The Career Astrologer 1 2016 | Page 5

Mars RX Speaker at OPA Conference in Greece! Mars Retrograde and the Challenge of 2016 by M Roy Gillett ars will be in retrograde motion from Mars Retrograde and the Challenge of 2016 In his Working with the Planets column [The Astrological Journal January edi- tion1] Roy Gillett reported and made the following comment on a recent find- ing from the renown mundane astrolo- ger Andre Barbault. Roy will be looking deeply into the astrology of the present world predica- ment at the upcoming OPA Conference in Athens – May 27th to 31st. For everyone’s sake, international talks have to be genuine, to have gone beyond recent tendencies to agree to opponents demands only to do the opposite in prac- tice. The atmosphere of mistrust created by such diplomatic behaviour patterns could be lethal as we move into the late spring and summer of the year [2016]. In addition to the ongoing Saturn / Neptune square pattern, the following important additional information has been recently received from André Barbault ......[Mars] is nearest to the Earth when at opposition to the Sun. When Mars is at perigee (the point in its orbit when it is closest to the Earth), at the same time that it is at perihelian (when its orbit comes closest to the Sun) this is a perihelic opposition which usually happens every fifteen years. This is The Career Astrologer when Mars is closest to us. We can see that this is what happened in August 1939 – one of the signs that war would break out in Europe – then in October 1941 when Japan was planning its attack on Pearl Harbour which would globalise the war. A perihelic opposition of Mars also occurred in the summer of 2001, a few weeks away from the kami- kaze attack in New York on September 11th of that year. We are now approaching the next Martian epicycle: Mars will be at peri- helion from May 22nd 2016 when the proximity of the planet from our globe will be 47 million miles. With a Sun-Mars opposition which is semi-square and ses- qui-quadrate to Pluto; followed by the passage of a Sun-Venus conjunction in opposition to Saturn in a T-square with Neptune in the first ten days of June. There is reason to fear a natural disas- ter, if not a world catastrophe especially with the cyclic indicator crossing the sign of its detriment2. All experienced students of aspect pat- terns in natal and mundane charts will know that we should always see difficult aspects as opportunities, not harbingers of doom. Indeed, those that seek aggran- disement for themselves by forecasting disaster for others, perform a major dis- service to astrology, as well as the world at large. The predicted dramatic chang- es in 1989 were a catastrophe for the Soviet Union, but a long awaited chance of freedom for the millions previously under its control. Many gained greatly, because they were ready to embrace the changes demanded by the times. A perihelic opposition of Mars also occurred in the summer of 2001, a few weeks away from the kamikaze attack in New York on September 11th of that year. OPA’s Quarterly Magazine So, when the world’s most experi- enced mundane astrologer makes such a clearly explained observation along- side what we already know about these astro-events, it would be wise for world leaders to accept the time has come to stop playing power games with the lives of millions of people. ISIL is the outcome when inexperienced insensitive egos are allowed the reigns of power. it would be wise for world leaders to ac- cept the time has come to stop playing power games with the lives of millions of people. ISIL is the outcome when inexperienced insensitive egos are allowed the reigns of power. Let the negativity of the time be turned inward. May all involved experi- ence the angst of inner pain that comes from accepting they have been wrong! May all think again to accommodate the position of others, who are also ready to admit they were wrong! The predicted traumas of the 2012 transits were re-directed into highly successful Olympic Games in Britain. Let 2016 see the confusion of potential war not call up its dogs, but instead clear its clouds to welcome in the illuminated light of mutual understanding. References and Notes 1 Visit http://astrologicalassociation. com/shop/membership.php for annual subscription. 2 Forwarded by Andre Barbault in October 2015 to The Astrological Association for inclusion in its English translation of his new book Les cycles planetaires astrologie mondiale [Pub 2014]. English version publication expected early 2016 R V25 -01 MARCH EQUINOX 2016 page 5