Bombs in Israel
Zip Dobyns
An article in the Sagittarius 1995 issue of The Mutable Dilemma discussed a tentative chart for Rabin, the assassinated Prime Minister of Israel. I also included the chart for the end of the British mandate when Israel became an independent country. I said in that article that the Israeli chart had continuing stressful aspects so it looked like serious problems still ahead. I am going to include the Israeli chart again, progressed to the second bus bomb which was just one week after the first one in Jerusalem and one day before another suicide bombing in Tel Aviv. Studying the charts of deadly events may seem morbid, but we learn what works in astrology by such study. As usual, the asteroids were phenomenal.
Israel was legally free at 0 A.M. on May 15, 1948 in Tel Aviv. The capital of the country has since been moved to Jerusalem, but the angle changes were less than a degree. The country has been in a state of mostly undeclared (but sometimes declared) war with its Arab neighbors for much of its short history. The U.S. has been a primary supporter of the country in a variety of ways, including President Carter's negotiation of peace between Israel and Egypt. The asteroid Ra-Shalom was named in honor of that Camp David peace treaty. I am also watching the asteroid Davida as a possible key to Israel since King David is considered a founder of the country and the one who made Jerusalem their capital and holy city. Two other asteroids also might be keys to the Semitic tribes who took over the land of Palestine—Abramov for Abraham, the traditional patriarch of the lineage, and Jakoba for Jacob, another key person in the lineage. Obviously, as we study the charts of the country and of the terrorist bombs, we will also be looking at the asteroids named for goddesses of death, Libitina, Hela, and Hel, for the war goddesses, Belisana and Bellona, at Nobel who invented dynamite, Winchester for guns, Hiroshima and Nagasaki which were named for the two cities destroyed by atomic bombs in World War II, etc.
On November 4, 1995, when Rabin was killed by a Jewish extremist, the country's P Moon was in 29 Aries quincunx the N MC, a highly appropriate aspect for the executive (MC) being separated from the people (Moon). I was concerned about the early months of 1996 because the P Moon was octile Juno, which is like Pluto and it was going over Libitina, the Roman goddess of death. Before it ended the conjunction with Libitina, the P Moon began a conjunction with P Dresden, and while still in that aspect, it began a conjunction with P Siva. When factors have overlapping orbs as in this case, we have to consider them all connected in one massive conjunction. Siva is the Hindu god who destroys in order to make way for new creation. Dresden was named for the German city destroyed by fire-bombing by the Allies near the end of World War II. It was not a military target, and its name, along with the Spanish city of Guernica, has become synonymous with the deaths of innocent civilians. We can see that the people of Israel will continue to be overshadowed by the fear of more violence as the P Moon remains on P Siva to late April and soon after that reaches a conjunction with P Nagasaki. P Moon is also quincunx N Davida in 3 Sagittarius through most of February and March, and it will then be quincunx Nemesis and Hela in Sagittarius and P Ate in Libra to form a yod. It will oppose P United Nations and P Themis, and square P Anacostia and P Bellona. Nemesis was the god who punished people when they flouted the divine law, Themis. Hela is a death goddess and Bellona a war goddess, as mentioned above. Ate was a goddess associated with almost unmitigated evil. The asteroid United Nations was named for the international body which is often called on to stand guard at troubled borders. But Israel will probably insist on U.S. troops to guard their border with Syria if they eventually agree to return some or all of the Golan Heights to Syria. At this point, most Israeli citizens are not in a mood to compromise if it means risking their safety.
Anacostia is a river, along with the Potomac, which runs through our capital, Washington, DC. There are also asteroids named Potomac and Washingtonia and I read all of them as keys to our capital and to our country though Washingtonia can also refer to the state or to our first president. Aspects to these asteroids fit our involvement in the situation. President Clinton has denounced the bombings and promised to help in any way we can. The asteroids P America and P Astraea (justice) are in 21 Aries trine P Jupiter with P Astraea still in orb of a trine to P Saturn. Clinton has authorized our secret service to assist Israel, though their own secret service, the Mossad, is considered one of the most effective in the world. P Mars has been on N Washingtonia for several years and P Washingtonia and P Potomac are both in 24 Virgo square Uranus, fitting the upset felt in our capital. Bill Clinton's role is pictured with P Guernica on N Williams and Belisana in 24 Cancer is sextile P Washingtonia and P Potomac.
