March 2015, with its final Uranus/Pluto square and a solar eclipse in the very last degree of the zodiac, made quite a splash in the headlines. From the resignation of an ill-starred Congressman, to the first official entrant into the 2016 presidential election, to a suicidal commercial jet pilot, the skies tell the tale.
Schock and Awe
His ripped abs made the cover of Men’s Health magazine as “America’s Fittest Congressman”, and his Instagram account made entertaining viewing, but monetary irregularities and excesses brought down Aaron Schock (R-IL), who on March 17 announced his resignation from Congress, effective on March 31.
When he arrived in Washington in 2009, Schock was the youngest member of Congress, and quickly capitalized on his dashing appearance and personal style, becoming both a media darling and a target of scandal mongers such as TMZ.com. Initially Schock welcomed the attention, even opining that such exposure could reach an audience not normally interested in politics. A 2009 appearance on “The Colbert Report” which focused on his abs, followed by a 2010 appearance as a guest judge on “Top Chef” and the June 2011 cover shoot for “Men’s Health”, as well as a dizzying array of selfies catching Schock in global venues with luminaries such as Ariana Grande, Steven Tyler, the Pope, Lady Antebellum and travels to Argentina, Turkey, and India gave Schock a higher profile than his thin resume of legislative accomplishments merited.
Persistent rumors that the unmarried 33-year-old congressman is gay become politically pertinent given Schock’s voting record: he voted against the inclusion of sexual orientation in federal hate crimes legislation, against the repeal of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell”, and in support of same sex marriage bans. The rumors that Schock is gay were fueled by the plethora of shirtless Instagram photos with Schock’s buff workout buddies, his haute couture fashion sense, and trips with a male companion, as well as a $100,000 makeover of his Washington offices in a “Downton Abbey” theme.
It was this last flamboyance that became the proximate cause of a flurry of news reports intimating that Schock had used public and campaign funds inappropriately, and led to his resignation. Among Schock’s excesses were $24,000 spent on concert and events tickets for interns and staffers, including a sold-out Katy Perry concert; $40,000 on private jets; and thousands more in massages and chartered flights to sports events. But the kicker came when Schock requested reimbursement for 170,000 miles traveled on an official vehicle that recorded only 81,000 miles on its odometer, suggesting explicit fraud. When this discrepancy became public knowledge on March 17, Schock abruptly resigned.
The event is well depicted by an exact conjunction of asteroids Aaronson and Atropos at 29 Capricorn, conjunct Schock’s (born 28 August 1981) natal asteroid Schoch at 25 Capricorn, with Atropos representing endings and both Aaronson and Schoch tying this personally to Aaron Schock. Transit Schoch at 20 Scorpio was less than a week from its retrograde station, marking a major “turning point” in Schock’s life. Conjoined by asteroid Achilles at 15 Scorpio, there is a sense of vulnerability or weakness, and an opposition to TNO Sedna at 24 Taurus suggests isolation or lack of support.
Additionally, Schock’s natal TNO Varuna at 16 Gemini is being transited by TNO Chaos at 17 Gemini, with Varuna representing one’s legacy, and Chaos leaving Schock’s in tatters. Transit Varuna at 25 Cancer is traveling with asteroid Osiris, another indicator of endings, at 27 Cancer, and together these align with Schock’s natal Mars at 27 Cancer, opposing natal Schoch at 25 Capricorn, re-opening the subject of Schock’s sexuality.
Is Schock gay? He certainly has some celestial markers that suggest it. Natal Venus at 11 Libra conjoins Saturn at 8 Libra, an indicator of a block or repression of traditional relationships, and is squared by asteroid Ganymed, named for Zeus’ male cupbearer and boy-toy lover, at 13 Cancer. The Sun at 5 Virgo is conjunct asteroid Sappho at 12 Virgo, named for an ancient Greek lesbian poet, and these are squared by a pairing of asteroids Achilles and Aaronson at 11 and 12 Sagittarius, suggesting a vulnerability or weakness surrounding his sexuality as well as personalizing this energy to Schock directly. Mars at 27 Cancer is squared by Pluto at 22 Libra and trined by Uranus at 26 Scorpio; outer planet contacts to Venus or Mars often indicate homosexual tendencies.
Let the Games Begin!
The starting gun on the 2016 US presidential race was fired just after midnight on March 23, when Texas Senator Ted Cruz made his candidacy official in a Twitter announcement. Cruz, a GOP Tea Party darling whose first election in 2010 landed him in Washington, followed up his tweet the next morning with a speech at Jerry Falwell’s Liberty University in Lynchburg, VA, formally announcing his candidacy.
Cruz’ hard right positions and history of governmental gridlock, including a faux filibuster on Obamacare’s implementation and instigating the October 2013 government shutdown, make him a less-than-likely successful general election candidate, but the celestial timing of his candidacy is beyond reproach, and could indicate a formidable contender for his party’s nomination. [See Ted Cruz’ profile in the November 2013 Daykeeper Journal.]
