Hamas’s deputy leader Saleh al-Arouri has been killed in a blast in Lebanon’s capital Beirut where he lived, an event celebrated in Israel though greeted with trepidation internationally lest it sets off a reaction from Hezbollah, also based in Lebanon.
Al-Souri, 19 August 1966 was a Sun Leo square Neptune in Scorpio opposition a North Node in Taurus – Neptune in its chillingly-cold guise tied into a plotting-and-planning Taurus North Node. Just as tellingly he had a Water Grand Trine of Jupiter Mars in Cancer trine Saturn in Pisces trine Neptune in Scorpio formed into a Kite by Saturn opposition the revolutionary Pluto Uranus. The Water Grand Trine would detach him from other views of reality than his own and with Uranus Pluto as the driving planet he’d be the ultimate destabiliser and destroyer of the status quo.
His chart is not as obviously cruel as that of the present leader Yahya Sinwar, believed to be living in a tunnel under Gaza city, born 29 October 1962. He has a destructive, militant Mars North Node in Leo opposition Saturn in Aquarius square Sun Neptune (Moon) in Scorpio. Mars Saturn in traditional astrology had assassination as one of its associations. Add a perverse Neptune into the mix as well as Scorpio and the potential for wreaking havoc is all there.
Ismail Haniyeh, political Hamas leader, who lives in some style in Qatar, 29 January 1962 is a Sun, Venus, Saturn Jupiter in Aquarius square Neptune in Scorpio with a Leo North Node.
Having trawled through several of the Hamas leadership charts as well as Hezbollah, what is striking is the difference between them and the ISIS charts which were slanted towards Pisces either in planets or North Node – driven by a vision so cosmic it became chillingly inhumane. ISIS (remnants thereof) insist their organization is very different from Hamas whose aims are localised to Palestine. ISIS dreamt of a global caliphate.
This present crop of Hamas militants have smatterings of patriotic Cancer and flamboyant, attention-grabbing Leo. With North Nodes in turbulent, constant-strife Taurus or in leadership Leo. Plus afflicted Mars which drives the anger, cruelty and urge to destroy.
The Hezbollah chart, 16 February 1985 has an Aquarius Sun square a Taurus North Node opposition Saturn in Scorpio. The Hamas chart, 14 December 1987, has an explosive mix of fiery Sagittarius planets including the Sun, Uranus, Saturn and a brutal Mars Saturn in Scorpio.
Not sure whether this is illuminating or not.
Yahya Sinwar certainly looks an unpleasant type. If he survives, he will be under maximum pressure in 2026 and on with tr Pluto square his Sun and opposition his Saturn with nothing improving in the years following. The Hamas chart, 14 December 1987, also indicates the years 2026/27 will be when it runs into a terminal halt.
Khaled Mashaal, 28 May 1956, one of the Hamas leadership in exile in the Arab world, is a Sun Gemini with a formidable Mars at 26 degrees Aquarius opposition Jupiter Pluto (26 Leo) square Saturn (28 Scorpio) – so he will be on red alert during this coming July period of Mars Uranus Algol and on into 2025.
The fallacy that history means progress.
“If you don’t know history, then you don’t know anything. You are a leaf that doesn’t know it is part of a tree. ” ― Michael Crichton.
“A generation which ignores history has no past – and no future.” Robert A. Heinlein
Tom Wilkinson and John Pilger, two much respected figures in their respective arenas have died.
Tom Wilkinson, a stalwart of British theatre and screen who broke into the big time with The Full Monty was remembered with fondness and respect by George Clooney and all who had worked with him in movies such as Michael Clayton, Sense and Sensibility, Shakespeare in Love, The Patriot, Girl with a Pearl Earring, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Batman Begins, The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel, The Grand Budapest Hotel and Denial.
He was born 5 February 1948 in Leeds he grew up in poverty, partly in Canada, with his overworked father dying at 50 leaving nothing but debts behind him. His early career on the stage and screen provided constant work but only at 49 did he gain prominence outside the UK. What was heart-warming was that he took a percentage of the Full Monty’s profits in lieu of pay which gave him financial security for the rest of his life.
He had an Aquarius Sun opposition Saturn Pluto in Leo describing the life of hardship led by his father and giving him a determined and depressive streak. Luckily he also had an upbeat Jupiter and Moon in Sagittarius in an adventurous opposition to Uranus square a creative and charming Venus in Pisces which would not only help to lift his optimism it would also soften the harder edges of Sun Saturn Pluto. When the Full Monty was released in 1997 tr Jupiter in Aquarius was conjunct his Sun.
The other year end exit was John Pilger, the crusading journalist who drew world attention to human rights abuses in Vietnam, Cambodia, Bangladesh, East Timor and Biafra, winning awards and often being the catalyst for action. He was revered by many for his courage and criticised by others for his anti-western leanings. He was sometimes accused of twisting facts to fit his anti-US political prejudices. He also made documentaries on thalidomide and the ill treatment of Australian indigenous people. In recent years he was a vocal supporter of Julian Assange.
He was born October 9 1939 in Sydney, Australia and worked in Sydney newspapers before moving to London. In his 20s, he became the youngest recipient of the Journalist of the Year award (for his reporting on Vietnam.) He marched with civil rights campaigners from Alabama to Washington following the assassination of Martin Luther King and was in the same room when Robert Kennedy was assassinated in June 1968. He was banned from South Africa in the 1970s for his attempt to expose the reality of apartheid and reported on racism in London.
A stalwart fighter for his cause even if at times he pushed too far and did not know where the stop button was.
He was surprisingly a Sun, Venus, Mercury in Libra which should have made him diplomatic. But what drove him on was his Mars in Aquarius opposition Pluto, sextile/trine Jupiter in Aries. Mars Pluto is drawn to crisis-situations, is unafraid of danger and has immense staying power with an underground reservoir of deep, black anger.
His Mercury in Libra was square his Pluto which would redouble the force of his words and arguments, though clearly he went too far on occasion. His Mercury also opposed Saturn square Pluto opposition Mars which is a daunting combination drawing him into situations of great cruelty and darkness. With his fair-minded Libra planets waving the scales of justice and fairness as he emerged from yet another killing field.
In the ‘odd couple’ corner there are few humbugs and hypocrites to match Bridget and Christian Zeigler. “Don’t Say Gay” proponent Bridget started Moms for Liberty, a far-right extremist movement supported by high ranking Republicans, which advocates wholesale banning of books in schools, teaching on race and ethnicity, is anti-LGBT and campaigned against covid mask and vaccine mandates She has now been accused of being involved in a years-long three-way sexual relationship with a woman who is accusing her husband of rape. Only in America!
Bridget, born 23 July 1982 is a Sun Leo with a formidably angry, determined and pushily confident Saturn, Mars, Pluto in Libra with Mars Pluto conjunct Jupiter. Her Mars Pluto sextile Neptune form a yod inconjunct Chiron and Algol – and that kinda defines her. What a nightmare.
Christian, 27 May 1983, is a Sun Mars in Gemini with four planets in Sagittarius including his Moon and a yod of Saturn Pluto sextile Neptune inconjunct Chiron Algol – another wound that won’t heal. Their relationship chart also has a composite yod with Chiron as apex. Plus an opportunistic Mars square Jupiter and a delusional/deceptive Sun opposition Neptune.
His Saturn Pluto in Libra is conjunct her Mars Pluto Jupiter which is a mind-bendingly difficult interface.
Their Chironic connections certainly back up Liz Green’s description of the shadow side of the wounded healer – rage, envy, vindictive spite, self-pity and resentment.
Another odd couple – in astro-terms – are House of Lord (for the time being) Baroness Michelle Mone and her financier husband Doug Barrowman in the middle of a squall over personal protective equipment in the pandemic for which his company was awarded contracts worth more than £200m through a so-called “VIP lane”. The company is being investigated by the National Crime Agency (NCA) and being sued by the Department for Health and Social Care. The couple are proclaiming loudly they are being scapegoated. His wiki entry lists a number of previous questionable business kerfuffles.
She was born 8 October 1971 4.55pm Glasgow, Scotland and has a heavily Air-oriented chart with an 8th house five planet stellium in Libra of Pluto, Uranus, Sun, Mercury and Venus with a Moon Saturn Gemini conjunction opposition Jupiter Neptune in Sagittarius plus Mars in Aquarius in her Ascendant.
