Dear Friend and Reader:
Yesterday I made the case that Israel was being ruthless in its retaliation against the Palestinians. Today I want to look at the other side of this, politically and astrologically. Apparently, Israel is serious about this and is getting ready to move in on the Gaza Strip. My father is currently in Israel. I spoke with him and his wife for an hour today, and want to take a moment and share his thoughts and a few more of my own.
In the days since a cease-fire expired between Hamas and Israel, the Palestinians have been sending about 75 rockets a day over the border into Israeli territory. All the news reports and my dad and his wife agree, this is why Israel is currently bombing and getting ready to invade this small area. Already nearly 300 Palestinians have been killed, and in these air strikes, civilians are always among them.
The Israelis have just one demand: stop the rockets. Stop bombing anything, including relief convoys bringing food and medical supplies into your own territory. The Israelis are the only country providing relief in the Gaza Strip. And even these come under rocket fire.
Though they are low-tech artillery and cannot even be aimed accurately at any significant distance, they are definitely a form of terrorism. Israelis are afraid to send their kids to school, lest one of these things land in the schoolyard. These rockets have killed relatively few people over the past eight years, but they are a form of live-fire psychological warfare.
Falling randomly from the sky, their use is designed to do nothing except provoke fear and retaliation. While we are all inclined to feel sorry for the Palestinians who are being subjected to high-powered air strikes, I am really wondering: what is the point? They send over the rockets and they KNOW what’s going to happen: they’re going to get bombed.
This is a form of “assisted suicide.” It is martyrdom, which radical Islam is famous enough for. I am picking up a subtext: we are inclined to have an emotional response to the dead Palestinians. And this is by design. It works. Nobody wants to see kids lined up in coffins. Not me, not the Israeli people not their families and I would guess not you. The only reason I can think of that Hamas is sending these rockets across the border is because whoever is doing it and whoever is allowing it is insane.
The Israelis for their part are loath to lose even one soldier or airman. In the United States, apparently our troops are expendable — we call them GIs, or “government issued” — like a canteen or a helmet. Our government does not seem to distinguish between the uniform and the soldier wearing it. As a culture, the Israelis are not inclined to fight indiscriminantly, and they are inclined to be hardcore warriors. So it really makes me wonder why, unless one is entirely self-destructive, anyone would fire rockets at them.
I am not saying it’s cool that Israel has killed 300 people the past three days. I am asking, would you walk up to a State Trooper and sock him in the stomach?
Yesterday I posted the chart for the Palestinian Independence declaration in 1988. Here is that horoscope, set for the place where it actually happened, Algiers. It has Virgo rising and the South Node right in the ascendant — a bit stuck in its ways. (The chart can be relocated to Jerusalem as well. When you do that, you get a Libra rising chart with Venus in Libra; they are incredibly nice people who deserve none of this.)
This dualism is depicted in the situation as we see it now. Are they nice people being bombed due to the folly of their so-called leaders, or are they, as a tribe, something a bit more sinister? Is this even a fair question? I am not sure.
There is definitely a Scorpio flair to this tribe, at least in its modern expression. We see this with the Scorpio Sun and we see it with Mercury conjunct Pluto in the 3rd house — also in Scorpio. I cannot think of better astrology to say “death obsessed.” You could also say, “intense everyday life” because the 3rd house represents “everyday life.” But obviously anyone death obsessed is going to have an intense life.
[Notably, on the topic of Scorpio, when Yassir Arafat died and his body was being delivered to the territory from Paris, there was a New Moon in Scorpio, conjunct the centaur planet Hylonome, which has the keywords, “self inflicted.” The New Moon and the helicopters landing were synched within minutes, and it was one of the most breathtaking moments of live astrology I have ever witnessed.]
When I cast this chart I looked immediately at the minor planets, and I noticed two things. One is that a centaur planet called Asbolus is rising. This is a planet associated with surviving abuse. In the long run this is definitely true of the Palestinians. In this chart it’s also associated with an abuse complex: a mental construction in Virgo. It is three degrees from the ascendant, in the 1st house. It’s a very, very strong identity.
Next, we have the thing that to me tips the whole chart. The Sun in Scorpio is conjunct Ixion, exact to the degree. Ixion was the first murderer of human origin, who then tried to rape Hera, the wife of Zeus. To me this point is the symbol of, “Anyone is capable of anything.” It is about the original sin — murder and rape. When a point is conjunct the Sun, that can seize the entire identity.
Last bit: Sun and Ixion conjunct Quaoar, to less than half a degree. Quaoar represents things of a collective, tribal nature — including the creation myth. I dare not say what this represents. It’s just too dark.
Let’s stop the killing, and the suicide. There are fig trees and kids to take care of.
Yours & truly,
Reader,
I liken our power to love with that of the split atom – that we have the power to change the world. Atoms are largely empty space, tiny as they are – and what we see is energy that moves so fast it looks solid – but it isn’t.
*If Only* those famous to words – if only everyone would wish for love and peace and believe it to be so, then it could happen. We only need to harness the power that lives within us and direct the energy where it needs to go. That is why it is said never to do harm to others because it will come back tenfold – the law of reciprocity is real. We need only to believe.
Once many years ago during a saturn trial I was feeling very dark and depressed and an older black woman walked by my desk and smiled and spoke. She then said, “You know you can save someone’s life by smiling at them.” She smiled again and I began to feel less alone. We were always friendly after that – my presence must have been very heavy for her to come right out with it.
Later I worked with diversity and a Mexican woman came to work with me for awhile. She was bright and cheerful – well part of what we did was go out where there were employee issues to investigate and give service talks and so on. I said to her, “you know you can save someone’s life by smiling at them” and she started crying. She told me a story about a time when she had walked into a large lake to drown herself, but suddenly 3 men in a rowboat came along and pulled her out and told her to go home because her daughter needed her. So she went home and her daughter called her right as she walked in the door – she’d been in a very serious accident and needed her. Anyway, she thought the men were angels. Maybe, maybe not. But spirit works in mysterious ways.
Light and Love,
Patty
Dear Moderator,
While my first-ever comment to Planet Waves blog is awaiting moderation, this article was sent to me. It illustrates what can be done in human response, rather than reaction, in order to help things go right in the middle east. It is happening.
