Henry II’s Favourite Son: Nicknamed John Lackland

Posted on February 7, 2021 by cdsmiller17

King John of England (December 24, 1166 – October 19, 1216)

I’ve written about King John before, but only in connection with the Magna Carta. It was my inspired thought this morning about the echo between John and Domitian that has made me revisit this English Monarch.

The timing of this chart is randomized. Notice that there are no inconjuncts. But there is a strong Sun/Moon conjunction in Capricorn, so, even though he was the youngest of four surviving sons of Henry II, he was also the obvious heir to the throne of England.

John was the youngest of the four surviving sons of King Henry II of England and Duchess Eleanor of Aquitaine. He was nicknamed John Lackland because he was not expected to inherit significant lands. He became Henry’s favourite child following the failed revolt of 1173–74 by his brothers Henry the Young King, Richard, and Geoffrey against the King. John was appointed the Lord of Ireland in 1177 and given lands in England and on the continent. The war between Henry II and his elder sons ended with the deaths of Henry the Young King and Geoffrey. John unsuccessfully attempted a rebellion against the royal administrators of his brother, King Richard, whilst Richard was participating in the Third Crusade, but he was proclaimed king after Richard died in 1199.

Wikpedia
The Children of Henry II

My thoughts about John and Domitian being connected today have been confirmed by comparing Domitian’s ‘death’ chart and John’s birth chart.

John’s natal Ascendant/Part of Fortune conjunction in Taurus is conjunct Domitian’s ‘fatal’ Uranus. And John’s North Node/South Node is the flip of Domitian’s ‘fatal’ Nodes.

So what? I hear you say. So nothing…

Comparing their birth charts may help to clear this up: Domitian’s Ascendant is conjunct John’s Venus; Domitian’s Pluto is conjunct John’s Sun/Moon aspect; John’s Ascendant is opposite Domitian’s Mercury/Venus conjunction. Make no mistake: the Roman Emperor took away the Senate’s powers in all but name, and John gave the Barons rights that became the basis for the British constitution (if you can call it that).

Posted in history, spirituality | Tagged , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

The Roman Equivalent of England’s King John

Posted on February 7, 2021 by cdsmiller17

Domitian (October 24, 51 AD – September 18, 96 AD)

Courtesy of Wikipedia

I was shoveling snow, when this analogy struck me: if Henry II was Vespasian, and Richard the Lionheart was Titus, then King John would be Domitian. The weaker younger brother stabs his sibling in the proverbial back and takes over the Kingdom.

Domitian is not well-remembered. He is especially hated by modern Biblical scholars:

The emperor Domitian, who was naturally inclined to cruelty, first slew his brother, and then raised the second persecution against the Christians. In his rage he put to death some of the Roman senators, some through malice; and others to confiscate their estates. He then commanded all the lineage of David be put to death.

The Second Persecution, Under Domitian, A.D. 81

This chart is rectified to show Domitian‘s assassination at age 44 (Mars). That stellium of planets in Scorpio, along with the Ascendant is indicative to his use of stealth to attain his gains. And Neptune in opposition to the Midheaven says the same thing. He cheats…

Mars Inconjunct Ascendant

The difficulty with this aspect is to find a balance between getting what you want in life and getting along with others. More than most people, you will have to learn the necessity of compromising to get along with people, especially because you often seem more aggressive than you are. While you are young, the need to compromise may be frustrating, because youth is a time when your own needs seem especially urgent and demanding. At times you may feel that nothing is going your way, that you continually have to give in to others and put your own wishes aside. However, it is not really this bad. You do not actually have to compromise any more than anyone else, but you are more reluctant to do so.

But all that Scorpio energy might be indicative of something else.

