The One-Ten Challenge
Zip Dobyns
The latest issue of Lois Rodden’s Data News provided several sets of birth data of famous people born with one-ten variations in their horoscopes. As our regular readers know, Lois is an invaluable source of reliable birth data. The only way to learn astrology is to study the charts of real people, starting with those you know personally, then progressing to famous people whose life events are reported in the news. Everything you hear or read in astrology should be taken as a theory to be tested by studying horoscopes and the lives of their owners.
The various forms of the one-ten challenge include any stress aspects between Mars and Saturn, between factors in Aries or the first house to factors in Capricorn or the tenth house, and between rulers of the signs in the first and tenth houses. Capricorn in the first house and Aries in the tenth house are both forms of the challenge, especially with planets placed there. Last but definitely not least, Mars in Capricorn or in the tenth house and Saturn in Aries or in the first house are similar to Mars conjunct Saturn, though less intense since the planets are the most important of the different ways to symbolize astrology’s twelve sides of life. Obviously, this latter statement puts me in conflict with traditional exaltations which think that Mars in Capricorn is its best placement and that Saturn in Aries or in the first house is guaranteed doom. Hopefully, the following examples will support the idea that any of these combinations can be positive or painful, depending on how the individual handles the inherent conflict between the self-will of letter one and the limits of self-will which are symbolized by letter ten. In fact, not only can these combinations be handled in a variety of ways, the individuals dealing with the one-ten issue often handle it differently at different times in their lives. Some of our subjects illustrate this potential.
If we block letter one, which symbolizes our self-confidence that we can be ourselves, defend ourselves, and assert ourselves, we start by losing energy, feeling unjustifiably tired. The thyroid slows down, our recuperative power dwindles, our immune system shuts down, we may attract violence from the world, and we end up dead. But in this physical world, there are things we CAN do, things we CANT do, and things we HAVE to do if we want to survive. So if we defy letter ten and try to make our personal will into the LAW, it is bigger than we are and we get put down. We fall or fail in some way. If we voluntarily live within the law, we handle the world successfully. We need to remember that in most people the tendencies toward self-blocking or overdrive are subconscious habits, not conscious, rational decisions. Most people live on automatic pilot most of the time, controlled by habits brought from the past.
One of the famous people in the latest Data News is Dr. David Viscott. Lois got his data from Ed Steinbrecher who got it from Linda Clark who got it from Viscott in person. Viscott was born in Boston, MA on May 24, 1938 at 12:15 P.M. EDT. He has Saturn in Aries in the 8th house octile the MC, trioctile the Ascendant and exactly square the midpoint of these two primary angles. Mars is in the 10th house octile Mercury, which rules his Gemini Ascendant. The tenth house Sun squares the Ascendant. Note the repeated one-ten theme. Saturn is in the sign of Mars and in a house co-ruled by Mars—the natural house of Scorpio. Mars is in the natural house of Saturn. Mercury is a form of letter one as a ruler of the Ascendant and it is in conflict aspect to a planet in the natural house of Saturn. The MC is an equivalent of Saturn and it is in conflict aspect to a planet (which happens to be Saturn) in the sign of Mars (Aries). The Ascendant is an equivalent of Mars and it is square the Sun in the natural house of Saturn and trioctile Saturn. Viscott clearly had the one-ten challenge.
Astrology shows us the individual’s psychological issues, but how they are handled is up to the individual.. With a one-ten issue, we can range from saying “My will is Law. I have the right and the power to do what I please” to “The world has all the power. If I tried, I would just fail so I might as well not try.” We can overdrive for purely selfish reasons, because we only feel safe when we are in control, or because we feel responsible for making the world the way we think it “ought to be. If I don’t make it right, I will be guilty. My conscience (which is the internalized expression of Saturn) will get me.” An interesting mixture of self-will and self-blocking is the reaction “if I can’t do it my way, I won’t play. I’m leaving.” Suicide is an obvious form of this subconscious reaction when the world is too overpowering, but we still have enough Mars strength to do something forceful. I think that an “accidental” death, including being murdered, often stems from a mix of anger that we can’t meet our needs (blocked Mars in some form), with unwillingness to take the anger out on others, whether from a strong conscience or empathy and compassion which feel with others. Obviously, letters one and ten are only part of such complicated psychological dynamics. Letters seven and eight will usually be involved, since most power issues, including both the cardinal and fixed dilemmas, call for compromise between personal rights and pleasures and the rights and pleasures of close relationships.
To participate effectively in this particular game/world, we have to find some kind of compromise in the middle where we can do some of what we want but not attempt more than is possible. Often, we don’t know what is possible until we test the limits in some way, but common sense suggests that if we think a particular “limit” or “law” is a stone wall, we can feel it with a finger, not ram our heads against it. Use Mercury intelligence, not a Mars battering ram.
David Viscott was educated at Tufts Medical School, awarded a research prize for work in cancer, and then he turned to psychiatry. He developed a very effective short-term psychotherapy method, hosted a popular ABC show on Talk Radio, and wrote several best-selling books. He was married to an artist and had three children, but the family must have been away when he died alone from a heart attack. His body was found in his home in Los Angeles on October 14, 1996.
In light of his major success, Viscott was obviously much more into the overdrive form of one-ten combinations than the self-blocking potential. Both one-ten and one-six combinations show an identification with work. Letter six (Virgo, the 6th house, Mercury as a ruler of Virgo, and the asteroid Vesta) symbolizes the details of one’s work. Letter ten shows career in the larger sense—how our work fits into the world, our role in the society, our handling of bureaucratic power and relationship to authority figures, etc. With Virgo rising plus a planet in the 1st house in Virgo, Viscott was very identified with the details of his work. But the major one-ten emphasis showed he also wanted a power role—to be the boss in his job. His choice of an independent profession was totally appropriate, and the field of healing was especially fitting in light of his idealism. With Neptune in the 1st house and Mercury, ruler of Ascendant, in the 9th house, he was identified with God—the need to be perfect and/or to do something to make a more perfect world. Individuals with work connected to idealism can also look for the perfect job or make work their ultimate value in life, their source of meaning and trust. The East Point in the 12th house repeats Viscott’s identification with the Absolute. Jupiter and its sign Pisces in the 6th house and Chiron in the 10th house and Uranus, ruler of the 6th house, in the 9th house repeat the desire for idealistic work.
Other chart factors which supported Viscott’s choice of a healing profession are the placement of Cancer and Leo in the transpersonal 10th to 12th houses plus the Moon in Pisces. Cancer and Leo (and Sun, Moon, 4th and 5th houses, of course) are keys to our capacity for emotional warmth for our families. When they are connected to the transpersonal signs and/or houses and/or planets, we can “mother” the world. Viscott’s chart also shows intense idealism connected to his family, with Juno in Sagittarius in the 4th house, Pallas in Pisces in the 7th house, and Moon in Pisces in the 8th house.
