Asteroid-World Summer 1994

Zip Dobyns

The U.S. acquired a new Supreme Court Judge in the summer of 1994. The birth data of Stephen Breyer has been given to me as August 15, 1938 at 7:40 A.M. in San Francisco. Unfortunately, I do not have the source of the data. It is probably accurate, since California records birth data and it is available on request and payment of a fee.

Assuming accurate data, Breyer was born with Neptune rising in Virgo, a combination of empathy and idealism with practicality and efficiency. Pallas in Pisces fits his involvement with law and consulting (Pallas and the seventh house) in an idealistic (Pisces) way. A very close conjunction of Juno and Vesta in Sagittarius in the third house says much the same thing—work (Vesta) which involves the intellect, communication, and peer relationships (third house), interaction with peers with power, money, or pleasure connotations (Juno) and idealism, values, truth, and potentially the law again (Sagittarius). A Gemini MC provides the last of the mutable signs for a mental career, but the factors are too widely spaced to form a mutable cross.

The Moon and Saturn are widely conjunct in Aries, a combination which would be treated very negatively by traditional astrology. However, I have seen numerous cases in which the individuals expressed the positive potentials of the aspect. Since Breyer’s Moon-Saturn forms a grand trine to Mars in Leo and the IC in Sagittarius, and Saturn was also exactly sextile the MC, semisextile Uranus and more widely trine the Sun, it is not surprising that his handling of the potentials has been largely positive. Breyer married a wealthy woman (Saturn in the eighth house of joint or shared resources) and his career has been highly successful. Saturn shows the consequences of our handling of the law—natural, cultural, and internal in the form of the conscience. Jupiter in Aquarius in the sixth house is exactly conjunct the Vertex (opposite the Antivertex) as another indication of high value placed on the mind (Aquarius), the work (sixth house) and peer relationships (Vertex). What we value and trust (Jupiter), we emphasize in our lives and often do well though we can also overdo it.

Pluto in Leo in the eleventh house is exactly trine the Vesta-Juno conjunction, adding to the air and fire sharpness and originality of the mind while aspects between these three factors show immense ability to focus and handle detail. In fact, without the fire-air emphasis, aspects involving Vesta, Pluto, Juno, and/or Saturn can be really obsessive. In Breyer’s case, the chart shows high level skill in both the broad perspective, flexibility and creativity of fire-air and in the attention to detail, persistence, and caution of earth-water. Pluto is also in a trine to Pallas, the kind that can be missed since Pallas is late in a water sign and Pluto is early in a fire sign, so Pallas actually completes a second grand trine in mostly fire signs and air houses. In Washington, DC, Breyer’s new residence, his local Antivertex in Zero Sagittarius reinforces the grand trine.

The one anxiety expressed by liberals over the Breyer appointment to the Supreme Court was his tendency to favor big business. Though his eighth house Saturn has been manifested as inherited wealth and comfort in his own life, it could still be a lesson involving the protection of ordinary citizens against the money-power of the elite who control the world. Breyer’s south lunar node, our other lesson factor, is in Taurus in the ninth house with Uranus and Ceres. The combination supports the possibility of lessons involving democratic principle (Uranus), ordinary workers and their families (Ceres), personal earning and spending power (Taurus) and values, faith, ethics, etc. (ninth house). Hopefully, Breyer’s rising Neptune, first house Venus in Libra (which can value social justice), and tenth house Chiron in Cancer (which can value the public and families) will balance any tendency to favor his own elite class.

Among the intriguing asteroids in Breyer’s chart are natal Wisdom on his MC and P Minerva (a Greek goddess associated with wisdom) on his Ascendant. I hope he lives up to that potential! When he joined the Court, P Wisdom at 1 Cancer 8 was just ending quincunxes to Vesta-Juno and had a sextile to P Moon on one side and a semisextile to P Pluto on the other side. The P Moon square from Taurus in the eighth house to Pluto, the ruler of Scorpio, pictures the misgivings of some of the liberals who feared that in a contest between major wealth/power (Pluto and the eighth house) and the ordinary earning ability of the public (Moon in Taurus), Breyer would tilt toward his wealthy friends.

