On the same day, June 21, there was a total solar eclipse - as if to commemorate the Martian visit. In fact, June 21 was even the day of summer solstice (midsummer)!

So, while not as historic, the 2001 Mars opposition closely preceding the events of 9/11 was spectacular - or in hindsight 'ominous' - in its own way.

It still 'missed' 9/11 by about 3 months... Actually, it did not miss. It hit the bull's-eye perfectly - in a coded form:

• September 11 Gregorian corresponds to 'Thoth 1' (New Year's Day) of the Egyptian calendar which was originally marked by the heliacal/dawn rising of Sirius. In the early phase of the ancient Egyptian civilization the Sirius rising (accompanied by the annual Nile flood) coincided with the summer solstice. It was a 'magical' day that the Egyptians naturally used to anchor their calendar. So by highlighting June 21 (i.e. Gregorian summer solstice), the special Mars opposition event in 2001 conceptually pinpointed September 11, the historical/Egyptian summer-solstice date!

• On 9/11, there was another remarkable combination of summer solstice, Mars, and the Moon (i.e. all the key players of the June 21 alignment except the Sun). As the earthshaking events of 9/11 were unfolding on the planet, up in the heavens was observed the following configuration: 1) the Moon was at the summer-solstice point (i.e. where the Sun would be on the midsummer day); 2) Mars was positioned exactly 180 degrees away from the Moon on the opposite side of the sky, closely marking the winter-solstice point; and 3) consequently there was a tight Mars-Earth-Moon alignment bridging the two solstice points!

As the above illustrations show, the solstice points today are neatly indicated by the intersections of the apparent path of the Sun ('ecliptic', green line) and the Milky Way ('galactic equator', blue band). This arrangement is coincidental/temporary and is thus astronomically quite special. Some view these points as something akin to 'stargates'.

Now, the prophetic quality of all this dramatically increases as we progress forward (from 9/11/01). Mars opposition occurs approximately every 26 months, so the Sun-Earth-Mars alignment would be established again in the summer of 2003 - specifically on Aug. 28. As already discussed, it seemed to have 'anticipated' the 'Martian' event of Schwarzenegger entering politics on August 6. The same type of code was used here since Aug. 6 is or represents the actual day on which Sirius' heliacal rising occurs in our epoch. Through Sirius, June 21, Sept. 11, and Aug. 6 are but different expressions of the same archetypal date!

This calendrical link is reinforced by one of Schwarzenegger's nicknames being 'The Oak'. In pagan tradition, the 'Oak King' is associated with midsummer which is also reflected in the fact that the Christian version of the Oak King, John the Baptist, has his feast day on June 24, intended to mark the summer solstice (~June 21).

Similarly, Jesus Christ's birthday is celebrated on Christmas in mid-December to mark the winter solstice. The summer and winter solstices represent two opposite calendrical/spatial points. This makes John the Baptist (Oak King) the anti-Jesus, or 'anti-Christ'. Hence Schwarzenegger 'The Oak', whose political rise on Aug. 6 was marked by the Sirius rising associated with midsummer, would also share the ominous epithet. And why not, he's already the 'Terminator'... after all.