Shock and awe and the world holds its breath. One theory is that Saudi Arabia’s Mohammed bin Salman leant on Trump to go ahead, since most of the Middle Eastern countries dislike the Islamic Republic and see it as a destabilising force. Will it pull the region minus Iran together? Or will it cause a cascading tsunami of vengeful counter attacks causing turbulence into the extended future? Trump’s laughable idea that the violently repressive IRGC (Iran’s Revolutionary Guard) will chum up with a new political opposition (which does not exist) won’t survive the unfolding of events.
A previous post outlined disturbances stretching ahead to the turn of the decade and beyond. See reprinted below at the foot.
In the immediate future, the Gulf countries look rattled now and more so after mid year. Dubai, 9 June 1833, has a trapped, risky, frustrated tr Pluto opposition Mars from later this month to late June and then on and off till late 2027. The August Leo Solar Eclipse will conjunct its Uranus for a significant jolt.
Kuwait, 19 June 1961, has tr Uranus square the North Node and Solar Arc Sun mid March into April for jolts and jangles; and the August Eclipse conjunct its Mars Uranus in Leo which will increase risk and conflict. Late this year or in 2027 the SA Pluto will conjunct the Neptune for confusion and devastation.
Bahrain, 14 August 1971, has an upsetting SA Venus conjunct Uranus this year; with a nervy, highly-strung and jolting tr Uranus opposition the Neptune and conjunct the (Moon) Saturn from this April onwards into 2027. The August Eclipse will exactly conjunct their Leo Sun for an existential crisis of direction.
Qatar, 1 September 1971, looks in nervous crisis this year, with even more stormy seas and forced change come 2027/28.
Saudi Arabia, 15 January 1902 has not much showing exactly now but looks jolted and jangled in 18 months with SA square their Capricorn Sun but since Jupiter is also involved there may be silver linings.
Mohammed bin Salman himself, 31 August 1985, will be on argumentative form come the August eclipse with it hitting his Mercury Mars in Leo and square his Saturn – which might suggest military involvement. His life is due for a major change in 2027/28 as his Solar Arc Pluto is conjunct his Uranus. A similar shift is indicated on his Crown Prince chart, 21 June 2017, with SA Pluto square the Uranus late this year into early 2027, which can sometimes point to instability though it could also be him moving from de facto to the established ruler.
His relationship with Trump has not a great deal showing apart from their composite Mars at 25 degrees Leo which will catch the early and later Solar Eclipses this year. There will be more resentment or negative outcomes in 2027/28, perhaps blowback for bad choices made now.
Marco Rubio, US Secy of State, 28 May 1971, has an Air Grand Trine of a Gemini Sun trine Mars in Aquarius trine Uranus, formed into a Kite by Sun opposition an overly hopeful Jupiter Neptune = up in his head and on a short fuse with judgement that often veers to the overly optimistic. Tr Uranus moving into Gemini this April may well upset his applecart as it starts to rattle his Jupiter Neptune (sometimes coincides with a scandal of own making or deflated hopes) with more forced change in 2027 as tr Uranus is conjunct his Sun.
His relationship chart with Trump isn’t great at the moment despite DT’s bombastic claims, with alarm in April, arguments in May. Worse in 2027.
Someone will have to take the blame when it goes pear shaped since it is never Trump’s fault.
Additional thought. Not only is the Solar Arc Sun square the Mars exactly now on the US country chart, this was always the time that the Trump Second term was going to be at peak bulldozer/intimidator with the Progressed Moon on the 2025 Inauguration chart exactly square Pluto which is another coming together of the initial bully-boy Sun Pluto opposition Mars square Moon – after this it may fade.
Previous post:
DECEMBER 29 2025
The endless turmoil of the Middle East rolls on as Iran escalates tensions with threats of nuclear responses and Israel maintains conflicts on several fronts with Hezbollah in Lebanon and Syria, and Hamas in Gaza – and allows/promotes 19 new West Bank settlements. Netanyahu is in Mar-a-Lago for Trump talks as the US administration is becoming increasingly frustrated with slow progress towards Phase 11 of the Gaza peace fire which involves disarming Hamas and putting in an international stabilization force.
Keeping this simple since there are too many charts: Israel’s relationship with the Iran 1 February 1979 chart is under pressure across 2026, more fractious and explosive in 2027. Much the same for the relationship with the Iran 7 October 1906 chart with high tension at the moment, disappointment in 2026 and aggravation come 2027. Both Iran charts hints at a confident push in the near future but loss of confidence and outright failure by 2027/28.
