Alex's Asteroid Astrology

It was half a century ago, on 31 October 1974, that eight-year-old Timothy O’Bryan died in agony after eating a Halloween treat laced with cyanide.  The family and friends had been trick-or-treating in Pasadena, Texas, when they came across a house which did not respond to their knocks.  Thinking no one was home, the group proceeded down the street, but Timothy’s father Ronald hung back awhile.  In a couple minutes he rejoined the group, offering five 21” Pixy Stix to his son, daughter, and three other children, claiming that his repeated knocking had finally elicited an answer, and these were the treats he was given.

Later that night, Ronald O’Bryan allowed his children to choose one treat from their sacks to enjoy before going to bed.  According to Bill Lanier, who later investigated the case, “Timothy reached in and picked out a sucker.”  But his dad “said ‘No, no. You don’t have time to eat a sucker.  Here, try this Pixy Stix.’”  The boy had trouble getting the powdered candy out of the straw, which was stapled shut on top, so his father helped him open it.  After trying the treat, Timothy complained that it tasted bitter, so O’Bryan gave him Kool-Aid to wash away the taste.  Timothy immediately began to complain that his stomach hurt and ran to the bathroom, where he began vomiting and convulsing.  O’Bryan later claimed he held Timothy while he was retching, when the child suddenly went limp in his arms.  Timothy O’Bryan died en route to the hospital, less than an hour after consuming the candy.

After being notified by the hospital the next day that the cause of death was cyanide poisoning, police urged citizens to turn over all their Halloween candy for testing, creating a panic in the community.  Authorities retrieved the Pixy Stix from O’Bryan’s daughter’s treats, and sought out the other three children who had received them from O’Bryan.  Two were untouched; the third was missing, then found clutched in the hands of sleeping Whitney Parker.  “His little fingers couldn’t open the staples,” explained Mike Hinton, who later prosecuted the case.  And that saved his life.

At first, Ronald O’Bryan was not a suspect, but police came up empty when trying to trace the mysterious householder who had allegedly handed the candy through the door without opening it fully, leaving O’Bryan just a view of his arm.  The owner had been at work until 11 PM that night, confirmed by more than 200 witnesses, and no one else had access to the home.  Ronald O’Bryan was arrested on suspicion of murder on November 5^th, but by then the damage to the holiday had been done, with hysterical parents across the country now on high alert for tampered treats from strangers.  Trick-or-Treat would never be the same.  “He’s the man that ruined Halloween for the whole world,” observed Hinton, who later obtained a guilty verdict and the death penalty for O’Bryan.  “There’s a lot of left over feelings and concerns among parents who were just children then.”

In their investigation, police found that, unbeknownst to his wife, Ronald O’Bryan, who was $100,000 in debt, had taken out $10,000 insurance policies on both his children that January, adding another $20,000 in coverage a month before the murder, and an additional $20,000 policy on Timothy, just days before Halloween.  Dubbed “the Candy Man” by the Press, O’Bryan’s trial and conviction in the spring of 1975 was a media circus which ended after a 46-minute deliberation by the jury on June 3^rd, who sentenced him to death by electrocution an hour later.  After several failed appeals, Ronald O’Bryan was finally executed on March 31, 1984, almost a decade after his son’s murder.

Charts for the date of the murder, as well as birth charts for Ronald O’Bryan and his son Timothy, reveal the cosmic underpinnings to this horrific tale.  We’ll be using asteroids Candy 3015, Stickle 36986 (for the Pixy Stix), Poisson 12847 (a reliable marker for “poison”) and Cyane 403 (for cyanide); O’Bryan is represented by asteroids O’Brien 21774 and O’Briain 4901(both alternate spellings), and a host of CNAs (Compound-Name Asteroids, which consist of both first and last name, strung together as one word) for Ronald and Timothy, for which there is no exact match.

What jumps out at first glance on the date of the murder is a remarkable conjunction of asteroids Child 4580 at 29 Taurus, Candy at 0 Gemini, and Lachesis 120 at 2 Gemini, named for the mythic Greek Fate who determines the span of life.  I have rarely seen the essence of a story laid out in such plain, unvarnished terms, so briefly, as a cosmic rendering of “boy (Child) dies (Lachesis) from sweets (Candy).”  This grouping is further embellished by a T-Square, consisting of an opposition to asteroid Tantalus 2102 at 22 Scorpio, named for a mythic figure noted for the commission of heinous, unthinkable crimes (including the murder and dismemberment of his son), with asteroid Rone 8680 (closest to “Ron”) on the fulcrum at 22 Leo, exactly squared Tantalus.  This again encapsulates the perpetrator and the irredeemable nature of his crime.

