Asteroid-World Spring 1996
Zip Dobyns
More Presidential Contenders?
The U.S. presidential campaign is in full swing in June, 1996, but we still don’t know all the players. Clinton and Dole are the principal contenders, of course, representing the major political parties. But Ralph Nader is a potential candidate for one of the numerous small parties in California which is especially focused on the environment. The Natural Law Party, which was started by the members of Transcendental Meditation, is also on the ballot in California, along with Perot’s Independence Party. Clinton is well ahead of Dole in current state polls, but I am concerned that the candidates of these small parties might pull enough liberal votes to give an edge to Dole. California has so many votes and is a “winner take all” state, and some pundits are saying that whoever gets the state is going to win the presidency.
Perot is not saying whether he will be the candidate for the new party he has funded. From his chart, which we have discussed in previous issues of The Mutable Dilemma, I suspect that he will run. From the chart of his announcement of the founding of his new party, previously discussed in the Asteroid-World, the party has no chance of being anything but a “spoiler,” tilting the results to one of the major parties. Richard Lamm is currently acting like a potential candidate, giving speeches around the country, but he qualifies his candidacy by saying that if Perot wants to run, Lamm will not contest him for the nomination. Lamm’s wife is not happy about the situation. She is afraid that Lamm could take enough votes from Clinton to help Dole win. She commented that she would hate to have a Dole Supreme Court on her conscience.
[Note: the AstroDatabank now has a time of 7:50 for Lamm.]
Richard Lamm was born on August 3, 1935 in Madison, WI, but I do not have a birth time for him or enough life events to try to guess the time. However, even without a time, we can see progressed aspects for the major planets and the asteroids. His Moon could be in late Virgo or early Libra. The latter would fit his political activity, but the former could fit his mix of fiscal conservatism but social liberalism. He has Mercury, Sun, and Pallas, our most political asteroid in Leo, Mars and Jupiter in Scorpio, and Uranus in Taurus, so he certainly has a strong will and tenacity. Both Saturn and Vesta are in Pisces, too far apart to be natally conjunct, but in his secondary progressions, P Vesta is conjunct Saturn for years with both bodies retrograding. That combination, as readers know by now, can have tunnel vision. P Saturn also holds a long sextile to P Uranus and natal Mars forms a T-square with Mercury and Uranus for additional determination. Pluto square Juno, two keys to Scorpio, says it again. P Neptune holds a very long square to Lamm’s Chiron, suggesting some kind of conflict involving beliefs, ethics, goals, etc. Both Neptune and Chiron are seeking perfection. A conflict can be between ideals and what is possible or between different ideals and values. Adding to this mutable dilemma, Venus in Virgo opposes Vesta in Pisces. Though I agree with some of his principles, I feel uneasy when I hear him speak. He comes across as too much an ideologue, unwilling to compromise.
Since I lack his birth time or time to work with the chart, I mostly just looked at Lamm’s personal name asteroids for the election this fall. His P Henry (for Perot) is on his P Saturn sextile P Uranus, quincunx Richard, and Saturn opposes Ceres. The latter aspect repeats the mutable issue of ideals versus what is possible. The quincunx suggests changes, including separations, but the details are always a guess. Perot certainly has the power (Saturn) to influence Richard’s success in acquiring power. The asteroid Richard in 4 Leo close to Mercury with P Uranus holding a long square to it reinforces the desire for power which was already described by the emphasis on fixed signs. But if Henry wants the power for himself, as is somewhat more likely with Henry on Saturn, Lamm will be separated from the nomination. Still, it is possible that Perot is practical enough to realize that he can’t win and thin-skinned enough to not want another public defeat, so he might prefer to be the “king-maker.” Also, since Perot likes and trusts Dole, unlike Bush whom he hated, it is possible that Perot could support Lamm as a candidate who might help defeat Clinton and give the prize to Dole.