Hamas, 14 December 1987, looks to be running into the buffers in 2026/27 so will, in its present form, not be operational after that for a few years – though as ever a hundred-headed-hydra it may reconstitute in later years. Relations with Israel are on a further downward slide in 2026 and further ruptured in 2027.
Hezbollah, 16 February 1985, is staying bullishly confident through 2026 but running into a calamitous setbacks in 2027/28. Relations with Israel will worsen towards the end of the decade.
Other Middle Eastern countries hints at ructions and turbulence in 2027/28/29 either in their own charts or in relation to Israel – Qatar, Turkey, UAE. Saudi Arabia looks in rolling turmoil from 2028 for several years thereafter, within itself but also in relation to Israel.
The shifting sands won’t settle anytime soon. Especially for Israel. Tr Pluto will start to oppose the Israel 10th house Moon from February 2026 for two years but that is followed by tr Pluto crossing the midpoints and then opposing the 10th house Pluto and Saturn in the early 2030s for years of hardship, perhaps way, certainly a monumental struggle. That worsens as tr Pluto continues on to hit the midpoints between Mars and Moon, Pluto and Saturn in the later 2030s to reach a calamitous peak in the early 2040s or rather a total dead halt. Along the way the Solar Arc Sun will conjunct the Pluto and Saturn at the turn of this decade into the early 2030s and after.
Netanyahu, 21 October 1949 10.15 am Tel Aviv, Israel, won’t be around for ever. He is facing a nerve stretched 2026 as an election on which everything hinges for him looms for him. There are hints of a change of direction with Solar Arc Uranus conjunct his Midheaven; and an explosive Progressed Mars square his Uranus which will be in place between 2026 and 2028. His relationship with Israel is edgy at the moment and high tension through 2026. His 2022 Term chart is sagging this year from low confidence.
His relationship with Trump is fairly chained together at an underlying level and will have peaks and troughs this year, nothing too definitive.
The Middle Eastern volcano will continue to spew lava for the foreseeable future.
ADD ON:
Trump’s midpoints:
His Sun/Pluto midpoint which strives for power will be undermined by tr Neptune in opposition late March to late April. Again late September to early November 2026 – undermining of career and health. Ditto same period – his Mercury/Saturn which is depressed.
His bulldozing Mars/Pluto midpoint is under extreme strain and trapped February to 17 March, late June to early August – though giddy with excitement as well from his adventurous Jupiter/Uranus midpoint. Some upbeat moments through year as well as panic in first half of June.
Relations with Dan Caine agitated and highly unsettled late April with Trump to mid May. He looked scared and trapped through January to early February as this was brewing. And again August to New Year.
Susie Wiles relations with DT also look seriously stressed late April to late May indeed through till late September. Second half of May also exceptionally unsettled with DT and on different wavelengths. Again she looked more than edgy in the run up to this fiasco and may not survive the year as Chief of Staff.
UK media ‘The Tehran regime is certainly murderous. Most of its victims are Iranians themselves. The Islamic Republic is also committed to harming the US and destroying Israel, but there is no evidence of any imminent action in pursuit of those goals to justify preemptive strikes. The more pressing motive seems to be Trump seeking thrills in the international arena because his domestic political revolution is running out of steam.’
Haaretz: ‘Two days after saying that Iran’s leaders have asked to talk and he has agreed, U.S. President Trump posted on Truth Social that their request came “too late,” adding that the country’s leadership, air defense, air force, and navy are “gone.” Later on Tuesday, a correspondent from U.S. news outlet News Nation said Trump told him he “doesn’t think boots on the ground will be necessary.”
■ VP JD Vance reiterated on Monday Trump’s stated goals for the campaign, which do not include regime change, saying that “whatever happens with the regime in one form or another, it’s incidental to the president’s primary objective here, which is to make sure that the Iranian terrorist regime does not build a nuclear bomb.”
■ Contrary to senior U.S. officials’ comments regarding regime change, PM Netanyahu told Fox News that the strikes are “going to create the conditions” for the Iranian people to “form their own democratically elected government.” Netanyahu stressed that the war will be “quick and decisive,” not “endless,” and that he believes it could pave the way for normalization between Israel and other Middle Eastern countries, such as Saudi Arabia.
Many Israelis doubt Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s motives and long-term goals. Netanyahu is using the war and the state of emergency to consolidate his power, diminish checks and balances, and perhaps manipulate or delay this year’s elections.
And when Tehran is burning and Israelis rush to their bomb shelters, the Palestinians are all but forgotten. Settler violence in the West Bank continues to rise, and Gaza is once again under siege.
