Considering the astrological factors behind the terrorist attack of September 11, 2001, I note first numerologically:
9-11-2001 9 + 11 + 2001 = 2021 9/11/2001 = 9 + 11 + 3 = 23 = 5 5 x 360 = 1800 2021 - 1800 = 221 221 = 11 degrees Libra, 0 minutes
The Chandra symbol for this astrological degree is "Tea leaves form a pentagram." In his book Inside Degrees: Developing Your Soul Biography Using the Chandra Symbols, Ellias Lonsdale writes of this symbol: "Destiny opens to enter upon fresh directions. A child of destiny, offered by spirit's protection and guidance, encouragement and empowerment. We, the children of the world, at this time have a distinctive quality of being marked out for destiny -- acceleration beyond what is. The start of something big. We are granted permission to make mistakes, make a fool of ourselves, and still come up as the one everybody knows can and will do astounding things, just because down the road somebody is calling us onward, who cannot be refused."
Using sidereal placements in a Koch house system, the chart erected for September 11, 2001, at 8:45 a.m. contains an opposition between Saturn and Pluto in the ninth and third houses, as shown in Figure 1. The Sun creates a T-square to this opposition from the twelfth house -- the house of hidden enemies. The Sun brings exposure. In the T-square, the opposition holds tension; the squaring body, the Sun, is the point of release.
In this chart, Saturn is the al Qaeda, the terrorist organization headed by Osama bin Laden, which U.S. investigators have found evidence is behind the attacks. Saturn stands for the al Qaeda because it is the planet in the ninth house, of foreign affairs. Saturn is the oppressor; he also tests and teaches. He is Father Time.
Pluto, who is the United States, is in the third house, the house of allies. United States is an ally to the Middle Eastern countries Israel, Egypt and Jordan. The god Hades (Pluto) wears a mask of invisibility in the world of conscious man. The United States was invisible in the ongoing conflict between Israel and al Qaeda; we weren't actually in there fighting but rather supplying people with arms. Saturn uncloaked the invisible Pluto, revealing his involvement, and the Sun revealed the hidden enemies, al Qaeda.
More profound is what the Sabian and Chandra symbols say about these placements. Saturn falls at 20 degrees Taurus in this chart. "Wisps of wing like clouds streaming across the sky" is the Sabian symbol of 20 Taurus, according to Dane Rudhyar's An Astrological Mandala: The Cycle of Transformations and Its 360 Symbolic Phases. Australian authors L. and R. Hill interpret this as "Driven forward, almost out of control... placing too much importance on the fast movement of the issue at hand," in their self-published book The Sabian Symbols as an Oracle.
Pluto appears at 18 degrees Scorpio in this chart. Lonsdale notes the Chandra symbol: "People holding hands around a table. One candle is burning in the middle of the table." He interprets this as "Intimate depths of camaraderie. Forces joined by spirit. Encountering shadows and dissipation so thunderous and multiplex that it will take everything it has inside to see this one through."
The Sun stands here at 25 degrees Leo. Its Sabian symbol according to Rudhyar is "A large camel is seen crossing a vast and forbidding desert.... The camel here represents a living organism that is able to sustain itself independently of its environment at the start of a trying journey. The organism carries within itself what is absolutely needed for survival."
To see the background for this journey, we need to look into the past. Oppositions are manifestations of something that started during the conjunction of the planets involved. On November 7, 1982, from 6:35 p.m. till 9:50 p.m. Eastern Standard Time, as shown in Figure 2, Saturn and Pluto formed the conjunction of which the September 11 opposition is the manifestation. In New York City, this conjunction began in the fifth house of creative expression but later moved to the fourth house of home.
This conjunction was also involved in a greater configuration, a Yod, also called the Finger of God, with Neptune and Chiron. The Finger of God points us in new directions. The opposition is an angle of 180 degrees, whereas the Yod pushes us over another 30 degrees, saying, "No, not a polarity; move over to the left a little; move over to the right; it's time to create something new."