Viscott was also identified with the search for knowledge—practical knowledge with Virgo rising and higher knowledge with Mercury in the 9th house and broader knowledge with Mercury conjunct Uranus. Mars in Gemini seeks knowledge of the world immediately around us. In the 10th house, practical knowledge is again a goal, and a wide conjunction with Chiron (which is like Jupiter) repeats the desire for higher knowledge. Viscott was obviously highly intelligent and articulate.
Many other themes could be mentioned. Viscott had a grand trine in water signs which included water factors—Pluto, the Moon, and a lunar node—and they were partly in water houses. He was clearly very intuitive, open to the infinite, and with some of the water in air houses, able to bring the subconscious awareness into consciousness. Air-water mixtures are a major asset for psychics and psychotherapists.
We are always called to integrate the sign and house polarities of the lunar nodes, and the major issue when they fall in the 4th and 10th houses involves dependency/nurturing versus achievement and power in the world. The most common expression of this issue is the need to do justice to both our family and our career. Individuals who are strongly earth and/or fire tend to be uncomfortable being dependent. If they are strongly water along with the earth, they may project the water and attract others who are willing to be dependent on them. They end up playing Atlas. The south lunar node on the MC is a four-ten issue, and it reinforced Viscott’s letter ten challenge. With the south node, we have first something to learn and then something to give to the world. In a chart this idealistic and driven to play Atlas and God, I think Viscott’s south node lesson involved learning the Taurus ability to relax and enjoy life some of the time. My favorite motto is: “I will be God tomorrow. Today, it is OK to be human and enjoy the journey toward perfection.” I think that the Sun symbolizes our growth potential. It shows where we want to do more than we have done before. Viscott certainly did the 10th house career in communication very successfully, but I suspect he did not fully manage the Gemini potential for taking things lightly and being a spectator some of the time, letting others do their share—an important talent of air.
Viscott’s progressed aspects when he died support the latter suspicion. Letter eight (Pluto, Scorpio, and the 8th house rulers) and air factors are keys to our ability to share the world with others and not have to do it all. Letters six and ten are especially prone to feel they have to do it all, whether because that is the only way they feel safe (letter ten), they feel responsible and will be guilty if anything goes wrong (letter ten) or no one else will do it right (letter six). The Sun and Leo and 5th house factors are keys to the heart. Heart problems may stem from a lack of personal love, which seems unlikely for a man who was married and had children, but I have no information about Viscott’s personal relationships. Alternately, heart problems can be due to failure to realize our ambitions in the world, failure to win fame, power, applause, etc. This too seems unlikely in light of Viscott’s major fame and success. He was only 58 years old when he died. Was he was simply tired after an overdrive life of trying to be Atlas and God but too identified with letters six and ten to let up, to rest on his laurels, to allow himself a little dependency? His chart reminded me of the tape by Dr. Wallach called “Dead doctors don’t lie.” Wallach’s tape promoting colloidal minerals has been sweeping the country, and he makes the point that the life expectancy of doctors tends to be much less than the average of men in the U.S. Of course, Wallach blames their ignorance of nutrition and rejection of vitamin and mineral supplements, but the situation is far more complicated. Our society tends to elevate doctors to the role once played by priests, acting as surrogates for God, and materialistic science pushes them into an even more awesome role. Those who accept materialism, who lack a belief in God, are left to BE God rather than a mediator between humans and the Absolute. The emotional burden of responsibility is horrendous for those who lack faith in a higher power and also, usually, in the innate healing power of the ill people who surround them and pull on them.
Viscott’s progressed aspects at death included P Sun conjunct his Antivertex (an auxiliary Ascendant equivalent to Mars) and P Mars and Pluto. The 4-way conjunction was holding a grand water trine to Vesta (key to work), P Juno and P Pallas (keys to his wife), and the Moon (home and family in its own nature plus wife because it was in a partnership house). The combination indicates subconscious faith that he would be provided for by the world if he was willing to let it do so. But with his intense identification with Atlas and God, Viscott may have been unable to let go the responsibility except by totally leaving the scene.
The most common aspect at death or other separations is the quincunx when factors are 150 degrees apart. Next to the quincunx, oppositions can show separations. Viscott’s P Ascendant had moved through an opposition to natal Saturn and was still opposite P Saturn while P Moon was still within the one-degree orb of conjunctions to P Uranus and P Ceres when it formed a quincunx to P Ascendant. These patterns are highly appropriate. The 4-way conjunction connected water factors for completion, for endings, and fire factors for a new beginning. The Ascendant as a primary key to personal identify was forming separation aspects to Saturn, a key to career in a house of partnership, to Uranus, a key to his job but also a desire for freedom, to Ceres, a key to nurturing either our family or in a job, and to the Moon, a key to home and family.
Other harmony aspects included P Mercury sextile/trine the P lunar nodes and P Vesta while P Moon trined Neptune, P Venus trined Mercury, and P Jupiter trined Venus. There were additional separation aspects including P East Point quincunx the MC and south lunar node, P Juno opposite Chiron, and P Antivertex opposite Uranus. The letter ten emphasis included P local (Los Angeles) MC on the Sun and Viscott’s birthplace P MC had recently finished a conjunction with his local Ascendant. The aspects fit the potential for continued success but also a hunger to escape the pressures of responsibility and time, to just relax and float for a change. If we had been asked to do his horoscope, we could have suggested a long cruise with a laptop computer to work on another book if his letter ten identification would not allow a total escape. I have no knowledge about his diet or whether he exercised too much or too little. Both have been associated with heart problems. But the main message of the chart looks like a desire to kick back in conflict with a congenital overdrive.
If we just looked at all the trines, we would hardly expect Viscott’s dramatic death. We might suspect the possibility of semi-retirement as a response to the separation aspects. But, when we examine the asteroids and planetary nodes and Arabic parts, including the Part of Death, we see that his heart attack was not a matter of random, unpredictable chance. Viscott’s P local East Point was on his natal Part of Death in 29 Leo and P Hela, one of the death goddesses was on his natal Ascendant. His P local Part of Death opposed P Libitina, another death goddess, in 19 Cancer/Capricorn, and they were on the nodes of Pluto as well as square P Ascendant. His P Part of Death using birthplace L & L was quincunx P Uranus and P 8th house cusp, opposite the midpoint of N and P Saturn, and octile the Ascendant and P Hela. P Moon squared N Hela in 18 Leo. P MC was quincunx Hel in 22 Aquarius, another asteroid named for the same Norse goddess of death from which we get our word “hell.” P local 8th house cusp was quincunx the Ascendant.