@ Marjorie,
The Palestinians won’t be the only ones forgotten; the Ukrainians and Kurds will be too.
I was thinking about the first stage in the (disastrous regime change) Iraq War, 20th March 2003. It’s curious to see that there was a Lunar Eclipse on 20th November, 2002, during the build up and ‘discussions’ about military action and the fabled, invented ‘weapons of mass destruction’. That eclipse was 27 Taurus square Uranus, 25 Aquarius so strikes a chord with February’s Solar Eclipse in Aquarius, square Uranus 27 Taurus, the US Moon in Aquarius, and many other points in the charts Marjorie has posted. I think the ‘blinking demon’ binary star, Algol, 26 Taurus in Perseus could also be an important factor. It is associated with huge energy, and negative events affecting masses of people. May’s New Moon aligns with Algol and Mercury, so maybe offers a turning point.
Back on 17th January 1991, when the Gulf War’s Desert Storm unfolded, Mars was 29 Taurus. 1991’s tr Neptune in Capricorn opposed the natal US Sun, square Saturn. As Hugh observes, this is a sensitive chart area now being activated by progressions. In 2026 tr Saturn in war-like Aries opposes the US Saturn, square Cancer Sun in June and July. Another echo?
In March 2003 the US natal Gemini Mars square Virgo Neptune was having its Saturn in Gemini, Pluto in Sagittarius transit at the time, as was Donald Trump’s natal Gemini Sun and Sagittarius Moon. Mars in Gemini crosses those degrees in July.
Iran is a member of BRICS, the economic and intergovernmental organisation. It’s chart is dated 16 June 2009. The UAE and Saudi Arabia are also members, along with Russia, China, India and others. So Iran’s attacks on those Gulf states is perhaps not such a clever thing to do.
Of astro interest – BRICS has the inflated Jupiter, 27 Aquarius, conjunct Neptune,26 Aquarius, which has just been triggered by February’s Aquarius eclipse square Uranus. The BRICS MC is 27 Taurus, with tr Uranus suggesting a change of direction – and perhaps an upheaval. This week’s Lunar Eclipse is close to the BRICS Saturn in Virgo (trine Mars).
@Jane,
Saudi Arabia hasn’t officially joined BRICS. Various sources report that Saudi Arabia is still considering but nothing has been decided so far.
Thanks Chris, I see they’ve been hedging their bets on membership and attending meetings whilst not committing themselves.
The Gulf Cooperation Council, 25 May 1981, is interesting. Members are Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and UAE. They are all currently facing attacks by Iran. The GCC was formed post the 1979 Iranian Revolution, and in response to the Iran/Iraq War that began in September 1980. It has Uranus 27 Scorpio. It’s Jupiter/Saturn conjunction in Libra is opposed by tr Saturn and Neptune in Aries now. Time to re-group or re-assess things?
On February 16th, 1980 there was a Solar Eclipse at 27 Aquarius, square Uranus 25-6 Scorpio. On February 17th 2026 we had a Solar Eclipse at 28 Aquarius, square Uranus 27 Taurus. Is Uranus in late Taurus now making its presence strongly felt before leaving? Is Algol involved?
“… Yesterday a child came out to wonder
Caught a dragonfly inside a jar
Fearful when the sky was full of thunder
And tearful at the falling of a star
And the seasons they go round and round
And the painted ponies go up and down
We’re captive on the carousel of time
We can’t return we can only look behind
From where we came
And go round and round and round
In the circle game”
Joni Mitchell, 1966
Wow, what a striking example of T Mars activating the aggressive potential of the February 17 Solar Eclipse in Trump’s chart. T Mars is squaring T Uranus and conjunct his eclipsed DSC and opposing his natal Mars, all primed for radical change with the SE at 28 Aquarius. Looks like that potential is being realized with Trump’s start of this confrontation, conflict, fight with 7th House others/open enemies.
Thinking about how this all ripples out here’s something I noticed – there’s a Lunar Eclipse tomorrow, 3 March, at 12 Virgo. 3rd March 1613, is the date for the Russian Romanoff Dynasty, with its Sun at 12 Pisces. The eclipse hits various charts including:
Iran, February 1st, 1979: Saturn 12 Virgo – maybe symbolising an old religious leader?
Russia 862: Moon’s Nodes 12 Virgo
Russia, September 5th, 1991, End of the Soviet Union: Sun 12 Virgo (and Mars 2 Libra with tr Saturn/Neptune opposing at the moment)
China, October 1949: Saturn 13 Virgo
And oddly, the Battle of Hastings, October 1066 has Saturn 13 Virgo.