Doug Barrowman, 1 March 1965 Glasgow on the other hand is Water/Earth with his Sun, Saturn, Mercury and Venus in Pisces and Neptune in Scorpio, with Mars, Pluto, Uranus in Virgo and Jupiter in Taurus.
Opposites attract so they say but it does not always work. Though his Aquarius Moon will help slightly. And there is an affectionate Sun Venus in their relationship chart which also has two yods – onto Saturn and the other onto Uranus Pluto. Fated to be together through thick and thin. Both are incredibly stubborn. Her Mars in Aquarius won’t budge easy and her five planets including Pluto in the 8th even less so. His Mars Pluto conjunction likewise is not one for giving way in a fight.
Barrowman’s chart is not dissimilar to Peter Murrell’s the husband of Nicola Sturgeon, 8 December 1964 who also has the formidable Uranus, Mars, Pluto in Virgo. I never quite saw what made that coupling work though both have Aquarius Moons and his eternally-optimistic Jupiter in indulgent Taurus sits in her 7th house conjunct her Saturn so he would cheer her up. Though given his Jupiter opposes Neptune Venus in Scorpio he would not always be realistic or straightforward.
Their relationship chart does have an affectionate composite Sun Venus conjunction though also an ego-clashing and not always supportive Mars square Neptune. Plus a yod of Mars sextile Mercury inconjunct Chiron. A wound that ties them together and drives them on not always sensibly.
Interesting to reflect on for the future – Chironic relationship yods.
Add On: Moms for Liberty was founded 1 January 2021 with its Pluto in Capricorn opposition the USA Mercury tapping into the fanatical streak in the American psyche. The Moms’ Pluto was also in a ruthless, bulldozing square to Mars in Aries with Mercury in Capricorn also involved – angry, bullying, ranting and raving. There was also a Jupiter Saturn conjunction in Aries with its ideological dogma to the fore square Mars Uranus. There is a focal point Neptune in Pisces (can be prone to whacky beliefs) which is square Venus opposition the North Node. It is running into significant trouble this year which will bring its progress to a halt.
Aquarius can be tolerant and open-minded or the opposite.
Extracting sense out of the Gaza inferno and plotting an astro-timeline forward for Israel and its Middle Eastern neighbours is a depressing if necessary task as a New Year dawns. Netanyahu says there will be no end to the carnage for months ahead with no indication he has a post-war plan, or at least not one he will publicly own. Though his right wing Finance and Defence Minister Bezalel Smotrich favours mass forced immigration of Palestinians to other Arab countries who are unlikely to cooperate. To date 23,000 Gazans have been killed and 85% forced out of their homes and swathes have been reduced to wasteland with UN agencies warning of disease, malnutrition and famine.
The US is continuing to supply Israel with weapons and Israel has rejected international pressure for a temporary truce to allow significant humanitarian aid into besieged Gaza. The longer the conflict continues, the greater the likelihood of it spreading out through the Middle East.
Netanyahu has vowed to take control of the Egypt-Gaza border to eradicate the military threat from Hamas. It is the only crossing into and out of Gaza not currently under Israeli management. It would amount to a de facto re-occupation of the Gaza Strip, something the US and Egypt will oppose.
The Israel chart has nothing of cheer through this year. The Tr Uranus conjunct the 8th house Taurus Sun which just preceded the deadly and brutal Hamas October attack is back in May and again late December into March 2025 which will bring considerable disruption. There will be explosive disasters even earlier from mid March onwards as tr Uranus collides with two Mars midpoints and they repeat on and off till late year. From mid April onwards, on and off till late 2025 the Israel Sun/Neptune point catches the tr Pluto opposition, which Ebertin describes as “a tragic deception or illusion, emotional and physical suffering” and usually accompanies a sense of devastation and confusion. Plus a sprinkling of undermining Neptune transits to the Israel Jupiter and Uranus and several midpoints. High risk and intransigence will continue from mid 2025 with tr Uranus square the Israel Mars into 2026. By which time tr Pluto is in a meltdown opposition to the Israel 10th house Moon in 2026/27. By 2027 the Solar Arc Midheaven is conjunct the Israel 12th house Neptune for indecision and confusion about what comes next.
Hamas may well be defeated by 2026/27 but they will have achieved at least one aim in provoking Israel into an over-the-top retaliation that loses them all international respect. The other aim presumably would be to widen the conflict out to include other Middle Eastern countries. And there are worrisome reverberations across quite a few related charts.
