Asteroid-World Fall 1989

Zip Dobyns

A World in Tumult

The Virgo 1989 issue of The Mutable Dilemma would have been reaching you at this time, but our Minolta photocopier has bombed again. It was having problems when I got home in late August, after being almost unused for two months. After two adjustments, I managed to get about 350 copies of Kosmos copied and then the main toner arm quit as it had last January when we waited for weeks for a replacement. This time, we are informed that Minolta is trying to “re-engineer” the machine, and there is no telling when it will be fixed. We have a loaner copier at the moment, but it will only do an automatic feed and collate on one side of a sheet of paper. To do the second side, you have to feed it one sheet at a time and then hand-collate! I did the last 150 copies of Kosmos that way, and am not able to face doing some 50,000 sheets of paper for The Mutable Dilemma. So, even though The Mutable Dilemma has been written and ready to be copied for weeks, you are getting a one-sided Asteroid-World now and will get The Mutable Dilemma and the rest of the fall 1989 Asteroid-World when Minolta gets its act together.

Our long anticipated fall of 1989 has arrived, bringing action in both expected and unexpected areas of the globe. The Libra Ingress in Beirut and Jerusalem was discussed in an earlier Asteroid-World. We anticipated major tensions there, with asteroids America, Fanatica, Edward, Mr. Spock, Arabia, and Attila in a swinging conjunction with the Ascendants. The MCs are within a quarter of a degree of each other, and the Ascendants within one degree in these two besieged cities. Several of these asteroids have obvious meanings if they mean what they were named. Edward is the first name of Russia’s Foreign Minister. Commentators are now saying that our only hope for the hostages in Lebanon is pressure from Russia on Syria and Iran. Mr. Spock was named for a cat who was named for the TV/movie character who suggests a rather cold-blooded intellect without much empathy. Attila the Hun was a ruthless conqueror who was responsible for the deaths of many people.

The U.S.A. evacuated its diplomats from Beirut on September 6, 1989, after reported threats from the Christian General who is fighting the Syrians. I do not have an exact time for the departure, but it was reported to be near dawn. In a chart set for sunrise, the Mercury square to Neptune and the Jupiter opposition to Saturn fit the security issue, with faith-fear-realism in a confrontation. It was probably intelligent of Bush to pull the diplomats out. We don’t need more hostages in the near east. There is a real danger of a blood bath in the near east this fall. The Arab League is attempting mediation. On September 30, 1989, under the sponsorship of the Arab League mediators, both Christian and Moslem members of Lebanon’s Parliament began meeting in Taif, the Saudi Arabia summer resort. But currently, the generals hold the power.

Lebanon’s independence chart is pretty scary, with the Progressed (P) Moon moving to conjunct a stellium of P Mars, P Vesta, P Uranus which are opposite P Venus and natal Mercury with P Venus still in orb of a square to natal East Point. The central religious/ethical issues are suggested by the Moon-Mars-Vesta-Uranus group in the ninth house; Mercury-Venus in Sagittarius; and the East Point in the twelfth house. I am using a chart set for 0 A.M. on November 22, 1943 in Beirut for Lebanon’s independence. If the time is accurate, the houses are almost identical with our Declaration of Independence, and they also have Uranus exactly on the MC, in the same degree as our Declaration progressed Uranus. Our P Moon opposes our (and their) Uranus-MC this fall while their P Moon is forming the mutable T-square described above, and Bush has his P Moon conjunct his Uranus, square natal Sun and opposite P Mercury.

Calculating Lebanon’s chart for Washington, DC puts their south lunar node (a lesson) on the MC, and their P Moon was crossing the Washington Ascendant when we withdrew our diplomats. Many of the Christians were dismayed when we left since they still hoped, against all reason, that the U.S. would help resolve the crisis between the Christians and the Moslems. Lebanon’s P lunar nodes are exactly conjunct our natal ones in the Declaration chart, so we obviously have something to learn from each other. Though religion is a basic source of the struggle in Lebanon, the desire for power is also a primary root of the tension. The territory of Lebanon once belonged to Syria, and they would like it back. A partition of the country between the Christians and the Moslems may be the only way to stop the bloodshed.