P Williams for Bill Clinton is on P Pallas and the latter is opposite natal Henry, a pretty clear picture of Perot’s opposition to Clinton. To repeat the message, P Williams is octile Mercury on one side and Mars on the other, so Lamm could threaten Clinton’s chances. P Phaethon (overreach and a crash) is on Chiron square P Neptune, repeating Lamm’s conflict over beliefs and values. To say it again, P Pallas squares P Chiron. At the same time, P Pallas trines both N and P Roberts, warning that Lamm’s political action could help Bob Dole. In light of Lamm’s obsession with the budget deficit, I also looked at Godiva and Coventry which readers will remember are related to taxes. N Godiva is on Lamm’s N Saturn. P Coventry is on his Pallas. Other interesting asteroids include P Themis (divine justice) on his N Sun and P Washingtonia (for our capital) square his P Chiron and quincunx Henry and N and P Roberts to form a yod. Time will tell whether this indication of change means that Lamm’s life will be altered by Perot and Dole or that his activity will influence the other two men and our country. Having written more on Lamm than I intended, we will include a solar chart for him, putting the Sun on the MC, but with the reminder that angles and houses can be ignored and the Moon’s sign is also unknown.
We do have birth certificate data for Ralph Nader, the professional gadfly to the elite who run the world, whether they operate in business or politics. Nader was born on February 27, 1934 at 4:52 A.M. EST in Winsted, CT. He is described as a lawyer and consumer advocate, licensed to practice in CT, MA, and before the U.S. Supreme Court. He is the founder of the Center for Responsive Law, the Public Interest Research Group, the Center for Auto Safety, Public Citizen, the Clean Water Action Project, the Disability Rights Center, the Pension Rights Center, and the Project for Corporate Responsibility. He lectures widely, writes for a variety of publications, and has received awards from many organizations.
We can see Nader’s life focus with the majority of his factors in transpersonal signs but personal houses. His first house factors plus Mars in Pisces show his identification with God, which he is expressing by trying to personally save the world. Pallas and Mercury on Mars describe his personal action involving politics and the mind, working through the media. Nader’s Aquarius stellium, including his Ascendant and East Point, plus Uranus in Aries, show his identification with new thinking which challenges limits. His first house Saturn says he is also identified with the power to affect the bureaucratic system, with the ability to be a power person himself.
The rising Saturn is also identified with one’s career. Despite his strong seventh and eighth houses, I think that Nader has never married. He basically is his work, which is possible with a dominant Saturn or Vesta. An alternate way of describing this lifestyle is for someone to be married to his or her work. Nader’s Vesta, the Virgo asteroid, is in Libra, a partnership sign, in one of the houses of partnership. The sign of Virgo is in the other partnership house. Pluto, a partnership planet, is in the house of Virgo. Peer relationships are also connected to God with both Neptune and Jupiter in the houses of partnership, with Jupiter also in the sign of Libra. Juno, a Scorpio asteroid, in Sagittarius, and Pallas, a Libra asteroid, in Pisces, repeat the theme. There are always many possible ways of expressing such a pattern. Some individuals look for the perfect partner and are never satisfied. Some are attracted to others who are looking for perfection or to individuals who think they “are god” and have a right to whatever they want. Some, like Nader, play savior to others. Pluto’s placement in Cancer plus the Moon and one of its nodes in a partnership house add the potential for playing parent in what would normally be peer relationships. The south lunar node in the seventh house points to partnership as a lesson area, and I assume that Nader is working out the ability to share as an equal through his work with other people.
The ability to be successful in the material world is shown by a grand trine of Pluto, the MC, and Mercury-Pallas-Mars in water signs in earth houses. Earth is the ability to cope with the physical world. Water can be dependent or nurturing. Nader’s strong identification with Aquarius and Aries shows reluctance to be dependent, which often leads to a service profession where we care for others. Mercury conjunct Mars and Aries in the Mercury house show a very sharp, quick mind and often a similar tongue. Uranus in Aries repeats this information, and its movement on to the cusp of the third house was an additional reinforcement. P Uranus conjunct Ceres for years fits using the mental brilliance in service to others. Ceres is like a Virgo-Cancer mixture, usually attracted to service professions, but its position in Aries shows the need to do it in unique ways.
When Nader’s chart is calculated for Washington, DC where his office is located and where he tweaks the tail of the establishment, his Ascendant is moved back into 27 Capricorn, adding to the personal power drive. His MC in Washington is in 19 Scorpio with exact squares to the East Point axis and the lunar nodes, repeating the power issue—personal power versus the limits of personal power. P Uranus in Aries has been square the Capricorn Ascendant for years to say it again. Astrology is very redundant. It keeps saying the same thing in many ways. But Nader has the ability to successfully challenge and change the establishment, at least some of the time. His P Saturn sextiles P Uranus for years.
I do not have an asteroid for either of Nader’s names, so can only check his possible relationship to some of the other players in the presidential sweepstakes. Some of his liberal friends have tried to persuade him to stay out of the race because of the fear that he might pull enough votes to threaten Clinton in California. His chart confirms that he could influence the situation if the asteroid Clintford “works” for Clinton. I have not had time to check it, so it is questionable at this point. In Nader’s chart, P Clintford is conjunct P California in 15 Sagittarius, and they trine Nader’s Moon, sextile/trine his P lunar nodes, and sextile his P Jupiter, which certainly suggests that he does not want to hurt Clinton’s chances. They also are trioctile Nader’s P East Point and quincunx his P Ascendant, implying changes in personal action. The asteroid I have mostly been using for Clinton is Williams. Nader has N Williams on N Mars which fits his action having an effect on Bill. P Williams repeats this message with its position in 27 Aries conjunct P Mercury and P Uranus as well as P Hephaistos, the maker of weapons for the gods of Olympus. In the third house, the action would produce mental weapons in the media.
P Guillermina might be another version of William. Nader has it on N America in 6 Aries and progressing in 28 Aries on P Uranus as well as on N Phaethon (overreach), N Albertine (a possible key to Al Gore) and N Jackson (which might work for Jesse or even for the Democrats which are sometimes called the Party of Jackson since they began with an Andrew Jackson presidency). The name even has a link to the Republican Party since one of the events taken as a founding date occurred in Jackson, MI. These aspects certainly fit Nader having an impact on current politics, but the details of that impact are debatable, as usual.
Of course, there are lots more relevant asteroids. Hestia (work and workers), Washingtonia (for our capital), Siva (potential destruction), and Themis (divine justice) are in a conjunction with overlapping orbs in 17 to 19 Aries where they are quincunx Nader’s MC in Washington, DC and sextile his East Point and north lunar node. P Ganesa (which may “work” for the Republicans) is on the East Point and P Hillary is just past it on Saturn. N Eleutheria (freedom) and N Damocles (with the sword over the head) are on N Saturn, so they are connected. Hillary certainly has a sword hanging over her head currently, but I don’t know what if any role Nader might play in the situation. He does look involved somehow, since his P MC in Washington is on N Hillary. Alternately, Hillary’s problems might influence Nader’s actions.
Nader’s birthplace P MC is on N Ganesa. He has so many irons in his fire, the political ramifications can be really complicated. His work for “ordinary” citizens is certainly more compatible with the Democratic belief that the government needs to protect such people against the wealthy elite. The Republicans in general favor letting everyone fend for themselves, which, can turn into a license for the powerful to despoil the environment and oppress the weak.
In secondary progressions, the P Moon is the fastest factor (other than the Quotidian angles which move about one degree a day), and its aspects will sometimes provide the major clue to whether or not the current consequences are satisfactory. At the November 1996 election, Nader’s P Moon will be in 0 Sagittarius. Though P Moon will sextile the Ascendant, most of its aspects will be more conflicted. It will octile P Jupiter, square the Antivertex, trioctile P local Antivertex, and quincunx P Aletheia (truth). It will also conjunct Jeffers, another of the asteroids I am testing to see whether it is “working” for Clinton whose middle name is Jefferson, equivalent to the “son of Jeffers.” Playing with the asteroids is great fun, but may sometimes stretch the mirror. P Moon is also opposite the midpoint of N and P Chiron, suggesting that the election will have an impact on Nader’s values and goals. It could change his relationship with the federal government since the Moon is in the tenth house. P Moon is also on P Herberta, which was named for Herbert Hoover, famous for presiding over the great depression of the 1930s, so it could point to financial challenges for the society stemming from the election results. Herbert is also one of Bush’s names, and he is currently trying to persuade Colin Powell to run as VP with Dole. Even with the many asteroids with specific names, the future remains open to many possibilities. I think astrology shows psychological issues—not life details.
