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Stars of Destiny
"Profiles of Terror and Transcendence"
by Julie Gillentine
History relates
a chronicle of defining moments, suspensions in time. These moments
become "freeze frames," and subsequent history is forever after
relative to these events. September 11, 2001 was such a defining
moment, and Astrologers feverishly analyzed horoscopes of America,
New York, the Pentagon, Afghanistan and Osama bin Laden. Themes
which emerged include ideological collisions, retribution and justice,
Karma and the distribution of wealth.
Astrology of
world events
The United States
birth is acknowledged as July 4, 1776. The time of birth, denoted
by the signing of the Declaration of Independence, is disputed.
The chart most Astrologers use was cast at 2:17 AM Local Time. This
horoscope has accrued great legend and mystery, relating to a clandestine
meeting of Freemasons in the early morning hours of July 4, 1776.
In the introduction
to The Book of World Horoscopes Nicholas Campion stated that the
British Astrologer "Ebenezer Sibly was a Freemason and in the 1780s
was a member of the Lodges first in Portsmouth and then in Bristol,
two cities intimate with trading connections with the USA." Sibly
worked within the established mainstream tradition of medieval astrology
of the time, adapted from Masha Allah and Abu Ma'shar. (Ma'shar
is credited with writing the Centiloquium, conventionally attributed
to Claudius Ptolemy).
This tradition was
established by the great mundane (world events) astrologers of the
Islamic world. The approach focuses on locating the horoscope which
signifies the event under consideration rather than setting a horoscope
for the exact time at which an historical event took place. This
is a divinatory paradigm where time is organic rather than linear;
today we might say quantum.
In 1776 there were
no Americans, only a troublesome group of subjects of the British
Crown. Sibly's chart for the birth of America was cast in 1787 while
the revolutionary events of July 4, 1776 were still central to contemporary
politics. He placed the time at 5:10 PM Local Time. I believe the
chart cast for the early morning hours (Gemini rising) represents
the ideal to which America is called, and the horoscope calculated
for late afternoon (Sagittarius rising) indicates the work required
to achieve the ideal.
Saturn /Pluto
opposition - The ultimate power struggle
In the skies above
America on September 11, 2001 a celestial drama unfolded. Saturn
and Pluto were on opposite sides of the sky. The polarization of
these two planets provides the dominant influence in world affairs
from August of 2001 until May of 2003. We have not heard the last
of this.
An opposition between
Pluto and Saturn is a standoff between raw power and the vested
interests of the current established order. Who has the power, and
who controls the infrastructure? In world politics these energies
are playing out in overt and covert struggles over energy (oil)
and the distribution of wealth.
Saturn, Father
Time
Saturn is the force
which concentrates. Saturn's lessons are duty, integrity, responsibility,
order and form, and this planet's experience tests how we interpret
the structures and forms in our lives. Saturn's arena is Karma,
the outworking of the principles of cause and effect. Saturn executes
the reward or punishment which has been set in motion by choices.
In this sense the outworking of Saturn's effects are predestined.
Pluto, god
of the underworld
The psychological
attributes of Pluto are hidden power, death and rebirth, metamorphosis,
annihilation and resurrection. Symbolically Pluto's tests deal with
power, who has it, and how it is wielded. Pluto's action is like
a volcano; pressure builds beneath the surface in a fiery furnace,
and when a critical mass is reached a violent explosion results.
Chart of America's
rebirth
I believe the events
of September 11, 2001 were of such a magnitude as to merit a new
horoscope. This chart can be analyzed and monitored as time marches
forward. On the morning of the attacks, the Sun was in the sign
of Virgo, making a ninety degree angle to the Pluto and Saturn opposition,
"squaring off" with these planets, and firther igniting the polarized
energies.
At 8:46 AM EDT Mercury,
Messenger of the Gods (said to rule Virgo), was rising in the east,
just above the horizon, at fourteen degrees of Libra. A message
was certainly sent in a dramatic way. Mercury had barely entered
the area of the horoscope which symbolizes what is hidden or denied
(twelfth house). Fourteen degrees of Libra was the exact degree
of Saturn, planet of Karma, in July of 1776. Saturn is said to achieve
it's highest form of expression in Libra where the energy which
takes form in matter operates through the sign of justice, harmony
and beauty. America was born with this potential.
