Alex's Asteroid Astrology

She advised 15 Prime Ministers, interacted with 14 American presidents and 7 popes, but the long life and seventy-year reign of Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II came to a peaceful close on 8 September 2022, when the 96-year-old sovereign passed away in her sleep at her private estate of Balmoral Castle in Scotland.  Most of the United Kingdom’s population – indeed, most of the world – cannot recall a time when Elizabeth was not Queen; her reign spanned the post-World War II era to our post-Modern society, and her life saw massive technological change, from telegraphs to Twitter.

Through it all the Queen was a rock, an anchor, a lodestar, a point of national focus and international attention.  Perhaps the richest woman in the world, certainly among the most-photographed persons on the planet, Elizabeth was an icon of stability, steadfastness, propriety and honor, a self-contradictory mix of privilege and duty.  Considered staid by some, stodgy by others, time seemed to sweep over and above her, leaving her untouched in a sea of change.

But all things must end, time always wins, and the throne now passes to King Charles III, the man-who-thought-he’d-never-be-king.  We’ll be profiling the new sovereign in due course, but for now let’s pause and reflect on the life and passing of his remarkable mother.

No exact time of death has been released as of this writing, but a little online sleuthing revealed that newly-minted UK Prime Minister Liz Truss was passed a note in Commons at 4:21 PM BST, after which she and the leader of the opposition unexpectedly left the floor.  So I’ll be focusing on that as the approximate time of death, but we’ll also take a look at 5:30 PM BST, which was when the public announcement came, via the Royal Family Twitter account.

The 4:21 PM BST time yields an Ascendant in Balmoral of 7 Capricorn, with an MC of 22 Scorpio.  This squares very well with Elizabeth II’s birth chart (born 21 April 1926, 2:40 AM GDT in Mayfair, London England; Rodden Rating AA), with the Ascendant exactly opposing natal asteroid Elisabetta at 7 Cancer (one of two PNAs – Personal Named Asteroids – for Elizabeth), which thus is setting exactly on the passing chart’s Descendant, representing the West, the traditional direction of death.  The Ascendant also opposes natal asteroid Lachesis, arbiter of lifespans, at 10 Cancer, and is squared by transit asteroid Queen’s at 3 Capricorn.  The 22 Scorpio MC is even more powerful, exactly conjoining her natal asteroid Requiem, named for the funeral mass for the dead, and also within orb of natal Saturn, ancient lord of death, at 24 Scorpio and the natal MC at 25 Scorpio. 

The transit Moon at 22 Aquarius is exactly squaring the passing MC and natal Requiem, conjoined transit Saturn at 20 Aquarius and transit Damocles (the doom hanging unseen overhead) at 27 Aquarius.  Certainly the death of any 96-year-old cannot come as a great surprise, but, having been well enough to receive her newest Prime Minister just two days prior, the Queen’s passing was unexpected and well reflects Damocles’ “unseen” qualities.  The Moon is also exactly conjoined natal Jupiter, ruling royalty, and opposes transit asteroid Osiris at 18 Leo, named for the Egyptian god of the dead, as well as natal asteroid Rey (Spanish for “king”) and Neptune, at 21 and 22 Leo.  Transit Saturn is also exactly conjoined natal Mars.

The Sun at 16 Virgo is exactly opposing natal asteroid Queen’s at 16 Pisces, also opposing natal asteroid Elisabetha (the second PNA for Elizabeth) at 11 Pisces.  Elisabetha is also being squared exactly in real time by transit asteroid Atropos at 11 Sagittarius, named for the mythic Greek Fate who severs the thread of life at death.

Let’s shift gears here a moment to compare the Angular movement between the approximate time of her death and its formal, public announcement.  That came via the Royal Family Twitter account at 5:30 PM BST, which shows an Ascendant of 0 Aquarius and an MC of 8 Sagittarius.  Rising on the Ascendant now is transit asteroid Lachesis at 3 Aquarius, named for Atropos’ sister Fate, who determines the span of life; 0 Aquarius is also exactly squared Elizabeth’s natal Sun degree of 0 Taurus (which is also Charles’ natal Moon degree).  With Lachesis is transit Elisabetha at 9 Aquarius, also within orb of the Ascendant, specifying whose death is being announced.  Transit Elisabetha also conjoins natal Atropos at 13 Aquarius.

Transit Atropos at 11 Sagittarius is now cresting the 8 Sag MC, which is itself exactly squared the Queen’s natal asteroid Rip at 8 Virgo (which functions as a death indicator via the acronym “RIP”, “Rest In Peace”, a common tombstone inscription).  Natal Rip is embedded at station (it turned direct six days after her birth) and conjoined another stationary body, asteroid Scott at 9 Virgo (which turned direct 2 May 1926).  Together, these prognosticate a death (Rip) in Scotland (Scott), which is where Balmoral is located.  In fact, the chart is almost location-specific, with asteroid Balmer, closest to Balmoral, opposing Rip from 4 Pisces. (The connection between Elizabeth, death and Scotland is reiterated in the transit sky, with transit Scott at 18 Aquarius conjoined transit Elisabetha at 9 Aquarius, transit Saturn at 20 Aquarius and natal Atropos at 13 Aquarius. Meanwhile, transit Balmer at 5 Leo, conjoining asteroid Rey (Spanish for “king”) at 8 Leo, opposes Lachesis with Elisabetha at 3 and 9 Aquarius.)  Both charts fittingly highlight personal elements and death indicators in angular prominence.

