Eclipse Season and Israel-Gaza
Photo by Alexander Mils on Unsplash
Two eclipses, one later this March and the other in early April, mirror the two lunations in between which Hamas attacked Israel last October. As the same zodiac degrees are activated by this year’s imminent eclipses, major developments in what happens for Gaza and Israel are promised in the coming months.
In an article in mid-January [1], I noted that transiting Mars was due to meet Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s natal Jupiter on 5 February. This transit co-incided with Hamas presenting its three-stage ceasefire plan to Israel [2]. The two planets met in Capricorn where Mars, representing Hamas, is markedly more influential than Jupiter, signifying Netanyahu. In this specific context, Hamas were better placed than Netanyahu. Netanyahu probably felt strongly pressured to accommodate the proposal. Not just by Hamas but also by Hamas’ backers (Mars rules Netanyahu’s 12th house of covert enemies), by his own negotiators (Mars also rules his 5th house of agents) and by his international allies (natal Mars in the 9th house of foreign affairs sextiles the PM’s Libran Sun). The concerted effort to press for a truce seems to have reaffirmed Netanyahu’s belief that his way is the right way. More generally, the Sun-Mars sextile in his birth chart also shows that he has relatively easy access to a steady supply of quality arms from abroad. The ethnic cleansing and decimation of Gaza continue.
March and April’s eclipses are notable for Israel-Gaza as they trigger the zodiac degrees activated during Hamas’ incursion on Israel. This carries far more astrological weight than the transit noted above.
The 25 March lunar eclipse at 5° Libra is directly opposite last September’s aggressive full Moon at 6° Aries on 29 September 2023. The 8 April solar eclipse at 19° Aries opposes the solar eclipse at 21° Libra on 14 October 2023.
At the September full Moon under which Hamas struck Israel on 7 October, Mars was at 21° Libra igniting the exact degree, 21° Libra, of the solar eclipse that followed on 14 October. This eclipse landed on the Israeli chart’s ascendant at 23° Libra, the angle representing the population. The darkness that descended on the people was underlined by Pluto’s direct station on 11 October at 27° Capricorn. As Pluto was stationing on Israel’s IC at 25° Capricorn, the angle highlighting land, roots and heritage, the devastating assault was experienced by some as a brutal attack on Israel’s right to exist. Hostages were taken and remain captive reflecting Pluto’s association with abduction. Plutonic themes of indiscriminate annihilation, merciless domination and the primal struggle for survival still prevail in the ongoing genocide in Gaza.
Last September, an afflicted Mars prematurely activated the October solar eclipse. Under this month’s lunar eclipse in Libra on 25 March, an afflicted Venus precipitates April’s Jupiter-Uranus conjunction. The renewal of this planetary cycle is a key feature of 2024’s astrology. Jupiter is good fortune and Uranus is unpredictability so it’s a mixed blessing. Currently inconceivable sudden breakthroughs are promised. Then again, wildly exaggerated benefits are also symbolised and may not materialise at all. Jupiter and Uranus are meeting in practical Taurus so reliable outputs matter. As nearly all the planets are bunched up in one corner of the zodiac at this time, the situation feels hugely imbalanced.
At the 8 April total solar eclipse in Aries, the Sun’s light is totally obscured by the Moon. A total solar eclipse is the most potent variety of eclipse there is. As as solar eclipse, this lunar cycle already has a stronger impact than the preceding lunar eclipse. Mars and Saturn dominate the picture. The Moon carries and injects their negativity into Jupiter-Uranus in Taurus. This gnarly set up promises trouble with a big helping of disruption. Yet, something good can also be freed up. Given the tricky nature of this particular eclipse, the dense earth of Taurus, and the commotion that usually accompanies solar eclipses, any fortunate dimension may not be immediately obvious.
While the upcoming eclipses bear directly on the war on Gaza, April’s solar eclipse also draws in the world leaders named at the end of the January article [3]. As their birth charts were connected to October’s Libra eclipse, they are also drawn into this April’s opposing eclipse in Aries. The two eclipses are connected by sign and degree.
With Saturn at 20° Libra, Chinese President Xi Jinping [4] is one more name to add to the list of world leaders who might feature prominently in the headlines near the solar eclipse. With Jupiter at 17° Libra, Donald Trump also has to contend with April’s eclipse [5] in court as the Sun and Moon meet on the cusp of his 9th house of litigation.
Sunday’s new Moon in Pisces marked the start of the lunar cycle which culminates in the March eclipse. This current new Moon is ruled by Jupiter in slow Taurus and is impeded by resistant Saturn. The stories due to unfold over eclipse season are still emerging, or starting new chapters, with some delay.
A charity aid ship departed a few days late from Cyprus carrying vital supplies to starving Palestinians via a new humanitarian maritime corridor [6]. Pisces is a water sign represented by two fish swimming in opposite directions. This is not a straightforward mission. Nor is it easy, let alone enough, to ease immense suffering given tough Saturn’s presence in Pisces all year. Don’t be fooled by the sluggish start to this eclipse season.
References
[1] https://skyscript.co.uk/inmundo/plo-second-saturn-return/
[3] https://skyscript.co.uk/inmundo/plo-second-saturn-return/ Queen Rania of Jordan is not impacted by this eclipse.
[4] Born on 15 June 1953 in Beijing, China. A noon chart in the absence of a birth time.
[5] Born on 19 June 1946 at 10.54am in Jamaica Hospital in Queens, New York.
[6] https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/3/12/first-aid-ship-to-gaza-leaves-cyprus-port