Other progressed aspects which fit Breyer’s success included P Sun conjunct P Mercury with both trine the natal MC. P Mars was rising, just leaving natal Neptune and coming to P Neptune. The combination is appropriate for the issues of idealism and practicality which Breyer will face in his new job. As an interesting sidelight, P Mars is also conjunct Breyer’s Part of Death. Questions about the execution of criminals and possible racial injustice have been much in the news as the Crime Bill was debated, and some version of the issue may come before the Supreme Court.

I had anticipated the passage this fall of a Law extending universal health care since more centralized power for the Federal government has been a feature of many of our previous progressed New Moons using my new time for our Declaration of Independence. But the debate on health care is still intense and Congress may just revise the insurance laws which could protect middle class voters from losing their health insurance when they change jobs or develop a serious illness. However, without universal coverage, the rates would rise and many healthy young people might simply drop out of the system, assuming that they could safely rejoin later if they became ill. New York is currently experimenting with such a law, and the consequences should be visible within a few years. Instead of universal health care, the Crime Bill has been passed which reportedly increases the power of the Federal government, especially the Attorney General, over local police. Although many of us wanted the ban on assault weapons, moving closer to a dictatorship was not what we had in mind.

Returning to Breyer’s chart, his Washington, DC MC at 29 Cancer 2 is closely conjunct his natal Pluto, further strengthening his grand fire trine and the increased power of his career. Themis, the asteroid of divine justice, was retrograding on his local IC in zero Aquarius at birth, and P Themis in late Cancer has recently returned to a one-degree orb conjunction with the local IC. Will he stand for “divine justice” for the public? Breyer’s prominence is also accentuated by the midpoint of his Sun/Moon on his birthplace MC. His P MC was still within orb of a conjunction with his natal America when he was appointed. It reaches a trine to his natal Moon in the fall of 1994 and he will also have his P Moon conjunct the midpoint of Saturn/south lunar node in 5 Taurus 1 in the fall. There may be interesting issues being debated by the Court at this time!

The capture of a famous terrorist called Carlos the Jackal hit the news as I was working on The Mutable Dilemma and Asteroid-World. The Los Angeles Times provided his birth date and said he was born in Venezuela. I have no time of birth and am not even sure that Venezuela’s capital, Caracas, is the right place, but his father was a wealthy lawyer so the capital city is a reasonable guess. You can ignore the houses and simply note the aspects between planets and especially with the new asteroids. I do a speculative time because it is easier to see aspects on the wheel, but I have spent minimal time trying to rectify the chart. I just expected some interesting asteroids in light of Carlos’ highly unusual life.

Carlos was born on October 12, 1949, the oldest of three sons who were all named after Lenin. Carlos got the first part of Lenin’s name, Illich, to which was added Ramirez-Sanchez in the tradition of using the last names of both parents connected by a hyphen. The nickname “Carlos the Jackal” was given to him much later after a novel named “Day of the Jackal” was found in one of his hide-outs. His younger brothers were named Vladimir and Lenin but they rebelled against their radical, communist father and became a quiet businessman and an engineer.

Carlos attended college in Moscow and is also said to have received guerrilla training in Cuba and Jordan. At different times, he reportedly led or cooperated with communist students in Venezuela, the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, Germany’s Baader-Meinhof gang, the Turkish Popular Liberation Front, the Japanese Red Army, and the Basque separatist movement in Spain. He acknowledges being responsible for 83 deaths in a variety of bombings and kidnappings. He married a German terrorist named Magdalena Kopp and they had two children.

