Israel expels veterans who refused to spy in Palestinian territories

Israel's top military electronic surveillance unit expelled dozens of veterans on Monday for refusing to spy on Palestinians living under occupation, Army Radio said. The commander of Unit 8200, named as Brigadier-General "A", barred the 43 reserve soldiers who wrote to prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu and top army chiefs in September, saying they could no longer serve in the unit, the radio said. Coming a few weeks after Israel's 50-day war against Islamist militants in the Gaza Strip, the letter was seen as an unprecedented rebuke of Netanyahu's security policies but the military dismissed it as a publicity stunt by a small fringe.  The Guardian; Jan. 27; http://bit.ly/18udE79

The January 20, 2015 New Moon occured just as Mercury stationed to begin its retrograde. Stars setting the theme for this lunar cycle include Anser of the Vulpecula the fox; Alpha and Beta Sagitta, the missile of Zeus; and Altair, Eye of the Eagle. The Eagle combines with Sagitta, the missile to produce an apt symbol for the military. In this context, the fox represents cunning, covert or manipulative operations of the military.

At Tel Aviv, Israel,  the New Moon puts a Grand Cross on the angles which we shall see resonates with  the New Moon theme.  First the combination Hades-Zeus refers to the secret (Hades) actions of the military (Zeus) so that it is a direct reference to spies. On the other hand, the Uranus-Pluto square represents the archetypal clash: courageous/warrior-like actions of individuals on behalf of the people's liberties (Uranus in Aries) vs. an intensification/consolidation of power by institutional structures facing threats to their authority (Pluto in Capricorn). So it shouldn’t be surprising if we find the spies rebelling against what they are being asked to do in Palestine.

Finally, the Sabian symbol for Zeus [17li28] seems to sum up the issue.

Sabian  Phase 198 [18libra]: Two men placed under arrest.

The individual whose actions introduce unacceptable principles into the established order runs the risk of being punished or reformed according to this order. The problem for society is how to include in its patterns of order agencies or channels for transformation; for individuals it is how to make their transforming vision or impulse acceptable to society.

As we have seen several times in the past, there can be more than one indicator for an important event. Just a few days back we had a Mars-Saturn square (Jan.15)  followed by a Mars-Neptune conjunction (Jan 20). Among areas governed by these planets we have: Mars (military); Saturn (Government) and Neptune (spies; compassion for victims) so that the three together can be saying that military spies refuse to follow the orders of the Government because of a feeling of compassion for the suffering victims. Shown here is the chart for the Mars-Neptune conjunction at Tel-Aviv. Notice that the combination Mars-Saturn-Neptune becomes important for Tel Aviv since it straddles the meridian axis. On the MC is the newly discovered TNO Orcus [6vi]. Not much is known about Orcus. However, Philip Sedgwick illustrates the nature of Orcus through a news story [1]. Around the time the event unfolded Orcus was transiting the US Sibly Sun.

Consider the instance of Sgt. Charles Jenkins, US Army. When one enters U.S. military service a rather stringent oath declaring unending faithfulness to the United States and sacrificial service to her must be repeated out loud - just the kind of thing that might catch the watchful ear of Orcus. At approximately 2:30 A.M. on January 5,1965, Jenkins disappeared in the DMZ of Korea while checking out a noise during a night patrol. Ultimately he ended up in the hands of North Korean authorities, became a pawn in the propaganda war, and was released thirty-nine years later only to face court martial and imprisonment. Allegedly, the Army’s sentence of thirty days was a hand slap. Jenkins contends he was captured. The U.S. Army determined he deserted, punishing him for breaking his oath.

Personally, one can expect when Orcus transits or when natal Orcus takes transiting influences that accountability for one’s word will be the dominant stimulus. Others will challenge personal declarations, promises made and even doctrines to which one previously declared allegiance. Still, working with the influences, one can create creeds that change one’s life for the better. The declared intention to reform flawed ways and to adopt an inspired, progressively minded life style appeases Orcus.

Notice how this story from Philip Sedgwick mirrors with our current story.

[1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Robert_Jenkins