Five names we wish we could wipe out of recent history: Cho Seung-Hui, James Holmes, Adam Lanza, Tamerlan and Dzhokhar Tsarnaev. Agents of atrocity and pain. Putting on my amateur astrologer's hat again, I thought it worthwhile to show natal charts of the five young males together in order to highlight any similarities. The simplest similarities, those I see as most significant are ringed in red.
Chart images follow a few notes:
In the natal charts of Cho Seung-Hui and James Holmes Mars and Pluto are conjoined in Scorpio. Mars and Pluto, two of astrology's potentially most malign and explosive factors in their ruling sign!
In the chart of Tamerlan Tsarnaev Sun is in loose out of sign conjunction with Pluto in Scorpio. So - Pluto and Scorpio featured prominently again, and in connection with Sun (the self). His natal Moon (though we don't know exact degree without a birth time) is likely to be in harmonious trine to natal Mars in Aquarius.
Adam Lanza and Dzhokhar Tsarnaev both have Uranus and Neptune conjoined in Capricorn, a generational aspect for those born in the early 1990s, but in these particular cases the conjunction links to personal planets. In Tsarnaev's case the Uranus/Neptune conjunction links to Mars in Virgo by trine aspect and in Lanzas's to Mars in Pisces by sextile aspect. That potent linkage to Mars again!
It seems significant that linkage of outer planets to Mars could, when other factors are in place, hold potential for.......well, we only have to look again at those five names. 20th century British astrologer C.E.O. Carter wrote that:"Hate is one of the most extreme Martian vibrations, through Scorpio rather than Aries, and probable generally with an admixture of Saturn or Uranus. The last-named is often violent in its antipathies, and, like Scorpio, may remember slights and insults after long periods. In maps (natal charts) capable of nourishing hatred and revenge the benefics are usually obscurely placed."
I must add that dire outcomes such as those I'm highlighting here will not be the case in every instance where outer planets are linked to Mars. Additional factors such as environment, family background, adverse experiences, and general health, mental and physical, would need to be clearly and negatively involved in order to turn an astrological potential towards the worst possible manifestation. The "astrological atmosphere" of the times these individuals did their deeds will come into the equation too. In four of the five cases featured here, the events took place while Pluto is transiting Capricorn in square aspect to Uranus in Aries (one of the signs ruled by Mars).Just on the face of it that sounds like a fertile atmosphere for trouble.
While preparing this post it struck me that the generation with a Uranus-Neptune conjunction in Capricorn in their natal charts could prove to be an interesting study in future years, as they continue to mature and come into their power. The eccentricity and unexpected change which connects to Uranus combined with the foggy delusion for which Neptune is famous, in the sign of Capricorn known for its ties to the establishment, status quo, business etc. could prove to be one of astrology's oddest and possibly "iffiest" combinations. The last time the two slow-moving outer planets conjoined in this sign was in the 1820s, so the generation born then would have seen, and been involved in, the mushrooming of the industrial revolution - arguably the biggest change humanity had experienced for centuries.
The five charts:
Birth data for Lanza, Holmes and Seung-Hui taken from Astrodatabank, for the two Tsarnaevs it was gleaned from available sources, so may not be 100% accurate. Charts set for 12 noon where birth times are not known.
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| Cho Seung-Hui (Virginia Tech massacre 2007) born 18 January 1984, Seoul, S. Korea |
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| James Holmes (Aurora theater shooting 2012) born 13 December 1987, San Diego, Ca. |
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| Tamerlan Tsarnaev (Boston Marathon bombing 2013) born 21 October 1986 in Kyrgyzstan |
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| Adam Lanza (Sandy Hook elementary School shooting 2012) born 22 April 1992, Kingston, NH. |
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| Showing link to Mars - sextile aspect |
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| Dzhokhar Tsarnaev (Boston Marathon bombing 2013) born born 22 July 1993 in Dagestan |
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| Showing link to Mars - trine aspect |
Postscript: Yet another ill-famed young male had slipped my memory while preparing the above: Jared Lee Loughner, born September 10, 1988. (Shooting in Tucson, Arizona, on January 8, 2011, shot and severely injured U.S. Representative Gabrielle Giffords, his target, and killed six people.)
