Asteroid-World Spring 1989
Zip Dobyns
Asteroid-World is going out with The Mutable Dilemma since the latter is late again. The photo-copier is finally working, but it delayed both Kosmos and The Mutable Dilemma so there was no time to finish the Pisces 1989 issue of The Mutable Dilemma before I left for the Council Grove conference. I hope it is worth the wait.
I always have too much material for the Asteroid-World, and am forced to choose from many interesting charts and stories. Last week, to my immense delight, Julie was able to get the birth data for Colonel Bo Gritz (pronounced with a long ‘I’). Several of us went to hear him speak in a local church, and after the lecture he was gracious enough to give us his birth time. He was born on January 18, 1939 in Enid, OK at 10:10 A.M., CST. He spoke very movingly of his devoted service to the United States, and his disillusionment when he found that the CIA and executive branch of the government had been bringing drugs into our country for many years to fund their secret operations.
Gritz went into the U.S. military at age 18 and was trained to be a commando, worked for the CIA, had a sixth level black belt in Judo and spent his whole life doing what his superiors told him to do. He is a devoted Mormon, a lifelong Republican, and a firm Conservative who voted twice for Ronald Reagan. His disillusionment began when he found evidence that there were still American soldiers held in prison camps in Vietnam and our government refused to take any action. Gritz actually located some of these camps and came close to rescuing the Americans but both times, he was thwarted by attacks and barely escaped. He later realized that the government had warned the Viet Cong so they were waiting for him. He only realized what was happening when he was able to penetrate deep into Burma and talk to the head of the drug cartel which controls most of the heroin entering the U.S. from Asia. Kum Sa (I’m not sure of the spelling) told Gritz that CIA members and other U.S. government officials were his best customers. Gritz made a video tape of Kum Sa and his henchmen testifying to their sales to U.S. officials, giving the names of many of the latter. Gritz is now selling the videos and I plan to buy one. They were sold out at the lecture. If any readers want to get it for themselves, write to Gritz at Box 472 HCR-31, Sandy Valley, NV 89019. The video is $20. A paperback book is $10, and a new hard-cover with more complete details is supposed to be out soon.
In his talk, Gritz confirmed the material we have been hearing from the Christic Institute and presented additional material based on his own investigations. He is convinced that the CIA killed John Kennedy because Kennedy planned to reduce their power. Gritz is also convinced that to assure Reagan’s victory in 1980, Reagan people sabotaged the attempt by Carter to rescue the U.S. hostages in Iran. Gritz described a secret meeting in the middle of the 1988 election campaign when Bush met with Iran officials on a British ship off Antigua on August 11-12, 1988. He said that weapons were being sent to Iran from 1981 on. Remember that Gritz spent his life in the military and in the CIA, and he remains a personal friend of many men who are still in the service and who are willing to keep him informed.
Gritz has evidence that Vietnam still holds about 30 U.S. POWs (prisoners of war), and he thinks that Laos holds about 300. Presumably, the POWs are being held in hopes that the U.S. will give something of value to get them back, but Gritz thinks that the POWs know too much about the U.S. secret activity and that the government wants to prevent their return. Gritz suggested that Bush may have sealed the death warrant for the POWs when he denied any interest in the subject and said that it was time that “we put Vietnam behind us.”
The government is obviously displeased that a formerly loyal military officer is speaking openly in this way. Gritz was charged with a minor transgression with a passport and threatened with jail after he refused to stop talking and destroy his video of Kum Sa. He defeated the charge yesterday, on April 20, 1989. He plans to return to Asia again, to make another effort to free the U.S. soldiers. I hope he survives. He thinks that if he can get some of the POWs back alive, their testimony will blow the lid off the government’s secret activity.
You can see the power theme in Gritz’ horoscope, with Uranus, nodes, Ceres, Pluto, Mars, and Vesta in fixed signs and all except Vesta in fixed houses. Mars in the eighth house is the “my power in your hands” issue, and for most of his life, Gritz has been fighting to maintain and demonstrate his country’s power and to keep himself alive in very dangerous activities. Saturn in the first house in Aries, and the Capricorn stellium add to the drive to be on top. But Gritz also is highly idealistic with the Pisces Ascendant-East Point-Antivertex conjunct Pallas (often a fighter for social causes), and with Venus in Sagittarius. Adding Neptune to Pallas and the mutable angles shows a major mutable dilemma which has taken the form of having his faith in his government challenged. He says that he is still a conservative; he just thinks there are some “bad apples” in the executive branch and they have to be weeded out. One of his pleas to the audience involved phoning the office of Sam Nunn to ask him to look into the background of Richard Armitage.
Armitage is a major figure in the drug running who knows too much so Bush has to find a government post which will be worthy of his experience and will protect him from being added to the Christic suit. The Christics will not include anyone in their suit who is currently working for the government, since they would then face the whole power of the establishment. But if Armitage goes back into private life, they can immediately add his name to the list since they have ample evidence of his complicity along with Secord, Hakim, Singlaub and the rest. Bush had tried a couple of other posts for Armitage, but backed off when committee heads let it be known they were going to investigate him. Nunn is the head of the committee which is currently checking out Armitage. Gritz urged his audience to call (212) 224-3521 and just ask Nunn to do a thorough investigation of Armitage. If people in the west call before 8 A.M., there is minimal cost. If any of our readers do it, be sure to compliment Nunn on his handling of the Tower nomination!
We have published the tentative chart for Oliver North in earlier issues of The Mutable Dilemma or Asteroid-World, but in case it is lost, the data is October 7, 1943, at 0:43 CWT in San Antonio, TX. The time is from Rene Goodale in Atlanta who says the source is confidential but believed to be reliable. During his trial, he has had P Moon square P Vesta, P Mars, and N (natal) Mars in the twelfth house. It looks as if he will be found guilty of at least some of the counts. Then his lawyers will appeal, and it should come back into the news (and possibly to a re-hearing) in the fall of 1989 when his P Moon is square P Saturn and P Antivertex and N Saturn. He may still get a minimal sentence in a minimum security prison, but there are so many other harmonious aspects, I don’t think he will stay in jail for long. He has P Venus on his Sun, P Jupiter trine his Washington, DC MC, P Ascendant conjunct Jupiter (though the aspect will end this summer if his time is correct), P Pluto sextile Uranus for years, P MC trine Moon, P Chiron sextile the Ascendant, etc.
I was fascinated to note that North’s P Mercury in Sagittarius (noted for letting it all hang out) is conjunct his P Georgia (named for George) and P Nemesis. In Greek mythology, Themis was the Law, and if you flouted it, Nemesis came and got you. In Ollie’s natal chart, Oliver was on the MC within 14 minutes of longitude, as well as opposite Neptune to the minute of longitude and Atlantis within 15 minutes (a quarter of a degree). Atlantis was one minute of longitude from the IC! How is that for a power struggle life, including the abuse of power? P Atlantis is trine his N Mars-Vesta conjunction and square his N Moon. P Oliver is octile-trioctile the natal nodes of the Moon but trine P Sun from the ninth house of law courts.
P Oliver in the chart of George Bush is square his Pluto in Cancer in the eleventh house. Ollie’s P Oliver has just left an opposition to Bush’s natal Oliver which is in Bush’s first house octile his Antivertex. Oppositions can operate as partners or as competitors or enemies. Bush and Ollie have switched from the first to the second. The documents brought into court by Ollie have clearly shown that Bush lied when he claimed to be “out of the loop” and unaware of what was going on. But I think more evidence will come out in the late summer or fall this year when Bush’s and the U.S. charts all show uproar. As I am sure that I have written before, our Constitution horoscope has P Moon quincunx N Saturn-Sun during this spring and it will be quincunx P Saturn in the fall. The P Moon is in the tenth (Saturn) house while P Saturn is in the fourth (Moon) house. Letter ten symbolizes the Executive, power, the LAW, consequences, while letter four symbolizes the public, emotional security needs, land and homes, etc. A quincunx often marks a period of change, which could involve the handling of executive power or the emotional reactions of the public or both.
In the chart for the Declaration of Independence (for 9:36 A.M. EST), the P Moon is octile P Mars and trioctile P Jupiter, P Chiron and P Ascendant this spring, showing public tension involving military power and faith. In the fall, P Moon will cross the N IC and oppose N and P Uranus, square N Ceres and the local (Washington, DC) Ascendant, and trioctile N Mercury. Mercury rules both the Gemini MC and the Virgo Ascendant, and combined with the opposition to Uranus, we could have a real public outcry; perhaps a march on Washington to surpass even the massive demonstration of the Pro-Choice people a few days ago. At least, there should finally be some real media coverage of the cover-ups which have been mostly ignored by the orthodox media. I don’t think anyone wants to impeach Bush and get Quayle for President, but we should have a media bonanza in the fall along with some serious questions about values and morality in light of the strong mutable emphasis in all these charts. Remember also that the chart for Bush’s inauguration had Mars on the East Point exactly square the tenth house Sun. P Moon will cross the IC in the fall of 1989, opposing Urania on the MC (similar to the Uranus on the MC of the Declaration chart), then oppose Icarus (who overreached and crashed), and then oppose Sun and square Mars-East Point. The latter aspects develop through the winter and into the early months of 1990, so whatever the fall brings, it will not disappear quickly.
I have been “playing” again with a speculative horoscope for Barbara Bush. We have her date of June 8, 1925 in Rye, NY, but no birth time. I had tried a Capricorn Ascendant chart to fit her reserve and deeply wrinkled skin, but that evening time did not give a proper aspect for the P Moon at the time of her recent surgery. Giving her a Scorpio Ascendant with Saturn in the first house would put the P Moon on N Vesta and square P Neptune for the destruction of her thyroid. Vesta is often associated with health concerns. The Virgo principle involves efficient functioning (or its opposite) in our jobs and/or in our bodies. Neptune is associated with hospitals and anesthesia. This afternoon time (3:32 P.M.) would also give reasonable P Moon aspects for the election last fall: a trine to P Venus and a sextile to P Ceres. P Moon would have trined N Moon when George got the nomination in the summer of 1988. I have very few event dates from Barbara’s life, so if any readers have any, I would like to get them. I do have her marriage date (January 6, 1945). I think the death from leukemia of her daughter Robin may have been in the fall of 1953, but I am not sure. Readers who like to play with rectification can try their skill on this time, but please consider it completely speculative until we can get more event dates in Barbara’s life.
We calculated the asteroid “Barbara” to be able to put it in both the Bush horoscopes. In Barbara’s natal chart, Barbara is in 13 Cancer on the Sun in our Declaration of Independence horoscope. Her P Pluto holds a lifetime conjunction to it which fits power issues with a mate. P Barbara is in 8 Leo square N Saturn and N Pallas, plus it would be on my new speculative MC. That would certainly be appropriate for her current position in the limelight, so it would fit the birth time that I am suggesting, but it does not prove anything. George Bush has his N Barbara at 0 Taurus which would be on the Washington, DC Descendant in Barbara’s speculative chart. George’s P Barbara is in 3 Gemini, on her N Mercury and at the midpoint of his MC/LMC if we have his correct birth time. Chart angles conjunct asteroids with the name of oneself or a spouse do offer some support for the birth time. Unless I specify otherwise, I only list one-degree-orb aspects. In Barbara’s chart, N Georgia (George) is conjunct her husband’s N Moon. Her P George is on his P Saturn. They have certainly parented together (had six kids and raised 5) and they are now playing a powerful parent role in the country. Barbara’s N and P Herbert are on her husband’s local Descendant. His N George is on Neptune in both their charts. His P George is on his N Ascendant and her P Mercury. His N Herbert is trine her Pluto and if my speculative time is close, it is at the midpoint of her East Point and local East Point in Washington, DC. Only his P Herbert fails to hit an angle, but at the election it was trine his N Venus, semisextile his N Moon, trine her P Ceres, sextile her P Venus, and opposite her tentative P Moon.
There are literally dozens of meaningful asteroid aspects in the two charts, but just reading lists of aspects gets boring in a hurry. I wish we had Jim Wright’s chart. He is certainly on the griddle. To shift gears to the April 21 killing of a U.S. Colonel in the Philippines, this is the kind of incident I anticipate during the year while America and Fanatica stay within a couple of degrees of each other. Mars had just finished going over them but America was at the midpoint of Fanatica and Mars when the Colonel was killed around 7 A.M. local time. The Moon was square both Herbert and George and the Sun was conjunct Atlantis. Washington has been on and will stay on Uranus for many days. Philippina was square the MC where it happened at our military base near Manila. Asia was on Pluto. The Part of Death was opposite Saturn with Neptune just a degree and a half away.
The tragic explosion in the gun turret of the battleship Iowa is harder to calculate since the coordinates are uncertain. It was said to have occurred 330 miles NE of Puerto Rico which we estimate to be about 22 N 18 and 62 W 17. The time was approximately 10 A.M. on April 19, and either EDT or AST (Puerto Rican time) would put UT 4 hours later. Though the data is tentative, a chart drawn for this time and place is highly appropriate. Uranus, Amun, and Washington are on the Descendant within one degree. Medea (who killed her children) is on the East Point. America is just one degree and one minute from Mars which squares the MC and Pallas within a degree. Pluto is on the Vertex and opposite Mercury within one degree.
In another recent episode of violence, the Attorney General of El Salvador was killed when a bomb was placed on top of his car while it was waiting at an intersection. It happened on April 19 at 7:45 A.M. CST in San Salvador. The recent election triumph of the right wing Party has led to increased activity of the right wing death squads who have been killing labor leaders and others suspected of being on the left. These deaths have only been reported in our alternative press. Our big business, mainline press only reports the murders of leaders on the right. In the chart for the death, the mean lunar nodes were square the Ascendant to the minute. One degree orb aspects included the Moon on the midpoint of Ascendant/MC and the Antivertex square the Sun/Moon midpoint. An interesting planetary node combination included the Sun conjunct the south node of Chiron, opposite its north node, and square the south node of Saturn. If Chiron is similar to Jupiter, it can be connected to law courts and moral judgments while Saturn symbolizes the laws and the officials who enforce the laws. Most of the countries of Central America are trapped in anguished struggles over justice and power.
One of the biggest news items in recent months has been the oil spill when the tanker Exxon Valdez landed on a reef in Alaska. I have seen conflicting reports of the time of the accident, but the New York Times says that it happened at 4 minutes after midnight on March 24. This time puts Uranus on the East Point within one degree, with just over a one-degree square to the MC. The ship was being steered by an unqualified first mate since the captain was drunk, so of course I looked up all the asteroids that might be associated with drinking. I would expect aspects to them as well as to Neptune, Jupiter and Chiron which are associated with faith. Problems with faith lie behind a variety of forms of escapism.
One of our newest asteroids is Dionysius, the Greek god of divine ecstasy whose rituals called for drunken revelry. Dionysius was opposite Fama (fame), quincunx Herbert which was conjunct George, and square the midpoint of Jupiter/Neptune. The latter was conjunct Mercury in Pisces in the third house within the one-degree orb which I allow. Bacchus was the Roman version of Dionysius. Rockefeller was a prime mover in creating the U.S. oil industry, at one point holding a near monopoly over much of its production, refining, and transportation. When the Exxon Valdez ran aground, the asteroid Rockefellia was square Bacchus and Demeter (the latter was a protector of plants and animals), opposite Gaea (earth) and quincunx Oceana (ocean). Both Gaea and Oceana were in the eighth house of debts and death, the consequences which result when we fail to master our appetites and respect the rights of others. Rockefellia was also conjunct helio (H) Beer and opposite H Dionysius. Uranus was conjunct Vinifera, named for a variety of grapes from which wine is made, within 5 minutes of longitude. Retsina, a Greek wine, was conjunct Hebe, cup-bearer to the Gods on Olympus, with both of them trine the Ascendant and quincunx a conjunction of Icarus and Urania. Ganymed, the cup-bearer who replaced Hebe when she was married, was rising opposite Jupiter, octile the local Antivertex in Washington, DC, and trine the Sun. All of the angles calculated for Washington, DC had aspects from relevant asteroids. Themis (the Law) was conjunct the local East Point, while Nemesis (who punished people who flouted the law) was square the Washington, DC Ascendant. Circe (who turned men into pigs) was square the Washington, DC MC. Beer was conjunct Psyche (often found with feelings of inadequacy and self-absorption that can be indifferent to the needs of others) with both of them trine Jupiter, quincunx Chiron, octile Pallas, and square the midpoint of Ascendant/MC. Washington was conjunct Vesta on the cusp of the second house and square Venus and Industria—conflict involving competence and money.
One could literally do a book on a single important chart. We have previously discussed the three Saturn-Neptune conjunctions which occur in 1989. The positive side of Neptune is faith in the Absolute and the ability to make the world more loving and more beautiful. The negative side, the lack of faith, leads to all kinds of escapism or to self-centeredness as we lack awareness of the connectedness of all life. By extension, Neptune is associated with oil, chemicals, and drugs of all kinds, whether used to heal victims or to create artistic films. Neptune is also the god of the sea and sea creatures, though the Moon shares this association with water and protection. Saturn symbolizes the Law and the consequences of how we have been handling it. Consequences can be either positive or painful, but a Saturn emphasis is always a call for realism, for facing what is possible and what is necessary in order to function effectively in this material world.
I have written that the Saturn-Neptune conjunctions could indicate either a lower price for oil or a lower quantity and consequently a higher price. We are obviously seeing the later. Following the Valdez interruption of oil tanker schedules, an April 18 gas leak and explosion on a North Sea oil platform managed by Shell Oil temporarily cut the oil supply from that area by 25%. Other accidents have also threatened the oil supply in recent months including a leak in a pumping station 25 miles southeast of Fairbanks, Alaska which forced a 25% cut in the oil flow through the Alaska pipeline. The April 20, 1989 issue of the Wall Street Journal reported that oil accidents seemed to be rising world-wide. At Shell’s Norco, LA refinery, a May 1988 explosion killed seven people and injured more than 40. In the week preceding the Journal article, a Chevron refinery fire in Richmond, CA injured seven people. In March 1989, an Arco oil platform in the Gulf of Mexico exploded with several dead. Other Shell incidents within the last year included a less drastic explosion which curtailed production on a North Sea platform and an oil tanker which pulled loose from its moorings. The most catastrophic accident in the history of oil occurred in July 1988 when a Piper Alpha platform exploded and killed 167 people. The results of the recent shortages have shown up dramatically in our gas prices. It will be interesting to see whether the June conjunction of Saturn-Neptune increases the escalation of prices or reverses it, and what happens after the final conjunction in November.
With hindsight, we now know that the date of March 23, 1989 was important for more than one reason. The Valdez actually began hitting submerged rocks (Saturn-Neptune) on the 23rd though it was just after midnight when it finally ran aground. Also on the 23rd, an announcement was made that nuclear fusion had been achieved in a simple, table-top experiment at room temperature! The world of physics has been in a state of uproar ever since, with dozens of attempts in many countries to replicate the results. Despite complaints that the original presentation did not adequately spell out the precise details of what was done, several researchers have partially supported the results and they are trying to figure out what is going on and why it is happening. The excitement is similar to the scene after the announcement about higher temperature superconductivity two years ago. If fusion can be produced with deuterium (of which there is a very large supply in sea water) and a simple apparatus, energy can be cheap and non-polluting. So far, I have no time for the announcement so have not been able to calculate an initial chart for the knowledge reaching the scientific community. According to the reports, the two men who made the original announcement have been working in the area for at least four years.
Still another “event” on March 23 was the passage of an asteroid about 450,000 miles from earth, about twice the distance of our Moon. In terms of astronomic distance, this was a “near miss.” Though the asteroid, labeled 1989FC until its orbit is more precisely known when it may be given a name, was only estimated to be one half mile in diameter, if it had hit the earth it would have been equivalent to 20,000 one-megaton hydrogen bombs. It could have made a crater 5 to 10 miles wide and perhaps a mile deep, and leveled buildings up to 100 miles away. If it hit in the ocean, it would have caused tidal waves up to several hundred meters high that would have devastated many ocean-edge communities. Scientists used to suggest that a good sized asteroid might pass near the earth about once a century. They now think that it could occur ten times as often. Geological records support at least 100 hits during earth’s history, and they may be responsible for the extinction of some life forms. Asteroid 1989FC was not detected until March 31 when astronomer Henry Holt found it on a photographic plate examined at Palomar Observatory. We don’t know the time of day when asteroid 1989FC blazed past earth at about 46,000 miles per hour, but for that day as well as the days before and afterward, asteroids Dembowska, Henry, and Universitas were all conjunct. In all my experience with Dembowska it seems to be similar in meaning to Saturn, so it fits the continuing serious work of University Professor Henry Holt who is now trying to calculate the asteroid’s orbit so we will know ahead of time the next time it is scheduled to pass near earth.
I have not been able to see any astrological patterns for the date of March 23 which would justify its importance or which could have let us predict that it would be such an important date. One of our clues to the challenges being faced in this general period is the passage of Pluto back and forth over its perihelion, the degree where it comes closest to the Sun. As has been said repeatedly in the past, the people of earth have to learn to manifest the positive side of the Pluto-Scorpio principle. We have to learn to share the resources of the planet, to cooperate, to understand ourselves and to master the physical appetites. The daily news of violence, poverty, and addictions suggests that we have a long way to go.
I promised a little more data on the asteroid Hiroshima in the The Mutable Dilemma article on my update with Mr. X. I am enclosing a dramatic example of how the asteroids and the chart angles can interweave to produce amazingly specific patterns. And yet, we still could not predict the details in the person’s life, even with such specificity. The chart labeled “nuclear worker” is an anonymous male who devoted his relatively short life to nuclear work so I will call him NW. He specialized in nuclear studies in college, served with Admiral Rickover on the first nuclear submarine, was a manager in a nuclear power plant in an east coast city, and died on December 11, 1969 under mysterious circumstances, apparently poisoned. We have horoscope angles for his birthplace, Cleveland; for his residence; and for his place of death, New York. At the time of his death, he was scheduled to supervise the building of a nuclear power plant in Taiwan. Six engineers with this assignment all died mysteriously, one after another. Circumstantial evidence (never brought to trial) suggests that they were killed by the Chinese mafia. Mainland China did not want Taiwan to have a nuclear plant.
NW’s natal Neptune in the eighth house fits both his mysterious death, the potential of poison, and his problem with heavy drinking. The lifetime trioctile from P Uranus in the fourth house to Neptune, the natal Mars in Aquarius quincunx to Neptune, natal Vesta opposite Neptune and P Jupiter square to Neptune all suggest NW’s tension between a comfortable acceptance of being a middle class Capricorn businessman and his hunger to be special, unique, romantic, different. P Chiron moving back into an exact opposition to Jupiter just added to the mutable dilemma of wanting more than was possible. A full cardinal cross involving East Point, Juno, Pluto, and Pallas in addition to Juno’s quincunx to Venus add a strong freedom-closeness dilemma, but NW was too conscientious to just run away and abandon his responsibilities. Alcohol let him escape for brief periods from a humdrum earth life. The Chinese poison (if the evidence is valid) provided a permanent escape, at least from one lifetime.
Readers can explore their own favorite techniques. Our space is running out, and I am mainly going to highlight the asteroids which were aspected by the progressed Ascendants at NW’s death. P Ascendant for the Cleveland birthplace was conjunct the natal Antivertex, quincunx the south lunar node, and square natal China at 13 Taurus 0. P Ascendant for his residence where he accepted the Taiwanese assignment was 22 Aquarius 26 square P Hiroshima at 22 Scorpio 48. P Ascendant in New York was 25 Aquarius 54 square natal Peking at 25 Taurus 10 and P Peking at 25 Taurus 14. Peking had been retrograde and had returned to its natal degree. There were many more aspects including P Atlantis on P Urania with both quincunx P Venus on natal Moon and P Urania within orb of quincunx natal Taiwan to form a yod. P Part of Death was on natal Part of Death when both were calculated for New York. P Part of Death calculated for the birthplace was on natal Atlantis. P Mars was just coming to P Taiwan, lacking one minute of the one degree orb. Who writes these scripts and how much does the personal unconscious know?
Since this issue of Asteroid-World is going out with the Pisces The Mutable Dilemma, I am including an earlier but previously unused set of asteroid name sources from Seraphita. [Not in the web archives.]