Alex's Asteroid Astrology

On Monday 5 June 2023, I went into a local hospital for a heart ablation.  I’ve had rhythm issues for almost twenty years, originating in a heart defect when I was born, with a hole in a ventricle.  I had open-heart surgery to repair this at age 3, in 1963, when such things were still a novelty.  The surgery was a complete success, I’ve never had an issue with my heart since, but as I aged into my forties, arrhythmias developed, as I understand is common among pediatric heart patients.

My particular problem was an atrial flutter (similar to atrial fibrillation, but not as aggressive), and we initially attempted to treat it with medication, which was insufficient to reverse the effect.  So we did a cardioversion in 2005 (in which the heart is shocked back into rhythm with a jolt of electricity), which worked well enough, along with meds, to keep me in rhythm.  But I decided to be proactive and treat with an ablation, to actually “kill” the flutter and hopefully preclude a recurrence.  Ablations for flutter are done by inserting an electrode-tipped catheter at the large vein in the groin, sending that up into the heart, and actually burning out the portion of the muscle that is misfiring and causing the electrical instability which creates the arrhythmia.

That first ablation was successful and held for a long time, but in 2017 another flutter developed.  We again treated that with cardioversion, but I was averse to a second ablation, and the cardioversion only held three years.  By 2020 I was back out of rhythm again, and in a new region with new doctors.  I decided to try a third cardioversion, which worked, but within two years I had symptoms of recurrence. 

So I and my new cardio team discussed a second ablation.  The situation had become more complicated, as I now had both atrial flutter and atrial fibrillation, which are treated differently.  A “hot” ablation is still used to treat the immediate flutter, but a “cold” ablation is also employed, to rectify the underlying AFib which is producing the flutter.  This involves inserting a balloon catheter, and freezing the rim of the aortic artery to incapacitate the AFib.  It’s still a benign, relatively noninvasive procedure, though it can take up to two months to confirm its success, as it may take that long for the cauterized and frozen areas to scar completely, which is what shuts down the electrical impulses in those areas.

It is (or should have been) an outpatient procedure; in my case, while the procedure seemed to go well, I was unable to maintain proper oxygen levels in my blood afterward.  I had been out on the table for almost five hours, and the suspicion was that this issue was a sort of “hangover” effect from the long sedation.  So I was kept overnight for observation at Muhlenberg Hospital, then, when the situation didn’t rectify immediately, sent home the next day on oxygen.  That was no picnic, let me tell you, and naturally I worried that the cause was something other, and tethered to oxygen with a cannula in my nose might become my permanent reality.  Thankfully within four days, the situation returned to more or less normal, and I was able to discontinue oxygen.  I did experience rapid swings in pulse rate, common until the heart has healed, and some mild vertigo, also related to the sedation.

What follows is an astrological appraisal of the procedure, which, as always, was reflected in the skies.

Born 27 July 1960 at 1:37 PM EDT in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, an importance for the heart in my medical history is foreshadowed by asteroid Valentine 447 at 0 Aquarius, opposed the 4 Leo Sun and exactly opposed asteroid Kevin 23739 (my birth name) at 0 Leo.  Valentine is of course associated strongly with the heart image, with the Sun ruling the heart itself, and a T-Square formed with asteroid Galvani 10184 at 0 Taurus on the fulcrum suggests electrical complications at some point in the life, as Galvani is named for the Italian scientist who pioneered work in bioelectricity. 

Mars has a role to play here, too, as ruling the blood which the heart pumps throughout the body.  At 26 Taurus, Mars’ square to Uranus at 20 Leo again suggests some issue involving electricity, the precise nature of which is alluded to by asteroid Fast 27719 at 29 Leo.  This latest arrhythmia was actually a form of tachycardia, rapid heartbeat, with Fast also inconjunct Valentine, and occurred with transit Uranus at 20 Taurus exactly squared its natal degree, and transit Fast at 26 Leo exactly squared natal Mars, approaching a Return to its natal position.  These placements reiterate the natal potential for electrical issues (Uranus) in pacing (Mars), in real time.

Another indicator that the heart could be a health concern is seen as the Moon at 19 Virgo, conjoined asteroid Harvey 4278 at 23 Virgo, both opposed asteroid Miller 1876 at 23 Pisces and T-Squared Jupiter at 24 Sagittarius.  Harvey is named for the seventeenth century English physician who first recognized the heart’s role in circulation; Miller further specifies this as personal to me (as well as identifying my surname, with the Moon ruling family and ancestry); and Jupiter acts here both to exacerbate the situation, since it increases what it touches, but also works to provide a positive outcome.  Also with Miller is asteroid Skip 1884 at 27 Pisces, with my prior rhythm issues having to do with missed beats.  These points are sextile Mars, with Moon/Harvey in trine.