So, after all the preceding (and there are lots more asteroids I could have mentioned), all we know with certainty is that Nader’s chart fits his work in the world, and that he could have a decisive effect on the election IF he chose.
We covered the Republican contenders for the presidency in previous issues of The Mutable Dilemma and/or Asteroid-World, and have written more than once about Bill Clinton. The current flap over the FBI files on Republicans being found in the White House may turn out to be more serious than either the Whitewater investigation or Paula Jones’ suit against Clinton. His chart has been included in the past but for any new readers, he was born on August 19, 1946 at 8:51 A.M. CST in Hope, AR. The constant string of scandals which have dogged Clinton from the time he started his campaign for the presidency demonstrate one of the traditional negative associations of a prominent Neptune. Most astrologers say deception or self-deception as a knee-jerk reaction to Neptune/Pisces/12th house. Of course, letter twelve can also show empathy, compassion, high ideals, artistic talent, psychic ability, and/or mystical inclinations. The public is truly polarized over Clinton, some responding to his genuine empathy and caring and loving him and others hating him for his periodic lies and for his attempt to defend the people who are rejected by the traditional religious right such as gays and women who seek abortions.
I think it is a warning flag about this current FBI flap that Clinton’s P Moon (which symbolizes the public among many meanings) is square his P lunar nodes (which are equivalent to the Moon), quincunx P Pluto, and about to quincunx P Sun. The aspects started around the time the uproar started, and the Moon’s aspects to its nodes will continue right up to the election since it hits the P positions, then the midpoints between P and N, and then the N positions. P Moon will also be quincunx the local (Washington, DC) Ascendant. This combination is not a good augury for the election, though at that time P Moon will also trine P Ascendant and Clinton’s local Antivertex in Washington, so the outcome is still somewhat open. By the next inauguration, Clinton’s P Moon will be square his Uranus but trine his local MC, again a mixed message. If his birth time is precise, his P MC also reaches his N Sun between the election and the inauguration, signaling prominence, but that could mean fame or infamy. Even if he wins, he will still be hounded by some vitriolic foes. I am continually amazed at the intense feelings he generates in people. So, as usual, we will see what happens and learn some more about astrology.
The Asteroid-World is mostly devoted to mundane astrology and asteroids, so I include event charts from time to time since they let us test the new asteroids. Our initial hypothesis is that the asteroids are discovered by astronomers who will give them appropriate names. The underlying theory is that the primary nature of reality is mind, made of emotion and information, and that mind is “non-local” so the “same emotion” is connected everywhere and everywhen, and the “same information” is similarly connected. We keep testing the theory by noting whether the charts for important events include appropriate aspects to the asteroids which should be relevant to those events.
Most of our readers will have heard the news when Jessica Dubroff’s plane crashed immediately after it had taken off from Cheyenne, WY at 8:25 A.M. on April 11, 1996. Jessica was seeking a record as the youngest pilot to fly across the U.S. One suspects that her father was really the one seeking the record for his daughter, but theoretically Jessica agreed with the goal. The weather was very bad, but they took off anyway and crashed, killing all on board—Jessica, her father, and the experienced pilot who had been teaching Jessica and who may actually have been at the controls of the plane.
Before looking as the chart, our hypothesis calls for aspects to Icarus and Phaethon, who overreached and crashed, to Wright, the name of the brothers who developed heavier-than-air planes, and to the asteroids connected to death. Other possibilities could be Hybris (hubris) for a general over-confidence which can lead to risk-taking, asteroids with names connected to sorrow and danger and the sky or flight. In charts related to death, I also look at the Arabic Part of Death which is calculated by adding the Ascendant to the eighth house cusp and subtracting the Moon. Obviously, we also look at all forms of letter eight (Pluto, Juno, Scorpio, and the eighth house) and where the event is violent, we look at Mars and the rest of the letter one factors. Letter eleven should also be involved as a “sky” principle in addition to its association with new technology. Letters nine should be involved as a key to beliefs. Our basic faith shapes our judgment, which is based on our level of confidence (or over-confidence), our values, goals, etc. By extension, letter nine (Jupiter, Chiron, Sagittarius, and the 9th house) is also connected to long trips. It shows our willingness to go wherever we hope to find our ultimate values. Letter twelve can also be involved since it indicates faith and values at the subconscious level.
