Alex's Asteroid Astrology

It isn’t always possible to chronicle every news item that comes across the digital transom in real time, and sometimes the stories, while intriguing, just don’t merit a full article.  But that doesn’t mean they’re without merit, as I hope this grab bag of bypassed stories proves.  From science to trivia, honors to passings, there’s something for every taste in this catchall article.

UP, UP & AWAY!

We’ll begin with the first lunar landing in fifty years, when Intuitive Machine’s Odysseus touched down on the moon’s surface on 22 February 2024.  The venture, in cooperation with NASA and Space X, sent back valuable data for future manned missions before being rendered insensate by lunar night.  Hopes were that when the sunlight returned two weeks later, it might power up Odysseus for further research, but the probe had landed on its side, leaving too many of its solar cells inoperable.

The launch had taken place from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center a week prior, and fittingly shows a vibrant T-Square from the Sun at 26 Aquarius on the fulcrum, to asteroid NASA 11365 at 22 Scorpio and a combo of Uranus (ruling exploration and technology) and asteroid Kennedy 7166 at 19 and 18 Taurus.  Asteroid Odysseus 1143 at 29 Gemini is trine the Sun, already at its station degree, and turned direct on February 21, just a day before its namesake’s landing.  A chart cast for Houston, Texas, NASA headquarters, shows the NASA/Kennedy-Uranus polarity astraddle the MC/IC axis for the 5:23 PM CST touchdown, with asteroid Kennedy exactly on the 20 Taurus MC and NASA just off the 20 Scorpio IC at 22 Scorpio.  Fittingly, the Moon at 16 Leo forms a T-Square, and also conjoins the 23 Leo Ascendant.  Asteroid Artemis 105 is also here, at 24 Leo, representing the upcoming manned Artemis mission for which this effort was a precursor.

STARR POWER

Canadian-born comedian and actor Eugene Levy staked out his patch of entertainment real estate history when he was awarded a Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, with presentation ceremonies on 8 March 2024.  A founding member of the Second City TV sketch comedy troupe, Levy has appeared in countless television shows and movies over the course of his storied fifty-year-plus career.   Best known for his quirky performances in Christopher Guest movies such as “Best in Show” and “A Mighty Wind,” Levy shot to general fame with the hit TV series “Schitt’s Creek” in 2015-20.

Eugene Levy (born 17 December 1946, no time available) is literally a born actor, with his 25 Sagittarius Sun closely conjoined asteroid Actor 12238 at 26 Sagittarius.  The connection to the Galactic Center at 26 Sagittarius ensures a degree of fame and celebrity, someone universally known and recognized for his contributions.  His quirky, eccentric style is buttressed by natal Uranus in opposition from 19 Gemini, where it conjoins asteroid Fama 908 at 21 Gemini, used here as cosmic shorthand for “fame.”  The vehicle for his greatest success, the “Schitt’s Creek” character of Johnny Rose, can be seen in asteroid Johney 90308, which at 19 Virgo squares the Sun and completes a T-Square.  His identification with the role is also portrayed by asteroid Johnny 3252 at 26 Scorpio, conjunct asteroid Eugenia 45 (the feminine equivalent if Eugene) at 29 Scorpio, granting an authentic performance.

A presentiment of his Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame appears as asteroid Walker 6372, which at 23 Pices squares the Sun/Actor pairing and fills in a Grand Cross with Uranus/Fama and Johney.  Not to be outdone, asteroid Starr 4150 at 11 Scorpio ties to this pattern, semisquare Sun/Actor and sesquiquadrate Walker, and also conjunct Jupiter at 17 Scorpio, arbiter of fame and celebrity.