In Colombia, which is now being called “Lebanon West,” money and power are the primary source of the struggle but there is a central Neptunian component since the money comes from the sale of drugs. I’m sure that our readers do not need a description of the horror story: nearly 2400 murders in Medellin in the first six months of this year, and the violence has escalated since August 18 when the man running for President was assassinated. Much of the refined cocaine which is flooding the U.S. comes from Colombia where it is processed, though a lot is grown in Peru and Bolivia. The Medellin Cartel typically uses violence to get their way. The Cali Cartel is less well-known and prefers to use bribery though they can also use violence. At this point, there is a real possibility that the Cocaine Lords might defeat the elected government of Colombia. They have amassed incredible wealth so can buy mercenaries and weapons. The public officials of the government, including the judges, are living in terror and many have resigned their posts. Plus, the citizens are also afraid for their own lives since the cartel has been bombing hotels, newspapers, restaurants, and other public buildings. People are staying home and businesses are suffering. There have been nearly 130 bombs set off in various cities of Colombia in the six weeks following the official declaration of war against the drug cartels on August 18. The U.S. is now sending money and weapons and men to train the Colombian army, to try to slow the avalanche of drugs which has inundated our inner cities and is now spreading to small towns, and also to try to help the democratic government maintain its rule. The largest cache of cocaine ever found by the government was just discovered in a Simi Valley warehouse in the San Fernando Valley north of Los Angeles. The government also found over 10 million dollars in cash, giving us an inkling of the wealth involved in the drug trade. The cocaine was apparently brought in to the U.S. through Mexico in trucks with secret compartments. Astrologically, the current situation fits only too well the executive bureaucracies (Saturn) facing drugs (Neptune) and revolution (Uranus) while these three major planets move through Capricorn and while Pluto in Scorpio adds the issues of appetite indulgence versus mastery, major sums of money, and power struggles.

I had previously pointed out that Bush could be a “war” president with his tenth house Sun on our Declaration tenth house Mars, and they are certainly activated this fall. So now it is official: we are in a “war against drugs,” except, as Cuomo pointed out, the government doesn’t have enough money to pay the troops. Since Medellin and Bogotá, capital of Colombia, are almost due south of Washington, DC, ingress charts will have almost the same MCs in all three cities. Of course, the Ascendants will vary. The equator runs across Colombia, so charts in that country will have almost equal houses. The Cancer Ingress for 1989 had O’Higgins on the Ascendant in Washington, DC; a leader in one of 18th century revolutions against Spain as Latin America struggled for freedom. Urania is on the MC within one degree in both Washington and Medellin, fitting unexpected developments for the bureaucratic systems, and supporting revolution. Certainly, Colombia is in a state of Civil War. The asteroid Columbia trines the Moon but squares the midpoint of Sun-Jupiter. Many of the people support the Cartel since they have profited from the money coming into the country, but increasing numbers are very disturbed by the escalating violence. According to the September 25, 1989 Los Angeles Times, the murder rate in Medellin, home of the most vicious drug cartel, is now nine times that of New York city. The square to Sun-Jupiter suggests the potential for power struggles involving ego (Sun) and dubious judgment (which is based on one’s belief system—Jupiter).

The Aries 1989 Ingress (which some astrologers read as a key to the whole year) had Jupiter square the MC (in Washington and in Colombia) with the south lunar node exactly on the IC (homeland) in Medellin. The Sun at 0 Aries was exactly square Vesta and the asteroid Washingtonia. In the approaching Libra Ingress, Pluto and Venus are conjunct in Scorpio (suggesting excesses, whether with money, appetites, power, etc.) and opposite the Ascendant in Medellin within two to three degrees. Mars-Sun-Mercury with Juno more widely involved square Uranus-Vesta-Saturn-Neptune (the last two with a wider orb) and they square Ceres on the other side with Jupiter-Moon-Chiron wider. The latter three are more closely opposite Saturn-Neptune and square Pallas, so the chart has a powerful cardinal grand cross with the lunar nodes octile-trioctile the cardinals.

