Alex's Asteroid Astrology

Less than a week after the spa shootings in Atlanta, shots rang out again in Boulder, Colorado, as 10 were killed in a crowded grocery store by a lone shooter wielding an assault-style rifle.  The suspect, 21-year-old Ahmad Al Aliwi Alissa, is the same age as the Georgia shooter, but this motive is less certain.  We do, however, have a birth date, and victim names which match asteroids, so let’s dig in on this latest atrocity.

Police were called to the scene at King’s Soopers grocery store at 2:30 PM MDT on March 22^nd, with shots fired initially in the parking lot, continuing into the store.  First officer responding was Eric Talley, 51, who was fatally shot.  It took hours to bring the situation under control, and when the dust had cleared, nine other store patrons and employees lay dead, ranging in age from 20 to 65.  Alissa was wounded and apprehended at the scene, and arraigned the following day on ten counts of murder.

We’ll be integrating the charts of the shooter with the incident in this analysis, and there’s no better place to start than the Sun.  Born 17 April 1999, Ahmad Alissa was just three days old at the time of the Columbine school shooting, and these energies seem to have left a lasting impact.  The Sun at 24 Aries conjoins asteroid Karma at 23 Aries, denoting a fated existence, but also one where the native is forced to account for his or her deeds.  Exact with Karma is asteroid Alyssachan, one of four compound-name asteroids which can be split into their component parts and used to approximate his surname of Alissa.  The Sun conjunct a PNA (Personal-Named Asteroid) reinforces the sense of self and hyper-identifies the individual’s true essence with his public face, for good or ill.

Opposing the Sun is centaur Pholus at 26 Libra, a point noted for mass deaths by whatever cause; the solar connection potentially makes Alissa an agent of Pholus, a facilitator of the multiple casualties it evokes.  Incredibly, this polarity forms a T-Square with asteroid Boulder, the venue for the shooting, exactly squared the Sun from 24 Capricorn.  With Boulder are asteroids Alyssarose, the second Alissa referent, at 23 Capricorn, exactly squared Karma/Alyssachan; and asteroid Anubis at 28 Cap, named for the Egyptian deity ruling funerary rites, increasing the potency of the element of death into the pattern.

What is even more remarkable is that when the shooting was called in to police at 2:30 PM local time, 24 Aries was culminating on the Midheaven, emphasizing Alissa’s Sun as the focus of all eyes in the moment.  This places natal Pholus on the 24 Libra IC, granting angular force.  Transit Pluto, modern lord of death and planetary ruler of homicide, has been activating the T-Square for more than a year, and now resides at 26 Capricorn, exactly squared natal Pholus. 

Filling in the missing leg to form a temporary Grand Cross is asteroid Polizzi at 26 Cancer, a reference to the police officer killed in the shooting (Polizzi, from Italian Polizia and German Polizei, both meaning “police”).  Also with Pluto is transit asteroid Eric, for slain officer Eric Talley; at 18 Capricorn, Eric opposes Polizzi and asteroid Atropos at 19 Cancer, named for the mythic Greek Fate who severs the thread of life at death.  Fast approaching is the transit Moon at 16 Cancer, completing a transit T-Square with asteroid Copland at 19 Libra, yet another police referent.

Eric Talley is also represented by asteroid Erika, a feminine equivalent.  At 2 Leo, Erika conjoins the 6 Leo Ascendant, bringing focus to the officer in the moment, and is at station, about to turn direct three days later, marking the period as a literal “turning point” for Eric Talley.

Alissa can also be seen as asteroids Alyssaovait and Alyssacook, as well as asteroid Ahmed, an alternate spelling of his first name.  In the birth chart, Alyssaovait at 28 Pisces conjoins natal Mercury, ruling the naming function, at 26 Pisces, and potentially marking Alissa as newsworthy at some point in his life.  The most common placements for PNAs are in connection to the Sun, Moon, Angles or Mercury; Alissa’s chart shows typical connections for three of his asteroids.  The fourth, Alyssacook is an exact match for natal Saturn at 5 Taurus, ancient lord of death, further identifying Alissa personally with that theme. 

In the shooting chart, Alyssachan at 6 Taurus conjoins Uranus and asteroid Gunn, both at 8 Taurus, with Uranus ruling shootings generally, and Gunn identifying the weapon of choice.  Alyssachan is also widely conjunct asteroid Requiem at 15 Taurus, squares Saturn at 10 Aquarius and the 6 Leo Ascendant, highlighting him in the moment.  Alyssacook at 4 Gemini conjoins Mars, ruling attacks, violent death and guns, at 10 Gemini, also broadly conjunct asteroid Anubis at 14 Gemini.  Alyssaovait at 11 Cancer is within orb of the Moon at 16 and broadly conjunct Atropos at 19 Cancer.  Alyssarose at 17 Sagittarius conjoins asteroid Nemesis, a point representing ruin and destruction, at 12 Sag, as well as asteroid Boulder at 20 Sagittarius.  This puts the shooter on the scene (Boulder) and identifies him (Alyssarose) as a destructive (Nemesis) force.

Transit Boulder itself conjoins asteroid King at 28 Sagittarius, bringing together the city and the very business within it where the shooting occurred.  Both conjoin Alissa’s natal asteroid Gunn at 25 Sagittarius, linking his weaponry of choice to the scene of the crime; natal King at 29 Pisces conjoins Mercury with Alyssaovait, squaring natal Gunn, and linking him personally (Alyssaovait) with a rifle (Gunn) and the grocer (King) in a news context (Mercury).  King conjoins the Galactic Center at 27 Sagittarius, granting the small grocer global notice and attention, as well as TNO Ixion at 1 Capricorn and centaur Pholus at 5 Cap. 

Ixion is named for the first murderer in Greek myth, with Pholus symbolizing multiple deaths; we have already seen how Pholus factors strongly into Alissa’s chart – natal Ixion at 3 Sagittarius conjoins natal Pluto at 10 Sag, a conjunction which has featured in the natal charts of many recent mass murderers.  (Pluto and Ixion traveled together in extended conjunction, within ten degrees of each other, from 1988 to 2002, combining their homicidal tendencies and seeding a generation of potential killers; after Ixion moved on to its extended 35-year conjunction with centaur Pholus, 2009-2035,  with its affinities for multiple casualties, these individuals began to come of age and manifest as serial killers or mass murderers.)

Ixion is also exactly trine natal asteroid Ahmed at 3 Aries, providing yet another personalized link for Alissa between his self-identity and the theme of death.  Natal Ahmed was activated by the transit Sun with asteroid Rip (noted as a death indicator in the form of the acronym “RIP”, “Rest In Peace”, a common tombstone inscription), at 2 and 3 Aries, once again highlighting Ahmad Alissa on the day, in ways which emphasize a deadly focus.  In the shooting chart, Ahmed at 17 Leo is exactly squared asteroid Lachesis at 17 Scorpio, named for the Fate who determines the span of life, in much the way Ahmad Alissa did for his victims.  Ahmed also squares Requiem at 15 Taurus and opposes Saturn at 10 Aquarius with Jupiter at 21 Aquarius (creating a transit Grand Cross), for fame (Jupiter) gained via death (Saturn).  Lachesis was at station, having turned retrograde on March 13, making it an embedded factor in the day, and had just returned to its natal degree of 16 Scorpio in Alissa’s birth chart, reinforcing its natal potential.

This includes another Grand Cross of deadly factors:  opposed asteroid Osiris at 21 Taurus, named for the ancient Egyptian god of the dead, Lachesis also squares Uranus, ruling shootings, exact with destructive Nemesis at 16 Aquarius and Damocles, the looming threat or impending doom, at 14 Aquarius, as well as asteroid Atropos at 11 Leo.

So much for the shooting and the shooter.  What about the victims?  In addition to Officer Eric Talley, profiled above, 7 of the remaining 9 victims have PNAs which represent them, and factor into the skies for the day.  Missing are Neven Stanisic, 23, and Tralona Bartkowiak, 49.

