Mideast_Karma_Peaking

The Celestial Wheel

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Mideast Karma Peaking Again
August 9 2013

Major Mideast Shifts
In the now nearly 3/4 century since the Second World War, the globe has undergone the greatest growth spurt in history -- economically and technologically, with consequent advances of the human condition. While First World countries have been primary beneficiaries, so have third world societies, many of which have made even greater strides comparatively.

This unique achievement has been facilitated, actually enabled, by oil energy economies accessing the tremendous bounty of inexpensive Mideast oil -- which region would otherwise would remain a backwater. However, this blessing includes a curse. The vast Mideast oil wealth is dangerous alone for its immense power. Adding in ancient cultures, being the epicenter of three major religions, plus western Israel, a island in an Arab sea to further spark flames -- has resulted in the region being rocked by periodic upheavals inevitably drawing in global powers. The U.S. is preeminent here, for the simple reason its economy is dominant, and thus thirsts most for oil, which it secures with an unequaled military. Time and time again, the U. S. has interceded in Mideast squabbles, sometimes to referee, other times to bully.

Mideast Forecasting
The Mideast is an old Celestial Wheel area of interest. The June 2004, The Timeless Mideast Bottleneck -- Ancient Karmas is a five part series, the latter four parts discussing the charts for Iran, Iraq, Saudi Arabia and Israel. The Moon's Nodes (eclipse points) Rahu and Ketu were a focus,

India's Astrology is a treasure chest of symbolic knowledge, that when applied to celestial map, offer a blueprint for unity. Fundamental to Jyotish, as it's called in India, are the Moon's Nodes, called Ketu and Rahu. These swallow-up the Sun and the Moon during eclipses. Ketu is a mythological tail of a dragon and is therefore the past -- history. Rahu, the head of the dragon, is naturally the future -- destiny.

Because Jyotish is truly an astrology about time, Ketu and Rahu are the craft's most fundamental symbols. Astronomically, Ketu and Rahu are the Moon's Nodes, the ever-moving calculated points where the Moon crosses the ecliptic to signal eclipses. Thus, Rahu and Ketu are called shadow planets. From this astrological vantage point, humanity's current focus on the Mideast reclaims humanity's common history, where Rahu's worldly cravings and desires have long brought so much malefic karma to that region. Ketu's past that now draws us there again. (In a corollary, spiritual sites traveler, Martin Gray, believes ancient temples are reservoirs of positive spiritual energy, accumulated during eons of prayer and mediation, and it is this energy that draws pilgrims.

Ketu is also gas and oil -- fiery, even explosive, energy from the past. Incidentally, but maybe not, Ketu is smoke, which also results from burning oil. Rahu is science and airplanes . As Rahu is materialization into the world from spirit, Ketu is the spiritual process of the soul's evolution -- return to spirit. Rahu is like condensation and Ketu evaporation. Ketu is a worldly malefic and a spiritual benefic, for it causes sorrow and loss that ultimately turns the person to God. Ketu is insight. Rahu can be a powerful worldly benefic but must be a spiritual malefic in turning us away from God to the world. Wherever the Nodes are placed in the astrological chart is an area of psychological intensity, a churning in the life that we are challenged to address and conquer. Thus, the Nodes are known as the soldiers of karma.

The February 2007 In-depth Forecast, Culmination In The Mideast, updated the 2004 forecasting, emphasizing again Rahu/Ketu,

...the eclipse points Rahu and Ketu, in representing the past and the future, are integral to this culmination. Head-of-the-dragon Rahu seeks to engulf everything. It is a planetary symbol for aggression, and also thereby the future and destiny. Tail-of-the-dragon Ketu is the past, and also gas and oil. Rahu/Ketu figure prominently in G.W. Bush's chart (an oil man), where they signify his rise -- but also indicate his inevitable fall caused by invading Iraq, his great misadventure.

In rereading this forecast, it's interesting that, while culmination is in the title, and the analysis follows, no date was predicted. In fact, even today, with the Arab Spring sweeping away all the West has brought to the Mideast, by bringing back the indigenous Islamic culture, there's no clear ending. Well, maybe that's why I stopped analyzing the Mideast then.

Slumming Around The Web
My editor, Pipe-smoking Yoda, often sends links, stating, It's amazing sometimes what I find slumming around the web.

Vedic Astrology similarly digs around through vast amounts of information for something meaningful, or at least interesting! I hunt and peck around charts, new items, previous forecasting.... often without an aim, usually choosing dead-end trails. More often than I care to admit, I go off on tangents, finding what I thought were historical match-ups with significant planetary combinations, only to realize these only hold up for a few applications. All those half- written forecasts greatly outnumber what I actually publish for The Celestial Wheel.

