Israel Hamas ceasefire - The forces of calm win over the need for aggression, for now…

Hi everyone. Today, the 1st August is the day of my solar return, my actual birthday is tomorrow and the skies above us show today is a day of contrasts and calmer waters to swim in. The main connection and action today as this ceasefire kicks in and talks begin is at 16 degrees of Cancer where Venus is moving, 16 degrees of Scorpio with Saturn and 16 degrees of Aries where we find Uranus.

Israel & Palestine - Why these two peas don't fit in the same pod.

After the latest news today that an Israeli bomb hit a UN run school in Gaza killing 15 and injuring over 200 people, I decided to have a look at the Astrology between these two bitter rivals both squabbling over the same land. If you want to know why these enemies always seem to end up fighting and killing each other, just look at each Astrology chart against each other. It is very easy to see why…

Three missing Israeli youngsters are found dead as Mercury stations to go direct.

Today at 13.50 UK time (GMT +1) Mercury stations to go direct and most of you out there with Mercury direct in your own charts will breathe a collective sigh of relief. Actually I have a friend of mine who has Mercury retrograde in her natal chart and the last three weeks have been fabulous for her, so just helps to prove the theory that those who were born with Mercury Rx can really benefit from it.

Naftali Bennett and Palestine – A match made in hell.

This is part 2 of a post looking at the new rising star of Israeli politics, Naftali Bennett. He is the leader of the Jewish Home party in Israel and his success in whipping up interest in the election race could see him being the balance of power in any new Netanyahu administration. He is known for his hard line view on Palestine, and he is totally opposed to a two state solution. The astrology between him and the Palestinian nation is amazingly difficult as I will now explain.

Naftali Bennett – Ultra conservative with power on his mind.

I love it when I come across a character that many people in the world have not heard of, and suddenly he springs into the limelight. Naftali Bennett could be one of those cases. If you have not heard about him, trust me you will. This man could become a really big player very soon in the Middle East. Just to set the scene, Naftali is the son of Jewish immigrants from San Francisco and he has risen to prominence through becoming the leader of the young political party in Israel, “Jewish Home”. He is reportedly electrifying the elections in Israel and his party could hold the balance of power after Tuesday, a force without which Binyamin Netanyahu will not be able to hold onto the premiership. At only 41 years of age, Naftali is “the rising star” of Israeli politics as well as being a controversial voice which is growing day by day in stature.

Bus bomb in Tel Aviv injures 10 people.

This could be a critical point in the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians. A bomb has exploded on a bus in Tel Aviv and initial reports say it has injured at least 10 people. It occurs as transiting Uranus is exactly square (0:01 degrees) to the Israeli natal Venus and is also trine the Israeli Moon representing the people. Venus the main target of this square rules the Israeli Ascendant and 8th house of death on the Israeli chart. The Moon sits in the 10th and rules the 10th of public reputation. Mars and Pluto also opposes Venus from the 3rd house of transportation.

Conflict in Israel – Pressure mounts to find a solution

The situation in Israel is teetering on the edge of all out civil war as the massed ranks of Israeli reserve troops stand ready on the border of Gaza waiting for the signal to enter the province. In the meantime, Israeli jets scream overhead making surgical strikes within the warren of streets in Gaza City and the rockets fly from the Hamas militants towards Israeli towns and settlements. The diplomats around the world are scurrying around trying to find a peace settlement, but trying to find any middle ground between these two peoples who both claim this land as their own is hugely difficult.

Eclipse Watch – An upcoming look at the next solar eclipse on 25th November 2011

I have always been fascinated by eclipses, maybe because I am closely associated with the Sun being a Sun sign Leo by birth. The Solaris name I use came to me on the day of a solar eclipse, and the effects of them and the ramifications of the totality point is something I study with great interest. The last eclipse of 1st July caused havoc for many across the world and as I have mentioned on this blog, the effects of that cardinal cross eclipse are still being felt.

As calls for a Palestinian state grow louder in Ramallah, is this a defining time for the state of Israel?

In Ramallah in the West Bank, the crowds are gathering ahead of a United Nations meeting in New York where the sticky problem of Israel & Palestinian independence is to be discussed. Their hope is that a Palestinian delegation visiting the UN this Friday can garner enough support (a two thirds majority) to put enough pressure on the United States and Israel to accept that Palestine should be allowed to gain autonomy. The likelihood is that this majority can be achieved at the UN, but crucially the US and Israel will almost certainly vote against it, potentially causing an almighty split, and plunging the region into a new wave of conflict & violence caused by disaffection with the whole process. How do the charts look?

The Palestinian chart formed on 15th November 1988 at 01.40 am in Jerusalem is picking a conjunction that is fuelling this uprising, Uranus conjunct to natal Mars. Looking at the natal chart, Mars sits in the Palestinian 7th house of relationships, the Palestinians have always been associated with violence and the fight for freedom, with Hamas and the PLO. Now the planet of freedom and independence, Uranus is conjunct to that reactionary Mars. Transiting Mars is now trine this connection and passing through confident Leo. The pressure is quickly building and there is direct action asking the World to back a Palestinian nation. Transiting Uranus is also square to natal Saturn, so here is a real bid to put back the barriers (Saturn) to bring about a new order. Uranus through Aquarius on the Palestinian chart rules the 6th house of the ordinary people and Aries ruled by Mars is on the cusp of the 8th house of change, death & underground action. If the people calling for change don’t get their way then the ramifications are clear. Uranus is a planet of revolution and progress, and if it’s will is not accepted, then violence and shock action will take place.

There are always two sides to this story so it is wise to look at the Israeli angle. The thing to notice is that transiting Saturn is closing in on the Libran Israeli ascendant. Looking back to last time Saturn was in this position, the Lebanon war was just beginning. At that time, Southern Lebanon had become home for 110,000 Palestinian refugees who had fled their homes in Palestine as well as home for the PLO. The war lasted 2 years and dragged in forces from Lebanon and Syria. The fact that Saturn is soon to cross the Ascendant again will have ramifications for Israel and her leaders. Capricorn on the Israeli chart is on the cusp of the 4th house, which amongst other things rules the land of the country. Questions of territory are going to dominate. Saturn hits the ascendant in the first week of November. This is going to be a critical time when decisions are going to be made.

We also have a couple of other interesting oppositions. Transiting Pluto is opposite the Israeli Venus in the 9th house. Pluto can be translated as a blockage or constriction but also transformation, death and destruction and Venus often in Mundane Astrology represents diplomacy. Will diplomacy cause Israel to change it’s tune? Will Israel’s need for control of it’s land and borders block all efforts for a peaceful solution to this problem, leading to violence and death? Venus through Libra rules the Israeli chart, so the way the Israelis use this Pluto energy will be crucial. We also have transiting Neptune opposing the Israeli Mars. Neptune is often associated with mobs, with the collective as well as suffering and confusion, and it rules through Aries on the cusp of the 6th house of the common people and the workers. This explains why people are now on the streets coming together calling for change? When transiting Mars conjoins natal Mars also in the first week of November, the potential for violence and suffering I think is very large. Through all this, Uranus stays very much in square to the Israeli Venus and trine to the Israeli Moon which through Cancer rules the Israeli leadership. This as I see it, is revolution and revolt against the ruling establishment, the lawmakers, coming from within the Israeli borders. I can see the potential of the Palestinian people having had enough of the situation, seeing their hoped dashed and deciding to force the issue themselves, just like their brothers in sisters in Egypt and Libya, Syria and Tunisia.

The whole situation could get very messy, the United States could really isolate itself from the rest of the world in supporting Israel, in the process upsetting the Arab world and ratcheting up tension in the Middle East. Astrological history tells us that violence and conflict does come in cycles, and this time with many of the planets in cardinal signs, direct action is something that will precipitate this time very easily. It is worrying, and one hopes that at the end of this week, the correct decisions to take the heat out of the rising tensions in Palestine and Israel can be found.    

Israel, the PLO and Palestine – Violence and attacks on the rise again between two bitter enemies

An attack on a bus in Jerusalem, then rockets are fired from Gaza into Israeli territory. Tensions are rising again between Israel and the PLO, the Palestine Liberation Organisation. With the PLO, I use the declaration of Palestine chart, set for 15th Nov 1988 at 01.40am in Jerusalem. Looking at the composite and synastry charts between the two, the mistrust and aggressive attitude between the two is plain to see.

The synastry chart is truly horrible. Sun is opposite Sun (both share opposing points of view), Palestine’s Moon is opposite Israel’s Midheaven (the Palestinian people against the rulers of Israel and are under their thumb), Neptune is square Neptune each one trying to deceive the other, the PLO’s Saturn/Uranus conjunction trine Israel’s Mars (the Israel military trying to destroy the PLO’s revolutionary command), The PLO’s Mars is trine Israel’s Moon, the PLO are not afraid of attacking the Israeli people and finally the PLO’s Pluto & Mercury sits on Israel’s South Node square Israel’s Pluto/Saturn and obviously opposite Israel’s North Node. These two are fatefully joined together and the PLO is determined to control and destroy Israel’s rulers. In essence, they are bitter enemies who would like to wipe each other off the map of the world if they could and were allowed to.

The composite chart is not much better, with a nasty Pluto opposite Uranus, Moon conjunct harsh Saturn which is downbeat and depressing and Sun, Mercury Venus square Neptune which is deceptive and underhand. Mars is in a tight square to Jupiter, showing the tendency towards excessive force and violence.

So why are the attacks starting up again? Showing transits to the composite chart, both transiting aggressive Mars and transiting Uranus are conjunct the composite Uranus aggravating tensions between the two, transiting Uranus is opposite Pluto and potentially worse is transiting Pluto is a couple of degrees from hitting opposing the composite Midheaven at 14 Cancer and squaring the Ascendant at 13 Libra. Pluto’s effect is starting to take hold and it will first hit 13 degrees Capricorn in March 2014.

I do worry what will happen in that part of the world this time next year. Obviously we have had the situations in Tunisia, Egypt, currently Libya, Bahrain is unsettled, Syria looks nasty, Iran has the potential for trouble ahead, I believe the situation in Saudi Arabia will worsen and a conflict between Israel and the Palestinian people would plunge the region into utter chaos. Pluto inevitably will slowly start to disintegrate the already nasty relationship between the two as it closes in to exactitude and it’s ultimate role will be complete metamorphosis, maybe even destruction before new structures in the region can be built. With the current nature of the relationship including the mutual hatred shown in the charts, I can see the possibility of a very serious situation occurring. Watch this space…

**Update 27th March 11** Israeli air strike on Gaza Strip this evening killing 2 people even though the Palestinians offered a truce. With the planets in an angry mood as I wrote earlier, watch out for tit of tat violence.