2016 – Terrorism in the U.S.

by Marilyn Muir, LPMAFA

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When doing a multiple of charts, at times they look like plates of spaghetti…move one strand and the whole plate moves. At other times, that is the metaphor for the reading itself. That happened when I looked at the date of September 17, 2016 with the explosions in New Jersey and Manhattan just 11 hours apart and the mall stabbings in Minnesota, followed by the mall shooting in Washington on September 23rd. I did not think it was a coincidence that we had two mutable eclipses in September, one the day prior to the explosions and stabbing. I also looked at the year’s eclipses, and sure enough there was another eclipse in mutable on March 9, 2016 at 18 Pisces 56. Since I had previously done the workup for the Orlando massacre on June 12,2016, it was not difficult to see connections between all five event charts.

We have had an amazing grouping of mutable planets this year. Starting with the outers, Pluto is in Capricorn and Uranus is in Aries, and there is a wide separating square between them. That will be a part of every chart cast and read. We all know the chaotic condition of the world and the daily violence. What about the other slower-moving and therefore longer-duration aspects? Neptune is in Pisces, Saturn is in Sagittarius, Jupiter is in Virgo – that’s a T-square for all of us worldwide. And of course the nodal axis is wending its way slowly backwards thru Virgo/Pisces (nineteen months associated with the eclipses)…and that was just January. As the faster moving planets moved through multiple signs each, they moved in and out of mutable and cardinal, adding to the tempest, sometimes participating in a T-square, sometimes turning the T into a grand cross. I never thought of so much mutable /cardinal creating or contributing to the chaos of this year, but I underestimated that energy. One look at our world and U.S. political trauma-drama this year can serve as a great example.

That Uranus/Pluto square was activated every time the faster moving planets orbited in and out of cardinal plus the difficult square could potentially become a T-square or a grand cross. The fourth eclipse in March was in early Libra serving as a powerful trigger to early cardinal placements. Have you noticed the two descriptions for cardinal and mutable left something out of the picture? What happens to fixed if only the faster moving planets can move in and out of cardinal and mutable? With the initiating activity of cardinal and the flexibility of mutable, we have plenty of change and action. Where is the fixity to shape, to calm, to structure all that activity?

We need a touch of sanity and stability to survive. That was fleeting as the inner planets offered moments of respite from the chaos, perhaps just a deep breath as we plunged back into activity.  That was the basic energy for this year (2016) to date (end of September). Except for the Moon’s 2.5-day travel thru fixed signs, there was no other fixity in September. As I write this, it is late September. Venus just entered Scorpio (fixed) on the 23rd for about 26 days, then Mercury will pick up that position on October 25th. Just pick up the ephemeris to track the presence of fixity somewhere, anywhere, as a stabilizing feature for the overwhelming cardinal/mutable energy. What about the specific charts from September 17, 2016?

  • The first explosion was at a Marine charity run in Seaside Park, NJ. The race got a late start due to multiple registrations and the explosion, which had been timed to catch the racing crowd, erupted on a basically empty street. No injuries. That was 9:30 AM EDT.
  • Eleven hours later the second explosion occurred in the Chelsea restaurant/shopping district in Manhattan, NY on a very busy street corner at 8:31 PM EDT; 29 victims were injured by shrapnel.  There were other events associated with these two explosions – more locations, shootout, manhunts, other things unfolding, but these were the two main events.
  • The horrific stabbing event took place at St. Cloud, MN at 8:15 PM CDT. Eight people were injured (non life-threatening) and the assailant was killed by an off-duty police officer. Because of the time zone difference, the charts show this to be the second of the three events listed. I thought I had made an error, but it is true chart-wise.

It seemed that our country had gone insane with three such horrific attacks within eleven hours. Why?

The explanation given above sets a backdrop, but what is the astrological detail?

