Despite serious doubts about his guilt, Troy Davis was executed in Jackson, Georgia on September 21. He was declared dead at 11:08 pm. (1)
CNN World’s headline, “World Shocked by U.S. execution of Troy Davis,” captures the mood of many and the case has galvanized global support to abolish the death penalty. “The European Union expressed ‘deep regret’ over the execution and repeated its call for a universal moratorium on capital punishment.” (2)
Troy Davis was born in Butts County, Georgia on October 9, 1968. (3) With no known birth time, I cast a sunrise chart for Jackson, Georgia. (Jackson is the largest town in Butts County, so that’s where I set the chart.)
The death chart has 11° Gemini rising (opposite the Sibly Ascendant), with the Ascendant ruler Mercury at 23° Virgo, directly on Davis’s natal Pluto-Jupiter conjunction.
In the chart for the time of his death, Mercury is 135° to retrograde Jupiter (ruler of the legal system) at 9° Taurus, and the Moon in Cancer is 135° to Neptune at the Midheaven. Neptune at the Midheaven suggests the worldwide media attention; the dubious circumstances (i.e., changing testimony of key witnesses) throughout the case; and the loss and sorrow for all the families personally involved with the case (i.e., the deceased police officer’s and the Davis families) as well as the general public’s strong emotional identification with the event.
Pluto is also on the cusp of 8th house at the time of his death, suggesting that the moment is tied to the greater collective consciousness.
The murder of the police officer that Troy Davis was accused of killing was on August 19, 1989. This was two days after a lunar eclipse at 24°12’ Aquarius (August 17). This eclipse was square to Davis’s natal Neptune at 24° Scorpio. Further trouble for him is inferred by Davis’s Mars return (11° Virgo), which occurred on the day of the murder.
Without a birth time, we can set a chart for the prenatal solar eclipse of an individual to see how they connect to the larger currents of the time. The prenatal solar eclipse for Troy Davis was on September 22. This eclipse set for the birthplace is quite striking: Jupiter, Pluto, Moon, Sun, and Uranus are all on the Ascendant. (Uranus at 29°36’ Virgo; the eclipse at 29°29 Virgo)
The PNSE Pluto sits directly on the Sibly Neptune at 22° Virgo in the 9th house (of legal matters).
There was also a lunar eclipse on October 6, 1989, three days before Davis was born. This was at 13°14’ Aries. The Sun was on the U.S. Sibly Saturn— dignified in Libra and in full view in the 10th house — and square to the nation’s Sun at 13°19’ Cancer. This eclipse ties Troy Davis strongly to the national horoscope.
Furthermore, if we place the transits for the event on the Sibly chart, the Moon in Cancer (strong public interest) is on the 8th-house cusp. (I use different house systems in my work, but have found the Porphyry 8th-house cusp to be eerily sensitive at the time of death.)
Troy Davis’s natal Uranus is at 0°40’ Libra, on the Aries Point of worldwide visibility; this is also on the Sibly Midheaven, 1°03’ Libra. The legacy of his life is connected to bringing issues of justice and equality onto the worldwide stage.
This morning, as we approach tomorrow’s New Moon in Libra, (4) I read: “The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights says Georgia’s execution of high-profile death row prisoner Troy Davis last Wednesday may have violated international law, citing serious concerns that the rights of Davis to due process and a fair trial were not respected.” (5)
May he rest in peace.
References:
(1) ABC News
(2) CNN World
(3) Wikipedia
(4) The New Moon at 4°00′ Libra is square Pluto. Mercury, Venus and Saturn are also in Libra, with Mercury at 2°52′, opposite Uranus retrograde at 2°31′ Aries.
(5) Democracy Now
Here are some of the many informative articles on various aspects of the case:
22 Comments
Can’t see why Davis’ death would show in a hypothetical and speculative chart for the declaration of independence of the colony of Delaware from the Crown, which is all the mis-named “sibly” chart is. It was not de facto, nor de iure independence, it set up no government, and certainly none (by definition) which is in power today. You might as well use the birth of Jesus’ chart.
Several fundamental errors here:
1) you have the wrong chart;
2) you are packing the cookie jar with “links”– i.e., pinning the donkey on the tail (the opposite manoeuvre is equally specious);
3) there were 243 executions in Texas recently. You have not demonstrated anything about them, a one off is invalid.
4) I suppose you never heard that Georgia is a state, that you missed that Georgia, not the Federal Government, executed Davis, and then missed the obvious point that you should have looked at the chart of Georgia, either her accession to the Federal Government, by which she was constituted as a State, or her re-admission to the Federal Union as a State after the treasonous rebellion of 1861-65.
I suppose what you are not seeing is that 1968 was a turbulent year and era for the USA, revolution and war; that baby born was not the cause nor the effect.
Enthusiasm of the moment, fuelled by excessive attention to news media hype, is not a very sound basis for specious astrological musings.
