Petra Kelly—Leader of the Greens

Zip Dobyns

Petra Kelly’s data comes from her birth record in Germany, reaching me via Ed Steinbrecher and Lois Rodden. According to the record, she was born on November 29, 1947 at 6:30 P.M. in Gunzburg, Germany; 48 N 27, 10 E 16, UT 5:30 P.M. With a father in the U.S. military and a German mother, Petra spent part of her school years in both countries, but her main political action took place in Germany. She was not only a major founder of the Green Party in Germany, she was considered a key leader in the world-wide Green movement which helped make the world conscious of ecology. As the current economic crisis deepens and jobs for people take priority over the protection of nature, many of Petra’s former associates wonder if things might have been different if she had lived.

Petra Kelly’s body was found on October 19, 1992, along with the body of her long-time associate in the Green movement, a former military officer who had been both father and lover to her. The deaths were called murder and suicide, but many questions were left unanswered. Petra had been an outspoken and controversial firebrand who had alienated many people, and it is possible that both she and her lover were murdered by enemies.

We can see the emphasis on intellectual brilliance and idealism in Petra’s chart. She had a close Sun-Jupiter conjunction in Jupiter’s sign opposite the East Point, an auxiliary Ascendant, in Gemini. Since the factors were in the Virgo-Pisces houses, they included the principles of a mutable grand cross. The theme was repeated with Venus in late Sagittarius opposite a Moon-Uranus conjunction in Gemini, also in the Virgo-Pisces houses. Pallas in early Pisces in the Sagittarius house was opposite Mars in late Leo in the Gemini house. Also in the third house were Pluto and Saturn in Leo. These combinations show a dynamic mind and the tendency toward forceful, dramatic communication. The Leo planets square the lunar nodes, Antivertex, Chiron and Mercury in Taurus and Scorpio. Squares and oppositions in fixed signs and (except for the Leo) in fixed houses are often manifested as power struggles. Idealism pulls people toward finding “causes” for which to fight, where they can live out the power-struggle potentials. Saving plants, animals, the earth, was Petra’s cause.

Unfortunately, even when “power-struggle people” have found a worthy cause on which they can exercise the competitive side of their natures, there is still a danger of the struggle being displaced into the relationships which should be cooperative, including attacks against members of one’s own team. In the months preceding her death, Petra had battled with many former allies in the Green movement and had lost her leadership role. She was both depressed and ill, in semi-retirement from her former frenetic pace, when a bullet took her life. It may never be known whether an avowed enemy shot both her and her long-time protector or whether he felt that he could no longer protect her and, rather than abandon her, he ended both of their lives.

The progressions are awesome for the day in which the bodies were found, especially P Mars and the Arabic Parts of Death. Petra was living in Bonn, the capital of West Germany, where she had been an elected member of the government for some years as a representative of the Green Party. Her chosen role as challenger of the establishment is shown in her chart by her Mars. P Mars had turned retrograde and it made its station on the midpoint of Petra’s natal and local IC so it was, in effect, opposite both MCs for 20 plus years prior to her death. It was also square her natal Sun and Jupiter and quincunx the local Part of Death for much of this time. At her death, it was also trioctile P Sun and octile P Vesta. P MC had spent two years trioctile P Mars when Petra was alienated from her fellow Greens and it was still in orb of an octile to the natal MC. Even the nodes of Mars were involved. P south lunar node held a very long quincunx to north Mars while south Mars was quincunx natal Moon. P south Mars had moved to oppose the East point and it was also octile P Juno and P Mercury. The latter two were simultaneously quincunx natal Mars. P north Mars was octile the north lunar node and P Venus, at their midpoint, and also opposite the midpoint of Saturn and the true south lunar node. I have been watching the Saturn/south node midpoint as a possible key to major lessons since I think that those two factors often mark the areas where we are supposed to grow. Petra’s P 8th house cusp (Placidus) opposed natal Mars.

