Dennis Nilsen continues his freakish, murderous ways. Murder #2.

Dec. 3, 1979.  A Canadian tourist, Kenneth Ockendon, was enjoying a hotel breakfast in London. He would be touring the city taking photographs.  He had finished visiting relatives and would be flying home the next day.  At noon he met another man, Dennis Nilsen, at a West End pub.  Dennis had left work early and was likewise enjoying the afternoon.  The two chatted awhile and then set off visiting the city’s famous spots to take photos.  As dusk fell they headed back to Nilesn’s flat to have a meal and then to go out drinking again.  They had become friends within that short period of time.

Following dinner at the flat it was decided that they would go out to buy liquor and beer, then return to the flat to watch TV and listen to music.  They were enjoying each other’s company.  Dennis later recounted that this was the happiest day of the year for him.  Only one thing seemed to bother him; his new friend would be leaving the next day to return to his own country.

Ockendon never did return home.  The newspapers had reports and stories which raised the question of why he didn’t return, where he was now.  He had disappeared.

t/Moon-opposite-n/Sun Return of Dec. 3, 1979

Dennis did not have a clear recollection of that night’s happenings but did remember the following days.  This gets very bizarre and may disturb some readers.  Dennis remembers that night  dragging his new friend across the floor with the cords of his ear phones.  To do so, he must have strangled his recently-acquired friend first.  This was stated as happening after midnight, technically Dec. 4th.  They must have both been quite drunk.  Dennis unwrapped the cord and put the ear phones on, made himself a drink and then listened to music with the other man laying dead on the floor.  He later stripped the body and cleaned it up.  He then placed the body in the bed and then he got into bed and fell asleep.

Let us review this Return chart which occurred on the day of the meeting and just hours before the murder.  t/Neptune-IC can indicate both the drinking that occurred that evening as well as the inability to fully remember the events.  Note n/Mercury near t/Neptune-IC; distorted memory functions.  t/Saturn-Asc. points to the harshness that seems to emerge from Nilsen when he is with others.  That may come directly from the natal Saturn-MC-Mars pattern which links Saturn’s rigorous tones with his own sense of career and self-direction which is, in turn, subject to the aggression and anger he places upon his view of the world about him.  He has always had to fight for a place in the world which has always made life difficult for him; this being his interpretation of his chart’s expression.  We might choose to link this to his feeling vulnerable as a child to the poverty and tough living conditions, and the difficulties fitting in and being accepted by others.

The following day of Dec. 4, 1979, he cleaned up the apartment, got rid of the man’s clothes, and then placed him, doubled up, in a cabinet.  In the evening he took the body out of the cabinet, dressed it, and then later placed it under the floor boards of the apartment.  Over the next two weeks he would take the body out of its hiding place, place him into an arm chair, talk and drink. Then he would wrap the body up and replace it under the floor boards.  Apparently the apartment was either built directly over the ground or over a cold cellar area as the body, according to Dennis, stayed ‘quite fresh.’  The book doesn’t, at its recounting of this particular murder, mention the final disposal of the body.  That may come later in this very complicated story.  Let us advance the Return chart one day to Dec. 4th.

This Dec. 4th chart is calculated for 12:44 AM, very close to the actual time of the murder it would seem.  Note t/Saturn exactly on the Asc. and opposite the t/Part of Fortune (PoF).  (Recall my comments on his natal Saturn-MC-Mars pattern).  How his anger and inability to cope with life is expressed seems here, now, to be subject to the whims of the moment.  t/Pluto, not angular in this chart, is conjoining the n/Ascendant — a ‘substitute’ condition.  He has now established a mode of operation in his ‘pick-up’ relationships with other young men.  So, we have all angles of the chart, both natal and transiting-cyclic, activated.  Keeping the bodies tells us that he wants to retain their company while at the same time providing his own rules of conversation and comportment.  Apparently they do not satisfy him in all the ways he would like.

If we try to rationalize the behavior or removing the body from its hiding place and playing ‘company’ with it or sleeping with it before returning it below the floor boards, we might chock that up to Venus squaring Neptune; a perverted love or fantasy.  Natal Venus squares natal Pluto; a “love for the dead” is one way to state this.   We have to remember that Dennis was very upset over his grandfathers death and also over the man who drowned behind the school.  He never quite grasped the full meaning of death when it occurred to others, or how it should impact him.  We will see this pattern of wanting to keep the dead close to him during the balance of his killing career.  We saw something similar a few years ago when I blogged about the Scottish killer Brady who looked into his victim’s eyes while they died.  He later said that he never found what he was looking for in the death’s of others.

