I have been out of town at a music camp this week, blissfully unaware of the news until someone told me tonight about the horrific shooting in a movie theater in Aurora Colorado in which apparently 15 people watching the Batman film have been killed and over 50 others injured by a 24 year old neuroscientist in a Joker costume. You can read about the details in various news sources; my interest is in the astrology of the shooter and the timing of the event during an astrological period that as I said before is one of the most intense weeks of the summer.
A suspect has been named in the shooting, James Eagen Holmes, and Wikipedia kindly provided a birthdate of December 13, 1987. One would not usually conflate the Sun in Sagittarius, generally an easygoing and optimistic sign, with such an egregious act but Holmes’s chart is filled with challenge. That Sagittarius Sun is conjunct both Saturn and Uranus which bestows a conflicting set of values. Saturn conjunct the Sun demands perfection and a high level of achievement, order and structure, yet Uranus on the Sun inspires revolutionary behavior and a desire to react from the status quo.
That triple conjunction (Sun/Saturn/Uranus) is opposed by Chiron, demonstrating a wounded soul (Chiron/Sun) with the life challenge of deep soul surgery to resolve these wounds (Chiron/Saturn) and a highly sensitive energetic system with the potential to create anxiety and a great deal of inner pressure (Chiron/Uranus). In addition, the Moon is in Virgo which suggests an inner critic and a high need for security. In the chart the Moon acts as a fulcrum point between the two ends of the opposition, and forms a square to Chiron (painful emotional experiences) and to the Sun/Saturn/Uranus opposition (isolation and loneliness).
To make things even more complicated, Mars is in the intensely emotional sign of Scorpio, and it conjoins Pluto there. Mars is aggression and desire, and in a conjunction to Pluto there is nearly always some sort of violence, emotional or physical, in childhood. This is a placement that signifies great personal power, but it can be badly misused as well.
This is a very difficult chart to navigate with any degree of success, and it takes a great deal of self-awareness and personal inquiry. Obviously many people have this same chart and don’t go out and commit mass murder. But we CAN see in this chart the potential for violence if the deep emotional wounds are not resolved in some kind of positive way. Releasing this kind of violent film in this kind of astrological intensity may not have been the smartest idea. For a young man such as this one, with underlying issues of rage and abuse, it might have been just the thing to trigger an eruption of the inner wound into the world in which we all live.
I really liked your reading on this young man’s chart. I think it was well written and made a lot of astrological sense. Intense times, indeed. Thanks for posting.
Thanks so much for the post, I re-read your earlier post of the intensity coming our way and boy were you right! One or the things I’ve learned from your posts is a better understanding of how people come to the our attention as teachers to be a mirror for our collective leasons. Recent examples; of course this horrible shooting and the Tryvan Martin/George Zimmerman tragedy.
Excellent analysis of this very tragic young man. Given his Sagittarius placements I’d say he probably felt he was justified in what he did to make a point . . . and Mars conj Pluto in Scorp provided the means.
And Colorado still has lax gun laws . . .
A natal chart doesn’t work if this person were mind controlled. As in the case of men who enter war and kill, they are conditioned(mind) through training to do so. Don’t think we can carte blanche say that someone who kills has emotional problems as causative, though our culture loves to ascribe it as such. As far as gun laws, spoons don’t cause obesity…
This case illustrates the shadow side of Uranus square Pluto as it reflects a sudden outburst of violence in mass murder. When Uranus and Pluto were conjunct in July of 1966 Richard Speck murdered 8 nurses in Chicago and two weeks later Charles Whitman murdered 16 people and wounded 32 others from the bell tower at University of Texas at Austin. Our national karma of Mars square Neptune is highlighted here, i.e. the addiction to a delusional glorification of violence, male impotency issues giving rise to fears of victimization – and passive aggressive behavior that results in the victimization of others whether in a high school, a shopping mall or the whole of a sovereign middle east nation.
Facts, woman:
– 12, not 15, people have been killed.
– He was not a neuroscientist, he was STUDYING neuroscience and recently withdrew due to academic issues.
– He was technically not in a Joker costume, he was wearing clothing to protect himself from the potential victim having a gun and shooting back. Also, the Joker’s hair is green, he had dyed his red.
– Because you don’t have a birth time, the Moon’s position is highly questionable because it moves so much in one day, so you can’t really use it in interpretation.
Please make sure this comment gets posted so that others can see that you do not fact-check and that the quality of your actual astrological reading is in question as well.
@Herp Derp the moon was in Virgo that entire day, so with all due respect, don’t cast that first stone until you’ve checked the ephemeris yourself.