In recent years, Carlos had retired from the business of terrorism after the U.S.S.R. folded and Islamic fundamentalists took over the control of their struggle against Israel. Carlos has actually been described as a “terrorist emeritus” by a U.S. agent. He had been living quietly in Damascus, Syria, a haven for many terrorists, but as Hafez Assad moved closer to the west, Carlos was pressured into leaving the country. He went to Sudan, still theoretically a haven for terrorists, but Sudan was also feeling the financial pinch of being declared a terrorist nation and having its international funds cut. So Sudan turned him over to the French who had tried and convicted him in absentia for killing a number of French citizens. Members of the French secret service arrested him on August 14, 1994, and flew him back to a Paris jail.

Carlos seems to have sought publicity and may have claimed more feats that he actually carried out. But authorities are sure that he and his squad of West German and Palestinian extremists shot their way into the offices of OPEC in Vienna on December 21, 1975. Three people were killed and several of the Oil Ministers were kidnapped. Carlos was provided with a plane and ransom of some millions. They flew to Algiers where most of the hostages were released, then to Tripoli, Libya, and finally back to Algiers where they gave themselves up but were released in a few days. Some months earlier Carlos had killed two French counterintelligence agents and an accomplice who had turned informer. In March 1982 he threatened France if two of his agents were not released, and he was considered responsible for bombs that exploded later in March, about a month afterwards, and on New Year’s Eve in 1983. Some deaths resulted from each of these bombings. The French plan now to re-try Carlos for his terrorist acts.

I ran two speculative charts for Carlos, using the P Moon when he was arrested as the initial clue to his general time of birth. He could have a Scorpio Ascendant with P Moon opposite Mars or a Leo Ascendant with P Moon opposite Pluto. The Leo rising sounded more like his reported desire for fame and that time also put P Moon in a trioctile to natal Mercury (which is on Winchester-guns) and P Uranus, so that is the chart offered here. But remember the time is really speculative. For proper rectification, we need more precise events and much more work. However, this time does put his own name (Charlois as equivalent to Carlos) on an angle (the IC in France where he is now in jail) and it puts the P MC for Caracas opposite the asteroid named Wladilena for Vladimir Lenin, the namesake of all three brothers. I have been finding famous people with their names on angles often enough to expect it much of the time.

As expected, there are lots of appropriate asteroids. Wladilena is at 14 Capricorn 49 conjunct Ate (personification of strife and evil), Karl Marx (the other primary source of world communism) and Dunant (founder of the Red Cross). They make an intriguing combination. The Red Cross is sometimes called in to deal with the aftermath of terrorist activity. Carlos has his P lunar nodes square the Capricorn stellium for years with the south node and Neptune holding mutual conjunctions to each other’s natal positions. He definitely had some lessons to learn about ethics (Neptune) and relationships (Libra and the node’s basic meaning).

Another interesting group of asteroids fall in 21 Leo conjunct Carlos’ Mars: Dolores (sorrow), King (named for Martin Luther King who was martyred for his fight for civil rights), and Dresden (the German city that was fire bombed in World War II despite the fact that it was not a military target). Dresden and Guernica, a Spanish town that suffered the same fate in the Spanish Civil War, represent the crime of targeting non-military civilians in war. Of course, they are a common target for terrorists.

I looked up Anubis, the Jackal-headed Egyptian god, since Carlos was nicknamed the Jackal. Its natal position was in 20 Sagittarius and P Fanatica was conjunct it when Carlos was captured. Also, the Paris P MC squared it from 20 Virgo IF this speculative time is right. Another appropriate angle which depends on this birth time is the P Antivertex in 17 Pisces on natal Nemesis, the god who got you if you flouted the divine law, Themis. P Themis is on P Jupiter, planet of judgment and law courts. P Karl Marx is on natal Charlois as Carlos faces the consequences of his devotion to the “father” of communism.

