the crisis (though these aspects repeat, in lesser force, in July and November of this year), one marked by considerable tension, and perhaps military involvement.  While no responsible astrologer likes to go on record with definite predictions, it never the less seems to me likely that April will see a very significant crisis involving Jimmy Carter, the U.S. and the other parties identified in this article.  Tension is bound to be extraordinarily high, and it is hoped that Carter’s basic Libran diplomacy and tact are able to prevent a major confrontaion.

      In closing, it should be mentioned that Iran is not the only place in which President Carter has Mars potentials.  Korea and the other countries mentioned early in this article are also liable to upset under these extraordinarily intense aspects in early 1980.  The US economy may hit new lows, and an oil embargo seems not out of the question.  By the time this article is read, most of these dates will have passed, and the reader is urged to match the dates given with what actually transpired and, perhaps, to marvel anew at the coherence with which events on earth are linked to passage of the planets in the sky.  Perhaps from this can be drawn a reassurance that all of this is part of a pattern, part of Carter’s personal destiny, as well as part of the unfolding personality of this nation, which must learn again the bitter lesson of self-imposed leadership in a changing world.