The Challenge Corner
Zip Dobyns
Only one reader tried her skill on the challenge corner, and was right on both twins! Congratulations, Nancy. The second-born was the one with the problem in both cases. Either people were too busy or too discouraged by previous failure or frustrated by the wrong data in the Pisces issue. Clues indicated in the correct guess for the September 10, 1946 twins included the closer aspects of Saturn conjunct the Ascendant, Venus square the Ascendant (with Juno), Moon quincunx the Ascendant from the 8th house (and ruler of the 12th house in the later twin) and Sun quincunx the MC. The change of house rulership (6-12) was a significant clue, though both twins had conflict aspects between the two rulers. The first-born twin had Mercury semi-square (octile) Jupiter while the second-born had Moon quincunx Saturn as well as the Ascendant. In fact, the Ascendant/Saturn midpoint of 3 Leo 16 was just 2 minutes from the quincunx to the Moon. In the fatal illness, Lupus, the connective tissues of the body dissolve as they are attacked by the body’s own auto-immune or defense system, but the actual death is usually from the impairment of some vital organ. In this case, the wall of the heart ruptured, making the Sun’s quincunx to the MC (within one degree orb for the second twin) a major clue. The MC symbolizes the same principle as Saturn, our handling of power or inhibition of it if we feel we might fail, fall short, do the wrong thing. Among the one-degree orb midpoints present for twin two but not for twin one were MC square Jupiter/Venus and Uranus/Pluto as well as opposite Pallas/Saturn and Jupiter/Neptune. Both planet and midpoint aspects suggested that twin two was more emotionally vulnerable, needed to please other people, feared doing the wrong thing to a higher degree than twin one. As has been indicated earlier, I pay special attention to the one-degree and three-degree orb aspects.
I had hoped that more readers would respond to the November 17, 1978 twins, since I think it is one of the most obvious we have offered. The Saturn-Mars square is exact for both, but the Ascendant is in much closer aspect for the second twin, while the Venus-Jupiter square is in exact harmonious aspect to the first twin’s Ascendant. The other major and obvious item is the movement of the south node from the 4th to the 3rd house. I consider the nodes (like all water factors) to be unconscious qualities we have brought from the past. The 4-10 axis represents parents and heredity, including congenital conditions (present from birth). So the south node of the Moon suggests a potential hereditary or congenital problem present from the beginning of life. Moving into the 3rd house, but still conjunct the IC, it points to the problem with speech, while in the 4th house it marks a problem with the emotional security needs from the parents, probably due to the defective twin being the center of attention and concern. The Antivertex of the 2nd twin had also just reached the octile-tri-octile of the Mars-Saturn, further accenting that conflict.
Of course, there are always factors which could point in the other direction. The East Point has more conflict aspects for the first twin; close octile-tri-octile to the Jupiter-Venus square, while the second twin’s East Point has a semi-sextile to the Sun. The movement of Uranus from the 12th cusp back into the 11th house would also be usually interpreted as favoring the second twin. As I have noted before, the 12th house can be protection if the individual has faith in a higher power. The Koch houses had two house changes which are relevant. Pluto was on the cusp of 11 for the first twin and moved back into the tenth house for the second. At the start of life, the 10th house, like Saturn, represents the power of the world, outside our control; the “givens” of life. A congenital condition requiring surgery is one of many possibilities with that position, especially since Pluto squares the Moon in the 8th house (more water or past roots). Also with the Koch houses, Jupiter moved from the 9th house cusp back into the 8th house, repeating the contrast between potential faith and a water house with the danger of repression and surgery.
Of course, one of the reasons I like to get such cases is the obvious philosophical implications. Twelve minutes of difference in birth time could certainly not cause a cleft palate or an extra rib. The physical conditions were obviously present before birth. But the birth charts do show the potential for one twin to have more problems than the other, including the possibility for congenital defects and early surgery. We come when we fit. The sky is a mirror to let us see ourselves.
The challenge for the Virgo issue may prove impossible, but I thought readers would like to have the data anyway. The twins are a male and a female. One is leading a “Normal” life, remaining in a traditional religion and very family-centered. The other is also married with grown children, but has become a professional psychic in an area where there is little public acceptance or approval for such interests (the Bible-Belt south-east of the U.S.). Anyone want to guess? The twins were born on September 25, 1928, at 35 N 13, 80 W 51, one at 5:16 and the other at 5:20 A.M. E.S.T.