When we look at all of these “extras” it looks as if Viscott was ready to move on. Knowing something about Viscott’s emotional state prior to his death might increase our insight into his departure from the physical world. Trines show harmony between our different desires, while a quincunx shows dissatisfaction and the urge to change the situation. We may seek to improve it, or we may feel we have learned all we can in the situation and it is time to let go and move on. When such feelings are conscious, we can often work out a rational compromise, but much of the time they are subconscious. We experience ourselves as subject to events which are beyond our control and are not aware that our own deeply buried emotions are playing a major role. It is possible that Viscott subconsciously felt he had done enough with his life, but he could only leave while his family was away, not home to emotionally hold on to him.
Another man whose data I was delighted to get from Lois Rodden’s Data News was Seymour Cray, inventor of the Cray Supercomputer. Cray was born September 28, 1925 at 8:30 A.M. CST in Chippewa Falls, WI according to B.C. data from Stephen Przybylowski to Lois. He was enormously successful for years by building the fastest and most powerful and most expensive computers in the world. But eventually, with the development of parallel processing, researchers were able to connect many smaller personal computers to accomplish much more cheaply the massive calculations used for government, military, and scientific research. Cray moved his research organization to Colorado Springs, CO in 1988, along with his wife Jerry and their three children. On September 22, 1996 Cray was injured in a 3-car accident in Colorado Springs, and he died on October 5 at 10:05 A.M.
Cray’s variation on the one-ten theme is Saturn in the 1st house on the East Point, an auxiliary Ascendant. Also, Jupiter is one of the rulers of the 1st house since part of Sagittarius is in the house, and Jupiter is in Capricorn. In addition to the identification with career and power, Cray had Mars in Virgo and Aries in the 6th house to identify with the details of the job, the need to do something worth doing and to do it well. He was also identified with the mind with Jupiter in the 3rd house, Pluto, ruling the Ascendant, in the 9th house, Mars conjunct Mercury in the 11th house, and Chiron in Aries. Fire-earth combinations are potential steam rollers, driven by the fire to do new, creative things and driven by the earth to get results in the physical world. With occupied fire signs in the earth houses, Cray was very innovative and very successful for many years. The ambition was also symbolized in his chart by keys to idealism in all the earth houses; Chiron in the 6th, Neptune in the 10th, and Sagittarius in the 2nd. The hazard of idealism is the danger that a part of life may become an idol, a substitute for God. If any fragment of life becomes so important that it is our primary source of faith and meaning in life, it will eventually disappoint us to force us to find a bigger God. My suspicion is that Cray’s loss of his leadership role in the world of supercomputing, his diminished prominence, was more than his ego could accept and the fatal accident was the way his subconscious escaped.
At the time of Cray’s accident and death, his P Mars was on the midpoint of N and P Saturn and his P Part of Death was on natal Saturn—all in the 1st house in Scorpio. In his natal chart, Cray’s East Point on Potomac (the river in Washington, DC) and on America were appropriate for his major impact on our country and government. P Mars had been progressing over these factors in the years before he died as well as on P Themis (divine justice), and Mars was still on America as well as trioctile Vesta as he struggled to maintain his pioneer role in his work. P Mars was also square Cray’s natal Moon and Part of Death in 16 Aquarius in the 4th house, which, like all water, can point to endings. P Moon was quincunx the Part of Death and octile/trioctile the lunar nodes. At the accident, P Moon was still within orb of square the P Sun which was also octile/trioctile the lunar nodes. These patterns show intense conflict between the Sun, which symbolizes our self-esteem and need to impress the world, and the water and earth limits to the self-will (Sun and Mars). Earth shows limits imposed by the physical world. Water shows limits connected to emotional security, whether our own or others we want to protect, and it is especially important as it symbolizes our subconscious habits from the past. Water is the element of closure and completion.
Other appropriate aspects in Cray’s chart included P Saturn quincunx P Pallas for the separation from his wife, and P Jupiter quincunx Neptune for the need to modify his ambitions and faith. P Jupiter was also sextile Uranus which was also quincunx Neptune to form a yod, and Cray’s local P 8th house cusp opposed P Jupiter with P Chiron square to them and the local Ascendant completing a cardinal cross. The P MC was quincunx P Uranus. The goddesses of death were all there also. P Hela was on N Mars octile Venus and the East point. P Hel was square Saturn and the P Part of Death. P Libitina was quincunx the MC and trioctile P Ceres, which was conjunct P Neptune. P local MC was octile Neptune. The separation aspects fit Cray’s separation from his previous job triumphs and I think that his subconscious frustration when he could no longer be the top computer guru led to his fatal “accident.” The astrological patterns show a world of meaning, not random chance. When we become conscious of our subconscious emotional conflict, we can work to change the habits which are creating our destiny.
The transiting asteroids at the time that Cray died included Libitina on his N Saturn and Venus, Hela, Mars, and Atlantis opposite his N Moon and Part of Death, and square N America, P Mars, and P Themis. Uranus was on Cray’s N south lunar node and Saturn opposed his N Sun. The transiting Ascendant in 18 Scorpio 51 was on the midpoint of P Saturn and P Mars as he ended his one-ten effort for this lifetime, and T Karma was on his N Sun opposite T Saturn. Certainly his honor and fame as well as his enormous contributions to modern technology will continue to live after him.
Our next one-ten example is currently living in infamy and in jail. Lois Rodden reported that Timothy McVeigh’s data was published in a book about him by a Lockport reporter named Brandon Stickney. The book is titled All-American Monster and says that McVeigh was born in Lockport, NY, on April 23, 1968 at 8:30 A.M. EST. Lockport is 43 N 10, 78 W 42. Readers will remember that I discussed a speculative chart for McVeigh soon after he was charged with the Oklahoma City bombing which killed 168 people and injured over 500 on April 19, 1995. In light of the descriptions and pictures of McVeigh in the newspapers at that time, I did not expect him to have Gemini rising with a Mercury-Sun conjunction in Taurus in the 11th house. We would not expect that combination to produce a hostile, paranoid introvert. Obviously, it is risky to put too much emphasis on a few factors, though the Sun, the Ascendant, and the latter’s ruler are often ranked as especially important.
