Aspects for the week beginning 24 February 2013

From my Postbag:

“Oscar Pistorius…Does anything in his natal chart or his chart at the time of the murder connect to the South African chart and if so, how?”

Oscar Pistorius

Oscar Pistorius is currently on bail pending a charge of murder of his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp.  He is due to appear in court again on 4^th June.  Only Oscar himself knows the truth of what happened on Valentine’s Day, as Reeva’s father implies, in stating that Oscar must “live with his conscience.“  Can Astrology help us to look inside his mind?

Early Childhood

Oscar Pistorius was born with a congenital defect, an absence of the fibula in both legs.  A physical problem which is congenital usually (but not always) involves a karmic carryover from another lifetime, a problem which needs to be solved in this lifetime.  Whether it has any bearing on his current crisis, is at this point in time unknowable, unless you have a fine access to the akashic records.

The area of the body where this problem is situated is of interest to medical astrology.  At the age of 11 months, his legs were amputated halfway between the knee and the ankles.  Aquarius represents the area between the knee and the ankle, and his Ascendant in Aquarius is almost exactly halfway through the sign, at 12 degrees Aquarius.  Mars is in his 1^st House, and Mars represents surgery (as well as many other attributes he has such as courage, speed and determination).

Birthchart

Mercury at the top of Oscar’s chart on the cusp of his 10^th House would point to an athletic career as a runner.  Saturn late in the 10^th House may symbolize running into later problems in relation to his reputation.

He has the Warrior Archetype, as shown by the Sun in his 10^th House square closely his Mars in the 1^st House, and indeed his warrior must have been supremely self-motivating throughout the challenges of his life.

Three difficult natal aspects may link particularly with his disability: Mercury conjunct Pluto, Jupiter square Saturn, and Chiron opposite Uranus.

Pluto exactly conjunct the Midheaven would indicate a career and a life path which can swing to extremes in fortune and reputation.

Olympic Success

If I had been writing a blog about Oscar Pistorius last summer, it would have been a very different blog.  Scorpio courage defies the odds in athletic success, and makes his country proud.  Pluto was sextile his Pluto – a psychological triumph and overcoming of deep challenges.  Mars was transiting his South Node, so there was a karmic element in relation to using his past life challenges as a spur to achievement.  His natal North Node is in Aries, so the development of his individuality and potential had reached a marking point.  This may have ended a karmic cycle of the development of his male side.  The Paralympic gold medal shows up as an explosive event, in a transit of Mars to his Pluto/Midheaven.

Dating Reeva

Then began a new phase of his life, post-Olympics.  He began a new relationship, with Reeva Steenkamp, in November.  Jupiter was trine his Ascendant on the cusp of his 5^th House, indicating new love, but square his natal Jupiter which may have brought overconfidence.  Natally he has Moon square Venus, which may indicate that he would take time to mature emotionally, and the new relationship would have tested that, beginning around the time that Saturn was transiting his Venus (relationship).  In their synastry (chart compatibility) her Pluto was trine with his Mars, a very energetic connection which may have been difficult to handle.

The Events of Valentine’s Day

This Valentine’s Day, the day that Reeva died, was close in time to a sextile between Mars and Pluto, which again is very energetic but can be explosive and turn to violence.  Saturn was one degree away from an exact square with Oscar’s Ascendant, which may have been exact if the birth time has been rounded out (10.30 a.m.), cusping his 10^th House of Career and Notoriety.  Mars was exactly trine his Scorpio Midheaven, linking warriorship also with his reputation for that time.  Neptune was exactly square Reeva’s Jupiter, representing complex issues about trust and faith.  If she was born at Noon, Pluto would have been exactly conjunct her Moon, but we do not have a birth time for her.  What happened that day, and how conscious was he of what he was doing in the middle of the night?  How much control did he have over his actions and emotions?  The murder was not premeditated in terms of being a carefully executed plan, with clues hidden and alibis.  He has admitted that he killed her.  Deborah Orr wrote in the Guardian yesterday that “Pistorius’ case is an empty vessel into which all our prejudices can be poured… Reluctance  to take his story at face value is driven not by dispassionate examination of the evidence, but by more general views about the vulnerability of women to violence from their partners.”  I will be circumspect about my own views…if I have not already said too much already.

