Leo 2012: London Olympics. Kieron Williamson. Holmes & Aurora.

Keynote
“I am That and That am I.”
(Full Moon: August 2, 2012. 1.27 pm AEST.)

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“I Am – the Word of the self-conscious, selfish,
individual Leo. I Am That – the Word of the Leo
subject who is rapidly gaining the higher consciousness
and preparing for fresh and universal expression in Aquarius.”

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The Leo-Aquarius Polarity.
Leo and its Rulers: Sun, Neptune and Uranus.
Leo and the London Olympics: Let the Games Begin!
Leo Child Prodigy Artist, Kieron Williamson.
Leo in the Horoscope of James Holmes: Aurora Massacre

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The Leo-Aquarius Polarity
It is worth re-iterating that as the world progresses toward the influence of the Age of Aquarius for the next 2,160 years, that its polar opposite sign Leo will be increasingly invoked. It cannot be stressed too highly, understanding the polar opposite signs, they are the keys to the transcendence of duality and the creation of unity and synthesis. Some effects of this Aquarian-invoked Leo stimulus are:

1. Stimulation of the “self-conscious, selfish, individual Leo”, as described in Leo’s keynote above. It catalyses (on both the “ordinary” and “reversed” wheels), the most narcissistic and prideful attitudes with regard to the lower self: physical, emotional and mental.

2. Encouragement of independent and confident thinking, as opposed to mass or “mob” consciousness (Cancer), based on ignorance and fear. (5th sign Leo, 5th aspect, manas/mind.) The “lion of self assertion”.

3. Creation of an awareness of the individual self and how that self can contribute to the greater group or community process.

4. Extraordinary original creativity.

5. Stimulation of the “Will” in both a lower and higher sense, the latter connected to the planetary centre known as Shamballa, where the “Will of God” is incarnate:

“Leo, which is the will of the self-conscious Entity to manifest, holds the clue or key to the entire problem of self-conscious being, whether it is the will-to-be of a planetary Logos, of a group or of a human. The self-consciousness of humanity is inherent in the planet itself, which is the life expression of a fully self-conscious Being.

The use of the will through the Shamballa centre involves the conscious use of that energy by the planetary Logos [our “local god”]; this is evoking response today from humanity in terms of will, both higher and lower.

The will-full (self-willed) person is apt to be more responsive to this Shamballa force than is the disciple or the aspirant because they are more attuned to the gentler vibration of the Hierarchy.

I have earlier told you that this Leo force from Shamballa is finding direct entry into the human centre instead of indirectly via the Hierarchy as has hitherto been the case. The implications of this are obvious.”[1]

The implications are that short-term problems created by the misuse of Shamballa force, are outweighed by rapid evolutionary gains. (This is a “calculated risk” by Shamballa and Hierarchy.) Many individual, community and national problems arise from several of these points above, hence bearing them in mind helps to understand this added ingredient of Leo and Shamballa; the rest of the admixture consists of the existing turmoil inherent in the Pisces-Aquarius cuspal period, as well as the intersection of two major ray cycles – the outgoing sixth ray of devotion and idealism and the incoming seventh ray of order.

Leo and its Rulers: Sun, Neptune and Uranus
As befitting the Shamballa force, the first ray of will or power pours through Leo, giving rulership and governance over its “kingdom” – whether that is the lower self or personality, the family, community or nation. Esoterically this will is three-fold, according to the major three “rays of aspect”, will-power, love-wisdom and active-intelligence:

1. The will-to-rule and dominate … “which is of such a controlling nature in this sign and such a subtle potency in the Leo type.

2. The will-to-self-consciousness … being aware of a purpose, a self-directed life, a developed and definite life plan and programme.

3. The will-to-illumine … which constitutes the driving urge towards self-knowledge, self-perception and intellectual positivity.”[2]

It must be noted with regard to the second point above, that self-consciousness is not motivated by emotion or desire, placing an individual at the centre of their dramatic universe. This is a somewhat paradoxical statement, as Leo rules over the “astral permanent atom”, that holds the record of all emotional experiences from all lifetimes. It is from this repository that Leo draws its passion and penchant for drama! Yet on the path to liberation, it is this drama that Leo ultimately seeks to decentralise itself from.

