Death in the Horoscope: James Kim
December 8, 2006 by admin
James Kim’s death is shocking and tragic, and it stands as a harsh reminder of the dangers of untamed nature. When an astrologer sees a tragically early death such as this one, the inevitable question always arises: Could an early death be located in James Kim’s natal horoscope? The answer is yes, and ancient astrologers spent much of their time doing just that, looking for death in all manner of birth charts. People, and especially children, up to a hundred years ago in the West, and still in many places today, often died unexpectedly and prematurely. As a result, many parents wanted to know whether their children would outlive infancy, or whether a potential wife would survive birth of any children.
Below is James Kim’s horoscope set for Louisville, Kentucky, for noon. I do not have the precise time of James Kim’s birth, and noon charts are quite satisfactory when it comes to public events. However, if you have a reliable source for his time of birth, do let me know (nina@gryphonastrology.com).
Indicators of an Early Death in James Kim’s Horoscope
There are several alarming factors here, none of which would be problematic on its own, but when we get to about five indicators that show health problems or threats to life, we start to worry.
First, we notice that Venus, ruler of the first house of the body, is conjunct the malefic South node, and afflicts (and is afflicted by) the Sun. The Sun, of course, is the Lord of life, and afflictions to it will often show that the individual’s grasp on life is tenuous to some degree. Second, this whole mess opposes Mars in Aquarius in the fifth house of pleasure. Mars in Aquarius is in the detriment of the Sun, so we can see that Mars, a violent planet, afflicts the Sun not only by opposition, but also by negative reception. Mars opposite Sun, especially when combined with other difficult indicators, can give us accident proneness. Aquarius signifies places that are high and wild. Given the fact that James Kim met death in the wilderness, we can see the influence of Mars in Aquarius in full force.
There are also additional indicators specific to this noon chart, so while they are helpful, they must be taken with a grain of salt. Together, however, they are quite suggestive. We notice that the Lord of the ascendant, which is the Lord of life, also rules the eighth house of death. The Moon is in the malefic sixth house; as the secondary indicator of life, this is not good. Finally, we notice that the antiscion of the Sun is conjunct the cusp of the eighth house of death. Yikes!
Prima Hyadum: The Chief of the Weeping Sisters (Pleiades)
I am also concerned about the fact that Saturn, which in this chart is placed in the eighth house of death, is conjunct Prima Hyadum, a malefic fixed star. It is of the nature of Saturn and Mercury, so one interpretation would be death (Saturn in the 8th) from journeys (Mercury). Further, it is said to give “tears, sudden events, violence, fierceness, poisoning, blindness, wounds or injuries to the head by instruments, weapons or fevers, and contradictions of fortune.” Because Saturn moves so slowly, many people have Saturn on this violent fixed star. However, Saturn’s location in the eighth house indicates that Saturn and any associated stars will describe the manner of death.
The next installment in the series will discuss the progressions in James Kim’s horoscope at the time of his death, and the way that the natal chart was triggered to indicate an untimely, tragic death.
Astrology of Current Affairs: Full Moon of November 5, 2006 – U.S. Midterm Elections
October 30, 2006 by admin
The Full Moon of November 5, 2006 will fall right before the United States midterm elections. For readers outside of the United States, these are the elections that determine which party will have a majority in the House of Representatives and the Senate. Since all of the branches of government are currently controlled by the Republican Party, everyone is eagerly watching the midterm elections to see whether this total control by one party will continue or not.
We can look at the astrological chart for the upcoming Full Moon to see which party has the better position. In this post about the Jupiter-Saturn square horoscope, I discussed that horoscope in light of the midterm elections. The Full Moon falling just before the elections (and just after the Jupiter-Saturn square) should pick up on the themes in the Jupiter-Saturn square horoscope. In that chart, we saw that the ruling party is not looking too good, as it was shown by Venus in its detriment in Scorpio combust by the Sun. The Moon, which always shows the people, favored the Democrats, but both parties were going to have difficulty getting their constituents out to the polls. The mood of the country is not exactly enthusiastic.