The Saturn-Pluto conjunction arose at 3 degrees Libra, 6 minutes. For 4 degrees Libra, the Sabian symbol is "A group around a campfire," according to the Hills. They interpret this symbol so: "Being with others of similar feelings and shared beliefs. A common focus that opens to creative and receptive potentials."
Neptune in that chart fell at 0 degrees Sagittarius, 49 minutes. The Sabian symbol for the first degree of Sagittarius is "A grand army of the Republic campfire," according to the Hills: "A reunion can ignite old feelings of camaraderie and great passions. In going over `old battles' you may find the clues for current ones."
Chiron in that chart appeared at 1 degree Taurus, 13 minutes, and was retrograde. Because Chiron was retrograde, we go back to the Sabian symbol for 1 Taurus, which Rudhyar gives as "A clear mountain stream." He interprets it so: "The mountain stream is conditioned by the nature of the soil and by all the forces which in the past have formed the mountain's rock strata: that is to say, by past history. Yet out of this past a new, pure release of potentiality has emerged. It is ready to perform whatever work its dharma is to accomplish."
Notice that the foundation of the Yod, Saturn, Pluto and Neptune, are all in camps. Isn't that so like our dealings with the Middle East? At the apex of the Yod appears Chiron, the wounded centaur healer, telling us that while the path of our healing has been well-worn, routed out by our history, we are ready for something different.
Returning to the horoscope dated September 11 at 8:45 a.m., in this chart we also find a kite, which is a grand trine combined with an opposition. The September 11 grand trine was between Mercury, Saturn and Uranus. Kites are about births. The grand trine is much like the womb, containing the energy, forming something within. The opposition that occurs in a kite, here Venus opposing Uranus, is the backbone of the kite. This is the birth canal. The point of this birth will form a sextile to the remaining trining bodies (Mercury, Saturn), who act as midwives. (Figure 3 shows these aspects.) Here, Uranus retrograde is the one giving birth, and Venus is the one being birthed.
Uranus retrograde lies at 27 degrees Capricorn, 5 minutes. Rudhyar gives the Sabian symbol of 27 Capricorn as: "Pilgrims climbing steps leading to a mountain shrine." Rudhyar interprets this as "The ascent of the individualized consciousness to the highest realizations reached by the spiritual leaders of its culture. It is man's supreme task to rise like fire, impelled by a vision he shares with his companions, and not descend like water, flowing down toward a lower level of intensity."
Venus, being born at 23 degrees Cancer, 38 minutes, can be read as 24 Cancer, whose Sabian symbol is "A woman and two men cast away on a small island of the South Seas." Rudhyar reads this so: "The woman and two men represent the threefold aspect of the human personality: spiritual, emotional and mental. `South' always refers symbolically to the strong and passionate impulses of human nature. Somehow the threefold consciousness has to develop a harmonious and well-integrated way of life."
Mercury and Saturn act as midwives. Mercury falls at 19 degrees Virgo, 32 minutes, so can be read as 20 Virgo. Its Sabian symbol: "An automobile caravan.... Time to move on to new thoughts, a new way of doing things, possibly even on to a new way of life," according to the Hills. Saturn, as we saw before, has the Sabian symbol "Wisps of clouds, like wings, are streaming across the sky." Saturn paired with Mercury propels us to do things differently, take new steps in new directions and let ourselves get carried off into a new arena. So the midwives advise the newly born Venus, striving to create a harmonious way of life. We must look in new places for harmony now.
So far in the chart of September 11, we have looked at the T-square, showing the day's tensions, and the kite, showing it is time to birth something new into our realities. Now, we can turn to the Yod found in the September 11 chart between Pluto, Neptune and Jupiter (see Figure 4), showing the new direction in which the events of that day point us.
