When in college, I woke every day and prepared myself a tall glass of ice water. I still recollect the intense sensation of that habit which spanned all seasons from the cold winter to the hot summer. Right after college I spent time abroad in a country that did not feel the need to make all beverages ice cold. I suffered greatly.
Initially I was desperate for something, anything so icy cold to relieve the heat of that country. Two years later, after extreme deprivation and withdrawal, I was finally broken of the need for this constant sensation having learned that it’s actually better to avoid cold drinks (and food). While I still drink ice, I do so much less than in the past. Asking for beverages without ice at restaurants is now an eccentric habit that drives my friends and family crazy.
Even more fascinating than learning about cold beverage affect on the body was to realize that desire for iced beverages was a cultural trait. Returning to the United States I watched my people consume icy cold beverages, even when it was freezing cold outside, and claim they loved it. I heard echoes of my former self.
Why do Americans love ice?
Real estate in purchased beverages and free refills form the hypothesis of this author. Yet the sensation of cold in your body is a habit that is preserved both in and out of restaurants.
Another article refers to the 19th century ice industry and increased refrigeration. But does that explain why Americans love a cold burst of sensation on a frigid winter day?
My own hypothesis, which I will test when I get funding, is that American culture involves extreme sensation and extremely cold beverages are one aspect. While traveling abroad I also learned that air conditioning doesn’t need to be turned so high you can store meat, sweets don’t need to have 500 calories and food portions don’t need to last for three days.
Possibly Homer Simpson said it best when he said he liked his “beer cold, his TV loud” and one other extreme you can watch on the YouTube video.
Ice is part of American culture.
ICE
In a “you-can’t-make-this-shit-up” (copyright my friend) moment of etymology, in March 2003 the United State Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) rebranded itself as ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement).
The year 2003 was two years after the 9/11 attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon. Transiting Pluto in Sagittarius was opposite transiting Saturn in Gemini bringing intense focus on Sagittarius foreign others. With Saturn involved, we began a new cycle of fear of the foreign other, having recently completed our fear of Communists. We can trace a fear of foreign others back a long way.
ICE was formed with sun in Pisces (happy birthday!) and Neptune, moon, Mercury and Uranus in Aquarius. Venus is in Capricorn, Pluto and Mars in Sagittarius, Saturn in Gemini and Jupiter in Leo.
“You-can’t-make-this-shit-up” (copyright my friend) describes the entire astrological formation and evolution of ICE. If I was a conspiracy theorist, and I swear I’m not, I’d say the court astrologer planned this rebrand.
Let’s begin with ICE and the United States horoscope. Using the Astrotheme horoscope for July 4, 1776 (our symbolic birthday if not actual birthday), shows our ascendant at 8 degrees of Sagittarius. That makes perfect sense as this country (as well as all of the Americas) was conquered by foreigners.
Both Mars and Pluto in the ICE horoscope (at 19 and 27 degrees respectively) land in the first house of the U.S. horoscope. Pluto and Mars, gods of the underworld and war respectively, are now are the guiding energies in terms of immigration. If you study closely the history of U.S. foreign policy, you will happen upon much Pluto and Mars. In 2003, this simply became more open (ascendant).
On Friday, January 27 the new president of the U.S. signed an executive order regarding immigration that put qualifiers on individuals from several countries that have Muslim majority population. On this day, transiting Saturn was at 24 degrees of Sagittarius; this placement brings it full on to the ICE horoscope configuration of Pluto/Mars (in Sagittarius) opposing Saturn (in Gemini). This order was a direct result of energies coalesced in 2001.
Immigration policy might better be discussed with the benevolent Jupiter who rules foreigners. In the ICE horoscope, Jupiter is in Leo and could provide a bit of leveling to the Pluto/Mars energy but is out of orb.
Jupiter in Leo, does, however, oppose Neptune (in Aquarius) in the ICE horoscope. Neptune in Aquarius is the ideal of a perfect society. While we all vote “yes” for the perfect society, the difficulty is that our perceptions of “perfect” are all different (which results in the logical conclusion that there is no “perfect”). There are sad tales in history of aims of societal perfection through the elimination of people deemed to ruin that perfection. Also, the ICE horoscope has Mercury in Aquarius almost exact the U.S. natal moon again relating to this desire for a perfect society.
In another “you-can’t-make-this-shit up” (copyright my friend) transit, transiting Neptune on January 27 was at 10 degrees of Pisces (specifically 10 degrees, 28 minutes Greenwich Mean Time) landing on the ICE horoscope sun in Pisces which is at 10 degrees, 31 minutes).
Pisces is the last sign of the zodiac, mutable and ruled by water. It is emotional and empathetic. In negative form it is impressionable and easily manipulated. It can also be the manipulator.
Immigration ruled by Pisces should be a compassionate immigration. Yet, Pluto, Mars and Saturn are also in mutable signs creating what’s called “square” energy causing tensions and blockage of this compassion. From the news it appears that ICE was caught unawares by the initial executive order and chaos ensued. Neptune transiting the sun causes confusion and also suggests that ICE is not actually driving the changes, which also seems accurate from the news.
Neptune transiting the sun in Pisces could bring not only more compassion but more imagination into the situation. While “imagination” and “government agency” are in apparent oxymoron, the chaos of our current political climate may allow for something outside of the ordinary.
The first thing we could imagine is what it feels like to be driven from your country by war, having watched your people killed in politics that are far removed from your daily life. Possibly we refrain from this type of imaginative interlude because it’s so painful, also a Pisces experience.
What’s next for ICE/ice?
Saturn will leave Sagittarius at almost the winter solstice of 2017 – i.e., around the Christian holiday of Christmas. Possibly the ice will melt at that time and ICE will be out of the cross-fire of presidential politics.
Several years from now, Saturn and Pluto will join forces in Capricorn and pass over Venus in the ICE horoscope. While Capricorn isn’t the friendliest of signs, the rules will be more clearly established at that time. Venus at 28 degrees in the ICE horoscope corresponds to the U.S. Pluto in Capricorn at 27 degrees.
What is occurring with immigration as transmitted by ICE is really about the very foundations of U.S. economy and culture. It’s more than a little xenophobia; it’s a national psychological drama being triggered that culminates with the national Pluto return in spring 2022 (at 27 degrees, as noted above).
As many Americans are unaware of the detrimental effect of ice in their bodies, etymological transference suggests we are not aware of the detrimental effect of ICE on our collective body, i.e., our culture.
Although we are reminded again and again that if we are not Native American, we are immigrant, there still is this idea that if we exist now in the U.S. and were born here that this land was always ours, a pure land of “us” (oh my, more etymology).
It’s interesting that in the study of race you learn that there is no such thing as race. If there is no race, then there is no us.
Related posts:
Ohio Astrology 