McVeigh does have Saturn in Aries for the issue of personal will confronting the limits of personal will, but its conjunction with Venus and the north lunar node and their placement in the 11th house would normally be expected to soften or mellow the one-ten issue. We will have to look farther to spot the inner conflicts which turned McVeigh into a monster if he is guilty of the bombing, and the evidence against both him and Terry Nichols seems very strong. In addition to some of the evidence which I mentioned in the previous article about the bombing, a newspaper story in The San Diego Union-Tribune on September 16, 1996 reports that a map of an escape route from the bombed building was found in trash in Nichols’ home by FBI agents, and the key to the rental truck which carried the bomb and was destroyed was found along the escape route. The key was not damaged in the blast. Conspiracy theories are still rampant, as I have written in the past, but at least McVeigh and Nichols do seem implicated, though there may be others still at large.
In addition to Saturn in Aries, McVeigh also has a 1st house ruler in the 10th house. The Moon is one of the rulers of the 1st house since part of the sign of Cancer is there. He also has three factors in Aries, one of them Saturn, octile the MC, which is an equivalent of Saturn. In Oklahoma City, his local Ascendant, as another Mars, is octile the Aries grouping including Saturn. The other two keys to personal identity, Mercury ruling the Ascendant sign and Mars, the natural ruler, are both in Taurus along with the Sun, showing a major identification with power. Letter two in all forms marks our feeling that we should be able to enjoy the material world on our own terms. In addition to the three factors in Aries, the sign of supreme self-will, McVeigh’s chart has a major emphasis on the fixed quality. The three factors in Aries and four in Taurus are all placed in the 11th house, which carries the potential of the Aquarian innovator or rebel. Jupiter is in Leo and Juno (which is like Pluto) and Neptune are in Scorpio, with Juno, Ceres, and the south lunar node in the Leo house. Two of the fixed planets, Pluto and Uranus, are conjunct for more emphasis on the “enduring self-will” of the fixed sides of life. The fixed quality does not represent a rejection of change, but it shows a resistance to letting anyone else make one change. It also carries an explosive potential. Conflict aspects involving fixed planets, houses, and/or signs are like the irresistible force meeting the immovable object. The conflicting desires may stay in a stalemate for considerable time, but eventually the individual is likely to explode in some way. The explosion may be inward, leading to illness, accidents, etc., or it may be outward, directed against the world. Of course, fire and air, the Sun, Uranus, and factors in their signs and houses explode more readily. Earth holds back for practical reasons. Water holds in for security reasons. When Pluto finally blows up, it can be truly volcanic.
The basic impression we get from McVeigh’s chart is immense self-will—the feeling of “I know what I want and I should be able to have it.” The placement of Mars on the Antivertex within one degree, which is equivalent in meaning to Mars exactly on the Ascendant, is additional reinforcement for that determination. The Aquarian house adds the willingness to fight the establishment if it threatens the personal desires. But with Mars and the Antivertex in a T-square to the Neptune-Jupiter square, McVeigh was in a state of conflict between different beliefs, values, goals, ethics, etc. as well as between his beliefs and his personal will and power. The combination can lead to monumentally bad judgment and/or actions in conflict with one’s better judgment. Jupiter and its sign and 9th house rulers represent more conscious beliefs, goals and values. Neptune and its sign and 12th house rulers indicate more subconscious beliefs, goals, and values. A natal exact and lasting progressed square between them shows some sort of war between head goals and heart goals. With Mars and a chart angle which is equivalent to Mars in conflict aspects to both of these keys to beliefs (which are the foundation for our ethics), McVeigh could have lived in a constant state of conflict and/or uncertainty over his faith and what was morally appropriate behavior. This form of the mutable dilemma can initially be manifested as a lack of direction—literally getting lost. It is especially difficult to resolve when fixed factors are involved which show the tendency toward impasse and stalemate. In extreme cases, the individual can create his or her own mental world and be defined as a schizophrenic. Some who are more charismatic and persuasive become gurus.
As our readers know, there are many ways to conceptualize life and human nature—to make models of the mind, to create personality systems. Many if not most of these models conceptualize the will as a separate primary construct, along with intellect/intelligence and desires/emotions. I prefer a model with just two primary constructs: desire and the other side of the coin, aversion, and intelligence defined as the ability to receive, process, and respond to information which lets us move toward our desires and away from our aversions. I think that what is called “will” in the other models is just sustained desire as opposed to immediate desire. Often, we have conflicting desires—some seeking immediate gratification and some with long-range goals. Do I eat a piece of candy right now or give preference to my long-range goal of maintaining moderate weight? Fire and water are the keys to emotional desire in astrology, so conflicts between those elements can be especially intense. McVeigh’s lifetime square of P Neptune to Jupiter is an example of such intensity, with a fire planet in a fire sign square a water planet in a water sign. It is even more intense because fixed signs are involved, with their reluctance to compromise, and because these planets represent our supreme faith in a higher power or our lack of it.
Faith and hope are life-sustaining. When the planets which symbolize our faith in God are in signs of human power and relationships, we may make our personal ego into God or overrate the power of others and feel driven to attack them or run from them. McVeigh’s chart repeatedly shows lessons in human relationships, with his south lunar node in Libra in the Leo house and Saturn on Venus. The freedom-closeness dilemma is widespread in our society, but McVeigh’s chart shows greater than average problems in dealing with that fairly normal ambivalence. In addition to the oppositions to Saturn and Venus, his south node is also quincunx his Moon in Pisces and his Antivertex and Mars in Taurus, forming a yod which can lead to repeated separations if the individual does not learn to compromise. McVeigh’s parents separated when he was only about ten years old. He originally idealized the army as a fulfilling career, with Pisces and Chiron in the 10th house, Vesta in Pisces, and Neptune in the 6th house, but was disillusioned and turned against them when he failed to pass a test for promotion. Quite typically, if we turn a part of life into an idol, we have to lose it to force us to find a bigger god. Everyone needs some type of support system, and McVeigh turned to similarly embittered former army friends and militia members who were convinced that the government was the enemy of the people.
McVeigh’s progressions at the time of the bombing are dramatic, with the asteroids providing their usual mind-blowing icing on the cake. We have three asteroids with names starting with Tim which might work for Timothy McVeigh. Timresovia is the most impressive. N Timresovia was in 2 Virgo 21 conjunct America, Medea (who killed her children), and Williams (for Bill Clinton, who was President at the bombing). Both Medea and Williams were within one degree of the IC, so the four asteroids were all connected to the IC by overlapping orbs. The IC represents primary emotional security, including the baby-mother relationship, home, family, and by extension, our homeland. Also, as water factors, the IC and the 8th house cusp are especially important keys to endings, including death. Hela, a death goddess, was just over one degree beyond Williams. P America had moved onto the IC and was within one degree of N Hela. P Hela and P Medea and P Timresovia were all conjunct in 5 Virgo, within one degree of N Hela. They were also square N Hephaistos in Gemini, the maker of weapons for the gods of Olympus, and the local Ascendant in Oklahoma City! McVeigh’s East Point was conjunct Luisa for Louis Freeh, the director of the FBI, and P Antivertex was on the N East Point quincunx N Juno in Scorpio, connecting him personally to death (Juno) and the FBI. P Luisa was in 18 Gemini square McVeigh’s N Moon, and P Hephaistos in 12 Gemini was on his P local East Point, which was also on Dunant, the founder of the Red Cross. McVeigh’s personal action (the angle) with weapons (Hephaistos) brought the Red Cross into the action, and they played a major role after the bombing.