Asteroid Poisson (“poison”) at 10 Aries anchors a Grand Cross comprised of an opposition to Pluto at 7 Libra (ruling criminality and homicide) with asteroids Rip 7711 (“RIP”, “Rest In Peace”), Nemesis 128 (symbolizing ruin and destruction) and Cyane (“cyanide”) at 11, 12 and 17 Libra respectively; with crossbars formed by asteroids Pasadena 2200 (where the poisoned candy was retrieved) and Anubis 1912 (named for the ancient Egyptian deity ruling funerary rites) at 2 and 11 Capricorn, and Saturn (ancient lord of death, also representing the father) with asteroid Requiem 2254 (named for the funeral mass for the dead) at 18 and 22 Cancer.  Pasadena is squared asteroid Texas 35352 at 0 Libra, identifying which Pasadena is involved.

Two points came to station on November 1^st, the day after the murder, indicating a pivotal moment, fraught with potency and consequence.  One was asteroid Timothychang 24123, one of four referents starting with “Timothy.”  The other was asteroid Stickle, our cosmic stand-in for Pixy Stix.  They are conjunct at 18 and 13 Pisces, uniting victim and treat, with asteroid O’Briain within orb from 9 Pisces, further identifying Timothy O’Bryan.  This pair forms a T-Square, opposing asteroid Ronaldsayer 17853 (one of five referents for “Ronald”) at 19 Virgo with asteroids Timothylohr 28781, Osiris 1923 (Egyptian god of the dead) and Timothylinn 84943 on the fulcrum, at 13, 17 and 21 Sagittarius respectively.

The Sun at 8 Scorpio is exactly conjunct TNO Ixion 28987, named for the first murderer in Greek myth, also conjunct Venus at 6 Scorpio, representing a loved one, and asteroid Timothycooper 22722 at 1 Scorpio, specifying which loved one would be murdered.  The Sun/Ixion conjunction exactly opposes asteroid Ronaldballouz 28594, identifying Ronald as the murderer, also opposed asteroids Ronaldthiel 9923 and Ronaldlaub 296945 at 2 and 4 Scorpio, just to be sure we get the point:  the killer is Ronald, idiots!

And what of Whitney Parker, the child who came so close to death, saved only by his inability to open the Pixy Stix?  His celestial referent is close to death as well, with asteroid Parker 5392 at 6 Gemini, within orb of the Child/Candy/Lachesis conjunction, and in a Grand Trine Kite pattern, trined to asteroid Whitney 4346 at 9 Aquarius and Pluto (planetary ruler of homicide) at 7 Libra, the String formed by Pluto’s opposition to asteroid Poisson (poison) at 10 Aries.  So why was Whitney Parker spared?  That would be the presence of asteroid NOT 2857 at 6 Gemini, exact with Parker.  NOT is a general disqualifier or symbol of negation, but in this case, that was a good thing, for it prevented (NOT) Whitney Parker from being murdered (Pluto) by poisoning (Poisson).

Ronald O’Bryan was born 19 October 1944 (no time available), with asteroid Timothycooper at station from 16 Aquarius, showing a pivotal role to play in his life from someone named Timothy.  Yes, that’s the same Timothycooper which conjoined the Sun at his son’s murder.  Timothycooper participates in a Grand Cross, opposing Pluto at 10 Leo with asteroid Candy at 16 Leo (murder via sweet treats), the crossbars formed by asteroid Cyane (cyanide) at 11 Taurus and asteroid O’Brien at 9 Scorpio.  Note that the transit Sun/Ixion conjunction for the murder is just one degree shy of natal O’Brien, and setting off the natal Grand Cross.

