India and Indira
Zip Dobyns
My second son, Bill Pottenger, and I landed in India the day before their Prime Minister, Indira Gandhi, was shot. The primary goal of the trip was a chance to see Sai Baba, a spiritual teacher believed by many to be a current Avatar or special incarnation of God. I had tried to see Sai Baba in my 1977 trip to India, but he was not seeing any visitors at that time. This time, I planned to go with two sisters who had lived in his ashram from one to two years, long before he was internationally famous.
We planned to meet in Bangalore, India, the jumping-off place for a taxi ride of over 100 kilometers to the ashram at Puttaparthi. The hotel in Bangalore assured us our friends were expected the next day, but the best-laid plans sometimes go in unexpected directions. The next day was the day of the assassination. Bangalore was calm, though most shops and restaurants closed down and put up their metal shutters as soon as Indira’s death was confirmed on the air. They knew from experience that violence was a potential threat. Our friends, coming in from Madras and New Delhi, saw some of the violence.
The four women arriving from Madras found it almost impossible to get a taxi to take them to the airport in Madras. Many of the taxis and buses in India are owned by Sikhs or Moslems, and even when owned by Hindus, they are a target for anger when mobs develop. Groups of men armed with crowbars or similar weapons will often destroy the vehicles which are a symbol of “wealth” compared to bare survival level of the people who make up the mobs. Our friends finally found a taxi driver willing to risk the trip for a payment many times the normal cost. He drove back streets, ducking and shifting his route to avoid the gangs of armed men who were roaming the streets. They got through safely, but with some anxious moments. Even in Bangalore, though it was completely quiet, the taxis took advantage of the emergency to demand a fee at least ten times the normal one.
The two women coming from New Delhi had even more to report. They were staying in the main Sikh hotel in New Delhi, the Imperial. The hotel had been built originally as a fortress, and it became one immediately after the assassination. All the Sikhs who could get there holed up in the hotel with all the weapons they could muster, ready for a siege as word got out that Sikhs were being beaten to death and set on fire by Hindu mobs. All taxis immediately disappeared from the streets, so our friends had the choice of abandoning all their luggage (each had three suitcases) or staying and hoping things would calm down. They checked potential fire escapes in case the hotel was set on fire, and decided what they could carry if the situation reached that stage. Eventually, a friend was found who was willing to take them to the airport, and, after a nine hour wait for a plane, they were able to reach Bangalore.
The rest of us had gone on to the ashram on Friday, before the official funeral on Saturday, since the rumors suggested there might be trouble on the weekend. But the Bangalore area remained calm. The two from New Delhi joined us the next day, with some stories from witnesses of the violence which made all of us wonder whether India was an appropriate place to visit.
In contrast to the tension in northern India, the ashram was an oasis of total peace. We did not even get the news of Reagan’s election until we got back to Bangalore, Nov. 11. Of course, I had known that he would win, as indicated in the Virgo issue of The Mutable Dilemma, but hoped he would not be able to carry too many members of congress with him, and that proved to be the case. He now has the full responsibility for the economic mess which we are rapidly approaching, and his Teflon has worn off as of late October 1984 when his progressed Sun reached a conjunction with Saturn: report card time.
To return to our week at the ashram, Bill was able to see Sai Baba’s psychokinetic power to produce ashes since there were always fewer men in attendance at the two daily Darshan periods, and Bill was able to be near the front. I chose to sit on a chair, so was always at the back in the women’s area, but the chairs were in the shade, and I didn’t feel like sitting on the ground for hours, waiting to file in to the courtyard, and then another hour or more waiting in the sun for Sai Baba to make his rounds.
Compared to my usual frenetic pace, with at least 50 things undone for everything that gets done, the period in India was the most laid-back which I have experienced in years. I did some walking in Bangalore, but mostly sat in the hotel and read the newspapers or books acquired in India or worked on the horoscopes of Indira and Rajeev Gandhi. Bombay, after the ashram, was more of the same, though I did do some sight- seeing and especially enjoyed the trip to Elephanta Island to see some caves with marvelous ancient carvings by the religious renunciates who had lived in the caves hundreds of years ago.
