Gryphon Astrology Blog

Question:

I would like to know: is my dad going to die before the end of the year, and when is he likely to go?

My dad has been sick for almost a decade now, and probably does not have much longer to live one way or another. It’s pretty much a Terri Schiavo situation, only my mother is on the pro-life side and I am on the “let him go, he’s suffered enough” side. I am resigned to the fact that this illness will drag out for as long and slowly and painfully as it is possible to do because she will not change her mind on that. The last time I talked to his doctor, he said that my father could probably not survive beyond late October/early November. (This is around his birthday and my Saturn Return, so it seems rather likely to me that it will be soon.)

Now insurance has decided to throw him out of the hospital and into a nursing home, so they can cut him off financially by the end of 2006. The move to a nursing home means that he cannot get speedy medical care and must be moved around a lot every time he gets an infection, so his health will probably go downhill even faster. In a way, I am hoping this is the case so that he won’t suffer for much longer. Also, I am afraid that if he lives through the period of time insurance is going to pay for, my mom will make herself bankrupt paying for his nursing home, as the cost is astronomical.

I’d just like to know for my own peace of mind when it is likely to occur, and if I am going to need to worry about the insurance money running out before Dad does.

—J.

Nina Gryphon:

Dear J.,

Personally, I see your heartbreaking situation as testimony to the heartlessness of our current medical system. I get a number of questions about death, usually that of a loved one who is hovering very near the grave, and the relatives want to know whether they should dig in for the long haul financially, or whether they just need a little more time and money. I suspect the reason I get so many questions on death is that many astrologers are not willing or able to answer these questions, and so they recommend me as someone who does this sort of work.

As always, I cast a horoscope for the time that I understood your question, a technique known as horary astrology. This method is very old, and involves casting a horoscope for the moment that I understood your question, with the idea that the answer to a question is contained in the horoscope for the question itself. Everything in the universe has a birth chart, and your question does as well, and it can be interpreted not unlike a regular natal horoscope of a person.the horoscope for your horary question about your dad’s death is below:

Your dad is the main concern in this horoscope, so we will turn the chart so that his house is on the ascendant. Fathers are ruled by the fourth house, so we will look what is going on with the ruler of the fourth house, Venus, and see whether there are any testimonies of immediate death.  First, we notice that Venus is in its fall in the eighth house. The eighth house rules death, but since your dad’s planet is already in it, we can see that it is because you are thinking of death; he is not already dead. The fact that Venus is so debilitated in Virgo, shows that your dad is in a bad way healthwise.

Much of the time, we will see an aspect between the person’s significator, here, Venus, and the Lord of the eighth house or the turned eighth house; those are Mercury and Jupiter, respectively. Venus does not make any applying aspects to Mercury, and indeed the two planets are in mutual reception by sign. This means that Mercury is in the sign of Venus, Libra, and Venus is in the sign of Mercury, Virgo. When we see this, this often means that death will not occur in the timeframe provided.

Even if the eighth house ruler does not show death, we must also look at the turned eighth house, which in this case is the eighth from the fourth, or the 11th house, ruled by Jupiter. If we look at the relationship between Venus and Jupiter, we see a terrible mutual reception, as each planet is in the detriment of the other planet. Jupiter is in Scorpio, and Venus is in Virgo. However, the two planets are separating from an aspect. Venus recently sextiled Jupiter, and the meaning of this must be judged according to the situation. If your dad is in a coma, it shows that death has already occurred, in any meaningful sense of the word, and the question will be when the doctors and your mom will recognize it. If your dad is still alive, it shows that he has come as close to death as he will get for a while.

Thus far, the testimony seems to be that your dad will live out this year. There are two potential testimonies that may show a turn for the worse, but they are not as strong we would want to see for an unequivocal testimony of death.  In 6°, Venus will conjoin the malefic South Node. Whenever we see something bad happening to a person’s significator, when the question is about death, we can assume that that nasty thing symbolizes death. This would judge that in about six weeks, there is the potential for death. This testimony is strengthened by the fact that the Moon will conjoin the Sun (a New Moon), which might be a supporting testimony if death is in the cards. This will happen in about 5 1/2 degrees. So we can see that six weeks or so might give death, particularly if your father is already comatose; if nothing happens then, it is likely your father will live out the year.

— For private consultations, readers may contact Nina Gryphon at nina@gryphonastrology.com.

Bookmark to