A final suggestion that something involving rapidity would be a vital component of my biography is asteroid Swift’s stationary placement, at 13 Sagittarius, trine the Sun.  Swift 5035 turned direct a week after my birth, but is already inhabiting its station degree, and since I am not an Olympic runner, its opportunities for manifestation were limited.

Let’s turn now to the chart for the procedure.  I don’t have a precise time for this, but the last time noted, moments before I went under sedation, was 8:45 AM EDT in Bethlehem, PA.  That seems to work for the situation, as it yields 26 Cancer rising, with Venus conjoined at 29 Cancer and asteroid Valentine in square from 24 Aries.  Venus rules the veins, which were utilized to access the heart, and is also known as the “Lesser Benefic,” known for promoting positive outcomes.

My PNAs (Personal-Named Asteroids) were all active that day, with Alex 3367 at 14 Taurus exactly squared natal Venus at 14 Leo; Miller at 5 Taurus conjoined Greater Benefic Jupiter at 4 Taurus (itself exactly squared my 4 Leo Sun); Kevin 28 Gemini squared Galvani 23 Pisces; Alexander 296907 at 13 Aries on the 10 Aries MC; and Alexandra 54 at 3 Aquarius, conjoined Pluto and natal Valentine at 0 Aquarius and the Descendant at 27 Capricorn, as well as opposed the natal Sun. 

Note that transit Galvani opposes the natal Moon, and natal Harvey exactly, while transit Harvey at 19 Pisces, conjoined the Moon at birth, now opposes it exactly.  Note also that Pluto’s May 1^st retrograde station conjoined natal Valentine exactly (with Pluto, as a higher octave of Mars, also connected to surgery), and exactly squared natal Galvani at 0 Taurus (which is given further angular prominence by conjunction with my natal Descendant at 4 Taurus).  It was time for those electrical (Galvani) heart issues (Valentine) to be transformed (Pluto).

A reiteration of the problem is supplied by asteroid Swift at 28 Scorpio, opposed asteroid Swings 1637 at 24 Taurus, conjoined natal Mars at 26, with Fast at 26 Leo on the fulcrum.  This encapsulates the erratic (Swings) pacing (Mars) of the tachycardia (Fast), and Uranus here at 20 Taurus identifies electrical anomalies as the source.  (Swift/Swings continued to manifest as rapid shifts of pulse, from fast to slow, in the days following the procedure.)

The medical personnel involved are also represented.  My cardiologist, who performed the procedure, is Hari Joshi.  No exact celestial matches exist, but asteroid Harig (for Hari) at 18 Aries conjoins Alexander at 13 Aries; asteroid Hara (also for Hari) at 23 Scorpio conjoins Swift and ties to the T-Square mentioned above; and asteroid Yoshii (for Joshi) at 10 Virgo is squared the 14 Gemini Sun and widely conjoined my natal Moon at 19 Virgo (also squared by the transit Sun, for a focus (Sun) on heath (Moon)).  Natal Harig at 19 Aries is trine the stationary Swift, while its transit degree at 18 Aries constitutes a “Harig Return,” just as Hari worked to repair the fast heartbeat; natal Yoshii at 15 Gemini squares the natal Moon, and was conjoined by the transit Sun at 14 Gemini for the procedure. The anesthetist was Dr. Collins (I never got a first name), represented by asteroid Collins 6471 at 24 Aries, exact with Valentine and squared the Ascendant.  The CRNP from my cardiology practice who followed up with me at the hospital the following day was Kelly (I never got a last name), with asteroid Kelly exact with colleague Hari(g) at 18 Aries, also conjoined Alexander. 

The day nurse was Nancy (no last name), with asteroid Nancy 2056 at 26 Leo, exact with transit Fast and exactly squared natal Mars (for surgery also).  The night nurse was Tammy (no last name), with asteroid Tammy 3403 at 25 Taurus, squared Nancy/Fast and conjunct natal Mars.

A bit of cosmic deception comes into play, with transit Neptune at 27 Pisces exactly conjunct natal Skip – we thought this was a recurrence of the old “missed beat” (Skip) arrythmia, only to find it was disguising (Neptune) a pace issue, once we got in there. 

All’s well that ends well, and though this recovery has been a lot more problematic than the one I endured 17 years ago, I do feel confident that we’ll be seeing general improvement once the healing process is complete.  And so I live to write another day.