Astrology of Operation Al-Aqsa Flood

This piece was first published in the Skyscript Newsletter #13 (Scorpio 2023).

Around 6:30am local time, Hamas – a militant group formed in resistance to the occupation of Palestinian land – announced Operation Al-Aqsa Flood with thousands of rockets sent from the Gaza Strip toward Israel. A war began at this moment, recognized some hours later by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

The name of the operation comes from the Al-Aqsa Mosque situated against the southern wall of Old Jerusalem. This mosque is a contested holy place, and signatures of that strain are present in the war commencement chart.

Libra rises, and Venus rules the ascendant. This planet is important to note because of its ancient associations with the Islamic world.[1] The applying opposition of Venus to Saturn brings the Israeli community into sharp focus, Saturn being the natural significator for Jewish people.[2] That Venus and Saturn both disposit the ascendant (Venus by sign, Saturn by exaltation) reflects the conflict arising from dual claims to sovereign land.

Al-Aqsa can be roughly translated to mean ‘furthest’, and even that name’s theme of final limits is reflected in the chart’s symbolism: Venus is in the final term of its sign, Saturn is retrograding back to a sign boundary, and the Moon squares the nodes while at its most extreme northern latitude.

Of immediate interest is the sharp application of the Moon to Mars by square, Mars itself in a tight applying square with retrograde Pluto. This combination brings obvious connotations of violence, attack, and bloodshed.

Mars is debilitated in Libra, and conjunct the South Node which tends to signify misfortune and mistakes. In mundane astrology, the essential dignity of a planet plays a different, more subtle role than it does in horary and nativities, yet we can note the sheer volume of news stories questioning efficiency vs effectiveness, intended vs unintended targets; I wonder how much of that can be associated with the signature of Mars by aspect and sign.

Prior to the Hamas attack, the Full Moon fell in Aries. When centered on Tel Aviv, Mars (dispositor of the lunation) culminates in the midheaven at 21° Libra, the same degree as the solar eclipse that followed two weeks later. The midheaven of the war’s preceding lunation, at 13° Libra, is making a tight conjunction to the 11° Libra ascendant which rose at the time of the Hamas offensive.

The chart I use for Israel is the one dated for the signing of the independence proclamation, when state founder David Ben-Gurion announced, “Israel has been born!”[3] This war began with Mars at 27° Libra and the South Node at 25° Libra, transiting Israel’s national ascendant of 29° Libra, in sextile to the nation’s natal Mars at 28° Libra.

Israel’s Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, has an unconfirmed 10:30 am birth time. Other reports place the time between 9:30-11:45 am, so we know the Moon to be close to where it stands in this chart (19° Libra), near to the degree of Mars in the lunation preceding the Hamas attack (21° Libra 26') and the solar eclipse of 14 October (21° Libra 07').

Netanyahu’s Sun (27° Libra) is within a degree of Mars at the launch of the attack, coinciding with Israel’s national ascendant. In the Aries ingress of 2024, set for Tel Aviv, Saturn rises on the ascendant at 12° Pisces, in tight opposition to Netanyahu’s natal Saturn (15° Virgo) this shows a grave and serious year ahead for Netanyahu and his administrative rule in Israel.

Netanyahu returned to his post as Prime Minister in December 2022. The Aries ingress of that year gives a sense of what manifests under his leadership. The Moon was at 29° Libra (the placement of Mars at the time of the Hamas attack). One degree later, the Moon slipped into Scorpio, its sign of fall, and ran head-on into a square with the 8th-ruler, Mars. The chart is loaded with war symbolism, and as the 2nd-ruler Venus is besieged between the conjunction of Mars and Saturn, we could expect Netanyahu to manage his administration in a way that puts Israel’s national allies between a rock and a hard place.

It seems unlikely that this war will be resolved by spring 2024. In November, the Sun and Mars conjoin at 26° Scorpio upon Israel’s 2nd house cusp, which seems likely to stir up events that rattle or galvanize allies. This conjunction squares Israel’s natal Mars and comes out of a square with the country’s natal Saturn/Pluto conjunction in mid-Leo.

I also note that the Sun/Mars conjunction in late Scorpio conjoins China’s natal midheaven (27° Scorpio). China has a friendly relationship with Israel but formally recognized the State of Palestine in 1988. Given the close alignment of the angular Moons between Israel and China, we may find Chinese influence in the current conflict increases as we approach this conjunction.

In mid-February, Venus, Mars, and Pluto all conjoin on Israel’s 4th house cusp. This shows a prospect for treaty negotiations related to land rights. That said, the Aries ingress of 2024 features a very strong opposition between the Moon and Pluto at 3° Aquarius and 1° Aries respectively, at once bringing in the MC/IC axis of Israel and the country’s natal Moon.

There is more to watch as this tragic situation continues to unfold. Even as I write, we learn that Israel has initiated a ground invasion, cutting off electricity to citizens in the Gaza Strip. Without power, citizens cannot send messages out or receive them through modern means – only radios work. On 27 October, the UN voted 120-14 in favor of an “immediate, durable and sustained humanitarian truce” in Gaza. Those voting against peace included the United States, Israel, and twelve small countries. That Palestine is not accorded a vote in United Nations proceedings is telling of the power imbalance that keeps this crisis in motion.

Webinar presentation available on YouTube

This article was followed up with a webinar extending the review of the history of this conflict. That webinar is now available for viewing on YouTube.

[1] The Book of Instruction in the Elements of the Art of Astrology, Al-Biruni (11th c.), 433-434, p46. The Islamic Golden Age brought sweeping developments in culture, music, philosophy, artistry, and science, gradually pulling the West out of a centuries-long Dark Age. The renewal of hope, wisdom, and joy felt by this intellectual and cultural resurgence within Islamic society brought out the mundane significations of Venus and Jupiter, and both planets were accorded special importance for Islamic histories. For more on this, see: On Astrology, Prophecy, & Religion, R. Hand. ReVision, vol. 23, no. 2 (Fall 2000); p.38.

[2] Ibid., 433-434, p41. The Jewish association with Saturn has been twisted to make racist comments related to the Jewish people, typically related to themes of usury and “wickedness”. According to translator Shlomo Sela, Ibn Ezra was the first to redress this injustice in his commentary of Exodus 20:13. Ibn Ezra reframed the ancient association, arguing that Saturn accords with Hebraic reverence for the sabbath and reflects the solemnity that accompanies Jewish ritual and tradition. Ibn Ezra posited that the origin of Saturn’s association with the Jewish people is owed to a Saturn/Jupiter conjunction in Aquarius which preceded Jewish exodus from Egypt; Saturn, then, became accorded the planet of the Jews (Jupiter then signifying their freedom from Egyptian domination), and Aquarius their sign. It is perhaps worth noting that we are, once again, under the dispensation of yet another Saturn/Jupiter conjunction in Aquarius (December 2020) – perhaps the next two decades will bring resolution to the issue of Palestinian statehood and Israel’s armed occupation of Palestinian lands. The Book of Reasons (tr. Shlomo Sela), Ibn Ezra (12th c.). Brill (2007); p.71, 157-159.

[3] The Book of World Horoscopes, N. Campion. The Wessex Astrologer (2004); p168.