The eclipse aligns with fixed star Zosma in Leo. Robson says:
“Influences of the 9th Hindu Moon Mansion Purva Phalguni: A severe asterism belonging to the Brahmin caste and favorable for acts of disgrace, destruction, deceit, imprisonment, beating, burning and poison when containing the Moon.”
The USA progressed Mars is retrograde at 16 Libra which would not favour acts of aggression by its government. It is currently moving to conjunct the US natal Saturn at 14 Libra which itself is square the US natal Sun at 13 Cancer, the US progressed Jupiter at 15 Cancer and transiting Jupiter at 15 Cancer. All that Jupiterian energy probably underpinned the decision to go to war. The progressed Mars retrograde conjunct natal Saturn looks a very heavy aspect suggesting frustration with repressed anger potentially leading to violent or ruthless behaviour. Pluto was conjunct the US natal Saturn during the run upto the Iranian Revolution in 1978 through to 1979 so it seems a sensitive area on the US chart. The US progressed Moon at 18 Aries was moving to conjunct the US Chiron at 20 Aries when the attack took place
Hi Marjorie and astro lovers, I usually work with 07/12/1971 UAE chart. It’s also a national holiday over there, so it has significance. The transits are very telling indeed. Tr Pluto conj Natal North Node, Natal Pluto in Libra opposite Saturn and Neptune in Aries and Tr Mars will soon conj Natal Mars. It looks like the UAE will face irreversible changes.
The Daily Telegraph had an interesting article today that highlighted a possible division in the Trump cabinet. Neither Vance or Tulsi Gabbard were present with Trump in Florida when the attack was announced and they his historically been on the isolationist and non interventionist wing of the Republican Party. Depending how the war in Iran works out will probably decide whether Rubio or Vance is the next Republican presidential candidate.
It will be interesting to see to what extent the Trump administration is prepared to follow through in this conflict. In the run upto a war the normal process is get one’s allies onside. In this case the Trump regime has spent the past years rubbishing European governments and putting tariffs on their exports before starting a conflict in the Middle East without consulting them. Trump’s Sun and Uranus in Gemini is far too unstable make reliable forecasts about what he is going to do next. One question that needs to be answered is how far is he in control of events or is he getting his policy dictated to him by the neoconservatives in his Cabinet and by the Saudi and Israeli governments.
@Hugh Fowler, “our girl Tulsi”, per Russians, has been sidelined for months now. Apparently, she wasn’t informed about Venezuela strike, either. I think they have good reason to believe she passes information to Russians, who in turn would be passing them as a favour to their allies. I think she will be formally pushed out (she could cite personal matters…) sooner than later: She has a Jupiter/Saturn conjunction 3–5 Libra that will feel the after shakes of Saturn/Neptune conjunction.
As for Vance and Rubio, I think none of Trump’s cabinet members will be a viable candidate come 2028. The coming cost of living crisis, especially price of gas, will make them as toxic as any George W Bush associate. That said, Rubio may be made to fall on sword before the midterms.
Solaia- there are still nine positive posts about Gabbard over on The Sanders Institute website (just checked). Bernie should delete, although he honeymooned in Russia… and his campaign manager worked with Manafort…
@Amelia Pettyfor, and? How is Sanders of any relevance here? You think he is willingly working with Kremlin in 2026? This “a politician was once sympathetic with the Soviet Union / Russia” bit is tiresome, to say the least. All I care about are their actions since 2014 or even 2022. This is a good indicator on whether Kremlin got to them.
I also find that on Middle East, which is the topic here, Bernie Sanders has been consistent, and mostly right, unlike MAGAs who ran on anti-Neocon messaging.
Solaia-Hello. Are you familiar with horseshoe theory, by chance?
@Amelia Pettyfor, yes, I am aware of the horseshoe theory, but find the simplistic application problematic based to my knowledge from countries where politics tend to go beyond simplistic premasticated Hollywood World view. For instance, you do know that the word “tankie” often used to debase Leftist thinkers was, in fact, coined by British Communists themselves for the fraction supporting Soviet invasion of Hungary in 1956, because there was a division even within the party.
And to be fair, that Bernie Sanders, a democratic socialist, would be considered part of the horse shoe to begin with, is a funny concept. He styles himself after Nordic social democrats, who, traditionally, have been very critical of ALL authoritarian regimes. Labelling him “far left” would be akin to calling some of the classic Republicans, say John McCain or Mitt Romney, “far right”.