In many cyclic charts I have noted Venus being angular at the time of death OR at the time when one falls in love.  Both situations have one similarity; life seems to suddenly be brought into balance and harmony.  In this case t/Venus is in the 4th house but it can only represent the death of another — or can it also apply to Dennis himself in some way? With n/Venus square n/Pluto Dennis seems to struggle with the concept of death or dying and how to relate to it.  With recently acquired friends whom he kills, all of the affection or Venus-qualities would largely have to be his own — projected upon the other person.  If their continuing company, after death, is satisfying to him then their death’s have less meaning.  If their death and the role they conversationally and physically provide for him is not satisfactory, then he ultimately does not find satisfactory answers in their deaths.  So, he kills again.  Does that make sense to you, the reader?

We will follow more of Nilsen’s twisted path toward reconciling his relationship to death in the following blogs.  Dave.

Dennis Nilsen; His First Murder on Dec. 30, 1978 of Stephen Holmes.

This photo is of Dennis Nilsen when he was a cook in the Army.  Following his army experience, Dennis had a number of jobs which allowed him to maintain himself with housing and a quiet single life.  One of his more successful jobs was as an Assistant Constable.  He quit this work after a year, surprising those he worked with.  He was finding it difficult to engage in such an ethical line of work with the ever increasing brutish fantasies that were becoming so big in his life.  Work as a security guard was not demanding, but it was totally boring and mind-numbing.  Having others to associate with was necessary, life with his dog alone was not sufficient.  Those he met in the local pubs providing many experiences ranging from frustrating to possibilities, but all those relationships failed to work out.  Part of his problems stemmed from his being involved in various union activities.  These union activities brought conflict and often unpleasant reactions, ending in his over-zealousness being unapprectiated.  Something had to change.

Just before New Years Eve, on Dec. 30th, he met a young man and took him home with him to his flat.  They undressed, laid down in bed, but had no sexual contact.  Dennis awoke a couple of hours later and sat, contemplating the young man sleeping in his bed.  The fear of this new ‘friend’ leaving him gripped his thoughts.  That couldn’t happen, he would not let that happen.  Solution: he climbed on top the youngster and strangled him.  There was a short struggle, but death soon came.  In the book, Killing for Company, Dennis Nilsen noted, “. . . it was the beginning of the end of my ife as I had known it.  I had started down the avenue of death and possession . . .”

Years later, after being arrested, the police asked him what had started him off on his murderous career in 1978?  Nilsen replied that he had never stopped asking himself the same question and had not yet found a reply.  His t/Moon-to-n/Sun Return chart is shown below.

The t/Moon-n/Sun in this chart is posited in the 11th house.  The book-theme states, “Contributing to joint ventures having a public benefit.  Training others, supporting creative efforts of others.  Launching or completing a financial venture.  Teamwork.  Changes in the financial structure of a career.  Seeking to include others in the community.”  This generic statement fits most of life’s likely developments but it does not fit an aberration such as choking the life out of someone.  What if we just extract words that might fit the situation: joint ventures, changes, include others.  No, that doesn’t fit well, either.  What else might we find applicable in this chart?

• t/Sun-t/Mars in the 1st house of action;  Intent to express anger, take action.
• n/Neptune in the 10th house of life direction;  Lack of clarity. (squares t/Sun).
• t/Chiron-IC, 5 Taurus, square t/Jupiter-n/Mars; Seeking to rectify a feeling of hurt and past frustrations.
• n/N.Node at Desc.;  Involvement with others.
• Note the T-square between t/Sun-t/Mars to n/N.Node square n/Neptune which wraps together the above statements.  Also note that an angular t/Mars means we have to consider the position of n/Mars-n/MC-t/Jupiter as part of the story.
• t/Mercury-t/Neptune in the 12th house, square t/Saturn and opposing n/Uranus, another T-Square but in cadent houses and mutable signs;  considering thoughts of harshness (Mercury-Saturn), impulsive thoughts of fantasy.

These seem valid but may not fully explain Nilsen’s frame of mind.  For complex charts involving intricate theme to understand subtleties of behavior, it is helpful to turn to the use of midpoints.  Astrologer Kevin Prosnik has studied criminal behavior and murder, and uses specific combinations of planets, combinations he refers to as Astromes.  I will use his work here to highlight this Return chart (not the natal chart).

