Mars Combust – a Feature of the Holidays & Beyond

By Edith Hathaway © 2025

At a time of year when we have the Turning of the Light at Winter Solstice (in the Northern Hemisphere), and when Christians celebrate Christmas and the birth of Jesus and Jews celebrate Hanukah, it is especially shocking in December 2025 to also observe so many acts of violence and aggression across the world, some of which are aimed specifically against Christians or Jews.  Meanwhile, this Biblical message of universal peace is a message shared throughout the world:

“Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.”   Luke 2:14

Geopolitics along with crimes of passion can be cited in part for this surge in violent acts across the world. But in astrology, we can especially point to the unusually long period during which transiting Mars is combust the Sun.  The normal time span is 2 ½ months.  This current one runs for nearly 5 months: Nov. 7, 2025 to March 27, 2026.  This is when transiting Mars and the Sun are within a 17 degree range of celestial longitude and often much closer.  (See the list of Dates and degree ranges for Sun-Mars combustion further below.)    Only Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn can be combust the Sun, with different ranges for each planet.

When a planet is combust, it cannot be seen from the earth with the naked eye.  Therefore, it is hidden from us physically, and on a more subtle level we are not as aware of what that planet is doing in the heavens or how it is affecting us.  So it becomes especially important to know how to assess and deal with all that Mars represents in the earthly realm.

Mars is the power to take action on a physical level. It is courage, strength and daring.  Mars is not always war-like, but it is a warrior in life, and we count on Mars to be dynamic, competitive and to fight the battles that need to be fought.  As a planet of action, in its highest, most positive manifestation Mars is “auspicious action” – from the Sanskrit word Mangala.  It is also considered a “celebration,” with its inherent ties to auspiciousness, courage, and passion.  Mars also relates to war, sex, brothers, technical ability, work, and real estate.

Mars rules over the signs Aries and Scorpio.  On a personal level, if your Vedic chart has either Aries or Scorpio Ascendant (sidereal zodiac), your chart ruler is Mars.  It is the Lagnadhipati, planetary lord of the Ascendant sign.  This means you will be especially affected by the Mars combustion and you will want to refrain from overdoing it or overextending your life in any major way during these 5 months, even though circumstances may tempt you to do so.

What we are seeing during this Mars Combust is both the highest use of Mars to resolve wars and conflicts through determined diplomacy, and also the lowest form of it – when “good will toward men” has seemed to disappear completely, and anger and revenge boil so hot that crimes of passion erupt.  (See the list of crime news items further below.)

The Winter Solstice in the Northern Hemisphere (the Summer Solstice in the Southern Hemisphere) is one of the most powerful astrological events in the year, and Mars Combust coincides with it this year. Winter Solstice occurs Sunday, Dec. 21, 2025 at 10:03 am EST.   Between Dec. 18 and 23, 2025 the Sun is crossing the Galactic Center, which is like the beating heart center of our Solar system.  This makes it a time of major spiritual renewal and rejuvenation worldwide.

How to read a North and South Indian chart. All planets are in the sidereal zodiac (Lahiri ayanamsha). Underlined planets are retrograd

This year it is extra power-packed, being also just two days after the New Moon at 4°11’ Sagittarius on Dec. 19, and with four planets in sidereal Sagittarius opposite Jupiter in Gemini.  Three of those  planets (Venus, Sun, Mars) are in Mula nakshatra, which demands purification through actions which may involve destruction or damage in the process.

An additional factor is that tr. Mars is “out-of-bounds” at 24°10’ at Winter Solstice, Dec. 2025.  Astronomically, this means a planet or a star is beyond the declination defined by the Sun’s normal path on the ecliptic at 23°27’.  Declination is measured north or south of the celestial equator.  At the Winter Solstice, the Sun is at its southern most point in its seasonal declination cycle.  When a planet exceeds this angle, it is considered “out-of-bounds” and acting unconventionally or unexpectedly. The qualities of that planet are amplified, which could be good or bad.  On the positive side, Mars OOB could show extraordinary courage, initiative, athleticism and boldness.  On the negative side, it could show Impulsiveness, volatility, acting without understanding the limits or consequences of one’s actions.  The Bhagavad Gita is replete with teachings about the proper attitude and readiness for battle, which is the realm of Mars.