  • The NJ chart shows 28 Libra 08 rising, with ruler Venus in the 12th (ambush) at 22 Libra 37 opposition Uranus 23 Aries 35R in the 6th, widely T-square (applying) to Pluto 14 Cap 57R.  Never thought of Venus as a warrior? Mythologically that is part of her story. One of the ancient symbols is the Crescent Moon cupping the Evening Star (Venus primarily). Remember Venus and Mercury can be both Evening and Morning Stars due to their proximity to the Sun as it rises and sets. Mercury is hard to see as it can only be 28˚ from the Sun (less than one sign) and Venus can only be 48˚ from the Sun (a sign and half) – easier to see, so easier visibility assumes primary status. Each of these attacks fall into the terrorism basket regardless of who did the deed or why.

    I did a quick study on acts of terrorism in the U.S. and there are many, many issues from many sources. We are a politically volatile country and people of other persuasions take issue with our position and politics! Look it up, it is interesting and you can really practice and learn your astrology! Venus/Uranus across the 6th/12th axis has a psychological impact. Rampant religious fervor does not contribute to spiritual practice, instead it evidences as religious bias and moralistic vengeance.
  • The Manhattan chart eleven hours later has 5 Taurus 06 rising…Venus ruled again, but this time the Venus/Uranus opposition square Pluto places Venus in the 6th and Uranus in the 12th, both intercepted…but square the chart midheaven with Pluto 5 degrees into the 9th. The aspect to the angle is probably what made this one more physically dangerous while the NY T-square did not aspect the four angles themselves. Angular makes it in your face activity, not peripheral!
  • The original reporting for the Minnesota mall stabbing gave 8:00 PM which I treat as speculative because, as later reports come in, that initial time can change. Corrected reporting is 8:15 PM as the actual time of stabbing and that is the chart we used. The Ascendant is 22 Aries 53 with Uranus at 23:34R in the first, and with the Ascendant and Uranus R mutually applying to the opposition of  Venus 23 Libra 12 conjunct the Descendant. This opposition is also square Pluto 14 Capricorn 57R in the tenth conjunct and mutually applying to the Midheaven. While wide, this is an applying, active T-square. Angular! Angular! Angular! A stabbing is much more up close and personal than the earlier-placed bombs with the bomber out of the area when they detonated.

That takes care of the three events on the 17th via chart ruler and cardinal. Now we will look at the three events from the mutable viewpoint. The Eclipses for September were the solar on the 1st at 9 Virgo 21 and the lunar on the 16th at 24 Pisces 20. The lunar occurred the day prior to the three attacks. There are two mutable groupings, one close to 10˚ (Sun, Moon, Nodes, Mars, Saturn and Neptune), one close to 20˚ (Sun, Moon, Nodes, Mercury, Mars). Because all of the events occurred within eleven hours, positions will be quite similar, only the house positions will change dramatically. First we will look at the complexes and then see how they played out in the charts.

The Lunar Nodes are across the Virgo/Pisces axis at 12:44/45 with Neptune at 10 Pisces 13R, Mercury at 16 Virgo12-31R all square Saturn at 10 Sagittarius 46/47. Saturn/Neptune in stress is the aspect referred to as “the dark night of the soul”. Very difficult period for the world made personal by inner planet Mercury (mind and decision-making process). These are the degrees of the lunar eclipse (LE) on September 16th.

The Sun is 25 Virgo 32 to 26 Virgo 35 square Mars, sensitized by the LE the day prior.

  • In the NJ explosion chart, the 5th/11th axis holds both the mutable complexes, the emphasis was on entertainment (5th) and crowd (11th) involvement, the T-square planets Mars and Saturn are in the 2nd house of money and value systems. This was a fun and charity fund-raising run by Marines that was immediately cancelled when the bomb went off. I hope the money still went to the charities intended or that it will be rescheduled because 1) charities need all the help they can get and 2) once thrown, Americans get back on the horse. Especially our military!
  • In the Manhattan explosion chart, we have a bit more of a mix. The 10˚ grouping is in the 5th/11th axis: fun, group activities (restaurant and shopping district, dinner time, beginning of weekend) and both Mars and Saturn are in the 8th house of catastrophe, danger, potential death (thank God that did not happen) and destiny.
  • In the MN stabbing chart, both the 10˚ mutable and 24˚ mutable emphasis is in the 6th/12th axis, psychological and ambush oriented, with Mars in the 9th of cultural emphasis and Saturn in the 8th of catastrophe. Mars is the chart ascendant ruler and Saturn is the midheaven (goal) ruler. The Moon rules the 4th cusp from the ambush side of the ascendant. The ruler of the descendant is the Venus/Uranus opposition T-square already given. All four angle rulers are involved directly – much more targeted, personal violence.