McVeigh’s P Mars in 8 Gemini was within one degree of N Luisa for an additional connection between him and the FBI, and P Urania, which seems to be a female version of Uranus, was also in 8 Gemini. The other asteroid which might “work” for Louis Freeh, Louise, was in 10 Cancer at birth, octile Jupiter and trioctile Neptune. N Anacostia, which was named for the river in Washington, DC where the FBI headquarters are located, was in 0 Cancer on McVeigh’s N Ascendant. P Anacostia was on N Louise, square Vesta, opposite Atlantis, and trioctile P Nobel. P Louise was just coming to 23 Cancer, quincunx Astraea (goddess of justice) and P Nobel. P Uranus had maintained a trioctile to N Nobel in 10 Aquarius all of McVeigh’s life. P Nobel had also reached a conjunction with Avicenna, a famous Islamic healer, and P Avicenna was on the N MC. When the bombing was discussed in a previous issue of The Mutable Dilemma, I noted that the original theory was that an Islamic terrorist group might have done it. Astrology is a psychological system, showing a state of mind. When an asteroid named for a healer is featured, the situation might involve one or more healers or the need for healing. The asteroids named for the geographic regions now occupied by Iran and Iraq were prominent in the bombing chart, which might mean that individuals from those areas were involved or just that they were suspects. Readers might also remember that Mark and I were going through the 5,000 asteroid names, looking for one for bombs at the time of the Oklahoma tragedy, and the next group of new asteroid names included Nobel, the inventor of dynamite. In addition to the aspects listed above, P Nobel was also trioctile Sumeria (modern Iran-Iraq) and P Richter (with earthquake associations) and it formed a T-square to the midpoints of the Ascendant with the lunar nodes. The latter were in 24 Taurus and 23 Leo.
Other midpoints which can be important are the A/M, the Sun/Moon, and Saturn with the lunar nodes. I think that the latter two midpoints are major keys to lessons in the individual’s life. McVeigh had them conjunct and square the 8th house cusp, which, along with the IC, can be a significator of endings. The Arabic Part of Death is also relevant in situations involving death. McVeigh’s P Part of death was square his N local Part of death, the death goddess P Libitina, and his P Moon, which were all in 15 Pisces. His P Part of Death was also opposite his south node of Mars and P south Mars was on P Karma opposite his conjunction of N Mercury, his local Antivertex, and his A/M midpoint. P Juno was just over one degree earlier than south Mars and opposite N Part of Death in 0 Taurus. P Pallas, an asteroid often involved in social causes, opposed the P Moon, P Libitina, and local N Part of Death, and two factors in the Pisces-Virgo oppositions were octile/trioctile the set of Taurus/Scorpio oppositions to connect them into a major network with overlapping orbs. Part of McVeigh’s disordered ethics was his idea that by blowing up a federal building, he was avenging the innocent children killed in the FBI and ATF fiasco at Waco, TX just two years earlier. P north Mars was in 23 Taurus on P Clintford (which might also work for Bill Clinton) and they were square P Nobel. Astrology can “say the same thing” in an incredible variety of ways. The Arabic Part I call the Part of Mars is calculated by adding Mars to the Ascendant and subtracting the Sun. Theoretically, it represents another form of Mars, as do the nodes of the planet. McVeigh’s N Part of Mars was in 14 Gemini, so his P Part of Death was closely conjunct it at the bombing. His P Part of Mars was in 29 Cancer octile/trioctile N Part of Mars and south Mars. Obviously, Arabic Parts which use chart house cusps depend on an accurate birth time, and the 8:30 A.M. is supported by the preceding aspects.
One of the reasons I continue to use the Placidus house system, in addition to the fact that it seems to provide superior psychological insight, is that the Part of Death which uses the 8th house cusp works so well. Placidus, Koch, and Campanus, the most commonly used house systems, use the same angles but have different degrees (and sometimes signs) on the intermediate house cusps. Since every technique and system in astrology seems to work at least some of the time, I recommend that astrologers use the systems which work best on their own charts.
We have still only scratched the surface of what could be said about McVeigh’s chart. There are literally dozens more relevant asteroids which could be mentioned. The chart fits the tendency I have seen for an unusual number of relevant, meaningful asteroids to be aspected in the horoscopes of people playing a major role in the world. The lives of such people may be helpful or harmful, but they have a lasting impact in some way. Among the most dramatic features in McVeigh’s chart was the fact that he had a double Icarus-Sun conjunction, which I have never seen before. Natal Icarus was on natal Sun and P Icarus was on P Sun. As most readers will remember, Icarus flew too high, the sun melted his wax wings, and he crashed to his death. I have found Icarus associated with overreach often, especially when it is connected to fire. A conjunction with a fire planet (Sun, Mars, or Jupiter) tends to be the most intense of such combinations. Icarus has a very elongated orbit and is probably a burned-out comet. It spends most of its time in the last four zodiac signs and goes very quickly through the other eight signs. I have not previously seen a case where it was moving at the same speed as the Sun, remaining within one degree for years. Many more asteroids could be listed, but I will end with Alfreda, the feminized version of Alfred. The bombed building was the Alfred P Murrah building. N Alfreda was retrograding in 27 Scorpio. McVeigh’s P Sun and P Icarus had been opposing Alfreda at the time of Waco. The death goddess Hel was retrograding in Virgo sextile Alfreda when McVeigh was born, and it had turned direct and come back to its natal degree for the bombing, forming a yod with a sextile to N Alfreda and quincunx to Darwin in 27 Aries. P Alfreda was in 21 Scorpio, quincunx P Saturn, with Pluto completing another yod. P Ascendant was square P Saturn, quincunx Damocles (noted for the sword hanging over his head), octile Hephaistos and the local Ascendant and trioctile the natal MC. Does anyone still believe in chance? Character is destiny. To improve our destiny, we have to change our habits.