• Sun=Neptune/Pluto (1d,21m);  Intent and actions reflecting criminal insanity.
• Venus=Neptune/Pluto (1d,42m);  Involvement of another as a trigger to insanity.
• Uranus-Neptune/Pluto (0d,38m);  An impulse to engage in criminal insanity.
• Mars=Sun/Pluto (1d,0m);  Passionate act to control and manipulate.
• Mars=Moon/Uranus (0d,53m); Acting to overcome fear and anxiety, to be calm.
• Jupiter=Moon/Mars (1d,26m); Letting an angry temperment gain excess.
• Chiron=Moon/Mars (0d,49m);  Hurts and humiliation of the past strongly expressed, relieving those hurts.
• N.Node=Moon/Mars (0d, 26m);  Involving others as part of relieving anger, conflict in himself.
• Ascendant=Sun/Neptune (1d56m); Feeling and constructing delusional fantasies, psychotic delusions, personality disorders.
• Ascendant=Mars/Saturn (2d,20m);  An isolated man who takes action, kills.
• Mercury=Jupiter/Pluto (0d,09m);  His mind dwells heavily on murder and sexual pleasure, dominance seeking.

The above two-planet pairing, combined with a planet that squares-opposes-conjoins-semi-squares or sesquiquadrates (135 degrees) that pairing activates these murder-oriented thoughts and actions in those who are susceptible.  The parenthesis indicate the closeness of the midpoint aspect.  The ‘bolded’ comments reflect those patterns who are less than one degree from exact, the ‘bolded-italicized’ comments reflect patterns which involve the Ascendant which is a personal point of action.

The above is plenty to give us thought and consideration.  Let us look at the Advanced chart for the date of this first of many murders.

t/Sun-t/Part of Fortune (t/PoF) are close to the Ascendant; how Dennis acts today is a combination of intent (sun) and opportunity (PoF).  The square to n/Neptune brings in vague and difficult-to-define delusions to his actions.  t/Chiron-IC continues to sensitize his struggle to deal with past or imagined hurts.  n/N.Node-Desc. brings into reality an association to help fill his fantasy.  Also, in the first house but not close to an angle, is t/Mars-t/Moon; an aspect that fuels the emotions and fails to control his actions.  This Mars-Moon pairing opposes n/Moon, increasing the emotional tensions within him.

As noted earlier, when questioned by police several years later at the time of his arrest, Dennis was unable to define these strong and complex feelings.  He was driven to act but seemed to not be able to control or strongly direct many of his actions.

Following the strangulation of the young man in his bed, Dennis Nilsen dragged onto the floor.  He took a tie from the pile of clothes on the floor, left there before they went to bed, and looped it around his victim’s neck.  The young man immediately came alive and fought for his life.  Dennis was surprised, thinking him to be dead.  The struggle took them across the floor, knocking down the coffee table.  The victim slowly went limp.  Yet, death had not yet come, breathing was still evident.  Filling a bucket with water, Dennis pulled his victim up and across a chair, his head and upper torso hanging down.  He held the other’s head under water until the bubbles stopped rising.

Dennis sat in his apartment, letting the exertions and tensions subside while having a cup of coffee.  Later he went for a walk, returned, and still had not decided what to do with the body.  The next day he made a decision.  He ripped up floor boards in his apartment, wrapped the body, and slid him under the floor.  He replaced the floor boards.  The body remained there for almost eight months.  On August 11th, 1979 he brought the body out to the garden and burnt it in a bonfire.  A tire was placed in the fire to help hide the very distinct smell of a burning body. 

Dennis Nilsen murdered a dozen-or-so men over several years.  I will not cover all of those, but will seek to highlight events and charts which show his confusion, insanity, and more dramatic events — including the unbelievable events of his final murder, discovery and arrest.  We may utilize midpoints again as a tool to dig deeper into his thoughts and actions.  It may be necessary to explore midpoints as a separate issue for the benefit of the early-studies astrologers who follow this blog site.  Dave. 

The Path To Becoming A Serial Killer

Dennis Nilsen, born Nov. 23, 1943 at 4:00 AM in Scotland, relocated to London, England.

Nilsen is one of England’s more notorious serial murders, killing and dismembering a dozen or more young men over the course of decade.  He grew up in Fraserburgh, Scotland and was a better-than-average but not outstanding student.  He found family life and his surroundings to be very limiting.  His mother had divorced his father when he was quite young.  Dennis was fond of his grandfather, but he passed away, leaving no male figures in his family.  His mother worked very hard to support himself and two siblings; still, life was very hard for the family.  He joined the Army in 1961 to escape an environment which held no promise for him.  He left the Army in 1972 with the rank of Corporal.  He took a job as an assistant Constable with the Police but quit after a year, moving through a series of low-level full and part-time jobs sufficient to pay his way through life.