Section 2 Terrorism in the U.S.

The Burlington, WA mall shooting occurred Sep 23, 2016, six days after the explosions in Manhattan, NY and Seaside Park, NJ plus the MN mall stabbing, all on Sep 17th. All four share the major connections previously described that dominated that period of time, but the energy was definitely shifting. Please note the difference between two bomb explosions with the bomber not on the scene to watch the carnage and the up close and personal mall stabbings with the assailant looking right into the faces of his victims. This new example bridges these two scenarios.

When you are inside a mall facing your victims, it is up close and personal to be sure, but the stabbings strike me as more intensely personal than a rifle shooting that involves sighting through a rifle scope. All the victims remain victims whether dead or alive, but there is a difference in the type of attack and the attitude of the attacker. I have studied the charts of over 100 serial killers and while each is unique, there are natural groupings. The shooting took place in the cosmetic department at which the shooter’s former girlfriend reportedly had worked. That is a possibility (unproven at that moment), and very personal! Additionally, the WA mall shooter asked religious questions of some victims…again personal, but yet I do see the physical stabbings as even more personal as that is eye-to-eye between assailant and victim.

I went over the general chart mechanisms and patterns earlier so I will not repeat myself here. The 10˚ mutable grouping previously covered now contains the Nodes at 12:37 Virgo/Pisces, Neptune 10 Pisces 03R, Mercury 15 Virgo 06, all square Saturn 11 Sagittarius 09. I am not doing Fixed Stars in this workup but I do want to make note that malefic Antares is 9 Sagittarius 47. It is a very disagreeable sky area by the conjunction, opposition or square of this grouping.

The second mutable grouping at 24˚ shows up on all four angles of the chart from 24:42 to 27:43, with the addition of Mars at 27 Sagittarius 53.

The official time for the shooting itself is 6:58 PM PDT in Burlington, WA. However, video and photo surveillance show the shooter entering the mall, unarmed about 10 minutes earlier. Where /how he got the rifle is not known at the moment, but at 6:58 he started shooting. At 6:46, the time of the chart for this article, Mars is still angular; by 6:58 Mars had slipped into the 9th. To me, the pivotal moment is that approximate ten-minute unarmed window of opportunity beginning at 6:46.

At 6:58 PM 1 Aries 07 was rising, Mars had slipped into the 9th with the midheaven at 00 Capricorn 29. The new ruler of the midheaven is Saturn at 11 Sagittarius 09 on the 8th house side of the 9th cusp at 11 Sagittarius 11. This is a critical juncture of the deadly choice between spirit (9) and destiny (8).

The Venus/Uranus opposition is breaking up but still within 7 degrees with Uranus retrograding back to the square to Pluto. Venus, Uranus and Pluto are still in angular houses but much deeper, closer to the succeedent house cusps, not as dominant as the previous three charts. Why would this still be part of this signature? The Moon has moved to 9 Cancer 52, opposed Pluto and widely square Uranus retrograde. This is a sloppy cardinal grand cross but the Moon is applying to all the positions as activator. The T-cross is now a grand cross and it is alive! Is it possible that angularity itself was the trigger?

The Sun square Mars is still in orb, separating and out of sign, but spectacularly angular!

I mentioned previously that I had looked up the two March eclipses to see if they entered into the picture and they do. On March 8, 2016, the solar eclipse (SE) was 18 Pisces 55 and the LE of March 23rd was 3 Libra 17. All four Mercurys are on the opposition to the March SE and the Sun/Jupiter conjunction is right on the SE point. All these cardinal/mutable patterns this last year have produced extreme chaos all year.  In the 6:58 version of this chart, the Sun is directly on the descendant conjunct Jupiter. The assailant in this chart did escape for a time, but was captured alive fairly quickly. Did Jupiter act as benefic or public relations advertising to catch the man? His photo was posted almost immediately and participation of the TV audience began.