Lorenzo,
I appreciate your comments and you are obviously free to express your views.
I feel that we should just respectfully agree to disagree about our approach to astrology.
I was not trying to ‘demonstrate’ (your word) anything in particular about astrology.
I was merely reporting on what I consider to be the beauty of astrological symbolism as I saw it in this particular story.
Mary Plumb
Mary,
I appreciate your article, thank you. I do however want to ask you this question: When is the last time you read over this case? I live here in GA and have been keeping up with it for sometime now. The gun used by Troy Davis at a party later that night after the cop had been killed had en casings that matched the same gun as the one that killed the cop. (According to more than 20 witnesses, Davis did indeed fire a gun at a party later that same evening.) When the cops confiscated a gun from Davis it only had his fingerprints on it. The evidence is overwhelming. I was not there. And in a sense we’ll all never really know what happened since we weren’t there. I do think it would be interesting to do the chart of the fallen officer. And more importantly, I wish more people would read about the case more in depth before choosing sides. I feel we are here ultimately for kindness and compassion for one another. That having been said, one must pay the price for one’s actions. Saturn says everyone pays the toll. Not just some people. My personal opinion is that the one who screams the loudest is not always telling the truth. Love your writing though, thank you Mary!
Hello Deborah,
Thank you for your thoughtful comments.
I was actually thinking more about the death penalty in general than Mr Davis’s guilt or innocence.
I thought that the eclipse on his Neptune before the murder was interesting and indicative of the questions and confusion about the case.
I think the death chart with Neptune angular also speaks to the ongoing questions about the case.
I much appreciate your gracious words..
Many thanks,
Mary
That a young man has a gun at a party in the evening that earlier in the day killed a police officer is NOT overwhelming proof that the young man was the cop killer. I can think of countless ways that gun ended up in his hands. That he was young and troubled is clear. That he was the killer is NOT clear. Justice HAS NOT been served.
Great article, Mary.
It seems the first two posters have not interpreted this post as objectively as Mary meant to discuss it. My personal opinion is the death penalty is barbaric and archaic. To use it as a form of “justice” is the same justification a murderer could argue. Period.
This article was simply pointing out that this particular case has had a deep effect on our societal consciousness, forcing us to look at who we are. This is obvious without bringing in Astrology. It’s addressing similar connections that are usually present in cases that also have a similar effect on the collective, nothing more.
Hi there,
Thank you for commenting..
As I mentioned above, I was thinking about the greater collective implications of the case and the broader issues of the justice system in the US, rather than Mr Davis’s guilt or innocence.
Thanks for ‘catching my drift’ on that..
I have already posted what I am going to say on anothe site.
I do not believe in the death penalty.
Ever.
I have a lot of specific information on the executioner, Dr. Carlo Mussa. He does not believe in capital punishment but he sure likes the $$$. The “Doctor” was paid 18k.
He was just doing his job. Where have I heard this line before?
http://bit.ly/nGPtnu
The drug used to kill Troy Davis is sodium thiopental. A barbituate. The drug supplier is, get this, a company named Dream Pharma. Sound like a science fiction movie but it is not one.
My best friend who does believe in the death penalty thought there was too much doubt.
My I/C is 11 degrees Gemini.
The whole wide world saw this atrocity and wept.
The astrology is obvious to me. Pluto much?
Thanks Angela for your comments..
I agree with the significance of the angles and the Sibly chart. A very public moment…
My Sun and Mars are both at 11 Gemini. At the time of the execution I had some deep feelings as well…without even knowing the astrology of it. That placement also ties in with the June 1st eclipse earlier this summer.
Very good point, I’d forgotten about the June 1 solar eclipse..
Pluto in Capricorn = Death as business.
This execution really had a deep effect on me, also, and it was obvious to me that this man had a role to play in the raising of consciousness of the world. That is and was an intuitive feeling, so when I read the aspects I was also surprised…being a Gemini …the north node had just passed over my 16 II Sun/Saturn conjunction and Mars had just passed over my MC/Venus conjunction in the death chart. I am an adamant death penalty opponent. I had read that the family of this policeman was adamantly for the execution…22 years after….they seemed unable to raise their consciousness at all, and only wanted revenge? That made me very uncomfortable and sad.
Mary, I agree with your focus….not on guilt or innocence, but on what it all meant in our own processes, and in that of the world itself. I also am stunned at some of the messages in the mechanics of the charts and the stars. As Shakespeare wrote;
There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio,
Than are dreamt of in your philosophy.
Pluto in Capricorn=Death as a business…Angela, brilliant.
Mary, thank you for your courageous exploration of Troy Davis’s murder. Mr. Davis left a legacy by exhorting us all to remember that his impending execution was a wake-up call.
The death penalty is barbaric. If we don’t abolish it, it’s a guarantee that before too much longer, another innocent person is going to be put to death without any chance of submitting exculpatory evidence to the State.