When Eugene Levy received his Star on March 8^th, asteroid Levy 3673 at 11 Capricorn was bracketed by asteroid Starr at 16 Cap and asteroid Wood 1660 (the back half of “Hollywood”) at 5 Cap.  The Star was unveiled in a ceremony beginning at 11:30 AM PST in Hollywood, under an exact conjunction of the Moon and Venus at 26 Aquarius, with asteroid Eugenia standing by at 23 Aquarius, defining the popular (Moon) entertainer (Venus) being honored, as Eugene Levy (Eugenia).  Jupiter (celebrity) pairs with Uranus (originality, genius) at 12 and 19 Taurus, in a T-Square with asteroid Fama (Fame) at 14 Aquarius and Walker (Walk) at 15 Leo; natal Starr/Jupiter at 11 and 17 Scorpio makes this a Grand Cross.  Asteroid Holly 19955 (the front half of Hollywood) appears at 28 Virgo, exactly T-Squared the 28 Gemini/Sagittarius Ascendant/Descendant axis, with the Descendant conjoined Levy’s natal Sun/Actor.

RIP LOUIS GOSSETT JR

On 29 March 2024 word came of the passing of Louis Gossett Jr, the first African American to win an Oscar for Best Supporting Actor, as Emil Foley in 1982’s “An Officer and a Gentleman.”  Gossett also garnered an Emmy for his portrayal of Fiddler in the seminal 1977 miniseries “Roots,” and was a prolific actor in movies, television and stage.

Oscar gold is prefigured by a natal conjunction of asteroid Oskar 750 at 13 Scorpio with asteroid Gosset 23776 (alternate spelling) at 8 Scorpio, directly linking the actor with the award.  Oskar also squares asteroid Actor at 19 Aquarius, and his status as the first black actor to be so honored appears as Actor’s trine to asteroid Black 11207 at 13 Gemini, itself exactly inconjunct Oskar, with Neptune, ruling film, exactly squared Black and exactly sextile Oskar from 13 Virgo.  As well, asteroid Nike 307, named for the Greek goddess of victory, appears at station, making winning a pivotal component of his character and biography; from 24 Virgo, Nike squares asteroid Academia 829 (for the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences, which sponsors the Awards) at 18 Sagittarius, with fame-and-luck-inducing Jupiter standing by at 21 Sag.

His authentic performance as Emil Foley is assured, with natal asteroid Fole 10129 (closest to Foley) at 27 Scorpio exactly squared asteroid Lewis 4796 (alternate spelling of Louis) with Venus (entertainer) at 27 Taurus; and asteroid Emilia 85564 (feminine version of Emil) at 7 Cancer, bookended by asteroids Luisa 599 and Louise 2556 (both feminine forms of Louis) at 6 and 9 Cancer.  These types of contacts between an actor’s personal asteroids and those of the character allow a deep internal connection which promotes their best work.

When Gossett won his Academy Award on 11 April 1983, the 21 Aries Sun conjoined asteroid Louise at 17 Aries, placing him in the spotlight; this duo squares asteroid Actor at 25 Capricorn, identifying his award.  An Oskar/Nike pairing at 4 and 6 Gemini tops his natal 6 Gemini Sun, while an exact Academia/asteroid Brown 1643 conjunction (denoting the Academy’s choice of a person of color) at 13 Aries not only conjoins Louise, but forms a Grand Trine with a Uranus/Jupiter conjunction at 8 and 10 Sagittarius (sudden fame); and asteroids Luisa and Gosset at 7 and 16 Leo, encapsulating his full name.  Moreover, both asteroids are at station, indicating a major turning point for the actor, with Gosset turning retrograde on March 31^st and Luisa following suit April 2^nd.  Luisa also conjoins asteroid Fole at 3 Leo, for the role of Emil Foley which brought him the win, while Emilia at 8 Scorpio exactly conjoins his natal Gosset, once again identifying him with the character (also conjunct natal Oskar).

Lousi Gossett Jr passed on 30 March 2024, with the 9 Aries Sun in a Grand Trine with stationary asteroids Rip 7711 (“RIP”) at 4 Sagittarius (turning retro March 19^th) and Lewis at 6 Leo (turning direct March 26^th).  Rip opposes the natal Sun at 6 Gemini and squares natal asteroid Requiem 2254 at 1 Virgo, named for the funeral mass for the dead.  The transit Sun is also squared transit asteroid Luisa at 5 Cancer, as well as natal asteroids Luisa and Louise at 6 and 8 Cancer, again highlighting Gossett for the timeframe. 

Also at station, asteroid Actor, which at 26 Cancer turned direct on March 21^st, conjoined asteroid Nemesis 128 at 24 Cancer, known for bringing ruin and destruction.  Asteroid Gosset at 18 Aquarius conjoins asteroid Anubis 1912, named for the ancient Egyptian deity governing funerary rites, at 14 Aquarius, linking Gossett and mortality.  Anubis is exactly squared its natal degree of 12 Taurus, also squared natal Gosset at 8 Scorpio and opposed transit Lewis.

Transit asteroid Atropos 273, named for the mythic Greek Fate who severs the thread of life at death, falls at 2 Gemini, from where it conjoins natal asteroid Lachesis 120 at 3 Gemini, named for her sister Fate who determines the span of life, as well as the natal Sun.  Transit asteroid Osiris 1923, named for the Egyptian god of the dead, appears at 23 Capricorn, opposing natal asteroid Rip with Pluto, modern lord of death, at 22 and 25 Cancer, with transit Mercury at 26 Aries on the fulcrum of a T-Square, bringing news (Mercury) of the actor’s death (transit asteroid Actor at 26 Cancer feeds into this as well).  Transit Saturn, ancient lord of death, falls at 13 Pisces, conjoined transit asteroid Louise at 14 Pisces, while natal Saturn at 21 Pisces is conjoined by transit asteroid Requiem at 25.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, JEOPARDY!

The quintessential trivia game show, which inverted questions and answers, saw its milestone sixtieth birthday on March 30, 2024.  True, Jeopardy! had a decade-long hiatus, off the air from 1975 to 1984, but if the producers wish to use its original premiere air date as its ongoing birthday, who am I to quibble?

And the cosmos seems to concur, representing all of Jeopardy!’s iterations in that 30 March 1964 date.  Helmed by Art Fleming for that first ten-year run, Jeopardy! made itself a national institution under longstanding host Alex Trebek, who guided it from its rebirth in 1984 until his death in 2020.  Former contestant and Jeopardy! GOAT Ken Jennings has succeeded Alex, and is filling his enormous shoes rather well.  All three appear prominently in the founding chart, with Alex Trebek represented by an asteroid specifically named for him.  That would be asteroid Trebek 364166, which at 20 Leo is embedded at station, signaling staying power and endurance, as Trebek went on to host for 36 years.  Asteroid Trebek turned direct the day after the show premiered.

Alex Trebek is also represented by asteroid Alex 3367 at 26 Cancer, which opposes asteroid Arthur 2597 (for first host Arthur “Art” Fleming) at 27 Capricorn.  Together, these iconic Jeopardy! hosts form a T-Square with an exact Mercury/Jupiter pairing at 26 Aries.  I can’t think of a better, more descriptive combination than Mercury, ruling trivia, and Jupiter, ruling knowledge, for the show that provides vastly more (Jupiter) data (Mercury) than any other of its kind.  As well, both its masters of ceremonies (Mercury-ruled) became celebrities (Jupiter) in their own right from their association with the show.  Moreover, asteroid Hosty 8218 (for “host”) at 23 Libra opposes Mercury/Jupiter, squaring Arthur and Alex in a Grand Cross.

Ken Jennings seems celestially primed to fill Trebek’s role with ease, with asteroid Kenny 10107 at 3 Sagittarius trine the 9 Aries Sun, in a Grand Trine with asteroid Jennings 20555 at 8 Leo.  Kenny is also at station (turning retrograde six days before the first Jeopardy! premiere), perhaps granting the 49-year-old a run as host to rival Trebek’s.

Happy Birthday, Jeopardy!  Long may you wave!