TWA Flight 800
Zip Dobyns
I have hesitated to write about this event because there were so many contradictory times published in the major media. But several sources, Newsweek, U.S. News and World Report, and The San Diego Union-Tribune, eventually seemed to agree that the explosion was about 8:30 to 8:31 P.M., so I decided to go with that. The chart was calculated for July 17, 1996 at 8:30:30 P.M. EDT for both New York from which it took off at 8:19 and for E. Moriches, Long Island. It crashed a few miles offshore from E. Moriches. I used the coordinates of 40 N 48 and 72 W 46 for the crash angles. Dramatic events provide an opportunity to test the new asteroids. The only problem is the time it takes to check several hundred factors, but we can focus especially on the ones which should be relevant, depending on the nature of the event, and also see which ones aspect the traditional astrological factors.
Two months after the event, the authorities say they are still unsure whether the plane was brought down by an on-board bomb, which is the most likely explanation, or by a missile, or by an inexplicable engine failure. Traces of the material used in plastic bombs have been found on sections of the passenger cabin, but the FBI is still withholding final judgment, at least officially for the public. All 230 people on the plane were killed, and most of the bodies have been recovered from the ocean. Pieces of the plane are still being recovered by divers from the ocean floor off Long Island. The salvage work has been repeatedly delayed by storms, and is very difficult. The divers are working in cold water, at depths which require great care to avoid the bends, and dealing with sharp edged metal fragments which can cut the divers or their life lines. In other articles in this issue of The Mutable Dilemma, I have mentioned a few of the conspiracy theories which are proliferating around the U.S. Symptomatic of that paranoid mindset, on September 17, The San Diego Union-Tribune reported a denial by the FBI of a rumor that they were covering up the fact that the plane was hit by “friendly fire”. The rumor suggested that the crash was cause by a missile fired by the U.S. military which went astray. On September 8, the same paper printed a story about an American Airlines pilot flying over Wallops Island, Virginia, who claimed he saw a missile pass by his plane in flight. There is a NASA Flight Facility on the island, and the report is being investigated.
The chart of the TWA crash fits the traditional expectations of astrology. Saturn in the sign of Mars is trioctile both the MC calculated for New York where it took off and the area off of E Moriches where it crashed. It is also octile the Part of Death and trioctile the Moon, which form a T-square with the MC in fixed signs, and it is part of a cardinal T-square with conjunctions to the south lunar node and Juno (which is like Pluto), a square to Jupiter, and oppositions to the north node and Chiron. Mars forms a double quincunx, a yod, to the MC and Neptune, which had just risen above the horizon. The Sun opposes Neptune and the Ascendant and squares Pallas. The Sun, Mars, and the Ascendant are all keys to the life force. Saturn and its sign which is on the Ascendant are keys to the rules of the game, to the consequences of past actions which can include falls. The prominent Neptune, in its own house just above the eastern horizon and exactly opposing the Sun, is appropriate for the continuing mystery which surrounds this event. Mars and its sign, which is part of the major network of aspects including both fixed and cardinal factors, is the traditional key to fire. The planet Uranus, which is associated with explosions, was closely opposing Mercury, which is connected to travel and information, and Venus was octile/trioctile them. Uranus was just about to rise at the eastern horizon when the explosion occurred, and Mercury was setting. Venus was also quincunx Vesta, a Virgo asteroid, and sextile Juno to form a yod. Last but not least, Pluto and Ceres were square the NY and E. Moriches Antivertexes. The latter are auxiliary Ascendants, keys to the life force. The combination of stress aspects certainly fits a tragic event.
In addition to the new asteroids, the planetary nodes, midpoints, and Arabic Parts can also offer important information in astrology. Like the extra asteroids, aspects to these extra factors are limited to one-degree orbs. The Part of Death (Ascendant plus 8th house cusp minus Moon) is normally aspected in events where death occurs, though it can also signal other types of endings. It is 23 Aquarius when calculated for New York and 26 when calculated for E. Moriches. The first is square the MC, which is equivalent to Saturn, and octile Saturn. The second is octile/trioctile the lunar nodes and Juno. The north nodes of both Mars and Venus are on Venus and all three are trioctile the E. Moriches Ascendant. Very soon after the discovery of Uranus, its aspects to Mars were associated with fire, so a close conjunction of their nodes carries the same message. The NY Arabic Part of Saturn (Ascendant plus Saturn minus Sun) is conjunct the north lunar node and the south node of Mars to participate in the cardinal T-square with Jupiter, and all three are trioctile the E. Moriches Part of Death. Mars was opposite the NY midpoint of Ascendant/MC, which is similar to a conjunction with all the major angles—a really significant aspect. The Sun was quincunx the E. Moriches midpoint of Ascendant/MC.
