Israel/Hamas Ceasefire Announced

by Alex Miller

A tentative deal to pause 15 months of conflict in Gaza was reached on Wednesday, 15 January 2025, between representatives of Israel and Hamas.  The three-phase de-escalation is slated to begin on January 19^th, but has yet to be ratified by the Israeli government.  The deal features the release of hostages taken in the October 7, 2023 Hamas cross-border attack on Israel, in exchange for Palestinians currently held in Israeli prisons, and increased flow of humanitarian aid to the devastated Gaza strip.

The agreement comes under a massing of celestial energies which well describe the circumstances.  A pairing of Venus (12 Pisces), arbiter of peace and diplomacy, and Saturn (14 Pisces), providing form and structure, signaled a potential for cessation of hostilities in a diplomatic framework.  These are joined by asteroids America and Israel (20 and 22 Pisces), and squared (90 degrees) by Jupiter (11 Gemini), identifying two of the major players in the negotiations.  The deal is essentially what US President Joe Biden has been pushing for since last May, with the two allies in close cooperation, as depicted by their celestial namesakes’ conjunction.  Jupiter governs international relations, foreign policy, and promotes positive outcomes.

The Sun (25 Capricorn) pulls focus and highlights whatever it touches, here opposing (180 degrees) Mars (26 Cancer), the planet governing conflict and war, as well as asteroid Persephone (25 Cancer), named for a goddess abducted and forcibly removed from her home, suggesting the hostages themselves.  There is also a celestial caveat here in the form of asteroid Panacea (20 Cancer), which represents the desire for a quick fix, a glossing over of difficulty or injury which, in the long run, is ineffective, warning of a long road ahead to a permanent resolution of this conflict.

Title Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay