Asteroid-World Spring 1995
Zip Dobyns
Seismic records say that the Oklahoma City bomb explosion was at 9:02 A.M. and a few seconds on April 19, 1995. The event may prove a watershed with many people remembering where they were when they head the news as they remember hearing about the deaths of JFK or of FDR. Not that we have not had many violent events in our history. Our country was born in a revolution and most of our first century was spent fighting the English, the native Americans, the Mexicans, and ourselves. I do not know of any country which has assassinated more of its leaders, or had more of its children killed by their parents or other children, or which continues to be more devoted to the personal possession of guns. The argument over which is the “best” chart for the U.S. is, itself, an ongoing battle on the mental level. Whichever charts win the sweepstakes, they have to show that potential for violence.
The primary suspect in the Oklahoma City bombing is Timothy James McVeigh, for whom we have a birth date, but we lack a birth time. One of the members of the Internet news group with which I communicate has visited Tim’s home area but was unable to persuade the authorities to release his birth time or to find it in the local newspaper. She did learn that he was born in Lockport, NY, rather than Pendleton where he grew up. By now, everyone will know that his birth date was April 23, 1968. Naturally, I have experimented with a speculative birth time for him which I will discuss later.
Since we have a firm chart for the actual explosion, we will start with that. I noticed first that Mars was on the IC just inside the one-degree orb which seems so important in astrology. The positive expression of the Mars principle is our right and our power to be ourselves, including to defend ourselves. Negative manifestations include blocking our own power, which can produce accidents or illness or can invite violence against us by others. At the other end of the spectrum, a negative Mars expression includes attacks against others. The IC, like the Moon, points to emotional security needs which we seek to satisfy with our families, children, homes and other buildings, and the earth itself. Leo is associated with self-esteem and creative power. Like Mars, it is fire. With Leo, we want to put our power out into the world and to get a response back from the world. Its healthy expression includes the ability to love and to accept love, to procreate children while the Moon nurtures them after we get them. When self-esteem is either extremely deficient or extremely excessive to the point that it becomes indifferent to the needs of others, Leo can be insatiable in its hunger for power and “any” attention, even negative attention, is better than none.
The Sun was in the last degree of Aries, the sign of Mars, with a close square to Uranus and a quincunx to Pluto. While fire is especially associated with Mars, explosives are more connected to the fixed quality. The fixed principle includes “enduring self-will,” so conflict aspects between fixed factors are like the irresistible force meeting the immovable object. When enough pressure builds up, there is an explosion. Taurus is the least explosive of the fixed drives; Leo and Aquarius (fire and air) are much more volatile. Scorpio holds back initially, but when it blows, it can have massive consequences. The aspect configuration described above includes the three primary fixed planets and the planets are always the most important of the many ways in which astrology can symbolize the same 12 basic drives. The placement of the Sun and Pluto in fire signs and Uranus in a fire house (the natural house of Sagittarius) adds to the volatility of the combination.
Other aspects included Venus, our fourth “fixed” planet, widely conjunct Saturn and closely square the Moon. These factors were in the signs which signify conscious and subconscious faith, while the Sun and Uranus were in the related houses of faith. The bombing has shaken the faith of many people who believed that such things could only happen in other countries or in really big cities. Neptune was also in the Sagittarian house, while Mercury, the south lunar node, and our two auxiliary Ascendants were all in the Pisces house, most of them within a reasonable orb of squares to Uranus. Jupiter was with the Moon in Sagittarius in a wide square to Saturn and Chiron, which is similar in meaning to Jupiter. Pallas, our political asteroid which is often associated with the issue of fair play and social justice, completed a grand cross in the mutable signs with its close squares to Saturn and Chiron. Ceres in Leo squared the lunar nodes, so, though its opposition to Uranus was perhaps too wide to count, the nodes and Mercury tied in both Ceres and Uranus to produce the effect of a grand cross in fixed signs and mutable houses. The emphasis on letters nine and twelve repeats the message that we are dealing with a crisis in beliefs and the morality which is based on our belief systems.
