Gabrielle Giffords

The shooting of Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords on January 8, 2011 may go down in history as the event that made the difference. There is so MUCH being activated in the USA Sibley chart, it would be hard to believe it was just another massacre among many we have witnessed in recent years.

On December 21, 2010 there was an eclipse at 29 degrees of Gemini. That triggers a sensitive four-point pattern including 29 degrees of Gemini, Sagittarius, Virgo and Pisces. The 29th degree of any sign is considered a “fated” degree and sometimes denotes the qualities of a martyr. Many times when a person is born with a personal planet in this degree, there is a sacrificial quality to some part of the life—usually related to where the planet is located and what it rules—especially in Pisces. In the case of the USA natal chart, there is nothing at that degree exactly, but the MC is only a couple degrees from squaring it, and therefore is in range of being included as a signal of potential events of a significant and sacrificial nature. The MC has already been highly sensitive due to most of the outer planets recently forming challenging aspects to it, and since it represents the leader of the country, we are seeing that played out vividly in the difficulty the president has been having. In addition, Uranus and Jupiter are now very close to 29 Pisces—just a couple degrees away—one of the things denoting the suddenness of this event.

As most of you know, I am a big user of solar arc, having written a book about it. Transits and eclipses DO trigger solar arc positions. On January 8, the USA solar arc Moon’s nodes were positioned at 29 Pisces/Virgo!! And the USA chart’s progressed Moon was only 10 minutes from being 29 Virgo. This is yet another bit of evidence to verify the 5:10 pm time of “birth” for the USA. Otherwise, the progressed Moon would be in a very different place. As a side note, even transiting Juno, the asteroid representing marriage and particularly the married woman, was at 29 Virgo at the time of the shooting.

There were several things at 29 degrees in the USA chart other than these. First, the secondary progressed Ascendant was at 29:26 Leo, about to change signs in about six to seven months. It stays in a sign roughly 30 years, and a change of sign of this angle means a changed persona. It is going from ostentatious, sometimes arrogant, and unapologetically high-living Leo into humble, hard-working, service-oriented and analytical Virgo. That is probably a very good thing. The progressed Moon will change signs in about a month into Libra, and progressed Pluto is at 29:12 of Capricorn, but it has always been in that sign and not changing until 2050, therefore, it is not a big concern right now. Solar arc Jupiter is at 28:50 Aquarius and in a year and two months will go into kind and benevolent (or delusional and deceptive—however we choose to use it) Pisces, where it will stay for thirty years. It is the chart ruler, so is very powerful. It was exactly to the minute quincunx the progressed Moon at the time of the shooting. Usually, it is not kosher to mix solar arcs with secondary progressions, but sometimes I wonder. If this IS active, then it would mean that much of the country as a whole would detach from taking responsibility for this massacre. We’re seeing it already on Fox news and elsewhere as those who have spewed hate rhetoric are distancing themselves from it.
The time the shooter opened fire was 10:10 a.m. in Tucson, AZ. At that time the chart of the shooting had 7:06 Pisces rising, and the Moon was exactly at 7:06 Pisces!! First, that is less than a degree from the progressed USA Sun at 6:13 Pisces. That, alone, is amazing. They both opposed USA natal Astraea and were square natal Uranus (just about at the midpoint between them)—again an indication of the sudden unexpectedness and shock of this event. They also were square solar arc Saturn at 7 Gemini. (transits trigger solar arcs) Since the progressed Sun will go on to square the progressed Uranus in about nine to ten months and then the natal Uranus in two years and roughly eight months, we can expect some more shocks ahead if we learn nothing accurately from this event.

I’ve found that when I’m about to need some information, it seems I get it prior to the time I’ll need it, not realizing that I will. Just recently I’d been researching Astraea for no apparent reason. It represents the place of tenacity in any chart—where there is a very difficult time changing direction. In the USA horoscope, it’s located where we look to find information about our laws, lawmakers, masse consciousness and also, attitude about foreign countries—or how they perceive us—ninth house. Uranus squares it. In terms of our “personality” it would show excessive independence and even rebellion—holding on tenaciously to autocratic behavior.