The ashram daily routine involved Darshan (translated as “the sight of the Lord”) some time between 8 and 9 A.M. The women started lining up before 7 A.M., hoping to be in the front row where Baba might notice them and respond to their requests. At 9:15, a lecture was presented in English for the “foreigners”, though many Hindus also attended. A ritual followed at about 11:30, consisting largely of chants known as Bhajans. After one close exposure to the loud speakers, I listened from a respectful distance. Early afternoon was open except for one day when there was a practice session for foreigners to learn the chants. The woman teacher had an excellent voice, and the large room had excellent acoustics, so that session was one of the high points of the stay for me. Darshan came again between 4 and 5 P.M., followed by the Bhajan ritual again at 5:30. Then dinner and lights out at 9 P.M.
I bought some books about Sai Baba’s life and did some reading, did a few charts with a pocket computer and an ephemeris I had brought with me, talked a fair amount to an American woman who had lived in the ashram for 15 years, but compared to my usual life style, the time seems like a short period in another world with almost no demands on me.
My feeling at this point is that Sai Baba is a genuine spiritual leader, unlike many of the money, power, and ego trippers among the gurus in the U.S. Baba sleeps on the same kind of thin cotton mat on a cement floor that is typical for everyone. He wears a simple orange robe at all times. He eats the same simple vegetarian food, though very little according to reports. The ashram prices are absolutely minimal. Four of us shared a room and private bath with toilet and shower for under $1 a night total, even lucking out to have a screened door and an overhead fan. A full meal in the canteen cost about 20 cents in U.S. currency. A small loaf of bread cost 4 cents. Fresh fruit was available for pennies just outside the ashram; bananas, papayas, oranges, etc. Whatever donations come to Sai Baba are used to build schools for his people; three colleges so far, in addition to high schools, though the ashram itself is also being enlarged continuously. When we left, an influx was just starting which was expected to bring in 50 to 60 thousand people to be fed and housed for two weeks or more. Sai Baba’s brother manages the ashram’s mundane affairs, though Baba has had a hand in designing the buildings. In contrast to Rajneesh who buys Rolls Royces and machine guns and charges $95 a day for visitors, Sai Baba offers an example with his deeds as well as with his words.
On my earlier trip to India, in 1977, I had been given a birth time for Indira Gandhi and had passed it on to Lois Rodden for use in her book on famous women. Just before leaving on this trip, I received an astrology magazine from B.V. Raman, a famous astrologer in Bangalore, with a different birth time. I ran a chart for that time and progressed it to Nov. l, knowing I would be in India by then. I visited Raman before going to the ashram, and got another issue of his magazine which stated that the slightly earlier birth time came from Indira’s office. The birth data for her son, Rajeev, was given in the same astrology magazines published by B.V. Raman.
As can be seen, the 11:12 P.M. time puts Uranus exactly opposite Indira’s natal Ascendant with Ceres square the Ascendant from the fourth house. Saturn is closely (within 2 degrees) conjunct the East Point in Leo in the twelfth house, while Neptune earlier in Leo in the twelfth is just over 2 degrees from an opposition to Juno in Aquarius in the 6th house. The combination fits Indira’s life of power struggles from the time when her father was jailed by the British for his role in seeking India’s independence, to her own political contests, with loss of her husband and her younger son, the latter in an airplane crash. The MC and Ascendant are part of a fixed cross in cardinal houses, and the fixed-cardinal mixture often expresses in such events. The rising Mars square Jupiter in the tenth house presents another support for an eventful life, involving two cardinal houses and a cardinal planet. Factors in Capricorn add to the concern with power. Politics was an appropriate field to permit her to use the power drive constructively, but it is not easy to know how far to go, and she undoubtedly did overreach at times.