To complete the listing of what I use as my basic tools, Vesta opposed Juno (which was in its own, Scorpio, house) and it was exactly octile the East Point. Plus, as we add new factors and techniques to our basic astrological tools, the message continues to be repeated. The Arabic Part of Death in the bomb chart was at 15 Gemini 9 (using Placidus houses), in a one-degree opposition to Jupiter. Heliocentric Jupiter was in 7 Sagittarius 8, very close to the Descendant. Two of the midpoints which I usually check are Ascendant/MC and Saturn/south lunar node. In this bomb chart, they were just two minutes apart in 13 Aries. Placing a factor on a midpoint gives the same message as putting it on the two planets or angles which are the source of the midpoint. The intensity is less than if the factor were on the actual planets or angles, but the meaning is the same, so this combination of midpoints is “like” having Saturn and the south node on the Ascendant and the MC! The combination is saying “this is a lesson for everyone whose life is touched.”
In addition to midpoints which are the center points between any two factors, and Arabic Parts which are calculated by adding two factors and subtracting a third, all of the planets have nodes where their orbits cross the plane of the earth’s orbit. They represent another form of the same drive that is symbolized by the planet. The dramatic aspects to the Sun were mentioned above. They are reinforced by the south node of Chiron and the Arabic Part of Saturn which were both in 29 Aries; the north node of Chiron in 29 Libra, and the south node of Saturn in 29 Capricorn. The point I call the Part of Saturn is calculated by adding Saturn to the Ascendant and subtracting the Sun. I think that it indicates another expression of the Saturn principle—the need to be realistic about the laws in the cosmos, about what we CAN do, what we CAN’T do, and what we HAVE to do if we want to survive in this world.
The asteroids are also dramatic, as usual. McVeigh’s middle name is James. Natal James in the bomb chart was at 7 Aquarius 31, where it trined the Ascendant (the bomb was highly successful in doing what he wanted to do) but it was also opposite Potomac, the river in Washington, DC, the location of the FBI which is gathering the evidence they hope will convict McVeigh. James also was quincunx Vesta, the asteroid I usually find involved when individuals commit ruthless actions, apparently so intent on their immediate goals that they ignore any effects on others. James was also square Klotho, the Fate who spun the thread of life, and Photographica in Scorpio. No one who watches TV or reads standard news sources can have missed seeing the photos of the damaged Murrah building and the dead and injured being carried out of it. And, in Taurus on the other side of the chart squaring James were Karma, Hephaistos, the smith who made the weapons of the Olympic gods, and Plinius, the ancient Roman who watched and wrote about the eruption of Vesuvius that killed hundreds of people in Pompeii. Overlapping orbs connected these three Taurus asteroids to the south lunar node. In this one graphic grand cross in fixed signs in mutable houses we have the presumed perpetrator, the juxtaposition of a maker of weapons, explosive and deadly violence, the consequences of action, the city which may produce those karmic consequences, the issue of life as potentially limited, and the pictures which have spread around the globe. To complete the aspect network, we could add Epimetheus and Arachne in Virgo which form a yod with Vesta and James. Epimetheus looked back rather than forward like his brother, Prometheus. Arachne was punished for her hubris by being turned into a spider. All aspects listed are within one- degree orbs.
After the bombing, I looked through my set of about 500 plus asteroids to try to decide whether any of them might be relevant for explosions. And the cosmos demonstrated once again that it responds to human desires. The next set of new names which arrived from the Minor Planet Center included an asteroid named Nobel for the Swedish inventor of dynamite! In the bomb chart, Nobel was in 24 Aries 49, conjunct Phaethon. (Phaethon couldn’t handle the horses of the Sun’s chariot, careened too close to Gaea (earth), and set her on fire. Gaea screamed and Zeus knocked Phaethon out of the sky so he fell to his death.) Nobel was also octile the local MC in Washington, DC, the city which will determine the consequences of the bombing, and it was square Neptune. Heliocentric Nobel was just two degrees earlier than the geocentric position with an exact octile to the Ascendant of the bomb chart.
Perhaps the most dramatic collection of asteroids were the ones clustered from 17 Aquarius conjunct the MC to 20 degrees, with overlapping orbs connecting all of them. Remember, like all astrology, they point to issues, not details. Closest to the MC was Armisticia, pointing to the need for reconciliation between the Aquarian goal of freedom and the MC (Saturnian) goal of control for the sake of law and order, as well as the need for reconciliation between the government (MC) and the people (IC). Next was Fanatica, which does not need to be interpreted. Whether or not the beliefs are “religious” in a traditional sense, anyone who maintains extreme beliefs can be called a “fanatic”. The next in order in this Aquarian cluster were Yugoslavia, Columbia (for both the District which houses our federal government and the country which is vying with the district in power issues and murder rates), Williams for our current President, Philippa for would-be president Phil Gramm, one of Clinton’s most strident critics, Timwarner for an attempt at Timothy’s name, and Bradley for the military vehicles McVeigh fought in during the Gulf War.
Astrology shows states of mind. I think that the presence of Yugoslavia in this mixture refers to the critical emotional state in one of the most tormented and violent regions in the world today. I think it is pointing to the previously unnoticed slide of our own citizens toward a state of civil war with their own government. This interpretation is supported by the fact that Heliocentric Ruanda was also closely conjunct the MC while Geocentric Ruanda just missed the MC in Washington by 2 minutes of longitude. The horror of the civil war in Ruanda is still fresh in the minds of the world while the crisis in Yugoslavia has become even more explosive as this Asteroid-World was being written. This chart is telling us that the state of mind of whoever set off the bomb resembled the emotions that maintain the civil wars in Yugoslavia and Ruanda, and that if we do not want more of the same in the U.S., we had better do something to defuse the anger and restore the faith of the public.
There are so many relevant asteroids, it is hard to know when to stop. There is no question that this event was a watershed. The asteroid named for Dionysus, the god who carried “religious” excesses to the point of craziness and was torn apart, was on the Ascendant. Alfred, the first name of the man for whom the building was named, was in 21 Sagittarius square Saturn and Chiron. Several of the Aquarian cluster were octile Zeus in 5 Aries and Atlantis in 5 Capricorn. Zeus was one of the new names along with Nobel, and Atlantis is often featured in cases of the abuse of power.
As our readers know, I have been expressing concern for Bill Clinton’s safety for some time. The ethical challenges of astrology can be horrendous. I really believe that astrology is a mental map, a picture of one’s state of mind, and it is not possible to be certain whether emotional/mental conflict will manifest in the form of external events. If one warns a client and nothing happens, the astrologer has been a source of needless worry by the client. But if the astrologer sees potentials, says nothing, and something happens that might have been prevented or mitigated, it can be a terrible burden on the conscience. At the same time, widespread talk about negative potentials can help to produce them in the world. And when you are working with the chart of a public figure who is not a personal client, with whom you have no contact, what is your obligation? There are no easy answers to the moral issues. Bill Clinton’s P Sun reached his local (Washington, DC) Part of Death in this spring of 1995, and it holds the aspect for two years. Especially in light of his repeated identification with JFK, one of our assassinated presidents, I have worried that his chart might be warning against a similar fate. The potential might remain at the mental level, and the repeated attempts to breach the security of the White House have certainly demonstrated that the “idea” is circulating rather widely. I have lost track of how many men have climbed the fence outside the White House, or shot at it, or brandished knives, and one suicide pilot flew his plane into it. I was glad to see one result of the Oklahoma Bomb. Authorities have now closed to vehicular traffic the street which is closest to the White House. This will at least prevent a car or truck bomb from being detonated where it could do serious damage.
I had previously privately speculated about other possible events which would fit the patterns of potential violence which are present in the charts of Bill, Hillary, Chelsea, Al Gore, and Tipper. I discounted a war, since Clinton is truly dedicated to looking for ways to compromise—so much so that he is often attacked as lacking in convictions and courage. A war also seemed unlikely since the U.S. is now the only remaining super power in the world. But the Bosnian crisis which is currently unfolding is making me reconsider that potential. Our troops may well be involved in extricating the UN forces who have been trying to mitigate the war between the Serbs and the Moslems, to provide some food and safety to the Moslem civilians. With some 400 UN “peace-keepers” now held by the Serbians as hostages, the situation has turned into a volcano which might explode into a wider war at any time. Robert Dole has been demanding that we give arms to the Moslems and bomb the Serbs, but at the same time, he rejects sending any U.S. soldiers into ground action. So, NATO did bomb the Serbs in retaliation for their shelling of civilians in Sarajevo, and the Serbs responded by capturing UN weapons and personnel, mostly French, British, and some Ukrainians. I will be curious to see what Dole suggests now. All I have heard so far from Dole and Gramm is more criticism of Clinton, but no helpful ideas.
