NewsScope for October 9, 2000

Resolution 181: The Israeli-Palestinian Interface

The first serious international attempt to deal with the Israeli-Palestinian conflict was debated by the fledgling United Nations General Assembly on November 29, 1947. UN Resolution 181 to Partition Palestine recognized the political and religious rights of both groups, and after a long debate was passed by a majority that evening, or midnight in Jerusalem.

A horoscope drawn for this moment (November 30, 1947; Jerusalem; 12:00 am*) reflects the inherent, crisis-oriented division in the homeland with the Moon-Uranus conjunction in Gemini. When the Sun passed over the fateful North Node on May 14, 1948, David Ben-Gurion unilaterally declared Israel's independence. Yasser Arafat did the same for the Palestinians on November 15, 1988 (12:40 am, Algiers), and the geopolitical astrologer will note key transits to the Resolution 181 chart, especially transiting Uranus exactly, to-the-minute, conjunct the Fourth House Venus.

At the moment, the Palestinian-Israeli interface is under extreme astrological pressure. Mars, in the isolated, repressed Twelfth House shows the underlying resentment and righteous anger (in Leo) that characterizes both sides. Mars here can act out through terrorism or explosive rage. Since July, transiting Saturn has been squaring this Mars, testing, challenging whether the seething bitterness can be subdued diplomatically.

At the same time, transiting Uranus is squaring Chiron, the planet associated with national feelings of woundedness. Chiron's extreme alienation and hurt is hyper-inflated, perhaps extending through many generations, as shown by the square to Pluto. Throughout October, transiting Uranus remains in extremely close range, trying to break free from this Chiron wound. Watch around October 25 when Uranus turns direct for the most significant actions toward liberation.

Mercury Retrograde Targets Border Areas

On October 18, at 9:41 am EDT, Mercury turns retrograde. Mercury's retrograde phase happens three times a year and lasts for about three weeks. Generally this interval doesn't bring alarming changes other than the usual misquotes, missed travel connections and lost memos. However, this time Mercury's retrograde point is exactly square the U.S. Midheaven, indicating important changes in the most significant political processes. (Editor’s Note: There is much disagreement as to the Ascendant of the U.S. chart. WolfStar uses a chart with Scorpio rising).

With Mercury pausing for an extended linking to the Midheaven (the nation's destiny and point of honor), we can expect that the presidential campaign season will be entering a frenzied pace of advertising and disseminating information. Mercury turning retrograde infers a change of attitude and opinion. This could mean that advertising strategies become meaner, more attack-oriented and extra deceptive. Opinion polls should show a noticeable shift.

The national Midheaven is in Leo, the sign associated with Hollywood and the entertainment industry. The first major film studio, MGM, used the lion as its company logo and established Hollywood (and the U.S.) as an international image factory. Mercury turning retrograde in Scorpio, the sign often associated with sex and violence, points to lurid movies as a pivotal issue around October 17–19.

Within one day of Mercury's station, Venus enters Sagittarius and within three days Saturn returns to Taurus. These simultaneous symbolic crossings have physical and political translations. Watch for stories about people crossing borders, perhaps in the sense of "crossing over to the other side." Tensions around border areas should increase, such as around Southern Lebanon or the Rio Grande. Important people change parties, take charge, resign, retire, get fired or denied entry.

Vojislav Kostunica, Redeeming Hero

Last Thursday, Vojislav Kostunica, the newly-elected president of Yugoslavia, addressed the jubilant crowd in Belgrade, "What we are doing today is history, created by the people alone, without anyone's help." Slobodan Milosevic had just conceded defeat, and was convinced by mass rallies and visiting Russian diplomats to step aside.

Kostunica was born a defiant Aries (March 24, 1944; Belgrade; time unknown**) with several planets in intellectual Gemini. The Sun is in an out-of-sign square to Mars, augmenting the independent, fiery Aries energy. His anti-communist stance led to his dismissal from Belgrade Law School, and alone among the eighteen opposition candidates, Kostunica could not be bought off, nor would he compromise his principles for democratic reform. The heavy dose of Aries-Mars energy is subdued by a square to Ceres in Cancer, giving him the kind demeanor of a paternalistic headmaster.

Unlike Milosevic (born August 29, 1941, in Pozarevac, Yugoslavia), he does not have the instinctive drive for absolute, dictatorial power, a characteristic often associated with the Sun in hard aspect (conjunct, square or opposed) to Uranus. Kostunica is what astrologer Donna Cunningham refers to as an OPP, or an outer-planet-person. His Sun is closely aspecting all three of the outer planets, with a soft sextile to Uranus, an empowering trine to Pluto and a self-sacrificing, idealistic opposition to Neptune.

Each of these three slow-moving outer planets tunes the individual toward a generational theme. The individual hears the collective call to fulfill an archetypal, heroic role of redemption. When transiting Uranus opposed Kostunica’s Jupiter, sudden victory and fame arrived, all according to the will of the people.

*Described in Michael Baigent's The Dead Sea Scrolls Uncovered.

**Source for birth date is from the Serbian Unity Congress website. Some astrologers have reported a speculative, unverifiable birth time of 1:55 pm.