James "The Joker" Holmes

James "the Joker" Holmes

Born: 12/13/87

From the outside James Holmes seemed like an easygoing "nice" guy. He was born with 3 planets in the funloving sign of Sagittarius, which is the sign ruled by Jupiter (the joker), but the negative side of Sagg is that they don't know when to quit, and have a tendency to take things too far.  So on July 20, 2012 around 12:30am James opened fire on innocent movie goers at a local theater in Colorado, killing 12 and wounding 58.  He reportedly told police that he was the joker, and had dyed his hair red, like the character in the Bat Man series.  So how did this easygoing man commit such a heinous crime seemingly without any emotion?  How could he stand there and gun down children, mothers, fathers who were just trying to see a movie? 

WAS HE BI-POLAR?

One of the 3 planets in Sagg, is Saturn, planet of discipline and it's right next to his Sun.  Sun/Saturn people are usually self disciplined, and usually have problems with their fathers.  There seems to be a trait that Sun/Saturn people exhibit and that's the need to prove to their fathers that they are worthy.  Either the father was absent, or if present, was a strict disciplinarian.  Sun/Saturn people yearn to be recognized for their accomplishments, are very ambitious, and usually emotionally cold.  What we've learned from reports given on the news is that James was a high achiever on the academic level, was going for his PHD in neuro-science and was a honor student in highschool, and received merit scholarships for his undergraduate studies.  He was a loner with few friends.

THE MOTHER CONNECTION

James has the Moon in Virgo, the sign of the perfectionist or critic.  When his mother was reached she said "that sounds like my son"...She hasn't given any more interviews, but gave an apologetic statement for her son's victims and asked for privacy.  The Moon in Virgo is squaring the Sun/Mercury/Saturn in Sagittarius in the astrological chart of James Holmes.  Virgo and Sagittarius are very different. Sagg is outgoing, friendly, generous, while Virgo is concerned about duty, cleanliness, sometimes stingy, but very frugal.  These two signs are not compatible, Virgo is Mutable Earth and Sagittarius is Mutable Fire.  With the square between the Sun and Moon there is a tendency to be conflicted, i.e. on the outside happy go lucky, on the inside overly critical or cynical.  It looks as if James and his mother were at odds with one another, with her being overly critical of him and with him trying to prove he was worthy.  What he did was not only an affront to all the people he hurt, but it was also like thumbing his nose at his mother "I'll show you!"  Also the South Node is in Virgo, meaning that his mother connection could have come from past lifetimes.  This could have been the reason why James gravitated to the sciences, but it further increased a cynical attitude towards life where his left brain was stronger than his right brain.  With the North Node in Pisces, he found a way to fantacize and probably had an unspoken desire to act, or become a musician.  Yet, going the traditional way of the sciences was strongly encouraged by his Mother because it was a guaranteed way for him to support himself while gaining huge respect. 

MARS/PLUTO IN SCORPIO

Mars the planet of outgoing energy is very close to Pluto, the planet of transformation or degeneration in Scorpio, the sign that says "I Desire".  This shows an interest in occult, and a tendency to hold on to grudges, plus an early fascination with death, that reared it's ugly head when James methodically planned to kill people indiscriminately.  With all the bedlam going on in the theater as he moved up and down the aisles wounding and killing people, when he ran out of ammunition he calmly walked out of the theater, leaving a blood bath behind.  Mars/Pluto people suffer from obsessions and it was clear that this man was obsessed with the Bat Man movies and may have thought he was really "The Joker". 

VENUS IN CAPRICORN

There are so many indications of coldness in this chart, and Venus planet of love is yet another one. Venus is Capricorn indicates that James didn't receive much lap time when he was a child. He got what he needed on the material level but on the emotional level with Venus in cold Capricorn, and the Moon in critical Virgo, he had to get attention with his intellect, his accomplishments in school.  He stayed at the top because of his need to be recognized and loved.

SUMMARY

 James must have been planning this massacre for months, as transiting Mars in Virgo was squaring his 3 planets in Sagittarius, and the Martian energy was building up in him.  He may have gotten tired of having to depend on his mother for money, was unable to support himself and from all appearances his world was falling apart.  With Mars/Pluto in Scorpio he was seething deep inside as he just couldn't get past the deep resentment he had built up since childhood.  He also was feeling lonely, with transiting Saturn squaring his Venus in Capricorn.  With transiting Uranus also squaring his Venus, either he recently received a rejection from someone he loved or he felt frustrated because he couldn't attract the one he loved.  Mars/Pluto in his chart, shows he has a strong need for sex and probably has not been able to tell the difference between sex and love.  Transiting Pluto was connecting to his Neptune in Capricorn, and he finally decided to live out his fantasies, being a "strong" guy, making many fear him and for once getting the attention that he has craved all his life.  Incidentally, we wonder if James saw the trailer for a movie about gansters that was playing in theaters...there's a scene in that movie of a gangster entering a movie theater and spraying the audience with bullets.  Warner Brothers has pulled the trailer from the internet and in theaters.  Probably his defence will be insanity, as he's lawyered up (thanks to his mother), and even though they have a love/hate relationship mommy wants to save her little genius, regardless of what he did.  But for sure the media will be all up in his business and dragging this story out for months...until the next demented soul or copy cat comes forward to get our attention.  My heart goes out to the families of the victims, now the ball is in their court to help influence the politicians to do something about gun control.  The Moon on Friday, June 20th, was in Leo, the sign of drama, and it was close to retrograde Mercury in Leo...this news story went far and wide and serves as a wake up call for all of us.  While this country is poised for an attack from "foreigners" we need to be on alert for our neighbors or lone wolf perpetrators of violence.  Keep the Light around you and follow your intuition before going out or being in a crowd. 