Looking at the chart for Jessica’s take-off and crash, we can immediately see that the Ascendant opposes Pluto, is trioctile Jupiter, quincunx Pallas, a Libra asteroid, and conjunct Anubis, an Egyptian god associated with the underworld and death. The opposition and the quincunx are often present when we separate from what we have been doing and go in new directions. Leaving the physical body is one of the more drastic forms of separation. As indicated above, Jupiter symbolizes our judgment, which is based on our faith. Jupiter in Capricorn shows a lesson connected to faith, usually the need to be realistic. Of course, there is always a range of possible details from being too skeptical to being too gullible.
The Antivertex is like another Ascendant in the chart, a key to our right and ability to do what we please. In this chart, the Antivertex is conjunct the Part of Death. Aspects to the new asteroids, as well as to Arabic Parts, planetary nodes, and midpoints, are only listed when they are within one degree of exact. Wider orbs are permitted when working with aspects between the planets or between the planets and the angles of the chart. The other auxiliary Ascendant, the East Point, is square Urania, a goddess with some similarity to Uranus and thus potentially connected to new technology and the sky. The East Point is also octile Hel in 28 Pisces, one of the goddesses of death. Hela, another asteroid named for the same goddess, was in 17 Gemini quincunx Jupiter and two other asteroids which were with it—Victoria and Zeus, the Greek name for Jupiter. The latter triple conjunction on the 9th house cusp is an emphatic statement of the danger of over-confidence. Capricorn shows the “rules of the game,” and includes the danger of literally falling (or failing in some way) if we ignore the rules. Hela is also quincunx Wright in 16 Scorpio, the inventor of airplanes, to complete a yod (double quincunx). The yod is the most emphatic pattern in astrology associated with moving in new directions and letting go the past. Wright in the sign of Pluto is also opposite the asteroid Child.
Libitina, the Roman goddess of death, is just under 7 Virgo square Venus. With Libitina on the cusp of the 5th house and Venus in the 1st house, the aspect connects conflict or challenges to the fire principle, the main key to life itself. The signs of Gemini and Virgo signify the conscious side of the mind, the capacity for intelligence and common sense. Hybris is in 0 Capricorn square Saturn and quincunx three asteroids in 0 Leo: Karma for consequences, Starr with an association to the sky and possible fame, and Tezcatlipoca, an Aztec god who demanded human sacrifices. Leo, like all fire, can be over-confident. Icarus in 19 Aries, a fire sign which intensifies the danger of overreach, is octile Daedalus, his father in the myth. Icarus is also on the midpoint of Sun and the south lunar node. The south node is a lesson. The Sun and Mars are the main keys to faith in one’s personal power. Their midpoint is on the south node. Phaethon in 20 Taurus is the weakest of the asteroids we expected to find featured in the chart. It is opposite the midpoint if Wright and Vesta which is actually on the “far” midpoint since there are always two points which are equidistant from any pair of factors. Vesta is our ultimate Virgo, associated with the ability to cope effectively with the physical world. Obviously, the plane was not able to cope with the weather. A number of theories were offered at the time, including the possibility that the plane was overloaded for the altitude of the airport.
We haven’t said much about the “standard” factors in this chart. Obviously, the Moon on Uranus in Aquarius in the Sagittarius house shows the potential for risk-taking. The Moon is also on Neptune, which, like Jupiter, is a key to faith, but in the sign of Saturn warns of the need for realism. Four factors are in Aries to add to the over-confidence, and three in Taurus also support the basic sense that we can get what we want. There is no lack of intelligence in the chart. Venus, Chiron, and the MC form a grand trine in air signs. But the fire clearly overpowered the other elements. Fire says “I have the right and the power to do what I want.” Sometimes, the consequences say otherwise.