The other possibility which had not occurred to me before the Oklahoma bomb was a real civil war in the U.S. Hindsight is great. It now seems obvious to me that we have been sliding in that direction ever since Vietnam and the cover-up of the real story of the killing of JFK. I have been reading the views of various extremists for years, reading how they hated and feared the government, but always considered it the paranoia of a tiny minority on the fringes of society. But the killing of members of the Weaver family at Ruby Ridge and the disaster at Waco apparently galvanized a great many people into increased alarm. Added to the volatile mix are the new laws to control some types of weapons. The militants really fear that they might lose their guns just when they need them to resist a dictatorship. A variety of talk shows on the radio, groups on the Internet, magazines and newspapers, and circulated tapes and videos have been feeding the paranoia and encouraging the development of the armed militias in several states. The predictions of doom by both “new age” psychics and fundamentalist Christians who anticipate Armageddon are throwing still more fuel on the fire.
It must also be added that the increasingly widespread anxiety is partly karma for the government’s real abuses of power. The fairly recent movie about JFK’s assassination was a wake-up call for many, and a large number of books are also now available offering evidence for a government cover-up in the deaths of both JFK and Bobbie Kennedy and of Martin Luther King Jr. Huge numbers of private citizens have seen UFOs and they know that the government has been lying for years when it denied their existence. The scandals of Watergate and more recently of Iran-Contragate have also demonstrated that people at the top are not trustworthy. People know how difficult it is to get a reasonably well-paid job, they read daily about thousands being laid off by the big companies, they see the dwindling numbers and power of the unions, and then the government tells them that there are lots of jobs and the economy is doing fine. Those who make the effort to investigate discover that the unemployment statistics do not present an honest picture. People who have given up looking for work are no longer counted as “unemployed”. Nor are many people who have part-time jobs because they can’t find full-time work, or people who can’t support a family on the minimum wage. Individuals interested in maintaining their own health with vitamins, herbs, and other supplements learn from alternate health publications that the FDA is breaking down the doors of licensed MDs who dare to prescribe vitamins for their patients. Citizens are told that they should take more responsibility for their own health and when they do this, they learn that the FDA has forbidden the makers and sellers of vitamins from telling customers about the scientific research which has demonstrated the helpfulness of the products. Democracy and freedom are not possible without information, and some members of some branches of our government have abused their power, and increasing numbers of the public know that.
A civil war is already happening at the mental level as some of the people at the top try to keep the lid on a kettle which is rapidly coming to a boil. The potential violence which I have been seeing in many charts—the personal charts of leaders, the ingress charts, the planet-conjunction charts, various charts for our country—all of them seem to be pointing in the same direction. Though it is possible that Clinton’s life is in personal danger, I now think it is more likely that I am seeing a picture of widespread escalating anger and fear at the grassroots level. I think that Oklahoma was a wake-up call to the elite but they are not listening. The Republican majorities in Congress and the radio talk shows and the rest of the fringe media are adding to the fermenting mass of fear and anger. The fall and winter of 1995-6 look explosive. I have no idea what events will come out of the turmoil. I know that we desperately need more love, more empathy, more openness and sharing, but also that a large number of people are too threatened to comprehend such a possibility or to participate in such a movement toward healing. I’m sure that all of our readers will contribute toward the needed healing, and all that anyone can do is live his or her own life as an example of love which is big enough to include everyone.
We have hardly started to deal with the Oklahoma tragedy since we have the full data for Louis Freeh, the head of the FBI, the date on which Oklahoma City was incorporated, and speculative (lacking time) charts for Timothy McVeigh and Janet Reno, our Attorney General who had to face Waco, which was already under way when she was given her job. I keep hoping that some enterprising astrologer will produce those birth times, but even without birth times we can see a lot, especially when we add the extra asteroids. I am also hoping for the data of Terry Nichols, who has been arrested as an accessory in the Oklahoma bombing.