Let us review his early life.  At the age of twelve he became quite moody, wandering off on his own to get away from his mother’s concerns and restraints.  He loved the town’s harbor area and the fishing boats.  He would spend hours at the sea side watching the crashing waves ebb and flow.  These activities kept him away from home where his mother and other women struggled to work and earn enough to hold the family together without the presence of his divorced father.

At a later date, an older man of the community wandered off.  Many people turned out to search for him.  Dennis and a friend found his corpse at the edge of the River Ugie behind the school.  Dennis was very upset, he was reminded of his grandfather who had been a revered figure in his early childhood.  Dennis could not comprehend the reality of death.  A short time later, at age fifteen, he left school without having had any sexual or romantic contact with girls or an established friend among the boys.  After exploring the local opportunities for work, Dennis decided to join the army.  He left town on a train in early September, 1961, headed for a new life.

As a boy soldier he was immersed into a rigid routine.  He learned to be part of a team.  The physical exercise workouts were particularly difficult for his frail frame.  With persistence he managed to graduate three years later into the regular army.  It was in these early years in the regular army that he realized his attraction to certain other young men.  He came to see himself as ‘bi-sexual’ but took great pains to hide his feelings.  Later in his army career while at the Persian Gulf area, he was given a room of his own as a perk of his job as a cook.  At this time he was able to have a young Arab boy share his bed and satisfy his sexual desires.  The balance of his army career reflected his struggles to find lovers and to deal with the emotional conflicts that were produced.  He left the army in 1972 at age 27.

He had come to recognize his homosexuality but chose to not reveal it to others he knew or worked with.  He did frequent the local pubs and associated with other young men who were gay.  For awhile, that was all that happened; he associated with them.  Then, the date came when he first murdered a man named Stephen Holmes.  Before we start to explore his murderous trail, we need to take a deep look at his natal chart to see what might have contributed to these situations.

This London-based natal chart’s MC and Asc. angles change by only 2 degrees (MC) and 3 degrees (Asc.) from the Scotland birth chart.

Our attention is first drawn to the MC and Ascendant angles; the MC is straddled by Saturn and Mars, the Ascendant angle has Jupiter three degrees above where it conjoins Chiron.  Each planet symbolizes a range of possible expressions.  While Mars-Saturn can be seen as either a disciplined (Saturn) application of effort (Mars) or as an inability (Saturn) to act decisively (Mars), it can be interpreted for a murderer as cold-blooded (Saturn) aggression (Mars).  In this chart the MC is within one degree of the midpoint between Mars and Saturn; overcoming difficulties, suffering of the soul without complaint, experiencing mourning and bereavement.

It will be fruitful for us to utilize these midpoint patterns to better understand what drove this man to kill so many others that he became acquainted with.  The use of midpoints will be explained in depth a little later in this text and in following blog postings.  First, we need to look at a few other factors in this relocated natal chart.

Just above the Ascendant, in the twelfth house we see Chiron (“K” with a circle below it) and Neptune (the trident symbol).  A few months earlier the faster moving asteroid Chiron had conjoined the slower-moving Neptune, beginning a seventy-year-plus cycle at five degrees of Libra.  Research suggests that this cycle relates to those who are sensitive to a wide range of vague social conditions which they seem to collect and associate with the pains and wounds of their own personal life.  These vague pains need some form of focus for an outlet.  Because Jupiter conjoins Chiron and also exactly squares the Moon at 18 Cancer, the Moon-Jupiter pattern becomes the focus of expression.  Moon-Jupiter patterns seek social meetings, pleasures, gains of satisfaction.  However, like all complex symbols (Moon and Jupiter), there can be two sides to consider.

1. Feelings of kindness, social conscience, an obliging and helpful nature.
2. Indifference, negligence, inner conflicts with one’s outlook on life.

These statements are derived from Ebertin’s classical standard, the Combination of Stellar Influences, which is the definitive work on midpoints.

Because Nilsen’s Ascendant is so close to Jupiter-Chiron, and Chiron-Neptune are at the start of their many-decades-long cycle, we can therefore summarize the expression of this complex pattern as “Being heavily influenced by his sensitivity to the socially downtrodden plight of young adults struggling with both hand-to-mouth existence and coping with homosexual issues in a society very intolerant of their needs and place.  Nilsen’s own life views relative to his fellow homosexuals is a mixture of needing social contact and an inability to grant them individuality and respect for their living condition.  It is only in their death that his swings from benevolence to indifference-injustice that he can identify his own conflicts and think about how he might resolve his own problems.  The square aspect to the Moon in the ninth house brings mood swings and changes in his outlook of these semi-stranger’s life conditions.  Since the ‘square’ aspect represents a conflicting challenge, it may never actually lead to a solution unless some other event or triggered pattern comes into play.

