Mars has been working overtime of late! The planet associated with war, weapons and armed conflict sparked two conflagrations in the Mid-East as it moved to conjoin the degree of the February 17, 2026 Solar Eclipse, activating its potential for evoking world-shaking events. On February 26, long-simmering tensions between Pakistan and Afghanistan, heated by the unchecked use of Afghanistan as a safe haven for terrorist groups operating in Pakistan, boiled over into cross-border fighting. On February 28, the US and Israel began joint military operations against Iran, even as ongoing peace talks showed signs of progress in obtaining Iranian assurances that they would not develop nuclear weapons.
US President Donald Trump issued a late-night video statement to Iranians, consumed for months by anti-regime demonstrations that have been violently repressed by the government, assuring them that “the hour of your freedom is at hand.” He also warned Americans that this would be an operation extending over days, and could result in US casualties. Airstrikes against military and nuclear targets in Iran have been responded to with Iranian missiles directed at Israel and other countries in the region.
Mars’ exact conjunction with the eclipse degree of 28 Aquarius, also conjoined the US natal Moon at 27 Aquarius, provoked action from a position already under extreme stress via the concomitant square from Uranus at 27 Taurus. Uranus rules shocks, surprises, and controversial acts, as well as governing explosions generally and airstrikes specifically. With Mars and Uranus now in square as well, the energy is volatile and erratic, made all the more so by dwarf planet Makemake at 12 Libra, in sesquiquadrate to each, forming a Thor’s Hammer pattern, a symmetrical alignment with serious implications for karma and destiny, similar to a Yod. Mars also opposes transit asteroid America 916 at 20 Leo, another image of the US at war, forming a T-Square with Uranus.
The day of the attack on Iran also featured an exact conjunction of Venus and a retrograde Mercury, both at 22 Pisces, which symbolizes the repeat (retrograde) of diplomatic negotiations (Venus) for an agreement (Mercury) on Iran’s nuclear ambitions. Ironically, the precise joining of these two coincided with reports of breakthroughs in forming an understanding between the parties, now hopelessly disrupted by the conflict.
The 9 Pisces Sun is conjoined by Damocles 5335 at 4 Pisces and asteroid BAM 2031 at 1 Pisces, with Damocles representing the looming threat or peril, about to descend at any moment; and BAM an acronym that phonetically approximates the onomatopoetic term “bam!”, the sound an explosion makes. While a recent build-up of US military power in the region, and several “teaser” statements from Donald Trump about possible armed intervention to ensue, argue against this as a “surprise attack,” the timing was indeed unexpected, coming on the heels of word of progress in nuclear negotiations.
This solar grouping forms a T-Square with asteroids Bombig 100519 at 8 Gemini and Bellona 28 at 12 Sagittarius; Bombig (“bombing” without the “n”) is another reference to the airstrikes, and Bellona is named for the Roman goddess of war. Bellona rests exactly atop the US natal Ascendant, depicting the world’s largest superpower marshaling its military against a perceived threat.
Key players in the drama are also present in celestial form. An exact pairing of asteroids Jerusalem 63163, named for the Israeli capital, and Irani 18987, an adjectival descriptor of Iran’s people (both at 22 Sagittarius) is exactly squared the Mercury/Venus pairing, providing news (Mercury) regarding the next phase of conflict (square) between these traditional enemies. Amazingly, asteroid Troemper 28130, our celestial referent for Donald Trump, also falls at 22 Sagittarius, for a Triple Threat of asteroids combining both aggressors (Jerusalem, Troemper) and their target (Irani).
Israel at a crossroads is portrayed by asteroid Israel 7507 at 9 Cancer in exact trine to the Sun, and itself at station, indicating that a vital turning point has been reached, something momentous, with far-reaching implications. Israel turned direct on the day before the conflict broke out, signaling the Jewish state’s readiness to move ahead with long-laid plans. As with Jerusalem/Troemper, asteroid Donn 4689 conjoins Israel, mirroring the joint operation. Donn is also at station, marking a major turning point for Trump; Troemper turned direct on February 19, just before the story of the documents withheld from the Epstein files by the US Justice Department, which might implicate Trump in the rape and assault of a thirteen-year-old girl procured by Jeffrey Epstein.
