Alex's Asteroid Astrology

On June 9, 2023, 39-year-old Mark Anthony Batista, a New York firefighter and EMT with Brooklyn Engine Company 226, drowned at the Jersey shore while trying to rescue his daughter, who had become trapped in a rip current.  Batista was unsuccessful, losing his own life in the attempt; his daughter was rescued by first responders called to the scene at 8:30 AM, and his body was discovered and retrieved about 10:00.  A 15-year veteran of the FDNY, Batista is survived by his eleven-year-old daughter, his wife and two stepsons.  The tragedy occurred at Sylvania Beach in Avon-by-the-Sea, NJ.

Batista’s birth date was unavailable, but setting a chart for the 911 call at 8:30 AM EDT on 9 June 2023 in Avon shows the circumstance in stark detail.  Judging by the obituary, Batista used his middle name of Anthony among family, but coworkers commenting on the tragedy referred to him as Mark.  Both have PNA (Personal-Named Asteroid) referents, Marc 71445 and Marcus 369088 for Mark, Antonia 272 for Anthony (feminine version), with Battisti 9115 for Batista.

The time yields 28 Cancer Rising, closely squared by asteroid Atropos 273 at 29 Aries, named for the mythic Greek Fate who severs the thread of life at death.   Setting on the 28 Capricorn Descendant is Pluto, modern lord of death, at 0 Aquarius.  Pluto exactly squares asteroid Antonia at 0 Scorpio, and forms a T-Square with Atropos conjoined Jupiter at 5 Taurus; a Grand Cross is created by Venus at 3 Leo on the Ascendant.  Jupiter brings fame and celebrity, albeit for negative reasons in this case; Venus may be taken to represent the loved one he attempted to save.

The 13 Aries MC is conjoined by asteroid Lachesis 120 at 17 Aries, named for Atropos’ sister, who determines the span of life, so both members of this Hellenistic death-dealing duo are emphasized in the moment.

Further death indicators include asteroid Anubis 1912 at 24 Scorpio (named for the ancient Egyptian deity ruling funerary rites), conjoined asteroid Sylvania 519 at 19 Scorpio, for the Sylvania Beach location of the drowning.  This pair forms a T-Square with an opposition to Uranus, asteroid Marcus, and Mercury, at 20, 24 and 27 Taurus respectively, with asteroid Battisti at 28 Leo on the fulcrum.  Uranus indicates that the death (Anubis) was sudden and unexpected; Marcus and Battista specify who has died; Mercury suggests the involvement of a child or youth in the story and makes it newsworthy.   The Moon at 1 Pisces with Damocles at 3 Pisces completes an out-of-Sign Grand Cross, with the Moon representing the sea and family members, and Damocles that doom hanging unseen overhead, about to descend. 

More startling still, we see an exact conjunction of Neptune, ruling drowning and rescues, with asteroid Marc, both at 27 Pisces, also conjoined asteroid Fireman 4231 at 26 Pisces, opposing asteroid Osiris 1923, named for the ancient Egyptian god of the dead, at 27 Virgo.  This one pattern really encapsulates the entire story.

Echoes of the tragedy can be seen in a Saturn/asteroid Karma 3811 pairing at 7 and 10 Pisces, opposed asteroid Child 4850 at 12 Pisces, forming a Grand Cross with asteroids Nemesis 128 at 10 Gemini and Requiem 2254 at 13 Sagittarius, named for the funeral mass for the dead.  This depicts a fated (Karma) death (Saturn, Requiem) bringing self-created undoing or ruin (Nemesis), involving a minor (Child).

Jupiter also lies on the fulcrum of a T-Square with an exact opposition from Mars at 11 Leo to asteroid Icarus 1566 at 11 Aquarius.  Jupiter again brings notice and attention on a wide scale; Mars rules firefighters and Icarus represents rash, reckless actions, such as diving into a rip current.  Asteroid Rip 7711 is often useful as a death indicator, in the form of the acronym RIP, “Rest In Peace”, a common tombstone inscription, but here it also serves as a marker for the deadly rip current that took Batista’s life.  Asteroid Rip at 2 Libra squares asteroid Ophelia 171 at 3 Capricorn, named for the tragic Shakespearean character from “Hamlet” who goes insane and drowns herself in a river.

Asteroid Leani 96623, for daughter Leann, appears at 13 Cancer, exactly T-Squared the MC/IC axis at 13 Aries/Libra, denoting her pivotal role in the tragedy. Leani is also exactly semisquare Batista at 28 Leo, providing a link to her surname and her father, and also semisquare Mercury at 27 Taurus, ruling children and newsworthy events.

It’s quite astounding to see celestial patterns come into manifestation in a terrestrial setting in this way, perfectly describing the circumstance, even without reference to a birth chart.  By all accounts, Mark Anthony Batista was a caring, compassionate man, a loving husband and father, and an effective first responder, who will be sorely missed.