So, before we have even gotten into a standard set of comments on this natal chart, we have already painted severe complexities which will constantly color our judgment of the chart’s multiple symbols.

Note:  On my other blog site, https://greensnakeretoldblog.wordpress.com/ , I am exploring a very similar natal chart dated several weeks after Dennis Nilsens birth.  In that chart the Moon was also the focus for the Chiron-Neptune pairing, but the Moon was in opposition.  That person also joined the army but became an intelligence officer, married, and had a productive career.

Venus is late into the first house where it squares Pluto in the tenth house.  Venus-Pluto leads to compulsive love, sensual pleasure and great attraction, love fantasies, strains in one’s love-life. This is not an easy pattern, being challenging. wanting to be challenged and then finding that one is tired of the challenge.

There are no opposition patterns in this chart; oppositions tend to provide perspective and a sense of balance or a need to establish balance or moderation.   We can note the trine (120 degree) aspect that lends to an easy assimilation between the Sun and Mars and what they represent.  Sun-trine-Mars suggests an easy use of one’s masculinity and purpose.  By itself, that would be good. But, the Sun has a semi-square (45 degrees or half of a 90 degree square) aspect to Chiron.  This is as difficult to express positively as the square aspect.  How might a second-house Sun work with a twelfth-house Chiron?  One’s sense of self-esteem and confidence (Sun) has to overcome feelings of inadequacy based on his early home life (missing parent, lack of opportunity and frustration over not having a future). 

We have one more factor to consider in this brief look at the natal chart.  A few months earlier from his birth date, on July 9, 1945, there was a Solar Eclipse at 17 Cancer, very near the Moon in his natal chart.  A solar eclipse on one’s natal Moon focuses on which of two opposing energies, the Yin or Yang, the male or female, will become more important in one’s life.  The issue of integrating these two forces, of balancing ones nature, becomes a persistent factor in life. This is one more signification contributing to the homosexual inclinations for Dennis Nilsen. 

 

 

King Henry VII Solidifies The Tudor Family Succession

Henry’s plans, before he set sail for England, was to raise an army, gain some allies, defeat King Richard, and to marry Elizabeth of York.  This last step was intended to unite the houses of Lancaster and York, thereby ending the drawn-out War of the Roses.

After killing the King at the Battle of Bosworth Hill, Henry celebrated at Leicester and then proceeded to London as the conquering hero.  ‘Hero’ may be a strong word to choose given the many split loyalties among those who subservient to the Crown, no matter who was wearing it.  In any case the newly self-crowned King arrived and began the arduous task of consolidating power, taking over the treasury and receiving the nobility who had to offer their fealty as well as plead or bargain for lands and the share of the wealth that their lands generated for the King.

Following the crowning ceremony King Henry set about proposing marriage to Elizabeth of York.  This may or may not have been personally agreeable to Elizabeth but she knew that her family and the country needed peace and a resolution to this war.  It was a ‘no-brainer.’

The date of their marriage was set for January 18, 1846.  Henry had a t/Moon-to-n/Sun Return on Jan. 16, 1486.  That chart is shown below.

At the start of this blog-series a question was posed about whether the not-yet-discovered outer planets played a role in these charts for several centuries prior to their discovery.  Above, we immediately note n/Pluto exactly on the MC.  Henry’s plan for ending decades of war and of uniting the two warring families is certainly a revolutionary concept, a concept that would alter England’s future.

Fittingly, t/Moon-to-n/Sun is at the IC angle, indicating an ending and a start in a new direction.  Since n/Sun represents Henry, and Henry represents England, it would be the country that would embark on a new course.  Note t/Part of Fortune (t/PoF) in the first house squaring n/Pluto.  This course of action and what it represented was likely to be a shock to some who had built up their alliance with one house while ignoring the other house.   The weaving of palace intrigue must have been something to witness.

n/Moon was in the first house squaring the t/Moon-n/Sun position.  Uncertainty is indicated in how the populace might take this marriage.  Many in either the house of York or Lancaster must have thought this would not work out smoothly.  We can also note t/Venus-n/Venus in the 4th house, promising that the marriage would work out as planned.

The Advanced chart for the date of marriage is shown below.

In the intervening two days time little has changed.  t/Moon has moved ahead to conjoin t/Venus, bring a peaceful conclusion to this tension-filled ceremony.   t/PoF has advanced to contact t/Saturn and approach n/Saturn-t/Neptune.  The swirl of changes due to this union cemented the circumstances and reduced any possibility of unsettlement caused by disgruntled nobles.  