As we were in the last stage of finishing The Mutable Dilemma and Asteroid-World, a terrorist bomb was exploded in Saudi Arabia. The initial news reports said that a least 23 Americans were killed and over 300 injured, some very seriously. The bomb was in a tanker truck 35 yards away from the building where service personnel were housed, but it took off the whole front of the several story building and dug a crater about 30 feet deep and 85 feet wide. Photographs of the building had an eerie similarity to the bombed building in Oklahoma City. The explosion took place on June 25, 1996 in a suburb of Dhahran, at 10:30 P.M. local time (7:30 P.M. UT).
Even when we are studying tragic events, the pervasive meaning in the cosmos is fascinating. An initial radio report gave the time of the blast as 9:55 P.M. which put Mars exactly on the IC, a totally appropriate position for violent death. Water, including the water houses, marks absorption, assimilation, endings, as fire marks new beginnings. When the accurate time became available in the newspaper and on TV news, Mars was more widely square the Ascendant and exactly square the Part of Death which was just above the Ascendant. Venus also squared the Ascendant and Mercury was on the IC in its own sign as the media had a feeding frenzy. The Moon was quincunx the Antivertex from the 8th house, an appropriate aspect for death, and Juno, a surrogate Pluto, was tightly conjunct Saturn in Aries in the first house. The Sun in the fourth house had a double quincunx (yod) to Ceres and Uranus, showing the likelihood of changes, including separations.
The asteroids were there, of course. The Sun was on America as our country took the limelight. It was also on Anubis, an Egyptian god of the dead, and had just left the one-degree orb to Atlantis which is often present when there is abuse of power. The Sun would have been conjunct Atlantis during the final stages of preparation for the bombing. Jupiter, our key to religious faith, squared the lunar nodes and opposed Hela, a goddess of death, producing a grand cross in cardinal signs and fixed houses, the hallmark of power struggles. The asteroid Arabia was on Chiron, a surrogate Jupiter, and opposite Saturn and Juno. Libitina, another goddess of death, was in 24 Virgo square Themis (divine justice), octile Chaldaea (the ancient name of what is now much of Iraq and Iran), and trioctile Damocles, noted for the sword hanging over the head. Hel, a variation of Hela, was trioctile Ceres and trine the MC. The trine can point to the success of the men who set off the bomb. They achieved their goal of damaging the Americans. But the aspect might also indicate that the authorities (MC) will succeed in their determination to catch the terrorists. Saudi Arabia has offered a reward of over $2 million for information leading to an arrest.
Nobel was named for the man who invented dynamite, so we expect it to be prominent. In 25 Cancer 46 it was trioctile the Part of Death, octile Hephaistos who made the weapons for the gods of Olympus, and square Gaea, the earth. The Ascendant moves about one degree in four minutes as the earth rotates, so it would have been exactly trioctile Nobel as the truck was parked and the terrorists escaped to a waiting car just before the bomb went off. Mars was just short of an octile to Nobel but was connected since it was on Hephaistos which was in the one-degree orb to Nobel. When several planets are connected in a network of aspects with overlapping orbs, we have to consider the set as a related package, all part of the picture. Icarus squared the East Point from 15 Sagittarius and Fanatica squared it from 15 Gemini. Aspects involving Sagittarius and Pisces repeat the emphasis on religious faith as a contributory cause of the action in the event. The asteroid Washingtonia, for our capital, was octile/trioctile the lunar nodes.
When a major event involves more than one location on earth, it is often interesting to check the house cusps for the other place. The planets, their signs and their aspects, do not change. They are the same for the whole earth. But the houses are based on our location on earth, so the planets will be in different houses in different places, and the angles, the intersections of great circles, will be different. The aspects to the angles are highly important, and are the primary focus in describing a relocated chart. The Arabic Parts which I use are calculated with a mixture of planets and angles or other house cusps, so they are among the factors which change as we shift our location on earth.
When this chart is calculated for Washington, DC, Mars is in the 8th house conjunct the Part of Death. Vesta, often highlighted when there is serious alienation from other people, is in the first house on the East Point. The East Point is also quincunx the south lunar node and Venus to produce another yod. Venus and Mars are both opposite the Antivertex and the Ascendant squares Uranus. The orbs are slightly wider for these aspects from the Antivertex and Ascendant to the planets, but they are still relatively narrow, around 2 to 3 degrees. The Washington MC holds a grand trine in fire signs to Ceres, Juno, and Saturn, so as in the chart in Arabia, it seems likely that the authorities will catch the perpetrators.
