When I read on Saturday (April 13) that the United States and allies were going to bomb Syria, my first thought was it was a day too early. On Sunday, over here in the United States, the moon will enter Aries and join Mercury, Sun and Uranus in that sign.

Aries is ruled by Mars, the god of War.

Many wars begin in Aries because it’s spring in the northern hemisphere, a much better time to have war than the muddy, cold, dark winter.

While I don’t like being the “gloom and doom” astrologer, the energy of the globe is definitely less than peaceful and cooperative so seeing several planets lined up in assertive Aries triggers thoughts of war and aggression, especially as Uranus begins its transit of the last degrees of Aries.

Since Syria is far away from the United States, I thought that possibly the moon had already slipped into Aries over in those parts. According to this New York Times story, the air strikes began “shortly after 4 am local time.” In Damascus, the moon entered Aries a little after 4:30 am.

We may have been 30 minutes too early. Or maybe my astrology software is a bit off. I always wonder if the military uses astrology. Before you laugh, consider that information you have that others don’t provides a competitive advantage. We’re taught in the United States to disdain astrology, but what if that is simply a tactic to protect symbolic information?

Where is Mars?

The planet Mars is the ruler of Aries and makes a full transit of the signs about every two years, spending about two months in each sign.

Mars is where we take action. Mars gets us up in the morning to face the new day. Mars demands we stand up for ourselves. When we are too confident, Mars is pushy and wants others to do things the same way we do.

During the air strikes in Syria, Mars was in 15 degrees of Capricorn. Mars generally likes being in Capricorn because Mars is outward directed energy and Capricorn is ambitious and goal-oriented. Mars likes goals and ambitions for they are something to target.

Mars transiting Capricorn joins up with the long-lasting Pluto transit of Capricorn. Combined, there is a lot of authoritarianism and dominance in the global energy. Authoritarianism appears to be seeping into the average life across the globe from electronic monitoring to loss of civil rights.

While the air strikes in Syria might appear benevolent to some, the war has been in effect ten years so the assistance seems delayed. I read that President Trump recently granted some Syrian refugees extended status which is certainly kind but comes after a travel ban which included individuals from Syria.

The recent intervention may be more about Mars (domination) and Capricorn (use) than humanitarian concerns.

Other wars

How does this compare to some other recent US invasions?

Vietnam

The US officially entered this conflict on March 8, 1965. That was the time of an intense opposition of Pluto/Uranus in Virgo opposing Saturn in Pisces. On March 8, the Sun, Venus and Mercury were in Pisces and Mars was in Virgo adding additional energy to the opposition.

Way back then, there was a lot of resistance to war which is symbolized by so many planets involved in that opposition. The opposition is both astrological and literal as that was a time of anti-war demonstration. We sometimes need an opponent to ignite us into action – that is the lesson of oppositions.

The war didn’t end until Pluto was in Libra, Uranus in Scorpio and Neptune in Sagittarius. The late 1970s now seems like a relatively peaceful time for the US.

Grenada

The US invasion of Grenada on October 25, 1983 was a four-day event under interesting zodiac signs that later reappear in 2001.

While the sun and Saturn were in Scorpio that day, there was a T-square of much mutable energy with Mars and Venus in Virgo, moon in Gemini and Uranus, Jupiter and Neptune in Sagittarius.

On September 11, 2001, there was another mutable T-square with sun in Virgo, Pluto in Sagittarius, and Saturn and the moon in Gemini. On that day the US was attacked.

Sagittarius is a fire sign that seeks meaning, often championing causes. Sagittarius ruled by Jupiter is also the social environment including the religion which is the foundation of much culture. Jupiter is expansive and can, like fire signs, be overzealous fighting causes of which the environment has no concern.

Sagittarius in pure form loves what is foreign and what is different. With the tension between Sagittarius and other mutable signs, we see the fear of foreign and struggle for cultural dominance. While Pluto left Sagittarius in 2007, Saturn entered was in that sign for roughly 2015-2017 (going retrograde a few times) and we had another round of conflict with views and cultures foreign to our own.

Panama

The invasion of Panama on December 20, 1989 was strongly fueled by Capricorn. The sun was in a very late 28 degrees of Sagittarius with Uranus, Neptune, Saturn and Mercury in Capricorn.

Our friend Mars was in one degree of Sagittarius.

The themes of authoritarianism and foreignness have been playing out since the 1980s. Uranus and Neptune transited Sagittarius then Capricorn. Pluto then transited Sagittarius and now Capricorn. From this vantage point, it is clearer how they interplay – one transit transforms and leaves a bit of residue and the next transit cleans up any leftovers.

The energies present during the invasion of Grenada and Panama re-appear a few years later. Did the energy we send out come back with a vengeance?

While violence is never justified, the recurring energy themes suggest dysfunctional global relationships mutually triggers.

Can we stop?

Forgiveness seems to be an energy that halts the constant back and forth of conflicting energies.

Afghanistan

After the attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon, the US invaded Afghanistan on October 7, 2001. We are still there.

The invasion, like the attack, came under the Pluto (in Sagittarius) – Saturn (in Gemini) opposition. We continued the struggle of belief, of worldview.

Neptune and Uranus were in Aquarius at that time as we began a new technological revolution. That revolution has changed our daily lives so quickly in ways unimagined.

Mars was in 16 degrees of Capricorn, pretty close to the position of the Syrian airstrikes.

That war continues with very little play in the US media. We could consider it an occupation rather than war as there is no clear outcome.

Iraq

The invasion of Iraq occurred on March 20, 2003 with the sun in 29 degrees of Pisces about to move into Aries. As with the Syrian airstrikes, it was possibly 30 minutes too early for the best energy. Or maybe my software is a bit off?

The Pluto (in Sagittarius) – Saturn (in Gemini) opposition of the 9/11 attacks was still at play during this invasion.

Mars was in 9 degrees of Capricorn. Our last three invasions occurred with Mars in Capricorn. Remember, it occurs for about only couple months every two years.

At the time of this invasion, Uranus had just popped into Pisces. Uranus transits are seven years and that transit is long gone with Uranus about to move into Taurus.

Neptune entered Pisces in the spring of 2011. December 2011 is the official end of the war but the US still remains engaged in conflict there.

Nebulous Neptune says the war is over but Neptune (and Pisces) rules fog so the “fog of war” term seems appropriate here.

The conflict in Iraq is like a ghost of grandma in the corner. If you see it, you are reluctant to admit it for being viewed as hallucinating.

Worldview

While Mars is the god of War, Mars traditionally invades because it is strong and because it can. US invasions from the 20th century until present are about worldview. Ostensibly it began with a fight against “communism” and today is labelled “terrorism.”

Essentially it is a global fight for the dominance of a worldview as described in the 1992 article and 1995 book by Benjamin Barber Jihad vs McWorld. Barber is quite prescient and understood the patterns very clearly.

Just beyond the horizon of current events lie two possible political futures—both bleak, neither democratic. The first is a retribalization of large swaths of humankind by war and bloodshed: a threatened Lebanonization of national states in which culture is pitted against culture, people against people, tribe against tribe—a Jihad in the name of a hundred narrowly conceived faiths against every kind of interdependence, every kind of artificial social cooperation and civic mutuality. The second is being borne in on us by the onrush of economic and ecological forces that demand integration and uniformity and that mesmerize the world with fast music, fast computers, and fast food—with MTV, Macintosh, and McDonald’s, pressing nations into one commercially homogenous global network: one McWorld tied together by technology, ecology, communications, and commerce. The planet is falling precipitantly apart AND coming reluctantly together at the very same moment.