From my Postbag:

“Oscar Pistorius…Does anything in his natal chart or his chart at the time of the murder connect to the South African chart and if so, how?”

And so to the question in hand (from my Postbag), sometimes you just have to ask the right question.  I chose to use the 1994 chart of Mandela’s inauguration, because of the implied emphasis in the email on the development of the new South African state.  What was revealed was an astonishing link between Pistorius’ chart and that of his nation.  There is an exact square between Oscar’s Saturn and the Saturn of the new state (difficult spurs to mutual development).  There is an exact square between Oscar’s Mars and the Pluto of the new state (pressures of the state triggering Oscar’s energies and efforts).  And there is an exact conjunction between Oscar’s Pluto and the Jupiter of the new state (aggrandizement of Oscar’s deeper energies and psychology by the hope, expectations and aspirations of the state).  The handling of the case has already thrown up issues about policing and court procedures, and is putting the state under the microscope, and through fire.  How Oscar handles himself through what is going to be a long process, and how the state shows its integrity in handling this difficult event, may well be an important period of growth for both.

Aspects

There is a Full Moon in Virgo tomorrow, where we will be torn by looking at the minutiae of our lives and the bigger picture.  The Moon at its full always opposes the Sun, so emotionally we will be focused on details that drive us dotty, but in our wider consciousness we will be attuned to its opposite, the wide sea of Pisces and collective issues.  Later in the day, and operational during the Full Moon itself, Jupiter will be squaring the Sun, so making us away of global events and issues, and how they impact our lives, such as ecology and pollution.

On Tuesday (26^th) Venus enters Pisces, and the general feeling will go from Venus-in-Aquarius-mode which is idealistic in an intellectual and theoretical way about relationships, to a more sentimental and perhaps romantically idealized or even rose-tinted perspective.  Later on, but still early in the day, Mars conjuncts Mercury, and the rose tints may be put under the spotlight and analyzed for a while to see if they can stand scrutiny.  Incident-proneness may be operational, especially in relation to travel.  Irritability for some, productivity for others.

On Wednesday (27^th) Chiron conjuncts the Sun, bringing to emphasis healing initiatives, such as government ideas about what we should eat, and what we should weigh, and how much we should exercise.  However, it is a good day for going within to determine what is right and what is healing for ourselves as individuals.

On Thursday (28^th) Venus conjuncts Neptune and the Fixed Star Fomalhaut at 3 degrees Pisces, at best inspiration in the Arts and creative expression.  This benefits some psychological areas of healing and spirituality, such as tackling the issue of addiction.  There may be some confusion in relationships too, or in monetary arrangements.

Friday 1^st March can be extraordinarily constructive, with first a sextile between the Sun and Pluto at lunchtime, balancing hope and realism, light and shade, in your life.  Then in the evening the Sun trines Saturn, revealing the possibility of constructive plans and ways forward.  The prevailing sextile between Saturn and Pluto is highlighted, which is about constructive ways of handling the current huge challenges that we face personally and collectively.

Winners

I do not have a tendency to win competitions, having Saturn in the 5^th House of Speculation square to my Sun.  However, I received a welcome phonecall out of the blue last week from Cygnus Books http://www.cygnus-books.co.uk informing me that I had won a free book order at random, by virtue of the fact that the previous week had been Random Acts of Kindness Week.  Needless to say I was delighted.  It does remind you that every week needs to be a week of random acts of kindness, both given and received.

Which brings me to the winners of the Richard III competition, to revise the mnemonic for the colours of the rainbow, ROYGBIV (Richard of York Gave Battle In Vain) in the light of his recent change in circumstances.  My decision is to award first place to Daphne (a regular commenter) for the new mnemonic of “Richard of York Goes Beyond Immoral Vengeance”.  And there is a runner-up prize for Sandra (a regular reader) for her entry “Richard the Third – unheard?” which doesn’t exactly fit the brief, but is plaintively evocative.  First prize is a Year Ahead for the winner or someone of her choice, and second prize is a Now for the winner or someone of her choice.

http://www.lanawooster.co.uk/blog/2007/11/the-now/ for explanation.

Don’t forget to claim your prizes, ladies!

The week in bullet points:

• Tomorrow – attentions stretched
• Tuesday – rosy dreams, then attention to productivity
• Wednesday – healing focus
• Thursday – idealism
• Friday – getting to grips with problem-solving