Since I was out of the country, I don’t know how much coverage of the situation was offered by U.S. newspapers, but the tension involving the Sikhs had been building for some years. A limited number of Sikhs had been demanding full control over the area of India where Sikhs form a majority of the population, the Punjab. The rebels had resorted to terrorism to gain their way, including the killing of more moderate Sikhs who opposed the fanatics. The rebel group had their headquarters in the most important Sikh temple, which had been turned into an arsenal of weapons.
On the evening of May 30, 1984, the Indian army was finally ordered to attack the Golden Temple; the rebels were defeated, and their leader was killed. I was astonished to note that the attack was begun at almost the exact time of an eclipse, since Indira did accept astrology, and traditional Hindu astrology would certainly advise against major action at such a time. The eclipse was close to an opposition to Uranus in Sagittarius. Uranus continued to retrograde into August, then turned direct and it reached its position at the time of the attack on the Golden Temple the day before Indira was shot by two of her Sikh body guards. At the moment of the shooting, Uranus and Venus were rising, each within one degree of the Ascendant for the shooting. Transiting Mars was in a one degree opposition to Indira’s progressed Moon on her New Delhi twelfth house cusp.
Other progressed aspects in Indira’s chart included Sun opposite progressed Neptune and quincunx natal Pluto, progressed Antivertex opposite progressed Pluto and the natal south node of the Moon, while progressed Pallas was quincunx the Node-Pluto conjunction. Progressed Ceres was quincunx the New Delhi natal MC, and progressed Jupiter was in a long quincunx to the north node. Our computer format currently uses the true node for the north and the mean node for the south, and I look at both of them. Progressed Ascendant and progressed local East Point were quincunx natal Chiron in the eighth house, while Chiron stayed conjunct the eighth house Vesta in a long trioctile to progressed Saturn in the twelfth house.
One of the traditions of astrology is the need for progressed to progressed or progressed to natal aspects involving all planets in or ruling the first, fourth, and eighth houses (and some would add the twelfth house) at the time of death. The quincunx, and to a lesser degree the opposition, are the most common aspects. Mercury is the only planet failing to fit the tradition, since it rules part of the first house and is in the fourth house in the natal chart without an aspect to a traditional planet. Progressed Mercury was just past the trine to natal Mars, and 21 minutes short of the quincunx to progressed Saturn. However, if we include midpoints, progressed Mercury was octile the midpoint of progressed Venus and Uranus. If we add new asteroids, progressed Mercury was conjunct natal Icarus. By solar arc, Mercury was in a one degree opposition to natal Saturn.
Of course, there were numerous other solar arc aspects including Uranus and Ascendant square natal Moon, Pluto trioctile Moon, and Mars on the IC. The progressed Quotidian (daily) angles also stood out. The Q Ascendant and East Point were conjunct progressed Mars square Q MC, and involved in the node- Pluto-Vertex combination. And one of the most striking aspects was progressed Part of Death conjunct the natal Ascendant opposite natal Uranus. That particular pattern could only occur for a couple of months every 28 years. The formula is Ascendant plus eighth house cusp minus Moon, using all progressed positions for the progressed Arabic Part. Progressed Uranus maintained a trioctile to the natal Part of Death for many years. Progressed Mars, soon to go retrograde and moving very slowly, had remained conjunct the New Delhi Part of Death, octile the New Delhi Ascendant and trioctile the natal MC, as well as trine progressed Jupiter. The Jupiter trine ended a few months ago, and the conflict aspects to the angles remained in the one degree orb. Transits included Saturn conjunct the IC within a quarter of a degree, and true south node conjunct the natal Sun within one degree, in addition to Mars opposite progressed Moon as already mentioned.