26 degrees Taurus with Uranus Mars and Algol in July 2024 sparks off Egypt’s General Al Sisi’s 26 degree Scorpio Sun square his 26 degree Pluto in Leo – though his chart is also on high alert now to mid March as well. He is actively engaged with Saudi Arabia and Qatar in trying to forge a peace plan. Netanyahu also has Mars at 26 Leo. Hezbollah’s Sun square Saturn are both 27 degree fixed so catching the aspects in August 2024.
Netanyahu’s relationship charts with Al Sisi, Saudi’s MbS and Qatar’s Sheik Tamin are all aggravated and unsettled from March/April onwards.
Israel’s relationship chart with the Iran 1906 country chart also points to a high alert in July/August 2024. Relations with the UK will be at a standoff with similar though different tussles with the EU. Only the US is ambling along with its head in the clouds as tr Pluto is trine the composite Jupiter Neptune.
The October 2023 Solar Eclipse in a Saros series of immense power and anger was certainly on point. The two solar eclipses in 2024 are less hair-raising, though the October one hints at sorrow over a completion. Though whether that relates to this impossible deadlock is not clear.
What is clear from the astrology, is that, like it or not, even Israel’s deeply embedded 8th house Taurus Sun square Mars in Leo with Saturn Pluto and Moon in Leo will be forced to shift attitudes in the coming decade and a half. Tr Pluto will oppose the Moon in 2026/27, then the Moon/Pluto midpoint in 2029, followed by oppositions to the Pluto, Saturn and finally Mars by 2041; with tr Pluto square the Sun in 2038/39. That is a poleaxing amount of pressure and grinding down.
There has always been an eerily 8th house feel about this eternal agony stretching back for decades. From Moritz’s book Pandora’s Box – “The eighth house is associated with entanglements – power games, boundary crossings or dealing with taboos. It is almost impossible to differentiate between good and evil, black and white, hero and villain. Things are muddled and mixed up.” Abuser and abused, victim and perpetrator.
To add a dash of fatedness, the Israel/Hezbollah relationship chart has three yods – Mars sextile Mercury inconjunct Neptune, Uranus Pluto sextile Neptune inconjunct Mercury and Jupiter sextile South Node Neptune inconjunct Mars. As with all relationship yods there is something of the catalyst about their coming together since they prompt accelerated change. And they tie one to the other for good or for ill. Hezbollah would seem (dates being accurate) to be a crucial factor in Israel’s destiny.
“Through me you go into a city of weeping; through me you go into eternal pain; through me you go amongst the lost people” Dante Alighieri, The Inferno
“Through me is the way to the city of woe.
Through me is the way to sorrow eternal.
Through me is the way to the lost below.
Abandon all hope, you who enter.” Dante Alighieri, Inferno
“At grief so deep the tongue must wag in vain; the language of our sense and memory lacks the vocabulary of such pain.” Dante Alighieri, Inferno
Add On: Phillipe Lazzarini, the head of the UN’s refugee agency for Palestinians, describes it as “a war of all the superlatives”, adding that “the level of destruction is just staggering”. Over half of Gaza’s hospitals are no longer working.
Gazans fear there will be nothing to return to when the conflict is over. guns finally fall silent and many reckon Israel’s goal is to make the strip uninhabitable.
One said: “Even if you allow us to go back tomorrow, how are we going to live? They destroy our homes, our investments, our factories, our trees, infrastructure — everything.”
Rebuilding will cost billions of dollars. An Arab diplomat said oil-rich Gulf states, including Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar, could help finance Gaza’s post-war construction, but added: “they won’t invest unless they know what the postwar situation looks like. They need to see real hope for a two-state solution, and they are not going to invest if it’s going to be destroyed two or three months later.”
Queen Margrethe, the popular Denmark Queen has surprisingly announced her abdication 52 years after her accession. She pointed to recent back surgery and her advancing years as the reason though there is speculation she was trying to shut down the aftermath of rumours about Crown Prince Frederik’s alleged extra-marital dalliance in a bid to keep his popular wife Princess Mary on board.