Yes, I admit, American Pickers is my favorite TV show, followed closely by Storage Wars. Just look at all the cool stuff these folks find! But Vedic Astrology can be so much more, a real life Magical Mystery Tour! Well, the excitement of discovery, and a better understanding of the world that results, is better than big bucks. That is good, because I certainly don't do this work for the money, nor for the acclaim. (I once told an artist friend, the fellow who designed my websites, that his paintings would become known and valuable after he passed. He smiled and note wryly he hoped the same wouldn't happen to me.)

Recently, I've been thinking a lot about Saturn and Rahu conjoined in Libra, which combination started in mid January and seems certain to crash the U.S. economy late in the summer. See the July 2010 Through The Millennium Contraction, which stated, 6/13 through 10/13, is a difficult Planetary Cycle signifying revolution, and in mid August 2013, transit Saturn and Rahu conjoin, signaling that collapse.

As discussed above, I let go of the Mideast stuff in 2007. Since then, the U.S. and global economy have captured my interest. But then I realized that the last previous Saturn/Rahu conjunction was in 2002 -- when the Afghanistan war hit. I then remembered the 1979 Iran Revolution was also during a Saturn/Rahu conjunction. Hey, there might be something here that really works! Intrigued, I looked around some more and found Saturn/Rahu were in conjunction during the first Gulf War in 1991. I stopped there, publishing the February 17 VedicLeaks on this topic. Then, I thought to check further back, and son of a gun, the 1968, 1956 and 1945 Saturn/Rahu conjunctions also matched heavy Mideast turmoil. Well that's seven match-ups! -- too many to be coincidental.

To get a flavor of what Saturn/Rahu conjunctions portend, here's an excerpt from the February 17 VedicLeaks.

Whether the Mideast is stable or fragmenting depends upon the big slow-moving outer planets -- Jupiter and Saturn. These enclose and steer the solar system. Rahu/Ketu, the eclipse points, are the other two slow-moving planetary players, powerful for their intensive karmic effects. When these four do not afflict each other, they steady the apple cart. When they conflict, the apple cart is more vulnerable to a major global shifts with enduring consequences. For a particularly bad conflict among these planetary heavyweights, the cart is turned over. The apples are scattered and lost. But also, the cart is broken. It takes years and years to regain stability, for a new cart must be built and filled with fresh apples. And sometimes, another conflict among these continues a process.

Saturn, the planet of suffering, loss and oppression, conjoining Rahu, the head-of-the-dragon eclipse point, is the worst such combination. Rahu intensifies Saturn's harms. Using just conjunctions of Saturn and Rahu, which occur about once a decade, the past is illuminated, and we can anticipate the next major global shift. Keywords for this combination are: victimizing, relentlessness, ruthless, remorseless, violent people, foreign matters and misery on both objective and subjective levels. But keep in mind always, Only through turmoil comes change.

How does this tie in with the Mideast forecasting focus on Rahu and Ketu? Saturn, as the great malefic, brings out Rahu's worst serpent energies. Similarly, Rahu as an intensifying influence, magnified Saturn's harms. Thereby, the Saturn/Rahu conjunctions signal when Rahu's does his worst, and the previous Mideast forecasting made it clear that the Mideast is the Rahu/Ketu playground. So, to find out when Rahu arises and strikes in the Mideast, look for Saturn/Rahu conjunctions.

(Note: because Rahu/Ketu are always opposite each other, when Saturn afflicts Rahu, he also casts a nasty aspect to Ketu. For the purposes of this analysis, however, only Saturn/Rahu is analyzed. The Saturn aspect to Ketu can give more information but is not needed at this juncture.)

The next section considers the last seven Saturn/Rahu conjunctions in relation to Mideast events. Readers are asked to judge whether this holds together, or is actually just forcing pieces of the puzzle to fit -- and also what all this means! Historical information is a learning tool for how the current Saturn/Rahu 2013-14 conjunction will impact the Mideast -- and of course, the U.S. and the rest of the globe.

On with the Magical Mystery Tour!

Previous Saturn/Rahu Conjunctions
Let's look the last seven previous Saturn/Rahu conjunctions to see what has occurred. In Vedic Astrology, patterns are everything. When patterns repeat, history repeats, although obviously not exactly. This concept is important in all areas of life, for, as George Santayana famously said, Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.

(Notes. Planets impact each other if they are anywhere in the same sign. Because Saturn and Rahu both move slowly, they can be in sign conjunction for many months, even over a year. When planets exactly conjoin, they're energies converge most intensely. Because Rahu moves backwards and Saturn forwards, they conjoin with tremendous energy. For the purposes of this analysis, charts for the exact conjunctions are shown, but these do not signal beginnings nor endings, and sometimes not even the highest energy peak. Other planets influence.)

1945 King Oil

Saturn and Rahu were in Gemini, a sign for business, from October 23, 1944 to September 23, 1945 -- 12 months.