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/mideastemail/la-fi-iraqcows2-2009jan02,0,760092.story
I do not know why this link does not show up as active. So much to learn. (Sigh.)
Jeannine in Santa Fe (“reader”)
Dear Friends,
It is not easy to remove one’s self from a painful situation in order to see it whole. When children are being slaughtered in front of you by an *enemy,* the natural reaction is rage and retaliation. That is how most people react. They fight back and raise the anger necessary to do things they wound not ordinarily consider doing. Violence is self-perpetuating. Violence itself is the enemy.
Into just such situations, great Way Showers have come with messages that seemed unreasonable to their circumstances–love thine enemy, do small things with great love, an eye for an eye makes the whole world blind–and for a while, the wisdom worked. Over time, the wisdom has taken seed and multiplied, although slowly, and never as easily or quickly as violence. Until now.
Reading your posts today affirms the prophetic promise of our new epoch. You are the Way Showers of our Time. Your wisdom allows us to step into a vortex, a thermal vortex, where consciousness is lifted above the fray, high enough to see the thing whole. From that vantage point, what becomes visible for the first time is something not available from ground-level engagement: a human *response.*
We will never be able to assess blame for what is happening in Gaza. Nor is it our job. That trail goes back 60,000 years and passes through dimensions we are not even aware of, much less able to penetrate. The impulse to judge and punish is a reaction, not a response, and it wastes precious lives and time.
What many of you have written above leads to the much-needed responses that could break the trauma trance, if that is truly what we want. Your writings leave me in gratitude and awe. It’s working!!! The consciousness is taking hold. We are about to enter a period of *things going right.* You are the harbingers. You will show the way, the responses, that can make things go right.
And yes, it IS personal. Individual by individual. Each one of us is in charge of our own consciousness. Even full-out criminal insanity responds to sincerely expressed compassion and wisdom (see Ho’oponopono).
So what will it be for you? Stepping into that vortex for a moment, just a moment, shows how things could be made right in the middle east, in any part of the world where suffering exists.
Take a look from a cloud over Gaza. What do you see? Where are the unmet needs? How could we respond without judgment or blame, but from a pure intention to help things go right? Imagine those those things being done, those needs being met. Notice what happens.
Astrology supports us, the Mayan prophecy supports us, and most of all, the accumulation of consciousness on the planet–as evidenced by the wizened visions of Eric Francis and those who read and write on this blog–support us in taking that step into becoming the gods/goddesses we are. If you can see it, you can be it. Never before has there been so much support for doing that.
I am not a religious person anymore. I’ve been through just about everything there is–Christian, Jew, Buddhist, Sufi, Taoist–to name a few. But there is one passage from the Bible that has driven my spiritual journey. It’s a quote attributed to Jesus, and it goes: “These things (meaning his ‘miracles’) and much greater shall ye do.” He knew it. He knew we would get here. And now, today, I believe it, too.
Blessings to each of you on your exquisite journey! It is an honor to be among you.
fluidity, What’s up? I am confused by your acronym. Either you are texting or aware of an organization I am not sure I am familiar with.
W The Freak? Whip The Faggot? Whales To Finland? Water The Flowers? Or is it What The Fuck?
If the last is the case, it is my second text word in a week. The last one was BJ for blow job, but you probably know that if you are talking in text.
The staff will be back soon and I am pretty sure in full glory with something for where everyone’s at. In the meantime, we have made use of our time in space to deal with our issues surrounding the issue presented us. And maybe our issues are not all so different from the issues on and around the battle zone. And we’ve done a little astrology study and learning in addition.
Governments are failing. No one knows that better than those of us in America. And we see how our failure is affecting the rest of the world. So we work our issues and clear some obstacles and compare experiences and hopefully get our chops up for what lies ahead for us. We know we make a difference.
These world “leaders”, these important people, supposedly servants of the people that we pay with our sweat, who are so far above us, can’t even talk to each other and come up with workable solutions. Or don’t want to. Could be a game with puppets on strings. And here in the US we are grounded in biblical prophecy. Try to talk one person down who believes in that. It is the script. And that book is everywhere.
The solution is not going to come from us. It is with the people on the battlefield. It’s with each of us. It’s a choice. It’s personal. What do I believe? What am I willing to do?
I am curious as to how you use astrology. Or am I trying to mix apples with your oranges? I guess I am hoping you would be scientific. You would enlighten me about the great electromagnetic grid that we are a part of. You would know where the magnetic hot spots are on the earth, maybe it would be Israel. You would tell me about the affects of electromagnetics on people. Tell me of the earth’s decreasing gravity, weakening electromagnetic field, and the shifting of the poles. And if we are really responsible for the global melt, or if it is cyclical, due to these earth changes. Tell me of the affects the increasing solar winds will have on our satellite communications.
For what it’s worth, per me, We are not isolated from the energy grid., we are part of it. All of us. We are working with the energy to better understand the energy to better work with the energy. We work to keep our frail matter bodies resiliant to handle the stresses of the fluctuations of energy so we can do the right actions for the right reasons, so we can exercise choice and freely experience physical sensation. And in so doing, we give others the permission to do the same. And maybe alter that energy grid in a good way?
And if I should ever forget that energy affects me, I will get tazered. And if I ever think energy work is too magical for me I will flip a light switch and be reminded as the the light instantaneously fills the room.
We new age (can’t remember the last time I even heard that term, it seems prehistoric) people are not that far from science if you take a look see. It’s a world of energy we work and play in.
No hard feelings. See you on the other side soon I am sure. And please by all means feel free to fix the problem. Restore the peace.
V- Heya, I was trying to relate a story about moving beyond reactivity, sludge slinging, in context of jews and palestinians and gentilles to which this thread is tied, exactly as you say, getting out of the “game.” The only reason I told the story was because a Jew was involved and that Jew used my religion against me right here, in the USA, in 2007.
Truthfully, and sadly, this story has repeated in my life numerous times, as many as Gaza strip sorties?