Though the bomb killed and injured mostly Americans, it was probably also a protest against the Saudi ruling family who maintain a rigid dictatorship over their people. Like Bosnia, Northern Ireland, Israel, Afghanistan, Sri Lanka, Kashmir, and many other areas in the world, the mix of politics and religion can be explosive and deadly. A lot of humans are learning empathy and tolerance the hard way. When we maintain our own lives as centers of peace and love, we can at least nudge the world a little closer to its positive potential.
In addition to mundane charts of events, countries or other institutions, world leaders, etc., personal clients are always a source of expanding our understanding of astrology. But privacy rights prevent consultants from writing about clients without their permission. Consequently, many dramatic examples are buried in personal files unless we alter the reported details enough to conceal the identity of the client. Even including the actual horoscope is questionable unless we have obtained permission from the subject, since the data (date, time, and place) of the chart can be calculated from it.
In light of this bind, I am going to report some interesting comparisons between the charts of a mother, her grown son, and his preschool age daughter without including the charts. I know that is frustrating to astrologers who want the charts which always tell us much more than can ever be written in a discussion of highlights. If readers protest, I will not do it again, but we’ll try it once.
The mother has several children, but she comments that her relationship with this son has always been unusually intense and different. She has felt compelled to help him when he got into periodic trouble, and she had a sense of being “tied” to him from his birth. There are two asteroids with variations on his personal name. One of these was on her Ascendant when she was born. The other is there now by progression as she has felt obliged to provide financial help to bail him out of jail. There is also an asteroid for the son’s last name which is different from the rest of the family since the mother remarried and the other children have a different father. Of course, that fact is enough to mark this child as “different” and to make the mother feel the need to take extra pains to make up for his loss of his birth father. Psychology would give all the credit to the life circumstances. Astrologers might credit the planets. I think that the sky symbolizes the situation on earth and basic character (habits) bring us in where we fit. The asteroid with the son’s last name has been progressing over the mother’s south lunar node for years, and it will soon reach her natal Ascendant. Obviously, the mother is learning something in this relationship with the node showing a lesson and the asteroid pinpointing the person bringing it to her.
The son’s last name asteroid opposes his Pluto in Leo and is octile one of his first name asteroids which is in the natural house of Pluto. Pluto squares his Taurus Ascendant. Mars is in Aquarius, like his last name asteroid, and it is quincunx his other first name asteroid in the natural house of the Sun. His last name asteroid is also quincunx an asteroid in the Sun’s house—Asmodeus, the demon of lust. His lunar nodes are also in Leo-Aquarius square Jupiter in Taurus. As a key to our faith, Jupiter in Taurus may overvalue physical sensuality, and the fixed emphasis in general has to deal with sensuality, pleasure, possessions, and power, balancing personal desires against the power and desires of others. As you might guess from this list of features in the son’s chart, he was accused of sexually molesting his young daughter.
I have only the birthdate of the daughter, not the time or place, but we can still use the asteroids and the major planets which can usually be calculated to the degree from the birth date. The daughter has her Juno (the marriage asteroid) on her father’s IC. Her Pluto is on his Descendant, a marriage house. Her Pallas, a Libra asteroid, is on his P Venus and P Juno, two keys to partners, and square his Sun, one of the keys to love and children, including sex for procreation. Her Venus is on his Antivertex (which is like an Ascendant, personal identity) and trine his Pluto. Her Mars (her identity) is on his south lunar node, his lesson through relationships, and especially connected to immediate family. If the horoscopes of an unrelated, adult man and woman had such contacts, they would certainly be considered candidates for marriage. The attraction between the two individuals has to be intense! When so many aspects connect a parent with a child of the opposite sex, the challenge must be intense. This does not excuse the father from what he did, but it does help to explain it psychologically. When the fantastic insights provided by astrology are finally recognized, it may help such individuals handle their subconscious emotions.