Since Carlos is in French hands and many of his acts of terrorism were directed against the French, we expect their name asteroids to be prominent. P Hel (death) is on natal and P Gallia (France) and trine natal Paris as Carlos faces his fate in Paris. P Paris is on P Mercury as he is featured in the media of the world. Natal Paris is on Polites (politics) opposite Karma. P Karma is quincunx P south node while natal Lutetia (an early name for the city of Paris) is conjunct the natal Neptune and south node. P Lutetia is conjunct P Tezcatlipoca, the Mexican god who demanded human sacrifice, and they are octile Anubis, the jackal.

Yes, asteroids do work.

Rwanda has been an ongoing tragedy in the world since a plane carrying the country’s president and other officials was shot down on April 6, 1994. My friend, Pearl Negrette, watches CNN and keeps me informed periodically of such events. The plane went down at 21:40 as it was approaching the capital of Rwanda, Kigali. I think that all passengers were killed in the crash.

The crash triggered a civil war in the country between the Hutus and the Tutsis. The majority of Rwanda’s population were Hutus who were settled farmers. Some years ago, they gained power and they killed or drove into exile many of the more nomadic, herding Tutsis who had previously held more power. Immediately after the plane crash, a group of militant Hutus began a campaign of extermination of the Tutsis who remained in the country. The wholesale killing, said to be nearly one of every ten people in the country, included thousands of women, children and the elderly. The Tutsis mobilized an army, largely from exiles outside the country, and successfully defeated the Hutus, after which thousands of the latter fled the country, an estimated six out of ten inhabitants. Many poured into neighboring Zaire where thousands continue to die from polluted water, malnutrition, infections, and violence by young males. Belated efforts by the world community to deal with the crisis have barely slowed the death rate.

In a situation such as this, an event chart may clearly mark a major new beginning for a country or other organization. We can watch the chart of the plane crash as a key to the current state of Rwanda, and the horoscope certainly fits the horror story unfolding there. Saturn is traditionally associated with falling and Mars with weapons and aggression. Geocentric Saturn was on the IC within ten minutes of longitude when the plane went down. Heliocentric Mars was on the IC within one degree. Both planets will continue to move across the IC for years in secondary progressions. The IC, or fourth house cusp, is a key to the Earth, structures built on the earth, and the general life which lives there, the public. As the beginning of a water house, it is also a key to endings, closure, including the potential for death. The pictures from the refugee camps in Zaire show the depths to which humans can sink when they manifest the negative potentials of these principles.

Seraphita, who has contributed much helpful information about the source of the asteroid names, recently sent me material about the history of the Hutus and Tutsis. One of her items was the fact that Kigali, Rwanda’s capital, was originally named Astrid for the Queen of Belgium. Of course, I added the asteroid Astrid to my collection. In the chart for the plane crash, Astrid was retrograding in 2 Virgo 59 with a triple one-degree orb conjunction to Chiron (faith and morals), Tezcatlipoca (Aztec god who demanded human sacrifices), and Gaea (earth). The people of earth have certainly watched humans sacrificed in a tragic lack of morality in the town once named Astrid. Some heliocentric asteroids include Chiron on the MC, Astrid conjunct Gaea with both trioctile Vesta, Karma on Mercury, and Pax (peace) and Eleutheria (freedom) on the Ascendant. Remember, astrological factors show PRINCIPLES, not details. The principle which is highlighted may be present or may be needed, conspicuous by its absence, as is the case when peace and freedom are on the point of personal action, the Ascendant.

Thousands of Hutus have died in their fear-driven exodus from their country. The same ruthless leaders who killed thousands of Tutsis told the Hutus to run, that the Tutsis would kill them all in revenge if they remained in their homes. The Tutsis deny that this will happen and have tried to persuade the Hutus to return home, saying that only the leaders who were guilty of genocide will be tried and punished. I checked the location of Aletheia, the goddess of truth, and found it conjunct Venus, one of the tenth house rulers as a key to authority figures though they are no longer in control of the country. Venus and Aletheia are also conjunct Phaethon which symbolizes overreach and potential destruction. Other relevant asteroids include Hephaistos (the smith who made weapons), Photographica, and Arachne (whose over-confidence got her turned into a spider) on the Descendant. The weapons, the cameras, and the web of intrigue are certainly present in Rwanda.

