Living With the Dead
AMERICA'S WAR DEAD joined the discussion of the Iraqi occupation during the past week. Many deeply emotional photographs of individual family funerals of fallen American soldiers have been published, but for more than a year, the federal government managed to keep secret all images of more than 700 flag-draped caskets returning from the Iraqi battle front, and the official military ceremonies surrounding them.
Under a series of rules dating back to 1991, the U.S. government has prohibited journalists from taking such images, including banning photographers and TV crews from Dover Air Force Base in Delaware, the military mortuary where all remains of U.S. service people return to the States. But it has kept its own private stash of many such images, by its own account, for historical documentation.
As a result of the no-photo (or rather private photo only) policy, American citizens have had an exceptionally limited idea about the end results of war for our own people. We have had no opportunity for public or collective grieving for our losses, and thus closure. And while fallen soldiers from other members of the coalition have been met with state honors upon being returned to their lands, George Bush and Dick Cheney have refused to attend a single funeral.
The veil of secrecy was lifted on Sunday, April 18, the day before the Aries solar eclipse. A photograph of a cargo plane loaded with ice-filled, flag-draped coffins taken by Tami Silico was first published in the Seattle Times. Silico was working as a contractor in Kuwait at the time she took the photo earlier this month. She was not paid for the photo. She is a resident of the Seattle area and made contact with the newspaper, which along with Silico, claims it didn't publish the image as any kind of anti-war gesture. In art and life, intent is not everything.
Suddenly, what was missing from view became obvious.
Next, on April 21, the same day that Silico, 50, was fired for violating government rules associated with her actions, the Air Force "mistakenly" released 361 photographs of the boxed remains of U.S. service people to The Memory Hole web site under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). Call it Mercury retrograde or someone's act of civil disobedience, or call it honoring the FOIA. (I know of no federal FOIA rules that would ban the release of such documents, though the site's editor had to file an appeal before the images were released.) The photos, which are U.S. government work product and are not protected by copyright, were picked up by the media and have to some extent made news, and have also appeared widely online, including in photo galleries in such places as CNN.com.
Stop, children, what's that sound.
Everybody look what's goin' down.
http://www.thememoryhole.org/war/coffin_photos/dover/
[Give the thumbnails and the photos time to load; this page is getting hit a lot.]
While there is a degree of military ceremony evident from the photos, which to my eye are extraordinary documentary work, what's immediately striking is how many caskets there are, something not evident from images of individual family funerals. The secret government images give an idea of the scale of this war: the massive high-tech cargo airplanes being used; the sense of a never-ending process; and the window into a dimension within the military as soldiers salute their fallen comrades inside airplanes the size of starships. That these images have been so long concealed, then suddenly appeared in the light of day, makes them all the more plain a statement about the truth of war, or at least one side of it.
The other side is the more than 10,000 Iraqi civilian deaths, which are not counted by the government, and which have been hidden and kept out of mind with a high degree of effectiveness as well. This is called sanitizing the news.
Turning Point
When the story of the Iraqi invasion and occupation is told in college courses in five or 10 or 20 years from now, I believe the release of these images will be seen as a turning point event in shaping, clarifying and even defining public opinion about the war. This is probably obvious to most historians, but Monday's eclipse, which will likely be long forgotten even by astrologers when the discussion of the war comes up over the years, points to just how pervasive these images are likely to become.
Humanity has a fascination with the dead and rituals surrounding the dead, but there is also the crucial issue of the closure that is denied to a country when it cannot commemorate the loss of its soldiers. But for the U.S., this is a private war being fought for private gain. Vast amounts of money are changing hands -- by recent reports more than a billion dollars ($1,000,000,000.00) a week. It's also running at a deficit.
Where you have death, secrets and money appearing as issues in the same place, you are solidly in 8th house territory. I've written a lot attempting to understand and explicate this house and exploring its unusual associations, which also happen to include sex, estates and marriage contracts. The corresponding sign relating to what I call "the mysteries of birth, death and survival" is Scorpio, the 8th sign. We are now well under the influence of a Scorpio total lunar eclipse. Eclipses often function as X-ray devices that allow the light to shine through reality. This is opening a door into Scorpio.
Two planets are associated with Scorpio, Mars and Pluto.
And at the moment I am writing (Sunday night, April 25) Mars and Pluto happen to be in full, exact opposition, which has been in effect all week and will be for the next few days. This is the aspect under which these photos were released to the public.
Mars is the god of war and Pluto is the god of the dead. The opposition aspect is the peak of a cycle and is the full expression of both planets relative to one another, much like the Full Moon is the full expression of the Sun-Moon cycle. Here we finally have actual acknowledgement by our culture that men and women are indeed coming home dead as a result of this war -- lots of them, far more than the early years of Vietnam combined.
As it works out, the Mars-Pluto opposition involves the signs Gemini and Sagittarius, which have through the centuries been the two signs associated with publishing.