Margrethe’s father died on 14 January 1972 at 7.50pm and she abdicates as tr Uranus is conjunct the Accession Midheaven and tr Saturn is conjunct the Descendant; and the Solar Arc Saturn is moving to oppose the Accession Capricorn Sun. There have been pressures building for several years with tr Pluto conjunct the Accession Sun and SA Neptune also conjunct as well as SA Pluto crossing the IC. So the decision may have been growing or even made a while back .
Queen Margrethe, 16 April 1940 10.10 am Copenhagen has a successful, confident and idealistic Sun Jupiter conjunction in Aries in her 10th house along with a communicative Mercury in Pisces and an organized, disciplined Saturn in Taurus. Her passionately enthusiastic Venus Mars conjunction in Gemini is in her friendly 11th and her flamboyant (and secretive) Moon Pluto in Leo is in her 1st.
She has worked as a scenographer, costume designer, and Tolkien illustrator and is known for her strong archaeological passion. Despite a number of health issues over the years she continued to chain smoke until last year. She has had osteoarthritis, cervical cancer, spinal stenosis with recent major back surgery and two doses of covid last year.
Crown Prince Frederik will step up, 26 May 1968 11.50pm, who is popular like his wife and mother though it was thought he had given up his earlier playboy life. He doesn’t have his mother’s lucky, successful, career-oriented chart with a private 4th house New Moon in Gemini and a chaotic, unsettled 8th house Uranus Pluto conjunction in Virgo. Plus a tricky Saturnine yod inconjunct Pluto Uranus sextile Neptune which requires maturity and self-discipline to get the best of it otherwise it can be self-defeating.
He’s not at a phase of his life where he really wants to shoulder heavier responsibilities with tr Saturn still sinking through the middle portion of his First Quadrant. So it would not be his choice.
Princess Mary, 5 February 1972, Hobart, Australia, an independent-minded Sun Aquarius trine Uranus has won over the Danish public with her dedication to royal duty and her fluency in the language. She will mesh better with the Danish public than her husband.
The relationship between Denmark and Queen Margrethe is affectionate, friendly and a successful combination with a Sun Venus conjunction and Jupiter Pluto conjunction. Princess Mary also inspires admiration and and enthusiasm with an exuberant composite Sun Venus Mars conjunction opposition Jupiter.
Prince Frederik less so with a disruptive Uranus Pluto conjunction; a suspicious, doubting Neptune square Saturn; and stuck-together-but-not-by-choice Saturn square Pluto.
The Denmark country chart, 5 June 1849 12.15.pm Copenhagen, with its Gemini Sun opposition a Sagittarius Moon square Neptune will be feeling sadness as an era passes this year as tr Saturn in Pisces hard aspects the Sun and Moon. The Solar Arc Sun Midheaven is also square the Denmark Neptune for a disappointment now and the SA MC is conjunct the Moon next year for new beginnings.
For details on Frederik and Mary see post December 6 2023. No doubt more anon at handover.
Japan has issued a major tsunami warning after a 7.6 magnitude earthquake struck the coastal Noto area with residents being order to evacuate to higher ground. Waves which could be as high as 5 metres will hit the coast after 6.30pm local time (9.30/10 am GMT).
The recent late October Lunar Eclipse had Pluto on the IC for this region hinting at problems ahead. The Taurus Full Moon fell across the 1st/7th houses and tr Jupiter has now closed the conjunction to the eclipsed Full Moon to exact as it goes direct today. So much for Jupiterian luck. It has an uncomfortably large presence at disasters, amplifying bad as well as good.
The Japan country chart, 11 February 1889 10.44am Tokyo, has a panicky tr Neptune conjunct its Mars exactly at the moment. And tr Uranus square the midpoint of the central Sun Saturn opposition for a high tension jolt. Plus Tr Pluto conjunct the Midheaven hinting at the need for a rethink of visioning of future direction. Often when countries are undergoing major changes there is a symbolic disaster which precedes/accompanies and mirrors the internal shift.
The effortlessly elegant Sian Phillips, now 90 years old, has been opening up about her life and marriage to Peter O’Toole on the eve of a new Welsh documentary celebrating her remarkable life and career. Her most notable role was in I, Claudius playing the murderous Empress Livia, but others such as playing Clementine Churchill and starring opposite Alec Guinness in Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy are equally memorable.