This fiery mental sign is the strength and pride of Leo yet it is peculiarly emotionally sensitive, owing to the fact that Neptune is Leo’s soul ruler, hence closely tunes a Leo person into the sensitive apparatus of the astral body. As “god of the waters” Neptune governs the fluid “ocean of emotion” and also rules the solar plexus where the astral body is “based”.

This attunement to the astral body is unique and a healthy counter-balance to the will that is expressed so powerfully through the Leonine mental body – often the source of Leo’s pride, superiority and separativeness; it allows compassion and generosity that flows from the awakened Leo Lion-Heart, to find its empathetic expression through the astral body. Thereby the king or queen (the ruling sovereign), is able to connect with the “subjects” of their kingdom without separation or condescension; to sit at the round table; to kneel with humility and serve that kingdom:

“… then emotion-desire have been transmuted into love-aspiration and are dedicated and oriented to the soul; the entire emotional or sensitive nature is responsive to energies coming from “the heart of the Sun,” and when this is the case, it indicates that the disciple is now ready for the second initiation.”[3]

Note that the second initiation is generically ruled over by Scorpio which shares the fixed cross with Leo, hence the relation between these two signs are noted. (The fixed cross is the “cross of love”.) Neptune fosters this sensitivity which, “leads unerringly to the higher vision, to the recognition of the inter-relation involved in man’s essential duality …”[4] Leo Sun or Leo rising possess an inner sensitivity and outer material sensitivity:

“The whole story and function of Leo and its influences can be summed up in the word “sensitivity,” and this sensitivity can be studied in four stages …

1. Sensitivity to conditioning impacts from the environment.
2. Sensitivity to the will, wishes and desires of the personality.
3. Sensitivity to the soul as the conditioning factor.
4. Sensitivity of the fused soul-personality to the environment.

At this stage the Leo subject, “begins the arduous task of conditioning its environment in relation to the divine plan and purpose, cultivating sensitivity to the higher impacts of those worlds which lead to the final goal.”[5]

The rulers of Leo are the Sun on all three levels. At the soul level, Neptune rules and at the “hierarchical” level, Uranus rules. Neptune affects the three-fold personality via the astral body, as previously described. Uranus stands for the effect of the soul upon the personality as a whole.

Uranus rules the seventh ray, the ray of organisation that the Leo sovereign utilises in disseminating the rule of law. The seventh ray is the lowest aspect of the first ray of will or power that passes through Leo, hence spirit (first ray) is brought into matter (seventh plane, the physical plane.)

Ideally, in the advanced disciple who is being prepared for initiation, the expressions of Neptune and Uranus represent respectively the fusion of mystical awareness with occult knowledge. Because of Leo’s self-awareness it can maintain self-control and freedom from outer influences – that yields a personal freedom and control over its own destiny. Finally, an oft-quoted passage that always bears some reflection:

“When Uranus controls, the Leo person is significantly the true observer, detached from the material side of life, but utilising it as he pleases. His spiritual consciousness is capable of great expression and he can be (as has oft been pointed out by astrologers) both an electric, dynamic leader, a pioneer in new fields of endeavour and also a magnetic centre of a group whether the group is small, as in a home, or vast as in a nation.

He is then polarised above the diaphragm, for the lower more material aspects of life have really no great appeal to him; he is then profoundly conscious of his own identity, and this makes him dwell definitely in a state of self-awareness, with its consequently abstracting powers.

He is instantly aware, once he is spiritually awakened, of his motivating impulses, and this leads him to an imposed self-discipline – the thing the Leo subject sorely needs and which must always be self-imposed and self-applied for he brooks no disciplinary measures which others may seek to impose.

Discipline imposed by people upon the Leo person leads invariably to revolt and rebellion and the expression of that which the discipline is intended to eradicate. Discipline imposed by himself leads to the perfection of which he is notably capable. It is this innate ability to control which frequently gives the Leo subject an apparently negative attitude to life; he inevitably believes that his destiny is determined and that all that he has to do is simply to be; he refuses often then to change or to take action, and when this is carried too far it leads to an unexpectedly futile life.

