Largely under the radar amidst such issues as global recession, environmental disaster, and ongoing terrorist threats, the five-year Israeli blockade of Gaza came roaring back to international consciousness this past week. When Israeli commandos aggressively responded to events on an aid flotilla in international waters, a world-wide outcry erupted. Thousands of angry demonstrators took to the streets, most notably across Europe and the Arab world. Turkey, once Israel’s closest Mideast ally, is threatening to sever ties. The UN and the EU are now loudly clamoring for an end to the blockade of Gaza, and even Israel’s most stalwart friend, the US, has described the blockade as “untenable”. Israel, for its part, stands firm that it will not lift the embargo, the goal of which is to prevent weapons from entering Gaza, and Israel continues to claim that its commandos were provoked into violence when they themselves were attacked while boarding one of the ships of the flotilla.
In Israel’s natal chart, we find clear indications of the fierce and aggressive stance this nation has historically taken against powerful forces that ultimately seek to destroy it. The Sun (23Taurus41) square to Mars (28Leo19) indicates an ongoing military posture as a way of life. The 10th house Pluto/Moon/Saturn conjunction (4 to 16Leo) square to the Node (14Taurus01), with Pluto the likely chart ruler, suggests a perpetual sense of besiegement and a threat to survival that Israel feels must be responded to with full force.
Whatever one believes regarding Israel’s current policies, it is easy to see that the Jewish nation is under a great deal of pressure as a result of the recent incident. Transiting Pluto (4Capricorn44) was both opposite Israel’s Venus (4Cancer49) and quincunx its Moon (4Leo40) during the flotilla attack, with this aspect only minutes past exact a full week later. These Pluto transits point to a strong activation of latent feelings of distrust, persecution, and power struggle that always simmer anxiously beneath the surface.
In addition to the Pluto transits, we find that Uranus is now quincunx Israel’s Ascendant. The birth time for Israel is given as somewhere between 4:30 and 4:37 PM. I feel that Scorpio rather than Libra rising is far more descriptive of Israel’s intense character, its ongoing power struggles, and its original birth out of the ashes of the Holocaust. For this reason, I use 4:32 PM which gives an Ascendant of 00Scorpio17, although up to a few minutes later also seems possible.
Using this Ascendant (00Scorpio17), we find transiting Uranus is in a quincunx aspect with it from May 9 through August 3, 2010. Moreover, from May 30 to June 8, transiting Jupiter is conjunct transiting Uranus (00Aries18), thereby strengthening Uranus’ tendency to indicate sudden, unexpected events with powerfully transformative consequences. Since the unanticipated and life-altering events on the flotilla, things have moved at a rapid pace and the landscape for Israel is suddenly shifting daily. The most recent Uranian upset came on June 6, when Iran’s navy offered to escort cargo ships that want to break the blockade.
Although things may steady a bit after June 8 as Jupiter begins to separate from Uranus, this Uranus transit and the many twists and turns and surprises it is likely to bring Israel will continue through August 2. As it nears exact, there will be a Mars/Uranus opposition from July 28 through July 30 at 00Aries/Libra20. In addition, there is a Pluto quincunx to Israel’s MC (3Leo10) from June through October 2010 which will be greatly agitated by the Mars/Pluto square of August 2 to August 4. Thus, dramatic, unexpected, transformative and possibly violent events related to Israel are possible during the window between July 28 and August 4, 2010. The transiting Saturn semisquare to natal Saturn from July 26 through August 8 suggests a less than victorious outcome initially.
One further significant time frame to consider regarding Israel comes in late December 2010 through early February 2011. It is during this period that Israel’s progressed Moon will be square to natal Mars (28Leo19), and set off by transiting Jupiter quincunx natal Mars (1/7 to 1/14/11) and transiting Uranus quincunx natal Mars (1/16 to 2/9/11). These planets suggest some kind of notable military engagement or, at the very least, a very agitated and angry citizenry. At least in the short run, the outcome of these events may be somewhat more positive for Israel than the current crisis.