Our next subject is also in jail, charged with horrifying crimes against young girls. Marc Dutroux was born on November 6, 1956 at 7:35 A.M. in Ixelles, Belgium, 50 N 50, 4 E 22. UT is one hour earlier. Strong evidence points to Dutroux having been the leader of a pornographic group which preyed on young girls in Belgium and probably also in one or more countries in Eastern Europe. In addition to kidnapping the children and selling their photographs, the men are said to have tortured them to death in some cases while others starved to death while Dutroux was in jail and associates did not bring food to the underground cells where they were confined. Dutroux’s data comes from his birth certificate, thanks originally to Michael Mendl who passed the information to Grazia Bordoni who sent it on to Lois Rodden. Such international cooperation between astrologers is a wonderful development as we seek to deepen our understanding of the heights and depths of humans and the ways in which astrology facilitates such understanding.
Dutroux’s chart has one-ten combinations with Saturn in the first house, and it is made more emphatic by being conjunct the East Point as an auxiliary Ascendant. He also has Pluto, ruler of his rising Scorpio, in the 10th house within 4 degrees of the MC, and Jupiter, a ruler of Sagittarius in the 1st house, is also in the 10th house. He also has the Sun, the ruler of the MC, in the first house, and, along with Mercury, the other 10th house ruler, conjunct the Ascendant for more emphasis. These combinations are all variations on the identification with letter 10, similar in meaning to a Mars-Saturn conjunction! In Dutroux’s case, he acted out the version that says “My will is Law. I have the right and the power to do what I want.” The potential of personal will in conflict with the law is shown by Ceres in Aries trioctile the MC. Ceres is potentially the nurturing side of Virgo, but in Dutroux’s case, it was manifested by using children in his job, but purely for personal desires. The Leo MC also fits the potential of a career involving children, sex, entertainment, etc. Additional aspects showing possible conflict between personal will and its limits include the first house north lunar node, East Point, and Saturn squares to the MC and Pluto in the 10th house and octiles to Juno in Capricorn. Mars was also widely opposite the 10th house Jupiter.
Dutroux was also identified with God with Sagittarius in the first house, the East Point and Antivertex in Sagittarius, and Mars in Pisces. The alternate extremes here are “My will is God and I have the right and power to do anything I want,” or “I have to be perfect and only do God’s will.” In the middle is the reasonable compromise: “It is OK to be human, growing toward perfection, doing the best I can and then trusting to a higher power to do the rest.”
Dutroux’s identification with the details of his work is shown by Pluto and Jupiter, as rulers of the 1st house signs, being placed in Virgo, and by his Antivertex conjunct Vesta, the super-Virgo asteroid. Scorpio rising also shows an identification with letter eight. On the positive side, this can be manifested as the urge toward self-knowledge and self-mastery, the potential of the adept. On the destructive side, the individual may only feel safe when in total personal control in close relationships or may feel he has the right to gratify personal desires at the expense of others. With letter one, we assert ourselves and meet our own needs. With letter eight, we learn to respect the rights of others through lasting, close, relationships where we share pleasure and power. Scorpio rising is, thus, a natural quincunx, calling for analysis and compromise if we are to integrate potentially conflicting life desires.
Prior to the recovery of two young girls kidnapped in the summer of 1996, Dutroux had been convicted of raping five girls and had been sentenced in 1989 to 13 years in prison. However, he was paroled after only three years. Among the photographs and videos he sold were some of him abusing and the actual killing of young girls and children. Two young girls were rescued alive when someone took down Dutroux’s license number after seeing him pick up a 14-year old girl. She was rescued along with a 12-year old girl who had disappeared three months earlier. The graves of two 8-year olds kidnapped in June 1995 were found in the garden of one of his houses. They had been abused for 8 months and then starved to death. At least seven little girls had disappeared within the preceding year, and it is suspected that Dutroux and his associates also kidnapped children in Prague and other major cities. The people in Belgium are asking who was responsible for his early release from prison. Protest marches by thousands of frustrated parents have demanded stronger laws to protect their children against such predators.
It is hard to think of “idealists” as capable of such monstrous acts, yet that is a possible consequence of the personal identification with the Absolute, letter one combined with letters nine and twelve. The identification with letter ten brings in the Law. If we fail to internalize a conscience which leads us to voluntarily stay within natural or social laws, we confront the limits in the world outside. Dutroux’s P Ascendant has been crossing N Saturn, the midpoint between N and P Saturn, and then P Saturn for about seven years, from his initial conviction to his capture in the summer of 1996. His life demonstrated in stark fashion the issue of personal will versus the limits of personal will and faith in an Absolute beyond humans. His Ascendant plus the 1st house symbolize his personal will in action. Saturn represents the limits of human or natural law. Sagittarius represents faith (or lack of it) in a higher power. Dutroux certainly acted out the worst possible of the innumerable ways in which we could combine those different sides of life. He is an example of the total dominance of personal will, pleasure, and power which we classify as a psychopath or sociopath.
But a sheer emphasis on letter one alone is not enough to produce a life so lacking in any feeling for others. Dutroux’s chart shows the mixture I would expect with letter one combined with the three obsessive-compulsive sides of life—letters six, eight, and ten. Six and ten, especially when represented by Saturn and Vesta since the planets are the most important form of the alphabet, can be so focused on whatever is defined as one’s “job” that nothing else is important. When six and ten are carried to their logical extreme, when the “job,” whatever is to be accomplished, is harmful to others, that is tough for them but cannot be allowed to interfere with the goal. The ruthlessness of letter eight is also partly fed by the intense desire to keep going until we get to whatever goal has been set, with its combination of water for endings and the fixed quality for sustained self-will. But it also carries potential anxiety about the power of others who might challenge personal power and desires. This can add to what others call the ruthless will but which I interpret as a sustained, tenacious desire to go to the end. As previously indicated, Dutroux is identified with these mixtures with Scorpio rising, Pluto in Virgo in the 10th house, Saturn in the first house on the East Point, and Vesta on the Antivertex, among other repetitions of the same themes. The repeated identification with Sagittarius, plus Mars in Pisces, took the form of “playing god” with the lives of helpless children. It is shocking to see what could have been the chart of an idealistic, empathic, caring man functioning more like an incarnate devil. The Mars in Pisces in the Cancer house trine the rising Sun could have chosen the role of healer and savior to children. Water symbolizes the need for emotional security and its extreme forms can range from empathy for the world to the point of self-sacrifice to total self-absorption in personal emotional desires. The lives of individuals like Dutroux offer graphic demonstrations of how destructive excesses can be. Each of the twelve primary desires is necessary to be a whole person. When a few are carried too far so others are denied, we get monsters. Dutroux’s chart also shows the futility of trying to guess life details from a horoscope. Astrology shows us the psychological issues. We determine the details of the life, mostly by subconscious habits. Every life principle can be expressed in positive or painful ways. Each can be carried too far or sought in the wrong places or times or projected into others or repressed. With self-understanding, we can start to change destructive habits to create a more fulfilling life.
Dutroux’s asteroids add their special notes to the picture. In the natal chart, Fanatica was just above the Ascendant, conjunct Mercury, and Epeios, the inventor of the Trojan horse which permitted the Greeks to defeat Troy, was on the Sun. A cluster in the 1st house in Scorpio squared the lunar nodes: Hela, a death goddess, Bellona, a war goddess, and Paula for one of Dutroux’s middle names. Urania in 27 Aquarius squared Bellona. The Part of Death in 25 Aries was conjunct the death goddess Libitina and Hephaistos, maker of weapons, and they were quincunx Paula. Medea, who killed her children, was in 5 Virgo opposite Child in 5 Pisces, and P Bruxelles (Brussels, the capital of Belgium) was on Child opposite Medea when Dutroux was caught last summer. P Urania was on P Child at the time, octile the Part of Death. P Child was also square P Paula, which was conjunct P Bellona in 12 Sagittarius. P Bellona was within the one-degree orb of a square to P Medea. Another asteroid which includes the root name, Paulina, was progressed on P Saturn and the P Ascendant, while the P south node of Mars was on N Saturn for the one-ten combination. I do not have the date of Dutroux’s capture by the police or the rescue of the two living children, but it happened sometime during the summer of 1996 when Dutroux’s P Moon was conjunct N north node of Mars, square Pluto and the midpoint of Saturn/south node and opposite the East Point and the midpoint of Saturn/north node, forming a mutable cross in cardinal houses. The mutables bring in ethical issues. The cardinals show life-changing events. During the fall of 1996, P Moon opposed N Saturn.
As usual, with a person whose life has impacted many, there are too many relevant asteroids to list them all. Dutroux’s main business was pornographic photography and he went often to Prague, Czechoslovakia where police suspect that he obtained some of his victims. The asteroids Photographica and Praha (Prague) were natally conjunct in 8 Aquarius trioctile N Jupiter in a sign and house of career. Czechoslovakia was in 23 Aquarius, over one degree from a quincunx to Jupiter but octile Ceres in the house of children. During the 1990s, P Praha and P Photographica were moving through 23 Aquarius to conjunct Czechoslovakia, octile Ceres and square P Paul in 23 Scorpio. For years, P Chiron was in 8 Aquarius, conjunct Photographica and Praha and square N Paul, fitting the travel to another country for his work. Among the most amazing features of the asteroids is the way the relevant personal names and geographic regions repeat the issues in the life. In this case, we have three variants of the name Paul, and they all have appropriate aspects. Another of Dutroux’s middle names was Alain. The progressed asteroid Alain was on Jupiter through most of the 1990s. N Alain was in 12 Virgo, so it is currently squared by P Paula and P Bellona and opposed by P Child. The natal south node of Uranus in 12 Sagittarius is also part of the configuration, as the information about Dutroux’s actions has been revealed and his life revolutionized. Other asteroids include P Nemesis on Mercury and P Hybris (hubris) on the Ascendant. Nemesis was the god who “got” you when you flouted the divine law of Themis. N Nemesis was in 26 Libra opposite N Hephaistos, and the current T-square in 11 to 12 degrees of the mutable signs is forming octiles or trioctiles to it. In the summer of 1996 when the bodies of the dead children were recovered, Dutroux’s P Part of Death was octile his P Saturn and P Ascendant. As the people of Belgium held a funeral for and mourned their dead children, it retrograded back to square P Libitina. P Hel in 26 Cancer was still retrograding over N Hel and square the N Part of Death and Nemesis as well as octile/trioctile the T-square in 11 to 12 degrees of the mutables. P Icarus in 27 Capricorn was also in the configuration. P Mercury was on N Icarus.
There is always more, but time and space run out and we have hardly looked at the traditional planets other than Saturn. P Venus had just started a square to the MC in August 1996—a one-ten confrontation with Venus in the 1st house as Dutroux met the limits in the form of Belgian police. To repeat the message, P MC was conjunct N Venus. Traditional astrology would anticipate positive events with the latter aspect, but current patterns involving Saturn and the MC mark times when we receive consequences, which can be positive or painful depending on our own past actions. P Mars was square P East Point, a self-against-self aspect in terms of the factors, but self-will against the limits with the signs of Aries and Capricorn. P Mars was also quincunx N Medea and N Hestia (the Greek name for Vesta) to form a yod as he was separated from his work and his freedom. Dutroux’s P Sun was square his 10th house Jupiter, octile his 12th house N Mercury and P Chiron (another Jupiter) as the consequences of his amorality caught up with him. P Jupiter was on P Atlantis, often highlighted when there is abuse of power, on the midpoint of Pluto and Neptune and semisextile both, as well as sextile the East Point and trine P Moon during the summer. These harmony aspects imply that Dutroux was not in a state of inner conflict over his beliefs and ethics. They look as if he really felt he had a right to do what he wanted. And, perhaps that is the most horrifying idea of all.
The one woman in this set of charts featuring the one-ten issue is Judith Curren, who was born in Chelsea, MA on June 25, 1954 at 3:16 A.M. EDT. Curren’s data was also provided in Lois Rodden’s Data News and originally came from her birth certificate thanks to Fran McEvoy. Curren was a nurse married to a psychiatrist who she claimed abused her physically and emotionally. They separated several times but he was with her when she committed suicide on August 15, 1996 with the help of Dr. Jack Kevorkian. The latter has helped many people with incurable illnesses commit suicide, and has yet to be convicted despite repeated criminal trials. But Curren is one of his more debatable cases since her illness was not considered life-threatening. Curren was described as depressed, overweight, and defeated with chronic fatigue syndrome and fibromyalgia—two somewhat mysterious illnesses which even MDs not inclined to accept the power of the mind think may be more psychological than physical.
Curren’s one-ten identification is Mars in Capricorn and a conjunction between the planets ruling the Ascendant and the MC—Mercury and Uranus. Mercury is also square Neptune, which is one of the rulers of the 10th house, and widely opposite Chiron in Capricorn, while Saturn is quincunx her Ascendant to show her conflict between personal will and power versus the limits of personal power. Saturn is in Scorpio, which is co-ruled by Mars, but letter eight, including Scorpio, shows where we need to learn to share power and pleasure with close relationships. Such relationships are obviously Curren’s primary challenge, with her emphasis on the interpersonal signs and houses, and especially the danger of projecting her power with Mars in the 8th house.