I haven’t worked enough with the suggested charts for the country of Colombia to feel confident of any of them. One possible chart is for December 17, 1819 when a Congress in Angostura, Venezuela agreed to split off Colombia, Peru, and Ecuador from Venezuela. If a chart is calculated for Bogotá for noon that day, the Sun is conjunct Uranus in Sagittarius on the MC in exact square to Saturn, Chiron and Pluto in Pisces on the Ascendant. Vesta is just past Pluto and Neptune is just past the Sun. The Moon, Mercury and Venus are in early Capricorn square the nodes of the Moon in Aries-Libra with Mercury also quincunx Mars in Leo. A more challenging chart would be hard to imagine. It also has Jupiter in Aquarius in a T-square to Ceres in Leo and Juno in Scorpio. Transiting Pluto continues to activate the pattern for many months.

Where Lebanon is probably headed for partition, Colombia is probably evolving into more of a Fascist Oligarchy; a fairly common pattern in Latin America. The drug cartels mostly murder the leftist guerrillas and the liberal political leaders. In the article already cited, the Los Angeles Times quotes a spokesman for the Patriotic Union, a liberal political party as saying that 860 party members have been killed in the last four years, including two senators, two congressmen and 30 local regional council members. The drug Mafia usually does not attack the leftist guerrilla armies directly but attacks unarmed civilians in a terror campaign. In the end, the drug lords are likely to be incorporated into the ruling elite as the Mafia leaders in this country have bought educations, businesses, and leadership positions for their children. There may be a democratic facade, but money (whether from inherited land or from drugs) will rule. In some areas of Colombia, this solution has already happened with the rich land owners cooperating with the drug cartel against the poor peasants, but the civil war seems likely to continue for months or years in much of the country.

The U.S. charts for the Declaration of Independence and for the Constitution show our potential involvement in the country. The asteroid Columbia can refer to both the country in South America and the District in which our federal government is located. P Columbia is conjunct the IC for some years in the Declaration chart, which of course puts it opposite the MC and Uranus. P Moon is conjunct it this fall. Natal Columbia is within three degrees of the natal Ascendant (assuming my rectified time is accurate) with P Sun quincunx it through 1989-90. Columbia is less impressive in the Constitution chart, though it is just outside the one-degree orb of a conjunction to the West Point and is currently aspected by a semisextile from P Ascendant and a long-term trine from Pluto. The trine from Pluto is interesting, since natives of Colombia are not the only ones who have become wealthy through pandering to our appetite indulgence. The government is starting to take a look at some banks which have profited from drug money, but in general, the elite protect their own. The Constitution P MC was quincunx P Columbia from mid-1986 to mid-1988. P MC in Washington will be quincunx P Columbia through 1990-01. 1993 promises to be an interesting year with P Columbia starting an opposition to Mars in late June and P Saturn starting a square to natal Columbia in the fall. Also in the fall, P Mercury reaches P Neptune. The next President (Bush or whoever) will also declare war on drugs. I hope the war is not on our basic freedoms, using drugs as an excuse to limit them. We have been moving toward reduced freedoms in recent years though this was only partially connected to the fact that all of the Presidents for the last 20+ years have declared war on drugs, and 1993 might see an escalation of the trend from restrictions on abortion to gun control.