Most people thinking of Mars-Pluto think: confrontation. It reminds astrology students of New Yorkers. People from Brooklyn. Cab drivers, for example. Oppositions usually work through or express themselves in relationships, but while you may say confrontational, you could also say direct, which is a style of relating. It's aggressive or assertive, not passive or "passive-aggressive."
I'm going to come back to the Mars-Pluto opposition in this chart again, but I want to remind everyone that this region of Gem/Sag is near the axis of the Saturn-Pluto opposition frequently associated with the Sept. 11 attacks. And it is right near where Venus makes her occultation to the Sun in a few short weeks (associated 8th house theme -- reproductive rights demonstration in Washington DC on Sunday). And it is very close to something called the Nuclear Axis, which you can read about here:
http://www.stariq.com/pagetemplate/article.asp?PageID=1116
The Nuclear Axis has been very quiet lately, particularly given that Pluto and Saturn have been in the vicinity for the past five years -- quiet in a way that makes me nervous. But not quiet if you factor in the tons of depleted uranium being showered across Iraq by U.S. weapons.
While the Mars-Pluto opposition is occurring, Mercury in Aries (another Mars-ruled sign) is slowing down to its station to direct motion. The exact event happens Friday, April 30, though we are rather fully under its effects now. Mercury has turned up as prominent each time there has been a major development in the history of the Bush administration, the Sept. 11 attacks and their aftermath, and in many instances surrounding the wars on Afghanistan and Iraq.
As Mercury stations, it trades places with Mars; the two are in mutual reception. So this is also a slow, powerful Mercury-Pluto opposition, deeply appropriate to this situation. Mercury is also making several aspects to other planets. One of these is a square to minor planet Ceres, the first asteroid. Ceres very specifically addresses the grief of mothers whose children are in some way harmed or trapped in the underworld. Ceres in Cancer emphasizes the point vividly, and the Mars square suggests women feeling the sharper side of Chiron. Each one of those secret 700 caskets represents a family shattered by grief and loss. Ceres is also one of the ruling planets of Great Britain, as it was discovered the day the treaty forming the modern United Kingdom was ratified. Watch for unusual war news there.
Mercury is also stationing in a square to Chiron. This creates a T-Square. You can see it in this chart:
http://planetwaves.net/aquasphere/norlnpgg/open/chart3.html
Mercury is the blue guy with horns in the upper right, in Aries with the number 21 next to him. Ceres is the purple question mark, across the dial to the left of Mercury. Opposite Ceres is a potent little dark blue asteroid, Juno, representing marriage, marriage partners and keeping tabs in relationships, which is conjunct Chiron, the orange key. This is called a T-square, and it's a powerful aspect. But really, there is one last planet in this part of the aspect structure, at about 27 degrees of Libra, completing the T-square and making a grand cross.
That is Huya. She is a recently discovered minor planet beyond Pluto, and her domain is the rituals surrounding and attending the dead. To me, this aspect structure says we're going to be hearing a lot more from military widows and widowers as these weeks and months progress. In essence, these images are a door to another reality. They are more than images of the past: they provide a view into the immediate present, a warning for the future, and evoke a much more complete sense of reality. They evoke the question: where have all the young men gone?
A couple of last points. It is more than interesting that the asteroid Photographica came through the Mars-Pluto opposition axis this month, opposing Pluto right around when Tami Silico took her picture. Photographica remains in Gemini, and later this week, on April 28, will arrive in the first degree of Cancer. In a number of other articles I've explained this is the Sept. 11 degree. This is the degree within which the pre-Sept. 11 total solar eclipse occurred on the Cancer (Summer) Solstice of 2001.
The arrival of these 700 or more fallen soldiers into our consciousness reminds me of a scene at the end of The Lord of the Rings, in Return of the King. There was a ghost army trapped under the White Mountains, which had been waiting thousands of years to fulfill its oath to fight the evil Sauron. Strider calls on them and leads them into the victorious battle of Minas Tirith. The voices of the dead are powerful, they long to be heard and respected, and they are now among us. ++
Monday, April 26 Horoscope
By ERIC FRANCIS
(courtesy of Jonathan Cainer Records, http://cainer.com/)
Thought of the Day
People have lots of reasons for reading the newspaper, such as dependable information, obsession, masochism or a good laugh. But unless you're a star, politician, infamous character or royal, there's only one page where you expect to read something about yourself. You're currently turned to that page. Astrology has the gift of looking beyond the madness of the world and remembering that your life matters. You have human concerns and personal needs. True, astrologers look to some odd places to sniff out what you've got on your mind, and only you know if we've got a vague clue. Personally, I like to think it's the thought that counts.
Aries (March 20-April 19)
While you may feel unsettled about a decision, the easiest path is likely to prove to be the most effective. It would seem that you fear that it's too easy, and as a result there must be a catch. But think of all you've learned, perhaps going back many years, about how you must trust yourself before you can trust anyone else. It's one thing to fear deception; it's another thing entirely to fear deceiving yourself. Remember: the battles of the past are over; they are lost or won. You always win, because you always learn.