The “lion must emerge from its lair,” and this injunction is badly needed by Leo aspirants. It will, when followed, lead the self-centred Leo consciousness into the decentralised, selfless Aquarian awareness. It will alter the self-service of Leo into the group service of its polar opposite, Aquarius. It might appropriately be added here that the prayer or voiced aspiration of the true Leo person can be expressed in the words of Christ, so well known to all of us: “Father, not my will but thine be done.”[6]

Leo and the London Olympics: Let the Games Begin!
It is most timely for the Olympics to be held during the month of Sun-ruled Leo – the world’s best athletes get to “shine” and have their “hour in the sun”, as does Leo-ruled London. The Leo polarity of Aquarius is also activated powerfully, where the whole world gets to participate through media technology.

Ever more appropriately during this Leo period, London’s soul ruler is Leo. This is a great opportunity because London is one of the five planetary centres where spiritual forces enter each month at the time of the full moon. (London, New York, Geneva, Darjeeling, Tokyo.) The full moon on August 2, 2012 falls in the middle of the Olympics two-week period. (See articles about the planetary centres here.)

London is a Leo soul and a Libra personality. The phrase “rule of law” comes to mind again – rule (Leo) and law (Libra). Rule Britannia! London’s Leo soul is expressed by Britain ruling over its empire to all the farther reaches of the globe.

The Leo soul also represents the monarchy who presided over the transition to the democratic system of government, now spread around most of the world. The Libra personality of London is embodied by the parliament and legislation it has passed for hundreds of years.

The recent Queen’s Diamond Jubilee celebrations in London has been a reminder of this monarchy who now serve behind the scenes; it has been an enthusiastic sprint up to the baton-change for the Olympics. Leo and London also bring to mind the great tradition of the performing arts in Britain, and its inception with Shakespeare and the Globe Theatre. Of course the fabulous Olympics opening ceremony showcased many of Britain’s talents in music, dance and theatre.

London is a 7th ray personality, a ray intimately concerned with the organisation of money, hence its rulership over financial matters. London is the financial capital of the world, according to the New York Times.[7]

Even though Britain’s world empire has all but diminished, its inner spiritual destiny forges onward. London is speculated to be the throat centre of the planet,[8] the chakra through which the mental body functions and expresses higher creativity. Britain is a leading exponent of the Fifth Rootrace where mind or manas has reached its acme of development.

The British Anglo-Saxons constitute the fifth branchrace of the fifth Teutonic subrace of the Fifth Rootrace (5.5.5), representing the development of the mind. And to cap it off, London’s soul is on the fifth ray of knowledge or science.

Therefore, the fifth sign Leo, and the fifth ray which passes through Leo, both rule London at the soul level and this has been the engine that has driven the modern expression of the Fifth Rootrace in recent history. Because of this influence, the fifth ray rules over the mental body of humanity in general, but it will soon change to the fourth ray, maybe occurring now.

Britain has served a vast global purpose in distilling the essence of this Fifth Rootrace and distributing its brand of consciousness around its empire. The nations that were its spawn have now become adults, such as its first child, The United States of America and the five major Commonwealth nations – Australia, South Africa, Canada, India and New Zealand.

The now universal English language is also of great importance – a product of the Gemini soul of Britain. Language is the means whereby thought and ideas are “clothed”, in their precipitation to the physical plane; this is another factor contributing to the theory that London is the world’s throat centre, the anchor point for the mental body – where ideas arise.

Hence the Olympics are much more of a world event than meets the eye, especially considering that the Western world is currently in a place of deep crisis – spiritually and financially. There is an opportunity during this period to harmonise many world tensions, to draw upon London’s Libran personality.

Britain is also one of the most ethnically and culturally diverse nations in the world. These Olympic Games contain much history and other British colonies come to mind, such as Jamaica and that great lion, benevolent Leo Usain Bolt.