The outer planets have played a role in some of these charts.  Perhaps these charts pertaining to the joining of the warring families can be seen as the best example of bringing widespread social change to England.   Henry went on to rule England until his passing in 1509.   The crown passed peacefully to his son who would be known as Henry VIII.  While Henry VIII caused a lot of problems, they were limited to the family and immediate court.  The country, as a whole, remained free from the upsets of never-ending war.    Dave.

 

 

Henry Tudor Goes To London, Becomes King of England

This painting depicts King Henry later in life, past the point where he was a young and slender youth-turned-man coming out of hiding in France.   

After sending the former King Richard III’s naked body to Leicester to be displayed in public, Henry Tudor gathered his troops and marched to London.  William Stanley stood in good favor with Henry for having come to his aid in subduing the former King.  Lord Stanley had joined the battle when it was essentially over; he was probably not so well placed in Henry’s favor.  The whole battle had lasted less than two hours.

To recount that battle:  1) Henry’s small forces were at the bottom of a hill near a marshy area, while Richard III’s larger force was at the top of the hill.  2)  Richard let loose a barrage of arrows from his archers as his troops and horsemen charged down the hill.  Henry’s forces arranged themselves in a tight wedge formation.  3)  Henry forces used the shields to diminish the effect of the rain of arrows, while the wedge formation held and split the forces of Richard.  4)  Richard’s forces had to regroup, Henry forces had suffered some casualties.  In time the larger force of Richard would wear down the smaller group of Henry.  5)  Henry left the battle and went over to where William Stanley was waiting with his army.  He begged for Stanley’s help.  Richard saw this movement of Henry and realized he was isolated from his own forces.  He led a group of horsemen to surround Henry.  6)  Henry and his escort retreated into the marsh area where Richard’s horsemen were less effective.  Richard was un-horsed and then killed by spearmen of Henry.  7)  William Stanley entered the battle and the remaining forces of Richard were dispersed.

Henry entered London on Sept. 3, 1485.  Celebrations and the taking over the reigns of power occupied the following days.  His coronation as King of England needed to be planned for as a final sign of the shift in power and the lining up of allegiances.  Henry Tudors t/Moon-n/Sun Return of Oct. 26, 1485 (OS) is shown below.

Fittingly, the t/Sun is on the Ascendant;  Henry’s star-power was evident to all.  This scholarly young noble was well received.  With the two Stanley’s backing him there was no alternative to him to mount a challenge.  The t/Moon-n/Sun was located in the third house, conjoined by the t/PoF.  The theme for this position of t/Moon-n/Sun is “Alertness. . . involved with those around you. . . exchange of information.  Selling yourself . . . agreements. . .”   At the MC angle we find a tight grouping of n/Pluto-n/Uranus-n/Chiron indicating a surprisingly quick transformation fo power to rectify past injustices and hurts.  All in all, a simple and direct Return chart that sums up the period quite well.

On Oct. 30, 1485 Henry Tudor was crowned King in London, taking the title of King Henry VII.  His Advanced chart for this date is shown below.

The t/Sun remains close to the Ascendant with t/Mars catching up.  Henry remains in the lime-light.  We find t/Venus-t/Mercury-t/Saturn in the first house;  agreements, settlements of who pays how much to the crown, and formalities are represented by this grouping.  Since this grouping also conjoins n/Asc. we have to treat all these planets as conjoining the Ascendant:  t/Mars-t/Sun-t/Asc.-n/Asc.-n/Moon-t/Venus-t/Mercury-t/Saturn.  This is a major impact by the personal planets of the natal and Advanced chart.  It is truly Henry’s day.  t/Venus-squares-n/Venus near the IC angle; all is not love and roses, but business is business and a consensus will be arrived at as allegiances are put in place.  Nothing will rain on Henry’s parade on this date.

Speaking of squares, note that t/Sun squares n/Sun in the 3rd house.  For a situation such as this, the Suns in the chart can represent different leaders and opinions.  There is tension here in this ceremony to crown Henry, but that is to be expected.  t/Moon-t/PoF-t/Chiron are in the 5th house — not making major aspects to the other planets except for conjoining the n/S.Node.  Henry is feeling that this is all working out according to his plans and his faith in himself.  He seems to not feel overly beholden to others.

On this date of celebration, Henry had one more step to take in his grand plan for England.  We will address that in the next posting.

The charts for this happy occasion do not depend upon the outer planets for putting meaning into the charts.  It is all about the personal planets for Henry’s taking over as King of England.  We will have to see what happens in the next and final posting in this series. 