Also, do “we the people” have the right to engage in selective murder? Ethically and morally (in the highest sense the word), I think not. We need to remember that as a nation we were charged with working to create “a more perfect union.” (U.S. Constitution preamble).
Your compassion as a practicing astrologer is what informs the deep symbols you evoke in your exploration and analysis of Mr. Davis’s execution.
I say keep these wonderful articles coming. You make a difference, Mary.
Warmly, Claudia
Thank you very much, Claudia..
Hi Mary, I also wanted to add that Troy Davis’s progress Sun conjunct Neptune (SC) was in tight square to transiting Neptune at 28-29 Aquarius. This position is just past the Sibley chart Moon (the people) at 27 Aquarius.
But more to the point is the resonance between Neptune as ruler of chemicals and drugs. A range of lethal ones to suppress breathing in connection with tranquilizing agents (Morpheus, god of eternal sleep) by overdose is how it’s done. Terribly sad to even have to mention this in writing or outloud.
Transiting Saturn at 17 Libra has just finished it’s conjunction to the USA Saturn — her 8th Saturn return. Saturn was also in the degree of the transiting nodes the day of the execution which currently lie along the 1/7 axis of the Sibley chart. Saturn, although not at the bendings, still bears the job of the administrator of justice — the penalty phase. Hence, the lunar nodal degree with Saturn seems to indicate to me that there would be no Stay of Execution. It was a fated event.
/Claudia
yes, Saturn has its way..
Take good care and truly, thank you for all your support..
Love,
mary
Hi Mary, I had commented above on the family of the police officer who was killed. This morning Amy Goodman published this:
Troy Davis and the Machinery of Death
Amy Goodman writes: “According to an Associated Press reporter who was there, these were Troy Davis’ final words: ‘I’d like to address the MacPhail family. Let you know, despite the situation you are in, I’m not the one who personally killed your son, your father, your brother. I am innocent. The incident that happened that night is not my fault. I did not have a gun. All I can ask … is that you look deeper into this case so that you really can finally see the truth. I ask my family and friends to continue to fight this fight. For those about to take my life, God have mercy on your souls. And may God bless your souls.'”
http://www.readersupportednews.org/opinion2/287-124/7619-troy-davis-and-the-machinery-of-death
On your sunrise chart for Oct. 9, 1968 I notice that Uranus and Chiron are in a strong opposition to each other, 0 degree orb. Could you comment on how Chiron and this aspect might figure in to this event.
just did a work-up for this for http://www.daykeeperjournal.com, which should be posted oct 1. i found a number of signifcant asteroid placements in the birth chart (BC) and the death chart (DC). asteroid jackson (#2193) at 8 virgo conjunct mars at 11 virgo in the BC, connecting the venue and means of death (execution = mars), with jackson at 18 cancer in the DC conjunct moon 17 cancer exactly squared saturn (ancient lord of death, also officials, laws, penalties, etc), with jackson exactly inconjunct asteroid damocles (the doom hanging overhead) at 18 aquarius on the midheaven.
a natal jupiter (judicial)/pluto (death, murder) conjunction at 22 and 23 virgo speaks volumes, trines natal asteroid davis (#3638) at 28 taurus, which in the DC is exactly squared by neptune at 28 aquarius, exactly trined by sun at 28 virgo, which is also conjunct asteroid requiem (funeral mass for the dead) at 27 virgo. asteroid davis in the DC is at 4 leo, conjunct mars at 1 leo and natal asteroid georgia (#359) at 6 leo, again combining davis personally with execution and the state that killed him.
lastly, natal sun at 16 libra was of course being transited by saturn at the time of death, but also opposed saturn at 22 aries natally, which is exactly squared asteroid atropos (named for the Greek Fate who severs the thread of life at death) at 22 cancer, suggesting an ‘official death’ of some sort.
in reply to deborah, all i can say is, by the accounts i have read, there is nothing like ‘overwhelming’ evidence here – all ballistics proved was that it was also a .38 that killed mcphail, not that it was davis’ .38. the man who first came forward to accuse davis, redd coles, also possessed a .38 at the time, and he is one of only 2 witnesses who never recanted all or part of their testimony, and the man davis claims did the actual shooting. there is plenty of room for doubt here; no conclusive forensic or ballistic evidence, chief accuser is also a suspect, most witnesses changed their stories. at the very least he deserved a new trial, or a commutation to life, IMO.
As an outspoken critic of Nameology, which I hold to be an astrological abomination, I respectfully ask Alex to explain to us how every other asteroid that he has not cherry picked fits into this drama, including the ones that have to do with happier obscure mythological figures and other ontologia that are too numerous for me to list here.
This, I believe, will lead us to the real killer(s) as it’s just a matter of matching names to events. Do up a chart for the murder and, Viola! Right?
My theory is that death penalty reform is likely in the US as the Pluto in Scorpio generation matures, and takes seats on the Supreme Court.
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