The horoscope for the November 5 Full Moon is here:
We see that here, the ruling party is shown by Mercury, ruler of the 10th house. Their opponents, the Democrats, are shown by Jupiter, ruler of the fourth which opposes the 10th. Mercury is not doing terribly well; it is on the 12th house and it is retrograde. It is also about to conjoin a rather afflicted Venus. This is rather unpromising for the Republicans on the whole. However, while being retrograde can be an affliction to a planet, also be aware that it can be a descriptor. That is to say, it can show the Republicans returning to power once more.
Jupiter is looking rather better than Mercury. It is close enough to the Ascendant to be considered angular, and being conjunct the Ascendant is the strongest position in the horoscope that a planet can occupy. The fact that Jupiter is applying to the Ascendant could show that the Democrats are not yet in power, but they are moving in that direction rapidly. The Ascendant also shows the people and the country as a whole in political horoscopes. Also, Jupiter will enter its own sign, Sagittarius, in about 4° from its current position. So Jupiter is going toward strength, while Mercury is going toward weakness. However, I would strongly caution against interpreting this to mean that the Democrats will retake majority control of the Senate and the House of Representatives. It may mean that they will retake one of the two, but the chart does not describe the exact amount of strength that the Democratic Party can expect.
One reason for my caution is the Moon, showing the will of the people. The Moon is in the term of Mercury, and is not interested in Jupiter very much. As in the Jupiter-Saturn horoscope, the Moon is in a cadent and malefic house. This time, it is also in a fixed sign. So we can’t help but get the feeling that American voters will choose to stay home and eat potato chips, or at least stick to the tried and true. The overall sense of the Jupiter-Saturn chart is that the voters will prefer the Democrats, and don’t forget that that chart is good for about five years from October 25, 2006. However, voters are notoriously fickle, and this Full Moon chart may just be enough to move them not to vote or vote more conservatively.
Current Affairs: Horary Astrology – Will Dennis Hastert Resign?
October 6, 2006 by admin
As an astrologer, I find political scandals fascinating, such as the recent one with Mark Foley. What tends to interest me about such political fallouts is the way in which blame spreads like wildfire, leaving nothing untouched. This being an election year, it is as though the ground was first thoroughly soaked in gasoline. I was particularly interested to see how House Speaker Denny Hastert was going to fare, with increasing pressures on him to resign his job.
I cast a horary to see what would happen to Hastert. I noticed the late degrees of the rising sign, which made me wonder whether the decision had not already been made, even though the question has been asked on October 3.
The horary chart for the question “Will Hastert resign due to the scandal?” is here:
Hastert himself is shown by Mars in Libra in the turned sixth house. The sign of Libra is ruled by Hastert’s opponents (7th from the 7th). By being in their sign, Hastert is very much at their mercy, which explains why Mars is so debilitated in Libra. Beyond being in a malefic house, Mars is also combust, which is the greatest affliction that can happen to a planet. Being close to the Sun is considered very harmful, due to the Sun’s excessive heat. What’s more problematic here, is that the Sun is moving faster than Mars, getting even closer to Mars. So Mars is going to be even more debilitated as time goes on, though it will be a slow process.
However, we do not see Mars about to change signs, nor do we see any change in sign by the job, ruler of Hastert’s 10th house of career (Saturn in Leo). Too, the fact that the 10th cusp is in a fixed sign, and its ruler is in a fixed sign makes me think that there will be no immediate resignation. I also cast the Part of Resignation and Dismissal, and its dispositor, Venus, is not aspecting either the job or Hastert himself.
The applying opposition between the moon and Saturn might suggest resignation, as opposition is the aspect that breaks people or things apart. However, Mars is applying to Saturn by sextile (Hastert going to the job), which makes me think that Hastert is more likely to get reelected for the position should the Republicans retain control of the House. The Sun applying to Mars however, shows increasing pressure on Hastert, so even if he gets reelected for the Speaker position, it looks as though his troubles are far from over.
Update: I have thought about the applying Mars-Saturn sextile some more, and because both planets are so very essentially weak (both are in detriment), I find it less likely that Hastert will get reelected for the Speaker position next year. To have an effective aspect between two planets, the planets need some manner of essential strength; these two are very weak, indeed, and Saturn (the job) does not care for Mars (Hastert) at all. Odds of Hastert’s reelection are low.