The placement of a key to personal power in either the 7th or 8th sign or house indicates a challenge involving the sharing of power and pleasure. Painful reactions include giving our power away, trying to keep it all by having power over others, or retreating from risking closeness. From Curren’s history, she alternated between giving her power to her husband, which invites abuse, and retreating. The positive ways to handle this problem include sharing the power by compromising IF the partner is willing to do that. We can also have healthy competition to build our confidence in our own power, and we can help others. Curren’s career of nursing was a good choice for the last positive alternative, letting her express her nurturing instincts, but she needed to build her confidence to stand up to an abusive husband. In effect, her Mars was projected into her husband, who was using it against her. Competition is healthy when we handle it as a game; when we win some and lose some but gain confidence at both times, finding out that we are not destroyed by losing and gaining strength and skills in the process. Curren had a grand cross in cardinal signs but mutable houses, which can be a problem since the cardinals show a competitive potential in the person but the mutables tend to be idealistic and not want to put people down, especially when there is an emphasis on water, with a Cancer stellium and two water planets, Moon and Neptune, in the cardinal cross. With this kind of emphasis, which is common in women who devote their lives to service, I suggest finding an idealistic cause for which they can fight so they can develop their competitive potential in constructive ways and recover their own power.
There are some relevant asteroids in Curren’s chart, but not the huge number found in the preceding examples. Urania and Dionysus in 8 Leo on Curren’s Venus and IC fit her tumultuous love relationship, either excessive love or dependency. Libitina for death and Dresden for the death of innocent victims were in 23 Virgo octile the Leo group and opposite Hel, another death goddess in 24 Pisces. Hela, a third death goddess, was in 23 Cancer sextile Libitina, semisextile Pluto, and square Neptune. Both Neptune and Pluto were quincunx Hel to form a yod. Curren may have seen death in her hospital work or may have thought about it a lot before she actually took her own life. When she committed suicide, Curren had P Psyche and P Icarus on her MC, connected to the natal configuration. Psyche has proved to be an interesting asteroid. Its positive potential includes psychological and/or psychic interests and talents and playing a healing role. Its negative potential includes so much self-absorption and self-doubt that one is unable to function effectively and at least feels like a victim and may become one. Like Neptune, it can show the danger of giving up and running away when the individual lacks faith. P Dionysus was conjunct Pluto, setting off the yod with Neptune and Hel. P Hel had retrograded back to conjunct its natal position. P Hela opposed Damocles and was quincunx the N Part of Death in 7 Capricorn in the 8th house. P Libitina in 12 Libra was conjunct P Fama (for her prominence in the news) and quincunx her N East Point. P Part of Death was on P Antivertex as she went to death by her own action. Curren’s P Moon at the time had finished squares to the MC-IC but was still in orb of a square to N Venus and Urania.
One of the most telling of Curren’s aspects was her lifetime quincunx from P Saturn to her Ascendant. Saturn also held a sextile to N Mars to maintain a yod—a constant urge to change her life or to escape from her state of powerlessness. A wider opposition from her N East Point to Saturn repeated the theme of her struggle between personal power and the power of her mate. He was 15 years older than her, a prominent physician, which fits her Saturn in the sign of Scorpio and Capricorn in the house of Scorpio. She finally gave up the struggle and took her own life with P Mars on the 8th house cusp and square P Pallas, a key to partners. P MC was trine Mercury, her Ascendant ruler, and trioctile Saturn. P Kassandra, who predicted negatives and was always right but never believed, and P Damocles were square her Saturn and quincunx Juno (mate) from Aquarius but trine her Ascendant. P Ascendant opposed P Makover and P Sun squared N East Point and was quincunx the P mean south lunar node when she departed. Though she was unable to work out the power issue with her husband, she did at least take action in the end. If she can learn from her experiences in this lifetime, hopefully next time around she will be able to keep more of her power herself.
This article is already over-long, but in the process of checking charts which have been previously discussed in The Mutable Dilemma or Asteroid-World, I noted that quite a few of the players in the O.J. Simpson drama had one-ten identifications. Thanks mostly to Lois Rodden, we have birth data for many of this varied group, though it was not possible to get birth times for everyone. O.J. himself qualifies with Mars in his 10th house. His daughter from his first marriage, Arnelle, has Saturn in Aries, and it opposes Mars. O.J.’s son Jason, also from his first marriage, has Saturn conjunct his Ascendant just inside the 12th house. Nicole and the two children she had with O.J. lacked the identification, though they had conflict aspects between different forms of letters one and ten. Ron Goldman, the murdered man, had Saturn in Aries. So far, I have not seen a birth time for Goldman, or for Robert Kardashian, the close friend of O.J. who is suspected of disposing of the golf bag which might have held bloody clothes. Regardless of birth time, Kardashian has a Mars-Saturn conjunction. Johnny Cochran, who became O.J.’s lead lawyer in the criminal trial, outstaging Shapiro, has Mars in Capricorn in his 1st house exactly square Saturn in Aries in his 4th house. Alan Dershowitz started as a support lawyer for O.J. but ended as a media consultant on the trial. He also has Saturn in Aries. This collection includes a possible (but acquitted) murderer, two of his children who stood by their father, a murder victim, plus associates and defenders of the charged murderer, but all had to confront the issue of the use of personal power and its limits in the form of society’s laws and a personal conscience.
In my Book of Saturn, which I finished writing last May and which will hopefully be in print in 1997, I discussed ten men and ten women who were born with Saturn on one of the major angles: the MC and Ascendant axes. The majority of my examples were politicians who have had power roles in the world, probably because that is an area I watch and for which I collect data. In The Mutable Dilemma or Asteroid-World, I have repeatedly written about two prominent individuals who are currently playing political roles who have the one-ten identification. Both Hillary Clinton, our current First Lady, and Al Gore, our current Vice President, were born with a Pluto-Mars-Saturn conjunction in Leo. Al has the conjunction in his first house. We lack a definite birth time for Hillary. If the 8 P.M. time is accurate, she has the conjunction in her 3rd. house. Both are highly driven, ambitious people, constantly dealing with personal power and its limits.
In conclusion, each of our 12 basic desires can be manifested in many different life details, depending on our choices. Even the desires which are inherently in conflict by their nature can be successfully integrated to permit some satisfaction for each of them. In fact, that inherent conflict is a safety measure, since if any desire is carried too far, it can produce a monster. Conversely, any desire which is totally denied will make trouble for one. Life is a juggling act. Astrology helps us understand and work out the necessary compromises.