“According to Suetonius, a number of omens had foretold Domitian’s death. The Germanic soothsayer Larginus Proclus predicted the date of Domitian’s death and was consequently sentenced to death by him. Several days prior to the assassination, Minerva had appeared to the emperor in a dream. She announced that she had been disarmed by Jupiter and could no longer give Domitian her protection. According to an auspice he had received, the Emperor believed that his death would be at midday. As a result, he was always restless around that time. On the day of the assassination, Domitian was distressed and repeatedly asked a servant to tell him what time it was. The servant, who was himself one of the plotters, lied to the emperor, telling him that it was already late in the afternoon. Apparently put at ease, the Emperor went to his desk to sign some decrees. Stephanus, who had been feigning an injury to his arm for several days and wearing a bandage to allow him to carry a concealed dagger, suddenly appeared:

…he pretended that he had discovered a plot, and was for that reason granted an audience: whereupon, as the amazed Domitian perused a document he had handed him, Stephanus stabbed him in the groin. The wounded Emperor put up a fight, but succumbed to seven further stabs, his assailants being a subaltern named Clodianus, Parthenius’s freedman Maximus, Satur, a head-chamberlain and one of the imperial gladiators.

“During the attack, Stephanus and Domitian had struggled on the floor, during which time Stephanus was stabbed by the emperor and died shortly afterward.

“Domitian’s body was carried away on a common bier and unceremoniously cremated by his nurse Phyllis. Later, she took the emperor’s ashes to the Flavian Temple and mingled them with those of his niece, Julia. He was 44 years old. As had been foretold, his death came at midday.” (Assassination – from Wikipedia)

Yes, it does look as if the spirit of Minerva truly said, “Times up!” His ‘death’ Ascendant at 7 degrees Sagittarius is conjunct his natal Part of Fortune: could anything be clearer?

Posted in history, spirituality | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Historical Proof that Patience is a Virtue

Posted on February 7, 2021 by cdsmiller17

Vespasian (November 17, 9 AD – June 23, 79 AD)

Image courtesy of Wikipedia

This man was never intended for Roman Imperial Glory. He came from an equestrian family, meaning that he was no better than a soldier, just like Pontius Pilate. But his ability to plan and carry out strategic battles meant that he rose through the ranks, first as a general and then as a senator. He was the fourth emperor in the “Year of Four Emperors”. He is also credited with building the Roman Colosseum.

Here is his birth chart:

This chart was already in my Kepler 7.0 program, with this birth time, but the date was wrong, so I have changed it to the correct date, and left the time as originally stated. The result is a chart with three inconjuncts (almost five in reality).

Moon Inconjunct Venus

You need to be loved, even more than most people, particularly by your mother or another woman who takes the place of your mother. This need for love will be the force behind many of your actions. If you don’t find the love you are looking for, you may develop an insecure hunger for love from everyone you meet.

Mercury Inconjunct Ascendant

You are likely to have some problems, but not serious ones, in communicating with others. The problem is that people’s first impression of you may not fit in with what you say or your manner of thinking and speaking. People tend to hear what they expect to hear, and they may not listen to you as carefully as they should. So you will have to be as clear as possible and insist that others listen to what you are really saying. If others do not understand you, it is up to you to set them straight.

Uranus Inconjunct Neptune

This aspect indicates a generation that had mixed feelings about its ideals and how to implement them. They often felt very confused about their ideals, and when they found that their ideals failed because they were badly formulated, this group became disillusioned. States of consciousness beyond the ordinary are very confusing to them, and they prefer not to get involved with such matters.

So, his becoming God the Father via Josephus’ spin probably didn’t sit well with Vespasian. Hence the irony of this oft-stated quote from his deathbed (see bottom of this next image):

Posted in history, spirituality | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Could a 1st Century Conquest be Echoed in the 13th Century?

Posted on February 6, 2021 by cdsmiller17

The Destruction of the Second Temple (August 4, 70 AD)

Sometimes, I surprise even myself. No, I am not putting myself in the thick of things during Titus’ destruction of Jerusalem, but I am being shown some interesting echoes.

The timing of this chart is randomized. It appears to be a straight-forward representation of the energies that were in play that fateful day. Saturn, representing Rome, is near the Ascendant in Libra and it is opposed by Neptune in Aries. Fitting…

What my intuition told me was that this momentous occasion in the lives of 1st Century Jews would be similar to the Fall of Montsegur for Cathars in 1244 AD.

As both these charts are randomized, I shouldn’t have seen such a clear link between Moon/Neptune/Ascendant conjunction in the Montsegur chart and the Jerusalem Mars. (But there it is!) And the Jerusalem Ascendant in Libra is conjunct Montsegur’s Pluto.

It is ‘proof’ to me that the Roman Catholic Church is definitely an offshoot of the Roman Empire. But then, I suspected that all along the Watchtower. We are witnesses to this.