North Korea is less in the news these days as Cuba and Haiti vie with Rwanda and O.J. for the headlines. As I’m sure our readers know, there were escalating scare stories for months about the danger that North Korea was building atom bombs with recycled plutonium from its nuclear power plants. The country was one of the last with a Stalinist type dictator, Kim Il Sung, who impoverished his people in order to build a huge military force with the goal of conquering South Korea. Korea’s former friend, the U.S.S.R., was gone, and their last friend, China, was not happy with the prospect of a nuclear North Korea. The developed countries were discussing an embargo if inspectors were not allowed to return to see what was happening with the waste from the nuclear power plants. Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter stepped into the breach and made an unofficial visit in June, invited by the old dictator who had ruled the country since 1945. Carter announced an agreement with Kim Il Sung which was viewed very cautiously by the U.S. government, and just days later Sung was gone with a heart attack on July 8, 1994. I had done a speculative chart on Kim Il Sung, using his reported birth date of April 15, 1912 in Pyongyang, the capital of the country and a spec time of 7:46 A.M. which is 22:46 P.M. on the preceding day in Greenwich. This birth time gives several appropriate aspects for his death including P Moon square Pluto, P Antivertex square Moon, P East Point conjunct Neptune and P Ascendant crossing the IC. P Saturn had been on the Ascendant for years and it was square the natal Part of Death while the P eighth house cusp (Placidus) was conjunct the Part of Death and square Ascendant and P Saturn. The aspects fit very well, but it is still a speculative chart and not very relevant now that he is gone though readers may wish to compare it with his son’s chart.

The media has consistently said that Sung’s prospective heir, his son Kim Jong Il, is 42 years old. But the Los Angeles Times reported that he was actually born on February 16, 1941 so he is 43 years old. His birth date was changed to make his birth 30 years after his father’s, producing some kind of mystical connection according to Korean ideas. His birthplace was also changed to a mystical mountain in North Korea. Both the Times and Newsweek say that Jong was born in Siberia while his father was fighting with the Russians against the Japanese who had occupied Korea. Newsweek puts the birthplace as near Khabarovsk, in the former U.S.S.R. I am working with a speculative birth time of 6:20 A.M. (UT 21:20 on February 15), and using the coordinates of Khabarovsk, 48 N 32, 135 E 8.

One of the reasons for this choice of time is that it puts P Mars on Jong’s Ascendant during the past one to two years. He had two head wounds during 1993, one due to a fall from a horse in July and one from an auto accident in December when he may have been drunk. This birth time also puts Pluto on the Pyongyang Descendant and trine his natal MC with nearly lifetime progressed aspects. It also puts his P MC quincunx his Jupiter-Saturn conjunction at the age of seven when his mother died and he was sent to live in China for some years. He is reported to have been devastated by this early loss of his mother. Jong’s natal Mars was square Neptune and quincunx Chiron so all of the planetary keys to faith were activated. Using this spec birth time also brings his P Ascendant to Demeter, the Greek name for Ceres, the “mother” goddess.

Jong is officially now the “Beloved Leader” of North Korea, replacing his father, the “Great Leader.” However, no one is betting on how long he can maintain the position or whether he will have any real power. The Army is said to dislike and distrust him, and final power could lie in their hands. Jong is said to be a womanizer, importing tall blondes from Scandinavia for his wild parties. He is passionately attached to western movies and has a collection of hundreds of videos. One South Korean movie producer claimed that he was kidnapped and held for months to teach Jong how to make movies. Other rumors about Jong range from heavy drinking to artistic talent (writing operas) to being in favor of opening Korea to western ideas and modern technology. At this point, no one seems sure of anything.