With 6 out of 7 classical physical planets in DUAL signs (Gemini, Sagittarius, Pisces), we have all the flexibility and adaptability the DUAL signs provide, along with the potential confusion of having SO MANY possibilities of life choices! There is great intellectual curiosity, along with constant shifts of circumstances.  This is even more exaggerated with the Sankhya Shoola Yoga (see further below), when at times all classical physical planets are in just 3 signs.  In one instance they are all in only DUAL signs: Jan. 1, 2026, 11:56 pm EST to Jan. 3, 2026, 11:13 pm EST.

Mars Combust the Sun: Dates  (all sidereal zodiac/Lahiri ayanamsha)

  • 17° range: Nov. 7, 2025 to March 27, 2026  (4 months, 20 days)
  • Minimum 5° ahead of the Sun:  Nov. 7 to Dec. 20, 2025
  •  1° to 5° range: Dec. 20, 2025 to Jan. 30, 2026 (6 weeks)
  •  0 to 1° range: Jan. 4 to 13, 2026 (10 days)

If a planet is within 0 to 1° of the Sun, it is called Cazimi, and can be a sign of exceptional brilliance, its qualities dependent on the nature of the planet and in that sign and nakshatra.

Tr. Mercury, Venus, Sun, Mars in Sagittarius opposite tr. Jupiter in  Gemini     (all sidereal zodiac/Lahiri ayanamsha)

  •    0 to 2° range (Sun, Mars, Venus): Jan. 5 to 10, 2026
  •   EXACT Sun-Mars conjunction, 24°56’ to 25°00’ Sagittarius:  Jan. 9, 2026,  5:17 to 7:15 am        EST   (Tr. Venus, 25°41’ Sagittarius; Tr. Jupiter 26°00’ Gemini.)

When Venus and Mars are within 1° range, as during the dates given above  (Jan. 5 to 10, 2026), they are in Graha Yuddha (a 0 to 1° range).  One planet wins a Planetary War and is considered to defeat the other planet.  In my studies of the subject, using rules based on classical principles, Venus will always defeat Mars, since it is much brighter than Mars.

Only five planets can participate in Graha Yuddha: Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn.  The winner is determined by 1) size and importance (Saturn dominates by its ring system); 2) brightness; and 3) orbital speed.  The dominance goes in this order: Saturn, Jupiter, Venus, Mercury, Mars.  The loser will suffer more in its sign of debilitation and relatively less in Graha Yuddha with a planetary friend.  (For more on this topic, see my article.)

   Tr. Mars Out-of-bounds: beyond 23°27’ of declination

  • Nov. 27, 2025 to Jan. 4, 2026

ALL physical planets in just 3 signs of the zodiac: Sankhya Shoola Yoga  during Mars Combustion  (sidereal zodiac/Lahiri ayanamsha)

  1.   Dec. 6, 2025, 10:16 am EST to Dec. 7, 2025, 9:56 am EST (Gemini, Scorpio, Pisces)
  2.   Jan. 1, 2026, 11:56 pm EST to Jan. 3, 2026, 11:13 pm EST (Gemini, Sagittarius, Pisces)
  3.   Jan. 18, 2026, 6:12 am EST to Jan. 20, 2026, 3:05 pm EST (Gemini, Capricorn, Pisces)
  4.   Jan. 22, 2026, 11:04 pm EST to Jan. 25, 2026, 3:05 am EST (Gemini, Capricorn, Pisces)
  5.   Jan. 29, 2026, 8:02 am EST to Jan. 31, 2026, 9:31 am EST (Gemini, Capricorn, Pisces)
  6.   Feb. 25, 2026, 2:25 pm EST to Feb. 27, 2026, 5:22 pm EST (Gemini, Aquarius, Pisces)
  7.   March 16, 2026, 6:45 am EST to March 18, 2026, 2:06 pm EST (Gemini, Aquarius, Pisces)
  8.   March 24, 2026, 10:48 pm EST to March 25, 2026, 7:38 pm EST (Gemini, Aquarius, Pisces).