The British coat of arms depicts the Lion and the Unicorn. The Lion is the soul of London and the unicorn represents Capricorn. But Leo the lion in its lower expression is also the “beast” of the unredeemed personality skewered upon the uni-horn, the vanquished form that is lifted up by the unicorn’s horn. There is a mystery associated with these two animals:

“The Mystery of the Lion and the Unicorn. This secret is preserved for us in the ancient nursery rhyme about the “lion and the unicorn going up to town,” and contains in a peculiar way the secret of initiation and the “going up” of the human being to the portal of admittance … as well as the “mystic raising” …

This deals with the emergence of the consciousness of the initiate (white and one-pointed) and the defeat of the king of beasts (the personality) leading to the triumph of group and world consciousness, of selflessness and illumination over self-consciousness and selfishness. In the true rendition of this ancient myth the king of beasts is blinded and killed by the piercing of his eye and heart by the long horn of the unicorn.”[9]

With any entity ruled at the soul level by a sign or ray, it does not necessarily mean that there will be a pure expression of that force. Because many nations are relatively immature and unintegrated, more often than not they will express the soul force in a distorted manner.

Nevertheless, Britain is one of the most mature nations and although on the “path of discipleship”, is prone at times to a less subtle expression of soul force. One example are certain political attitudes that reflect the somewhat tyrannical and dictatorial nature of Leo.

Hence, having been at the vanguard of the Fifth Rootrace, Britain contains the worst elements that constitute its dweller or shadow. Leo is known as the “positive dweller”, that unconscious part of any entity that is resistant to the impression of the soul. The current crisis of the Western nations of which Britain is a founding member, is a battle between the forces of darkness and the soul of humanity:

“This sign [Leo] has frequently been described as the “battlefield of the Forces of Materialism and the Forces of Light.” It is occultly regarded as one of the most material signs, in-as-much as selfish desire for possession of material objectives can be peculiarly present and the display of the possessive spirit can violently control; yet, at the same time, the advanced Leo person can function as the “inspired spiritual Sacrifice.” He is then sensitive to world conditions and freed from personal desires.”[10]

“When a racial incarnation and a zodiacal cycle synchronise (which is not always the case) then there comes a significant and important focusing of the attention of the Dweller on the Angel [soul] and vice versa.

This is taking place at this time at the close of the Piscean era and when the Aryan race [5th Rootrace] has reached maturity and a relatively high water mark of development. Discipleship is significant of maturity, and it is with mature development that the Dweller is met. The Aryan race is ready for discipleship.”[11]

The Olympics are a great opportunity to create world unity and also its opposite, terror and mayhem. The security for the London Olympics is unprecedented, almost to the point of ridiculous – surface to air missiles mounted on apartment blocks, thousands of armed security and military personnel, an aircraft carrier on the Thames with jets at the ready – anyone would think that they were preparing for WWIII! It is the antithesis of what the Olympics are about and may set an unfortunate precedent based on undue fear or, a more cynical exercise in massacre fear-mongering and control. There has been a lot of it in the news of late – one reads daily about the ghastly acts that humans perpetrate upon one another.

Some nations have declared that other nations will try and use the Olympics to stage a massive terrorist attack, whilst other observers maintain that there is much counter-subterfuge going on, in an effort to blame certain nations with a “false flag attack”, providing a pretext for other political eventualities.

The horoscope for the London Olympics is set for when the Queen formally declared the games open at 11:18 pm, yielding the following chart:

Olympic Games charts are very powerful because they represent the confluence of all nations on Earth to participate and co-operate with one another for two weeks – it’s the world’s biggest conference!

Aries is rising, the sign of competition and aggression, whilst its ruler Mars is placed in Libra, the sign of the peacemaker. (Nobel Peace Laureate, the Dalai Lama has Mars in Libra.) Hence there exists some tension between this pair of opposites but also the prospect of resolution.

Also in Libra is Saturn, exalted here and embodying the spirit of right human relations, sitting right on the cusp of the seventh house of marriage and relationships. In many ways Saturn’s placement represents the synthesis of all nations coming together in a spirit of peace, harmony and friendship. This was reflected beautifully in the finale of the very moving torch ceremony, culminating when all the flaming petals came together in one unified fire.

