By a strange coincidence I posted examples of Mars-Pluto conjunctions in natal charts, from my new (yet to be published) book, “Planetary Combinations in Astrology Charts” on July 13, just days before the recent Colorado tragedy in which a person identified as James Holmes (not convicted yet of any crime), is alleged to have shot-up a showing of “Batman: Dark Knight Rises”, injuring some 48 and killing 12.
It turns out that Holmes has exactly the kind of sad, pathetic, tight-as-a-drum ‘wiring’ that you would expect in someone who goes sociopathic and ballistic, including a tight Mars-Pluto conjunction, just like Bolshevik Leon Trotsky, just like several generals who “got even”, I think mostly of Douglas MacArthur, not that he was a sociopath, but that he was a dominating, aggressive individual who vowed “I shall return!” and boy, did he… Was he in any way a ‘hothead’? Was MacArthur in any way a danger to himself or others? Well, he DID advocate using atomic weapons on China in the Korean war, which might have been a dicey thing to do, from a political and social point of view… It might hav3e caused World War III, or it might have toppled the Reds — we’ll never know. His planetary indications are that aggression was in his spirit, and generals need that. But do science majors in their mid-20’s need that? What works, what can be sublimated to good effort in the chart of a general is a thorn in the side of an average guy. There are some other people, steeped in emotional “drama” who have Mars-Pluto in conjunction. But Holmes has it, just 1–1/2 degrees from exact, which means the twin energies of the two malefic planets are working keenly, and in Scorpio, the sign of perhaps the most passion, stealth, and intensity in the whole Zodiac. Scorpio is co-ruled by Pluto and Mars, after all. When Holmes appeared in court yesterday, it looked like his head had been spray-painted orange-red… a Mars color if I’ve ever seen one! Here is the Holmes chart: Our great thanks to Dark Star Astrology for it: http://darkstarastrology.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/james-holmes.gif
You will see that Holmes’ chart is full of stress-and-violence factors, including a tight 1 degree conjunction of Mars and Pluto; a depressive, over-controlling conjunction of Sun and Saturn; a mirthless, loveless, square between Moon in Virgo and two or more Sagittarius planets, including Saturn and the Sun, and other factors including Venus square Jupiter, showing he may have been spoiled or duped as a child.
How about Sun conjunction Saturn, one of Holmes’ other major aspects? Mobster Bugsy Siegel had it. So does Vladimir Putin, President of Russia. So does Lt. William Calley, ultra-conservative author Ayn Rand, asnd the Notorious B.I.G. (a rap shooting victim). The people who have this apsect see things kind of “rough.” Maybe they, like Ayn Rand, expect the worst from human nature, or have a lack of sentimentality or sensitivity. Or they just “follow orders” as Calley did in Viet Nam. Sometimes they get tripped-up by the enemies they create, as some of these people have been! Sometimes their charts are powerful enough to smash through their opponents and maintain some kind of order around them, as you can see in Vladimir Putin’s chart.
By the way, Holmes enjoyed a Sun-Jupiter trine. This is one of the best aspects possible in terms of sheer “good luck”. You scoff? Well, he shot 70 people and was himself NOT injured in the gunfight. He surrendered or was subdued, but he is still alive, as of this writing. It would take Sun-Jupiter to create an option to be so destructive and yet live to tell of it. This aspect tells me, he may never be fully punished for his acts, he may idle away many years in an institution.
By the way, for the sake of precision: The Moon position is not known exactly in the Holmes chart. It uses 12 Noon as a birth time. But even if he was born 11 hours earlier or 11 hours later, his Moon would not vary by more than about 5.30 degrees either earlier or later, so it would still square Saturn at the center, and either Mercury on the low end, or Uranus on the high end. Either of those two squares to the emotional Moon is extremely negative. If he has Moon square Mercury, his mind and emotions aren’t wired correctly; he just doesn’t know what he wants, his thinking and feelings work against each other, rather than positively. His thinking is twisted no matter what of the aspects he has. If it is Moon square Uranus, his thinking is subject to strange and quirky changes. He is quick-thinking but tends to be wrong-thinking. Uranus is a planet that ranges from genius to anarchy. A revolutionary energy is at the heart of it; but most of the people around him won’t ever feel the need for his kind of rebellion — so he is alone! The more alone he feels, the more dangerous he becomes. If he was born from late morning through early afternoon, he has BOTH these ‘squares’ operating in his chart at the same time, whereas one would be bad enough!
It is the oppressive combination of the negative aspects in his chart that made Holmes the kind of person he was, and do the kind of thing he very evidently did. You can’t convict someone from their astrology chart, although it sure would be wise to know who and what a person REALLY is, based on their natal chart!
Comments are open now, after years of being closed. Best, —-Ed
