Eclipse Season and Israel-Gaza
Two eclipses later this March and 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 upcoming eclipses, major developments in what happens for Gaza and Israel are promised in the coming months.
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
Yesterday in Parliament and today’s Venus-Mars-Pluto conjunction
The ‘Plutonic imperative to get your primal needs met’ and today’s Venus-Mars-Pluto conjunction. UK Prime Minister in waiting and opposition leader, Keir Starmer’s survival instinct is currently on flashing red alert as he faces the biggest crisis of his political career to date.
Photo by Deniz Fuchidzhiev on Unsplash
In a recent forecast, I noted the ‘Plutonic imperative to get your primal needs met’ in anticipation of today’s Venus-Mars-Pluto conjunction. UK Prime Minister in waiting and opposition leader, Keir Starmer’s survival instinct is currently on flashing red alert as he faces the biggest crisis of his political career to date.
Keir Starmer KCB KC is a distinguished human rights barrister and a former Director of Public Prosecutions for England and Wales. He has built his career on doing the right thing. Yesterday, he was threatened with mass rebellion from within his own party unless he brought forward the party’s own motion calling for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza. Starmer allegedly applied just enough pressure on the House of Commons speaker to persuade him to break with procedural convention so that the Labour leader could keep his members on side. In tandem with party politically motivated moves from the government and the Scottish National Party (SNP), this led to the House falling apart at a time when it desperately needed to show some leadership [1] as the so-called ‘mother of parliaments’ [2]. The Labour Party's version of the ceasefire motion was eventually voted on and passed.
Today’s early morning Venus-Mars-Pluto conjunction landed right on, and is ruled by, Keir Starmer’s authoritative Saturn in Aquarius. He’s very fortunate that this vote happened on the eve of a day on which things go his way, albeit under Plutonic duress. The speaker, who usually has the confidence of the whole House, is fighting for his political life. The speaker says his decision to depart from the usual process was motivated by threats against members of Parliament and his concern for their and their families’ personal safety. Pluto’s menacing vibes again. Today, Starmer, says he 'simply urged' the speaker' to have ‘the broadest possible debate’ [3] and categorically denies threatening him, adding that the most important thing ‘is what we do about the situation in Gaza’.
When Pluto has your back against the wall, it’s incredibly hard to do what you would typically do under normal circumstances. Starmer was born under an exact Sun-Pluto conjunction. When the chips are down, he can intuitively take control of the situation to his advantage. As the conjunction is in prim and proper Virgo, he’s used to being criticised for being boring and lawyerly. His forensic, painstaking approach makes him legally hot but a tad tedious on screen.
Starmer’s genuine Virgo modesty belies his ruthless Sun-Pluto thirst for power. ‘Emotional, messy and breathtakingly ruthless: the hidden life of Keir Starmer [4]’, this Guardian article attests to his true nature. A Financial Times piece titled ‘Starmer will only reveal his true face in power [5]’, comments that ‘Labour politicians know it is thanks to Starmer’s ruthless wooing of all sides that they are within touching distance of power’. It even features an illustration of Starmer’s true face hiding behind a deceptive mask. As a Sun-Pluto politician, he is astute enough to stay focused on getting his party in to power and himself in the top job before he fully reveals his precise game plan.
Starmer’s natal Mercury, his solar dispositor, trines the transiting Venus-Mars-Pluto conjunction. This transit seems to be generating considerable interest in what kind of leader Starmer really is, and in what truly drives him. ‘Keir Starmer: The Biography’ by Tom Baldwin has just been published [6]. For someone who is commonly dismissed as a bit dull and irrelevant by a concertedly hostile media, it’s interesting to see his steely, service-minded and somewhat hard to fathom Sun-Pluto conjunction in Virgo acknowledged.
Keir Starmer’s Mercury is due to be eclipsed by the Moon on 25 March so that’s a time to pay closer attention to him (even though it’s not quite as momentous as being eclipsed by the Sun).
Venus, Mars and Pluto are hooked up in early Aquarius. An air sign that can get too caught up in what is theoretically right but too distant from what's really going on. Yesterday, parliamentarians from all parties delivered plenty of pious, worthy speeches about the ongoing horror of Israel-Gaza. But nothing has really changed as a result. The UK government officially withdrew its vote on the call for a ceasefire sanctimoniously citing procedural irregularities. The outcome of the vote makes no difference to their position. The SNP walked out of the chamber before voting commenced, enraged that their own opposition day motion had been overridden. While the Labour party’s amendment motion was carried, averting the rebellion which Starmer deftly staved off, their stance will inevitably be tested again. Given the enormous gravity of the situation, breaking with procedural protocol can quite reasonably be justified [7].
Over 100 members of the family of Husam Zomlot [8], Palestinian Ambassador to the UK, have been killed in Gaza. Over 100 thousand Palestinians have been killed, maimed and injured to date. Yesterday evening, in a brilliant five-minute interview on Channel 4 News, and with huge bags under his weary eyes, Mr. Ambassador Zomlot articulated the inevitable consequences for all of us if we allow the genocide in Gaza to continue [9].
References
[1] https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2024/feb/21/how-keir-starmer-averted-gaza-ceasefire-vote-crisis
[2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mother_of_parliaments
[5] https://www.ft.com/content/d9f4bc54-059f-41b9-ab18-eea6fd2c4dc2
[6] https://www.the-tls.co.uk/articles/keir-starmer-tom-baldwin-book-review-fintan-otoole/