The King is Dead; Long Live the King

Henry fights Richard

After resting his troops, Henry advanced toward Bosworth Field at the bottom of AMbion Hill where Richard had arrayed his forces.  As Henry advanced, Richard’s archers began their work.  Henry pulled his forces into a tight wedge at the bottom of the hill.  The many shields blunted the damaging hail of arrows.  Richards horsemen and foot soldiers charged down the hill.  The wedge formation of Henry’s forces held up well against the charging forces of Richard while his horsemen attacked Richards troops from the sides.

Richard remained at the top of the hill watching the fighting.  While his attack had failed to throw Henry’s troops into disarray, their larger numbers would sooner or later wear down Henry’s army.  Henry was dismayed that neither of the Stanley’s were entering the fight to aid him.  Taking a group of bodyguards, he rode off to directly plead for their help.

Meanwhile, Richard’s mind was working hard, trying to reason why the two Stanleys were standing by with their forces and not coming to help him.  He convinced himself that they were going to turn against him.  He ordered the hostage, George Stanley, killed.  In the confusion of the battle, that order was not carried out.  However, from his vantage point he could see that Henry and his bodyguards were now isolated from the bulk of his forces.  He led a cavalry charge against Henry’s exposed position.

Henry and his small group gathered together near a marshy area.  This setting diminished the advantage of Richard’s large group of horsemen.  It was at this point that William Stanley entered the battle, bringing superior numbers against the King’s force.  Richards horse went down, and he sought to fight on foot.  Pikesmen advanced toward the King and speared him repeatedly.  Richard’s forces, upon seeing the King and his banner fall, broke ranks.  The battle was over.

Richard’s gold circlet, which he had worn on his helmut, was found and placed on Henry’s head.  Richard was the last English King to be killed in battle.  That distinction earned him the treatment of being placed over a horse’s back, naked, and carried to Leicester to be publically displayed for two days.

Henry’s t/Moon-opposite-n/Sun Return for August 18, 1485 is shown below.  This Return chart precedes the battle.

t/Venus-t/Sun is just behind the IC angle, while t/Mars is just ahead of the IC angle.  n/PoF is within two degrees of the IC.  This presence of personal planets at the IC indicates that Henry will be facing a period of deep change in his life.  The presence of t/Venus near the IC and n/Venus behind the MC angle suggests a more positive, protective nature.  The presence of t/Mars in the 4th and n/Mars in the 1st points to an assertive participating in coming events.  The placement of the n/MC deep into the 4th house tells of a fresh chapter in his life and career.

Henry’s Advanced chart for August 22, 1485, the date of the battle at Bosworth Field, is shown below.

Not much has changed in this chart over the four days since the Return chart.  The angles and the t/Sun have advanced at roughly the same pace.  We have t/Sun four degree behind the IC along with the n/Part of Fortune.  t/Mars-4th and n/Mars-1st provide a ‘doubled up’ Mars, indicating a pivotal battle and self-exertion to persevere.  If we look at the midpoint between these two Mars, we find t/Mercury-n/Pluto; an overwhelming message of change and intention to use this event to change the warring nature of the country.  (Henry would wed Elizabeth, uniting the two families and ending the War of the Roses.)   Note the t/PoF opposing Henry’s n/Sun and squaring his n/Moon.  This pattern reflects the t/Sun-n/PoF conjunction near the IC angle.  We, in effect have a ‘doubled up’ Sun-PoF pattern which shows a total shift in authority and command.

If we choose to look at King Richard III’s Advanced chart, shown below, for his death in battle, we find his n/PoF at the IC angle and his t/PoF conjoining t/Uranus in the 2nd, soon to oppose his n/Moon.  So, the signs of ‘change’ are also in his chart.  t/Saturn in the first, conjoining n/Venus and squaring t/Venus-t/Sun is far less positive than in Henry’s chart.  The placement of the n/Asc in the 12th and n/MC in the 9th gives us the sense of Richard belonging to the ‘past’.  t/Chiron opposes his n/Sun, an indication of weakness.  Still, it is not a bad chart.  One can’t help but think that better decisions and strategy on his part might have changed the outcome of this day.

So, what role do the ‘unknown-in-1485’ planets have in these historical charts.  For our purposes we are concerned with Chiron, Uranus, Neptune and Pluto.