The Moon is in that other Mars/Pluto ruled sign Scorpio, guaranteeing some intense competition, perhaps great feats of endurance, not to mention the odd hissy-fit by some highly strung athletic creatures! The Moon makes a prominent square to Neptune in Pisces and this could create some uncertainty and confusion or even some underhanded plotting at one level, but also aspiration to strive for the highest ideals.

Scorpio ruler Pluto, dominates the chart, conjunct the midheaven and making a square to Uranus in Aries. Pluto in this position adds intensity to the competition, if not some ruthlessness, but can also stand for some kind of “infamous event” occurring at the games, as discussed earlier. This, combined with the Moon square Neptune aspect are probably the two most disturbing elements of the horoscope.

The Sun in Leo is in its own fifth house, the house of “games” and esoterically the “mansion of the soul”. Venus and Jupiter in Gemini are excellent for right relationships, especially Venus trine to Saturn in Libra.

Many individuals and groups have taken the initiative to use these games as an opportunity for working subjectively in meditation, to pour protective light and love through London, helping to offset any tendencies that the games might be hijacked by other interests.

Child Prodigy Artist Kieron Williamson

“Kieron Williamson is a watercolour artist from Holt, Norfolk in England. His paintings and ability by the age of six have caused considerable interest in the UK media and are notable for his advanced use of perspective and shading. He has been described as a prodigy, and at his second exhibition in 2009, his paintings sold out in 14 minutes, raising a total of £18,200 for 16 paintings. A subsequent exhibition in Holt in July 2010 saw his paintings all sold within 30 minutes, at a total value of £150,000.”[12]

A more recent exhibition netted £250,000 for 24 paintings! Kieron now has earnings approaching a million pounds, but seems to be very unassuming, taking it all in his stride. (See more about Kieron here.)

Child prodigies are always interesting studies in reincarnation, where the development of skills and consciousness over lifetimes dramatically finds its awakened expression at an early age. (Mozart was composing at the age of 5.) These are culminating incarnations; it is said that the soul incarnates in a series of seven incarnations at a time, developing certain qualities connected to the rising sign particularly.

Indeed, one would wonder whether Williamson was incarnate earlier as one of his favourite painters, the most famous British painter (J.M.W.) Turner who is said to have instigated impressionism, and/or the lesser known Seago.

If we apply the rule that the Sun sign of the present incarnation represents the sign that soul disincarnated in the last incarnation, then Williamson does not qualify as either of these two identities.

Nevertheless, all souls belong to various ashrams conditioned by certain rays, they are members of a greater group from whom they take inspiration in their own soul development. It is quite possible that Kieron Williamson is from an ashram upon the fourth ray – the ray of art and beauty, also known as the ray of harmony through conflict.

In other words, he may be a fourth ray soul; in the past hundred odd years, fourth ray souls have been relatively rare in incarnation, due to other ray cycles playing themselves out – and the fact that only five of the seven rays can be in incarnation at any time. Now that the fifth and sixth rays are cycling out of influence, the fourth ray cycle starts to wax stronger before its imminent return slated for 2025. As mentioned earlier, the fourth ray is replacing the fifth ray that currently conditions the mental body of humanity as a whole.

The fourth ray will bring in new kinds of art and music that the world has never seen before, artists attuning to the new frequencies and influences through their sensitive natures, particularly the Neptunian astral body! Williamson”s art is not necessarily “new” but it may be somewhat in the nature of a recapitulation of past skills – that will be a foundation to express something more original and revolutionary as he matures:

“The development of the new art. This will be expressive of a sensitive response to ideas. The art of the past expressed largely man’s understanding of the beauty of God’s created world, whether it was the phenomenal wonder of nature or the beauty of the human form. The art of today is as yet almost a childish attempt to express the world of feeling and of inner moods and those emotionally psychological reactions which govern the bulk of the race.

They are, however, to the world of feeling-expression what the drawings of the cave man are to the art of Leonardo da Vinci. It is in the realm of words today that this new art is most adequately expressing itself. The art of music will be the next approach nearer to the truth, and to the revelation of the emerging beauty; the art of the painter and of the sculptor will follow later. None of this is the art of expressing ideas creatively, which will be the glory of the Aquarian Age.”[13]

Kieron’s mother was contacted for a birth time but she declined, wishing to protect his privacy, fair enough. So there is no rising sign and the chart is erected for a midday time. (The author was successful in contacting the mother of child prodigy Akiane – see here for essay.)

