Moon Landing (Garth Allen)

[Jim Eshelman]

I'd lost my copy of this "Many Things" column which, however, is one of the most interesting ever done. Bradley drew the Moon-landing chart selenocentrically - for the actual Moon location - right after it happened. It was pretty cool. Recovery of this, and internal notes, are from the Cavender collection. - JAE

Moon Landing
(by Garth Allen in "Many Things," American Astrology 10/69)

One cannot use any Earthly table of houses for such a purpose [chart for when human first lands on moon] inasmuch as they are purely geographical by definition, being based on the inclination of the ecliptic with respect to the equator, using the local hour angle of the vernal equinoctial point as a reference point. Because the tropical zodiac, tied irrevocably to the vernal point, does not exist away from the Earth, it is not possible in either a physical or mathematical sense to calculate a standard chart for the moment of man's first landing on the Moon's surface. One is forced to use a strictly sidereal zodiac for points in time and space off the planet Earth. A sidereal zodiac exists everywhere, being independent of artificial parameters predicated by man.

On July 20, 1969 at 20:17:40 UT as viewed from Tranquility Base at selenographic latitude 0N31, selenographic longitude 23W25, the Earth's center reckoned lunicentrically was at 13°34' of sidereal Pisces (just 180° from where the Moon appeared to be geocentrically). For this moment of the LEM's first contact with lunar soil, rough but acceptably accurate calculations show that about 14°13' of sidereal Cancer was on the Ascendant of Tranquility Base. This is remarkably appropriate since not only is Cancer ruled by the Moon itself, the degree rising is the exact "throne" or exaltation degree of Jupiter in Cancer, supposed to be the luckiest, most fortunate degree in the entire zodiac! It is also worth noting that the Moon as viewed from Earth was conjunct the "throne" or exaltation degree of Mercury in Virgo.

The Moon-landing took place on the day of the exact conjunction of Jupiter and Uranus in sidereal Virgo, so beautifully symbolizing the birth of a new era. We present here, for the record, the first extraterrestrial horoscope involving human participation; the calculations are only rough, at this early stage, but will not be altered by more than a small fraction of a degree in any of its components when refined computations are made. The chart shows planetary positions in tenths of a degree; these have been graphically corrected for parallactic displacement between the geocenter and the lunicenter. The intermediate house cusps are prime vertical divisions to the nearest whole degree, which technically makes them Campanian
although Tranquility Base is so near the lunar equator, as well as Earth's orbital plane, most other house systems will produce much these same results.

Sidereal Campanus: Landing at Tranquility Base: July 20, 1969,
20:17:40 UT; Lat 0N31' Long 23W25' (Selenographic).

MC 14°08’ Ari, 11th 14° Tau, 12th 14° Gem
ASC 14°13' Can, 2nd 14° Leo, 3rd 14° Vir

Earth 13.6° Pis, Saturn 13.8° Ari, Venus 20.6° Tau
Mercury 1.3° Can, Sun 3.5° Can, Pluto 28.7° Leo
Uranus 6.4° Vir, Jupiter 6.4° Vir, Neptune 1.7° Sco Rx, Mars 8.4° Sco

We are assuming, incidentally, that the fundamental plane of the zodiac is the Earth's orbital plane, but if it should be the invariable plane, or the nodical plane, or even the compromise galactic-nodical plane recently suggested, for all practical purposes any differences would be difficult to detect. But no matter what else might be claimed, what we on Earth call the tropical zodiac does not exist lunicentrically or anywhere else in the solar system. The reader is cautioned not to attempt reducing these sidereal positions to presumed tropical equivalents; it simply cannot be done. Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin spent more than 21 1/2 hours at a place where the tropical system cannot legitimately be calculated and has not physical or spatial existence, though of course the men carried their natal geocentric charts within themselves, so to speak. Those who think the sidereal concept is a hoax or fallacy should tell it to the astronauts!
The takeoff from Cape Kennedy, at 13:32 UT on July 16th, synchronized with the Moon in sidereal Cancer, Mercury in Gemini, Venus in Taurus, and Mars in Scorpio - a rare circumstance (all dignities) indeed which even a tyro in astrology will recognize as one of the most favorable arrays conceivable. Just as interesting is the fact that Neil Armstrong (August 5, 1930) is, like John Glenn before him, a sidereal "Moonchild." Glenn, the first American to become a satellite or "moon" himself by orbiting the Earth, and Armstrong, the first human being to set foot on the Moon itself were both born under sidereal Cancer. For those who don't have the birthdates of Buzz Aldrin and Mike Collins, these are January 20, 1930 and October 31, 1930 respectively.

Through their helmets Armstrong and Aldrin could see the lovely Earth shining in the dark lunar sky, about 30° off their meridian, against the starfield of Pisces, anciently the sign of voyaging and exploration. Aquarius was vacant (and tropically the Aquarius sector was not occupied either, for that matter) which should dispense with your suggestion that the Moon-landing marked the epoch of the Aquarian Age, though it should be pointed out that the Moon's ascending node on the ecliptic had just entered into sidereal Aquarius from the geocentric point of view.

Pondering the Earth in Pisces makes us wonder if Walt Whitman's line, "Now voyager, sail thou forth to seek and find," might have occurred to our astronauts had they not been so preoccupied with assignments. The fact that Saturn was in culmination on their apparent Midheaven certainly tells the tale in the most direct way, viz., the need for spacesuit-imprisoned human beings to carry their own life-support systems with them in order to survive and get on with the business of investigating a new world.

The arrival of man on the Moon inaugurates a whole new era in human history. All of the sciences benefit greatly from this achievement, astronomy and geology in particular, though the implication of this event, should have a stupendous and revolutionary effect upon astrology too.

[SteveS]

Very, very ! Beautiful!