    How to read a North and South Indian chart. All planets are in the sidereal zodiac (Lahiri ayanamsha). Underlined planets are retrograde.

    When Sankhya Shoola Yoga occurs during Mars Combustion, this adds to the already potent confluence of factors.  This yoga already intensifies the earth’s atmosphere by bundling all the classic Vedic physical planets into just 3 signs of the zodiac. Sometimes earthquakes or volcanic eruptions can result.  This yoga is relatively rare to find, but as we see above, it occurs 8 times between Dec. 6, 2025 and March 25, 2026, including 4 times in Jan. 2026.  Shoola in Sanskrit means “a spear, a spike or thorn.” It gives the essence of “struggling.”  A person with this yoga usually has the destiny to be a thorn in the side of others, often because their ideas and/or actions challenge the status quo in some way. (See my recent article on Charlie Kirk, who had this yoga.)

    Tr. Mars in Sagittarius: Dec. 7, 2025 to Jan. 15, 2026 (Sun & Mars in Sagittarius: Dec. 15 to Jan. 14) : BATTLE OF IDEAS, ESPECIALLY APROPOS RELIGION &/OR NATIONAL SOVEREIGNTY  

    In the realm of Planetary Friendships, Mars and the Sun are considered friends to each other.  In fact, Sun, Moon, Mars and Jupiter are all in the same group of planetary friends and work well together.  Mars is neutral towards Venus and Saturn, and his enemy is Mercury.

    Therefore, generally Mars in Jupiter-ruled Sagittarius should work well, but may become overheated at times on philosophical, religious or legal matters, or those of national importance, especially immigration and higher education, since Jupiter-ruled Sagittarius governs all those arenas, and in terms of competitions – sports. Religious texts may be used reasonably (or not) to justify illegal or criminal acts. All these themes get extra emphasis now and for the coming year, but especially while combust Mars transits Sagittarius.  The good thing is that long smoldering issues can now be aired publicly, which makes resolution more possible.

    Even so, at times we could approach the threat of World War.  For Americans, the U.S. will be aggressively protecting its national security in 2026, with a special focus on our own hemisphere: North and South America.  In addition to certain radical Islamic organizations, the Trump administration has designated certain Mexican and Colombian drug cartels as terrorist organizations, along with gangs like Tren de Aragua and MS-13.

    On the religious front, notice how Christmas markets and religious displays have been vandalized or disrupted all across Europe in Nov. and Dec. 2025: in Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, UK. This happened in 2024 as well, but with a new ferocity in 2025, 10 years after the first major push for unlimited mass migration to Europe and soon the United States. Many of these migrants are Muslims with very different cultural values from their host countries.  Obfuscation of these issues is no longer possible as of late 2025, and that’s a good thing, though very painful. Do Christians and Jews surrender and recede in response to this? Or do they fight back and reassert themselves?  That is in part the message of combust Mars and Venus in Mula nakshatra.  

    Threats and attacks against Christians and Jews have increased with the acceleration of the self-proclaimed Global Intifada.  This has followed on the heels of a secularizing trend for at least 60 years in the West.  Liberal Westerners in particular have contributed to the trend by minimizing their Judeo-Christian culture and appeasing the Muslim culture in the cause of  so-called “inclusivity.”   We know this does not work in reverse. You minimize or ridicule the Muslim religion or its sacred book, The Koran, and your life is in danger.

    So the Islamification of Europe is growing by leaps and bounds, with the apparent full cooperation of native Europeans thus far.  By contrast, citizens in United States are beginning to resist the Islamification of the U.S., though not yet in New York City, Minneapolis, and other cities in Maine, to name a few.  American Christians have seen a marked rise in a return to church – notably after Charlie Kirk’s assassination on Sept. 10, 2025.  He was a major leader in a Christian revival movement, especially among young people, including with his bolstering of traditional values. This has served to counter the Moral Relativism of the Post Modernist Left, which says there is no Objective Truth, including about history.  They say we can change it at any time to reflect our current point of view (and biases). The Truth is whatever we decide it is at any given time, including whatever gender we decide we are.