Nevertheless we can be sure of the fact that Kieron is a multiple Leo: Sun, Jupiter, Mars, Mercury all in this sign, extraordinarily powerful! Of note is the opposition of Neptune to his Sun – Neptune ruling over the visual arts but also standing for Leo’s “sensitivity” described earlier. There is a close parallel here to Akiane’s horoscope – she has the Sun in Cancer opposite Neptune.

The Moon is definitely in Gemini, a sign noted for its versatility and adaptability in the arts. Quite often a Gemini Moon individual is capable of many artistic expressions as well as multi-lingual talents.

Venus is in Virgo, the goddess of beauty in the sign of meticulous technique, Virgo is the true artisan. Esoterically, Venus in this position has another meaning,

“Venus, pure love-wisdom, falls into generation in this sign and occultly “descends to earth” and stands for the gift of mind and of divinity, embodied in the Son of Mind and thus for the descent of the Christ principle into generation or into matter. Virgo and Venus are together two aspects of intelligence. The symbolism of the descent of Spirit into the womb of the virgin mother is preserved for us in the astrological fact that Venus falls in this sign; esoterically, she disappears from view and vanishes into the darkness.”[14]

Perhaps his rising sign may emerge eventually and we will be able to watch this marvellous talent unfold. Kieron is a Gaelic name meaning “little dark one” but sounding, and almost spelling uncannily like Chiron, the wounded healer. Chiron the asteroid is in Capricorn, completely unaspected by other planets, meaning that it can be either very weak or very powerful, probably the latter. One interpretation of the wound of Chiron in Capricorn is about not trusting one’s own authority and to re-claim that authority.

Leo in the Horoscope of James Holmes: Aurora Massacre.
Another horrifying massacre took place in the USA, this time in Aurora, Colorado recently. This phenomenon has been increasing since the 1960’s, where men have been venting their rage through mass murder. It’s something that most people would rather not think about but it cannot be ignored as it sticks out like the proverbial sore thumb.

Just as the US gun laws give the population “permission” to slaughter around 9,000 of their fellow countrymen each year with firearms, so massacres seem to be an “accepted” way of life – there is one almost every week. This problem is deeply crystallised and decades old, with no apparent solution on the horizon; obviously there is something profoundly wrong in the psychology of the USA.

The USA does not know what to do about it because the gun culture is so entrenched and media and movies reinforce “gun consciousness”, starting with the cowboy era, through all the wars and obsessive preoccupation with military hardware. People talk about their constitutional rights and politicians, in trying to appease both sides of the debate, say it’s OK to have handguns, rifles and shotguns but not automatic weapons that belong on the battlefield. Apparently the latter type of weapons are responsible for less than 1% of yearly deaths.

In making these pathetic political statements, there seems to be no identification of the fact that their nation is already a battlefield with around 9,000 people shot by non-automatic guns every year – that’s 24 people every day in the USA – two Aurora’s a day. Two days of gun deaths in the USA is more than Britain in one year! (40) Even if Britain had the equivalent population to the USA, those statistics would still only extrapolate to less than 300.

Film maker Michael Moore, who raised awareness about the USA gun problem through his movie Bowling for Columbine, says, “What are we so afraid of that we need to have 300 million guns in our homes? Who do we think is going to hurt us? … Guns don’t kill people, Americans kill people.” In USA’s horoscope, Mars in Gemini in the seventh house of relationships certainly reflects this problem of aggression in relationships, both domestically and abroad.

James Eagan Holmes was a neuroscience undergraduate with honors, by all accounts a shy, quiet, inoffensive loner, perhaps a “bit odd”. When the mental body is consolidating and integrating in the early 20’s, some young people suffer from real or imagined schizophrenia, as part of their search for identity. Whether Holmes actually suffered from schizophrenia, he had studied it as part of his neuroscience program. The London Independent recently stated that “Holmes had been under the care of a psychiatrist [who specialised in schizophrenia] who was part of a campus threat-assessment team.”[15]

There are many inconsistencies with this case that have led to all sorts of speculations, including a “Bourne Identity” operation, where he was brainwashed, drugged and hijacked for some nefarious reasons, declared by some as the issue of gun law reform, or instilling fear in the population to keep them under control.