Most of our readers would probably like to see McVeigh’s chart even though the birth time is totally speculative. Just remember that the houses and the Moon’s degree are questionable. I chose an early evening birth time (19:51 EST) because it put Tim’s P Moon opposite Pluto for the bomb and his P Uranus approaching an opposition to his natal Moon. P Uranus is also opposite Vesta, and if this time is close to accurate, P Moon will cross N Moon and Vesta and oppose Uranus this summer at the same time that transiting Saturn and Mars oppose each other across his Moon- Uranus in mid-July. The conflict aspects fit the separation between Tim’s parents, and close aspects between Vesta and any key to a parent (in this case the Moon) are often found in the charts of individuals who have had very difficult relationships with that parent. Friends have said that initially, Tim would not talk about his mother but in his mid- to late teens, he started cursing her and saying that he would like to kill her.
[Note: the AstroDatabank now has a time of 8:19 for McVeigh.]
The chart is heavily weighted toward earth, water, and fire signs, its only factors in air signs being Ceres and the south lunar node in Libra. Since I see the south node as a “lesson,” Tim obviously needs more air—the ability to relate to others as an equal, to be aware of their needs, and to “take things lightly”. Air is not essential for intelligence, since Virgo, Sagittarius, and Pisces can be highly mental, but charts with minimal air point to emotional intensity, to the danger of taking oneself and life too seriously. Contrary to some traditional astrological theories, a close Sun-Mercury conjunction does not indicate a lack of mental ability. It shows that the individual is ego-invested in his mind, relies on it as a source of self- esteem and positive attention from others, but may find it harder to be detached and objective, the potential talents of air, because the ego is so involved in the mental functioning.
Regardless of his birth time, Tim’s chart shows problems involving faith. Jupiter and Neptune, the planets which signify one’s conscious and subconscious faith, are closely square, with P Neptune maintaining the exact square for all of Tim’s life so far. The aspect can be expressed in many different ways, such as some form of conflict between “head” goals and “heart” goals, or uncertainty over what to believe and trust and value, or perhaps a lack of faith in a Higher Power. The Virgo-Pisces oppositions show a need to integrate one’s ideals (Pisces) with what one can actually do in the material world (Virgo). If we do what we can, the little “bite-sized” Virgo steps which will bring our ideals into our world, AND we enjoy the journey, the Virgo-Pisces polarity can mark a fine artist-craftsperson or a healing-helping person. Without that integration, the opposition may be manifested in many types of escapism. By itself, it usually does not indicate deliberate harm to others, but when toughened with Aries and the fixed signs Taurus, Leo, and Scorpio which manifest as enduring self-will, the outcome can be quite destructive.
There were many interesting asteroids in Tim’s chart, including Icarus conjunct his Sun. The Icarus potential for overreach is especially likely to manifest when it is closely aspecting fire factors, especially conjunct the Sun, Mars, or Jupiter. Spartacus, the asteroid named for a slave who led a rebellion in ancient Rome but was killed in the end, was on Mercury. Justitia, one of the asteroids of justice, was on Saturn, Venus, and the north lunar node. In some kind of twisted way, Tim saw his action against Federal employees as revenging, evening the score, for the Koresh followers at Waco, Texas. Tim’s P Williams for Bill Clinton was in 5 Virgo, square his N Fanatica in 5 Sagittarius and his Hephaistos (maker of weapons) in 5 Gemini, as well as quincunx James (Tim’s middle name) in 5 Aries. His P Mars was on P Urania (which, like Uranus, might suggest explosives) and square N Libitina (death) with the latter on Winchester, the asteroid of guns. We have two female goddesses of war, Bellona and Belisana. P Bellona was on Tim’s N Sun while P Belisana opposed his Chiron. Since his capture, Tim has reportedly considered himself a prisoner of war and refused to say anything except to give his former name and rank in the army. N Nobel, the inventor of dynamite, was in 10 Aquarius with an octile to Vesta and a trioctile to Uranus. P Nobel was in 23 Aquarius on the IC and the P local Part of Death IF this speculative birth time is right. Many other asteroids could be mentioned, and other reasons for choosing this time of birth, but with several other charts to consider, we need to move on. I will just add that transiting Pluto at 0 Sagittarius was exactly on Tim’s P Fanatica and opposite his P Sun. Tim’s P Mars was exactly on the Ascendant of the bomb chart and the U.S. Uranus in the Declaration of Independence.