Pluto, as other authors have noted, is a big player here. It was exactly opposing the USA Jupiter at the time of the shooting, and of course, as many know by now, activating Mrs. Giffords’ Mars-Uranus square. This can mean many things, but the main thing is justice. Jupiter is associated with the ninth house and Sagittarius, both having to do with laws and justice. Pluto is transformation and a thorough rebirthing process. Since Jupiter rules the whole chart, it can mean an in-depth soul search in this country about how we treat our mentally ill, our projected image to foreign countries, what we do with our resources—after all, one has to ask how we are able to pour billions of dollars into attacking other countries, murdering hundreds of thousands of their people and destroying their infrastructure but just CANNOT afford to care for our most vulnerable and helpless people. People are going to be very angry about this since transiting Mars was opposing the USA Mercury at the time of the shooting, which is minor, but still a factor in our reactions.

On January 4th of this year, there was an eclipse at 13 Capricorn, closely opposing the USA Sun at 13 Cancer and squaring Saturn at 14 Libra, and transiting Saturn was in close proximity to its natal position. When two eclipses are so closely in aspect to components of a natal chart—especially those involving a Saturn return, you can be sure the next six months to a year will be eventful and important.

Other things to note: Transiting Sun at 18 Capricorn was square the USA’s secondary progressed Mars at 18 Libra—violence. This will happen on some day close in range every year, but the days that it does will have more violence than usual.
Chiron is worth mentioning. It is where in a chart we see the hard-to-heal wound an entity comes in with. We have a collective wound about being “first,” being self-referencing (if we don’t experience it, we don’t understand it), head-strong and aggressive—even childish and too subjective. Our Chiron is in Aries. The wound is probably about having been impotent in our collective past lives and not having our individuality recognized. Perhaps now we are over-compensating. However, it’s in the fourth house (Koch system), so we are also healing a longing for home, family and security, therefore producing fierce patriotism. Isn’t it interesting that we attempt to “feed” the rest of the world (fourth house is nurturance), but we do it “our” way (Aries)? Right now solar arc Chiron is just past our ascendant—only 41 minutes of a degree, if our ascendant is really 12:21 Sagittarius. And progressed Venus is conjoining natal Chiron. Even Vesta is on the eclipse degree at 12:39 Capricorn and opposing the Sun.

Last, but by no means least, is the ongoing transit of Neptune to the USA natal Moon. This is the background noise of the last couple years that is at the base of everything. The Moon is the grassroots population, it’s housing and security as well as the emotional health of the nation. It rules the eighth house, which represents other people’s power, the power of BIG money because the 8th is banking, insurance, debt, etc. Neptune rules the intercepted third (again, the Koch system), and so we are definitely being deceived. There is no doubt about it. As a result, we’re confused and do not have enough information to be really informed about anything. It also represents willingness to sacrifice as well as the sacrifices we’ve already been making through our dead and maimed young men who’ve been sent off to a devastating war for no reason other than greed.

Gabrielle Giffords’ chart

Congresswoman Giffords was shot on January 8, 2011 at 10:10 a.m. in Tucson, AZ. She was born on June 8, 1970, but we don’t have the time of birth yet. In Mrs. Giffords’ untimed chart (I used noon), two things, even without a time of birth, stand out. One, Pluto was still in range of opposing her natal Mars squaring her natal Uranus. This is the most violent of all aspects with Uranus injecting the element of surprise. She had already been the target of violent action over the previous couple of years, one being a recent break-in of her Tucson office. It is possible, if she were born much later in the day, that solar arc Mars could be conjoining her Moon right now, as well, but that is speculation.
The second contact is that her solar arc Saturn is still in range of squaring her natal Pluto. Progressions and directions of any kind stay in effect for a very long time—up to almost two years in the case of Solar Arc—and therefore it is still able to be triggered. The trigger was Mars, the planet we associate with war and violence (Martial arts, martial law, etc. all come from the root, Mars). Mars at the time was located at 24:21 Capricorn, in a tight trine to her natal Pluto. This may be why it was a wound instead of death. Even though the solar arc contact was a square, a trine can trigger it, and it will activate the SQUARE, not act as a trine.

Further, her progressed Sun at 26:17 Cancer was square her natal Jupiter at 26:23 Libra. Even though it is a square, it is sometimes a very lucky indicator. A saving grace may be Uranus and Jupiter transiting trine her natal Neptune, although they were between that and an opposition to natal Pluto. The eclipse of December 21, 2010 was in range of opposing her natal Pluto. When we find her time of birth, it may be that the eclipse of January 4th may have been prominent, as well.