The birthtime is unknown, though several astrologers speculate upon Aries rising. The transits for the time of the shooting are quite remarkable, giving more credibility to Holmes exercising his free will in the event.

The stellium of four planets in Sagittarius immediately catches the eye. Sagittarius with bow and arrow is the hunter, especially Mercury in Sagittarius. Mercury in Sagittarius is a prime planet identified in the chart of infamous Aussie backpacker murderer, Ivan Milat (Dec 27, 1944). Milat has Mars-Mercury in Sagittarius, Mercury at the same degree as Holmes’ Uranus.

Milat’s Mercury closely squares Jupiter in late Virgo, very close to the degree of Holmes’ Virgo Moon – the factor that points to his scholarliness and intelligence. It seems that both were meticulous Virgoan planners; the alleged suspect at least had that capacity. Mercury is also the “joker” or “trickster” and when arrested by police, Holmes claimed that he was The Joker character from the Batman stories.

The transits that really stand out are the following:

1. Transiting Moon-Mercury square Mars-Pluto. The Moon-Mercury conjunction in Leo made a close square to the “killer combination”, Mars-Pluto in Scorpio. Bearing in mind the power of Holmes’ natal Mercury-the-hunter, then he will most likely always be very sensitive to Mercury transits.

This is especially so when his Mercury-ruled Virgo Moon is considered, at the point of a T-square to Saturn-Uranus-Chiron. (Chiron in Mercury-ruled Gemini could actually be considered the trickster). The Moon square Saturn aspect could certainly give Holmes strong feelings of inferiority and inadequacy in living up to expectations from his father, a high academic achiever, a scientist with degrees from Stanford, UCLA and Berkeley.

Hence, when the science of the emotions is considered, the polarity of inferiority and its compensatory superiority can be easily perceived. The timing of Holmes’ plot could not have been more perfect: Transiting Moon and Mercury in Leo certainly would have fostered his desire to stand out and be the centre of attention.

Mercury was retrograde in Leo, most likely seeing Holmes going back over recent events, becoming stuck and obsessed by a failure in an oral exam the previous month – that led to him leaving the university. It was after this failure and probably feeling totally disempowered, that he brought another gun on the same day (June 7) and withdrew from his program – even though the university had no plans to drop him. Yet this dissatisfaction with failure and all that was not right with Holmes’ world probably went back several years.

Hence, on the day of the massacre, transiting Mercury retrograde and Moon were headed toward one another for a head on collision at around the 11th degree of Leo, both making a very close square to Mars-Pluto at similar degrees in Scorpio. There cannot be a more violent combination in a horoscope than a Mars-Pluto conjunction being triggered by a fiery Leo double-act of Moon-Mercury; its volatile, explosive, dramatic and utterly ruthless – and that’s what happened in the Aurora theatre.

And even more fascinating, we find that Holmes’ Mars-Pluto conjunction sits precisely in the middle of his Moon square Uranus, closely semi-squaring the Moon and Uranus either side. (See aspect grid on chart.) The entire set-up is like some exquisite arrangement of taut straining wires, intricately connected to a bomb waiting to go off. (Or was he a marionette, wired to obey?) One is reminded of the fact that Holmes set up his apartment with equally intricate tripwires and booby traps that took the police a lengthy time to make safe.

The wires are like maps of Holmes’ neural circuits, but instead of utilising them in a higher creative fashion for which he is most likely quite capable, he defaulted to “evil genius” mode, through his own unintegrated emotions and rage (Mars-Pluto in Scorpio) – and Neptunian fantasy factor that will be discussed later.

2. Transiting Venus opposite natal Mercury. This opposition was triggered by transiting Venus, only 15′ of arc applying to the opposition of Mercury; it supports an Aries rising chart, because it places Venus-ruled Libra on the seventh house cusp of relationships – relationships that went very awry that day; it also places the Sagittarian stellium fittingly in the ninth house of higher education.