As usual, it is hard to know when to stop listing the relevant aspects. P Belisana is on P Pluto opposite the N Ascendant. P Fanatica is on N Saturn. P Karma is opposite N Venus and Guernica. P Sun is on P Justitia (another goddess of justice) and P Ankara (capital of Turkey), square Neptune and P Antivertex, (an auxiliary Ascendant), and opposite Moira (fate). P Sun is also near the end of a two-year octile to N Sun, in the middle of a two-year octile to Winchester (guns), and just in time for Rabin's death, it started an octile to Sumeria, the ancient region which is now occupied by Iran and Iraq, two of Israel's remaining bitter enemies. In the natal chart, Winchester and Sumeria hold overlapping conjunctions with the Sun.
I was especially interested in checking Nobel. After the Oklahoma City bombing, Mark and I went through the whole list of nearly 5,000 asteroids looking for one specifically appropriate for bombs. The very next set of newly named asteroids included one named for Nobel, the inventor of dynamite. P Nobel is currently in 10 Virgo square Mercury and trioctile N Hiroshima and N Pallas. P Ascendant and the Jerusalem P Ascendant are both conjunct Pallas, so they are connected to Nobel. P Icarus (overreach) is conjunct both the natal and local P MCs and trioctile N Nobel in 0 Virgo.
There are, of course, appropriate aspects with the traditional planets including P Mars square P Jupiter, which came into the one-degree orb just before Rabin was shot. That combination can signify poor judgment, or acting against one's better judgment, or a crisis in faith, among many possibilities. I am also concerned about the coming P Vesta, which will reach P Saturn before the end of this year. Combinations of Saturn, Vesta, Pluto, and/or Mars can be truly ruthless. Chaldaea is another asteroid named for the ancient region which is now Iran and Iraq. P Chaldaea is in 23 Virgo square N Justitia and coming to a square to N Uranus within a few months. In the fall of 1996, P Moon will square N Moon, oppose N Themis, octile Uranus and Justitia, and trioctile P Jupiter and the cluster in 24 Virgo. During the winter of 1996-7, P Moon will square Pluto, the Ascendant, and Saturn, and in 1997 it will square P Vesta and P Saturn, cross the N Sun, and then square N Mars. It is not an easy road ahead.
Four bombs were detonated in nine days in late February and early March. The time of the bomb in Ashqelon which killed two people on February 25, one of them the bomber, is 7:40 A.M. according to Newsweek. The other more deadly bus bomb was blown up in Jerusalem on February 25 at 6:42 A.M. according to Newsweek. A total of 26 dead and over 80 injured was reported in the two incidents. One week later, on March 3, another bus was blown up in Jerusalem at 6:25 A.M. according to both the San Diego paper and the Los Angeles Times, killing at least 18 in addition to the bomber, and wounding 10 people. The next day, a bomb was set off in a popular market in Tel Aviv just after 4 P.M. according to public radio and the San Diego paper. At least 13 people died this time, and over 130 were injured. Two of those event times are approximate, but the aspects look as if they are close to accurate. Many of the injured in Tel Aviv were children in costume for the religious holiday of Purim. Hamas, the radical Palestinian group, took credit for all of the bombs, though some authorities think that a splinter group is responsible rather than the main Hamas leadership. The bombs were said to be in retribution for the death of a Palestinian named Ayyash who was reportedly the leader in previous Hamas bombings. He was killed on January 5 by a booby-trapped mobile telephone which was presumably planted by the Mossad. Hamas has now offered to stop bombing if the Israelis stop attacking them, but the latter have declared war on the terrorists.