Women as well as men have been “the hunters” despite me telling them point blank my boundaries, asking point blank questions about the situation we were in, or were going to share, within the situational aspects of family, companies worked at, friends and yes, lovers. I have watched agreements deemed sacred be flaunted an broken, written contracts used as tool of slapping down, etc. I have experienced men acting like women and women acting like men, whatever that implies and can reveal, upon the lashing out at discovery that I am free and do what I can to claim my rights. “They didn’t know what they had until it was gone.”
And, it seems to me to come down to cumming openly within, abolish the war within, which is what Thelma was initiating her friend Louise via. Of course, the war without may occur anyway, but death and wars arising within a context of inner balance differ substantially from wars of power mongering and deeply etched pride.
But, thank goddess we all have choice because we all are different. We just need to remember that fact daily, choice, choose what is most important, right here, right now. And, do not worry, everything will be different tomorrow.
So, no, I have never been “shut down” per se, but I have reacted at times, less gently, less respectfully than I would have liked now, instead of moving creatively on with my life. But, I do not regret even those moments for they all bring me here. And, however I WAS was part of the others path too for they made the equal choice of withholding, of lying, cheating, stealing, being greedy or prideful or … . –
Do I wish the war in the middle east would end? Absolutely! I missed a beautiful friend’s wedding in Tel Aviv because I was too scared to fly there. I told my friend directly. She understood; she knew her choice would be a challenge for others. But, still. -K
Victoria;
No doubt in my mind that the individual degrees of the astrological wheel have had interpretations since ancient times, but the most popular one in use today is based on visualizations of a clairvoyant lady and recorded by astrologer Mark Edmund Jones in 1925. Later, astrologer Dane Rudhyar re-interpreted these symbols from a more psychological perspective, he being influenced by Carl Yung’s writing at the time.
The symbols (at least Dane Rudhyar’s version) follow a sequence – beginning, middle, end – and although we use the interpretations for individual degrees, they actually are meant to be followed along like chapters in a book – one building on the previous one.
You mentioned that astrology “oftentimes makes it easier to understand the energies at play” and that is exactly why I find it so fascinating. More often than not, events and/or behaviour is impossible to understand from the obvious, superficial knowledge of facts. Astrology digs down to find motives and compulsions and drives that contribute to the events/behaviours which can lead to understanding. I hope you will continue to explore it; you will be glad you did!
gardner, gardner, gardner, never be sorry for mentioning karma. It has a way of leaking out. For me, it has been a big wide open avenue of understanding.
And it is the only way I have been able to understand some of the wacky misguided relationship benders I have been on. I locate where I feel it in my body, focus there, relax, and let the movie begin. Sometimes, I don’t even watch, just let the pictures fly from my body into space.
But it is another story. And a long one. So I quit.
bkoehler and the rest my astrology gurus, your uninterrupted focus on the astrology was a welcome commercial in my musings. It’s how I learn. I am just starting out in this area but so glad that you are all exploring extraplanetary astrological bodies, and sabian symbology. It oftentimes makes for easier understanding of the energies at play. I think I came in at a good time. I know Eric has mentioned that the extraplanetary stuff is not widely accepted. Have the sabian symbols been in use forever?
So I don’t comprehend alot of this stuff, but I am glad that bkoehler punched a hole of possiblity in a rather grim chart.
Yo gardener, I went out looking for you two days ago. I couldn’t find you and then you were busy doing astrology. But here you are again, and you talk once again of the love. You left me with love last time we blogged.
That word love confused the poopie out of me. We fall in it, we fall out of it. Like the fire it is kindled, it starts to burn, it flares up, it burns bright, only to go out if we don’t add more fuel. I thought of the 60s, “Come on people now, smile on your brother, everybody get together, try to love one another right now. Ri – ight now.” Well I know the fire when I feel it. But I need something more constant.
So I slept on it and I think the word acceptance is a good one for me. I’m working with that now and just wanted to say thanks for confusing me.
kristenb, glad you responded. I thought about you out there. I know the person who hunts you. When it is someone of the male gender, I find myself writing it off. But the one who hunted me was a woman and that threw me for a loop.
Your story sent me on a gender bender of sorts. I’ll try to relate as best as possible. The socialized feminine handles situations differently than the socialized masculine. As I watched the movie Thelma and Louise for the first time I found myself expecting the two to react in one way, the stereotypical male response, but was caught by the excitement of the novel approaches they took. Something was changing in movieland.
Something tweaky was going on in the business world that I left. Women of position were exerting their masculine side. I was surprised that your hunter was male because his tactics are the same underhanded plays that I experienced with what I called tweaky females. Not real direct, but twice as lethal. Locking me in from all sides, I was surrounded, with nothing else to do but break out of the ring.
You mentioned your boss is Jewish. I found that irrelevant except for the fact that he comes from a matriarchial culture. Just another expanding thought.
But really most important, what I learned from those experiences, is that it’s a game I cannot win. I think basically because I don’t want to get sucked into that game.
And you are right about pupils. You are not the first practitioner who has expressed this frustration or lesson. What we put out there no longer belongs to us and has a power of its own. (I try to monitor my intentions as best I can)
I was concerned that this guy might have shut you down, like I got shut down. So I am glad you are stilll humming along.
Gardener and all,
Well, we did make it through the night and now the new “new year” begins. . again. Ditto to all your thanks above; it really helps a soul to communicate with strangers, huh!
As confusing as “collapsing time” and “living all lives at once” might seem as a concept, somehow it makes perfect sense. Just don’t try to rationalize it all, and as you say, “love and love again”. I believe your Libra Rising is showing Gardener!
My continued prayers for team Obama and best wishes for all. bk
Also – thanks to PW for allowing us to speak out here. I’ll just say right off that my personal belief is that we go through a soul progression, but only so it will lead us back to whence we came into the world. If there is no such thing as time, then we are living all lives at once. To correct these errors, we must love and love and love and love again, in an effort to collapse ‘time’. In the meantime, we can enjoy astrology readings and spend endless hours second-guessing what happened when and why, and what happens next. If that makes me a holy fool, that’s ok too.
I respect everyone’s opinion here – I’ve learned a lot over the years, on this website. I’m just glad that Eric Francis allows us to comment and have opinions.
Peace and Blessings to each of you.
