William Oliver Stone: Producer of JFK
Zip Dobyns
A recent issue of Asteroid-World discussed some of the evidence which has been coming out suggesting that President John F Kennedy was actually killed by a combination of anti-Castro Mafia and CIA personnel with the cooperation of the Dallas Police Chief. The conspiracy theories add that Oswald was framed for the killing and himself killed before he could testify by the same men who killed Kennedy. J Edgar Hoover and some of his FBI personnel along with Vice President Johnson (who became President when Kennedy died) may have been involved in planning the assassination or may have just been involved in the cover-up of the truth. The U.S. has had several presidents die in office, including some who were shot, but the sense of personal loss was more intense with Kennedy than with most. Oliver Stone’s movie about the assassination is partly theory and partly fiction, but it opened up the old wound in America’s psyche.
Stone’s horoscope certainly fits his roles as a film director and producer. Saturn and Pluto in Leo flank his MC for his drive to “run the show.” The Ascendant, Juno, Venus and East Point in Scorpio fit his interest in hidden matters and the occupied eighth and twelfth houses add to the urge to investigate behind the scenes. The twelfth house, especially with Libra there, the rising Venus, the Moon in Taurus in the Libra house, and the second house activity indicate artistic talent. Leo and Pisces (or their rulers or houses) are especially connected with drama (Leo) and films (Pisces). Neptune is in the Venus sign of Libra on the cusp of its own house to intensify the potential for films. Mars in Libra in the twelfth house is conjunct Chiron on one side and Jupiter on the other, which could imply a spiritual or mystical bent as well. Vesta, our super-Virgo asteroid, shows an identification with work with its Aries placement and the possibility of work with drama or other forms of creativity with its fifth house position. The Sun in Virgo is ego-identified with work but in the eleventh house wants independence, intellectual stimulation and variety.
Stone’s Gemini-Sagittarius lunar nodes and his Uranus in Gemini square Mercury in Virgo and trine Mars-Chiron in Libra are indications of mental ability. The potential of challenging the establishment is shown by the Sun-Mercury squares to Uranus and by the octiles from Saturn-MC to Uranus. P Jupiter and P Saturn have held a trioctile and an octile to Uranus for many years while P Uranus maintained the octile to the MC and square to the Sun. The combinations could represent many varieties of power struggles with the LAW over money or possessions or power. Once we know the details, we can say that the aspects fit Stone’s uncovering of hidden information about a past death of an authority figure. Of course, the patterns also fit many other possible details from royalties stemming from his creative career to the storm he stirred up with the general public.
The movie, JFK, was released to the public near the end of 1991. Stone’s progressed chart at the time had his local (Hollywood) P MC at the midpoint of Saturn/Pluto and his career was definitely tweaking the tail of the lion or stirring up a scorpion’s nest depending on your choice of metaphor. P Sun was octile natal Sun, so by solar arcs, all directed planets were octile their natal positions. That period around age 45 for everyone can be a mid-life crisis or a major turning point. P MC had reached a conjunction with natal Sun-Mercury and they participated in a grand cross with Uranus, P Vesta, P East Point and P local Antivertex. The mutable signs and fixed houses combine ethical and power issues. The likelihood that his controversial intellectual presentation would impact the public is further shown by the participation in the grand cross of the midpoint of Ceres/Moon at 22 Pisces 49. Many people suspected a cover-up, but the film brought it home in a personally, emotionally moving way. Stone’s chart also suggested that the movie would be a success. P Jupiter is holding a long conjunction to natal Venus and P Sun joined P Jupiter in the fall of 1991. P Mercury entered Sagittarius about the same time to form a trine to Vesta and the natal Part of Status.
Years ago, before I started working with the asteroids, I looked regularly at the Part of Fortune (Ascendant plus Moon minus Sun), the Part of Spirit (Ascendant plus Sun minus Moon) and the Parts of Status and Destiny which use the same formulas but substitute the MC for the Ascendant. I made up the names for the latter two since I did not see anything about them in the astrological literature but they seemed like a logical extension of the general principles of Arabic Parts. Theoretically, joining a factor with the Moon points to tendencies from the past while adding the Sun points to future growth potentials. I used these Arabic Parts which included the MC as keys to one’s past career and relationships with the rules and one’s future developments in MC matters. Stone’s Part of Status on Vesta suggests that he has had previous experience in his present field of work. His Part of Spirit is at 12 Sagittarius in an exact conjunction with natal asteroid Williams (one of his names) and a long term conjunction with the P south lunar node. I read the combination as saying that William’s evolving career and handling of the law and authority figures is both a learning experience for him and his gift to the world of some measure of truth. The south node marks first an area where we have something to learn and once we have learned it, we have something to give the world. Sagittarius is a truth seeker and also usually delights in sharing knowledge with others. It is also fascinating to note that when Stone moved from Manhattan to Hollywood, he put his local MC exactly on his natal Part of Fortune.
It was interesting to find Stone’s first name in a long conjunction with the P south lunar node, but I was really blown away when I found that he was born when his Sun was conjunct his middle name, Oliver, to the minute of longitude! How does the universe do that? Mercury is also conjunct Oliver to the degree, P Uranus holds a long square to it, and of course it is included in the mutable cross described above. Oliver has certainly stirred up a storm with his presentation of possible facts and ethical issues. P Oliver was at 7 Libra 16 at the beginning of 1992 when the movie had just been released, so it was conjunct natal Neptune with its association with both ethics and films. As I wrote above, J Edgar Hoover was implicated in the cover-up of the real killers of Kennedy. Stone has his P Neptune in a very long conjunction with his natal Hooveria and P Hooveria has been conjunct natal Jupiter and P Chiron (truth seekers) for several years. P Williams is quincunx the MC for some years as William Oliver Stone stirs up the establishment and questions the past handling of power by our executive branches of the government at several levels.
I also checked the asteroids Karma (which I am watching to see if it means what it was named), and Psyche which often turns up when people feel helpless and victimized. Natal Psyche at 20 Leo was connected to the law and authority figures with its house placement but it was not strongly aspected. But P Psyche hit pay dirt with a close conjunction to natal Karma in 4 Virgo. Stone’s Hollywood P Ascendant (personal action) has been sextile P Psyche and natal Karma for about two years as he worked on the movie which is awakening many average citizens (Virgo) to the threat of how our executive branch has been handling their power. But will the public do anything even if they start to believe some of the conspiracy theories or will they just act like Psyche in the story and feel helpless? Only time will tell. I think it may take one more term with a president who conducts a government of, by and for the rich.
The charts of Kennedy and the Assassination were both presented in a previous issue of Asteroid-World, and I was curious to see what connections might exist between those charts and Stone’s. Among the close conjunctions between the Assassination chart and Stone’s chart were Pallas and Juno (both associated with fighting for social justice) on Stone’s Ascendant and Venus. P Pallas in the shooting chart was on Stone’s natal East Point (an auxiliary Ascendant representing instinctive action). Vesta and Mercury in Sagittarius in the killing chart were on Stone’s natal Antivertex, another auxiliary Ascendant which fits his urge to bring out more knowledge about the event. Stone’s P Pluto stays for life on asteroid America in the death chart. We will see if Stone’s dramatic career really changes anything in America.
Connections between Kennedy’s chart and Stone’s included Kennedy’s P Venus when he was killed on Stone’s P Pluto, which brings in the long term P Pluto square to Stone’s natal Part of Death. Also involved were Stone’s P south node of Mars on his own Part of Death and his P Washingtonia just past Pluto and square both. Venus was the ruler of Kennedy’s Libra Ascendant. Kennedy’s P Mars at his death was on Stone’s Uranus so it was drawn into the massive mutable grand cross. Kennedy’s natal Sun and P Moon were on Stone’s Vertex, an auxiliary Descendant which can be a key to partnership. Kennedy’s Mars was close to Stone’s Moon. And Kennedy’s Neptune and P Saturn were more widely conjunct Stone’s Saturn, fitting Stone’s role in confronting how power figures have handled (or mishandled) the LAW. The coming years should be interesting, especially when Uranus returns to its own sign in 1995-6.