On September 11,
Saturn occupied fourteen degrees of Gemini, making a harmonious
trine to the original placement. This will help us transcend the
shattering energy of the Saturn-Pluto opposition, making it possible
to bring good out of "evil." When linked to Mercury by transit on
September 11, a Karmic collision of major proportions was unleased.
Time will tell how we respond.
In a nation's chart
the Moon reflects her people. On September 11 the Moon occupied
the same degree of celestial longitude (28 degrees of Gemini) as
two powerful stars: Polaris, the Pole Star and Betelgeuse, the alpha
star of Orion. These energies amplify the possibility of transforming
a devastating attack into a transcendent healing. In the context
of this chart, a new vision will only come from the grass roots.
Leaders with a vested interest in the status quo will not be inspired
to change direction.
There is also potential
for seeking truth, higher wisdom, and taking the moral high ground.
Jupiter in Cancer rides high on the Midheaven in close proximity
to the Moon. This gives us the potential to be wise where our homeland
is concerned.
Perils and
promises - A Black Hole connection
From the standpoint
of Deep Sky Astrology, when a cosmic connection is made to a Black
Hole in a horoscope, a portal opens into another dimension, presenting
an opportunity for a new way of being. I have worked with these
archetypes in my own deep sky astrological research and have found
Black Hole energies to be equivalent to the transforming nature
of a Near Death Experience. At the moment of impact at the World
Trade Center, the planet Mercury, rising above the eastern horizon
(at fourteen degrees of Libra), connected with a powerful Black
Hole.
From the standpoint
of physics Black Holes represent the ultimate triumph of gravity.
As the accumulated force of gravity draws everything including light
beyond the event horizon into the heart of the Black Hole, a death
of light occurs accompanied by a scream of X-rays. This X-ray signature
is how Astrophysicists detect Black Holes. Astrologer Alex Miller-Mignone
researched known or suspected Black Holes and analyzed their influence
in the horoscopes of individuals and nations. She linked their natures
with powerful figures from world-wide myth and associated archetypes
with the way these potent energies engaged charts. After years of
correlation she gave certain Black Holes archetypal names and published
her results in 1995. Years ago Mignone named this Black Hole Nemesis.
Nemesis
According to Robert
Graves (The White Goddess), the original meaning of the Greek word
Nemesis was "due enactment." Elizabeth Hamilton (Mythology), explains
it as "divine retribution." Nemesis is sometimes portrayed as a
goddess and at others an abstract principle. She is alternately
seen as sister to the three Fates, or a over-arching goddess, combining
all three. In either case her essence causes downfall, or creates
something which cannot be conquered; a kind of Achilles Heel.
Philosophically,
the Goddess Nemesis acts as a moral equilibrium, a cosmic balancing
function, so that mortals won't anger the gods through wrong doing
or make them jealous with too much success. From the Greek perspective,
rising above the human condition made humans vulnerable to reprisal
from the gods because a balance or order was upset. Too much success
needed adjusting as much as an evil deed as the scales of Libra
swung out of balance.
Nemesis is similar
in nature to the Hindu concept of Karma and the Egyptian goddess
Sekhmet, the avenging eye of Ra. In the positive sense Nemesis also
resembles the Egyptian goddess Ma'at, divine principle of truth
and justice. The Norns of Norse myth served a similar function.
Spinners of the threads of human destiny, the Norns were three wise
mistresses of fate who judged gods and humans and guarded the Well
of Urdr, the Spring of Fate, which bubbled below the World Tree,
Yggdrasil.
As Zechariah Zitchin
pointed out in The Cosmic Code, Fate and Destiny, although interchangeable
in English, are not the same concept. Fate is fickle and can be
influenced, but destiny is predetermined and cannot be avoided.
Echoing this philosophical theme are the Hindu Yugas, or ages. Spanning
vast periods of time from humanity's perspective, these ages were
named after an ancient Indian game of chance, suggesting at one
level that fate, or human existence, can be perceived as a cosmic
crap shoot.
