Alex's Asteroid Astrology

Sometime during the night of September 4-5, 2024, I lost an old friend, who had been with me most of my life.  I refer not to a being of flesh and blood, but one of leaf and bark:  one half of a two-trunk birch clump in my front yard came crashing down, which had been on the property since the early ‘60s.  Although the trees had been failing since I took over the property in 2019, with large upper branches dying off and rotting out, to fall onto the lawn, I had no idea how truly weak the tree was.  No heavy ice storm or blowing hurricane winds heralded its end – my birch simply gave up.

As these things go, despite my loss, I was extraordinarily lucky in the manner of its fall, which could have been much worse.  With its tip barely kissing the extremities of a large Chinese dogwood, and its side resting barely a foot from the foundation plantings of the house, the birch’s descent made the least negative impact on the property possible, merely occupying lawn space, something to be thankful for.

Of course the event sent me running to the ephemeris for answers, armed with the foreknowledge of the existence of asteroid Birch 3924.  Birches are ruled by the Sun and Leo, and as a Leo, I have always felt a natural affinity for the tree, which has grown on every property I have ever owned or rented.  My natal Birch reflects that closeness; at 0 Scorpio, it conjoins my Ascendant and asteroid Alexandra 54, both at 4 Scorpio, squares my 4 Leo Sun, and is semisquare the Moon at 19 Virgo.  It’s not too much of a stretch to say that I find the birch genus as somehow self-defining (Ascendant, Alexandra, Sun) and a mainstay of my residences (Moon).

So I wasn’t at all surprised to find that transit asteroid Birch was at station, signaling a major turning point (it went retrograde on September 10^th, already at its station degree).  Moreover, at 9 Taurus, Birch was squared asteroid Miller 1826 at 13 Leo, my surname, directly linking the event to me personally. As well, Birch opposed its natal position and T-Squared my Sun, trine natal Saturn at 13 Capricorn, symbolizing old age and loss, ancient lord of death, in a wide Grand Trine with the Moon, my home.

Birch was also opposed asteroid Fallada 14025, closest to “fall.”  At 2 Scorpio, Fallada was more closely conjunct natal Birch, with natal Fallada at 21 Virgo conjoined my Moon and now opposed by transit Saturn at 16 Pisces.

Curious to learn more, I searched for asteroids which might resonate with the birch genus’ scientific classification, Betula.  I found Betulapendula 8644 and Betulia 1580.  Oddly, and appropriately, Betulapendula is named for the European silver birch, Betula pendula, which literally means, “hanging, uncertain birch,” eerily descriptive of my dying birch’s circumstance.  Betulia is named for another plant, but approximates Betula, with an added “i.”

Transit Betulapendula at 25 Scorpio opposed Uranus at 27 Taurus, in a T-Square with Mercury, exact with asteroid Alex 3367 at 25 Leo, and asteroid Achilles 588 at 27 Leo.  This aptly describes the sudden, unexpected (Uranus) loss of my (Alex) birch (Betulapendula), due to an inherent weakness, making it vulnerable to collapse (both Achilles).  Mercury is harder to read in this context, but I trust that the flurry of emails which followed my tree’s demise, and this article announcing it, will fill that cosmic deficit.  Natal Betulapendula at 18 Cancer conjoins Mercury at 19 Cancer and opposes Saturn with asteroid Alexander at 14 Capricorn, sextile the Moon, and squared asteroid Alex at 20 Libra, another nod to how intertwined I am (Alex, Alexander) with the birches on the property (Moon), all now at an advanced age (Saturn) for their species (which has an average lifespan, in a domestic environment, of 30-40 years).

Transit asteroid Betulia at 1 Leo conjoined my natal Sun and asteroid Kevin 23739 at 0 Leo (my birth name), also squared natal Birch and transit Fallada.  It’s also loosely semisquare the transit Sun at 13 Virgo (approaching my natal Moon), exactly sesquiquadrate transit Saturn and opposed transit Pluto at 29 Capricorn, the modern lord of death, bringing change and transformation.  An inconjunct to transit Damocles 5335 at 0 Pisces, representing the doom hanging unseen overhead, about to descend at any moment, also neatly encapsulates the situation, with a birch (Betulia) falling without warning (Damocles), for health reasons (with the inconjunct noted as a health aspect).  Natal Betulia at 28 Aries also squares my Sun, opposing Birch (thus also opposed by transit Fallada), and was conjoined by transit asteroid House 4950 when my old friend gave up the ghost.

The relatively good fortune of the birch’s chosen landing site I attribute to the presence of asteroids Alexandra and Cherryh 77185 (for the Cherry Hill Road address of my property) at 12 and 17 Gemini respectively, conjoined Jupiter at 19 Gemini, known as the “Greater Benefic,” known for providing luck and positive outcomes, and here granting some degree of cosmic protection.  As well, transit asteroid Kevin at 7 Libra was closely conjunct Venus at 8 Libra, known as the “Lesser Benefic.”

And it is in my official legal capacity as property owner Kevin Miller that I’ll have to deal with the financial (Venus) fallout of my birch’s fall-down and removal.  Let’s hope the good luck continues, and Jupiter doesn’t inflate that cost too much!