    Conservative principles say that there IS an Objective Truth. It’s not relative, because they believe there is a God who created the Universe and everything in it.  The American identity is linked closely with that concept, since the nation’s founders were imbued with Christian principles regarding human freedom and individual rights, including of property ownership, but most especially the sacredness of the individual human being, and the foundations of marriage and the family as basic principles that form the fabric of Western civilization.  There is pride in the foundation of the nation and its history, as opposed to the Revisionist version which views slavery as a foundational principle and condemns the white race as “oppressors.”  This view results in fostering hatred of the U.S., along with so-called “white guilt” and “white privilege” – shame for being born white.  This Identity politics is heavily dependent on race, gender, and sexual preference and is in the process of being reversed, though with great resistance by those espousing its principles.

    Given that 2026 is the celebration of America’s 250th year since the Declaration of Independence, it is an historic turning point to also have so many issues of national, legal, and religious importance all converging at the same time, including the hot topic of immigration policy and how to preserve the rights and freedoms of U.S. citizens when we have been overrun by unlimited mass immigration – a Sagittarian-centered topic. So the major task now is fortifying our culture and the civilization and finding our way to greater unity as a nation, not as separate warring tribes but as American citizens.  This is the central dynamic theme for 2026, especially since Mars is in Sagittarius (along with Sun, Moon, and Venus) in the chart for Winter Solstice 2025.

    Tr. Mars (exalted) in Capricorn:  Jan. 15 to Feb. 22, 2026 :  BATTLE FOR ECONOMIC & BUSINESS SUPREMACY

    Mars is exalted in Capricorn, where it is considered to harness its considerable energies more wisely and efficiently, enabling important organizational skills.  In Dhanistha nakshatra (23°20’ Capricorn to 6°40’ Aquarius), Mars is noted for wealth, especially at its maximum degree of exaltation: 28° Capricorn.

    Thus tr. Mars in Capricorn may exhibit some gifted qualities in business matters: Jan. 15 to Feb. 22, 2026.  All of this depends to some extent on other factors, such as proximity to Pluto also in Capricorn, along with combustion range and other planetary placements.  Pluto close to Mars can intensify its actions and make them more ruthless. But the general trend could favor business.  In the birth chart of an individual, we also have to consider where tr. Mars is situated from the Ascendant or Moon, among other factors.

    President Trump has continued to lay out his economic objectives, with tariffs and with bringing back the manufacturing base to the U.S. that was shipped overseas decades ago and much of it to Communist China for the cheap labor, while giving away far too many trade secrets or having them stolen by the CCP.  This is all getting reversed under the Trump administration, along with a new military focus on strengthening U.S. security within the Western hemisphere, and much more focus on Central and South America and coastal areas surrounding the North and South American continents.

    Tr. Mars in Aquarius: Feb. 23 to April 2, 2026 : BATTLE FOR ALLIANCES BASED ON COMMON GOALS      

    On the world stage, historians tell us that times of war are far more common than times of peace.  So along those lines, we see war-like signals or actions happening around the globe, including in war-torn Ukraine, where war has been raging since the Russian invasion in Feb. 2022 – nearly 4 years.  Numerous peace talks and forays have occurred, with the most recent negotiations stalling because of European leaders from the UK, France, and Germany – all in very weakened positions themselves politically.  How the U.S. continues to involve our nation financially and militarily in that war will have enormous impact on American and international politics. This could possibly reach greater clarity in 2026, but if President Trump deepens U.S. involvement in Ukraine, he will lose support from his political base.

    The three super powers, United States, Russia, and Communist China are jockeying for power and key alliances.  Communist China has made significant inroads in their attempts to weaken the U.S. through drugs (the fentanyl and opioid poisoning of Americans) and stealing our trade secrets and business empire.  The Trump administration is fighting to combat that through aggressive military and trade policies. Meanwhile, China has been uniting with Russia in recent years and many political forces in the U.S. are determined to make Russia a permanent enemy while partnering the U.S. business-wise with China.  This has proved disastrous in the past for the well-being of the United States as a nation.

