US Anti-Cuba Rhetoric Heats Up

By Alex Miller

On Background:  On May 7^th, the Trump administration announced fresh sanctions against Cuba, further stressing the Caribbean nation which is already teetering under economic strain from prior sanctions and an oil embargo.  US President Donald Trump’s anti-Cuba statements in recent weeks have given cause for concern that rhetoric may escalate to armed conflict, with Trump vowing that unless the country’s political system changes “dramatically,” the US will be “doing something with Cuba very soon.”  Trump continued:  “Cuba is going to be next,” pledging that the U.S. will be “taking over Cuba almost immediately.”

Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez stated in response to the threats, “Cuba will exercise its right for its legitimate defense to the very last consequences with massive, mass support of the people.  Cuba is not a threat to the U.S. national security or foreign policy or economy or the American way of life.  It seems that the U.S. government has chosen a dangerous path, a path that could lead to unimaginable consequences, to humanitarian catastrophe, to a genocide, to the loss of Cuban and young American lives; it could also lead to a bloodbath in Cuba.”

The Lede:  This latest round of threats and intimidation came a day after Pluto (5 Aquarius) made its retrograde station (1), a powerful moment in the cycle of this planet, which represents coercion, manipulation and the expression of raw power.  Pluto is not war or aggression per se, but does govern the destruction and devastation which can result from armed conflict.  Pluto squares (90 degrees, stressful, conflict) Mercury (8 Taurus), planet of communication, statements, plans and decision-making. 

In Brief:  The Sun is exactly conjunct Cuba’s (2) natal Mars (both 17 Taurus), which does rule war, suggesting that these may be more than idle threats.  Saturn (9 Aries), which represents governments and heads-of-state as well as the hardship and deprivation caused by the sanctions (also a Saturnine arena), opposes (180 degrees) Cuba’s Moon (8 Libra), symbolic of its people, most at risk should hostilities break out, and most affected by the sanctions.  There is a T-Square (3) formed with Cuba’s natal Sun (11 Capricorn), mirroring the restrictions (Saturn) on the nation (Sun).

Deep Dive:  Pluto is accompanied by asteroids Cuba (28 Capricorn), named for the country, and Whitehouse (3 Aquarius), indicating the US Presidency, combining referents for the two antagonists, with the square to Mercury symbolizing their dialog and verbal exchanges.  A second T-Square is formed with asteroid Washingtonia (7 Leo) opposed Pluto and squared Mercury, referring to the US government.

The Sun is also involved in a T-Square, opposed a pairing of asteroids Toro (12 Scorpio) and Karma (14 Scorpio), with asteroid America (19 Leo) on the fulcrum.  Toro is noted for bullying, threats and intimidation, while Karma suggests a moment of reckoning has arrived.  Asteroid America highlights (Sun) the US as the aggressor (Toro). 

The Sun forms a further pattern, a Grand Trine Kite (4), with trine aspects (120 degrees) to two stationary asteroids, Nemesis (22 Capricorn) and Havana (20 Virgo), with the String of the Kite provided by Nemesis’ opposition to Jupiter (19 Cancer).  Nemesis refers to an enemy or opponent, known as the bringer of ruin and destruction; Havana is named for the Cuban capital and made its station on May 4^th, three days before the escalation in sanctions, signaling a pivotal turning point has been reached.   Jupiter rules foreign and international relations and can indicate overblown, excessive responses, and a tendency to bite off more than one can chew.

Havana is involved in a second pattern, a Thor’s Hammer, a “fated” combination suggesting predestined crisis.  This involves sesquiquadrate aspects (135 degrees) to both Pluto/Whitehouse and Mercury from Havana, on the Apex, and represents the rhetoric (Mercury) from the Trump administration (Whitehouse), applying pressure to change (Pluto) on the Cuban government (Havana).

Further, asteroid Cuba (28 Capricorn) opposes asteroid Donn (29 Cancer), here referencing Donald Trump, with Mars (21 Aries), ruler of war, on the fulcrum of a T-Square, imaging the threats of armed conflict (Mars) from the US President (Donn) towards the island nation (Cuba).  Offering the Cuban counterpoint, Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez is seen as asteroid Rodriguez (4 Capricorn), which also came to its station during this period, on May 6^th, the same date as the Pluto station.

The next month could be a fraught one for Cuba, with asteroid Havana having turned direct on May 4^th, and asteroid Cuba queuing up to turn retrograde on June 5^th, suggesting a period of turmoil and crisis is in the offing.

Notes:  (1) Stations are periods when, from our perspective on Earth, a planet appears to slow its movement, come to a standstill, and reverse course.  This is an optical illusion created by the triangulation between the sun, Earth, and any third celestial body; astrologically, it represents a focusing of the energies associated with that point, and often coincides with major life events or a radical recalibration of how that point has functioned previously.

(2) Cuba, Communist Government; 1 AM EST 2 January 1959, Havana, Cuba; Nicholas Campion, “Book of World Horoscopes”

(3) A T-Square is a dynamic pattern composed of two or more planets in opposition (180 degrees), each squared (90 degrees) a third.  It represents stress and conflict, with the fulcrum point (at the square) offering a possibility of resolution.

(4) A Kite is special type of Grand Trine, with one or more points opposing one of the three primary Grand Trine points.  The point in opposition is termed the “String,” and guides the operation and manifestation of the Kite itself.

Sources:  reporting from ABC News; chart data from serennu.com; graphic images by author

Title Image Credit: drawn by Chat GPT