Eclipse Notes: Of Bombs, Bonds and Bridges

Hold onto your cosmic hats!  We’re gonna do a down-and-dirty overview of three stories that made the news in recent days – the terrorist attack in Moscow on March 22 that left more than 130 dead; the diminution of Donald Trump’s civil fraud bond on March 25; and the catastrophic bridge collapse in Baltimore on March 26.  Each deserves a deeper dive, buy hey!  I’m only human.

First things first, we’ll begin with the devastating attack on a concert at the Crocus City Hall in Krasnogorsk, a suburb of Moscow, Russia.  Shortly after 8 PM local time on Friday 22 March, 2024, four masked gunmen entered the venue and began shooting, followed by hurling petrol bombs that filled the hall with flames and smoke.  At least 137 are dead, more than 100 wounded, some sixty of those with serious injuries that may increase the death toll.  The Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS) has claimed responsibility and four Tajikistan citizens were arrested for the crime fourteen hours later.

A chart set for the commencement of the attack on Crocus City Hall shows an exact pairing of asteroids Crocus 1220 and Russia 232 at 12 Aries, with asteroid Gunn 18243 at 14 Aries, all clustered on the 15 Aries Descendant, establishing the country affected (Russia), the venue (Crocus) and the principal weaponry used (Gunn), all bound up in the angularity of the moment (the Descendant, which changes degrees every four minutes).  These oppose asteroid Flammario 1021 at 14 Libra on the 15 Libra Ascendant, one of three points that relate to flames. 

The Crocus/Russia conjunction is just coming into orb with the Sun at 2 Aries, highlighting this region for the timeframe.  More closely connected is a triple conjunction of asteroid Isis 42 (the name by which the group is still known in the West), TNO Ixion 28978 (named for the first murderer in Greek myth) and Hall 3299 (for the Crocus City Hall location) at 1, 6 and 8 Capricorn respectively, which squares the Sun.  A T-Square is formed with asteroid Krasnoyarsk 38046 (closest to Krasnogorsk) and TNO Chaos 19521 at 1 and 0 Cancer, depicting the anarchy and bedlam (Chaos) that ensued in the Moscow suburb (Krasnoyarsk).  The empty leg of a Grand Cross would shortly be filled by the Lunar Eclipse degree of 5 Libra three days later, already active.

Asteroid Nemesis 128 at 24 Cancer crests the 21 Cancer MC, the focus of all eyes, with Nemesis representing enemies, ruin and destruction.  Exact on the 21 Capricorn IC is asteroid Osiris 1923, named for the Egyptian god of the dead.

Pluto, modern lord of death, also rules terrorism; at 1 Aquarius, Pluto is sextile the Sun, and conjoined by asteroids Bomben 12834 (for “bomb”) at 27 Capricorn, Moskva 787 (Russian for Moscow, its capital) at 5 Aquarius and Anubis 1912 (Egyptian deity governing funerary rites) at 9 Aquarius.  Mars, ruling guns, attacks and violent death, appears at 29 Aquarius, with asteroid Flammeus 8752 (flames again) at 24 Aquarius, Damocles 5335 (the doom or peril hanging unseen overhead) at 2 Pisces and asteroid Burney 6235 (for “burning”) at 3 Pisces, all squared asteroid Rip 7711 at 4 Sagittarius.  Rip acts as a death indicator in the form of the acronym RIP, “Rest In Peace,” a common tombstone inscription, and appears at station, having turned retrograde just two days previously.  The Moon at 4 Virgo completes a Grand Cross.

Neptune, ruling religious zealotry and fanaticism, falls at 27 Pisces, conjoining asteroid Requiem 2254 (named for the funeral mass for the dead) at 21 Pisces, also exactly opposing asteroid Flamini 18099 (the third “flames” referent) at 27 Virgo, with Isis on the fulcrum of a T-Square.

Donald Trump was doubly in the news Monday, March 25, the day of the Lunar Eclipse (then again, when is he not?), with a $454 million bond payment due for his conviction for fraud and a hearing to set the date for (one of) his election interference trials.  The eclipsed Moon fell precisely on his natal Neptune, arbiter of fraud and deception, and both cases revolve around Trump’s trademark inability to tell the truth.  NY AG Letitia James cited “staggering” fraud in Trump’s reporting of the value of assets, inflated for purposes of obtaining more favorable bank loans, and deflated to evade taxes, in a case which she won last September. 

The amount of the penalty was not determined until last month, and since then, Trump’s lawyers have been crying poorhouse, saying that coming up with the money for the bond that must be posted while the case is under appeal was a “practical impossibility” for the – ahem – “billionaire.”  Meanwhile, in typical Trumpian fashion, the former president was declaiming on his Truth Social media platform that he had plenty of cash on hand to cover the amount, but had intended to use that for his campaign (which hasn’t seen a cent of his own money since 2016).

Nevertheless, Trump appealed the amount of the bond, and on March 25, a panel of NY State Appellant Division judges came to his rescue, cutting down the bond to $175 million, less than half the original amount, and giving him an additional ten days to post the surety.  The $454 million penalty still stands as of now, however, should Trump lose his appeal.