    In general, as noted earlier, the U.S. is taking a more aggressive military stance in protecting U.S. interests. The list below does not reflect military events in war-torn regions.

    Mars Out-of-control – Increasing Acts of Violence, Savagery, Crimes of Passion.   Selected news items since Mars Combust Nov. 7, 2025

      • Nov. 26: Two National Guardsmen were ambushed while on duty outside a Metro station in Washington, D.C., a few blocks from the White House. Sarah Beckstrom, 20, was killed; Andrew Wolfe, 24 was severely injured. Shooting suspect Rahmanullah Lakanwal, 29, is an Afghan national residing in the U.S. from 2021; granted asylum in 2025. He drove 17 hrs from his home in Bellingham, WA to do the attack, shouting“Allahu Akbar” just before shooting both victims in the head.
      • Dec. 5-6: A Texas woman, Camille Benson, 33, inserted razor blades and fish hooks into loaves of bread at 2 Walmart stores in Biloxi, MS. She was caught on surveillance camera and arrested a week later on $100,000 bail bond.  No motive given.
      • Dec. 8 : Jubilant Sykes, age 71, Grammy-nominated opera singer was stabbed to death in Santa Monica, CA. His son, Micah Curtis Sykes, 31, was charged with homicide. He has a history of mental illness, taking medication for schizophrenia.  His mother witnessed the stabbing.
      • Dec. 10: The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps patrol in Sistan-and-Baluchestan province were ambushed by gunmen. 3 Iranian Revolutionary Guard members were killed.
      • Dec. 10: Ashley Wasielewski, 46, was attacked by a man in Savannah, GA who poured a corrosive chemical on her creating severe 3rd degree burns over her head & body – common attack against women in Africa and Middle East. A white woman, she had just attended a Christmas church service; was walking in Forsyth Park. No suspect as of Dec. 18.
      • Dec. 13: Two students killed, 9 injured when a man opens fire on students at Brown University, Providence, RI in the Engineering building. Ella Cook, 19, white conservative student is the first to be shot dead and reportedly multiple times. Also dead: Mukhammad Aziz Umurzokov, 18, born in Uzbekhistan, naturalized U.S. citizen studying neurosciences. Over 800 suveillance cameras on campus but no suspect until Dec. 18, when a breakthrough tip to the Providence police investigation led to possible links to the MIT professor’s murder Dec. 15 (see below) & a manhunt across RI, Mass. and NH. The suspect was found dead by self-inflicted gunshot in a storage unit in Salem, NH that he rented in Nov. 2025: Claudio Neves Valente, 48, was a Portuguese national and a legal permanent U.S. resident, a graduate student of physics at Brown University from fall 2000 to spring 2001, withdrawing in 2003. He was a student of physics at a university in Portugal in the late 1990s with the MIT professor he killed 2 days after shooting 11 Brown University students and killing 2 of them. It is yet to be established whether Ella Cook was another Christian Conservative being targeted on a college campus like Charlie Kirk.  She was a standout leader among a tiny minority of Republicans at Brown and may have been #1 target.
      • Dec. 13-14:: Islamist plot foiled in Bavaria, Germany to ram vehicles at a German Christmas market.  5 suspects arrested. They were from Morocco (3), Egypt (1), and Syria (1).
      • Dec. 13-14: Islamist plot foiled in Bavaria, Germany to ram vehicles at a German Christmas market. 5 suspects arrested. They were from Morocco (3), Egypt (1), and Syria (1).
      • Dec. 14: Hollywood director Rob Reiner and wife Michelle Singer were killed at home in Brentwood, CA with multiple slashes, including throats slashed.  Their son Nick, 32, is the suspect and being held with no bail.  He has a long history of mental illness, rage, homelessness and dozens of rehab visits. He was living in his parents’ guest house at the time.
      • Dec. 14: 16 killed, 42 injured at Bondi Beach Hanukkah celebration, Sydney, Australia. Jews targeted. Two shooters from a bridge, Aveed Akram, 24 and his father, Sajid, 50, with ISIS flag in their car and close association with the Islamic Center of Australia. The 2 gunmen had 20 minutes of uninterrupted shooting before police finally killed the father.
      • Dec. 15:  A leading nuclear fission scientist & MIT Professor Nuno Loureiro, 47, was shot multiple times and killed in his home in Brookline, MA. Born in Portugal and an internationally renowned professor of nuclear science and engineering, he was recently appointed director of MIT’s Plasma Science and Fusion Center, one of MIT’s largest labs: 7 buildings & 250+ full-time researchers and staffers. On Dec. 18 his killer was identified and found dead: Claudio Neves Valente, 48.  He emigrated to the U.S. in 2017 on a Diversity Visa Lottery program (DV1 program).  President Trump has just terminated this program, which has allowed other criminals to enter the U.S., including dangerous truck drivers. See details above re the Brown University shooting Dec. 13, in which Valente was also the shooter.
      • Dec. 15:  Four suspects, 2 or 3 of them transgender, were arrested by FBI for a terrorist bombing plot in Los Angeles on New Year’s Eve and aimed at 5 locations in L.A. Targets included Jewish synagogues, Jewish-owned businesses, ICE facilities and Amazon distribution centers. ICE agents have already been under heavy attack, mainly in Sanctuary U.S. states.  Bombing suspects are members of a radical splinter group of the Turtle Island Liberation Front: pro-Palestinian, anti-law-enforcement, anti-government, with LGBTQ group affiliations.
      • Dec. 19:  Chang Weng, 27, a man with a long criminal record, smoke-bombed a major train station in Taipei, Taiwan during rush hour, causing mayhem, along with possible injuries and deaths. One commuter had cardiac arrest. Weng then used a long knife to go on a stabbing spree in a popular shopping district, killing 3+ people, injuring several others. He then jumped to his death from the 6th floor of a department store.