• In Richard’s advanced chart for his death, Aug. 22, 1485, t/Moon-n/Neptune points to a dissolution of the spirit, a loss of identity.  t/Chiron opposes this pattern, maybe indicating that basic changes need to be made in his sense of history and place.  Perhaps war is not what is needed at this time.  t/Pluto-n/Mercury might be taken as a destruction of consciousness and thought or a destruction of one’s plans (to capture and kill Henry).  t/Uranus is approaching n/N.Node while n/Uranus opposes n/Moon; upsets in ones alliances or those he associates with (the Stanleys) leads to a distancing of those sympathetic to him. 
• In Henry’s Advanced chart we find t/Chiron on the n/S.Node (not able to manage everything by oneself) and opposing n/Neptune (unsure as to what choice to make or the risks involved) — (this relates to holding Stanleys son hostage in order to keep Lord Stanley out of the battle.)   t/Pluto-n/Neptune is a generation marker–Richard has to deal with overturning established thought and norms (the long generational war was weakening the country).  This can be seen as being reflected in the t/Mercury-n/Pluto pattern; giving thought to generational needs (the role of the King and the two warring families).

We can find an interpretive role for the yet-to-be-known planets in these charts.  Were they the driving force in interpretation?  Perhaps not.  It would seem that the charts conveyed a sense of dealing with the ‘here and now’ rather than the long view of what was needed for the country.  At this point the ‘middle-ages’ mentality was still in play, the renaissance period had not gotten started in northern Europe.  Columbus had yet to discover the Indies and North America.  Change was still a few generations away. 

The Final York-Lancaster Family Feud Is About To Begin

Henry Tudor had managed to slip out of the harbor in France without confronting any ships of King Richard III.  He had landed on the western coast of Wales.  There, his presence was noted and beacon fires spread the news of his arrival.  Yet, all was somewhat tranquil at first.  The relative remoteness from London gave Henry the time to establish himself and advance inland.  While many joined his force, he was not at a sufficient level of followers that would allow a good chance of defeating Richard.  He was looking for allies, particularly William Stanley and Lord Stanley, two leaders with substantial armed forces.  William Stanley had agreed to support him, Lord Stanley had made no commitment.  The t/Moon-n/Sun Return for Aug. 5, 1485 is shown below.

t/Moon-n/Sun is in the 7th, opposed by t/Venus-t/Sun-n/Pluto.  The seventh house emphasis relates to his desire for assistance.  When we see significant aspects between the t/Sun and n/Sun in these return charts we can expect that two or more strong-willed people or leaders are involved.  Henry (the 7th house Sun) and others who might help (t/Venus-t/Sun) in his forthcoming battle (n/Pluto) for control over England.   The t/N.Node-MC is emphasized by the opposition to the n/MC; a phase of Henry’s young life was beginning.  Note the n/N.Node in the 4th, a loose mirror to the t/N.Node-MC at the top of the chart — a pattern repeating the Sun-opposition pattern.   t/PoF is closing on the 7th house angle, opposing n/Jupiter just above the Asc.   Past support assurances (n/Jupiter-12th) are still not assured (t/PoF).   We might pick up on t/Sun-n/Pluto and look for t/Pluto — we find it in the fourth house of new starts and resources where it conjoins n/Neptune.  This is not a fully reassuring aspect; revolution and upheaval (Pluto) may be uncertain (Neptune).  

Henry advanced from the coast, heading for Shrewsbury, some 100 miles distant.  This gave him time to gather additional forces and to reach out to the Stanley’s for assistance.  William Stanley informed him that Richard was assembling forces near Leicester, a point halfway between Shrewsbury and London.  Lord Stanley would not be joining Henry’s force because King Richard was holding Lord Stanley’s son captive.  This situation was indicative of the many twists and turns that had been part of the intrigue between these two royal families for decades.  Let us look at an Advanced chart for Aug. 15, 1485 when Henry captured Shrewsbury.  This was not a battle of any magnitude.  What town wished to be destroyed.  The town just opened it doors for the most part.  

When examining Advanced charts we look for angular planets, the t/Sun, t/Moon, t/PoF and any doubled-up planets.   Here, the vertical axis gains our attention with t/Chiron-MC, t/Pluto-n/Neptune-n/N.Node-IC.  The uncertainty of Henry’s forces being sufficient for upsetting Richard is a focal point (t/Pluto-n/Neptune-IC).  Henry’s need for support (n/N.Node-IC) is still evident in this chart at this time.  

t/Moon opposes t/Uranus, mirroring the growing excitement of Henry’s forces as they gain confidence from the capture of Shrewsbury and the addition of new recruits.  t/PoF opposes t/Neptune and n/Saturn; the illusion of growing strength should be a concern of Henry.  He is still quite young, not yet having his first Saturn return, and without much military experience.  He was not a skilled fighter, being more of a figurehead.  

All in all, this is not a ‘high confidence’ chart for a would-be-King.  It was decided that Henry would advance his forces very slowly so as to give Lord Stanley time to think about his situation, and to see what Richard would do regarding his hostage — Lord Stanley’s son.