Thursday, March 10, 2011

THE BROTHERS KOCH

Until the last few months the name Koch was known to me only as that of an astrological house system defined by German astrologer Walter Koch. Recently the surname has been mentioned frequently, but not in relation to astrology.

The Koch brothers, Charles and David, billionnaires are funding massive movements against left-wing political aims - even against aims a teensy-weensy bit left of hard-core centre-right, which is where President Obama seems to stand (on a good day). The brothers are known to fund The Tea Party as part of their opposition to any policies which would benefit ordinary Americans. Tea Partiers, who really should think about engaging their brains, are being manipulated - and dangerously so. More HERE touching on their hidden involvement in the current union-stripping attempts going on in Wisconsin.

Background:
A couple of paragraphs from Jane Mayer in her piece "Covert Operations" in the New Yorker, published last summer
With his brother Charles, who is seventy-four, David Koch owns virtually all of Koch Industries, a conglomerate, headquartered in Wichita, Kansas, whose annual revenues are estimated to be a hundred billion dollars. The company has grown spectacularly since their father, Fred, died, in 1967, and the brothers took charge. The Kochs operate oil refineries in Alaska, Texas, and Minnesota, and control some four thousand miles of pipeline. Koch Industries owns Brawny paper towels, Dixie cups, Georgia-Pacific lumber, Stainmaster carpet, and Lycra, among other products. Forbes ranks it as the second-largest private company in the country, after Cargill, and its consistent profitability has made David and Charles Koch—who, years ago, bought out two other brothers—among the richest men in America. Their combined fortune of thirty-five billion dollars is exceeded only by those of Bill Gates and Warren Buffett.

The Kochs are longtime libertarians who believe in drastically lower personal and corporate taxes, minimal social services for the needy, and much less oversight of industry—especially environmental regulation. These views dovetail with the brothers’ corporate interests. In a study released this spring, the University of Massachusetts at Amherst’s Political Economy Research Institute named Koch Industries one of the top ten air polluters in the United States.

A look at the brothers' natal charts might pinpoint a possible source of their destructive power - destructive to ordinary people, constructive, however, to their own fortune and amassing of even more power.

I can find no times of birth, so have set the charts for noon. Ascending signs and Moon positions will not be accurate.






I'm looking only for indications of power/wealth as mentioned, not for general personality traits etc. First thought/guesses: outer planet(s) will be closely linked to personal planets in some way.

David, the younger brother, has Sun wedged between Uranus and Saturn in Taurus.
Taurus is one of the signs I'd expect to see highlighted. It's an Earth sign, thought to embrace luxury, quality, and the good things of life, and is ruled by Venus. Sun conjunct both Uranus and Saturn in this sign is quite something!
Saturn keeps it conservative, while Uranus, the eccentric planet tends toward disruption of some sort.

The elder brother, Charles, has Sun in Scorpio opposed by Uranus in Taurus, bringing the flavour of disruptive Uranus into his chart via the Sun also. Saturn is linked to his Sun too, this time by trine from Pisces.

So both brothers have Saturn and Uranus linking to their natal Suns, and their natal Suns are opposite one another.

Usually, if looking to identify a source of power I'd look at Pluto, but here, I think Uranus allied with Saturn and connected to their Suns seems to be doing the trick. Pluto might have a hand in it all, even so. With regard to current transits: the main connection I notice is that transiting Pluto in early Capricorn will have been close to Charles Koch's natal Mars during past months, and quite likely close to his his Moon, which was at 10 Capricorn at noon. Pluto transiting a personal planet will always leave a mark of transformatory change - in his case, a raising of public profile, for good or ill.

Any thoughts from passing readers will be most welcome.

12 comments:

Wisewebwoman said...

What never ceases to amaze me, T, is the arrogance and greed of the uber wealthy such as these. It puts me in mind of the Walton family who donate not a dime to charity. that alone is unconscionable but when it results in union-blocking and destruction it is beyond the pale.
To see the moronic TeaPartiers shoot themselves in the feet over and over would be laughable if not so pathetic.
XO
WWW

Twilight said...

WWW ~~~ Yes indeedy!

Look as though Scott Walker, aided by the Kochs, may have shot himself in the foot this time by inflaming the Wisconsin people even more by his actions late yesterday.

The people of Wisconsin are a beacon to the rest of us.

Jefferson's Guardian said...

Twilight, you're so right. The people of Wisconsin truly are a beacon for the rest of us.

Let's hope their cause isn't in vain and some good comes out of their struggle for basic worker rights. All eyes are on Wisconsin right now; friend and foe alike. If Walker and the Republican caucus prevails, I'm afraid a domino effect will ensue and workers in other states who currently enjoy collective bargaining rights will be in the Right's "cross-hairs". This is just the beginning.

Workers of America are on a very slippery slope, and the slide toward a fascist state continues...

Gian Paul said...

Sad, appaling realities all over the place (and not talking about Lybia).

Last Friday I was 'blacked out', most likely by sun-spot-activity, and over Carnival here, for almost a week, no way to find replacements. So I was carried away by the "onda do mar", that big redouted wave, went sailing etc.

Enjoyed your post about Tom Jobim and Brazilian music of which we heard a lot recently down here.

Twilight said...

Jefferson's Guardian ~~~ Hi!
Yes, it's a very slippery slope.
Hard to see how it'll all end if the protests continue and spread.

I'm inspired by the people of Wisconsin - really am. I hope people elsewhere will be as determined when push comes to shove.

Twilight said...

Gian Paul ~~ Hi again! I wondered whether your power had gone again, but glad to hear you've enjoyed some good times afloat. :-)

Interesting times, for sure!

Glad you liked the Bossa Nova post - I enjoyed drafting it - and listening to the music over and over.

R J Adams said...

Interestingly, while three of the brothers, Charles, David, and Bill are corporate scum, (though Bill is not involved in the 'family business'), the other brother, Frederick, is a philanthropist who has restored a number of old houses and opened them to the public. Among them, Sutton Place in Surrey, England, where it's said Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn used to meet while Henry was still married to Catherine of Aragon. I suppose that makes Fred the black sheep of the family?

Twilight said...

RJ Adams ~~~ Thanks for the extra info RJ. I hadn't realised there were more.

The terrible two are truly terrible. Thank goodness at least one out of four is a little more human.

PANTHEON ASTROLOGY said...

I think it's worth noting that Jyotish considers Moon - North node conjunctions to be very malefic aspects seen with criminals and serial killers. I did a bit of research and found that it was a very common aspect among the insane.

Twilight said...

Pantheon Astrology - Thanks - yes. Unfortunately without time of birth for Charles K. we can't know how close his natal Moon actually was to the Node, but you make a point worth bearing in mind.

Anonymous said...

Bill Koch is David's twin, born 2nd. the youngest of the 4 Koch Bros.He suffers from melancholy & Depression, (understandable in that family) He DID try to bring transparency to the company, but was outmaneuvered by Howard Marshall III, who sold his determining shares to Charles rather than to Bill, giving Charles & David 51 percent of the shares, thus control. The current transiting NN 19˚ Libra is conjunct, David & Bill's Natal NN NOW. Charles's Mercury is also at that degree.

Twilight said...

Anonymous ~ Interesting! Thanks for that additional information. :-)