What is extraordinary is that she had to put her career on hold for two decades since O’Toole could not cope with a successful working wife. Eventually his drinking drove her to the brink and she had an affair to force him to let her go. He never spoke to her again.
She was born 14 May 1933 and is a charming Sun Venus in Taurus with her Sun in a downbeat square to Saturn and her Venus square a showbizzy Mars Neptune in Virgo. Her Moon is probably Capricorn.
Her Sun Venus was conjunct O’Toole’s Ascendant so she was an asset for his image and it had the potential to be a positive bond. Her Moon may also have been on his Midheaven. Born 2 August 1932 12.20 am Leeds, England, he had a domestically-controlling Pluto on his IC in an unpredictable square to a 12th house Uranus. He had a New Moon in Leo in his 4th opposition a 10th house Saturn making him rigid in his attitudes as he battled self-doubt, which no doubt contributed to his drinking. His rages were evidently volcanic.
He sounds a touch like Paul Newman who had an Aquarius Sun square a 10th house Saturn and who also pulled his talented wife Joanne Woodward back from the career she might have had.
Sian Phillips relationship chart with O’Toole had a prominent composite Mars opposition Saturn which occurs in relationships where only one partner is allowed to be assertive and have an identity. The other has to submit causing festering resentment. Similarly Paul Newman and Joanne Woodward’s relationship chart had a composite Mars Saturn square. Both these relationships also had yods, bringing a fated/meant quality to the connection.
Sian Phillips went on to marry Robin Sachs, 5 February 1951, who was 19 years younger and it lasted for a decade. His Aquarius Sun was conjunct her Saturn with his Pluto in opposition – so a tough match. His Pluto was also square her Sun. She said later that marriage was not her thing and she had been hasty rushing into it.
Looking back she said she was scared of O’Toole but would probably do it again if she had the chance.
Iran is deemed to be behind the guerilla war in the Middle East aimed at Israel and its protectors – funding Hezbollah in the Lebanon, the Houthis in Yemen on the Red Sea and the Revolutionary Guard in Syria. The ultimate aim is to drive Americans out of the Middle East and break the Abraham Accords which was aimed at normalizing relations between Israel and several Middle Eastern countries.
There are two Iran charts – of the first parliamentary democracy 7 October 1906 and the Revolutionary Iran 1 February 1979 9am Teheran. I have never been too struck by either chart – but their relationships with the USA work well enough in terms of tensions and events.
The 1979 Revolutionary Iran does have a tr Uranus opposition = mid life crisis – at the moment into early 2025 which can lead to impulsive decisions. A confident push from tr Pluto opposition the Jupiter shows up in 2025/26, with increasing tensions and arguments until tr Pluto is conjunct the Mars by late decade for a dead-halt.
The 1906 chart is showing little until a financial upset in 2025 – and disappointment from 2027 onwards.
The USA relationship charts with both hint at rising tensions through 2023 with more uncertainty and concern in 2024 and a major upheaval in 2025.
The Israel relationship charts with both indicate much the same with the ruptures with Iran widening from July 2024 and after, into 2025 and beyond.
I was searching for an earlier Iran chart since it is an ancient country with a long history. The Safavid dynasty is often considered the beginning of modern Iranian history. Some historians credit it for founding the modern nation-state of Iran. Wiki have a date of 22 December 1501 which may be there or thereabouts and to be treated with caution as a date. That chart has a late Sagittarius Sun which fits with Hamas’s Sagittarius heavy chart in the last decan; and also a ruthless Mars in Taurus opposition Pluto in Scorpio which keys into Hezbollah’s chart.
It has more of a feel of a warlike nation and that chart did resonate to both the 1980 earthquake and the Iran-Iraq War. It will be rattled up from mid 2024 with tr Uranus conjunct the Mars.
As will Hezbollah’s, 16 February 1985, who have to date being held in reserve, partly it is thought as a protection for Iran itself if the conflict widens. Hezbollah’s Aquarius Sun square Saturn in Scorpio both at 27 degrees catches the aftermath of the Mars Uranus Algol in July 2024 and into the following month will be propelled into action.
Joe Biden has his Mars exactly on the Descendant relocated to Teheran so it is one of his “hot” possible warzones and tr Uranus will oppose his Scorpio Sun next August as well.
It is all brewing up to be an exceptionally volatile summer in 2024.