Just the other day, I read a very relevant quote in On the Psychology of Military Incompetence:
It is a sad feature of authoritarian organizations that their nature militates against the possibility of learning from the experience through the apportioning of blame… Since authoritarianism is itself the product of psychological defenses, authoritarian organizations are past masters at deflecting blame. They do so by denial, by rationalization, by making scapegoats, or by some mixture of the three. However it is achieved, the net result is that no real admission of failure or incompetence is ever made by those who are really responsible; hence nothing can be done about preventing a recurrence.
Astrology of Current Affairs: The Astrological Path to 9/11
September 12, 2006 by admin
Here we are at the 5-year anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks, and everyone still wonders at how it could have happened. I am not a historian nor political expert, but as an astrologer, one can see that ominous signs were present astrologically well before the 9/11 attacks.
To see the hints of 9/11 in the horoscope, we do not have an exact birthchart for the United States – we know it started on July 4, 1776, but the time is very difficult to pin down. The good news is that this is not necessary. Rather, it is far easier and far more accurate to use the horoscope for the Grand Conjunction before 1776. The Grand Conjunction is an old term for the Jupiter-Saturn conjunction which happens every 20 years. It is a major event for nations and individuals, because its imprint lasts for such a long time and it is such a rare event. The Grand Conjunction chart for the United States is below:
The Grand Conjunction of 1762 – United States’ Horoscope
The Grand Conjunction occurred at 12 Aries, conjunct the fixed star Alpheratz. Robson writes that it is of the nature of Jupiter and Venus, and gives “independence, freedom, love, riches, honour and a keen intellect.” It is highly benefic, especially for business success. The one fly in the ointment in the horoscope of the United States is that Saturn is in its fall in Aries, and as such is dreadfully weak. Saturn rules the 9th and 10th houses of the United States horoscope, so we know that the country’s reputation, honor and standing will be especially vulnerable whenever Saturn is afflicted. Another weak point of the natal horoscope is the Moon in Capricorn (in its detriment) in the 8th house of death. The Moon squares the Grand Conjunction, and rules the 2nd and 3rd houses of the horoscope. Thus, whenever the Moon is afflicted, we will see financial trouble, as well as a lack of national confidence in general (the 2nd rules the esteem).
Progressed Horoscope of the United States for 9/11/2001
This horoscope has a few troubling points, mainly because of the malefic fixed stars that afflict it. The Midheaven (the house of honor and fame) is on Vindemiatrix, a Saturnian star also called “the Widow-maker.” The progressed Moon had recently conjoined the Midheaven, setting events in motion. The Moon is also applying to a square of Mars in the first house – the first house represents the country as such, and when violent Mars is triggered in the 1st, we can expect war, unrest, and violence. The progressed Moon has also just opposed the Grand Conjunction in the original chart, triggering it (and its difficult Saturn). The natal Saturn is in Aries, the sign of Mars, indicating a propensity to violence. Progressed Mars is in Capricorn, the sign of Saturn. Needless to say, the potential for explosive violence is there, waiting to be set off. The stage has been set for trouble, violence and sorrow.
Eclipse prior to 9/11/2001
The eclipse of July 5, 2001, triggers both the Grand Conjunction chart and the progressed chart in dramatic ways. The eclipse itself was at 13 Cancer-Capricorn, which falls on the difficult natal Moon in Capricorn. The Moon is on the fixed star Algorab, a highly destructive fixed star of the nature of Mars and Saturn. However, there are still other dramatic testimonies of trouble. The eclipse also triggers the progressed Mars in Capricorn the 1st house. Mars itself is on the fixed star Wega, also known as the Falling Vulture. The eclipse horoscope has Saturn right on the Midheaven. Saturn and the Midheaven are also conjunct the Ascendant of the natal Grand Conjunction, bringing home violence and sorrow. Whenever the angles of an eclipse trigger those of the natal horoscope, a major event often happens. For individuals, it is often death; for countries, it is often trauma and major violence.
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