This was the ending of World War II, during which the Saturn/Rahu conjunction caused the demand for oil to skyrocket. Mideast Oil fueled the industrial boom that followed.

May 28 1945

1956 Suez Crisis

Saturn and Rahu were in Scorpio, the sign of turmoil, from November 2, 1955 to February 26, 1957 -- 16 months.

This was the Suez Canal Crisis. The Canal is a crucial shipping route, including Mideast oil. All major world powers were involved.

July 26, 1956: Egypt seized the Suez Canal.

October 31, 1956: Britain and France begin a bombing campaign to force reopening of the canal .

November 7, 1956: UN cease fire comes into force after more pressure from US.

23 December 23, 1956: British and French troops complete withdrawal

October 6, 1956

1968 War Of Attrition

Saturn and Rahu were in Pisces the sign of loss, from January 14, 1968 to May 1, 1969 -- 14 months.

The War of Attrition was "a war fought between Israel and Egypt from 1967 to 1970. ... limited artillery duels and small scale incursions into Sinai.

...On March 8, 1969, Nasser proclaimed the official launch of the War of Attrition, characterized by large scale shelling along the Suez Canal, extensive aerial warfare and commando raids.

...Hostilities continued until August 1970 and ended with a cease fire, the frontiers remaining the same as when the war began, with no real commitment to serious peace negotiations."

May 1 1968

1979 Iranian Revolution

Saturn and Rahu were in Leo, the sign of govern-ment leaders, notable kings, from December 2, 1978 until November 3, 1979 -- 11 months.

This was the Iranian Revolution. Recall the U.S. was a major ally of the Shah.

January 16, 1979: The Shah left Iran for exile.

February 1, 1979: revolutionary forces under Khomeini seize power after his return to the country

November 4,1979: Iranian militants seized the U.S. embassy in Teheran and held sixty-six occupants hostage.

December 2,1979, Khomeini became absolute ruler for life.

July 8, 1979

Iran was the first Mideast nation in which an Islamic revolution threw out its autocrat. Also, on July 16, 1979, Saddam Hussein became President of Iraq.

1991 Gulf War

Saturn and Rahu were in Capricorn, the sign of government officials, from December 15, 1990 to April 12, 1991 -- 4 months.

This was the first Gulf War.

Jan. 12, 1991: U.S. Congress passed a joint resolution authorizing the use of military force to drive Iraq out of Kuwait.

Jan. 17, 1991: The air war commenced

Feb. 24, 1991: Ground war begins

Feb. 28, 1991: U.S. President George H. W. Bush announced a cease fire and that Kuwait had been liberated from Iraqi occupation.

January 21, 1991

The U.S. stationing its troops in Islam's holy land of Saudi Arabia instigated the Islamic reaction against the U.S. That movement has resulted in Islamic militants terrorizing the West via Al Qaeda, followed by Islamic revolutions throughout the Mideast.

2001+ Afghanistan War

Saturn and Rahu were in Taurus, the sign of truth and domestic harmony -- or lack thereof -- from March 1, 2002 to July 22, 2002 -- 5 months.

This was the U.S. Invasion of Afghanistan. Wikipedia reports,

Oct. 7, 2001: U.S. and British forces begin airs trikes in Afghanistan

Nov. 13, 2001: Taliban fighters abandon Kabul after weeks of air assaults. About 1,300 U.S. troops were involved in the offensive.

Dec. 7, 2001: Taliban stronghold Kandahar falls. Bin Laden and Taliban leader Mullah Mohammed Omar escape.

June 13, 2002: Hamid Karzai is elected as head of state of a new interim government by the loya jirga, or grand council.

June 20, 2002

This was also the interval initiating and justifying torture. See, Torture Timeline. The Afghanistan war was the U.S.'s initial reaction to Al Qaeda's 9-11attacks. The Iraq war came next. The U.S. remains to this day mired in the Mideast -- like animals become stuck in tar sands.

2013-14 Saturn/Rahu Conjunction

Saturn and Rahu are in Libra, the sign of relationship and balance from January 14, 2013 to July 13, 2014 -- 18 months.

The reason this conjunction lasts so long is Saturn that retrogrades twice during this interval -- once this winter and the second time next spring. The longer the duration of any placement, the greater it's impact.

The previous three Saturn/Rahu conjunctions were Mideast conflicts -- Iran, the First Gulf War and the Afghanistan Invasion -- all of which involved the U.S. Already, conflicts have escalated there. Certainly the price of oil must escalate as well.

The Celestial Wheel has repeatedly suggested the Saturn/Rahu conjunction signals inflation, a U.S debt default and urban riots in August and September. Mideast turmoil must aggravate domestic U.S. issues.

September 16, 2013

The January 31, VedicLeaks discussed the Arab Spring briefly, in a section titled Arab Spring. The February 2007 In-depth Forecast, Culmination In The Mideast, was referenced. Take a look to gain further historical perspective.