Taurus (April 19-May 20)
We often hear people say they wish they could find their true path in life. Are you among them now? Yet few people are prepared for the challenges and seeming sacrifices that one's authentic mission in life requires. You're about to discover that while following your deepest calling pushes you to your limits and is not necessarily blissful, it's also the way that's at once the best supported and where the real opportunities exist. For the moment, you may feel like you've got to go it alone, but don't be fooled by that. Help is within reach, and will respond.
Gemini (May 20-June 21)
This week offers you a few choice opportunities to test out your political skills, but don't be too cocky about it. Politics is a game of give and take, and those who always insist on winning often wind up paying dearly in the end. Keep in contact with the human side of the equation: what you and the people around you need the most. To find out, you may need to initiate the discussion. In the end, your role is to protect certain key people, but to do it efficiently you need to be working with all the facts. Get them straight, and await your opportunity.
Cancer (June 21-July 22)
It may seem like the help you're being offered is a form of divine intervention, but what good is the divine if it doesn't mix itself up in human affairs? In reality, what you're being offered is more a form of guidance than anything else. You have been the one who's made the actual changes necessary for what is developing to come to fruition. You have set your limits and worked within them. And you've willingly faced your adversity. Two vital questions dominate your life between now and next week's eclipse: What do you want, and what are you willing to risk?
Leo (July 22-Aug. 23)
Trust that any hidden factors in the equation, and there do seem to be a few, are working in your favor -- and everyone else's. It would not be much of an exaggeration to say you're a walking good luck charm at the moment. But it would be more accurate to say you're playing bass, holding time for everyone else in the band. A lot is resting on you, but most of it involves the fact that you're the one who can most accurately see the overall direction of things. If you focus on making a few good basic moves this week, the fancier ones will take care of themselves.
Virgo (Aug. 23-Sep. 22)
If I were you, I'd feel like a Porsche being driven around in a car park. But like many arts or sports, one must master excruciatingly small details before going into full competition. You're at the last stages of that delay now; you know in your heart and mind that you're ready. There are, however, critical issues of timing to which you must attend. And you must let one good move follow another. A lot of money is at stake, but something more important yet: credibility. It's better to work confidently inside your limits than overconfidently outside them, at least for now.
Libra (Sep. 22-Oct. 23)
The extraordinary test of your faith that's unfolding is not merely the gods entertaining themselves. Real issues are coming to the table, and these issues demand settlement and resolution. While some parties to the discussion insist that this is all merely a matter of principle, you know it's a matter of integrity -- in particular, your integrity. You know that if decisions are worth anything, they require follow-up with meaningful changes and devoted action. You have no cause to doubt yourself here, but by all indications others still must demonstrate their willingness and devotion. It will be good for them.
Scorpio (Oct. 23-Nov. 22)
Now that one power struggle is over, you would be wise to avoid another. Someone close to you is actually making a lot more sense than you may be inclined to hear. They're offering a solution to exactly the situation you've been struggling with. The point is, this is not between you and the world, or you and another person. What you face is between you and you, and it's rare that anyone else can offer such essential insight into anyone else's inner workings, particularly yours. More precious still is that a close partner sees and feels the world much as you do.
Sagittarius (Nov. 22 - Dec. 22)
Any financial dealing with which you are now involved must take into account the care and condition of a child who has suffered some kind of loss. Anyway, while money is a factor, emotions are the deeper factor. Think back to how sensitive you were when you were a child and you'll have a sense of just how delicate this situation is. There 's deep healing for you as well, since the lives of children always recall the long-ago histories of the adults who surround them. Now, you get to respond from a position of knowledge, power and insight -- a great gift to a kid.
Capricorn (Dec. 22-Jan. 20)
Most relationships require constant reassessment and, if you ask me, renegotiation. That certainly appears to be the case where a close partner is concerned. Be aware that they may have a few legitimate gripes. Forget your pride, or what's left of it. If you can come out of any discussion with a clear idea of what's expected of you, you will then have all the information you need to make a decision about whether you want to deliver. One would think this practical approach to relationships might appeal to your Capricorn nature more than the way you've been emoting lately.
Aquarius (Jan. 20-Feb. 19)
If you're feeling pressure, make some decisions or take a few evasive maneuvers. The billiard table of the world is set up in exactly the most convenient way for you to do so. Reducing pressure is not merely a luxury at this point in your life; it's essential to your health and long-term wellbeing. You've been getting the message for quite some time to take better care of your health, and for you this begins and ends with better emotional conditions. You're the boss in this aspect of your life, and you'll feel the benefits sooner than you realize.
Pisces (Feb. 19-March 20)
The emotional catharsis you've been going through is almost over, and by every indication, you're already seeing the benefits as increased confidence in yourself. The Pisces soul stands on a different foundation than the rest of the signs. Yet far from exempting you from human nature, this makes you more deeply sensitive to needs and desires that most everyone else takes for granted. What you are learning is that by fully acknowledging your needs, you are in a much more powerful position to do something about them.