Since these bomb charts are isolated events and we will not be following them with future progressions, I will only list a few of the relevant asteroids. Remember, the main value of such charts is that they provide a test of the reliability of the new asteroids. We start with the theory that the cosmos managed to have an astronomer discover each new small planet who would give it an appropriate name. The time for the February 25 bus bomb is approximate, but the angles are impressive. Libitina opposed the Ascendant to the degree and the Ascendant was just a degree and a half beyond Hel which was conjunct Ra-Shalom. Remember, the latter was named for the Egypt-Israel peace treaty, the first Arab country to make peace with Israel. The other two are goddesses of death. Dresden, symbolizing the deaths of innocent, non-military victims, was on the East Point, one of our extra Ascendants. The other, the Antivertex, was on Davida and Saturn was just over one degree beyond both of them. I have just started to watch an asteroid named Clintford which was named for a man called Clinton Ford to see whether it will "work" for Bill Clinton. In this chart, Clintford was on the MC within less than half a degree. Nobel was in the fourth house in 22 Gemini square Davida in 22 Pisces. The other two asteroids I am watching for Israel also had aspects. Jakoba in 25 Libra was quincunx Saturn, and Abramov in 7 Aquarius was octile the Antivertex and Davida and trioctile Nobel. Uranus, our traditional planet for explosives, was on the midpoint of Ascendant/MC. Chaldaea, for Iran which is said to be the source of the money and other support for Hamas, was on Vesta in Scorpio in the eighth house and quincunx Nobel. Sumeria, the other asteroid named for the ancient Near-East, was also in Scorpio in the eighth house opposite Themis, divine justice. Karma opposed Neptune.
The time for the second bus bomb was given more precisely. The wider Mars-Sun conjunction on February 25 had become exact by March 3 and they opposed Libitina and Benjamina, another well-known man in the Israeli lineage, the brother of Joseph. The Ascendant had just passed over Ra-Shalom. Dresden was on the East Point again. The Antivertex, Saturn, Davida, and Libya were all in 25 Pisces quincunx Jakoba in 25 Libra, octile Abramov in 10 Aquarius and Williams in 10 Taurus and Albertina (Al Gore?) in 11 Taurus, and trioctile Sumeria in 11 Scorpio. Clintford was on the MC square the East Point and Dresden and opposite Nobel and Hiroshima on the IC. Chaldaea was still on Vesta with Mercury on the Mars/Uranus midpoint square both of them. Urania, another Uranus, had reached Neptune and both opposed Karma. The Moon was just coming to Anacostia and it squares the Ascendant when the chart is calculated for Washington, DC. The Part of Death in 0 Gemini was on the midpoint of the Sun/Moon.
The time of the Tel Aviv bomb is, again, approximate, Mars and the Sun are conjunct to the minute of longitude and the Ascendant axis is on the midpoints of Sun/Uranus, Mars/Uranus, and Juno/Mercury. The Mars/Uranus midpoint is often associated with fire and explosions. Mars and the Sun are octile Venus in Aries and Belisana (war goddess) in Capricorn. They are just over one degree from a conjunction with Hel and an opposition to Libitina, two of our death goddesses. Libitina is exactly trioctile Venus, so it is connected to the network of aspects. Dresden in 23 Pisces holds the T-square to Nobel and Hiroshima in Gemini and Clintford in Sagittarius. Wisdom has retrograded back to make it a grand cross. Remember, the asteroids point to principles which may be present or needed in the situation. The lack of practical wisdom is obvious. Anubis, an Egyptian god of the dead, is on the MC, and also on Guillermina, another asteroid I am watching for Bill Clinton since the root name is Spanish for William. Williams has reached the exact opposition to Sumeria and maintained the opposition to Nagasaki. Chaldaea is still on Vesta with Juno moved into a square to it. Karma has just ended its opposition to Neptune but Urania moved in to conjunct Neptune and oppose Karma within my one-degree orb. Through this whole period, Hela in early Gemini has been moving through an opposition to Pluto and an octile/trioctile to first the true and then the mean lunar nodes. By the time of this last incident, Hela was just out of orb to the nodes but it was square the Moon.
There is always more, but so far, we have to say that the asteroids have had appropriate aspects for their names. We can continue to watch the chart for Israel. I still believe that astrology shows the state of the cosmic mind; that it offers us psychological principles. The coming aspects do not tell us that more violence is inevitable, but they certainly show the high level of anxiety and anger which is present. Humanity is a long way from developing the empathy and compassion which are the evolutionary goal of the Piscean Age. Anger and violence beget more anger and violence. Only a change of habitual emotions can bring peace to our troubled world, and habits are not easy to change. As student spectators of this awesome drama, we can at least send love and prayers to all who need them.