Denny Stong, 20, is seen as asteroid Denny, which at 23 Gemini opposes Boulder, King and Ixion, also squared Neptune at 21 Pisces, ruling victims generally.  Using asteroid Strong for Stong, we find it at 24 Aries, exact on the MC for the shooting (as well as Alissa’s natal Sun degree).  In Alissa’s chart, natal Denny appears at 16 Aquarius, exact with Uranus/Nemesis and part of his “Death Grand Cross”.  Strong falls at 12 Aries, conjunct natal Requiem with Jupiter, at 13 and 14 Aries, which in itself suggests an excessive (Jupiter) amount of death (Requiem).

Rikki Olds, 25, is represented by asteroid Rika (closest to Rikki), which at 7 Virgo squares Nemesis at 12 Sagittarius and Mars with Osiris and 10 and 14 Gemini, forming a Grand Cross with an opposition to Mercury with Osiris at 9 and 15 Pisces.  Natally, Rika at 18 Sagittarius is at station (turning retrograde two days after Alissa’s birth) and conjoins Pluto at 10 Sag.

Teri Leiker, 51, is represented by asteroid Terry, alternate spelling, which at 14 Scorpio is conjunct transit Lachesis at 17 Scorpio and also at station, turning retrograde three days before her murder, marking, as with Eric Talley, a major turning point in her life.  Terry opposes Requiem, squares Saturn and Ahmed.  Natal Terry at 11 Aries is part of a cluster of victim PNAs on Alissa’s Requiem/Jupiter, which includes asteroid Eric at 15 Aries as well.  Often victims of the same crime will show as PNAs in close proximity or clustered with each other at the time of their deaths, or in the natal chart of their killer.

Suzanne Fountain, 59, is seen as asteroids Susanna, Fountain, and Fontane (the French equivalent).  Susanna at 6 Libra opposes Sun/Rip at 2 and 3 Aries, and forms a Grand Trine Kite with Mars at 10 Gemini and Saturn at 10 Aquarius.  Natal Susanna at 3 Taurus conjoins Saturn at 5 Taurus, which itself opposes natal Mars at 7 Scorpio, linking violence and death in Alissa’s psyche.  Transit Fountain at 17 Aquarius conjoins Saturn and Jupiter and exactly squares Lachesis at 17 Scorpio, forming a Grand Cross with Requiem and Ahmed.  Transit Fontane at 15 Libra is just within orb of Susanna, and joins the Grand Trine but is too far wide of the solar opposition to be a part of the Kite pattern.    Natally, Fountain at 15 Aquarius joins Damocles/Nemesis/Uranus, while Fontane at 14 Sagittarius is also at station (it turned retro April 8^th at that degree) and conjunct natal Pluto.  Having her surname at station in her killer’s chart shows Ahmad Alissa as potentially creating a “turning point” for Suzanna Fountain.

Kevin Mahoney, 61, is represented by asteroid Kevin, which at 7 Libra conjoins Susanna and joins that Kite pattern.  Natally, Kevin falls at 5 Aries, broadly within the Requiem/Jupiter cluster.

Lynn Murray, 62, has exact asteroid matches for both names.  Transit Lynn at 4 Leo conjoins Erika on the 6 Leo Ascendant, and is also at station, turning direct three days after her murder.  Lynn opposes Saturn and squares Uranus/Gunn.  Natal Lynn at 10 Gemini is an exact match for transit Mars, and natally exactly opposes Pluto, T-Squared with asteroid Rip at 9 Pisces.  Transit Murray at 14 Sagittarius factors into this same dynamic, also conjoined transit Nemesis at 12 Sag.  Natal Murray at 17 Pisces broadly conjoins Rip and squares Pluto.

Lastly, Jody Walters, the eldest victim at age 65, is seen as asteroid Jody, which at 9 Pisces conjoins transit Mercury exactly, squared Saturn/Anubis and T-Squared Nemesis.  Natal Jody at 5 Capricorn is an exact match for transit Pholus and squares natal Ahmed at 3 Aries, exactly trine natal Saturn at 5 Taurus, linking Jody Waters personally with her killer and the theme of death.

Connections such as these, while complex, are also entirely typically of these types of events, as the turn of the celestial kaleidoscope continually recombines factors of karma and destiny, producing horrors and joys here on planet Earth.