"A Tragic Case"

[Jim Eshelman]

In the July, 1962 issue of Spica, the noted Indian astrologer Sri Rajagopala Iyer wrote a case study based on a "letter to the editor" in a recent issue of India's leading astrology magazine. Under the title, "A Tragic Case," his discussed, in a blend of classic Hindu and modern Sidereal techniques, the horoscope of a woman who burned to death when her sari caught fire.

Born: March 1, 1932, 7:45 AM, near Colombo, Ceylon
Hospital admission with extensive burns: August 26, 1961, 5:00 AM, Trincomalee, Ceylon
Died: August 27, 1961, 4:50 PM, Trincomalee, Ceylon

The event is presumed to have occurred in Trincomalee because that's where the letter to the editor originated asking, "How could her death, due to burns, be explained on astrological grounds?"

I want to summarize how the basic sidereal charts described the event. Much of this is discussed in the article, alongside other approaches, but he didn't include all the basics (e.g, the lunar return). Students having this issue of Spica will find that the chart positions are all nearly a degree off from what I give (he used the Lahiri ayanamsa which, however, wouldn't affect anything studied) and he had the angles slightly off (probably due to more primitive calculating methods: One sometimes wonders how our predecessors made such progress in decades when the best way to calculate return charts often gave somewhat inaccurate results).

I'm especially interested in this case because it gives one example of the PSSR worth studying. We've had a lot of questions in recent years about whether the PSSR is valid at all and, if so, by what rate of calculating (mean or apparent). In this case, the Solar Quotidian (SQ) times the event splendidly, but (1) it is interesting how the SQ and PSSR Moons do a "one-two" punch that is better than either of them alone and (2) we have the chance to test the PSSR by mean vs. apparent rates.

I encourage anyone interested to calculate the natal, event chart, SSR, and SLR - and SQ or PSSR if you have the means. I'l especially give the quotidian details when we get there.

[Jim Eshelman]

En route to examining the SSR, I should mention the transits, to see how they compare to other methods.

At the time the woman was admitted to the hospital - presumably very soon after she caught fire - transits at first do not seem very supportive. There are several seem significant that are within a couple of degrees - suggesting (to the experienced Sidereal astrologer) that these were perhaps on angles of recent return charts but not exact at the time of the event itself. For example, transiting Pluto was about 3° from opposite natal Mars on one side and natal Sun on the other - near their midpoint within a few minutes, but not in reasonable orb of either planet individually. Similarly, transiting Sun was about 2° from opposite natal Mars, again not within a reasonable transit orb by itself. There are more of this type of "not quite there" aspects that seem, nonetheless, to involve right planets. (We'll see them later.)

If you have calculated the chart and are following along, you'll surely notice almost at once that transiting Mars is near her natal Descendant - but, again, too wide, being almost 3° away. We might think her birth time isn't quite right, but this is less likely in India where astrology is taken very seriously. The solution is that Mars is much closer to her local angles for Trinomalee, instead of her birth angles for Colombo. Local Descendant 10°28' Virgo is 1°03' before transiting Mars.

Sidereal Solar Return
With the SSR, we immediately see those "almost there, not quite close enough" aspects right on the angles as expected! (This is what one should immediately expect when seeing transits of the right symbolism but not quite in orb.)

It's unclear where her SSR occurred. For birthplace, her SSR had Asc 14°41' Leo, MC 16°37' Taurus. For event location the Asc is 13°02' Leo and MC 15°20' Taurus. Transiting Pluto at 12°34' Leo conjoins natal Neptune (12°43' Leo), opposes natal Sun (16°30' Aquarius) and opposes natal Mars (10°09' Aquarius). this opposition is within reasonable orb regardless of which location.

That is, the natal chart has a close Mars-Neptune opposition that Pluto transited as they all came to the SSR angles.

I haven't checked adjacent years, but these were all probably reasonably close to the angles for three or four years. Why this year in particular for the event? I suspect it is the second angular Mars. SSR Mars (8°51' Gemini) is exactly opposite natal MC (8°16' Sagittarius) and square natal Asc (8°43' Pisces). This is quite extraordinary.