I have to agree with cimbalock. The only relevant claim in Herp Derp’s diatribe is put down handily. Herp Derp, I speak for myself when I say that reasoned comments are welcome here. However, it appears that you are angry and upset about something and you have chosen to focus on facts with which you attempt negate the initial posting. The facts you site may well be facts, but do not impugn the basic thrust of Lynn’s evaluation. The number of people killed, the status of the killer’s involvement with neuroscience and the color of his hair have absolutely no relevance to the basic observations made in the reading. Your comments make no substantive contribution to a dialogue. Your tone and salutation “Facts, woman” are clearly intended to judge, criticize and condemn. And your final paragraph speaks volumes about your own deeply seated distrust of others and fear of being silenced and victimized. I speak for myself when I say that while I empathize with your state of mind, your bullying behavior and vitriolic language are not welcome. This blog has long been a safe haven for those with common interests to explore the greater meaning of personal and societal concerns – not a forum for criticism and judgment. If you know anything about astrology and have any capacity for self-reflection you might realize that this week’s Mars-Uranus-Pluto alignment has activated your own aggressive behavior. Please refrain from “taking shots and sniping” in this blog. Find a more constructive way to process. Good luck to you.
Thanks Adam and Cimba – I took the number of those killed from an early news report which was corrected later, and I didn’t change the post. I take full responsibility for that, although it doesn’t change the astrology.
Some people have a tendency to be angry anyway, and this intense last week with Mars setting off the Uranus/Pluto square has triggered that impulse in lots of people. It’s ironic that this commenter exemplifies this impulse which is exactly what I refer to in the article.
Everyone is entitled to their opinion, but the astrology speaks for itself.
Well said, Lynn.
It’s a tragic and tough time, certainly hitting lots of buttons for people. But intelligent discussion, whether in agreement or not, is rarely furthered by snark.
Thank you Lynn. I jotted down his birthdate when I heard it, wondering what his chart explained. Your post answers that for me.
One wonders if he was troubled before he was even born – is he carrying lifetimes of rage and sickness?
It has been an INTENSE week. Lot of deaths, too. My emotions have been heavy at times. Even drivers have been a bit crazy in traffic, have you noticed? It’s nice knowing “This, too, shall pass.” It always does! :))
what about the two yods that cross each other at the first and now, this last week of the month? I noticed that in your monthly report you didn’t mention them at all. do you think that yods are not important(honest question, not being argumentative)
as for the angry unfortunate above, I believe he proves you point about the free floating anger and fear that tempts us all to lose our humanity. keep up the good work!
Do you mean kites Cayce? I’m not seeing yods but I do see kites during the periods you mention. Please clarify. But to answer your question, there is an unlimited amount of data I could include in the monthly report, but then no one would read it. So I report on the most significant astrological events and try to keep it from being too confusing for my readers. My target audience is not necessarily professional astrologers, although I am fortunate to count professional astrologers in my readership. But my real mission is to educate the public and in order to do this I have to keep the content readable. So unless I think a yod is particularly important, I don’t generally use them in the monthly reports.
An excellent analysis as always dear Lynn!
I would personally insist on the Holmes’ Sun – Moon square. As I wrote in a relative article: “The square aspect between the “Luminaries” (Sun and Moon) is considered one of the heaviest aspects in a chart – because it somehow blocks the energies that should be flawing unhindered in the individual and it causes a clash between the conscious and subconsious layers of him/herself! Under this aspect a sort of “rupture” may manifest within the invidual, a rupture between his core personality and his “psyche” (his inner “Universe” of feelings and states of mind)! And this might ultimately breed a profound sense of alienation in him!
I also noticed that Holmes’ chart bears many similarities to the Norwegian’s Andres Breivik chart (who in 2011 killed 77 people in a single ride): a common Virgo Moon, a Moon Saturn harsh aspect, too much Uranian energy (Breivik is an Aquarius), a Mars – Pluto contact.
Thomas Gazis
Interesting comparison to Andres Brevik, Thomas. Interesting that Breivik’s Mars/Pluto is a harmonious trine where Holmes’ Mars/Pluto is the conjunction. The trine makes it easier to commit the act: Mars/Pluto is likely to have more conflict about it. Both charts have a strong Jupiter as well; it’s Jupiter that provides the confidence for the grand gesture. Breivik has Jupiter square Chiron which is part of a Grand Trine, adding to his desire to save the world which in his perverted view he purported to be doing. Holmes’s Jupiter trines his Sag Sun/Saturn conjunction, likely giving him bursts of self-aggrandizement which were then countered by the Saturn/Sun pressure to toe the line.
Thanks Lynn – it is really nice to see an astrologer post something that is not judgemental and is adressing the astrology is a responsible way. It shows some respect for a troubled person who we know absolutely nothing about.
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