Going back to the March eclipses, we had a pretty horrendous happening on June 12, 2016 when a madman opened fire at the Pulse Nightclub in Orlando, FL. This is considered to be the worst mass shooting in U.S. history with fifty lives lost and countless others traumatized beyond comprehension. I live in this area and know the havoc that was wreaked. I do want to make note of an interesting parallel between the Burlington, WA mall shooting and the Orlando massacre. In both instances, the angles of the charts were on a point of change of sign and therefore rulership.

Closing of a nightclub is traditionally 2:00 AM in Florida. The first call of the shooting came in to the police at 2:02 AM (very quickly), but that is at least a minute or more from the actual shooting. How did an armed man gain access to a nightclub that checked each patron as they entered? What would be the optimum moment that an assailant could gain entrance without being searched? My theory is that he entered when everyone else was leaving. With the melee of a nightclub emptying out, who is going to pay attention to someone headed in? He could have lost or forgotten his keys, phone, needed to use the rest room, all sorts of simple reasons. Why do I think that? 28 Pisces 44 (subterfuge) is rising with the ruler Neptune at 12 Pisces 02 (again subterfuge) in the 12th (three times subterfuge) conjunct the South node of habitual or knee-jerk responses.  Ruler Neptune is opposed co-ruler Jupiter in the 6th, the psychological axis, both square Saturn in the 9th at 12 Sagittarius 27 retrograde…confusion, confusion, confusion. Jupiter is ruler of the midheaven of 29 Sagittarius 11.

Time of the first call is 2:02 and the Ascendant has moved to 00 Aries 10 with ruler Mars at 25 Scorpio 12R (fixed star Caput Algol) in the 8th of catastrophe, destiny, death. The midheaven is 00 Capricorn 06, now ruled by Saturn, part of that 6th/12th mutable T-square already given.  He went from subterfuge (12th house enemy) to assailant within that 4-minute span, from Pisces rising to Aries rising. His mission or goal went from the light, happy finish of an evening of entertainment and fun (Sagittarius on the midheaven) to the harsher energy of Capricorn and its ruler, the planet of ultimate reality.

Remember what happened in Burlington, WA as the shooter entered the mall without a weapon and within ten to twelve minutes had turned himself into a fully armed, violent assailant. We went from late Pisces rising with Neptune in the 12th to 01 Aries 07 rising ten to twelve minutes later. We went from 27 Sagittarius 43 with Mars conjunct the Midheaven to 00 Capricorn 29. Both scenes ended up with the mutable T-square and Saturn in the 8th. What exactly are the odds of two charts so widely separated in time and distance (June 12th in Orlando, FL and September 23 in Burlington, WA) doing exactly the same thing with the same pattern. Thank God fifty more people did not die. The five that died are just as much of a tragedy as the fifty who died, but…I am so glad more lives were not lost. Jupiter has moved from being part of the Orlando T-square to the conjunction of the ingressing Sun. Perhaps that helped diminish the carnage.

When the info on the WA mall shooting was published, it included the date and place of birth for Arcan Cetin, the shooter. My choice is always noonmark for time if unknown. Why? It reduces the orb of error of motion to half the possibilities in a 24-hour period for any location. Most current ephemerides are based on midnight listings; noon is halfway. We cannot trust the houses on a time unknown chart but we can reduce planet location error substantially. Instead of the Moon being able to move 12 to 15 degrees in a 24-hour period, the error is reduced to 6 to 7.5 degrees – much better. The other bodies are correct to within one-half of their daily motion, not perfect but again much better.

Ordinarily we would look at the basic chart to see why such violence was possible. There will be a lot of that from astrologers who study such charting. I wondered how the shooter’s chart matched up to the event positions.