Fate or Destiny
-- Osama Bin Laden
A scholar and expert
on Osama bin Laden was interviewed on CNN during the early days
following the September attacks. He remarked that someone advised
him two decades earlier to watch bin Laden because he had a destiny
and would make a mark on the world. He has been a shadowy figure,
operating behind the scenes. Bin Laden received security training
from the CIA. The Afghan jihad was backed with American dollars,
and had the support of Saudi Arabia and Pakistan. Bin Laden fought
under the approval of the US and Saudi governments for a decade
to evict the Soviets from Muslim territory. Then he turned his attention
toward us.
His birth date is
uncertain. There are three dates from different sources including
Interpol, the CIA and FBI. The chart I find most compelling is March
10, 1957. Bin Laden's Saturn at birth (fourteen degrees of Sagittarius)
aligns with the current Saturn-Pluto opposition. A Pisces Sun casts
bin Laden in the role of sacrificial lamb for his brand of fundamentalist
Islam. Many in the West see him as Satan, but his followers see
him as saint and savior.
911 - America's
Wakeup Call
The authors of Hamlet's
Mill demonstrated how myths conveyed that the changing of the ages
were seen as times of crisis and turbulent change. We are poised
at such a juncture. Many environmental scientists believe our approach
to energy has nearly destroyed the planet, bringing us to the brink
of extinction. The events of September have the potential to become
a catalyst for global awareness.
When the ancients
examined an event they asked, "Was the event destined, and therefore
unalterable and unavoidable, or was it instead a combination of
chance and luck?" Did we as a nation set forces in motion for which
we are now paying the price? In the big picture, what is the role
of Osama bin Laden as Nemesis and Karmic equalizer? What must we
change? I believe we must ask these hard questions.
As the next eighteen
months unfold Astrologers will look for more triggers as Saturn
and Pluto dance in and out of opposition. The combined energies
of these planets will continue to shatter structures, laws, and
established orders which no longer serve so that a higher order
can be rebuilt. This operates in individual psyches and in the fate
of nations. We cling to an unconscious status quo at our peril
Stars of Destiny
"Profiles of Terror and Transcendence"
by Julie Gillentine
History relates
a chronicle of defining moments, suspensions in time. These moments
become "freeze frames," and subsequent history is forever after
relative to these events. September 11, 2001 was such a defining
moment, and Astrologers feverishly analyzed horoscopes of America,
New York, the Pentagon, Afghanistan and Osama bin Laden. Themes
which emerged include ideological collisions, retribution and justice,
Karma and the distribution of wealth.
Astrology of
world events
The United States
birth is acknowledged as July 4, 1776. The time of birth, denoted
by the signing of the Declaration of Independence, is disputed.
The chart most Astrologers use was cast at 2:17 AM Local Time. This
horoscope has accrued great legend and mystery, relating to a clandestine
meeting of Freemasons in the early morning hours of July 4, 1776.
In the introduction
to The Book of World Horoscopes Nicholas Campion stated that the
British Astrologer "Ebenezer Sibly was a Freemason and in the 1780s
was a member of the Lodges first in Portsmouth and then in Bristol,
two cities intimate with trading connections with the USA." Sibly
worked within the established mainstream tradition of medieval astrology
of the time, adapted from Masha Allah and Abu Ma'shar. (Ma'shar
is credited with writing the Centiloquium, conventionally attributed
to Claudius Ptolemy).
This tradition was
established by the great mundane (world events) astrologers of the
Islamic world. The approach focuses on locating the horoscope which
signifies the event under consideration rather than setting a horoscope
for the exact time at which an historical event took place. This
is a divinatory paradigm where time is organic rather than linear;
today we might say quantum.
In 1776 there were
no Americans, only a troublesome group of subjects of the British
Crown. Sibly's chart for the birth of America was cast in 1787 while
the revolutionary events of July 4, 1776 were still central to contemporary
politics. He placed the time at 5:10 PM Local Time. I believe the
chart cast for the early morning hours (Gemini rising) represents
the ideal to which America is called, and the horoscope calculated
for late afternoon (Sagittarius rising) indicates the work required
to achieve the ideal.
Saturn /Pluto
opposition - The ultimate power struggle
In the skies above
America on September 11, 2001 a celestial drama unfolded. Saturn
and Pluto were on opposite sides of the sky. The polarization of
these two planets provides the dominant influence in world affairs
from August of 2001 until May of 2003. We have not heard the last
of this.
An opposition between
Pluto and Saturn is a standoff between raw power and the vested
interests of the current established order. Who has the power, and
who controls the infrastructure? In world politics these energies
are playing out in overt and covert struggles over energy (oil)
and the distribution of wealth.
Saturn, Father
Time
Saturn is the force
which concentrates. Saturn's lessons are duty, integrity, responsibility,
order and form, and this planet's experience tests how we interpret
the structures and forms in our lives. Saturn's arena is Karma,
the outworking of the principles of cause and effect. Saturn executes
the reward or punishment which has been set in motion by choices.
In this sense the outworking of Saturn's effects are predestined.
Pluto, god
of the underworld
The psychological
attributes of Pluto are hidden power, death and rebirth, metamorphosis,
annihilation and resurrection. Symbolically Pluto's tests deal with
power, who has it, and how it is wielded. Pluto's action is like
a volcano; pressure builds beneath the surface in a fiery furnace,
and when a critical mass is reached a violent explosion results.
Chart of America's
rebirth
I believe the events
of September 11, 2001 were of such a magnitude as to merit a new
horoscope. This chart can be analyzed and monitored as time marches
forward. On the morning of the attacks, the Sun was in the sign
of Virgo, making a ninety degree angle to the Pluto and Saturn opposition,
"squaring off" with these planets, and firther igniting the polarized
energies.
At 8:46 AM EDT Mercury,
Messenger of the Gods (said to rule Virgo), was rising in the east,
just above the horizon, at fourteen degrees of Libra. A message
was certainly sent in a dramatic way. Mercury had barely entered
the area of the horoscope which symbolizes what is hidden or denied
(twelfth house). Fourteen degrees of Libra was the exact degree
of Saturn, planet of Karma, in July of 1776. Saturn is said to achieve
it's highest form of expression in Libra where the energy which
takes form in matter operates through the sign of justice, harmony
and beauty. America was born with this potential.
On September 11,
Saturn occupied fourteen degrees of Gemini, making a harmonious
trine to the original placement. This will help us transcend the
shattering energy of the Saturn-Pluto opposition, making it possible
to bring good out of "evil." When linked to Mercury by transit on
September 11, a Karmic collision of major proportions was unleased.
Time will tell how we respond.
In a nation's chart
the Moon reflects her people. On September 11 the Moon occupied
the same degree of celestial longitude (28 degrees of Gemini) as
two powerful stars: Polaris, the Pole Star and Betelgeuse, the alpha
star of Orion. These energies amplify the possibility of transforming
a devastating attack into a transcendent healing. In the context
of this chart, a new vision will only come from the grass roots.
Leaders with a vested interest in the status quo will not be inspired
to change direction.
There is also potential
for seeking truth, higher wisdom, and taking the moral high ground.
Jupiter in Cancer rides high on the Midheaven in close proximity
to the Moon. This gives us the potential to be wise where our homeland
is concerned.
Perils and
promises - A Black Hole connection
From the standpoint
of Deep Sky Astrology, when a cosmic connection is made to a Black
Hole in a horoscope, a portal opens into another dimension, presenting
an opportunity for a new way of being. I have worked with these
archetypes in my own deep sky astrological research and have found
Black Hole energies to be equivalent to the transforming nature
of a Near Death Experience. At the moment of impact at the World
Trade Center, the planet Mercury, rising above the eastern horizon
(at fourteen degrees of Libra), connected with a powerful Black
Hole.
From the standpoint
of physics Black Holes represent the ultimate triumph of gravity.
As the accumulated force of gravity draws everything including light
beyond the event horizon into the heart of the Black Hole, a death
of light occurs accompanied by a scream of X-rays. This X-ray signature
is how Astrophysicists detect Black Holes. Astrologer Alex Miller-Mignone
researched known or suspected Black Holes and analyzed their influence
in the horoscopes of individuals and nations. She linked their natures
with powerful figures from world-wide myth and associated archetypes
with the way these potent energies engaged charts. After years of
correlation she gave certain Black Holes archetypal names and published
her results in 1995. Years ago Mignone named this Black Hole Nemesis.
Nemesis
According to Robert
Graves (The White Goddess), the original meaning of the Greek word
Nemesis was "due enactment." Elizabeth Hamilton (Mythology), explains
it as "divine retribution." Nemesis is sometimes portrayed as a
goddess and at others an abstract principle. She is alternately
seen as sister to the three Fates, or a over-arching goddess, combining
all three. In either case her essence causes downfall, or creates
something which cannot be conquered; a kind of Achilles Heel.
Philosophically,
the Goddess Nemesis acts as a moral equilibrium, a cosmic balancing
function, so that mortals won't anger the gods through wrong doing
or make them jealous with too much success. From the Greek perspective,
rising above the human condition made humans vulnerable to reprisal
from the gods because a balance or order was upset. Too much success
needed adjusting as much as an evil deed as the scales of Libra
swung out of balance.
Nemesis is similar
in nature to the Hindu concept of Karma and the Egyptian goddess
Sekhmet, the avenging eye of Ra. In the positive sense Nemesis also
resembles the Egyptian goddess Ma'at, divine principle of truth
and justice. The Norns of Norse myth served a similar function.
Spinners of the threads of human destiny, the Norns were three wise
mistresses of fate who judged gods and humans and guarded the Well
of Urdr, the Spring of Fate, which bubbled below the World Tree,
Yggdrasil.
As Zechariah Zitchin
pointed out in The Cosmic Code, Fate and Destiny, although interchangeable
in English, are not the same concept. Fate is fickle and can be
influenced, but destiny is predetermined and cannot be avoided.
Echoing this philosophical theme are the Hindu Yugas, or ages. Spanning
vast periods of time from humanity's perspective, these ages were
named after an ancient Indian game of chance, suggesting at one
level that fate, or human existence, can be perceived as a cosmic
crap shoot.
Fate or Destiny
-- Osama Bin Laden
A scholar and expert
on Osama bin Laden was interviewed on CNN during the early days
following the September attacks. He remarked that someone advised
him two decades earlier to watch bin Laden because he had a destiny
and would make a mark on the world. He has been a shadowy figure,
operating behind the scenes. Bin Laden received security training
from the CIA. The Afghan jihad was backed with American dollars,
and had the support of Saudi Arabia and Pakistan. Bin Laden fought
under the approval of the US and Saudi governments for a decade
to evict the Soviets from Muslim territory. Then he turned his attention
toward us.
His birth date is
uncertain. There are three dates from different sources including
Interpol, the CIA and FBI. The chart I find most compelling is March
10, 1957. Bin Laden's Saturn at birth (fourteen degrees of Sagittarius)
aligns with the current Saturn-Pluto opposition. A Pisces Sun casts
bin Laden in the role of sacrificial lamb for his brand of fundamentalist
Islam. Many in the West see him as Satan, but his followers see
him as saint and savior.
911 - America's
Wakeup Call
The authors of Hamlet's
Mill demonstrated how myths conveyed that the changing of the ages
were seen as times of crisis and turbulent change. We are poised
at such a juncture. Many environmental scientists believe our approach
to energy has nearly destroyed the planet, bringing us to the brink
of extinction. The events of September have the potential to become
a catalyst for global awareness.
When the ancients
examined an event they asked, "Was the event destined, and therefore
unalterable and unavoidable, or was it instead a combination of
chance and luck?" Did we as a nation set forces in motion for which
we are now paying the price? In the big picture, what is the role
of Osama bin Laden as Nemesis and Karmic equalizer? What must we
change? I believe we must ask these hard questions.
As the next eighteen
months unfold Astrologers will look for more triggers as Saturn
and Pluto dance in and out of opposition. The combined energies
of these planets will continue to shatter structures, laws, and
established orders which no longer serve so that a higher order
can be rebuilt. This operates in individual psyches and in the fate
of nations. We cling to an unconscious status quo at our peril
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