Also, with the SSR we always want to look at Moon's aspects and possible progressions. SSR Moon is 5°00' Leo which, at a glance, raises the question of what will happen in five to seven months when that Moon progresses to the natal Mars-Neptune and SSR Pluto.

All of this comes just from the SSR to set up the year.

[Jim Eshelman]

Her SLR occurred August 21, four or five days before the event. It isn't as exciting, but it has a signal that something surprising and important would occur. For Trincomalee, the main features are:

2°06' Leo - t Uranus
4°14' Leo - t Sun
5°16' Taurus - SLR Asc

Perhaps this is why Sri Iyer didn't include the SLR: It doesn't show the fire as directly as other charts, though it does show something startling, perhaps exciting. We don't know how she caught fire, and those circumstances would be worth knowing: Given the hour that she was rolled into the hospital, she was perhaps out at a celebration; but we don't actually know this.

Kinetic Lunar Return
For a comparison, I want to add a look at her Kinetic Lunar Return from two days earlier, at 0:39 AM IST on August 24. With MC 14°41' Aquarius, it brought the Pluto to natal Mars-Neptune-Sun to the angles. You can set it up yourself to see the fine points.

[Jim Eshelman]

But we can actually skip over the lunar returns entirely and use only the solar return and its progressions to get the date ofthe event. With the potential of a fire (or similar Mars
or Mars-Neptune event) already vividly shown in the SSR, the Solar Quotidian (standard secondary progression of the SSR) brings Moon to oppose natal Mars - and brings them exactly to the angles! Behold for the fire:

10°09' Aqu - r Mars
10°50' Leo - SQ Moon
10°58' Sco - SQ MC

Certain transits are nearby and close, but not exact. Also, the event could have been a few days later when these came to the SQ Descendant instead of square MC, but the square to MC came first and triggered the event.

When she died almost two days later, SQ MC was 12°22' Scorpio square SSR Pluto 12°33' Leo.

The SQ gives us absolutely everything we might want... but maybe not absolutely everything that the charts are capable of delivering. Time to look at the PSSR...

[Jim Eshelman]

With the PSSR, I think we have two questions hanging in the air:
1. - Is the technique valid at all.
2. - If so, does it move at the mean solar or apparent solar rate.

This is only one example, not a final answer... but it's a particularly interesting example. What first caught my eye was that with a 2°34' natal Mars-Neptune opposition, the Neptune closely transited by Pluto at death, we find SQ Moon exactly opposite Mars and PSSR Moon exactly conjunct Neptune! If the angles look as good, this is a wondrous (in this case, horrible) one-two punch of the two Moons working in tandem. Using just "quick check" of the PSSR - mean rate, subject to better calculations in a minute - I get for her hospitalization:

10°09' Aqu - r Mars
10°50' Leo - SQ Moon
12°19' Leo - PSSR Moon
12°34' Leo - s Pluto
12°43' Leo - r Neptune

Remarkable, no? Let's calculate this more carefully and see if the angles support this idea.

PSSR: Apparent Solar Rate
This is the rate Cyril Fagan thought should be used for the PSSR. It advances the RA of Midheaven at a rate proportionate to the progress of transiting Sun, which is not a linear flow of time. The prior method and this method produce charts with angles about 3° apart. By this rate:

PSSR Moon 12°15' Leo
PSSR MC 21°10' Sagittarius
PSSR EP 23°53' Pisces
PSSR Asc 25°07' Pisces

As expected, PSSR Moon was right where we want it, 0°19' from SSR Pluto and 0°28' from natal Neptune.

The angles are not bad - not quite what I'd expect and not as forthright as the SQ, but not bad (and ultimately showing death, potentially). Compare to the angles just listed:

23°24' Pisces - r Uranus
26°23' Gemini - r Pluto
26°53' Pisces - r Venus

The Uranus is OK, the Venus would be a problem alone but, by exact square with Pluto is better: Over the next 36 hours until she died, PSSR Asc would just keep getting closer to natal Venus-Pluto. In some ways this appears too happy an occasion, but at least it has a touch of potential tragedy.