To return to the passing chart, transit Rip at 7 Virgo is preparing to return to its natal place, reactivating that potential.  And it’s not travelling alone – in tow are asteroid Regina (Latin for “queen”) at 1 Virgo and Venus at 4 Virgo, suggesting the passing (Rip) of a beloved, female (both Venus) monarch (Regina). 

Death in the news that day is foretold by asteroid Anubis (named for the Egyptian deity governing funerary rites) at 9 Libra conjunct Mercury (the Press, news) at 8 Libra, squaring the 7 Capricorn Ascendant, in a T-Square with natal Elisabetta.  That it was a royal death is underscored by Anubis/Mercury opposed Jupiter, ruling royalty generally, at 6 Aries, as well as asteroids Roy (Old French for “king”) and King at 5 and 13 Aries respectively.

Transit Elisabetta at 22 Libra squares transit Pluto (modern lord of death) at 26 Capricorn, which exactly opposes transit asteroid Britten (homophone of “Britain”) at 26 Cancer.  This T-Square interacts directly with a natal one, composed of the Ascendant at 21 Capricorn, asteroid Regina at 23 Libra, and Anubis at 20 Aries.

Queen Elizabeth II’s death was heralded by a Lunar Eclipse on May 16, 2022, which at 25 Scorpio fell exactly on her MC, highlighting natal Saturn and Requiem as well.  The Solar Eclipse of April 30^th at 10 Taurus squared her natal Moon (ruling health generally) at 12 Leo, as well as natal asteroid Atropos at 13 Aquarius.  The upcoming Solar Eclipse of October 25^th at 2 Scorpio opposes her natal 0 Taurus Sun and exactly squares her progressed Sun at 2 Leo, while the upcoming Lunar Eclipse of 8 November at 16 Scorpio again squares natal Atropos and her Moon. 

I have already detailed many aspects of the Queen’s life and nativity in a prior post on her Platinum Jubilee last February, but there’s one character trait I neglected to mention.  Stoic and deadpan in public, in private Elizabeth was the family comedian, witty and ebulliently fun-loving.  She had a gift for mimicry and greatly appreciated the absurdity of things going wrong at formal affairs (provided they didn’t go too wrong, of course!), with the juxtaposition of ceremony and comedy.

That may be attributed to two key placements in her birth chart.  Asteroid Thalia, named for the Greek Muse of comedy, appears at station, having turned direct the day before her birth at 14 Virgo, sesquiquadrate her Sun.  And asteroid Hilaritas, named for the Roman goddess of cheer and mirth (and root of our word “hilarity”), falls at 8 Aries, conjunct Mercury at 4 Aries, allowing her to give voice to her comedic insights and impressions of others.  It’s a shame the public was rarely witness to this endearing side of her, but as Queen, Elizabeth likely would have found that inappropriate in most situations.

The nature of inherited monarchy is such that it is seamless:  “The Queen is dead, long live the King!”  And so the passing chart of the former sovereign becomes the accession chart of his or her successor.  The last breath of the old monarch becomes the first breath of the new reign.

Therefore, we should be able to see Charles III in the passing chart of his mother. 

And so we do.  Charlotte is the closest English language name approximating Charles, for which there is no exact asteroid match.  Asteroid Charlotte at 8 Taurus is at station, about to turn retrograde on September 10^th, the very day Charles’ accession will be formally announced.  Stations represent literal “turning points” for those associated with them, which is surely the case now for the man with perhaps the longest job apprenticeship in history.  At age 73, Charles becomes the oldest heir apparent to inherit the throne.  But his right to do so is celestially underscored by asteroid Charlotte’s conjunction with TNO Albion at 13 Taurus, a name which refers to ancient Britain, and its exact square to asteroid Rey at 8 Leo, the Spanish word for “king.”

Charles is further highlighted by asteroid Carol, a form of Carolus (Latin for Charles), which at 9 Pisces is opposed by the spotlighting Sun at 16 Virgo, T-Squared with Atropos at 11 Sagittarius.  Like all kings, Charles buys his throne with a blood price.  What he does with his inheritance, and how long he has to do so, remain for the future to reveal.

[AUTHOR’S NOTE: 9/30/22

Yesterday the Queen’s death certificate was released, listing her time of death as 3:10 PM local time. The chart data above therefore reflects the moment when her death was made “official”, by notification to the Prime Minister, as leader of the UK government of which she was head-of-state. The adjusted time yields an Ascendant of 10 Sagittarius and a Midheaven of 18 Libra.

10 Sagittarius lies at the fulcrum of a T-square with her natal Stationary Direct asteroid Rip (“RIP”) at 8 Virgo, which is opposed natal asteroids Elisabetha and Queen’s at 11 and 16 Pisces; 10 Sagittarius is also semisquare transit Pluto 26 Capricorn, modern lord of death.

18 Libra would be conjunct transit asteroid Elisabetta at 22 Libra, widely semisquare transit asteroids Regina (“queen”) and Rip at 1 and 7 Virgo; it is also opposed natal asteroid Anubis (funerary rites) at 20 Aries, sesquiquadrate natal asteroid Balmer (for Balmoral, where she died) at 4 Pisces, and square the Queen’s natal Ascendant at 21 Capricorn.]