By: Damiel Giamario
Famous figures and important events offer astrologers an irresistible opportunity to find meaning in the chart. But it also raises important questions about our own biases and projections that we need to keep in mind. As Damiel Giamario notes below, millions have “Saturn complexes” but do not show such an extreme response as we suspect occurred with Andrea Lubitz, the pilot who crashed a commercial airplane into a mountain side in the French Alps.
We cannot escape projecting our own biases into a chart analysis. This is especially easy to do when we use public figures and proceed to analyze their chart. How often do our interpretations say more about us than about the person whose chart we are reading?
–Editor
I am offering some preliminary considerations on the astrology of Andreas Lubitz, from the perspective of the Shamanic Astrology paradigm. We now know that Lubitz was born December 18, 1987 in Montabaur, Germany. Since we do not know his birth time yet, it will be interesting to test out these speculations as new information emerges.
Here are the most important factors on his natal chart as I see them:
- Mercury conjunct Saturn less than 1 degree apart in Sagittarius.
- Saturn conjunct the Sun less than 2 degrees apart in Sagittarius.
- Sun conjunct Uranus less than 1 degree apart in Sagittarius.
- Chiron opposing Sun-Saturn-Uranus stellium within a few degrees.
- Mars conjunct Pluto within 5 degrees in Scorpio.
This natal chart has a really strong Saturnine, Plutonian, and Uranian flavor. Additionally, Germany is a strongly Saturnine culture. With Mars in Scorpio (conjunct Pluto), and the extreme likelihood that he has a late Scorpio Moon (unless he was born after 8 pm and then he would have an early Sagittarius Moon), the repressed and hidden nature of his Scorpionic masculine expression, from his lineage, and most definitely from his current life masculine Scorpio intent, is clearly evident here.
I would say that the overwhelming Saturn complex (from family and culture), would have pretty much obliterated a healthy connection to authentic Scorpio. It is likely it was sublimated into his running discipline and capacity for long flights, both in jet aircraft and gliders.
Mainstream astrology certainly knows how an exact Saturn to Mercury, as well as Saturn conjunct the Sun, can easily translate into a “depression” experience. Anyone with these really large allotments of Saturn, like Lubitz, ultimately have depression as an aspect of the medicine they carry. We will revisit the depression issue later. Without question, you will have also noticed that Chiron at almost 26 Gemini is almost exactly opposing the Saturn-Sun-Uranus stellium, clearly locating what the “sacred wound”, and potentially his medicine was
The Cycles
When Lubitz turned 27 last December 18, he experienced his Metonic Moon return (the periodic reoccurrence of his Sun-Moon angle at his birthday). This opened the Nodal Reversal initiatory window that lasts until the exact Nodal Reversal degrees occur. Lubitz’s North Node was 28 Pisces 05, and the transiting North Node reaches those nodal axis degrees December 1, 2015.
He was well into his Nodal Reversal initiatory window that includes the progressed Lunar Return to the natal Moon that is a generational cycle that occurs at 27.3 years. This time frame is extremely important and is part of a well-known phenomenon called the “27 Club” because it is connected to so many well-known musicians and artists that chose some form of suicide at age 27.
The age 27 decisions are often one of life’s greatest turning points. Either a person aligns with current life purpose, through facing honestly their limitations and boundaries, and hence change course and change the game, or they hit the very hard wall of these limitations. If the person feels that they cannot really change, or that their conditions are impossible, they often give up.
The recent solar eclipse at 29 Pisces 27 is likely to have exacerbated the situation for him. If and when his birth time becomes known, we could get additional clarity regarding his lineage storyline compared with his current life purpose story line.
Major Saturn Transit
If Lubitz was born any time after 2 pm, he was in a major Saturn transit to his Moon. This is one reason I suspect a birth time between 6 to 8 pm. Considering the aforementioned implications of his original Saturn complexes, a Saturn conjunction to the Moon could easily maximize the experience of the boundaries, limitations, and judgments directed at a repressed Scorpio Moon. And even a Sagittarius Moon, with its lineage experience of freedom, spaciousness, and vision, would feel heavily weighted down by such a transit.
What we now know is that he had vision problems, and had learned he could never be promoted to a full captain. If his Moon was anywhere from 26 Scorpio to early degrees of Sagittarius he was in a major 9-month Saturn initiation cycle to his Moon.
One additional speculation:
I am suspecting a Leo ascendant, meaning he would then have his Mars-Pluto conjunction in Scorpio squaring that Leo ascendant. Much about the action of a murder/suicide has me thinking of what an immature version of Leo rising could possibly do when finally instigated (after so much repression), by the acting out of Mars conjunct Pluto.
Ultimately this would be a narcissistic and childish action prompted by perhaps an unconscious desire to seek attention. I am reminded of our previous president Bush the younger, taking many actions that reflected a very childish and immature Leo ascendant. Think “shock and awe.”
The Leo ascendant on his natal chart occurs after 7 pm, and Pluto closes in on a square to a Leo ascendant later in that hour. Also at around 7:30 pm, he would have a natal Aries Midheaven in the degrees of the Pluto-Uranus square.
From what is currently known of Lubitz, he had a major career obsession, far outweighing his personal relationship life. Although, what was happening around that could have also been a deeply repressed factor with few, if any outlets, for processing and expressing his feelings.
Final thoughts about “depression”
I am very concerned that actions like these taken by Lubitz, and in other cases of workplace murder/suicide that are so often in the news these days, will further stigmatize depression. We must remember that murder/suicides are extremely rare. And I am highly suspicious of the all too quick and pat diagnosis of depression as an illness to be treated by drugs.
Also we must not use astrology to be any kind of determinant, as some cause and effect certainty. Many, many people have really strong Saturn complexes (including myself), and it’s unwise to jump to the conclusion that someone with these configurations (including Pluto and Uranus) is a likely candidate to commit murder/suicide.
Lastly, the issue that will most likely come up is in regard to the use of antidepressants. For someone like Lubitz, with a highly repressed Scorpio configuration, the use of antidepressants, known for suppressing emotions, would have been the last thing this guy would have needed.
The real lesson here from a Shamanic Astrology perspective is there is tremendous need in our culture for authentic and healthy Scorpio training, that allows for the expression of passion and deep feeling, without the judgment and suppression of a tyrannical Saturn superego.
Daniel Giamario is the founder of the Shamanic Astrology paradigm and co-founder of the Shamanic Astrology Mystery School.