Turning to the new asteroids, the first one I would look for would be Nobel, which was named for the man who invented dynamite. It was in 3 Leo, within one degree of a conjunction to Mercury and an opposition to Uranus! The E. Moriches Ascendant would have moved to conjunct Uranus and oppose Mercury and Nobel within 3 to 4 minutes after the explosion. If the explosion was even slightly later, the time interval would be shorter. Other asteroids which could be relevant are Hel, Hela, and Libitina, all named for goddesses of death. French, Paris, and Lutetia, another name for Paris, specify the destination of Flight 800. Icarus and Phaethon were mythical figures who crashed. Wright has the name of the brothers who were the first to fly a plane heavier than air. Europa (Europe) was the continent from which the plane had come and to which it was headed. Anubis is another god associated with death. Dresden and Guernica are associated with attacks on innocent victims. Belisana and Bellona were goddesses of war, though we do not know with certainty that a bomb was responsible. If it was a bomb, the most likely source is the Near East. The asteroids Sumeria and Chaldaea were named for the area which includes present-day Iran and Iraq. If a bomb or a hostile missile was responsible, I would also look for Fanatica and Atlantis. The latter asteroid is frequently associated with the abuse of power. Since the plane fell in the ocean, Oceana should also be aspected.
They are all there with stress aspects. Hel in 22 Aries squares Hela in 22 Cancer and both are octile Washingtonia just under 7 Gemini. The FBI headquarters in Washington are directing the investigation. Hel is also quincunx the MC. Libitina is opposite Guernica and both are square Themis, divine justice; respectively in 3 degrees of Libra, Aries, and Cancer. Metis, associated with wisdom, completes a cardinal cross in 3 Capricorn. Remember that astrology shows psychological issues. An emphasis on Wisdom can point to a need for it. Icarus in 4 Sagittarius squares Belisana in 4 Pisces and both are octile French in 19 Capricorn. Paris in Libra squares the Ascendant and Lutetia in Aquarius is square Dike, an asteroid of fate, and Columbia for our capital district, both in Taurus, and it is octile Europa in 13 Capricorn and trioctile Atlantis and Anubis in 13 Cancer. Icarus is also opposite Flood which is on Dresden which is on Washingtonia. The overlapping orbs create a connected network of aspects. Oceana is connected to the network since it is in 3 Gemini within one degree of a square to Belisana and also Urania in 2 Pisces. Urania is somewhat like Uranus, with the potential for sudden, unexpected changes. Within one minute of the time for which the chart is calculated, the E. Moriches Antivertex would have reached a conjunction with Urania, and it would have gone on to square Oceana by the time pieces of the plane were hitting the water. Phaethon was over one degree from the Sun but within a one-degree orb opposition to Neptune to connect the network. Phaethon was also square Ate in Aries, the goddess considered almost totally evil in ancient Greek mythology. Pluto was opposite two asteroids not yet mentioned; Aten, a sun god for fame, and Dunant, the founder of the Red Cross, which was very involved working with the families of the victims. Psyche squared all of them, an asteroid which can signify helpless victims or helping people working with them. Pluto was also trioctile America. Finally, Fanatica was opposite the midpoint of Ascendant/MC and trioctile Chaldaea and Wright in Scorpio while Sumeria, also in Scorpio, squared Uranus and Mercury. Chaldaea was also quincunx Bellona in 11 Gemini.
When working with an event chart which will not be progressed, I often put the heliocentric factors in the outer circle. Obviously, the positions of objects observed from the Sun will not be seen in the same degree as they are when observed from earth. Yet, when put in the houses of an earth centered chart, they are often meaningful. H Chaldaea was opposite H Mars and H Hephaistos who made the weapons of the gods of Olympus and they were octile/trioctile H Nemesis (who got you if you flouted Themis, divine law) and Armisticia (armistice). H Sumeria was barely over one degree from the E. Moriches MC, so it would have reached it within a minute. If the actual time of the explosion was 8:31 instead of 8:30:30, the time I used, that aspect would have been in orb. Since astrology shows mental states, these patterns do NOT guarantee that a terrorist from the Near East brought down the plane. It is obviously a possibility, but the patterns could simply be describing the immediate and widespread suspicion which fell on these current “enemies.” Hopefully, before long the FBI will be able to answer the questions which still hang over TWA Flight 800.