Disregarding the speculative houses, Jong certainly has enough Aquarius to be interested in technology and in opening up his country to permit communication with the world. He may well be a playboy as reported, complete with a temper, but the chart does not look really crazy. Still, he may have some delusions of grandeur with natal Mercury in Pisces and currently P Mercury opposite Neptune. Better he should keep on writing operas and making movies. We will see how he handles P Sun conjunct the midpoint of Saturn/south lunar node which is due soon or could be in effect already if Jong was born later in the day. The Sun is our need to be proud of ourselves, the need to impact the world and get a response back. P Sun in Aries on that challenging midpoint (not to mention Mars on the Ascendant if this spec time is right) could lead to an overdose of bravado.

P Hiroshima on natal Mercury is a thought-provoking aspect. Natal Hiroshima at 18 Aquarius is octile Pan and the south lunar node in Aries. P Atlantis, the potential for the abuse of power, is conjunct Ceres and Union. The stated goal of North Korea is to unite their divided country, by force if necessary. P Hannibal, a famous general who defeated the Romans, is on Pluto and may be on Jong’s Pyongyang Descendant. The seventh house could point to tension with others, including the powerful military. Or, Jong could think that he has to be even more belligerent than they are to win their respect. P Hephaistos, the weapons maker, and P Phaethon (overreach) are on natal Williams (for Bill Clinton). There are also many other asteroid aspects to my speculative angles, but the preceding is enough to let readers do their own exploring.

I am still hoping that the conflict aspects will be outweighed by the air emphasis. Jimmy Carter’s chart in Pyongyang has a surprising number of trines in air signs, and Bill Clinton’s chart calculated for Pyongyang also has several, so I hope that means they will go on talking. We can’t rule out upsets. Carter’s P Sun is square his Uranus but he also has P Jupiter sextile his MC and Neptune sextile his Ascendant in Pyongyang. I hope that is not just wishful thinking and over-optimism. Bill Clinton’s Ascendant in Pyongyang is 6 Gemini 11, closely trine his natal Mars-Neptune, sextile Vesta, and more widely trine Ceres. As usual, there are also conflict aspects including his Pyongyang MC at 12 Pisces 38 with squares to his P lunar nodes and a quincunx to Pluto. He certainly does not want to fight Korea, but the new directions suggested by the quincunx could move in either direction, toward resolution or worsening tension in the handling of power.

In addition to the use of natal and progressed charts for world leaders and for countries, there are a variety of strictly mundane charts which can be used as clues to the general situation in different areas. I ran the cardinal ingress charts for Pyongyang in 1994, and the first two, Aries and Cancer, both had Chiron near the Descendant, a moderately hopeful sign. However, the Libra and Capricorn ingresses are less optimistic with Mars on the Descendant in both charts. The Uranus-Neptune conjunction is on the Ascendant with octiles to Saturn in the Libra chart and Saturn is rising, a few degrees away from the Ascendant, in the Capricorn ingress. Also in the latter chart, Saturn remains octile Neptune-Uranus and Juno has moved in to square Saturn and octile Neptune-Uranus. Jupiter squares the Ascendant. Bluffing and poor judgment are certainly suggested.

I also calculated the current and next two Earth-Mars charts for Pyongyang. Regular readers will remember that these charts are timed when the Sun is opposite Mars as seen from the earth, our normal viewpoint. Heliocentrically at this time, as seen from the Sun, Earth and Mars are conjunct. Theoretically, the chart pictures the ability of earth to handle the Mars principle. The cycle is just over two years due to the time it takes Mars to circle the Sun. The chart for late 1990 clearly pointed to the conflict in Baghdad, and the January 7, 1993 chart has been dramatically accurate for the former Yugoslavia. We will continue to watch this chart until the next H Earth-Mars conjunction on February 12, 1995, and that one will be relevant until March 17, 1997.

