Middle-East Combatants Hold Their File

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This post was originally published on Astrology News Service

Sue Kientz

Several days after a U.S.-negotiated ceasefire between Israel and the Lebanese Shia Islamist-affiliated Hezbollah took effect,(1) with the intent to halt bombing attacks at the border between Israel and Lebanon, a tentative peace reigns with only one flare-up reported.(2) Late Tuesday, November 26, President Joe Biden announced that the initial time frame for this cessation of hostilities is 60 days, during which time both the Israelis and Lebanese can begin to return home and start rebuilding. But Biden underlined his and the world community’s intent that the ceasefire become permanent.(3)

What are the chances that the ceasefire will hold? One way to ascertain this is to look for positive signs of success at the time and date hostilities were officially halted. Fortunately, promising figures are present. Mars at 5 Leo conjunct the Midheaven, denoting that the violence has been of uppermost concern to those involved in the proposed ceasefire, forms a Grand Trine with the Sun at 5 Sagittarius (a day of relief, joy) and the Moon’s North Node at 5 Aries (representing a new, fortunate direction). The Moon at 18 Libra (sign of the delicate balance needed to please both antagonists) is trine beneficent Jupiter at 17 Gemini (not Jupiter’s best sign placement, so many sparring communications were doubtless required) and square peace-maker Venus at 18 Capricorn, reflecting participation of the governments (Capricorn) of the United States, France, and others in the negotiations. While there’s a lot to like with such indicators, there’s a troublesome influence on that elevated Leo Mars by its opposition to Pluto at 0 Aquarius (the problem of controlling the combatants’ desire to over-power or one-up each other), and square to the ceasefire’s Ascendant and Dwarf Planet Haumea (with the Ascendant showing each involved individual’s deep desire for the sweeping change that Haumea represents – either a transformational healing of the region’s long-standing pain and anger, or complete annihilation of their opponent). Mercury at station (temporarily motionless as it circles back towards the Sun) is also sesquiquadrate (135 degrees) the Leo Mars, possibly representing minor physical skirmishes (one already occurred) and more verbal ones, as the peace interval works on the minds and hearts of all involved.  

Not often consulted is Dwarf Planet Orcus at 17 Virgo, which strives for order and perfection and is semisquare (45 degrees) both Leo Mars and Dwarf Planet Haumea, prompting the question, will each side get enough security and satisfaction, or will a nervous demand for “perfect” concord be pursued in vain? Since Venus trines Orcus, the restored order (Orcus) may bring back a tranquility so prized (Venus), this will reinforce efforts to uphold the agreement.

Another fruitful strategy is to take a personal look at those closely involved in this conflict, to ascertain whose aims have the most support and who is at a disadvantage. For instance, Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, whose country supports Hezbollah as well as Hamas and other anti-Israeli groups, has been wise to avoid much direct hostilities with Israel, as transiting Uranus (24 Taurus) hovers sextile his Sun (23 Cancer), conferring careful thought and reason. However, Khamenei’s secretive actions refute that wisdom, with his Mars (1 Aquarius) majorly affected by the transiting Pluto-Mars-Haumea T-square, with Orcus sesquiquadrate as well.(4) Perhaps this is why he has been so careful that Iran keep its distance.(5) All these transiting bodies are moving slowly, and most are a long-term barrier to Iran’s ambitions. Lebanon’s President, Najib Mikati, on the other hand, looks to benefit from the agreement, with transiting Pluto sextile his Sun (1 Sagittarius), the latter also involved in the Sun-Mars-N. Node Grand Trine.(6) Mikati’s Mercury/Saturn (25 & 24 Scorpio) are opposed by transiting Uranus (24 Taurus), a sign that others are more responsible for conveying his country’s interests than he. Also significant, his Venus (22 Sagittarius) is where Mercury stationed, perhaps making him uneasy about the effectiveness of the action. Mikati has many more challenges to face in his country, with this directed concord being at best just a first step, since Dwarf Planet Sedna (0 Gemini) has been lingering opposite his Sun. A harbinger of despair as well as steely determination, Sedna symbolizes the desolation his country has endured for several years and the continuing challenge ahead to rebuild and recover. 

Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, with Sun (27 Libra) dominating a mixed-bag Grand Cross of Jupiter (24 Capricorn), Dwarf Planet Makemake (22 Cancer), and Dwarf Planet Sedna (23 Aries), plus semisquare Venus (12 Sagittarius) and Saturn (15 Virgo), is a dynamic person, but with such a setup, liable to excess (Jupiter), unpredictability (Makemake) and a willful stance toward others (Sedna). His relationships (Venus) also suffer from his ambitions (Saturn). Netanyahu has been embattled for years in legal and government investigations, signaled by transits of Orcus moving through Virgo and, more lately, Saturn in mid-Pisces.(7) Saturn stationed at 12 Pisces recently, exactly sesquiquadrate his Sun, likely representing the intense pressure levied on him to stop bombing terrorist leaders that also causes tens of thousands of civilian deaths in Gaza and Lebanon. Add to that, transiting Makemake (11 Libra), in recent months conjunct his Mercury (9 Libra), illustrates how his decisions have appeared mercurial and volatile, eventually leading to the recent arrest warrant issued by the International Criminal Court.(8) All this suggests Netanyahu is an unhappy participant in the ceasefire.

The main figure behind the ceasefire plan has reportedly been U.S. President Joe Biden, who stepped up to take the credit for being persistent enough to finally get the difficult deal done. His powerful Scorpio grouping of Venus/Sun (28 and 27 Scorpio), Mercury (21 Scorpio), and Mars (12 Scorpio)(9) have benefited from transiting Saturn trine his Mercury and Mars these last few months, and Neptune persistently trine his Venus/Sun, even as exhausting Sedna has been long opposite his Venus/Sun, and Uranus also now opposing, the latter representative of so many writing off Biden’s know-how. It seems strange that Netanyahu, close friend of soon-to-be-president Donald Trump, didn’t fend off the ceasefire a few more months so Trump could get the credit. Trump’s own Mercury (8 Cancer) is square Netanyahu’s Mercury, showing them not necessarily eye-to-eye. Trump’s own thinking is undergoing a similar troubling Makemake (square) transit, his speech and behavior labeled erratic and worrisome during his presidential campaign. Trump was likely caught off-guard by the ceasefire announcement, as Mercury turned around exactly opposite Trump’s Sun (22 Gemini), and the Leo Mars is set to semisquare Trump’s Sun when Mars, too, stations in less than a week – not a recipe for inspiring peace.

Seeing his influence about to fade as his presidency nears its close, Biden likely threatened to withhold key military aid to force Israel to accept the ceasefire.(11) With Biden enjoying peaceable Neptune trine his Sun/Venus, which remains in range another year, he is apt to feel most satisfied at the implemented truce, as his chart reflects a fighting chance for the Israel-Hezbollah Ceasefire to succeed and even perhaps lead to expanded peace in the region. One still wonders – can Trump rip up the ceasefire once in office, like he did with the Iran Deal? Hopefully not.

Title Image credit: Background: Mirror images and manipulated background of image by M62, CC BY-SA 3.0 <http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/>, via Wikimedia Commons. Text by the author.

Notes and References

Author Bio

Sue Kientz, author of More Plutos (2015), has studied astrology since 1977 and specializes in the new dwarf planets (Eris, Makemake, Haumea, Sedna, Gonggong, Orcus, and others). Dwarf planets helped Sue predict Donald Trump would be impeached on or about September 22, 2019, which she detailed in articles on Facebook and her website starting in August 2018; she was two days off Pelosi’s decision to impeach. Visit MorePlutos.com to read free book chapters from More Plutos, her Trump predictions in the Plog, and other published articles, dwarf planet keywords, and other fun facts. [email protected]

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