        Commentary on the Crime list

        How this is all related to Mars Combust is timely, because we witness actions and pre-planning done by criminals and also by heroes, in some instances, including persistent members of FBI and law enforcement, our urban warriors.  These numerous acts of aggression have been happening in rapid succession during the Mars Combust period, more so coinciding with tr. Mars in Sagittarius (Dec. 7, 2025 to Jan. 15, 2026).  This seems to shed some light on the effect of long-festering grievances or grudges, some of which have gone on for decades and infected the mind and the actions of the killer.  We also consider what is the most effective response and solution to acts of violence. Out of this Crime list emerge two men who took decisive action without regard to their own personal safety and were heroes: 1) the man (known only as “John”) at Brown University who provided the decisive tip to the police, and 2) the man at Bondi Beach, Ahmed Al Ahmed, who wrestled the gun away from one of the two shooters. They had gone on a rampage for 20 minutes with no interference or reaction from nearby police.

        Brown University: The breakthrough tip that enabled police to identify and locate the killer at Brown University and of the MIT professor was a former Brown student, “John” – who was homeless and living at that time in the basement of the Engineering building at Brown where the shooting took place.  He encountered the man in the men’s room of that building and followed him around outside the building, including observing his car and license plate. He even challenged the man on the street as to why he seemed to be avoiding going directly to his car.  His tip on Reddit finally cracked the case wide open. Prior to that the investigation was going nowhere, in part because no witnesses to the shooting were interviewed, all students were sent home for the semester, and the numerous campus surveillance cameras had been turned off since summer 2025 to appease pro-Palestinian activists who didn’t want to be identified.  The multiple failures of DEI in Providence and at Brown were exposed, though they tried to hide them. Members of the public say the $50,000 reward money should go to “John.”

        MIT Professor, Brokkline, MA: Another man from Portugal, a former academic in the field of physics appears to take revenge against a former colleague who has just been awarded a highly prestigious position at MIT, shooting him multiple times at his home.  How did this former colleague succeed when the killer could not achieve even a fraction of that recognition and prestige? Or is this murder possibly related to a discovery in nuclear physics that the MIT scientist was reportedly on the verge of announcing? There are rumors that establishment energy leaders were not happy about it. Sometimes top scientists, such as Nicola Tesla are found dead and the cause of death is never revealed.