Much of the summer 1989 Asteroid-World was devoted to China, but in the intervening three months, I have acquired additional data. One exciting bit of data is a possible birth time for Deng Xiaoping. Unfortunately, the data must be classified as “dirty” in Lois Rodden’s system. Mark Lerner published it, having gotten it from Marc Penfield who got it from someone who claims he got it from Deng himself. It was acquired before the Tiananmen Square massacre, and gives a birth on August 22, 1904, at 8:30 P.M. UT in Nanchong, China. The form of the data, (given in UT which is clock time in Greenwich), makes me uneasy, especially since Deng’s province of Sichuan was on LMT when he was born. Did some astrologer convert LMT to standard time? Also, according to Gloria Allen in The Mercury Hour, the International Who’s Who gives Deng’s birth date as August 24 in Guang’an. (I checked with our local library and confirmed Gloria’s information). If the UT time is accurate, Deng’s actual birth date would be August 23 in China, one day earlier than the data in Who’s Who. Nanchong is a larger city than Guang’an, in the same province, and Deng might have given it to an inquiring astrologer as a nearby and more well-known city, but he should at least know his own birth date. (??)

At this point, we have to consider the chart speculative. I have calculated two charts: one for the data as given by Penfield, and one for the date and place in Who’s Who but using 4:30 A.M. LMT. If the original astrologer just subtracted 8 hours which is the current adjustment between Sichuan province in China and UT from 4:30 A.M., it would produce the time of 8:30 P.M. on the preceding evening. Most births as early as 1904 have rounded off birth times, so it seems highly unlikely that Deng would have given an inquiring astrologer a time in hours, minutes and seconds which would have been needed to have an adjustment from LMT produce a UT of 8:30.

Though my initial reaction was considerable skepticism, when I put the asteroids in the Penfield chart, I was astonished. Since so few people have our whole set of asteroids, we can assume that they were not used to rectify the chart, but they are amazingly appropriate. Among the “hits”, and staying with the usual one-degree-orb, China is on the IC, America is on the Descendant, Washingtonia is on the IC in Beijing, Saturn is on the Descendant in Beijing, and P Hebei reached the Ascendant this year and will stay on it and on natal Mars for some years. Hebei is the Province from which the soldiers came who carried out the massacre. It loops around the small province of Beijing Shi, surrounding it on three sides. To refresh your memory, the 1949 chart for the government of Communist China has Hebei on Mars. Other progressions for June 3, 1989 (it was still June 3 in UT when the massacre occurred) include P China conjunct P Sun and P Mercury, P Antivertex, P Washingtonia, and P Fama in an overlapping conjunction, all within two degrees. Another conjunction, all overlapping within one degree and nine minutes, includes P Urania, P Herbert, P Utopia, P Anubis, and P Winchester. P Peking is trioctile the Ascendant and moving into a trioctile to natal Mars. P Fanatica is opposite Pluto and P Local Part of Death is on P Medea and the Uranus/Saturn midpoint with all of them square P Jupiter and in a quincunx to Pluto.

The preceding factors are only a small fraction of the relevant asteroids in the chart. It certainly fits my experience that really important and powerful people who influence the world tend to have a lot of meaningful asteroid aspects. Most of the mentioned asteroids probably do not need explanations, but a few might be worth some amplification. Seraphita found some especially interesting material on Fama which has not yet been included in Asteroid-World. In mythology, Fama is not just “fame” as I had presumed. The goddess is associated with false rumors and what the modern world calls “disinformation.” In light of the Chinese propaganda since the massacre, what could be more appropriate than a conjunction between Mercury (media and communication in general), the Antivertex (personal action), and Washington (our capital and a major target of the propaganda since the Chinese want us to continue our business relations) in Sagittarius (contact with other countries, ethics based on faith, etc.)? Herbert (George Herbert Walker Bush) was upset (Urania) and disillusioned in his Utopian visions for China by the deaths (Anubis) by guns (Winchester for the famous rifles). The midpoint of Uranus/Saturn marks a potential confrontation between bureaucratic power (Saturn) and democratic freedom (Uranus) joined to the progressed Part of Death in Peking and to Medea (who killed her children) and opposing Pluto (lord of the underworld of death).

