Asteroid Sleuth: The Case of the Train Track Tragedy
Shortly after 6 PM EDT on Thursday, 3 April 2025, a father and his two adult sons were struck and killed by an Amtrak train in Bristol, PA. Christopher Cramp, 56, and David Cramp, 31, were apparently on the scene attempting to remove Thomas Cramp, 24, from the tracks before the arrival of the oncoming train. Thomas Cramp reportedly suffered from mental health issues and was suicidal, though no specifics of the circumstances surrounding the incident have emerged. Police have ruled the death of Thomas Cramp a suicide, and that of his elder brother and father as accidents.
A chart cast for 6:03 PM EDT in Bristol, PA shows asteroid Requiem 2254, named for the funeral mass for the dead, exactly conjunct the 28 Gemini Midheaven, squared Saturn, Venus, Mercury, the Moon and Neptune (at 24, 26, 27 & 29 Pisces, and 0 Aries, respectively) on the 28 Pisces Descendant. Saturn is the ancient lord of death and also rules the father; Venus represents loved ones; Mercury rules trains; the Moon relates to family members; Neptune governs insanity; and the Descendant, as the Angle on the West, is also associated with death, as the point where the sun sets.
That’s quite enough to be getting on with, but there is much, much more. The Sun is embroiled in its annual confab with asteroid Anubis 1912, named for the ancient Egyptian deity governing funerary rites, with the Sun currently at 14 Aries and Anubis at 15, lending a pervasive air of mortality to the timeframe. From there this pair forms a Grand Trine with asteroid Christophe 1698 at 13 Sagittarius, and a pairing of asteroids Atropos 273 and Traino 30097, both at 15 Leo. All these points are at station, indicating a critical turning point has been reached. Atropos is named for the mythic Greek Fate who severs the thread of life at death, and turns direct on April 6th, three days after the accident. Christophe represents the father, Christopher Cramp, and turns retrograde on April 7th. Traino, of course, indicates the Amtrak train, and turned direct the very day of the tragedy.
This pattern becomes a Kite with the addition of Jupiter and asteroid Trakai 294664 at 16 and 18 Gemini, on the String, opposed Christophe. Jupiter brought the “fame” of the deaths being widely noticed and publicized, while Trakai can be seen as a phonetic referent for “tracks,” where the deaths occurred.
Two of the three Cramp family deaths were ruled accidental, as depicted by Uranus, ruler of accidents, at 24 Taurus, conjoined asteroid Crampton 246238 at 26 Taurus, closest to “Cramp.” Also within orb of Uranus is asteroid Davida 511 at 1 Gemini, feminine version of David, the elder brother’s name. Davida further squares Damocles 5335 at 5 Pisces, representing the looming threat of disaster, about to descend at any moment. Thomas Cramp’s death, even if intentional, is of course also the result of a collision with a train, an event defined as an “accident.”
Oddly enough, Thomas Cramp, the proximate cause of the tragedy, and the only family member with an exact asteroid match, makes the least impressive showing. Asteroid Thomas 2555 at 8 Taurus is relatively isolated in the chart, though it does square Atropos/Traino at 15 Leo and is also squared Pluto, modern lord of death, at 3 Aquarius, accompanied by centaur Hylonome 10370 at 0 Aquarius, named for a mythic suicide who impaled herself on her centaur husband’s spear after his death in battle. The degree difference between the Leo and Aquarius points is too wide for this to be considered a T-Square.
Asteroid Arachne 407, named for another mythic suicide, appears at 3 Libra, conjoined the 28 Virgo Ascendant, and exactly squared asteroid Lachesis 120, named for the Fate who determines the span off life, at 3 Cancer, aligned with the 28 Gemini Midheaven.
No birth data was immediately available for the Cramp brothers. Patriarch Christopher Cramp’s birth date has been given as 17 May 1968. His 27 Taurus Sun was conjoined exactly by Uranus’ station last September, raising the possibility of accident. The Sun is conjoined by asteroid Atropos (death) at 28 Taurus, and anchors a Grand Cross with opposition to Neptune (insanity) at 25 Scorpio, and squares to Jupiter (fame) at 26 Leo and asteroid Traino (train) at 25 Aquarius. All points were highlighted by transit Uranus’ current position at 24 Taurus, promoting susceptibility to a well-publicized (Jupiter), fatal (Atropos) accident (Uranus) involving a train (Traino) and a compromised mental state (Neptune).
As well, the seeds of his demise can be read in a natal stellium of Uranus and Pluto at 25 and 20 Virgo, conjoined asteroids Trakai and Christophe at 17 and 23 Virgo. This speaks to a potential for death (Pluto) via accident (Uranus, also sometimes cited as ruler of suicide), involving train tracks (Trakai), personalized by his PNA (Personal-Named Asteroid, Christophe). (Christophe was also opposed by transit Saturn at 24 Pisces for his death, and squared by transit asteroid Requiem.) A connection between his son Thomas and his own death is prefigured by a conjunction of asteroids Requiem and Thomas at 10 and 17 Leo, conjoined by the transit Atropos/Traino pairing at his passing.
Natal asteroid Rip 7711 (which acts as a death indicator in the form of the acronym “RIP”, Rest In Peace, a common tombstone inscription) at 29 Gemini was closely aligned with the transit Requiem/Midheaven union at 28 Gemini for the time of the fatal accident. The transit Sun/Anubis conjunction at 14/15 Aries opposed natal asteroid Anubis (death) at 8 Libra, itself conjoined by transit asteroid Arachne, representing suicide, at 3 Libra. Natal asteroid Lachesis (lifespan) at 12 Aries had been activated by the Solar Eclipse of March 29th at 9 Aries, which also opposed natal Anubis. Natal Lachesis was also conjoined by the transit Sun/Anubis pairing. Natal asteroid Crampton at 2 Taurus was squared by the transit Pluto/Hylonome conjunction at 0 and 3 Aquarius.
Another stunning example of the eternal correlation between Above and Below.