Posted in history, paranoia | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

A Larger Than Life Footnote in Roman History

Posted on February 6, 2021 by cdsmiller17

Vitellius (September 24, 15 AD – December 22, 69 AD)

Image courtesy of Wikipedia

It’s a shame, really. This man was probably best suited for the debauched lifestyle that being Emperor could afford him, but he wasn’t really right to rule the Roman Empire.

The timing of this chart is randomized. So there is no basis to suspect that anything other than what we can see before us is in operation. There are two inconjuncts.

Moon Inconjunct Saturn

This aspect usually means that your need for emotional security conflicts with your need to live with the world’s demands. Each of us needs to be accepted and loved for what we are, in order to have enough self-confidence to deal with the world. But we also have to learn to live with our own life situations in order to survive. In other words, we have to realize that we can’t have everything we want. With this aspect, these two needs are working against each other. Probably you will satisfy one of them at the expense of the other.

Uranus Inconjunct Pluto

This aspect indicates changes in the world of the people who were born at this time, changes that were difficult to understand because they were very revolutionary but subtle in many ways.

In other words, Vitellius got caught up in the revolutionary changes that happened in the “Year of Four Emperors”. He was number three. It cost him his life.

Again, I do not have an exact time of death, so I set the clock for 12:00 noon. His being dragged to the Gemonian stairs where the people killed him and threw his body into the Tiber River (with or without his head) is that Moon Inconjunct Pluto aspect in the ‘death’ chart. And his last words were recorded as: “Yet I was once your Emperor”.

Posted in history, spirituality | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

All Hail! The Conquering Heroes of Judea

Posted on February 6, 2021 by cdsmiller17

Rome’s Trinity of Emperors

The Father, the Son and the Spirit of the Age

Have you ever why our calendar system uses the term Anno Domini? Up until this morning, I presumed it was because of Jesus. And in a way, I was correct, but during the night I kept getting the idea of this unholy trinity of Flavians being the imitation of the Christian Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Now I knew I wasn’t going to call Domitian a holy spirit, so I finally settled on ‘Spirit of the Age’. Little did I know until this moment that I was right.

The Anno Domini dating system was devised in 525 by Dionysius Exiguus to enumerate the years in his Easter table. His system was to replace the Diocletian era that had been used in an old Easter table because he did not wish to continue the memory of a tyrant who persecuted Christians. The last year of the old table, Diocletian Anno Martyrium 247, was immediately followed by the first year of his table, Anno Domini 532. When he devised his table, Julian calendar years were identified by naming the consuls who held office that year—he himself stated that the “present year” was “the consulship of Probus Junior”, which was 525 years “since the incarnation of our Lord Jesus Christ”. Thus Dionysius implied that Jesus’ incarnation occurred 525 years earlier, without stating the specific year during which his birth or conception occurred.

History (from Wikipedia)

The Diocletian era? So he is the Spirit of the Age. Wonders will never cease.

Posted in history | Tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment

A Canadian Prince of Players Died Today

Posted on February 5, 2021 by cdsmiller17

Christopher Plummer (December 13, 1929 – February 5, 2021)

It took a long time before his quality performances were recognized by an industry who prefers youth over experience, beauty over substance. But in the end Christopher Plummer was seen as a very rare winner of the Triple Crown of Acting. He died today.

Unable to find a consensus of his birth time, I have rectified his birth chart to recognize how very young he was when his parents divorced (Saturn). The resulting Sun/Mars/Ascendant conjunction in Sagittarius, inconjunct to Pluto in Cancer, makes him truly special (at least in my eyes). But, as he is so newly and dearly departed, I won’t delineate his aspects at this time.

As Mr Plummer died this morning, I estimated his time of death as 6:00 am. Pluto is conjunct the Ascendant, followed by a stellium of five planets in Aquarius in the 1st House. All the planets are in half of the chart, and that seems to be appropriate.

Posted in history, showbusiness | Tagged , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

The Second Roman Emperor After Nero

Posted on February 5, 2021 by cdsmiller17

Otho (April 28, 32 AD – April 16, 69 AD)

I always thought Roman busts were meant to be serious, but this one looks like he’s pouting. Otho was made Emperor after Alba was killed, but his rule was short-lived.