The conflict patterns involving Mars symbolize the excess of frustrated anger which Petra could not adequately channel constructively. The blocked and partly internalized, partly projected anger was the source of her depression, her illness, and the violence which ended her life. When we cannot manage constructive outlets for intense emotions, they become destructive. Mars is our sense of our right and power to do what we want. When we want more than is possible, we may turn our anger against others (resulting in alienation and struggles), or against ourselves (resulting in depression and/or illness). Petra did it all. The most typical forms in which astrology pictures such conflicts are all in Petra’s chart. Mars in conflict with Saturn or its sign or house shows the struggle between personal will and the limits of personal will which include natural or cultural laws, authority figures, and our own conscience. Petra’s Mars opposing the MC for 20 years carries the same meaning as Mars opposite Saturn. Mars in conflict with Jupiter or other keys to our ideals is an alternate way to symbolize the desire for more than is possible. Our goals and ideals (Jupiter) are in conflict with our personal power (Mars). Simply put, we want to do more than we can do. Mars in conflict with letter five may be inner conflict between purely personal desires (Mars) versus the hunger for approval from others (Sun), or it may be manifested as power struggles with others.

Many “little” deaths occur during life when we let go of jobs, homes, people, etc., so aspects to the Part of Death may point to such release points. But both the natal and progressed Parts do usually have aspects when an individual leaves the body. I mentioned above that Petra had P Mars quincunx her local (Bonn) Part of Death. Her P local Ascendant was opposite her birthplace Part of Death when she departed. She also had her P local Part of Death on P Saturn and her P birthplace Part of Death on natal Saturn. The formula for the Arabic Part is Ascendant plus the eighth house cusp minus the Moon. For the progressed position, progressed angles and Moon are used. As already indicated, Petra’s P 8th house cusp was opposite Mars, and it was also quincunx Vesta. Her local P 8th house cusp was trioctile Neptune.

Many other aspects could be mentioned including Petra’s P Sun opposite P Vesta (the details of our job) and quincunx Saturn (career in the larger sense). Frustration in our work is a common source of illness which excuses us from the work failure. P Sun octile natal Sun and Jupiter in the sixth house repeat the message, and P Sun’s quincunx to P Uranus in the twelfth house suggests the desire to run away from her unfulfilled dreams. Another indication of frustrated ideals is provided by P Moon in the ninth house square Chiron, Jupiter’s little brother. Lessons involving faith were shown by Chiron’s very long conjunction with the south lunar node. Since the factors were in Scorpio in the fifth house, the lessons also involved the use of and the ability to share power. It is quite possible to learn what we are called to learn with our south node and then to give something to the world from what we have learned. Petra gave a lot, but her passionate desire to do the impossible led to her own undoing.

There were also appropriate asteroids in Petra’s chart including P Atlantis (often found with the abuse of power) opposite P Uranus. Two of the asteroids connected to healing or a need for it were prominent; P Aesculapia on Neptune and P Hygiea on P Uranus. Two asteroids named for women with love connected to death were between Petra’s two MCs and opposite P Mars; P Kleopatra and P Isolda. P Winchester, our asteroid for guns, was quincunx Neptune. P Karma squared the Sun/Moon midpoint and P Dike, human justice. Natal Dike was on Pallas which was Petra’s most elevated factor. Pallas is often a key to political action and social causes but it can also point to peer relationships. P Pallas was sextile natal Juno, which represents a strong desire for a mate, and P Ascendant was quincunx both Juno and P Pallas to form a yod, a typical key to major changes in the life.

Petra lived a brief and intense life. She changed the world, even if only to a small degree, and that is more than can be said of most people. Her chart has some similarities to Hillary Clinton who is also having an effect on the world, but their lives have been very different. Petra never married or had children though her companion (who remained married to someone else) was devoted to her and protective of her for years. We may never know the full story of her end, but we can carry on her efforts to help nature and our mother Gaea. Petra had natal Gaea on Germania which was on Icarus, and she did overreach in her efforts in Germany to save the earth. She died with P Germania on her local Part of Death and P Gaea on her birthplace Part of Death.

Copyright © 1993 Los Angeles Community Church of Religious Science, Inc.

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