Asteroid Astrology: International

raisi cover

Helicopter Crash Kills Iranian President Raisi

On 19 May 2024, Ebrahim Raisi, president of Iran since 2021, was killed when his helicopter crashed in a remote region of the country, near the village of Uzi.  Dense forests and thick fog impeded rescue efforts for up to twelve hours; by the time the wreckage was reached, there were no survivors.  Also among the eight who died was Iran’s Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian.  A former cleric and Muslim jurist, Raisi had been nicknamed the “Butcher of Tehran” for the part he played as deputy prosecutor general during the infamous 1988 “death commissions” and executions of Iranian political prisoners; for this and other offenses United Nations special rapporteurs accused him of crimes against humanity.

Continue reading

crocus hall cover

Eclipse Notes: Of Bombs, Bonds and Bridges

Hold onto your cosmic hats!  We’re gonna do a down-and-dirty overview of three stories that made the news in recent days – the terrorist attack in Moscow on March 22nd that left more than 130 dead; the diminution of Donald Trump’s civil fraud bond on the 25th; and the catastrophic bridge collapse in Baltimore on the 26th.  Each deserves a deeper dive, buy hey!  I’m only human.

Continue reading

yacht cover

Asteroid Sleuth: The Case of the Captured Catamaran

On 18 February 2024, three prisoners escaped from a holding cell at the South St. George Police Station on Grenada, hijacked the yacht of an American couple docked nearby, took them captive, and sailed the vessel to the island of St. Vincent, where the yacht, a catamaran, was found on the 21st, and the prisoners recaptured.  The boat showed signs of violence, including what appeared to be bloodstains, but of Kathy Brandel and Ralph Hendry, its owners, there was no sign.  Presumably the couple were somehow disposed of at sea by their attackers, and little hope of their recovery has been offered.

Continue reading

navalny cover

Alexei Navalny: Poisoned (Again)?

On 16 February 2024, the sudden death of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny was announced from the Polar Wolf prison in Kharp, Siberia, Russia, where he had been held since December, following a series of transfers after his incarceration in 2021.  Navalny, who can be seen laughing and joking in a video just the day before, reportedly felt unwell after a morning walk, collapsed, and could not be revived.

Navalny had long been a thorn in the side of Russian President Vladimir Putin, organizing and leading the opposition to his despotic rule for over a decade.  Putin had tried at least once before to have him killed, using poison, and astrologic factors point to his death being a repeat performance, successful this time.   In August 2020 Navalny became violently ill during a flight, losing consciousness and lapsing into a coma; he was medically evacuated to Berlin, where the cause was determined to be Novichok poisoning, a Soviet era neurotoxin.  Miraculously, Navalny survived, and despite the risk to his life returned to Russia in January 2021, where he was immediately arrested, and has been in detention ever since, under increasingly harsh conditions, serving a nineteen-year sentence for “extremism.”

Continue reading

chas cancer cover

King Charles’ Cancer Diagnosis

On Monday, 5 February 2024, Buckingham Palace announced that King Charles III of the United Kingdom had been diagnosed with cancer.  The 75-year-old monarch had undergone treatment for a benign enlarged prostate on January 26th, and was said to be recovering well.  But another area of concern was noted at the time, and has now been confirmed as cancer, though the Palace has thus far not revealed what type of cancer, beyond stating that it does not involve the prostate.  The King began outpatient cancer treatment the day his diagnosis was announced.

Continue reading

mushrooms cover

Asteroid Sleuth: The Case of the Murderous Mushroom

On Saturday, 29 July 2023, Erin Patterson of Leongatha, Victoria, Australia, invited her estranged husband Simon, his parents Don and Gail, and his mother’s sister Heather and her husband Ian Wilkinson, a local minister, to lunch, sending her two children to the movies.  The purpose of the gathering was to try to work through the differences that had separated the couple, with a view to their reconciliation.  Simon backed out of the luncheon at the last minute, but the four elders attended, with Reverend Wilkinson attempting to counsel Erin in his absence. 

Continue reading