In the current 1993 chart in Pyongyang, the geocentric Sun-Mars opposition falls within five degrees of the Ascendant-Descendant with Mars in the seventh house (partners or open enemies or competitors). The potential for belligerence is certainly present, but the MC is sextile/trine Juno, Moon, Mercury and Venus. Its only close conflict aspects are an octile/trioctile to the lunar nodes in mutable signs and houses. The picture is not comfortable but it is not horrifying as are the MC aspects in Bosnia.

In the 1995 chart, the Sun-Mars opposition is closely square the Ascendant in Pyongyang, but again the power does not look fully mobilized by the leaders. Mercury in Aquarius is retrograding close to the MC and Pluto in the seventh house sextiles the MC. The lunar nodes are again square the MC, so the people of North Korea may not be treated with any more concern by their leaders than has been the case in the past. But Neptune and Uranus in the ninth house trine the Ascendant do not seem highly threatening to other countries. Saturn and Jupiter are square each other and octile Uranus-Neptune, so the judgment of the leaders still looks highly questionable to put it mildly.

The 1997 chart in Pyongyang puts Vesta exactly on the Descendant with Pluto in the fourth house exactly square both Vesta and the Ascendant. The combination again fits alienation from the world and potentially enormous trouble for the people of the country. But the MC is in a grand trine to the first house Mars-north lunar node and the fifth house Pallas-Neptune-Uranus. The Sun is in a cluster including Venus on one side and south lunar node, Mercury which rules and sextiles the Gemini MC, and Saturn more widely on the other side. The general picture still supports the ability of the rulers to keep control at the expense of the people who could face poverty and/or death with Pluto on the IC, the south node on the eighth house cusp, and Iphigenia, the sacrificed teen-ager in the Trojan War, on the Moon.

China is likely to be playing a restraining role in the situation since Juewa (the star of China’s fortune) is exactly on the Ascendant and China is semisextile Saturn and would be trine the Ascendant if we allowed a wider orb. Peking is on Industria in early Pisces in the sixth house, fitting some cooperation on industrial development which North Korea desperately needs. But the threat of weapons in the hands of North Korea will still remain with Hephaistos (who made weapons for the gods of Olympus) and Dike (one of the fates) in the tenth house square both Peking and Industria. China does not really want Pyongyang to have nuclear bombs.

Hiroshima may be the asteroid best suited to warn of nuclear bomb threats though I also found Atlantis prominent on the days when several countries first tested nuclear bombs. I was usually not able to get the exact time or location of such tests. The 1997 Earth-Mars chart has Hiroshima retrograding in 29 Libra 55 so it is quincunx the south lunar node. Wladilena, named for Lenin, is conjunct the south node and quincunx Nemesis in 28 Leo, so a yod is present with overlapping orbs. Dionysus (for drug or religious “craziness”) and James (for Jimmy Carter who tried to mediate and may try again) are on Hiroshima in 29 Libra and Sphinx is also conjunct in 0 Scorpio. In the original myth of the sphinx, it was a monster who killed travelers who could not answer its riddle. The U.S. remains involved since the Pyongyang East Point is conjunct both Nemesis and America.

With the death of Lenin’s Russian empire, there is increased danger of sales of nuclear weapons or material to make weapons to terrorists or to countries which support terrorism. A yod can mean a new direction in the related areas but whether the change will be positive is an open question. The impression I get from these Earth-Mars charts is that the dangers will remain. People will worry and talk, but the charts do not look critical enough for a war—yet. The two major war areas, Iraq and Yugoslavia, were signaled on the two preceding Earth-Mars charts by Mars conjunct the respective MCs. The 1993 chart has Sun-Mars square the MC in Port-au-Prince, the capital of Haiti, which is currently in a state of siege by the world though our anticipated invasion has not occurred as yet. The Washington, DC MC in this chart is opposite Hiroshima and square Tezcatlipoca, a very nasty combination.