The Deng horoscope for the Who’s Who date and place and a guess at the time which Deng might have given to the astrologer also has strongly appropriate aspects. Saturn is exactly on the Descendant. Mars is just over a degree from the East Point and the Moon is opposite it on the West Point. Vesta is more widely on the Ascendant in the twelfth house and opposite Juno within two degrees. The four factors in Leo and three in Aquarius form a fixed cross with a Taurus MC and Pallas completes a wide grand fixed cross. The Antivertex is just over a degree past Pluto and widely opposite Uranus, all in fixed houses, to further support a power-struggle life. They also fit the horrifying treatment of Deng’s son who was tortured and crippled during the period of civil strife when Deng was considered too moderate and the Red Guards were trying to force his son to testify against his father. The close Vesta-Juno-MC T-square is octile-trioctile Uranus in the fifth house of children, and the Aquarius Moon is closely trioctile Pluto. Deng’s natal Sun in zero Virgo is exactly trine Jupiter in zero Taurus as a key to the faith which has helped to protect him through the years of turmoil in Chinese politics, and additional factors in Virgo fit Deng’s practical intelligence. Do you suppose the astrologer who got Deng’s birth data pushed the date back one day to keep the Sun in Leo, thinking that was more appropriate for a world leader? I have seen astrologers change recorded data to fit their preconceptions so I would consider that possible.

Many of the asteroids mentioned in the Penfield chart are still in orb in this alternate one, especially the progressed aspects. This chart also puts the local (Beijing) East Point exactly on the natal Ascendant and Apollo (for fame and power) in opposition to Saturn, and it puts the local Antivertex on Hebei. It loses the conjunctions of China, America, and Washingtonia on angles, but they still have close aspects to planets and other asteroids. The chart also has appropriate aspects for the major events in China which would have affected Deng, including his P Sun crossing the IC when Mao died, opening the way to Deng’s increased power. For the moment, we can consider both charts speculative and watch the unfolding events in China.

After the massacre, I went back to the Aries Ingress for 1989 and calculated it for Peking (Beijing). The Beijing location intensifies the fire emphasis in the chart, putting 0 Sagittarius on the Ascendant with the Sun exactly trine and Jupiter exactly opposite (both within one degree). Mars is more widely conjunct Jupiter, sextile Sun and opposite the Ascendant. Fire can warn of overconfidence, including rash judgments and actions. “I know what I want and I have a right to it.” Mercury rules both the seventh house (partners or open enemies) and the MC and is in Pisces exactly on the IC with Pallas also conjunct the IC within one degree. The picture fits the idealistic students caught up in their social cause (Pallas) opposing the Establishment (MC) and meeting death. Both the fourth and the eighth houses are keys to closing chapters and ending things.

Asteroid Peking is on Saturn (power figures and reality lessons) with Neptune close on one side and the Antivertex (personal action) on the other side; both within two degrees of Peking. Winchester squares Mars. Ceres (associated with workers) opposes the Ascendant/MC midpoint and China opposes Hebei (province of the soldiers) with the four forming an exact grand cross in cardinal signs and fixed houses; hallmark of power struggles. Medea and Hybris (hubris) are on the West Point, opposite the East Point. America, Fanatica, and Karl Marx are conjunct within one degree as we try to decide what action to take in dealing with fanatical Marxists. There are many appropriate angle midpoints, including Ascendant/Mars (a double statement of personal action) on the south lunar node (lesson), and EP/MC sextile EP/Antivertex with both quincunx Jupiter forming a yod. All of these midpoint aspects are exact within one degree.

I have recently become re-involved with UFOs and have the horoscope for a former CIA officer who claims frequent contacts with extra-terrestrials. An article on financial prospects for the world is partially written and I had expected to include it in this issue of Asteroid-World, but it will have to wait for Minolta. The Church spent all its savings on the photocopier and can’t afford to go back to commercial printing. Hopefully, the second installment of the fall 1989 Asteroid-World will include the foregoing along with Seraphita’s contribution on asteroid names and (if there is room) the material which I have been gathering on the history of Russia and its possible charts. The country may be on the edge of civil war, teetering between fragmentation into many ethnic and political groups and a crackdown by the army. The balance of this century looks like continued turmoil on many fronts.

Copyright © 1989 Los Angeles Community Church of Religious Science, Inc.

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