I hesitate to mention the new asteroids, since we have had a major break-through on the computer since our last issue. Mark is now churning them out regularly, and I’m not sure whether our readers are prepared to think about our possession of over 200 of the little friends. I will just cautiously mention a few gems, like progressed Fanatica square natal Siva. The rebels in the Golden Temple could rightly be considered fanatics, and Siva is one of the major trinity in the Hindu religion. The tragedy of the Sikhs is that many or most of them are reasonable people, but a small group was allowed to rule by terror, and now they are martyrs, while the Hindu mobs created hundreds more martyrs in the violent week following Indira’s death. Eventually, the Sikhs are likely to retaliate in some form, and the charts of India, and of Rajeev to be considered below could point to the first half of 1985 as a possible time for renewed violence and civil war.
One of the newest of the new asteroids was calculated after my return from Asia because it is due to occult 4 stars on December 22 to 25, 1984. Mark pointed out the notice of the occultations in the Sky and Telescope magazine. Our Virgo 1984 issue included articles by Rita Bremer who first alerted me to the fascinating “coincidences” occurring when asteroids temporarily passed in front of stars. When I noted that Winchester was going to have 4 occultations in three days in December, and that they would be visible from one end to the other of the Americas, I put in a rush request to Mark to produce an ephemeris for Winchester. According to Sky and Telescope, one of the occultations will be visible from Canada, one from the east coast of the U.S., one from northern South America and one from southern South America.
Winchester is a city in England with a cathedral which is the subject of a pop song. It is also the name of a hard disk for computers first manufactured by IBM and named after the famous Winchester rifle. So will we have religion and/or music, computers, or gunfire for Christmas or shortly thereafter? Most of the occultations noted by Rita have coincided with events with related symbolism within a few weeks after the event in the sky.
Of course I put Winchester in the charts of Indira, Rajeev, the shooting chart, and the two charts for the country of India. (After the asteroid started looking exciting, I naturally looked at other charts involving guns.) Indira has natal Mars and Winchester in a three degree orb conjunction in her first house. It turned retrograde some years ago, and by progression was within 24 minutes of arc of her natal Mars when she was shot. Rajeev also has Mars and Winchester in a natal conjunction in Virgo, within less than a one degree orb, in his twelfth house. His progressed Winchester was 13 minutes from his progressed Sun in Libra in the first house when his mother was shot.
In the shooting chart, Winchester was conjunct the eighth house cusp, quincunx the Ascendant, octile and trioctile the nodes of the Moon. The 1947 chart for Indian independence has Winchester in Aquarius, three and a half degrees from the MC in the tenth house, opposite the midpoint of Venus-Sun, in a one degree opposition to Indira’s Ascendant in New Delhi and 4 minutes of arc from a square to her natal MC. Progressed Saturn holds an opposition to Winchester for years, and at the time that Indira was shot, progressed Part of Death was conjunct progressed Saturn, opposite Winchester in the Indian chart.
In the other Indian chart, drawn for the next stage of their independence, Winchester is within three degrees of the Ascendant and the progressed position has retrograded back to conjunct the natal one which squares Indira’s natal Moon.
Since this article is not really about Winchester, I will just mention one more case from my files. A young man who committed suicide by shooting himself had Winchester conjunct Pluto in his twelfth house. Pluto ruled the fourth house cusp and maintained a lifetime progressed conjunction to Winchester. At the time of the suicide, progressed Winchester had reached a one degree conjunction with the natal Ascendant.
[Note: this chart was run for a different time based on later data.]
Though we have not begun to do justice to Indira’s horoscope, we can take a look at her son’s chart. His chart certainly bears out the description of his nature as sensitive and somewhat introspective, with Neptune almost on the natal Ascendant (progressed Neptune exactly conjunct the New Delhi Ascendant) and a Virgo stellium in the twelfth house. Yet he also has the power potential with a tenth house Saturn and Sun in Leo in the eleventh house.