So, both natal Mercury and transiting Mercury were highly significant on that day, dressed up as The Joker in a very dark play – in a town called Aurora, a name with a close association to the Sun and light. The Batman film is called The Dark Knight Rises and this tragedy is a film fantasy that has intersected with a Batman obsessed fan-tasy. The Joker walked right in off the street and became part of the movie. Life imitating art, creating a shocking fusion. Indeed, at first some patrons thought the sound of gunfire was part of the film.

3. Transiting Pluto conjunct Neptune and the midheaven. Whenever Pluto transits over the midheaven, one can be sure that power issues or infamy will be on the agenda with the prevailing establishment. Nixon fell from power during Watergate with this transit. Holmes was disempowered, not a pleasant place to be for an Aries rising ruled by Mars in Scorpio!

At its lowest expression, Scorpio is the sign of revenge, like Charles Bronson (Scorpio Sun) on crystal meth; a revenge taken out on innocent people unknown to Holmes, who “did not recognise him” – neither for who he thought he was, nor his disguised face; wearing a mask and dressed in black like a swat team guy, a very Ninja-like, Pluto persona – not dissimilar to the shooter in the Virginia Tech massacre a few years ago.

Transiting Pluto had been conjunct Holmes’ Neptune since March 2011, a time when his dissatisfaction and fantasy life may have started a whole new trajectory. (The Pluto transit has its third and final hit by the end of 2012.) But the key factor to consider here is that Holmes’ natal Neptune does not aspect any other planet. As mentioned earlier, an unaspected planet can be very weak or strong, and in Holmes’ case, it is badly integrated.

Neptune was discussed earlier in relation to the life of the astral body. Neptune is the visionary and imaginative factor that gives it rulership over movies and visual media. Holmes’ fantasy life was powerful, living in a world of Batman and superheroes, perhaps somewhat immature for a 24 year-old, a world of unreality that was most likely his main emotional outlet. When this emotional state is compared to his acute mental intelligence and academia, the gap of little or no healthy emotional life is revealed; especially when the only planets in water (astral) signs are Mars and Pluto in Scorpio.

Neptune also rules over drugs, alcohol and mind-altering substances. At his first hearing, Holmes appeared bug-eyed, dazed and confused. Whether he was on medication, putting on an act, a dupe for other forces or slipping in and out of a schizophrenic condition, only time will tell.

Finally, natal Neptune and transiting Pluto were at the point of a T-square from transiting Mars and Uranus, adding further to the explosive potential of the situation. The analogy of Pluto square Uranus at this individual level easily translates on a global scale. The event chart for Aurora sees Aries rising with Pluto on the midheaven, similar to the London Olympics horoscope, though Mars in the latter chart is not so acutely placed in relation to Uranus and Pluto as it was in Aurora.

The whole episode is most indicative of the kind of problems that the dweller/shadow of the Fifth Rootrace will bring increasingly to humanity, upon the mental level. But of course its not just the perpetrators of these acts, its the entire social milieu and media that supports a gun culture and “gives permission” for people to go and shoot at will.

Phillip Lindsay © 2012.
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[1] Esoteric Astrology, Alice A. Bailey. pp.339-40.
[2] Esoteric Astrology, Alice A. Bailey. pp.288-9.
[3] Esoteric Astrology, Alice A. Bailey. p.298.
[4] Esoteric Astrology, Alice A. Bailey. pp.306-7.
[5] Esoteric Astrology, Alice A. Bailey. pp.294-5.
[6] Esoteric Astrology, Alice A. Bailey. pp.309-10.
[7] Here. New York Times article.
[8] Here.
[9] Esoteric Astrology, Alice A. Bailey. p.155.
[10] Esoteric Astrology, Alice A. Bailey. pp.307.
[11] Glamour: A World Problem, Alice A. Bailey. p.158.
[12] Wikipedia.
[13] Esoteric Psychology II, Alice A. Bailey. p. 706.
[14] Esoteric Psychology II, Alice A. Bailey. p. 281.
[15] Here.