Cetin’s natal Mercury 24 Virgo 55 is right on one of the mutable groupings and the LE of Sep 16th. I do not see connections for the 10˚ mutable grouping in his natal. As for the event cardinal grouping of Venus opposed Uranus square Pluto, he has major connections. His chart ruler Mars is 16 Cancer 57 widely conjunct Venus at 11:52, opposed Jupiter at 8 Capricorn 08 retrograde, all square the nodal axis at 8:39 of Libra/Aries with Saturn conjunct the South Node at 6 Aries 32. That grouping is right on the event Moon of 9 Cancer 52.

Cetin’s Neptune is 25 Capricorn 32 retrograde square that active T-square between Venus/ Uranus/Pluto. Venus had moved to 00 Scorpio 33 for the event, wide and separating but now square Cetin’s natal Uranus and moving towards the conjunction of his natal Moon.

The shooter is only twenty years old. His outer planets will have barely moved by progression, so we will look to the faster moving planets for activation. Remember this is noonmark, so the angles and house positions are questionable.

The most striking thing to me in his progressed chart is the position of his progressed Venus, which has moved to the opposition of both natal and progressed Uranus. Over my many years of research I have noticed activations by what I call resonance. I originally discovered this when a then-current Saturn/Uranus conjunction started activating older natal charts that hosted that same conjunction…but the degrees did not match up. The activations were coming too early with too wide of an orb. Think about this. If you have an aspect as suggested and the positions in the moving sky line up and repeat that pattern, all the charts with that pattern can resonate similar to a tuning fork. Strike a C tuning fork and all the C tuning forks in the vicinity will start humming even when there is no physical connection. No other tuning fork will activate until their note is struck. Another example…Full Moon people can always resonate to any Full Moon regardless of specific connection. The LE and the event charts for the September 17th terrorisms held the Venus/ Uranus opposition widely squaring Pluto. In addition, Cetin’s natal and progressed Neptune was on the square to that complex, with the progression tightening the potential of the aspect.

Cetin’s progressed Mercury was at 2 Libra 03 retrograde, directly on the midpoint of the event Sun/ Jupiter conjunction. Cetin’s progressed Sun at 17 Virgo 03 is two degrees from the event Mercury at 15 Virgo 06. I mentioned previously that the March 7, 2016 SE was at 18 Pisces 55. That eclipse was still alive and active in Cetin’s chart despite the newer SE and LE just prior to all four incidents that occurred Sep 17th (three events) and 23rd (one event).  Make a mental note about the potential duration of an eclipse aspect.

I did set Cetin’s diurnal (personal transit) chart, but because we are using noonmark, the diurnal is speculative at best. The only position we can look at is the Moon which shows itself at 00 Cancer 16, squaring the event Sun/Jupiter conjunction, and keeping company with that progressed Mercury as given.

Pulse Uranus was 23 Ari 37; three months later: Uranus for NJ, NY and MN was 23 Ari 34R, Uranus for WA was 23 Ari 21R – all squaring Cetin’s natal Neptune 25 Capricorn 32 retrograde and even closer to progressed Neptune 25 Capricorn 10 retrograde.

Although this is a noonmark chart and angles are not reliable, Cetin’s progressed Ascendant 25 Scorpio 15 is opposite fixed star Caput Algol considered to be the most malefic fixed star in the sky. Standard interpretation is “death by decapitation” or the more modern “losing one’s head”. I think that description is appropriate to the circumstance.

The charts are very revealing, you just have to be willing to dig for gold.

There is definitely more, such as the attack on the Washington State mall on the 23rd and the links to the earlier eclipses in March and subsequent events. But this article is long enough – you will have to wait for a sequel. I will also tell you I did the pertinent country, state and city incorporation charts and their progressions and diurnals to see if the events are visible…and they are. Remember those plates of spaghetti I mentioned at the beginning. I have done 48 charts on this, 48 plates of spaghetti, and they all dovetail. And they say this stuff doesn’t work!

Published in AFA Journal Mar 2017 vol 17, republished with slight editing.

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This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.