Challenge Corner
Zip Dobyns
We only had one response to the Pisces challenge, and unfortunately she guessed wrong. I think this challenge was one of our most difficult ones; in fact, I’m not sure anyone could have gotten it right. I ran out of time to pursue it further, and the differences that I noted were very mixed, some pointing to one twin, and some to the other. Before going into some of the differences, I wanted to comment on the one letter received. Several aspects were mentioned as closer where the aspects involved an orb of three to six degrees. I do not think we can depend on any discrimination where a wide orb is involved. I mostly pay attention to differences where the aspect is exact within one degree for one twin and over one degree for the other twin. That one degree figure seems to be really important, and I don’t think wider orbs are very dependable.
The Antivertex was a major clue in this set of twins. The other three angles (MC, Ascendant, and East Point) did not change dwads, but the first twin had the Antivertex in the Cancer dwad (and was the one who stayed with Mother) while the second twin had it in the Leo dwad and was the one who ventured out but also the one who married. The second twin also had the Antivertex trine the natal Sun within one degree to reinforce the Sun association. The orb was over a degree for the first twin, but her square of Antivertex to Ceres was exact within one degree; another tie to mother though a stress one. Venus, natural key to marriage, was also octile the Ascendant within the one degree orb for the first twin, and more than one degree for the second twin, fitting the latter being a bit more ready to marry. On the other hand, the second twin had the East Point octile Vesta within one degree while the first twin’s orb was wider. We could have interpreted the latter aspect either way, as more need to work, or as stress connected to work hence the joining of a religious community and the marriage which both were ways to be protected. Even though she stayed at home, the first twin had a job. But we could also have deduced that the close octile to Vesta marked the threat to health of the destructive accident, especially since the progressed Ascendant at the date of the incapacitating accident was in the Virgo dwad for the second twin and still in the Leo dwad for the first twin. So those factors would tend to lead us to an erroneous guess.
Another useful clue was the south node of Saturn exactly (within one degree) conjunct the seventh cusp for the first twin, suggesting some insecurity or lesson connected to marriage. The Saturn node was out of orb for the second twin, back in the sixth house. The Pluto south node was also on the seventh cusp for twin one and out of the one degree orb for twin two. Pluto could indicate either a desire for marriage or the serious accident and consequent surgery, so could have been interpreted either way. But those two south nodes exactly opposite the Ascendant certainly point to twin one as more challenged. And, to hammer in the point once more, the south node of Vesta was quincunx the Ascendant of twin one from the sixth house cusp but out of orb for twin two.
The south node of Mercury was conjunct Neptune and square the Ascendant within one degree for both twins, so is not useful for discrimination, but it may be one of the clues to their attraction to religious partners. One other interesting clue involved the natal Part of Mars (Ascendant plus Mars minus Sun). Twin one had hers at 9 Gemini 24 so progressed Mars reached a square to it in May 1970 when the serious accident occurred. Twin two had part of Mars at 10 Gemini 14, and Mars did not reach the square to it until 1972. There were also some differences in parallels to the angles, but I did not find them helpful in discriminating. Also non-helpful was the fact that at the time of the accident, twin one had the progressed MC square the south node of Pluto while twin two had the Progressed East Point opposite the south node of Saturn. We could read either one as appropriate for either event (miscarriage or accident) but might consider a reversal of the accurate one as more likely since Pluto rules the fifth house for the twins.
There are many more aspects, but we are out of space. In fact, we have so much material, we are skipping the challenge corner for this issue, but will try to have another for you in the next issue. I hope that our readers are interested in the world situation and world leaders, since this issue is rather heavily weighted in that direction, and we are still leaving out much that I would have liked to include.