Tachikata,
When i began my search back in 1997, many adoptees contacted me hoping that I was their mother. It was so sad = some of the notes said things like “I am a nice girl” or “I think you will like me”. One girl was born the same day as my daughter, and the adoption handled through the same agency. It was devastating to both of us to discover we were not a match, but we have stayed in touch. My real daughter did not want to be found, so it has been a trial getting a ‘get out of jail free’ card from her. We are slowly working it out but she really is quite the free spirit, which I believe is her way of protecting herself from a possible rejection (which isn’t going to happen).
Bk – the daughter I gave up for adoption is Libra rising at the same degree as I, and has a Pisces North Node very close to mine. It is another reason why I think we play out one tragedy after another – and all along the answer is so simple. She has her own heartaches too, but many, many friends of diverse backgrounds. We also both have 12th house saturn. We look alike too, and when we met it was like we had always known each other.
Arnie, the anger might yet do some good as long as it righteous and directed at building up rather than tearing down. By and large only love can save the day.
Midnight is approaching – pray for peaceful transitions now and during the upcomingn Obama presidency. We might see a miracle or two, don’t you think?
Hi Victoria,
thank you for your well worded response.
I’ve enjoyed this site for many years and I do appreciate where your heart is, otherwise I wouldn’t keep coming back.
Yes, I am angry, upset and a little confused but I make no apology for that anger, I think in these times it is justified, and in some ways a sign that I am still a feeling human being.
Gardener;
My best friend has a Pisces North Node too. She’s a pharmicist and has heard almost every kind of hard luck story – at least in North America. I feel that although she must have felt victimized in early childhood, she now has compassion for people who often really do seem to be victims. Like you with your dad and your husband; you feel their pain and are compassionate. It’s good for the world and humankind to have NN Pisces people I believe!
As far as believing in past lives, it is common among the readers of Planet Waves and other astrological sites. Also quite justifiable, don’t you think? Thanks for expressing your feelings so succintly – I’m sure many of us can relate.
Also – if you are a reader of this website, then you know by now that how the astrology impacts a group is different than how it impacts an individual. My north node at Pisces is quite personal and has ‘victim’ written on it, but I *think* I figured out that the victimhood was something that happened in a past life, not the present – or maybe some is in the present too, so I have to figure out how to overcome it in this life which is what I think I’m doing, and doing quite well – on a personal level. Like the daughter I gave up for adoption – after meeting her I immediately knew that she had abandoned me in the past because I found myself feeling angry at her for abandoning me and not the other way around! I think she feels it too, but can’t put her finger on it. There is a lot to say about what has happened between us, but it is personal.
I’m almost sorry I brought up the past life aspect.
The Palestinian North Node is most certainly a holdover from a previous injury, and hopefully they will work it out during the coming year. We must all pray for that to happen.
Fluidity,
The question is too personal – I could write a book, but don’t want to embarrass my family.
We all are victims at one time or another. I’ve written here before that my father shot down an american plane at Pearl Harbor – friendly fire they call it. He suffered his whole life for the mistake. We always had refugees and other foreigners at our house, butchering or getting vegetables. He spent his life making amends, but took his anger out on me and my brothers. He was mad at himself – not at us. it took me until after he died to figure it out.
My husband killed many people in Viet Nam and has also suffered his whole life because of it. He loved the Vietnamese people – he truly did. The irony never ends. I would give anything for him to be able to forgive himself, but I don’t think he ever will.
It is all relative. Try to have a forgiving heart.
BKBOEHLER – I might have the same north node, but my issues at the time were not related to that part of the world, unless it was through some past life experience that I am not aware of. I’ll give it some thought, but the middle east was not something I’ve obsessed over for a few years. I’m just so sad they cannot love each other, when it is such an easy thing to do. It is the only thing they need to do.
Gardener:
Since your NN and the Palestinian (’88) Ceres are both at 18 Virgo, and Uranus was in that degree of Virgo in Feb. ’08, do you remember any opportunity or event at that time that directly affected you? Was there anything happening in Gaza that might be food-related or about loss of children at that time that could be connected to Ceres? By the way, thanks for your insight and for sharing your thoughts with us.
Eric:
In your previous article you said “It would appear that a bar fight has led to all out war. . .”. That sounded much like our friend Pholus (small cause, big effect). Sure enuf, he is located on the MH of the Palestinian (’88) chart, which squares the chart’s Asbolus (surviving abuse) and the nodes.
Maybe this fated Scorpio chart is short-lived and a new chart for these maligned people will rise from it’s ashes with a promise and/or hope for future peace. Anything can happen, huh? Especially in these times!!
My thanks to all the contributors on this subject over the last several days, which has kept me absorbed and (best of all) thinking! Happy New Year from me to all of you. bk
Gardener – have you ever been killed by your enemy? have any members of your family? have you walked the streets and seen dead bodies killed by your enemy? have you been slowly starved?
yes we can forgive the Israelis for killing the Palestinians, but shouldn’t they stop doing it? I think Jesus was about justice, not just ‘peace’… didn’t he go into a temple and stop the moneychangers from doing what they were doing, didn’t he take action?
or was he just words and love?
i don’t like seeing First World privilege play itself out in ways that don’t address the roots or injustice of the conflict, i figure that if i have love for the victims in the conflict then i have some responsibility to them and their situation. i know they can’t just let the bombs ‘pass through them’ and thus no longer be a victim, they don’t have that choice. even if they ‘throw up brick walls’ they still end up dead, cause bombs go through walls
if someone is being raped, should you just have love for the rapist (and not fall in ‘the trap’), or should you think about channeling some of your energy and stopping the rape from happening?
i guess different people have different views on things like that…
I have the north node at Pisces 18 too, so I’ve been working with the energy for many years – mostly incorrectly. Astrologers all tell us that the North Node is where we need to learn a lesson. The south node is what comes easily to us because we’ve been successful with that energy in the past. The south node is in Virgo for the palestinians based upon their chart. It is very intriguing.
Every time I let rage or anger or lies from someone else pass through me instead of throwing up a brick wall, I find I am no longer the victim because I am no longer allowing myself to be victimized. You can stand up and say what is right, what is true, what is loving, but when you express rage or anger or shoot back, you remain in the trap. This is not new age, but what Jesus himself was trying to teach – let God handle it.