PSSR: Mean Solar Rate
This version gives us almost everything from the last version (though we lose the natal Pluto while keeping the natal Venus) - and it gives us something much more important!

PSSR Moon by this rate (12°21' Leo) is a tiny bit closer to solar Pluto and natal Neptune - not enough to fuss about. But the angles bring into play transiting Saturn and, especially, its exact square to SSR Venus. Behold!

23°24' Pis - r Uranus
24°15' Sag - PSSR MC
26°53' Pis - r Venus
27°25' Pis - PSSR EP
28°27' Pis - s Venus
28°43' Pis - PSSR Venus
28°52' Pis - PSSR Asc
29°53' Sag - t Saturn

Notice that, as the angles advanced about a degree and a half over the next 36 hours, PSSR exactly conjoined transiting Saturn and moved past it half a degree. At the time of her death, PSSR Asc by this rate was 0°58' Aries. (MC 25°59' Sag brought natal Venus-Pluto to within 1° of the angles for the death, rather than for the fire.)

If I were to go on this one example alone, I would conclude that (1) yes, the PSSR is a valid tool, and in this case worked wondrously in tandem with the SQ; and (2) the mean solar rate is the correct rate, not the apparent solar rate.

[SteveS]

Excellent analysis Jim, powerful sidereal astrology timing techniques, thanks.

[Jim Eshelman]

Steve, I thought you might be curious about the solar arcs for this cvase.

There is one, and it's a doozy: d Mars conj. r Asc +0°41`.

BTW, I didn't get deeply into secondary progressions on this, but p Moon sextile p Mars 0°06'. Soft aspect but tiny orb. Furthermore, p Mars sq. r Moon 0°10'.

[SteveS]

Jim wrote:

Steve, I thought you might be curious about the solar arcs for this case.

Indeed, great observations Jim!

Jim wrote:

There is one, and it's a doozy: d Mars conj. r Asc +0°41`.

Bingo! We see a once in lifetime Solar Arc hit with Mars with a r angle!

Jim wrote:

BTW, I didn't get deeply into secondary progressions on this, but p Moon sextile p Mars 0°06'. Soft aspect but tiny orb. Furthermore, p Mars sq. r Moon 0°10'.

Noel (RIP) stressed in his book “Solar Arcs” the importance of 0,90,180 aspects involving our p. Natal Moons and the same for planets p. to our Natal Moons, combined with other hard aspects Solar Arc hits involving our angles and lights. Noel observed many times when a major life development involved a Natal Angle--there would be partile radical Moon hits with progressed planets of the 0,90,180 or progressed radical Moon hits with progressed or radical planets.

Jim wrote about the Solar Quotidian for the day of this tragic event:

Behold for the fire:
10°09' Aqu - r Mars
10°50' Leo - SQ Moon
10°58' Sco - SQ MC

We can clearly see here the importance of Sidereal Astrology teachings involving our 4 Moons, Natal and Solar Return Moons and their progressions. This example is without a doubt the best I have ever seen involving the predictive/forecasting art of Solar Arcs combined with Sidereal Astrology teachings about the up-most importance of reading out SSRs. I have been super busy of late but hope to come back to this thread and post the really important stuff Noel had to say about Solar Arcs in a few sentences.

Here is my take on these 2 important astrological techniques, Solar Arcs and the SSR: Most of the Sidereal Astrology teachers did not know enough about the true art of Solar Arcs to combine with the art of Sidereal Astrology and the SSR, probably because computer technology had not been developed to offer us our individual rates for Solar Arcs. And the handful of Solar Arc teachers did not know or believe enough about the tremendous value of the SSR. IMO, these two systems should always be combined when looking for possible main trends during our solar years.

Great observations here Jim with your post. We can already see the value Spica articles are offering us with certain chart observations with Sidereal Astrology . Its absolutely mind boggling when we understand the Solar System at work with the above astronomical math calculating these charts.