Not as clear a similarity here, but there's still at least one Mars/Pluto link. From the small chart a Yod (Finger of Fate) can be seen with Pluto at its apex linked to Jupiter and Mars by two 150* aspects. Astrologers would interpret that as the "energies" of the two sextiled planets, Jupiter (in Gemini) and Mars (in its own sign Aries), being channeled through Pluto (in its own sign, Scorpio) at the apex.
Hi Twilight - If Mars represents, among other things, our personal will and the way we choose to assert ourselves, then it makes sense that anyone whose Mars is in aspect with the outer planets is probably going to be faced with some pretty big challenges and/or temptations throughout their lifetime. This powerful energy can be used for selfish, self-serving, destructive purposes (and in BIG ways) *or* it can be used to connect to causes and energies greater than ourselves - sometimes both. A lot depends on internal motivations, what* the individual hopes to achieve and *how* they hope to achieve it. I agree with you about the various factors that come into play, not the least of which is our free will and how attentive we are to that small inner voice of conscience.
ReplyDeleteMy Mars in the 9th squares my Pluto in the 12th, forms a quintile with my 12th house Uranus and is quincunx my Neptune on the cusp of the 2nd/3rd; for a long time now my progessed Mars has been square my progressed Uranus. I grew up in a *very* politically charged, socially progressive environment in which hypocrisy and political correctness sometimes allowed bullies to flourish. Although there were many good things too, I gradually came to understand how fear, combined with social pressure, can paralyze and silence people into turning a blind eye to injustice and TRUTH - they stop listening to their inner guidance and instead look outside themselves, often turning to their immediate environment for cues.
The violence and suppression I witnessed affected me on a deep soul-level and eventually began to affect many of my choices. It took time and self-awareness to learn how to channel the energy constructively. In my *small* way, I try to speak the truth on behalf of those who can't speak for themselves and to make people more aware. And to use the resources at my disposal in non-violent, practical ways that heal rather than harm.
Off the top of my head, I remembered Bruce Lee, Ghandi and Oprah all have challenging Mars-Pluto aspects. I wish I could think of some other examples. Maybe later.:)
LB ~~~ Thanks for pointing out the positive potentialities of Mars aspected by outer planets. Agreed!
ReplyDeleteThe "effect" must be akin to possessing a wider-than-normal range of physical and emotional reaction to situations and experiences I guess?
Thanks also for your personal example.
I tend not to think much about these placements, but I do have Mars at 28 Scorpio trine Pluto at 0 Leo(out of sign but still a trine). Also Sun opposite and Moon square Pluto.
How outer planets' aspects to Mars could manifest will also be coloured by how weak or strong other planetary points, positions and aspects are - so it will be in no way an easy interpretation to make.
I just wondered, as I spotted these similarities, which are definitely there, how much weight they do actually carry. There'd have to be a much bigger sample studied to arrive at any conclusion.
Mars was one of the planets what's-his-name....erm...Michel Gauquelin had in his sights for research - and If I remember correctly stuff related to Mars was the main part of his research which did, eventually, stand up to lots of skeptical research.
We should never take Mars lightly then! :-)
I remember reading about the Gauquelin's research on Donna Cunningham's site and also about Mars in the charts of athletes. I also ran across this interesting conversation about the four sectors: http://www.linda-goodman.com/ubb/Forum1/HTML/018690.html
ReplyDeleteMy 9th house Mars is within 10 degrees of my MC and my 12th house Pluto is within 10 degrees of my Ascendant. I think my Virgo Ascendant is grateful they're not closer to the angles.:) Your out-of-sign Mars trine Pluto definitely counts!
I don't think we can ever know someone's character just by looking at their chart. For instance, Mars-Pluto can be a bully or someone who was (or is) bullied and now puts the energy to use helping others, maybe both - Dr. Phil is a good example. Same thing is true for Saturn-Mars aspects or Saturn-Pluto. It's a little different when we're trying to gain insight into someone whose actions either confound or seem speak for themselves. I know I'm constantly looking at charts trying to understand people better.
Mars is the action planet, but never underestimate the potentiality of Venus, planet of desire. Desire typically drives action.
