At the time of his death, I too wondered why Dr Kelly would take his own life. But little niggles, that I had, got buried along with other issues from that time period.
Well, synchronicity decided that I needed to re-examine the ‘evidence’ via astrology.
It started about a week ago: as part of the Not Suicide, Not Today campaign by CAMH.ca, I saw an ad, somewhere, perhaps on Facebook, that showed the face of a man in his middle years, with the caption, “He says no.” (As ‘luck’ would have it, I cannot locate the image, so it makes me wonder if I’d imagined it.) That man looked an awful lot like Dr David Kelly would have when he was younger, as least to my eyes.
Then, wouldn’t you know it, my dreams last night were full of references to WMD (weapons of mass destruction), the ‘excuse’ used by the United States and the United Kingdom to invade Iraq (to effect regime change: conspiracy theorists have claimed that control of their oil wells was the real reason.) So, now I can’t ignore it.
This chart has been rectified to show a crisis of some sort at about age 59 years (as signified by Pluto). It shows an early childhood event relating to his mother (Moon). His parents divorced when he was young. I think this chart is ‘factually’ correct.
Now, following my fellow astrologer‘s “Last Seen” research, here’s the chart for Dr Kelly:
Please bear in mind that a ‘last seen’ chart is NOT the ‘death’ chart, per se, but it can show the energies that were at play, that day. So, there are two inconjuncts: Mercury and Mars; and Venus and Pluto. These are powerful motivators.
Mercury Inconjunct Mars
With this aspect you might find it hard to complain to others, especially if you are not sure that you are right. In that case, you should learn to speak your mind, but without being unpleasant about it. You should learn to release your resentment or anger to a certain extent, because that energy can turn inward and cause you to become nervous, edgy or irritable, which could be quite difficult.
Venus Inconjunct Pluto
With this aspect you must learn a great deal about the kinds of friends you want and the kinds of experiences you will have through other people.Even while you are still young, you may meet persons who are quite difficult to get along with, but who seem to be impossible to get away from, even when you want to. You may be fascinated by such persons, or circumstances may force you to stay with them. These people do have a definite role to play in your life, but it may not always be a pleasant one. They will teach you something about life or about yourself.
Now let’s look at the combined charts:
OK. I can see it all so much more clearly now. Other astrologers will no doubt find a treasure trove of information here, but I have just one ‘flashing’ warning light: Pluto transiting his Ascendant.
From Robert Hand’s Planets in Transit
Pluto Conjunct Ascendant
At this time your relationships with others, both intimate and otherwise, will be greatly transformed. Your personality will undergo a period of change that will bright to light some very important but often unacknowledged elements of your psyche, which you will have to deal with. This may be a period of your life, if you have been attempting to hide certain inner forces from yourself or from others. The psychological changes that take place may make it desirable for you to undergo psychotherapy or a similar treatment in order to get more in touch with yourself, With this transit it is extremely important that you get more in touch with yourself!
On the purely psychological level, you may find yourself face to face with aspects of your personality that you have chosen to ignore in the past because you thought that they were “evil” or “weak” or otherwise unacceptable. But they are real aspects of yourself, and their energies can only be suppressed for a time, not entirely eliminated. Under this transit the energies will surface.
The process may start with compulsive actions that are hard to understand. Strange drives may emerge that seem to take over your life, without any regard for your conscious intention. Sometimes the compulsions are so subtle that you are not aware of them at all, except that they affect people around you; in fact you may only encounter them when others respond to you. This can be very upsetting, and you may feel that you are being victimized by some outside force, although the force is within you. Even under the best of conditions, you can expect your relationships to change considerably as others encounter the changes within you. A close relationship such as marriage may undergo especially great changes at this time.
Often a tremendous power drive will surface during this transit, as you suddenly want to take control of everything around you. You are not content to be subject to an outside power or to anyone else’s will. This can lead you to break away from many restrictions that your life has been subject to in the past. This can be very good, but it can also be dangerous, of course. The worst way to handle it is to not admit it to yourself. Experience has shown that if you do not acknowledge Plutonian energies, someone from the outside is attracted who will act with power and even violence toward you. Granted, you may stir up opposition by trying to take control, but that is better than being surprised by an external agent.