Cruz’ Twitter announcement at 12:01 AM EDT in Lynchburg, VA shows asteroid Eduarda (for Edward, his middle name, the source of “Ted” Cruz) at 10 Pisces conjunct Mercury (decisions, news, announcements) at 15 Pisces, with Neptune (the fundamentalist zealots which are his natural constituency) at 8 Pisces and the Nadir, or IC, at 9 Pisces (representing the basis, or foundation, of the matter).
Having a prime PNA within a degree of an angle shows precise celestial timing, as these change degrees every four minutes, and when a point conjoins them, it is elevated or enhanced. Given the odd moment chosen for the tweet, it almost seems as if the time was chosen deliberately for its celestial impact. Eduarda is also broadly squared Saturn at 4 Sagittarius, representing career, government and the presidency itself. The Moon at 10 Taurus is in exact sextile to Eduarda, denoting an opportunity or opening with the public which Cruz may be able to capitalize on.
Edoardo, another “Edward” variant, falls at 3 Libra, opposed the transit Sun, the focus of the day, at 2 Aries. Asteroid Cruz at 19 Sagittarius squares Mercury, but perhaps more to the point, is also exactly conjunct asteroid Hybris, from where we derive our word “hubris”, meaning “excessive pride or arrogance”, a very apparent character trait for the senator. Cruz is also involved in a Grand Trine with Jupiter (politics) at 13 Leo and Uranus (rebel, maverick) at 15 Aries.
Also of note is asteroid Raphaela (for Rafael, Cruz’ given first name), which at 1 Gemini conjoins another angle, namely the Descendant at 27 Taurus, and opposes transit Saturn at 4 Sagittarius. A grouping of asteroids Whitehouse and America at 2 and 7 Leo is straddling asteroid Nemesis, that source of undoing, at 4 Leo; this combination has much to say about the effect a Cruz presidency would have on the nation.
Cruz took the stage at Liberty University at 10:20 AM, but he didn’t utter the fateful line marking his entry into the race until the end of his speech, at 10:48 AM EDT. The remarkable thing here is the timing, in relation to his natal chart. Born 22 December 1970 (in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, by the way, but I hear no grousing about his foreign birth from the Tea Party), the 10:48 time moves Mercury to 16 Aries, from where it exactly conjoins natal Raphaela; the Moon has moved to 16 Taurus, from where it exactly conjoins natal Saturn; and the MC of the moment, the Midheaven degree which is the focus of all eyes, has come to 21 Aquarius, from where it precisely conjoins Cruz’ natal asteroid Whitehouse. Pretty stunning, for a public (Moon) announcement (Mercury) by Cruz (Raphaella) of a career move (Saturn) involving the presidency (Whitehouse). The Ascendant at 13 Gemini conjoins natal asteroid Rafaelta at 14 Gemini, another variant of Rafael.
Just three days before the announcement, a total Solar Eclipse at 29 Pisces exactly opposed natal Pluto at 29 Virgo, Cruz’ personal power, itself conjunct asteroid Edoardo at 26 Virgo. Edoardo exactly squares the Galactic Center, showing an individual with the potential to achieve international or global notice and attention. This eclipse also formed a Grand Cross with the natal Sun at 0 Capricorn and natal asteroid Eduarda at 0 Cancer, conjunct asteroid America at 25 Gemini, emphasizing Cruz and his agenda for the next three years.
Alpine Tragedy
When 144 passengers boarded Germanwings flight 9525 in Barcelona, Spain on the morning of March 24th, they expected an uneventful flight to Dusseldorf, Germany. What they got was a nightmare voyage of gut-wrenching terror ending in a full throttle impact of the plane in the French Alps.
150 people died in total, when co-pilot Andreas Lubitz locked the captain out of the cabin and set the plane’s autopilot to a steep, controlled descent directly into a remote mountainside. Cockpit recorder transcripts reveal a scene of horror as the captain repeatedly tries to get some response from the co-pilot, finally battering the cabin door with an axe in a futile attempt to gain entrance, as screams of panicked passengers can be heard. Throughout, Lubitz remains stoically silent as he purposely steers those placed in his charge to their deaths.
Lubitz, 27, who had a history of treatment for suicidal tendencies, had been given a doctor’s note excusing him from duty, but withheld it from his employer, preferring instead to wreak his deadly havoc. The premeditation of the event can be assumed from comments made months earlier to a former girlfriend, to the effect that he would one day do something so that “everyone will know my name and remember it.”
A chart cast for the departure time of 10:01 AM local time in Barcelona shows Andreas Lubitz prominent, in the form of asteroid Andree, which at 14 Aquarius is just two degrees off the 16 Aquarius Midheaven, the most elevated point in the chart and the focus of attention. Andree is also conjoined by asteroid Apophis at 13 Aquarius, named for the ancient Egyptian personification of pure evil, and opposed Jupiter at 12 Leo, bringer of fame and renown. The Andree/Apophis/MC grouping conjoins Lubitz’ (born 18 December 1987) natal Apophis at 15 Aquarius. Thus, Lubitz was experiencing an “Apophis Return” at the time he perpetrated his evil act. Natal Apophis is also conjunct natal asteroid Barcelona at 19 Aquarius, suggesting that the venue of the flight’s departure may have in part triggered the Apophis response.
The transit Moon at 27 Taurus was also a likely key trigger, being exactly opposed Lubitz’ natal Andree at 27 Scorpio, which is itself conjunct natal TNO Ixion, noted as the first murderer in Greek myth, at 21 Scorpio. The transit Sun at 3 Aries was conjunct asteroid Anubis at 5 Aries, named for an Egyptian deity governing funerary rites, and bringing a focus on death for the day, while transit Uranus at 15 Aries, ruling flight, was an exact match for asteroid Tantalus, a point noted for the commission of heinous acts.
Lubitz’ natal Sun at 26 Sagittarius is involved in a complex stellium. An exact conjunction with Uranus, which governs flight and air travel as well as madness and maverick behaviors, supports both Lubitz’ early avidness to become a pilot and the psychological issues which plagued his life. Lubitz took a break from flight school in 2008 due to depression, but returned to his studies and passed the psychological evaluation prior to his employment with Lufthansa, which owns the Germanwings airbus franchise.
The Sun is also an exact match for the Galactic Center, a point which, when activated, offers the potential for global notice or attention for the native at some point in the life. Mercury is in the mix as well, from 23 Sagittarius; paired with Uranus, this ramps up the likelihood of mental problems, which may include actual physical brain dysfunction. Transit Ixion (murder) had come to exactly conjoin natal Mercury for the crash, combining travel and homicide in Lubitz’ psyche.
Asteroid Phaeton played a role as well, as did Icarus. Both points are noteworthy mythically for their relation to air disasters, with Phaeton shot from the sky after the sun chariot he was driving ran amok, and Icarus plunging to his death when he flew too close to sun, melting his waxen wings. In Lubitz’ nativity, Phaeton joins the solar stellium from 20 Sagittarius, and transit Phaeton at 26 Pisces was exactly squared the natal Sun on the day of the crash, also within orb of the transit Sun at 3 Aries. Transit Phaeton also opposed transit asteroid Germania (for both Germanwings and the destination country of the flight) at 23 Virgo and asteroid Lachesis at 25 Virgo, named for the Greek Fate who determines the span of life, in much the way that Lubitz determined not only his own life span, but those of his passengers and fellow crew members as well.
Transit Icarus at 20 Pisces was conjunct Phaeton, also conjunct transit Mercury at 17 Pisces, ruling travel generally, and exactly squared natal Phaeton. Natal Icarus at 18 Capricorn conjoins asteroid Requiem at 15 Capricorn, named for the funeral mass for the dead, which was itself directly in the crosshairs of the last Uranus/Pluto square, with Pluto exactly conjunct and Uranus/Tantalus exactly squared from 15 Aries. In Lubitz’ nativity, Icarus also makes an exact trine to asteroid Nemesis, vengeance and undoing, at 18 Virgo. Natal Pluto, modern ruler of death, at 11 Scorpio exactly opposes natal TNO Chaos, representing disorder and anarchy, at 11 Taurus, and together these form a Grand Cross with the transit Andree/Apophis and Jupiter polarity.
The crash site is represented by asteroid Alps, which at 8 Sagittarius for the flight conjoins the Descendant at 11 Sagittarius and transit Saturn, ancient lord of death, at 4 Sagittarius. In Lubitz’ birth chart, asteroid Alps appears at 0 Virgo, conjunct Germania at 7 Virgo and Atropos at 8 Virgo, named for the Greek Fate who severs the thread of life at death; these were opposed by transit Neptune (mental disorders or fantasies as well as depression and suicide) at 8 Pisces. Alps is also exactly squared natal asteroid Osiris at 0 Gemini, yet another death indicator, named for the ancient Egyptian god of the dead, and also exactly sextile asteroid Lachesis at 0 Scorpio.
Germanwings flight 9525 captain Patrick Sonderheimer is represented by asteroid Patricia at 2 Leo, conjoining transit Nemesis at 4 Leo; Patricia was at station, having turned direct just the day before. In Lubitz’ nativity, asteroid Patricia appears at 16 Scorpio, exactly on Mars (violent death), within orb of both Pluto (death generally) and Ixion (murder specifically).
The Solar Eclipse at 29 Pisces four days before the crash squared Lubitz’ natal Sun closely, and was likely the final trigger in a plan that had obviously been in his mind for some time.
Alex Miller is a professional writer and astrologer, whose website AlexAsteroidAstrology.com offers a trove of info on the role of asteroids in personal and mundane astrology. He is the author of The Black Hole Book (available on Amazon.com) and The Urban Wicca, former editor of “The Galactic Calendar,” and past president of The Philadelphia Astrological Society. His pioneering work with Black Holes in astrological interpretation began in 1991, when his progressed Sun unwittingly fell into one. Alex’s books and writings are available on his website. Alex can also be reached for comment or services at .
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