ReplyDeleteLB ~~ ah yes, it's all coming back to me now....the areas a given number of degrees either side of the ascendant, midheaven, descendant and nadir (the angles) of the chart are key places Gauquelin proposed.
ReplyDeleteTrouble is that an accurate time of birth is required to establish position of the angles. While most people in the USA have this because records are kept, people in the UK and probably elsewhere, are not so lucky and have to rely on memory of parents or guesswork or rectification. Settling on the exact degree is tricky. I'm not 100% sure of my own birth time within an hour or so, but am pretty certain I have Cancer rising, just cannot be sure of the degree....even the astrologer who rectified my chart couldn't be sure, so position of angles and house cusps, for me, are iffy at best.
I always consider natal charts as throwing up just "shadows". Sometimes these are reliable - just as when you see the shadow of a giraffe you know it's not a cat.:-) Sometimes the shadows are nebulous and can mislead.
Anonymous ~~ You could be right - though I've always seen Venus as the softer side of love/desire, and Pluto as the passionate side - the side likely to be involved in driving passionate hatred or blood-lust.
ReplyDeleteIn looking again at the chart you posted for Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, I noticed his Nodal Axis is conjunct two of the Royal Stars. His South Node is conjunct the Fixed Star Aldebaran, while his North Node is on Antares. For some time now, these two points have been at the midpoint of the sextile formed by transiting Saturn in Scorpio and Pluto in Capricorn - all the more powerful because they're in mutual reception. Then there was transiting Jupiter at 9 Gemini setting off December 2012's Yod. The Yod's boomerang point would've been conjunct the younger brother's Antares-North Node conjunction and the older brother's Saturn. As with all things, the energy generated could've been used for harm or healing. Did the planning begin then?
ReplyDeleteOlder brother Tamerlan's Saturn in Sagitarrius (the sign of faith, religion, philosophy and the law) is within range of the more fiery star, Antares, so he could've served as the pair's 'spiritual' leader, authority figure and architect, able to give form to their misguided anger by making it real.
Could Tamerlan's Moon (representing among other things, his past, his homeland and mother's influence) sit opposite his Saturn in Gemini and close to Aldebaran? Wish we had a time of birth.
My MC/IC axis is *exactly* conjunct these two Fixed Stars, and I know I've felt the energies being activated for a while now. My most challenging experiences took place in November and December and involved two less than trustworthy individuals working together to intimidate my husband and me in order to achieve something lacking in integrity. I can be pretty feisty so it was difficult to maintain my own integrity and composure (as well as my *faith*), but I did. Recently we've started to see some of the rewards for holding it together. If those birth dates are correct, I can't help but wonder what might have happened if only the brothers had made a different set of choices.
Darkstar Astrology has some interesting posts on each of these Fixed Stars: http://darkstarastrology.com/antares/ http://darkstarastrology.com/aldebaran/
LB ~ Those are interesting points about the 2 Fixed Stars (Royal Stars too). I'm never sure how much weight to attach to Fixed Stars but do note them whenever I see the same ones popping up in charts regularly.
ReplyDeleteI always note Algol, have looked into Zosma and a couple of others in the past.
There are many bits and pieces in the charts which could be seen to relate to what happened. Hard to be sure about any of it though.
First thing I thought of when I saw Tamerlan's (the senior bro's) chart was - Hmmm - his Sun and Pluto are in Via Combusta.
(around 15 Libra to 15 Scorpio). But I know modern astrologers don't set much store by Via Combusta - it always intrigues me.
(There are some posts about it linked via the Label Cloud in the sidebar).
It seems, from what we're being told, or can glean, that the elder brother was the initiator of the Boston bombing plot, and the younger bro, because of sibling loyalty - or maybe persuasion to bro's way of thinking, was the helping hand.
Conflicting stories abound about the whole situation now. I doubt we'll ever get to know the full unvarnished truth. Only Tamerlan knew the full "why?" He might not even have explained it fully to his brother. I suspect that his denial of US citizenship, when he needed it so badly in order to represent the US in Olympic boxing, might be a buried motive, overlaid by the stuff about defending Islam he might have been able to sell to his sibling.
But that's just conjecture.