The best tactic with all of these Plutonian effects is to recognize them and try to understand how they fit into your personality. They are there for a reason, and if you understand yourself thoroughly, you would see that they have a positive purpose in your life, if you allow them to be expressed. Now is the chance to release these energies and make them a positive part of your conscious personality. Even if the effects of this transit are a bit difficult, the final purpose is positive.
Why are we so fascinated by evil, death and sex? It must be primeval. And with Hallowe’en fast approaching, this fascination will be triggered yet again.
*Sigh*
If you ask this question of a psychologist or psychiatrist, their answers depend on how much you pay attention to your thoughts and how you apply them to yourself.
Sir Isaac Brock (October 6, 1769 – October 13, 1812)
Standing at 6′ 2″, with a wide girth, Major-General Brock was an easy target for an American sniper that day at the battle of Queenston Heights in 1812. The shot went straight to his heart. Despite stories to the contrary, he had no time to utter any last words to his troops before he died.
According to Wikipedia: He kept a reputation as an “unusually tall, robust” man throughout his life, with an adult height of about 6 ft 2 in (188 cm). Measurements taken from his uniform show that at his death he had a waist size of 47 inches (120 cm) and the inside brim of his hat measured 24 inches (61 cm) in circumference. Though Brock was noted as a handsome man who enjoyed the company of women, he never married.
As he had proven in an earlier battle at Detroit, he acted in lightning quick strikes with the element of surprise on his side. But the Governor-General, George Provost, preferred that Brock defend Upper Canada rather than attack the Americans. It proved fatal for his final battle, but his actions inspired the British to win the war in the end.
This birth time is randomized, but the resulting Yod pointing at Uranus made it seem correct. Notice how there are five aspects involving Brock’s Uranus, two involving a Grand Trine with Neptune and Pluto, the two inconjuncts of the Yod with the Sun and the Ascendant, and one opposition to Mercury. This was definitely a man ahead of his time. He should have lived to a grand old age, but he died young, by today’s standards.
This chart is close to accurate, time-wise, because he rode into the battle at dawn. Notice now that the Grand Trine is focused on Pluto, this time, with Uranus and the Midheaven being the other parts. The double inconjunct involves the Sun/Ascendant conjunction and Pluto, again, while an opposition with Mars gives it a fatal feel.
The combined charts shows a life well lived, in spite of the end. The Sun/Mercury/Ascendant of the ‘fatal’ chart perfectly links up with the Sun/Mars conjunction of his ‘natal’ chart. This man was born a soldier and died one. It was his life’s love (Venus conjunct Venus) and his Sagittarius personality was to become legendary (‘natal’ Ascendant conjunct ‘fatal’ Neptune).
Leading from the front…
My personal memory
Until I returned to Canada in 2007, I had only visited the site of the battle twice. The first time was in the spring of April 1963 on a school trip, and in December 1982 with my ‘new’ family. Here are three photos from those visits to Queenston Heights.
Brock’s Monument 1963Brock’s Monument 1982Amy and my mother 1982
I just discovered today that at least three women in my family have this aspect. (My particular aspect is similar: Moon Square Pluto.) So what were we all trying to do?
According to Robert Hand’s Planets in Youth:
You have very deep feelings, but sometimes it is difficult for you to talk about them with others. You feel they would misunderstand what you say and probably think badly of you. You may feel that there is a part of you that is so “bad” that you cannot trust anyone with it. This is not usually true, but you will think that it is. You probably have a strong emotional tie to your mother, and it is most important that you have a good relationship with her. If you and she can discuss your emotional problems openly, it will help you a lot, because you often feel guilty and bad about yourself and therefore quite miserable.
