Here We go again.
As the NRA is fond of saying, “Guns Don’t Kill People, People Do”. And we have yet another example of how true that is and why “people” should not have free access to these dangerous deadly weapons.
On June 12, 2016, at approximately 2:00 am in Orlando, Florida, a man opened fire with an AR-15 military style rifle on the Pulse nightclub, killing 49 people and wounding 53 others. His motivation was apparently hatred and rage toward the LGBT community. He may have also been a terrorist.
If this isn’t an argument for gun control, I don’t know what is. The same was said about so many others, but especially about Sandy Hook where dozens of innocent children were killed. But no, not even that mattered to the NRA and its adherents. They deny any responsibility for the carnage, pointing to the Second Amendment as proof that they are doing the right thing. Nowhere do the defenders of gun ownership acknowledge that the first part of the Second Amendment, which they claim as their own, begins with “A well-regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State…”. How exactly is it possible to have a “well-regulated Militia” without even knowing who own the guns? Yet the gun manufacturer’s greed and the NRA’s lust for power has us all in its grip. We are in the strangle-hold of their fear mongering.
In the midst of the anguish and grief resulting from this horrendous event, I decided to see what we can learn from the astrological chart of the event. I expected to see some very hard aspects involving Mars and Saturn, or maybe Pluto and Uranus. There are some hard aspects, to be sure. But I also found some significant surprises.
The first surprise is the trine from Pluto to the South Node. One of the tendencies that many astrologers have, including me, is to view trines as a positive thing. But the chart of this event really brings home the lesson that trines do not always produce “happy” results. This is the chart of the event, depicting aspects within one degree of exactitude.
(Placidus Houses)
On a mundane level, Pluto represents the mob mentality and widespread death and destruction. In this instance, it easily relates to the powerful gun lobby. The South Node represents a malefic point involving sacrifice and obligation. In this chart, the focus of its malevolence is through the analytical sign of Virgo in the 6th house, where the public health is at risk. It seems that this trine shows an easy connection between these two very negative attributes.
On any level, Pluto represents “mega-whatever”. Whatever it touches is on the magnitude of ten to the tenth to the tenth, at least. Pluto is retrograde in Capricorn, sign of leadership, and makes a commanding presence in the 10th house where public awareness is prominent. Again, “mega” goes with that. On her website, moonvalleyastrology.com, Celeste Teal describes the Degree of the Nodes as any planet in the exact same degree as the lunar nodes. A planet in this position shows a “fated appointment or fateful event, possibly some sort of catastrophe”. In this chart, Pluto sits in that position. Since it is retrograde, Pluto is somewhat less intense on an outward level, but the determination and force it represents is still there, perhaps even more focused and controlled. It seems that this trine facilitated the faulty logic that resulted in death and destruction on a catastrophic level. On the other end of the nodes, Pluto’s sextile to the North Node shows that it is possible for some good to come of it. The North Node in the 12th house in Pisces points to escaping the chains of victimization through effort and a willingness to work together.
In addition to the Pluto/South Node trine, Jupiter is slightly more than two degrees away from being conjunct the South Node, adding its tremendous energy of expansion to the already disastrous energy of the Pluto/South Node trine. Jupiter’s presence brings in the idea of religion and philosophical concepts being involved. The trine here would normally be considered a favorable aspect promoting peace and diplomacy. That was clearly not happening here. In fact, the unfavorable aspect interpretation of religious suppression is more fitting to the circumstances. It will be another ten days before Jupiter comes within one degree of the conjunction/trine. It remains to be seen whether we’ll see any positive results emerging from this terrible event at that time.
The second surprise is the trine from retrograde Mars to Chiron. Mars, planet of war and hatred, easily ignites the wounds signified by Chiron through this trine. Mars sits in the 8th house, the house of death, while Chiron sits in the 12th house of sorrow bringing these two issues together. Mars is in Scorpio, one of the signs it rules, which intensifies its ability to do whatever it wants. Here is an opportunity to use the vast energy of the war god for either good or evil. Its retrograde condition, however, reduces its ability to channel its actions into mature behavior. It’s more like a two-year old child throwing a tantrum in order to get what it wants. In the hands of an adult male and its 8th house position, however, the rage of that tantrum went to the extreme…. “if I can’t have it my way, nobody else can either”.
On the other hand, Chiron, representing wounds and healing, is in the transcendental sign of Pisces, capable of wisdom, belief, and compassion but susceptible to victimization. Its placement in the 12th house, the focus of hospitals and prisons, emphasizes the severity of the wound. Like victims of domestic abuse who find it nearly impossible to escape their abuser, the wisdom of Chiron easily fell victim to the intense hatred of Mars.
Not so surprisingly, Saturn, the other malefic, squares Neptune. Saturn is retrograde in Sagittarius in the 9th house of philosophy and religion, emphasizing an effort to return to traditional values. Neptune, on the other hand is stationary and about to turn retrograde in Pisces in the 12th house, dissolving the boundaries of confinement. In my experience, a retrograde Neptune sees the truth quite clearly as opposed to the self-deception described by its direct motion. These two planets in hard aspect very clearly define the clash between traditional values and the inevitable disintegration of restrictive ideologies. The fact that Neptune is stationary indicates that the repercussions of this event on philosophical thinking will be very long lasting indeed.
On a less intense but also interesting note, the Moon is also squaring the Sun and eventually Venus. In mundane astrology, the Moon signifies the people while the Sun represents the political leader of the nation. Venus signifies feminine, aesthetic concerns and the promotion of peace. An affliction such as this, involving both lights and the planet of peace, is a significant blow to the life force. It signifies the people feeling on edge, tension between them and the leader, and artistic suppression and discord.
The Moon is at 20° of Virgo, the sign of sustenance, in the 6th house of illness and injury. On this day, the Moon is traveling about one degree every two hours. There was a standoff between the shooter and police that lasted about three hours before the shooter himself was killed. By that time, the Moon was squaring the midpoint of the Sun/Venus conjunction. I guess you could say that peace was restored at that point.
The Moon in Virgo spends a lot of time trying to analyze her feelings, which is difficult and goes against her nature. The Sun and Venus are conjunct in Gemini, the sign of brotherhood, in the 3rd house of siblings and communication. Clearly, the emotions involved here were impossible to communicate. This is doubly emphasized by both of these signs being ruled by Mercury. Mercury, Messenger of the Gods, is in the 29th degree of the fixed earth sign, Taurus, with its tongue tied.
But could this event be the one that finally brings an end to this era of free-for-all guns and killings? There is some hope in this chart. For one thing, the very next day, that 29° Mercury is about to move on to 00° Gemini. There will be no stopping the conversations that come tumbling out of everyone’s mouth after that happens. Another very important thing in this chart is that all of the angles are also at 29 degrees marking the end of a cycle. It is just possible that a paradigm shift of consciousness is coming. Let’s hope that is the case.
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