Challenge Corner

Zip Dobyns

Three brave souls ventured an answer to last issue’s challenge, and one was right that the second twin died. Congratulations Marguerite! The reasons given by all three correspondents were all reasonable and logical, and just point out again (if we needed to say it again) that predictive details are risky business in astrology. One reader put extra emphasis on transits, but unfortunately, they were within orb for both twins though they were separating for one and applying for the other.

Everyone noted the fact that the Ascendant was quincunx Neptune for the first twin and quincunx the Moon for the second one. The accurate choice noted that Neptune, as ruler of the l2th house, could point to hospitalization, while the Moon, as ruler of the 4th house, could point to death. But the Moon also rules the third house of siblings, and one of the erroneous guesses made the reasonable assumption that the quincunx was the separation of the twin from her sister who died. Of course both were separated from each other, regardless of which died. In the past, I have found all the water houses (4, 8, 12) associated with death, which is the end of a cycle and closure of a chapter. But I think it is true that the 4th and 8th houses are a bit more prominent in death charts.

Marguerite also noted that the 8th house cusp (Placidus) was conjunct the true south node of the Moon for the second twin. The Part of Death (Ascendant plus 8th. house cusp minus Moon) was also quincunx the 8th cusp and the true node, as Marguerite noted. It was out of orb for the first twin. The progressed Parts of Death were also interesting. Even though the Moon and the house cusps had only moved a few degrees for the Moon and a few minutes for the cusps, they shifted the Arabic parts so that for the first twin, the Part of Death was back to 19 Gemini 35 in a close square to Saturn while the second twin had it at 21 Gemini 38 in a close conjunction to Jupiter. Remember that the one who lived was seriously hurt and left with chronic disabilities. The one who died made a quick exit to a higher realm. To derive the progressed Arabic parts, it is necessary to use all the progressed positions: Asc., 8th cusp, and Moon. The second twin’s progressed part of Death was also conjunct the north node of Vesta and square natal Chiron which I read as similar to Jupiter.

The Ascendant and MC did not change dwads, but the East Point and Antivertex did change. The latter shifted from the Libra dwad to the Scorpio one, a good clue to the answer. But the East Point change of dwad from Cancer to Leo might argue in the opposite direction. Of course, fire can mean a new beginning. Hindsight is always easier. In progressions, there was a dwad change for the MC, from Gemini to Cancer for the second twin only. Another interesting contrast was the placement of the north node of Mars on the progressed Ascendant for twin two. Of course Mars could have symbolized the surgery required by the first twin. Instead of Mars, twin one had north Venus conjunct her natal Ascendant and north Juno quincunx it. Both nodes were out of orb for twin two, limiting ourselves to the one degree orb.

As has been said repeatedly, these exercises are mostly to remind us that we don’t have final answers.

Our challenge for this month is not concerned with health. We have male twins who hate each other. One of them is serious and intelligent, attended a university, and he puts down the other twin. The other one was a “hail-fellow-well-met” type originally, but he dropped out of school at age l6 and became a drifter and lost some of his original confidence.

The birth date is August 10, l955, in Scotland at 55N57 and 3W11. One twin was born at 10:20 P.M. and the other at 10:40 P.M. UT. Did you ever see more Leo in a chart?

Copyright © 1981 Los Angeles Community Church of Religious Science, Inc.

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