Saddam Captured

by Deborah Houlding

Saddam captured: 13 Dec 2003 8:30 pm Local Time Adwar, Iraq (a few miles from Tikrit 34 N 36 / 43 E 42) (chart left)

After a lengthy period of evasion, ex-Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein was finally captured by allied troops on 13th December, 2003. The image of the once powerful leader cowering in a dirty hole in the ground has been parodied around the world as a telling reflection on the current status of a man who wielded terrifying supremacy and power for decades.

The event chart set for the moment of capture was certainly descriptive of Saddam's downcast position as he was taken into custody, and clear in its indications of 'perfection' for the allies. After many disappointing near-misses and false leads, the allies appeared to have the ideal blend of reliable information and good fortune in a course of action whose astrological timing couldn't have been elected with better promise of success.

Leo rises so, as the initiators of the action, the allies are signified by the Sun, the mythological exposer of secrets and revealer of mysteries. Located in the fortunate 5th house, its conjunction with Pluto describes determination and applied-will to pursue objectives against all resistance. The Moon signifies the action, the will of the people, and the flow of events. It rises in the ascendant showing support and favour for the allies, and is moving away from the opposition of Neptune on the descendant, describing blighted attempts to pin down the elusive enemy in the past. The Moon then applies directly to the trine of the Pluto-Sun conjunction, located in the house known as 'good fortune' to the ancients, disposited by Jupiter, which falls neatly on the trine of Venus. Indications of good fortune and lucky breaks don't come much clearer than that and one imagines that with the 5th house ruling 'pleasure, delight and merriment' (Christian Astrology, p.53) a few cups were raised in celebration later that day.

As the fugitive enemy Saddam is signified by Saturn, ruler of the 7th house. Retrograde and in detriment in the 12th house (captured, restrained and banished persons), Saturn is afflicted by the recent opposition of Mercury in the turned 12th. A friend turned informant against him? The capture was the result of "a combination of human intelligence tips, exceptional intelligence analytical efforts and detainee interrogations" according to the allied forces' report. Saturn is void of course apart from the inconjunct aspect to Neptune and the 7th house cusp, bringing him personal disappointment and disillusionment. It is disposed by the Moon which applies to the Sun suggesting that those whose favours were being employed at his hideout were involved in supplying intelligence reports to the allies.

Saturn, when it lacks dignity, describes dirty, dusty, impoverished conditions and a fall from honour and standing. In its sign of detriment it indicates low status, 'down and outs' and the lower regions of society. The places that it rules include those that are dark, damp, dirty, cold or subject to decay and rot. These include remote, desolate, uninhabited places and landscape features that decline into the earth such as mines, wells, caves, or 'holes'.

Denoted by Saturn in this event chart, Saddam acts as an archetypal portrayal of Lilly's Significations of Saturn (Christian Astrology, p.57). It is not without relevance that the degree of Saturn in this chart catches the midheaven of the chart drawn for the moment his monument was toppled in Baghdad on April 9th. Although taken as a symbolic moment for the collapse of his power, that chart still described him as exalted and powerful in public consciousness. Here Saturn has shown the true collapse - the image of Saddam looking dirty, old, dishevelled and disheartened, along with captions of his lowly retreat, will surely be committed to lasting memory as a final testimony upon his fall from grace.

But will the capture of Saddam be the end of his legacy of international strife? Unfortunately Mars on the cusp of the 9th house suggests that the arrest and any subsequent trial could prove to be a focus for more conflict amongst the international community. Saturn remains retrograde until March 2004 and returns to the opposition of this event chart Mercury in late May, when we might expect any damage from unsavoury international secrets to reveal its full potential. Whilst Mercury rules Saddam's 9th house of legal matters, Mars stands in opposition promising more controversy and division. Since Mercury rules Saddam's turned 8th house, the prospect of a judicial death sentence seems very likely.

Saddam monument toppled 9 April 2003 10:48 am EDT (+4hrs) Baghdad Iraq (chart right)

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Front Page ***Saddam Captured by Deborah Houlding***The Butler, the Princess and the Book by Isabelle Ghaneh***Funding Sought for Astrological Film by Adel Ather***The Beagle has Landed by Chris Mitchell ***Data Section by David Fisher***Faculty Events 2004 - by Peta High***Predestination and Free Will - April 2004 by Nick Kollestrom***Michael Jackson and the Astrology of Time by Isabelle Ghaneh***Submissions to Transit***AA Website