@Hugh, the US is also rapidly running out of munitions, including missile interceptors. There’s reliable reporting, including from military blogs my husband (who spent his career in the defense industry) follows, that Trump’s hand-picked chairman of the joint chiefs of staff, Gen. Dan “Razin'” Caine, who was brought out of retirement and promoted to take the job, and other senior officers tried to talk Trump out of his vanity war because US forces are stretched too thin and weapons stockpiles are seriously depleted. But Netanyahu and the Gulf State princes apparently are calling the shots. US voters will not be happy once the toll of Trump’s war becomes clear.
Not to mention oil prices going up and the knock-on effects of that. It’s one possibility with Saturn/Neptune (limits on oil and gas). Though one positive effect could be growth of new energy solutions.
It is very interesting to see what is coming in Middle East, there are reports that US is rapidly running out of missiles, and the war just begun. The problem, Trump didn’t even get a congressional approval, he doesn’t even know how much this war is going to cost, it is just going to cause more economic pain for the US and the world as the oil prices have started soaring. It’ seems to be trouble in paradise for the US army as it was reported this morning that several of their aircraft has crashed in Kuwait though there were no fatalities. Kuwait’s chart looks stressed at the moment, they have Mars in Leo and currently transiting Mars in Aquarius and it is conjunct South Node(Karmic) , this war is happening at a wrong time for them, Kuwait might see more casualties. Pluto is in Aquarius also and it will oppose their natal Mars in coming years. It’s not surprising that Kuwait looks weak now. Mohammed bin Salman also looks not happy and very critical of US and Israel, behind the scenes. He is not publicly speaking, he will start talking in public in coming months as this war persists and affect their economies in coming months and years.
Looking at Middle East in general, the coming years look more as a time of upheaval, a lot is going to change, their image and role in the world will be completely transformed. As for Trump and Netanyahu, this war will outlive them, it is not the kind of war they thought it will be, just hit and go. It is going to be a non stop war like that of Israel and Palestine, that has been on for decades now. Yasser Arafat and Isack Rabbin, and many others have passed on but the problem is still not resolved to this day.
@ Tshele,
I remember back in 2003 when the invasion of Iraq took place. I knew enough about the culture and geopolitics of Iraq to predict that it would turn into a hot mess. Iraq is home to many ethnic and ethno-religious groups (Shia Arabs, Sunni Arabs, Marsh Arabs, Turkmen, Circassians, Kurds, Armenians, Yazidis, Assyrians, etc.) I suspected there would be a power struggle between such groups…and that’s exactly what happened.
Iran, like Iraq, is home to many of the same ethnic and ethno-religious groups. The Trump administration is already trying to lure the Kurdish People to fight against the current regime. I have a sneaking suspicion this is going to turn into a civil war and last many years.
Imperial hubris. Iran won’t stop till Israel is annihilated. Sleeper cells have woken up in US and no doubt with the backing of Americas principal enemies it too faces huge structural damage. I suspect Israel will nuke Iran . Plutonic action?
@ Gamal,
Actually, I think Donald Trump would be the one more inclined to resort to using nuclear weapons. He hates to lose and he’s a complete narcissist. If he thought he was losing this war, I wouldn’t put it past him to turn Tehran into another Hiroshima or Nagasaki.
Psychiatrists and psychologists often warn of how dangerous narcissistic injury can be.
Most likely to be urged by Israel, not that Trump needed much prodding. Arab states do not appear to have been ready for Iranian counteroffensives, nor Europe, so only Israel and the US were in the loop. In addition to the impact on the Middle East, Russia has already begun rattling about how it’s now justified to go after Europe (something about using the ‘preemptive logic’ Trump claimed for attacking Iran, although with him reasons can change at any time … there’s another in which he claimed Iran interfered with the 2020 elections). Would China be emboldened to go after Taiwan right now as well?
Lowkey, an independent journalist from Double Down News, has just dropped a video showing it is Israel behind the bombing in Iran because they have horrifying plans to expand their colonial powers. I wish the world would wake up and deal with this existential nightmare.
The problem is, from what is coming out in the Epstein files, which show JE worked for Mossad and not Russia as the mainstream media are framing it, is that so many leaders are compromised and are just sitting on their hands to allow all this to happen.
I really do hope we all get through this ugly bottleneck in history as quickly as possible because it feels like we’re living in the Twilight Zone.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NxdjzsuAQMg
The episode of the Twilight Zone we are currently living through is ‘It’s a Good Life’. Rod Serling, who wrote the series was a man with a moral compass and who was highly prescient.
*Just to note I often comment here using the user name cj, but the above is not me. A common abbreviation but I often also don’t capitalize it so I just wanted to be clear.
I’ll add a 1 to my user name for clarity.
People mag wrote that Eps was Pewtin’s wealth manager…