The timing for this chart is rectified. His suicide just before turning 37 is marked by Mars. In fact, to be totally accurate, the Ascendant could have been moved another 10 degrees back to 25 degrees Cancer, but this chart will do, as it stands. So, no inconjuncts. The most important aspect is the Sun/Moon conjunction in Taurus: this may also be a hint of his homosexuality.

Sun Conjunct Moon

The new Moon is a time of new beginnings. You like to start projects, which may eventually become quite important, perhaps long after you have gone on o something else. You may even set events in motion without being aware that you are doing it. This is because the new Moon is a time of spontaneous action, without much self-awareness, and this is reflected in everything you do. You must learn to think of the consequences of your actions, to see how they fit into the larger scheme.

Also you should be more aware of the impression you make on others. You don’t necessarily impress people badly, but you should know what effect you do have. Even though you seem to be unaware of what you are doing, you may be very effective. You often feel that you have a lot of energy inside that has to come out, and many times you will do something simply to release that energy.

As you get older, you will become more self-aware, but you will grow faster if you make an intentional effort to do so. Relationships are very important for your development, more because of what you will learn about yourself than because of what you will learn about others.

I am showing you this chart in order that a comparison can be made with a certain Vice-President of the United States. There is nothing remarkable in this chart, in and of itself, but those resulting inconjuncts hint at a mindset that sees no way out of his dilemma.

“It is far more just to perish one for all, than many for one”

Cassius Dio

Kamala Harris

We don’t often see Vice-President Harris without a smile on her face, and even less now that masks are mandatory in all US government buildings. So, of course, it’s impossible to compare like-for-like visually. But we have no such limits, astrologically.

Admittedly, comparing these two birth charts was a bit of a long shot. But I was surprised to see their two Jupiters line up. And Kamala’s Moon is conjunct Otho’s Venus.

Interesting…

Comparing Otho’s ‘death’ chart with Kamala’s birth chart yielded a couple of surprises.

Kamala’s Moon is now conjunct with Otho’s ‘death’ North Node, which means that Kamala’s Sun is conjunct Otho’s ‘death’ South Node. Reincarnation, perhaps?

My only reason for looking at these two individuals is that Otho followed Galba who followed Nero as emperor. So much of the history of Rome is echoed in the States.

Posted in history, spirituality | Tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment

From Mighty Oaks, Too

Posted on February 4, 2021 by cdsmiller17

Druid influence?

Posted in personal | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Paranoia: Were Saul of Tarsus and Josephus Contemporaries?

Posted on February 4, 2021 by cdsmiller17

The Devil’s in their Details

Except for the Acts of the Apostles, and Paul’s letters in the New Testament, there would be no other ‘proof’ of his existence. Isn’t it interesting how awkward that makes it for anyone believing his version of Christianity? Another myth-maker, perhaps, or a myth himself? Ostensibly, Saul of Tarsus was born there in about 5 AD. He was beheaded in Rome in about 67 AD. His conversion to Christianity happened on the Road to Damascus in 37 AD. So far, so good, right?

Josephus was born in 37 AD, he was converted to the Roman side in 67 AD. He died in Rome, around 100 AD, Oh, dear. the echo is too clear to me.

Neither of them heard of Jesus, and if it weren’t for the 37/67 AD repeat, I wouldn’t even be raising this question: could they be one and the same person?

Christianity is a State Religion

The idea that Christianity, as we know it now, is a figment of Roman thinking is almost too hard to resist. Gnostics from the 1st century to the Middle Ages have paid for this knowledge with their lives. And yet, the joke is: Saint Paul could be considered a Gnostic if his visionary meeting the Risen Christ as a blinding flash is to be believed. Instead, he has been co-opted by the new Christianity, meant for Jews and Gentiles alike. I’m not objecting to that fact, just that it could be suspicious, since it smacks of Magic. And magic, as we all know, is the product of misdirection.

If ever there was a religious way of thinking stolen from a people and presented to the wider world as their salvation, it was Christianity. But saying so, doesn’t make it true.

The proof is in the pudding, and the wholesale mistreatment of the Jews by Christians is enough for anyone, who has a mind of their own, to see the light (or the Light).

And then there’s this:

In spite of everything, the Message gets through…

Posted in history, paranoia, spirituality | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment