Leaving Iraq + the 'New President' Eclipse

Iraqis stage mass anti-US occupation rally

Supporters of Shia cleric Moqtada Sadr have staged a mass demonstration in Baghdad in protest against plans to extend the US mandate in Iraq.

An estimated 50,000 protesters chanted slogans such as "Get out occupier!"

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As mentioned previously, I must agree with what my mama always said: Never go where you're not invited, never stay where you're merely tolerated.

The toleration (what little there ever was) for US troops in Iraq, has ended.

You know that about 6 days into the new administration, a Solar Eclipse occurs. The Ascendant degree of the Eclipse when set for the White House is 1Sag59 so we may look to the Sabian Symbol for:

'2Sag'..."The Ocean Covered with Whitecaps" which to my ears has a White House/Washington DC flavor to it.

However, '1Sag' is a Symbol I've typed many times here and elswhere relating to the Pentagon, our military, and to the Bush-Cheney wars: "A Grand Army of the Republic Campfire."

This indicates to me that the Iraq Occupation and a redeployment or 'surge' into Afghanistan will be first-ups on the desk of the new president. War costs must be on the menu as well, if common sense holds any sway at all.

The January Eclipse degree '6AQ30' is conjunct America's natal South Node, a point of separation and of falling back on past behaviors and talents. If the 'past behaviors' are are better ones from our past, that's okay by me. But if it's unconscious behavior, it'll be more of the same Bushiness. You know - bashing your head against a brick wall and expecting a different result than self-undoing.

And I think that this Eclipse points to America's upcoming Nodal Half-Return, when our weaker relationships and associations may be broken. This Nodal Half-Return (as you will see notated upon the Eclipse chart) occurs on or about April 8, 2009 (using True Node.)

Obviously, the days between Jan 20 (or Jan 26, counting from the Solar Eclipse) until at least April 8 will be key, as the first days of any administration are, for they set the tone for the presidential term. We tend to call the period the "first 100 days" which goes into early May, of course. But it will be interesting to see if associations are broken around early April, give or take a few weeks or so.

Also the first 100 days of an administration are often referred to as a honeymoon period after which reality sets in along with a tinge of buyers' remorse, in many cases.

So with Europe and the rest of the world running from Washington and Wall Street like the plague because of the bandits and thieves who've burned them once too many times, it may be others breaking with us before it's the other way round.

But we'll see, esp since the influence of the Jan 26 Eclipse has to do with making greater commitments in relationships. It's an interesting influence coming upon the degree of our SN, a separative point (the Dragon's Tail), and with a Nodal Half-Return falling within the Eclipse season. All in all, it's a dicey season all around, but you don't need Astrology to tell you that.

Still, a Nodal Half-Return is problematic only where weak associations are concerned...if they don't break then, they will be strengthened going forward.

Soon I will be publishing the chart of what I'm calling the 'New President' Eclipse (Jan 26, 2009; 2:55:12 am est; White House) at Jude's Threshold on my Pages list in the sidebar column.

Check there in the next day or so if you'd like to view the chart and read my notes.

Today I'm still trying to rest up from the final presidential debate and from SNL's Sarah Palin~Tina Fey-lin shenanigans this weekend, but here is the Sabian Symbol for the US natal South Node's degree, and thus for the Jan 26 Eclipse itself (rounding up seems to refer to the Oval Office, shaped like Venus' egg)...

'7AQ'..."A Child Born of an Eggshell"...ESSENTIALITY...

pos: a highly individual and completely unlimited resourcefulness;

neg/unconscious/shadow side: naive reliance on external accident.

And, because opposite is America's North Node, aka destiny or path, here is '7Leo'...

"The Constellations in the Sky"...SURETY...

pos: consistent effectiveness in understanding and self-ordering;

neg/uncons/shadow side: a loss of all present integrity through an unnecessary retreat to the remote or mysterious.


The Sabian Symbols in Astrology, Dr. Marc Edmund Jones

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For more details, here are the Symbols as given by Dane Rudhyar:

US natal South Node + Jan 26, 2009 Solar Eclipse degree:

'7AQ"..."A Child Is Seen Being Born Out of an Eggshell"...

Keynote: The emergence of new mutations according to the great rhythms of the cosmos.

EMERGENCE OF GLOBAL MAN.

And for US natal North Node:

'7Leo'..."The Constellations of Stars Shine Brilliantly in the Night Sky"...

Keynote: The power of basic spiritual values which refer to man's common humanity and to all enduring archetypes.