        Brown University: Why this killer also decided to shoot 11 students at Brown University is yet to be determined, though he had been a physics student at Brown for two semesters in 2001-2002.  Some say he shouted “Allahu Akbar” before starting his shooting rampage.  “Allahu Akbar” is the well-known triumphant shout of Muslims killing or stabbing non-Muslims.  But Brown University staffers and Rhode Island local police refused to confirm that fact for days and even called that line of inquiry “dangerous.”  Coincidentally,  Providence, RI is a Sanctuary city known for protecting immigrants at all costs.

        If this is true and the dual event-homicide was a Jihadi event, it only highlights what is happening on a much larger scale with many other fighters of the Global Intifada.  They aim to conquer Western civilization and destroy all those not submitting to their culture and their God.   We see this showing up several times on my list of news items of relevant crime stories.

        For the Intifada, it is not enough for non-Muslims to recognize Islam and be tolerant of it. The Infidels must surrender to it, including their legal system: Sharia law, which endorses polygamy and treats women in particular very differently from Western civilization.  Thus unfolds the justified killing of Christians and Jews that is increasing across the world, along with the gang rape of young girls – which Western civilization (and its institutions of government, academia, and media) has tried to obfuscate for decades, notably in the UK.  From the Westerner’s perspective, this is truly suicidal tolerance, or as some have aptly called it – “suicidal empathy.”

        People who expose these crimes against non-Muslims, mostly the white races, the fast-disappearing Anglos (now only 8% of the world population) are condemned as “racist” or “zenophobes.”  They dare not utter the phrase “Radical Islam” for fear of being censored or possibly even imprisoned. Watch the UK.  Will they cancel their New Year’s celebrations?  France, Germany, and Australia have already done so as of Dec. 19, though they are not saying why. But a parallel crusade of awareness is rising up in the United States (especially in Texas) due to rapid spread of mosques and Sharia law in the U.S., and a clear conflict with U.S. law and culture.

        Bondi Beach:  At this mass shooting in Australia, the crowd of Jews who were targeted by the two Muslim assassins were celebrating the first day of Hanukkah.  It is remarkable that the assassins were openly shooting for 20  minutes uninterrupted with NO deterrence by local police , despite a police station very close to the beach and 4 policewomen assigned to guard the Hanukkah event on the beach.

        It was in fact a male bystander (Ahmed Al Ahmed, 44, a local male shop owner and immigrant from Syria of over 20 years) who sneaked up behind the 50-year old shooter, surprising him and courageously wrestling the gun from him.  For his efforts our hero was shot several times by the 24-year old son and is still recovering from his wounds in the hospital.  He was presented with a check for $1.6 million USD from a fundraiser to honor and reward him. With gun-use in Australia severely limited, most people in the crowd were unable to stop the shooters.  Meanwhile, the 4 policewomen on the scene froze and did nothing. Nor was there any action from a nearby police station for 20 minutes.

        To be sure, all people, including women, have Mars in their birth charts.  But there are innate qualities of masculinity that belong to biological men, even if women may possess qualities of courage, initiative, and strength as given to biological women.  But it is more likely to be a man who goes charging headlong into battle and ready to face physical danger, protecting their women and children.

        So once again we encounter another one of the hottest topics of our time, and one which accounts for part of the big divide between those who agree with the principle of Objective Truths and those who don’t.  For them there is “toxic masculinity” and many other problems with manhood, especially with white men, who have now consequently been systematically marginalized in the West (notably men born in the late 1980s or 1990s), and for sure in the United States.  This is in addition to the White race, which has also been condemned by the moral relativists as the “oppressors.”

        We can only hope this unusually lengthy Mars Combustion period will shed light on all these issues and help us all to deal courageously with them in finding solutions to healing what is broken in our society and in our nations.

        ****

        Copyright © 2025 by Edith Hathaway. All rights reserved.

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