In this Yod, Pluto aligns with Jupiter, instead of Saturn. This placement tells us to unite with the expansive benefactor, instead of the limiting judge. Pluto works together with Neptune retrograde, which lies at 11 degrees Capricorn, 35 minutes, moving back to 11 Capricorn. The Sabian symbol for this degree is "A large group of pheasants on a private lawn.... The refinement and propagation of aristocratic values by means of which man participates in the evolution of life toward ever more perfect forms of existence. Wilderness is turned into the gardens of an aristocracy having the leisure, taste and money to produce or encourage the creation of beautiful forms. This is what the social process produces in its highest aspect." Again, we are being instructed to evolve into more socially appropriate beings.
Another insight to 11 Capricorn comes from the Chandra symbol for this degree, which Lonsdale describes: "A young boy joyously kisses a fat old lady.... Polarities go against each other in order to find each other again. When they are busy going against each other, they pull us apart. The experience is so intense and traumatic that we learn to bring the polarities back together any way we can. We are walking a collective karmic edge between the old and the new, in which both must be honored appropriately." In our evolution, with all its painful aspects, we must work carefully to honor both past and future.
Pluto and Neptune are working together in unison, creating a more refined reality. Together these forces turn from Saturn and look to Jupiter, the apex of the Yod, which lies at 16 degrees Gemini, 50 minutes, advancing to 17 Gemini. The Sabian symbol for this degree, according to the Hills, is "The head of a youth changes into that of a mature thinker.... Growing up and seeing one's mindset changing and growing. Time to stop `tearing around'--a time to get more serious about life and its ramifications. Going from thinking with the lower emotional nature to thinking with the higher mind."
The Sabian symbol for 17 Gemini thus speaks about the difference between youth and maturity. The terrorists were young men, mostly between the ages of 19 and 23. Their actions were so like young men's, testosterone racing through their blood, not thinking straight, quick to fight. Also, the United States is a young country; maybe through this passage we are moving toward maturity. As we age, perhaps we're not so quick to react, instead thinking things out, looking for new solutions to old problems... problems involving boundaries.
The last major aspect occurring on September 11, 2001, was a mystic rectangle. The mystic rectangle is two half kites put together, making all four points places of birth, as shown in Figure 5. A mystic rectangle looks like a letter, containing a message. And in many ways it is.
This particular mystic rectangle divides as follows. There are two oppositions: Venus at 23 degrees Cancer, 38 minutes, opposes Uranus at 27 degrees Capricorn, 5 minutes; and Saturn at 20 degrees Taurus opposes Chiron at 28 degrees Scorpio, 17 minutes. We find also two trines, Venus to Chiron and Saturn to Uranus. Lastly, there are two sextiles, Venus to Saturn and Chiron to Uranus.
The only element in this configuration whose symbolism we haven't reviewed is Chiron, the centaur healer. Its Sabian symbol, from Rudhyar: "An Indian squaw pleading to the chief for the lives of her children.... Love as a principle of redemption. Here the soul is presented as a mother whose sons have become disruptive forces in the collective life of the tribe. She seeks to counteract the karma of their misdeeds through her love and implorations. In a religious sense, the Mother Goddess is seen as the Mediatrix, in constant acts of intercession for the sake of waylaid individuals." Chiron speaks for himself in this position. With Venus trying to create harmony on three levels, Uranus aspiring like fire to reach a high spiritual level and Saturn like wing-clouds driven nearly out of control, overfocusing on the task at hand, we need a mediatrix to help balance the striving, driving energies.
At 9:38 a.m. on September 11, 2001, a second attack occurred, this one at the Pentagon. The aspects were the same as in the chart described earlier, with only a couple of planetary bodies having moved two or three minutes. The difference is found in the houses to which these aspects relocated, as shown in Figure 6.
The T-square changes from the first chart in that now our hidden enemies have come out of the twelfth house's seclusion and are in the eleventh house, of groups... cells. The opposition between Saturn and Pluto has moved out of the ninth house of foreign affairs and the third house of allies to the eighth and second houses, showing that this is a conflict of values, personal and social.
