Gaza: The Quality of Mercy
After I gave birth to my first daughter in a London hospital, I shared a room with three other women – a Palestinian, an Israeli, and a London Iranian.
No kidding.
There was some awkward negotiating around drips, cots, nurses and nappies. But the presence of tiny new babies creates a certain amount of harmony even among the most unlikely groups. We were all mothers.
Those babies are nine year olds now. I wonder how scared the Israeli boy and the Palestinian girl are tonight.
Here is Israel’s national chart set for the moment that David Ben Gurion said, “The State of Israel has arisen,” on May 14, 1948. It gives Israel Scorpio Rising, so the chart rulers are Pluto and Mars in Leo in the 10th house: the Lion of Judah. This is a fiery chart, and fixed too.
Here are some of key current transits.
Fighting Mars has just ignited Israel’s dangerous natal Jupiter-Mars trine in the fire signs. Four years ago, last time there was a war in Gaza, Mars was making exactly the same transit. Mars goes round the Zodiac every two years, so its transits are not always so significant, but what makes this more dangerous is the way Mars acts as a trigger to the outer planets, connecting them to the Israeli chart.
Mars has now moved into Capricorn, which is a far cooler placement, but he runs straight into a square to transiting Uranus in gung-ho Aries and later in the week a conjunction with dark Pluto transiting through heavy sign Capricorn. Not good.
Mars will oppose Israel’s natal Venus at 4° on November 22. One might like to think there’s a chance for a ceasefire there, but it’s never proved to be the case in the past. In fact, in January 2009 it marked the beginning of the ground invasion of Operation Lead Cast.
The other planet in Israel’s chart which is at 4° is the Moon, right on the MC in Leo. In a mundane chart, the Moon represents the people. Israel is arguably one of the most directly ruled country’s in the world with its flexible democracy. It also has the world’s most impressive people’s army, the Israeli reservists, who have been mobilised this week. This is symbolised by the Moon applying to that militant stellium of Pluto-Mars-Saturn.
That Leo Moon is just about to be skewered for a few days by direct quincunxes from Mars in Capricorn and Chiron in Pisces simultaneously. This formation is called a Yod, the Hebrew word for hand or the pointer used to read the Torah. This could be seen as a choice between force (Mars) and healing (Chiron).
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| The hamsa or hand of Fatima is a protective amulet used across the region. |
Transiting Uranus, the planet of shock, is also at 4°, squaring Israel’s natal Venus in Cancer and trining the Moon. Pluto has, of course, also opposed Venus in the past few years. The question is: what does Venus mean in the chart of Israel. The mothers of the country? Who last year organised the biggest civil protest in Israel’s short history. Or is it Israel’s potential for peace, which seems to be shattering (again) before our eyes.
While Pluto has been opposing Israel’s Venus over the last four years there have been no peace talks. One commentator described this as a vacuum: how very Plutonian.
So Israel’s sensitive natal Moon and Venus are both being rocked by powerful energy right now.
But those are not the only significant transits. Neptune and Chiron in Pisces are trining Israel’s Scorpio Ascendant and the country’s Venus in Cancer creating a Water Grand Trine. There is a word that comes to mind for this geometry and that is compassion. It seems an odd word to use when we hear news of the disaster unfolding in the Gaza Strip, but there it is.
Not all potentials in a chart are realised. But there is potential here for forgiveness. Neptune and Chiron together are truly healing, washing away hurt; combining with Venus, the planet of harmony, they could be beautiful. The other side of this energy is grief, though. Chiron and Neptune in Pisces are also about flowing tears, and bleeding wounds.
That Water Grand Trine is reinforced by Saturn in Scorpio. Saturn has just gone into Scorpio, crossing over Israel’s Ascendant. Saturn in the first house corresponds with a period of sobering self-examination. In a personal chart, it shows at time when someone takes on greater responsibility and matures in some way. There is often a rite of passage. This Saturn is currently at a hard angle to Israel’s Moon. In the past, this has been accompanied by a hardening of attitudes in Israel towards the Palestinians. But as you can see, things are very different now astrologically, just as they are here on earth since the Arab Spring.
dear christina,
chiron is at 21 Scorpio. How will the solar eclips of nov. 13th at 22 Scorpio work out in this chart? Any ideas?
I wonder if Israel’s Venus in Cancer means love of the land, in which case it is not so compassionate? Hope you are right and I am wrong!
Sorry Liz – I didn’t mean to say that it was compassionate. That is exactly what has been lacking. In fact it;s the current transits from Neptune and Chiron that may bring compassion.
I do agree it means love of homeland, but as with so much astrology it has multiple meanings: it also represents the women of Israel.
Mimi – interesting. The eclipse on the 13th was in Israel’s first house and right on the Chiron as you say.
In a nutshell, Chiron in the first is Israel’s self-identification as a victim. It’s obvious to the rest of the world that that is not the case, but Israelis need to see and feel that too. Once that knowledge goes deep, the compassion can follow.
You should probably know that I have Moon-Jupiter conjunction – ever optimistic.
Just to be clear neither Saturn in Scorpio nor Venus in Cancer is particularly compassionate – it’s the Neptune-Chiron in Pisces that brings that, so it’s the geometry of the planets all working together that holds potential.
In view of what Dharmarucci wrote about Chiron being the achillesheel and letting the issue Chiron represents to a person die so that healing can set in, isn’t it obvious that in order to solve this conflict the Israeli people should mature first so that they can acknowledge their own role in the whole situation and give up their own role of victim and see the Palestinians as victims as well? I have Venus-Jupiter conjunct but in this case unfortunately I cannot be as optimistic as you are, wish i could be!!
Mimi – yes, that’s what I think the eclipse could mean: the opportunity is now. There are few more eclipses in this series next year too.
Also, the whole situation in the Middle East has changed, so it’s become imperative for Israel to do so, whether the government realises it or not. The status quo – permanent hostility – is no longer viable.
Nobody thought South Africa could have peace and reconciliation either
An eclipse means the end of something —
Could there be any surprise that mosad exists with pluto in the tenth? or that the israelis are so harsh with saturn in the tenth? Talk about a controled public image and wanting to come across as tough. tricky dicky had pluto in the tenth as a few of the top nazis did. And hitler had saturn in the tenth who was obsessed with coming across as serious – never smiled for portaits or photos. no hands in pockets – make you seem too relaxed. Its funny I read some quip in a blog that stated the Israel was founded by jews from germany and have continued the practise of the nazis.
christina – recently I learned that the time a solar eclipse lasts is indicative of the years and months to come. Isn’t it so, that this eclipse lasted for 3 minutes and 11 seconds. So the coming 3 years and 3 months should reveal something about the outcome of this eclipse. That would mean that Israel will be forced to investigate their own role in the 3 years to come and work through the issue of Chiron in the 1st house and in doing so to at last become mature, which means they are no more or no less than other countries, and should just try to get along with their neighbours? If that could come true!
Interesting point, mimi. We’ll have to watch this space. Here are the upcoming eclipses in Scorpio – courtesy of Sksycript. The last one in November 2014 is on the Israeil ASC.
Lunar Eclipse Apr 25 2013 05° Scorpio 46′
Solar Eclipse Nov 3 2013 11° Scorpio 16′
Solar Eclipse Oct 23 2014 00° Scorpio 25′
Christina – and Saturn is going to visit those eclipse points in the coming years and is going to teach everyone involved a few truths about themselves. I certainly will be watching.