Often, we develop our ninth and eleventh houses somewhat later in life, and I consider the Sun our growth potential, a drive which will manifest increasingly with age, so Rajeev is moving into his Leo. His younger brother was killed in an airplane crash in June 1980 when Rajeev’s progressed Sun had crossed the Ascendant into the first house and was conjunct Neptune. Sanjay had reveled in the political role encouraged by Indira who clearly hoped to have a son replace her as Prime Minister of India. Rajeev was absorbed with his family and happy being a pilot. It is one of the ironic twists of life that the pilot flew continuously and safely, while the politician crashed. Remember that Indira had Icarus in her fifth house for procreation, and Sanjay was noted for his tendency to overreach.
After Sanjay’s death, Rajeev reluctantly entered politics for his mother’s sake. I am reminded of the Kennedy family. John Kennedy replaced his older brother who had been killed in World War II, only to be assassinated. Unfortunately, Rajeev runs the same risk and we can hope that he is better guarded than his mother. Indira had insisted that her Sikh guards be retained when others wanted to replace them after the conflict in the Golden Temple. The Sikhs have a fighting tradition, and hold many posts in the military and police ranks in India.
The danger to Rajeev shows in many ways in his chart, including connections with Indira’s chart (who got him into politics) involving their Parts of Death and angles. Indira’s New Delhi Part of Death at 1 Libra is just minutes from Rajeev’s Ascendant and East Point, and his progressed Sun was just past it on her progressed Mars, when he became involved in the political activity. His progressed Sun will begin a two-year conjunction with Indira’s natal Part of Death in November 1985, while progressed Winchester reaches the point even sooner, and both Winchester and Sun will start a long square to Saturn in a few weeks.
Other aspects include Indira’s natal Ascendant square Rajeev’s natal Part of Death in his eighth house, while her fourth house natal Sun opposed his New Delhi Part of Death and her progressed Venus squared it at the time she was assassinated and he replaced her as Prime Minister. Rajeev’s progressed natal and local Parts of Death were trioctile natal and progressed Saturn in his own chart, and quincunx his natal Mars. His tenth house Saturn in Cancer is a key to his powerful mother who replaced his deceased father. The progressed Arabic Parts were just separating from Rajeev’s progressed Moon which was applying to an opposition to natal Sun and was still in orb to the trioctile to progressed Saturn as well as quincunx the natal mean north node of the Moon.
Other aspects in Rajeev’s chart included progressed MC conjunct progressed Pluto which could be read both as the death of his parent and as his own changing status in the world, including his increased power. Progressed Vesta conjunct Jupiter might be considered an advancement in his career, but might also be one of the keys to danger since I find Jupiter involved when people leave the body to move into the next level of life. Rajeev’s progressed Ascendants (natal and local) were square Pluto, with the birthplace angle continuing to hold the aspect for another year. They are also moving into a quincunx to Uranus which rules a small corner of his fourth house.
As our readers know, I am convinced that character creates destiny, and that the horoscope is a mirror showing us the character potentials we have created in past lives. With the insight provided by the horoscope, we can modify our character (habitual attitudes and actions) and change our destiny (results in the life). The patterns in the chart point to psychological issues. Our expression of the psychological drives determines the details in the life. But it is harder to change our actions when we are caught up in the destiny of the world, as leaders of nations. It is not easy to know when to stop; when to say “no.”
Our little friend “Icarus” seems to be one of the keys to a danger of overreach. Unfortunately, we are still not sure of its position for part of its orbit when it is very close to the Sun and moving very quickly. My son, Mark, is still checking, trying to confirm its orbit and get more frequent positions for it, but I am still mostly just calculating it to the nearest degree and hoping that it is accurate. Rajeev’s natal Icarus is retrograde, in early Aquarius on the cusp of his fifth house. Indira’s progressed Sun was conjunct his Icarus when he was persuaded to enter politics. Was that an overreach for him with an expensive payment to come? His current progressed Icarus is about 25 Scorpio, still retrograding, square his progressed Moon when his mother was killed, and presumably just past the square to natal Sun and opposition to his New Delhi Part of Death. Before leaving Icarus, we might note that when Indira was shot, Icarus was within one degree of Jupiter in the first house of the event chart. We find the overreach danger most often when Icarus is conjunct a fire planet and/or in a fire house or sign. It is also appropriate that Jupiter is a key to religious beliefs (strongly involved in the conflict with the Sikhs) and that the sign was Capricorn, symbolizing the executive power of the government and the executive people who carry out the power of the LAW.