Louis Freeh, the current Director of the FBI which is in charge of the investigation of the bombing, was born on January 6, 1950 at 10:30 A.M. EST in Jersey City, NJ. Freeh’s mutable angles and Saturn are closely aspecting Tim’s Virgo-Pisces oppositions and his Neptune is closely conjunct Tim’s south lunar node. The patterns fit Freeh being the instrument of karma in Tim’s life. Freeh, like Tim, has his south lunar node in Libra, but he also has strong supporting air in Libra and in Aquarius, so, despite his Sun in Capricorn, he should be able to function well in some equalitarian relationships and to be capable of objectivity. However, the Aries-Libra oppositions, Mars in Libra and in the seventh house, and the Leo-Aquarius oppositions all show that Freeh needs to stay conscious of the issue of personal power confronting the rights of others. Work in law enforcement can obviously provide frequent tests of such discrimination. It can be hard to remember that even accused criminals have rights.
Freeh’s Mercury-Jupiter conjunction in double Aquarius, both the sign and the house, show the likelihood of high intelligence. These two planets are also highlighted by the midpoint of the Ascendant/MC being on Jupiter and the local (Washington, DC) Ascendant/MC being on Mercury. Like the new asteroids, I limit aspects to midpoints to a one-degree orb. Many asteroids could be mentioned, but we will just include a few. Among the most dramatic is James, Tim’s middle name, on Freeh’s Ascendant within less than a half degree. Freeh’s N Bellona (war) and Medea (who killed her children) were in 13-14 Aries. His P James had moved to conjunct both of them. P Ceres, a mother figure, squared N Nagasaki (in Virgo) and Nobel (in Pisces) and P Nobel in 7 Aries was conjunct P north lunar node. N Pan, Damocles, and Kansas were in 17 Aries opposite Neptune, so P Moon, which had reached an opposition to Neptune, was connected to them with the overlapping orbs. P Moon was also still within a one-degree opposition to Libitina, one of the goddesses of death, while P Hel, another death goddess, was on the P true north lunar node. Both the “mean” and the “true” nodes work, so I look at both.
Freeh’s P Moon was in a grand trine to P Pluto and Chiron, so it is likely that the FBI will be successful in tracing and convicting the perpetrators of the bombing. His P Sun also trines Uranus, P Mercury is on Jupiter and the midpoint of the angles, while P Venus is on Mercury. P Jupiter is on N Venus for years. There are plenty of aspects for power struggles, but it looks as if Freeh can handle them.
Caroline Dodson’s book of U.S. cities reports that Oklahoma City was incorporated on July 15, 1890. Caroline calculates all the cities for noon, and a chart set for just a couple of minutes after noon works phenomenally well (12:02 CST). When progressed to the bomb, P East Point is conjunct P Mars and both are opposite N Sun and square N Uranus with P Mercury and P Vesta conjunct N Uranus and P MC conjunct P Uranus. It would be hard to imagine a more appropriate configuration for a dramatic conflict. The potential for explosions is suggested by N Venus on N Vesta and square N Mars in Leo and Scorpio in the Aquarius and Taurus houses, while P Pluto in its own house is octile the Sun and trioctile N Uranus, P Vesta, P Mercury, and P East Point. All of the fixed planets are involved in these networks of aspects, as well as the fixed houses. P Moon fills in the fixed sign in Taurus on the Vertex in the Scorpio house. Did all of this confrontation between irresistible forces and immovable objects stay bottled up until it erupted in one gigantic explosion?
When a few asteroids are added, we see N Bellona on the MC, N Libitina on the N Moon, N Lincoln (who presided over our Civil War) on the Vertex and P Moon, while N Karma is on the south lunar node. Among the progressions were P Williams on the Ascendant opposite P Dionysus on the Descendant, P Belisana on Hel, P Phaethon (an overreach kid like Icarus) opposite P Sun, P Libitina on P Washingtonia on one side and P Newtonia on the other side, with all three octile the N Moon. When the local chart is calculated for Washington, DC, the MC is 4 Leo 40, with squares to P Sun and P Phaethon. P Jupiter is crossing the local IC to complete a fixed cross. The patterns are awesome. Does anyone still believe in chance?
We discussed the speculative chart for Janet Reno in an earlier issue of The Mutable Dilemma, so for the moment, remember that character produces destiny. All that most of us can do is be a good example to those around us. Keep your character (habits) centered in love and peace and your personal world can remain a peaceful island in a crazy world.