The 1995 Earth-Mars chart puts the Sun-Mars opposition square the MC in Teheran, Iran, a primary sponsor of world terrorism. The midpoint of Ascendant/MC in Belgrade is square Sun-Mars and conjunct Libitina, the Roman goddess of death. The prospects for peace in Bosnia remain remote. Nor does Somalia look happy with the asteroid Somalia on the Sun and Africa on Mars. In Washington, DC, the Moon is just over one degree from the MC and it is exactly square both the East Point and the midpoint of East Point/Ascendant. Several asteroids are clustered around the IC including America, Williams and Lincoln. Many parallels have been noted between Clinton and JFK and between JFK and Lincoln. The parallels are not encouraging. The 1997 Earth-Mars chart in Belgrade has Jupiter back on the MC along with other asteroids which might indicate triumph for Serbia. When the chart is calculated for Washington, DC, asteroid Russia is on the Descendant and America and Nemesis are on the eighth cusp. We will obviously still be working on our uneasy partnership with Russia and dealing with who owns the world, with debt and/or with death.

When time permits, I will do the Earth-Mars charts for the end of the century and the cardinal ingress charts beyond Aries 1995. I also want to do the Earth-Saturn, Earth-Uranus and Earth-Pluto charts for later years. So far, I have only done them for 1995 in Washington, DC. With the variety of mundane charts we are able to do and the many geographical regions which are potential trouble spots, we never get even close to caught up.

I remain concerned about our government leaders, especially during the winter of 1995-6. They are under enormous pressure and the balancing act between the effort to help ordinary citizens and to appease the elite still looks tilted with benefits for the few at the top. Anything designed to help the bottom half is promptly labeled “pork” by the Republicans. I receive a variety of ads which are aimed at the top since I have subscribed to some economic newsletters in the past and the mailing lists go on forever, being constantly sold to new financial entrepreneurs. One of the latest is an invitation to attend a three-day class in trading on the stock market at the Ritz-Carlton in Aspen, Colorado. According to the schedule, the morning is set aside for learning, the early afternoon for skiing, late afternoon for shopping, and evening for indulging. The price of (only) $4900 covers the workshop, reception, limousine, breakfasts, massage, lift tickets, ski rental, dinner theater and a banquet. Participants presumably cover the rest of their meals and their shopping. Presumably much or all of the cost is tax deductible as a business expense for education.

A recent event in the U.S. has called attention to the religious tension which may well increase as Pluto moves into Sagittarius in 1995. Pensacola, Florida has had its second murder of a doctor who had been performing abortions in a women’s clinic. This time, the driver of the doctor was also killed and the wife of the driver was wounded. I do not have any data on the individuals involved, but People magazine reported that the murder occurred on July 29, 1994 at 7:27 A.M. CDT. The doctor was named John Bayard Britton and the closest asteroid name is Johnadams, named for our second President. Asteroid Johnadams was exactly on the Ascendant at the murder. The driver was named James Barrett. Asteroid James in Libra was trioctile Saturn and Hephaistos (the weapon maker) which squared each other. The killer, Paul Hill, was a former Presbyterian minister who had been excommunicated by the church because of his violent talk. Asteroid Paul was octile-trioctile the lunar nodes and the south node was on the MC within just over one degree. The Pluto/MC midpoint opposed the Ascendant within one degree. The Sun squared Jupiter within minutes and Mars was just past Vesta for the potential of personal alienation. Uranus-Neptune were quincunx the Ascendant, Ceres, the “mothering” asteroid was conjunct Medea who killed her children, and much more. I wonder what it will take to move toward more acceptance of other religions and races? Each of us needs to stay centered, to stay aware of our connection with each other and with the Whole, to remain an example of peace in the world.

Copyright © 1994 Los Angeles Community Church of Religious Science, Inc.

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