There’s a remarkable cluster of points in Sagittarius, leading off with an exact triple conjunction of asteroids Ronaldthiel, Atropos 273 (Greek Fate who severs the thread of life at death) and Pasadena (all at 14 Sag), identifying O’Bryan’s (Ronaldthiel) role as an agent of death (Atropos), somehow involving Pasadena.  This is followed by asteroids Requiem (funeral mass for the dead) at 17 Sag, Anubis (funerary rites) at19 Sagittarius, Poisson (poison) at 23 Sag and Rip (RIP) at 25 Sagittarius.  This grouping is activated by the transit Timothylohr/Osiris/Timothylinn conjunction, specifying where this natal energy would be directed (the Timothy asteroids), and to what effect (Osiris).  A square from natal Jupiter at 18 Virgo ensures fame and notoriety for his actions.  A T-Square to Poisson/Rip from asteroids Ronaldballouz and Ronaldsayer at 29 Virgo/Pisces further identifies Ronald O’Bryan as a fatal (Rip) poisoner (Poisson).

Saturn symbolizes Ronald O’Bryan’s role as a father, also known as the ancient lord of death.  At 10 Cancer, Saturn conjoins asteroids Stickle and Texas at 14 and 15 Cancer, in a T-Square with an opposition to asteroids Osiris and Timothylinn at 10 and 14 Capricorn, with TNO Ixion (homicide) on the fulcrum at 10 Libra, exactly opposing natal asteroid Poisson at 10 Aries.  Note that Osiris and Timothylinn are paired in the transit sky, as well as Ronald O’Bryan’s birth chart.  Natal Neptune appears with Ixion, at 4 Libra, and rules poisons and toxins, suggesting the murder weapon of choice.

Natal asteroid Child at 0 Gemini opposes a grouping of asteroids Lachesis (lifespan) at 6 Sagittarius with an exact pairing of asteroids Ronaldhsu 11724 and Tantalus at 7 Sag, indicating an innate propensity for Ronald O’Bryan (Ronaldhsu) to commit some heinous act (Tantalus) directed at a minor (Child).  Note also that transit Child at 29 Taurus was just about to return to its natal degree, reenergizing the natal potential for a horrible crime against a child, perpetrated by Ronald.

Timothy O’Bryan’s sad fate is also reflected in his nativity.  Born 5 April 1966 (no time available), four points appear at station, always a sign of importance in character or biography.  In Timothy’s case, these are asteroid Candy at 19 Sagittarius (does that zodiacal region ring a bell?); Pasadena at 15 Leo (the amazing thing here is that the family lived in Deer Park, TX, but went to nearby Pasadena for their trick-or-treating, perhaps the only time Timothy visited that community); Stickle (the Pixy Stix) at 16 Leo, and O’Briain at 25 Leo.

Gilding the lily, the cosmos gives us Candy in a Grand Cross, opposing Poisson at 13 Gemini, squared Timothylinn at 12 Virgo and Timothychang at 11 Pisces, with a precise Saturn/Mercury conjunction at 22 Pisces also factored in.  The poisoned candy (Poisson, Candy), the death (Saturn) of a child (Mercury) named Timothy at his father’s (Saturn) hands – it’s all there. 

As well, the Stickle/Pasadena conjunction T-Squares a triple conjunction of asteroids Anubis at 9 Taurus and Child with Timothylohr, together at 12 Taurus, and a grouping of asteroids Lachesis (lifespan) and Nemesis (ruin) with Neptune (poisoning) at 14, 19, and 21 Scorpio. And note that Timothy’s natal Stickle exactly conjoins his father’s natal Candy with Pluto, refining just what type (Stickle, for Pixy Stix) of sweet (Candy) he would choose to murder (Pluto) his son.

Asteroids Cyane (cyanide), Rone and Timothycooper conjoin at 5, 7 and 11 Capricorn, squared the 15 Aries Sun with asteroid Ronaldhsu at 16 Aries, once again combining father and son with the boy’s life-force and a deadly poison.  Note that at his murder, transit Poisson conjoined Sun/Ronaldhsu, transit Pasadena and Anubis conjoined the Capricorn placements, and transit Saturn, Rip and Nemesis joined the fray from Cancer and Libra to form a T-Square focused on Timothy’s Sun.

Ronald O’Bryan’s unthinkable actions almost singlehandedly rewrote the script on how Americans celebrate Halloween:  whom they trust, what they fear, how it affects their children.  Fifty years later, we still live in his shadow.