Venus' balance of the threefoldness of our being (emotions, spirit, and mentality) has moved from a group level, the eleventh house, to become part of our social infrastructure, the tenth house, making this threefold balance a part of our society and our world. Pluto has moved from the third house of allies to the second house of personal values, making this a part of us, our home, our society and our world.
As shown by the third chart in Figure 6, the Yod switches in focus from national allied forces to working within the homeplace, seeing home as the entire planet itself. And Figure 6's last chart shows the mystical rectangle switching from a focus on group and political energies to a focus on uniting as one society, one country, one world and establishing new values that include new levels of maturity. From focusing on splinter groups and our peers, we grow into understanding our essential unity.
9/11/2001 = 9 + 11 + 3 = 23 = 5
Of this number, numerologist Jeanne writes in Numerology: Spiritual Light Vibrations: "There is a strong sense of adventure and change, yet at the same time there is a strong attachment to home, people and circumstances. There can be a conflict between the need of change and adventure and the security of the known."
The issues of the Middle East go way beyond the Islamic and Israeli fight for territory. Various people in this world have been at war since time began. War comes from a place of fear. Fear causes people to hoard; hoarding causes some people to be rich while others experience poverty. Hoarding comes from a belief that there isn't enough to go around.
Gregg Braden makes some interesting points on these matters in his book Isaac Effect: Decoding the Lost Science of Prayer and Prophecy. He talks about the Christian concept of the second coming of Christ being about recognizing Christ within, and the ascension of Christ being our own ascension into higher states of consciousness. Braden speaks about this ascension coming from the vibration of love and how that vibration is of a higher frequency and signals our DNA to reconstruct itself. Braden also goes into the hundredth monkey effect: A certain number of people are needed to raise the consciousness of the masses. Those of us who are of higher consciousness, who understand the concept of peace and love, compassion and unity, need to teach these concepts and spread this love around. When we reach a critical mass where enough people are able to embrace love instead of war, this consciousness will enter the entire human psyche through the collective consciousness of humans.
It's time we work our magick on the world and universe at large. We must strive to reach that critical mass, reach the hundredth monkey and change the consciousness of this planet to embrace love instead of war, unity instead of separateness. It's time to dream a different dream. Looking at September 11's T-square, kite and mystic rectangle, the time asks for change. Like the camel, we can be self-sufficient in our journey, and our camaraderie will help see us through, but Saturn warns we may almost be driven past our endurance. Despite these tests, the Divine Feminine mediates the release of energies, and the time asks that we strive for harmony and a higher spirituality.
The United States' medicine is the eagle... she who soars above it all, seeing the whole picture as well as the details. She is able to ride the currents, accessing the air-streams to serve her purpose. She does not waste energy. She only dips down into the world of earthly matters when she is sure of her target and her success. It's time to embrace Eagle medicine and rise above it all.
We live in a world of polarity where we define things as good/evil and white/black because we choose to participate in this polarity. We can choose differently and stop defining things as separate and opposite. It is a choice. We can change our reality.
We have now entered the period the Christians call the second coming of Christ, the Jews call the coming of their messiah, the astrologers call the New Age, the New Agers call rising to the forth dimension and the Mayans call the sixth sun. It's here, it's now, and it's our reality to grasp. Each one of us who has incarnated at this time is a part of this phenomenon, be it an al Qaeda (who acts as a messiah of his own, a Satan, an adversary, like a dog on our heels telling us to get moving toward the ascension), one of the fallen Americans (whose sacrifice has helped deliver this message that the time is now), a warring soldier (protecting the innocent) or a peacenik. The ascension begins with resolving the conflicts that reside within. When we find this internal peace, we will see it manifest in our external reality.
Donna M. Pinkston, who has a BA in psychology and a MA in counseling from the University of South Florida, is a sidereal astrologer and numerologist. She offers astrology, Tarot and numerology readings, as well as shamanic journeying to tap into animal medicines and cultural affinities. She can be reached at pinkstondm@juno.com.