In March 1985, Saturn makes a station opposite Rajeev’s New Delhi Part of Death, more widely square Rajeev’s natal Sun, and widely conjunct Indira’s natal Sun. I wonder whether Indira will be watching from whatever level of life she is now occupying?
The Saturn station is also conjunct Reagan’s Ascendant (using the chart I think is accurate), opposite Nancy Reagan’s Venus, opposite Bush’s MC and Mercury and square his Washington Ascendant, opposite the NY Stock Market Sun and MC, and conjunct the Ascendant in the chart for the U.S. Constitution. We have just had an eclipse at 0 Sagittarius, widely conjunct the 28 fixed featured in so many charts, and the May 1985 eclipse will be at 28 Taurus, opposite the same points. The U.S. Federal Reserve horoscope shows tension and anxiety from December 1984 for several months, but the rest of my charts start looking increasingly pressured from February 1985 on. A lot of spots in the world may be “hot spots” next spring. The cardinal ingress charts from December 1984 through 1985 include some fascinating patterns involving Libya. I am not sure what to make of them, but will be watching the papers and would not advise travel in Libya next year. Of course, there could be Libyan terrorism in the Americas.
Astrologers in India use both of the charts offered here which mark successive stages of India’s independence. The first chart, drawn for August 15, 1947, presented the most striking picture of Indira’s death, and the strongest statement of danger of more violence in 1985, from February on. Note that the eclipse on November 23, 1984 (in India) fell on the Descendant of the Indian chart; Saturn’s station in March 1985 will be on the south node of the Moon; the May eclipse will again hit the nodes which are close to the Ascendant-Descendant symbolizing our ability to integrate our own will with that of others. We can have cooperation, competition, or conflict with the seventh house. The nodes, like the Moon, indicate a search for emotional security which is usually sought through relationships with other people. With the two “lesson” factors together, south node and Saturn at its station, growth should occur, either voluntarily or under pressure. Progressed Sun in the chart will have reached a quincunx to natal Antivertex by early February, setting up a yod with the node, a need to improve techniques or to move in a new direction. Since the progressed south node maintains a quincunx to natal and progressed Uranus, the potential for change in work or effective functioning in the society is a continuous issue.
As already mentioned, progressed Saturn and Part of Death were opposite Winchester when Indira was killed. They were also square natal Jupiter and the progressed Vertex axis, forming a fixed grand cross for the potential of power struggles with faith an issue since Jupiter is included. Note that the progressed Moon in this chart of India was at 13 Sagittarius, conjunct the Uranus-Venus-Ascendant combination in the chart of the shooting. The progressed eighth house cusp was opposite the natal Moon, with the progressed Moon still in orb of an octile to the cusp, producing an octile between progressed Ascendant and Part of Death. As the progressed Moon moves closer to the progressed eighth cusp, the progressed Part of Death will approach the progressed Ascendant, and will conjunct the natal IC, Pluto, and Saturn. Progressed Sun is also moving into an octile to natal Pluto in late November 1984, suggesting further trouble ahead. Progressed Mercury is moving into a trioctile to natal Ascendant within three months after Indira’s death. If this chart is valid for India as an independent nation, the first half of 1985 is likely to bring major challenges, with a danger of civil war.