Asteroids suggest that Trump may not have just been calling “wolf!” when he pled impecunity.  Transit asteroid Nada 4106 (Spanish for “nothing”) was exactly conjunct his natal MC at 24 Taurus, exposing his empty pockets for all the world to see.  As well, transit asteroids Sans 10691 (French for “without”) at 26 Pisces and NOT 2857 (a general disqualifier) at 16 Virgo are T-square the 22 Gemini Sun, affirming that he just doesn’t have it.  And maybe he never did – natal Sans at 10 Leo exactly conjoins natal Pluto, ruling the billions, not exactly the signature of someone worth, in his own estimation, up to $10 billion. Just for good measure, transit asteroid Lacks 359426 at 9 Leo, conjunct natal Pluto, underscores the lack of funds.

Lending further weight for that proposition, the Lunar Eclipse itself, which in addition to Neptune, opposes natal NOT at 2 Libra and transit asteroid Zero 4321 (a metaphor for “nothing”) at 1 Libra, as well as conjoining natal Zero at 9 Aries and transit asteroid Welch 2405 (slang for not paying a debt) at 7 Aries, while squared natal Mercury (the judgment itself, as well as the Appellate Court’s decision) at 8 Cancer and natal asteroid Donn 4689 at 7 Cancer (for The Donald himself). 

Natal Welch at 27 Aries, by the way, opposes the natal Saturn/Venus conjunction at 23 and 25 Cancer (which in and of itself speaks to “limited/Saturn cash/Venus”), which is accompanied by asteroids Karma3811 at 23 Cancer and Price 26703 at 28 Cancer.  This speaks volumes for Trump’s pattern of never fully paying for anything, whether it be underpaid undocumented workers at his clubs, cheating on his taxes, stiffing contractors or defaulting on legal fees.  It’s taken awhile for Karma to catch up to this fiscal miscreant, but currently this bundle is being further stressed by transit asteroids Achilles 588 (weakness or vulnerability), Nemesis (ruin and self-undoing) and Grieve 4451, at 24 and 25 Cancer.

How is Trump feeling about all this financial and criminal liability of late?  Well, we might get a clue from transit asteroids Lacrimosa 208 and Melancholia 5708, currently camped out together at 2 Virgo, on his 29 Leo Ascendant, governing his public image.  Lacrimosa relates to lachrymose, rooted in the Latin lacrimae, “tears;” while melancholia is a clinical term for severe depression.  Both points are approaching station, with Lacrimosa turning direct from 0 Virgo on April 15^th, now the adjusted date for the start of the Stormy Daniels hush money/election interference trial, and Melancholia following suit from 29 Leo, exact on his Ascendant, four days later.

Couldn’t happen to a nicer guy!

Our third story involves the catastrophic collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore, Maryland, which fell apart and sank into the Patapsco River after the container ship Dali ran into one it its supports.  Fortunately the accident occurred at 1:28 AM EDT, just minutes after the ship lost power and steerage, and not during the day, when many more lives would have been at risk.  As is, a small construction crew of seven is missing, presumed lost, and an indeterminate number of travelers in several submerged cars will likely keep the death toll to a minimum.

A chart cast for the collapse shows an Ascendant of 20 Sagittarius, conjoined by asteroid Skiff 61401 at 23 Sagittarius, with Skiff a word used for various seacraft (though typically of much smaller scale than the Dali), alerting us to the importance of ships to the moment.  On the 20 Gemini Descendant we see asteroid Boattini 8925, Scott 3594 and Dali 2919, at 15, 16 and 22 Gemini respectively.  Boattini again points us toward boats, Scott is reflective of the Francis Scott Key Bridge (as well as being the surname of Baltimore’s current mayor, Brandon Scott), and Dali is the name of the ship which struck it.  A T-Square with Neptune at 27 Pisces, ruling the sea and sailing generally, perhaps accounts for the confusion and misdirection created by the technical difficulties aboard the Dali which caused the crash.

The destruction of the bridge will cause major disruption to Baltimore, one of the busiest port cities on the US East Coast, with dramatic ripples through national commerce, as reflected in asteroid Bridges 4029 at 26 Aries conjunct Mercury (ruling commerce) at 24 Aries.  Incredibly, also here is asteroid Lachesis 120 at 29 Aries, named for the mythic Greek Fate who determines the span of life, apparently working overtime with inanimate objects in this instance.  

This trio is involved in a Grand Cross with opposition to the Moon at 16 Libra, asteroid Oceana 224 (the Dali is owned by the Grace Ocean company) at 18 Libra, and asteroid Shipka 2530 (for “ship”) at 27 Libra, the crossbars formed by asteroids Baltimore 5870 and Francis 2050 at 20 and 26 Capricorn, and asteroids Nemesis 128 and Achilles 588 at 24 and 25 Cancer.  Bridges here is self-explanatory, as is Baltimore; Francis reconnects to the bridge’s name; Nemesis represents ruin or destruction; Achilles indicates a weakness or vulnerability, and there are serious questions already being raised about the bridge’s structural integrity before the accident.  Although out-of-Sign, Pluto here at 1 Aquarius feeds into the pattern, bringing destruction and disaster in its wake.

