(20 April 2013) It has been a difficult week for the USA. On Monday, the Boston Marathon was struck by a terrorist bombing that killed three people and injured more than 100. It was the first terrorist incident on US soil since the 9/11 attacks. Then on Tuesday, a number of anonymous letters containing the poison ricin was sent to various Washington officials including President Obama. On Wednesday there was a massive explosion of a fertilizer plant in West, Texas that killed up to ten people and injured hundreds. The explosion was so large that it could be heard 70 km away. Then on Friday, Boston police chased the bombing suspects in a night of more violence and chaos. In an unprecedented move for a major US city, the entire Boston area was locked down as police looked for the last remaining suspect and citizens were told to remain in their homes. The massive manhunt captured the attention of the nation as much of it was broadcast live on television. While the total number of fatalities from these incidents is quite small, their sudden and violent nature and high public profile has had a significant impact on public consciousness.
A quick look at the key horoscopes shows a clear and simple astrological explanation for these shocking and violent incidents. The very short answer is that there was a conjunction of the Sun and Mars in the sign of Aries this week opposite the planet Saturn. This conjunction of two fiery planets in the fiery sign of Aries created the potential for more violent manifestations. The Sun conjoins Mars every two years and sets up the possibility for publicly significant expressions of violence. Mars is the main culprit here as it is the planet that symbolizes violence and war. It is especially aggressive when it transits a fiery sign such as Aries. The Sun may have acted as a catalyst for Mars as it is also a fiery planet, albeit one which is less malefic. The fact that the conjunction also occurred opposite malefic Saturn in Libra was one reason why the more negative and violent qualities of these fiery planets would manifest.
The reason why the violence occurred in the US is perhaps because the Sun-Mars conjunction formed a close square aspect to the natal Mercury (3 Cancer) in the US horoscope. Mercury is perhaps more vulnerable to such stressful aspects from malefic planets such as Mars because it is somewhat damaged in the 8th house. The 8th house is a negative house in any event, and it is associated with obstacles and setbacks. A transit to planet in the 8th house is therefore more susceptible to coinciding with unwanted or unpleasant events. We can also speculate that the defeat of Obama’s gun control law in the Senate this week might have been further evidence of the strength of the fiery duo of the Sun and Mars. Under such an agitated planetary environment, there was likely too much aggressive energy for any kind of compromise on a bill that attempts to limit gun (Mars) ownership. Obama might have had better luck with the bill if there had been a Venus or Jupiter conjunction at the time of the vote which might have reflected a more pacific influence.
The other reason why the Sun-Mars conjunction may have had an extra impact on the US is because there are other afflictions in the chart. Saturn (15 Libra) is exactly squaring the natal Rahu (15 Cancer), also placed in the difficult dussthana 8th house. This is a nasty aspect because both Rahu and Saturn are natural malefics. When Rahu in the 8th house comes under transit affliction, there can be sudden events that cause upset and anxiety. At their worst, Saturn-Rahu contacts can also have cruel or ruthless consequences that are detached from normal human feeling. In addition, transiting Rahu (23 Libra) casts its trine aspect to the Sun so this may be seen as a wounding of the national pride or psyche through this attack. While Americans knew there have been many attempted terrorist attacks since 9/11, none had been successful and the country had perhaps come to take security measures for granted. Now all of that has changed as security will have to be ramped up even higher now in an attempt to protect the public.
As is often the case with such national events, the week of violence also shows up in President Obama’s chart. We can see that the Sun-Mars conjunction falls under a near exact aspect of his natal Rahu, a troublesome and unpredictable influence. Sometimes its aspects can bring new opportunities and material progress. But Obama’s Rahu is fairly mediocre in its placement in the 8th house (that difficult house again!) in between Uranus and Pluto. So that would tend to make transits involving Rahu more awkward and troublesome. And in this case, we have malefic Mars and the Sun triggering Rahu’s more negative side. In addition, Sun-Mars is in an exact square with Obama’s Saturn. Saturn is often associated with loss and destruction when it is geometrically aligned with other malefic planets. Certainly, this is not a full strength Vedic aspect, but even if it is partial strength aspect, it is exact and I believe it is not a coincidence that the Sun-Mars transit lined up exactly with his Saturn at a time of this terrorist bombing and the other strange incidents this week.