Your feelings are very important to you, and you are likely to react emotionally to every situation and person you meet. But when your emotions get in the way, it is difficult to see clearly what is happening. And your moods affect you so much that as they change, your personality changes accordingly. One day you are positive and cheerful, and another day, sad and gloomy. When you love someone, you love very deeply, and your close family and friends are very important to you. Once you have become attached to a person or even a place, it is difficult for you to break away.
As you get older, you will want to live very intensely. You will often look for a new experience just so you can feel the emotions that go with it. Feeling nothing seems worse than feeling a difficult emotion. This may make your life quite different from other people’s, but it can be quite rewarding as long as you don’t let your emotions run your life completely.
Edith Cavell (December 4, 1865 – October 12, 1915)
I’ve always wondered why Mom was named Edith at birth. Since she was born slightly more than 7 years after this English woman‘s death by German firing squad, I can only surmise that her demise was front page news, even in Canada.
Edith Cavell, in full Edith Louisa Cavell, (born December 4, 1865, Swardeston, Norfolk, England—died October 12, 1915, Brussels, Belgium), English nurse who became a popular heroine of World War I and was executed for assisting Allied soldiers in escaping from German-occupied Belgium.
Cavell entered the nursing profession in 1895 and in 1907 was appointed the first matron of the Berkendael Institute, Brussels, where she greatly improved the standard of nursing. After the German occupation of Belgium, she became involved in an underground group formed to help British, French, and Belgian soldiers reach the Netherlands, a neutral country. The soldiers were sheltered at the Berkendael Institute, which had become a Red Cross hospital, and were provided with money and guides by Philippe Baucq, a Belgian. About 200 men had been aided when, in August 1915, Cavell and several others were arrested.
The group was brought before a court-martial on October 7, 1915. On October 9, Cavell, after making a full confession, was sentenced to death. Three days later she and Baucq were shot, despite the efforts of the U.S. and Spanish ministers to secure a reprieve. Though legally justified, her execution on a charge that did not include espionage was considered outrageous and was widely publicized by the Allies.
According to Wikipedia she is venerated by the Church of England and her feast day is October 12th.
If Edith Cavell had been aware of her birth chart, she might have wondered what that Yod pointing at Pluto meant. It was, more-or-less, timed for her late 40’s.
Sun Inconjunct Pluto
You have a very strong will and can be quite stubborn, even when you don’t have any particular reason to be. It is as if you automatically resist any pressure to act in a particular way, even if you know it is good for you. This may arise from a fear of being controlled, helpless or manipulated by anyone else. As you get older, this fear may lead you to manipulate others so that they cannot manipulate you. It is very important to develop confidence in yourself, so that you will not behave this way very frequently.
You are very serious for your age, perhaps too much so, for taking everything very seriously can destroy much of the joy in life. Not all encounters are important and require you to put yourself on the line, although you may try to live that way.
Pluto Inconjunct Ascendant
This can be an indication that through experiences with others, you will be forced to undergo many significant changes in life. At times the crises may be quite unpleasant, but for the most part the results will be very positive, although for some people, they may be less constructive. But you must be very careful about the kind of people you get involved with. Choose your friends with great care and try to find people who have a healthy outlook on life and who seem reasonably well balanced. People who are driven to extreme behavior or who act compulsively, as if they could not plan anything in advance, are not very good for you. They will get you into difficult situations that you do not need.
I knew the penny would drop one day; looks like that day is today.
In a post about the Cathars, I noted that we are refined by fire. What I didn’t explicitly say was that the act of living is one of being hung on a cross, although I have hinted this in other posts, including ones that were illustrated by a Cathar cross: symbol of Earth.
What I’m getting at is the fact that the vertical movement of spirit has to intersect with the horizontal movement of life on earth for the complete understanding we require.
So….
Everyone has an individualized plan: but instead of starting at the 12 o’clock position and moving clockwise around the face of the ‘clock’, we shift the starting point 90 degrees left and then proceed in a counter-clockwise movement. Does that make sense?
It’s the same hero’s journey, but told from our earthly perspective.
Now you can see why we love to watch the same hero’s journey being told on the silver screen over and over again. It’s our story, but from a universal perspective.