You would be amazed at what happens when you direct only loving energy at your perceived enemies. Don’t you get it? We are all one spirit, so the enemy is also ourselves.
The correct response to an angry 4 year old who says “I hate you” is not a spanking, but a reminder that she is a Jewelled Royal who is much loved.
V – Yes, power/authority issues galore. What I kept hidden was what started the end game; I cracked a tooth and needed a crown. But, I chose to see one of the other two dentists at the practice for the very reason of NOT wanting a power monger with power tools doing things in my mouth that I did not want as he so often demonstrated that he did not HEAR me when I was working with him.
The first words that popped out of my mouth when chatting with my preceptor were: I can not do IT for him. He is a hungry ghost IMHO. I received a nod.
So, yes, I feel you are absolutely correct. I helped him. He wants something that he perceives me to possess. But, he misses the point. I do not possess anything for I am simply passing through, choosing which filters I utilize as consciously as I can. But, I in turn also recognized how dangerous it can be to be a teacher, whether unconscious or conscious. To be free means one can not control the way in which the other comes to new sight, refering to myself or another person: a long and winding road, indeed. Things happen as they happen.
Thanks for proving to me there are others of sensitivity and simpatico “out there.”
Happy New Year! Bless you!
May your trip through the bardo be nothing but delight! -K
i am a bit scared at people who when stuff like this happens say things like ‘karmic lesson’ and ‘point the finger at ourselves’
like WTF???
it is called New Age going a bit extreme
it is not enough to say that, oh it is bad people are being killed, but i can’t be responsible for knowing the ‘politics’ (aka context) of the situation, it’s best to stay in the middle, anyone who seems to be ‘on a side’ is just finding a bias that isn’t really there
again, WTF???
all that’s really been reported on this site is that people are dying in Gaza, rockets are being fired at Israel (they must be crazy), and let’s look at the astrology. no context, no sense-making of it all, just ‘balanced’ reporting
Sabian Symbol
Vir 22 Upon rich velvet in a case, at an exhibition, is an exquisitely wrought miniature; a jewel-set royal coat-of-arms
How appropriate for a people who likely have a karmic lesson to learn in north node of Pisces 18, whose Sabian Symbol is:
Pis 18 The celebrated revivalist has erected his huge tent, now warmed by music, lights and the smell of sawdust
The answer is in Capricorn 3, where pluto will cross this coming year, back and forth – likely teaching some severe lessons. If there is ever fingerpointing, it is to be at ourselves, and then to release it so love and life can go on. This battle will never end until everyone owns up to their part in the tragedy that has obviously crossed many lifetimes.
Peace and love,
Pat
****CORRECTION****
Regarding the Palestinian Independence chart in the original article, I re-checked my research info and now know that the symbol for the 22+ Virgo body is Nessus. In fact there are at least 4 other bodies nearby adding depth (and confusion!) to the opposition in the original chart. Thereus, Toro, Apollo and Requiem are also located between 21 and 24 degrees of Virgo. I think I need to let my 6th house/Pluto/Mercury chill out now, but would be very interested to hear your thoughts on how it could manifest in this situation/chart.
Victoria,
I hope Arnie doesn’t “let you have it”, because it was a gentle response to his sensitive viewpoint of Eric’s article. Eric is (well, almost) always viewing conflict from the middle of the see-saw. If one is weighted more to one side of a conflict than another, they will naturally see (actually look for) hidden bias within any comments on the subject.
We all feel pain because of this on-going conflict and wish nobody had to suffer. From my own perspective, I find that if I don’t “suck it up” and get on with what I CAN do to make the world a little better, kinder, cleaner and happier, my energy serves no purpose. It’s not always possible to do this when the pain is so close (to me), or at least it takes much, much longer. If this is the case with Arnie, I pray that love (including that expressed by these PW contributers) reaches him and he can spread some healing to others in some way.
By the way, the two “bodies” I asked for info on in the chart above could be Nemisis (20+ Virgo) and Huya (22+ Virgo). This makes transiting Saturn conjunct, which would be on one side of the opposition to Uranus. The chart’s Ceres is conjoined by transiting Uranus and I’m wondering if anyone has some thoughts about this that they would be willing to share. If that symbol DOES represent Nemisis, it would shed some light on this problem since the November ’88 declaration was signed. Some words found for the meaning of this guy are: “seeking to place blame, scapegoating, finger pointing. . ” and much more. That seems to be what most of the talking is about doesn’t it?
ArnieH, I am of the thinking that PWs is an open forum of all thoughts and feelings. And that includes all of us.
If you have any question that our hearts are not with the people suffering in Palestine please see the British paramedics entry. And when the TV brings to me the suffering of an Israeli family my heart is with them. When they share their story, there is nothing I can do to make it better or change it. All I can do is let them know they are not alone, I am with them.
I can never be sure about the blanket politics, I don’t live there. But when a person relates their personal experience it is real. Real to them. Real to being human.
And your bottom line “just bow down to the king and . . .” that is something we all can feel. I still hold fast somewhere inside me that we are really all dealing with abuse of power on many levels. The entitlement that comes with title and how much power we give away to those titles. And then we add dependency. And there is a volley going on between those who have what we need and what we will do to get it.
Your anger is justified. We are all angry and upset and confused at different degrees for different reasons. What is going on in the microcosmic armageddan we have under the microscope is hurting us all.
Feel free to let me have it!
kristenb, sounds like a rabid dog power struggle to me. That someone like that would be working with power tools in my mouth brings remembrance of the movie Marathon Man.
He really broke the rules when he went to your personal allies and tried to turn them on you. But maybe what he really wanted to do was meet the Buddha. He wants what you have, but he couldn’t steal it. Freedom is funny that way. It’s kinduv like we have to earn it. So maybe he’ll get free or not.
A logo and a statue is not going to get it. There is a phrase I have to find in some old paperwork somewhere in the piles. This is going to be my best explanation of what someone else said so well. It is like a born again christian or a new christian who wears the cross and puts on a costume and preaches to everyone. It is a stage of the new thinking where we wear it all on the outside because it hasn’t integrated into our self.
So who knows maybe you did the guy a favor. Let’s hope it sinks into his consciousness in a healthy way because after all the guy has power tools.
Freedom to me means no control
Dear Eric, I’m very disappointed with some of the points you have raised in this article. It seems to me that whenever anything is said about Israel it has to be “balanced” with blaming the Palestinians, is the Jewish lobby so powerful that even you have to mind your p’s and q’s ?
For example:-
1 civilians are always among them
There is no military in Gaza they are all civilians!!!
2 The Israelis are the only country providing relief in the Gaza Strip.
No one else is allowed in to help (see the story about the relief boat that was rammed by the coastguard in international waters)
3 subtext: we are inclined to have an emotional response to the dead Palestinians.
Gaza has been a hell hole for years with people dying in atrocious conditions and where was the emotional response to that? So now they are blamed for not dying quietly and out of sight.
4 whoever is doing it and whoever is allowing it is insane.
Of course they are insane that’s what happens when you are forced to grow up in a hellhole with no hope of improving it !!!
5 I am asking, would you walk up to a State Trooper and sock him in the stomach?
“death obsessed.” abuse complex:
Do they have any options other than surrendering their dignity, cos thats all they have.
6 Let’s stop the killing, and the suicide. There are fig trees and kids to take care of.
This seems to be the crux of the matter, The Gazans have been deprived of the opportunity of a decent life and deprived of any hope for themselves or their kids and as for the fig trees they got left behind when they were thrown off their land.
I watched Braveheart on the TV a few days back and I remember at the end the hangman was saying “Just bow down to the King and you wont have to suffer” and all Wallace would say was FREEDOM, sound familiar? it should because I can see the Gazans being exterminated before they give up their dignity after all they are going to be exterminated anyway.
Hey, Victoria. Anything IS possible. I experience this state of affairs often enough to move beyond belief. But, what keeps me in disbelief is the number of people who do not believe anything is possible.
Here is a thought from late, if one keeps referring to a particular situation being inadequate, does that not keep the situation constricted? Keep one alienated? But, I recognize this is a theoretical bent.
Blood and guts on ground do make an indelible mark. Side note: I once visited Holyrood Castle in Edinburgh and in the chamber where Catherine was held prisoner, in the corner where her lover was murdered by order of her husband, the floor boards still weep blood, even though they have been replaced a few times over the centuries since. The stewards swear by this in such a way, you just believe love has that power!
So, I am one to say it is important to understand ones own culture, history, though I admit I can not name 7 generations of elders on the matriarchal or patriarchal sides of my family. But, I do not feel if one does not know such information that progress will halt, or life will end. It comes down to how one feels in their soul/spirit – an eye for an eye? Or an eye that sees, tells, then paints new dimensions like shadows or impressions or realism like Caravelli?
Here is a real world story from my life:
I worked for a local dentist as a computer tutor, consultant and as a subcontractor to his bookkeeper. One day, after a couple of YEARS of dealing with his personality quirks, and he literally yelling at me for being about 10 minutes late (remember, not an employee, simply a consultant) which I explained upon arrival, I quit. Now, I still had to finish his financial tracking spreadsheet so I did, sending it to he and his bookkeeper upon completion about two weeks later. I did not get paid for another 10 weeks+ which fucked me up royally, financially, sending me, in part, on a grand side detour from what I was pursuing. What I did not know was that he went to my buddhist preceptor within a week or so after I quit, complaining about my behavior and asked for intervention, after I failed to respond adequately in his mind to an email he sent me telling me that IF I was REALLY buddhist, I would have behaved differently. What could I say to that accusation? I am me. The man is Jewish. Was demeaning and yelling and withholding payment for services rendered from me being a GOOD jew? Later, I was told about this turn of events by my preceptor, casually, who told the dentist that in no uncertain terms was it any business to be involved in his dispute with me. Bless you! What was his motive for truly going behind my back? He had my cell phone number which he used to ring constantly. Could it have been to shame me? Today, this man is advertising his business as “seat of knowledge” using an image of buddha. In a discussion with someone else recently during a dinner out, more than a year and a half later, the person mentioned this advert and how ridiculous it felt, how condescending, not knowing that I had a connection to it at all.
Now, here’s the punch line: What do I do about this? A- Bitch and moan about him every chance I get. B-Take subversive action against him in retaliation. C-Laugh every time I see the advert in the local alt paper. D- Tell people what I know about his personal sex life and relationship history which IMHO is the source of his quirks just to shame him back. E-Hate, distrust all Jews because they are so controlling and selfish and cheap. F-Take note of how I ended up working for such a PERSON in the first place, keep my mouth shut except when a clear teaching can come from a retelling, and move on.
F.
The most important thing of all? Discourse. Every single post herein, so valuable to each and every one who sees, reads, embraces and thinks for themselves, even if one disagrees, TODAY, with anyone else. Tomorrow will bring changes. And, as you say, history gets rewritten. But, those who think from their own heart will find their way, will find their truth. This is the path of being free.
kristenb, yes it is easy to believe anything because all things are possible? So you are saying bagpipes were never played in PPs court?
There are no survivors of the day. We could make a new legacy just like Mr Bush. If we didn’t have the history right, would it really fuck us up bad? Or could we do without it?
I commend PW’s Eric and the precious musicman for inserting some inside skinny on this all too foreign situation (to me anyway).
When I am able to back up and observe, I find delight in the good theatre going on (as mentioned before the shoe thrower, the citizen arrestor, the MN comedian working our system, even Ms Palin for having the audacity to show us where our Thanksgiving dinner really comes from on national tv, and maybe even Blago for pointing at illegal wiretapping). Good theatre awakens truth for us. But there is a point when a movie becomes hard to look at and we go to the frig or switch the channel. It is hard to digest. And we are given a picture of the rabid dog. And that is extremely dense for me. Uncomfortable.
But perhaps not all is fair in love and war, after all. I don’t know who is at fault. But these are human beings killing each other. What or who is pulling their strings and stirring things up. Are the war profiteers cheering? My engineering friend in the defense industry rejoices at every contract: job security.
Provocation becomes the dirtiest of tools when used for self gain. It preys on weakness and insecurity. Ask anyone who has been the victim of bullies. And as I found out working through stuff with my siblings: it becomes a sport to some. And the only way to stop it was to change my reaction: let them do their own anger. And a nut fell off the psychology tree and hit me in the head: the key to relinquishing anger is to admit that I have been hurt.
The softening toward the Palestinians (isn’t it great at least to be able to talk about people of a locale, instead of the whole of the Muslim culture) seems to be a question of whether or not they were provoked?
And did we really set the Palestinians down somewhere where they don’t have the resources to feed themselves? Is it the destruction that depleted their survival or are they lacking in natural resources? Perhaps, they too, have a tree whose medicine they can share with us?
And Kristen B, PP was from Scotland, is that where the Roman male skirt came from? Or versa vica? (Costumes enrich the culture. It makes diversity fun.)
I commend PW’s Eric and the precious musicman for inserting some inside skinny on this all too foreign situation (to me anyway).
When I am able to back up and observe, I find delight in the good theatre going on (as mentioned before the shoe thrower, the citizen arrestor, the MN comedian working our system, even Ms Palin for having the audacity to show us where our Thanksgiving dinner really comes from on national tv, and maybe even Blago for pointing at illegal wiretapping). Good theatre awakens truth for us. But there is a point when a movie becomes hard to look at and we go to the frig or switch the channel. It is hard to digest. And we are given a picture of the rabid dog. And that is extremely dense for me. Uncomfortable.
But perhaps not all is fair in love and war, after all. I don’t know who is at fault. But these are human beings killing each other. What or who is pulling their strings and stirring things up. Are the war profiteers cheering? My engineering friend in the defense industry rejoices at every contract: job security.
Provocation becomes the dirtiest of tools when used for self gain. It preys on weakness and insecurity. Ask anyone who has been the victim of bullies. And as I found out working through stuff with my siblings: it becomes a sport to some. And the only way to stop it was to change my reaction: let them do their own anger. And a nut fell off the psychology tree and hit me in the head: the key to relinquishing anger is to admit that I have been hurt.
The softening toward the Palestinians (isn’t it great at least to be able to talk about people of a locale, instead of the whole of the Muslim culture) seems to be a question of whether or not they were provoked?
And did we really set the Palestinians down somewhere where they don’t have the resources to feed themselves? Is it the destruction that depleted their survival or are they lacking in natural resources? Perhaps, they too, have a tree whose medicine they can share with us?
And Kristen B, PP was from Scotland, is that where the Roman male skirt came from? Or versa vica? (Costumes enrich the culture. It makes diversity fun.)
Oops, birthplace probably unknown; so easy to BELIEVE anything “out there”, even Wiki is sprinkled in salt:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pontius_Pilate
List of oldest trees 🙂 on Earth, the Ents will have their say!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oldest_tree
Oldest Olive tree thought to be in Greece; oldest Eastern Cottonwood, in nearby, Newburgh, NY! Oldest Yew (known to possess healing properties for cancer) in Fortingall, Scotland, birth place of Pontius Pilate – cosmic balance/cosmic humor!
Sun is shining; time to get out for warmth and fresh air…
War ends when support (financial and otherwise) is ended. It’s well past time to try something bold and let go of Israel, Hamas and any other military machine. It has taken us here in the US turning into Israel to know the horror, the waste and futility of this path. SHUT IT DOWN, as Eric says, there are fig trees and babies to focus our attention on.
A few, shamelessly borrowed, Zen quotes:
“If you desire to gaze out over wide vistas, you do well to climb up to a high spot. But if you wish to gaze into the human heart, you must climb down and look from a low place.” — Zen Master Morinaga
“Our own lives are the instrument with which we experiment with truth.” –Thich Nhat Hanh
“The more you sense the rareness and value of your own life, the more you realize that how you use it, how you manifest it, is all your responsibility. We face such a big task, so naturally we sit down for a while.” — Kobun Chino Otogawa Roshi (1938-2002)
“Not one single atom opposes us.” — Zen Master Hongzhi
“Just as parents care for their children, you should bear in mind the whole universe.”– Zen Master Dogen
“You can go through the motions (:of zen), but it is the heart that finally counts.” — Zen Master Dogen
i thought about this on a walk last night, specifically about the call for ‘peace’ / stop the killing …. what i feel is that it has to be a call for justice, not just peace, the ‘truce’ that had been for the past 6 months, well really the Israelis were blocking food and medicine and supplies for going into Gaza, so the sick and the elderly etc were dying because of that already …. i think it is about looking to international law, and having that enforced (on both sides) – you don’t allow terrorism (rockets) but you also don’t allow deliberate targetting of civilians, collective punishment of civilian populations, occupation of stolen land, apartheid, etc etc…. international law is pretty clear, it’s just that no one seems to enforce it, or even really worry about it too much (especially in the media when they’re reporting on what is going on, they almost never mention the context of the actions in light of international law)
and with the punching the cop analogy, i look at it more, they’ve taken away your home, they’ve locked you up, they’re slowing starving you, and they’re taking away your dignity. i would say there are a fair number of people out there that, in those circumstances, would do something, even if it might bring about some retaliation. (?)
bkoeler… honey… *all* solutions are temporary. No one is ever ‘finally’ satisfied, so going in to bake the pie isn’t going to assuage the age-old hungers. It will, however, divert the piebaking/baker from throwing a bottle or carving an atom.
It does, however, do that thing that capitalism has forgotten: using the tool to make another tool – which is *exactly* how this system was supposed to have worked: you do not take profit and turn it into soulsuffocating luxury. You turn it into experimentation, curiousity, education, risk-taking, adventure, the next-great-thing that can invent the nextnext great thing.
We’ll get it. Don’t worry (well, be concerned, attentive, but don’t worry), it’s coming along. Stars are amenable to suggestion. Read ’em and sing.
Ah, sorry. For those of you who don’t follow British politics, the ex-PM was appointed Middle East envoy in 2007 (see http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/6244358.stm).
All of the above is fascinating. . .and yet as much as we (who are not directly threatened by the bombs, etc.) want peace and equality for all the grieving, suffering and threatened people, it has eluded us forever. Would knowing who threw the first rock/missle/bomb (as if that were possible) help us figure out who was at fault? I no longer think so, although when reading Eric’s line “The only reason I can think of that Hamas is sending these rockets. . . .” my brain was screaming CRAZY before I finished his sentence. Then I read fluidity’s comments and my brain backed off.
Then after reading upyonder’s comments my brain started spinning, but mystes comments halted the spinning and I knew that finding out the “at fault” party (Isreali or Palestinian) no longer had any usefulness in stopping the terrorizing and killing.
I love mystes’ solution to absolving our shame over what we have done to the Iraqi people, but for how long would that satisfy them? If we gave tons of material stuff to all the people who have suffered(anywhere) from war, how long before they would remember the old grievances and start the rock/rocket hurling again? How do you get that kernel of hatred buried so deep in these people to dissolve and to rise above it for the sake of their children and their “tribe” and for humanity?
That would be some miracle, huh?
I’m clueless on the symbols in the Palestinian Independence chart in the 1st house in Pisces, but that is where Uranus is now, and opposite is Ceres where Saturn is now. Could find out myself, but does somebody out there know right now? Anything aggressive?
Posted under ‘fc’ before. Took me a while to figure out how to post under a proper nickname.
In all this craziness, I wonder where Tony ‘Idealism is the new realism’* Blair is in this whole matter. Probably still sunning himself on the beach in the Caribbean somewhere.
*http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/7427809.stm
Check out this program for young girls from Israel and Palestine:
http://www.creativityforpeace.com/
Upyonder… I don’t quite see Fluidity saying anything as accusatory as your response warrants.
This whole situation boils down to one thing: Failure of Imagination. For every milliwatt of energy being ‘released’ in the form of murder, mayhem and madness, one pie could have been baked, one window repaired, one sleeve knitted. My solution to the shame we have brought down on ourselves in Iraq is exactly the same: go from door to door to door and apologize to the Iraqi people, hand them the equivalent value in life-stuff that we haul around in weaponry and invite them to a live-jam-teach-in-fashion-show-dance-party in the square of downtown Baghdad.
It never fails to amaze me that we have so much *energy* locked up in weaponry on this planet. And the other thing that amazes me is that 66% of its surface is covered by an eternal energy supply (wave power), and a perfectly-balanced mineral soak that, once heated, could heal each of us to our core.
Our collective head seems to be firmly planted inside of some kind of iron mask. Somehow I do not believe that torching it off is the answer.
There is only so much history of finger pointing that anyone can stand here. Bringing up the old is going to solve nothing. I like the notion of a woman in there, with her rockstar husband, to broker something different. Hell, were it up to me, I would have cut off all cash to anyone who fires a weapon. Period.
MM: “… incredibly for me as a non-clintonian-supporter, I believe that Hillary and Bill might just be the ones to help out here.”
Hmmm… interesting idea. That HC, as the Empress of Foggy Bottom will be able to draw on the experience of the Bill. Maybe she can get Ehud Barak to live up to his name… remember that he was Prime Minister when Bill aaaaallmost got Yasser Arafat to sign on the dotted line?
I can’t believe I miss Yasser.
Fluidity, you completely missed what this post was all about. Go back and read it. Especially the last sentence. And the metaphor with the cop.
Second: to imply that Eric is part of the US power structure is just as absurd as your claim that ‘the disempowered’ in the US are likely to have ‘special relationships’ with the Palestinians. Infact it is not only absurd, but it does sound insulting to my ears. Eric posts his charts / analysis for free, and they do not sound partial to me.
The point of the article is to get beneath the pointless fingerpointing (and weapon pointing), get to the root of the ‘poor me’ on both sides attitude that has resulted in nothing but desaster. And your post is another example of that attitude. No one here wants to see suffering, and all know how desastrous the humanitarian situation in Gaza is.
30 years ago I marched in solidarity with the Palestinians on the streets of Europe, when in college, and my friends wore their red and white head scarves. And here we are again, for the umptieth time.
Really fascinating input on the astrology, thank you all.
I am so disgusted with the senseless killing and torture in this dispute and close to hopeless for these people to do any better for themselves. Recent elections in Palestine gave Hamas the political control though the ruling elite there as well as Isreal and the US would just as soon have them obliterated. Just when you think you have it figured out, there is always some zealot to blow the whole thing … incredibly for me as a non-clintonian-supporter, I believe that Hillary and Bill might just be the ones to help out here.
Hamas wasn’t always the ruling party of Palestine. I wonder if it might be worth looking at the chart when they came to power.
i would love it if you were able to talk to somone(s) who live in Gaza as well
but i guess that the ‘special relationship’ that the US has with Israel, that Obama’s advisor highlighted recently that Obama will be recognizing, plays out in all the individual relationships people have. that government officials have, that media people have, etc, with people in Israel, while predominantly the people who aren’t in so many positions of power (ie the marginalized, the disempowered) are the people with ‘special relationships’ to Palestinians
from what I have heard, Israel was the first to violate the ceasefire, in November
from what I heard, no people had been killed by the rockets since the ceasefire ended, before Israel killed hundreds of Palestinian civilians. like one article was titled, this is not like an eye for an eye, it is like a hundred eyes for an eye.
the US calls Hamas (a democratically elected government) ‘thugs’ and says Israel is justified (to basically do whatever they want) in attacking
who talks about how Israel had basically cut off supplies into Gaza (which is for all intents and purposes an open air jail) for how long? aside from the progressive news/analysis sites i regularly go to, i hear basically no mention of that
and how about profiling the international BDS movement against Israel (Boycott, Diverstment, Sanctions)? if Israel were actually to suffer some consequences from their actions (ie losing out on trade, foreign aid, reputation) maybe they wouldn’t have at it so easily
but no, Israel has a public relations strategy to strengthen their claim that they are in fact the victims in all this, and governments and media around the world trumpet this message without really getting into the details of the situation
when Israel was attacking Lebanon two years ago, in the last couple days before they called it quits (due to both intense resistance from Hesbolah, and almost complete condemnation internationally), they dropped a whole lot of cluster bombs that would stay around and maim and kill Lebanese civilians for years to come
i don’t want to see what’s still to come this time round, as their primary ally (ie financier and supplier of weaponry) has an outgoing administration that calls the victims of this murder ‘thugs’ and an ingoing administration that has bowed down in front of the Israeli lobby, talks of their ‘special relationship’ with Israel, and who’s leader offers a bold ‘no comment’ on the whole situation