The new U.S. embassy opened in Jerusalem amidst Palestinian protests. This should be no surprise to those following astrology as Uranus – a planet of prodding, shock and progress – enters Taurus, the Sun Sign of the nation of Israel (founded May 14, 1948 by a United Nations resolution). Israel turned 70 the last day Uranus was in Aries. When Uranus returns to this degree on Election Day, November 6, 2018, perhaps moving the embassy and any resulting turmoil will be an issue in the mid-term elections. Or there may be a connected development around then.

Early in Uranus’s visit to Aries, the “Arab Spring” brought shifts in power in parts of the Middle East. If we look at the globe from a “geodetic” viewpoint (which assigns the 360 degrees of longitude, east from Greenwich, England, to the 360 degrees of the zodiac), we see that some of the Arab world (most of Algeria, all of Libya and part of Egypt) falls in the first 30 degrees ascribed to Aries. But more of the Middle East is in the Taurus sector (longitudes 30 to 60 degrees East, covering Syria, Israel, Iraq, the Arabian peninsula and most of Iran). It’s likely things will heat up in this region over the coming seven years as rebellious Uranus passes through Taurus. Even though as a sign, Taurus is resistant to change, Uranus is an unstoppable force.

The final degree of a sign brings a karmic test. For Uranus in Aries, it’s about people being free to make their choices and even just to survive (a key Aries activity) – it’s existential. Hence the Palestinians protesting the encroachment of the Israelis into the land they view as theirs. And now the United States is taking sides in the dispute. There will be consequences, although those will take some time to play out. The initial hints may come immediately as Mercury, the messenger planet associated with news, reaches 5 degrees of Taurus (the geodetic location of Jerusalem) on May 16, concurrent with the exact Mars-Uranus square (90-degree stand-off), which on its own indicates “the natives are restless.” The bigger changes will come when Uranus passes through this degree (6/13/19, 10/12/19 and 4/2/20 – three times because of retrograde zigzagging).

Meanwhile, also on the last day of Uranus in Aries, another example of people fighting for their survival hits closer to home. The LA Times reported, “Hundreds of poor and low-wage workers, clergy and activists were arrested Monday outside the U.S. Capitol and at statehouses across the country as they kick-started a revival of the Poor People’s Campaign — the civil disobedience movement founded 50 years ago by the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.” Rev. William J. Barber II, the “Moral Mondays” pastor from North Carolina and the campaign’s co-chair, called for a “revolution of values.” Well, that sounds exactly like Uranus, planet of revolution, in Taurus, the sign of values! I couldn’t have said it better myself.