As always, foreign words and cognates are instructive and useful.  Here we see asteroid Schiff 61401, German for “ship,” embedded at station from 7 Sagittarius (turning retrograde April 2^nd), signifying an enhanced importance for seagoing vessels in the news of the period.  Schiff is trine the 6 Aries Sun and conjunct asteroid Bruges 9472 at 10 Sagittarius.  Bruges is named for the Belgian capital, and is derived from the Old Dutch word “brugga,” meaning “bridge.”  These square a cluster of points in early Pisces – Mars at 2 Pisces, traditional ruler of accidents; Damocles 5335 at 3 Pisces, symbolizing the looming threat or peril; asteroid Pons 7645 at 4 Pisces, Latin for “bridge;” and Saturn at 12 Pisces, representing loss or restriction (such as the closing of the port and disruption to local traffic), also ancient lord of death. 

That 6 Aries Sun is just a day past the Lunar Eclipse and squares TNO Chaos19521 at 1 Cancer, indicating turmoil, disruption and anarchy.  The Sun is still within orb of Neptune at 27 Pisces, again highlighting (Sun) issues with waterways and sailing (Neptune) for the timeframe.

Asteroid Bruck 10737 correlates to “brucke”, German for “bridge;” at 23 Taurus, it is conjoined Uranus at 20 Taurus, ruling accidents and technical or electrical issues such as the ship experienced, and Jupiter at 16 Taurus, which inflates and exacerbates everything it touches.  Put it together and we see yet another celestial iteration of BIG (Jupiter) bridge (Bruck) accident (Uranus).  Opposed Jupiter are asteroids Bro 10128 at 11 Scorpio and Scotti 3594 at 21 Scorpio; Bro is Swedish for “bridge” and Scotti is a variation of Scott, bringing us directly back to the Francis Scott Key Bridge.  We might credit here Jupiter, known as the “Greater Benefic,” for the fact that there was comparatively little loss of life.

It isn’t often I get to examine the charts of inanimate objects, so I took advantage of the opportunity to look into the “birth” chart for the Francis Scott Key Bridge, opened on 23 March 1977.

What stands out at first blush, of course, is that the Bridge just had a birthday, three days before the accident that effectively destroyed it.  This means it was still resonating from a Solar Return, and the Lunar Eclipse of the day before at 5 Libra had opposed its 2 Aries Sun.  Eclipsed, indeed!

But remarkably, it wasn’t just the Sun that had returned to its natal place.  Mars at 2 Pisces and asteroid Scott at 16 Gemini were also back at home plate!  Mars, as we’ve noted, is the traditional ruler of accidents and inimical events, while the Return of a PNA (Personal-Named Asteroid) to its natal place is much like a mini–Solar Return.  And yet, that’s not the most remarkable thing about the natal chart.

It’s quite common to see someone’s own PNAs in connection to the Sun, Moon, Ascendant or Mercury (as ruling the naming function) in their birth charts, but I wasn’t expecting such an effusion of similar placements for a bridge.  But for the FSK Bridge, we have the 2 Aries Sun conjoined by asteroid Pons (Latin “bridge”) at 4 Aries, at the fulcrum of a T-Square with asteroid Baltimore at 5 Capricorn and Bridges at 3 Cancer.  Oh, come now!  How literal can you be, cosmos?!  This also means that the 5 Libra Lunar Eclipse filled in a Grand Cross, activating all these points as well.

With Bridges is asteroid Boattini, linking the edifice, not just with the commerce that daily passed beneath its span, but with the object that caused its destruction.  Echoes of this connection eerily appear in a pairing of asteroids Schiff (German “ship”) and Francis at 16 and 17 Cancer; asteroids Skiff (seacraft) and Bruges (Old Dutch “bridge”) at 8 and 13 Pisces; and asteroid Shipka (“ship”) at 13 Scorpio conjoined Uranus, ruler of accidents, at 11 Scorpio.  Uranus was exactly conjoined by transit asteroid Bro (Swedish “bridge”) at the accident, and squares natal Bro at 9 Aquarius, from where it conjoins natal asteroid Dali, the name of the ship that collided with the bridge!

That square is actually part of a Grand Cross, with Uranus/Shipka opposing the natal Moon at 16 Taurus and squaring Saturn (loss, restriction) at 10 Leo.  Transit Jupiter was exactly conjunct the Moon for the accident, and I’m convinced this contributed to the remarkably low death toll from such a devastating event.  In addition to the Returns mentioned above and the exact conjunctions with Uranus and the Moon, natal asteroid Bruck (German “bridge”) at 20 Gemini – which conjoins Scott natally, further confirming that this particular “Scott” is in fact a bridge – is exactly on the Descendant for the crash, and natal Mercury (commerce, news) at 10 Aries is exactly on its IC

It will likely be months before the bridge wreckage can be floated and removed, freeing the port of Baltimore for use again, and years before the bridge is rebuilt and local traffic patterns return to normal.  All due to a scattering of unfortunately named cosmic debris, unpropitiously placed to elicit this circumstance.

Alex Miller

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 .