Note that Indira’s death was one event in an ongoing period of tension. Past aspects symbolizing the upheaval have included progressed Sun square Uranus, progressed Venus square Mars, and progressed Mercury octile-trioctile the nodes of the Moon. India lost her chief executive with the progressed MC quincunx natal Sun in the fourth house. Indira’s natal Ascendant was conjunct the country’s natal Sun within one degree, while her Saturn and East Point were conjunct India’s Pluto-Saturn. The country’s progressed south node of the Moon remained conjunct Indira’s natal Sun throughout her period of leadership. Her natal Sun was also conjunct the asteroid, “Asia.” Her solar arc directed Mercury was conjunct the country’s MC when she was removed from her position of power. Her New Delhi Part of Death was conjunct India’s natal Mars, and she died as a consequence of the struggle over power in the land.
The horoscope when India became part of the British Commonwealth seems less impressive as a key to the death of their chief executive who was truly like a mother to the country. There are some conflict aspects, but they are far less obvious than in the 1947 chart. Neither progressed Venus on the natal Sun nor progressed Jupiter and Mercury conjunct would normally be read as such an event, though the fourth house can mark the end of something, including death. Progressed Moon in the tenth house octile Saturn, and progressed MC octile Neptune are highly appropriate aspects, but hardly enough to guess at such a crisis in the country. Progressed Part of Death is square natal Mercury, and progressed Pallas is conjunct the natal Part of Death, but these aspects are not particularly remarkable. Progressed Ascendant is octile-trioctile the mean nodes of the Moon, progressed Mars remains on the south node for many years, and progressed Vesta and Sun are octile-trioctile the Ascendant- Descendant. Progressed Ceres (in place of the Moon in the other chart for the country) still fits an upset to the “mother-figure,” with its conjunction of transiting Uranus-Ascendant-Venus in the chart for the shooting. But the chart is less obvious than the one for 1947, and less indicative of more trouble ahead though many of these aspects continue through 1985.
Progressed Moon will oppose the natal Sun around January-February 1985, but then it is sextile-trine the nodes, trine progressed East point, and sextile Mars. If India handles the Sikh-Hindu challenge in the first half of 1985, with minimal violence and death, I will favor the 1950 chart. If there is a serious outbreak of violence, I will pay more attention to the 1947 chart. Only time will tell. Charts of countries must be watched over a period of time, to see whether they are accurate enough to be useful.
It is true, when we add some of the new asteroids, we get a stronger picture in the 1950 chart. Natal “Fanatica” is conjunct natal Mercury, so square the Progressed Part of Death which is moving back to conjunct Neptune through much of this winter. Progressed Fanatica was one minute of arc from the natal Sun when Indira was shot, and of course, the Sun rules part of the tenth house of the executive. Natal Siva is within two degrees of the natal Part of Death in Scorpio in the first house. Progressed Siva at 22 Scorpio has kept the Part of Death on the midpoint between the natal and progressed positions of the asteroid. Progressed Nemesis (one of our twelve new asteroids which theoretically mean “fate”), was on the IC and on natal Epimetheus. In mythology, Prometheus looked ahead, and Epimetheus looked back to see what hit him, after the event had already happened. We try to look forward in astrology, but it is very important to test our theories by also looking back. The two asteroids which I think are similar to Saturn, so keys to authority figures, also had appropriate aspects. Progressed Part of Death was conjunct natal Hidalgo, while progressed Siva was conjunct natal Dembowska. Progressed Dembowska was quincunx natal Urania which is conjunct natal Moon, bringing the Moon into the pattern of possible separation involving a father or mother figure. Natal Dudu, with its similarity to Pluto, was also conjunct progressed Saturn, octile progressed Moon.
I had fully intended to resist bringing in the “new” new asteroids until I have more time to work with them. But overreach is as hard to resist intellectually as it is when people are dealing with power in the world. There is always so much more that might be said, but you can try your own favorite systems on the charts.
Two days after I had written the preceding material, the newspaper reported the gas leak in India which injured and killed hundreds of people. I’m afraid we will be hearing of more trouble in the months ahead. Capricorn’s principles, the Puritan virtues of responsibility, thoroughness, realism, are needed in the world along with the positive potential of Scorpio, the willingness to help each other.