As well, Pluto at 4 Aquarius, which governs expressions of raw power, opposes a precise combination of asteroids Washingtonia 886 and Bomben 12834 (both 6 Leo), suggesting the order to bomb (Bomben) issued from the US capital (Washingtonia).
The Mars placement (28 Aquarius), in addition to its conjunction with the US natal Moon, Donald Trump’s Mars (26 Leo)/Ascendant (29 Leo) conjunction, heightening his aggressive tendencies and public image (Ascendant) as a warrior or champion (all Mars attributes). Israel’s natal Mars (28 Leo) is also drawn into the conflict, with transit Mars in semisquare to the Sun of the Islamic Republic (11 Aries).
One of the first casualties of this war appears to have been Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic of Iran since 1989. The 86-year-old cleric was killed at his office and residential compound in central Tehran within hours of the commencement of hostilities. There is no asteroid match for either of his names, but asteroid Kamen 70936 is closest phonetically, and appears to be in sync, appearing at 4 Pisces, conjoined the spotlighting Sun, threatening Damocles, and explosive BAM.
Donald Trump’s crucial role in Ali Khamenei’s death (born 19 April 1939, no time available) is apparent, from an exact conjunction of natal asteroids Troemper and Lachesis 120, named for the mythic Greek Fate who determines the span of life. At 8 Capricorn, this duo forms a T-Square, opposed natal asteroid Requiem 2254 at 5 Cancer, named for the funeral mass for the dead, with a pairing of Mercury and asteroid Israel on the fulcrum, at 5 and 9 Aries respectively. This establishes the state of Israel as active in his death as well, reinforced in real time by the Israel/Donn stations at 9 and 10 Cancer, opposing natal Troemper/Lachesis. Mercury here signals that the death will be newsworthy.
Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu’s powerful impact on Ali Khamenei’s biography is seen as natal asteroid Benjamina 976, a feminine equivalent, which at 0 Virgo is embedded at station and trine the Sun. PNAs at station indicate persons who will be pivotal, formative agents, for good or ill. Benjamina conjoins natal asteroid America at 8 Virgo, also at station, for yet another connection between the two nations that are jointly prosecuting this war.
Netanyahu’s personal responsibility in Khamenei’s death is signaled by a remarkable transit triple conjunction of asteroid Benjamina at 6 Capricorn, with asteroids Atropos 273 and Nemesis 128, both at 7 Capricorn, all conjoined natal Troemper/Lachesis. Atropos is named for the Fate who severs the thread of life at death, and Nemesis refers to an enemy or opponent, also noted as the bringer of ruin and destruction.
The Solar Eclipse on February 17, 2026 at 29 Aquarius, and the transit Mars placement at 28 Aquarius for the attacks, both conjoin natal asteroid Kamen at 25 Aquarius, another indicator that the cosmos endorses this point as a Khamenei marker. (Further evidence is the sextile from Kamen to the natal Sun at 28 Aries, with an individual’s PNAs (Personal-Named Asteroids) typically making connection to the Sun, Moon, Ascendant or Mercury.) The subsequent Lunar Eclipse of March 3, 2026 at 12 Virgo forms a T-Square (Sun at 12 Pisces) with Khamenei’s natal asteroid Anubis 1912 at 11 Sagittarius, named for the ancient Egyptian deity governing funerary rites, with the eclipsed Moon also conjoined natal asteroid America at 8 Virgo.
Title Image Credit: drawn by ChatGPT.
Alex Miller is a professional writer and astrologer, whose website AlexAsteroidAstrology.com offers a trove of info on the role of asteroids in personal and mundane astrology. He is the author of The Black Hole Book (available on Amazon.com) and The Urban Wicca, former editor of “The Galactic Calendar,” and past president of The Philadelphia Astrological Society. His pioneering work with Black Holes in astrological interpretation began in 1991, when his progressed Sun unwittingly fell into one. Alex’s books and writings are available on his website. Alex can also be reached for comment or services at .
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