CANCER NEW MOON THURS. JULY 19, 2012

The New Moon in Cancer is a good time to do some emotional housecleaning and to notice your emotional state during the day.  After all Cancer is the sign ruled by the Moon, and her keywords are "I Feel".  Mercury is retrograde now (from 7/14 to 8/8 2012), so our collective mind set might be focused on the past, then along comes the most emotional New Moon of the year and I'd be willing to bet that the emotions that come up (for most of us) is based on situations that happened a long time ago.  And the consistent replaying of past emotional dramas or traumas can recreate the same feelings that we had when the event first took place.

"GET OVER IT"

It might not seem like a nice thing to say, but when someone tries to tell me about something that happened years ago, I've found myself first checking with them about the timing "when did this happen?" and then my favorite phrase is "Get Over It".  That statement serves to bring the person back to the present and reminds them that they've been holding on to hurts or disappointments for far too long.  I go on to explain that holding on to resentment is not good for their health and that the present moment is really all we have.  Sometimes the person will stubbornly keep on talking about how "he" or "she" did them wrong, and that usually follows with "and they always do that", and then " she'll never change".  But in fact "she'll never change or "he'll never change" is really saying "I'm not going to change". And therein lies the rub. The only person that we can change is ourselves because we can't change the consciousness of other people, nor should we try to change them. People will change when they are ready to accept a new paradigm for their life and that usually happens when they receive a wake up call, a dramatic event or some unsuspected trauma that helps them seek change.  People will change how they treat you when you react differently to them. When you detach from the need to control the situation or the person the change will come.  When you bypass the temptation to argue or to engage in meaningless dialogue "he said, she said",  and when you stay cool, calm and collected when it seems the other person is trying to attack you. 

EMOTIONAL HOUSECLEANING

So on this New Moon in Cancer, do yourself a favor and release and let go of negative emotions, i.e. sadness, guilt, resentment, anger and check how many times during the day your feelings and emotions go there. You can stop the habit of emotional hoarding, by sifting through them and saying to yourself "I release you, I loose you, I set you free". Some people do a ritual where they imagine the negative emotion leaving the body and flying towards the sun to be burned up by the sun's powerful rays.  You can also write down the emotion that you want to clean out of your consciousness and physically burn it in a burning pot or frying pan.  Another way to change the energy is by doing something that makes you feel good.  Listen to some upbeat music with positive lyrics or watch a feel good movie, you know, the one with the happy ending.  Or call up a friend who lifts your spirits, or take a long walk or do yoga or tai chi, or work the body out with exercise.  Above all take responsibility for your feelings and embrace joy and happiness for the good things you have in your life right now.  Make sure that the words you say after "I Feel" are positive.  You may have to fake it until it becomes true, but do it anyway..."I feel good, I feel healthy, I feel prosperous, " I feel grateful".  No matter what the circumstances are in your life right now, stay in the present moment and deliberately focus on happiness and joy.  If you can do this for one day, it might just become a habit that will attract positive people and events in your life for a long time to come.  Celebrate your life!  Happy Birthday dear Anna, the most positive and balanced Cancerian I know. 

MERCURY RETROGRADE IN LEO JULY 14, 2012

Mercury, planet of communications, speaking, writing, thinking, speaking is going retrograde in Leo, the sign of "I will" until August 8, 2012. If you've been paying attention to what I've been saying about Mercury retrogrades, then this will be a funfilled event, where many of you will be getting back to creative projects started months ago, or where some will get back to talent or gift you've put on the back burner until you had time to develop it.  Lately I've been dreaming about playing the piano, a strange dream for a piano teacher.  But lately I haven't really practiced or followed the sage advice I've been giving my students...practice, practice, practice!"  Could it be that my subconscious mind is giving me the message to "practice what I preach?" Precisely.  And that's the message for all of us, to make sure when your giving advice to others that you're practicing what you preach.  Actually we were taught not to give "sage" advice to anyone unless they asked for it, because unsolicited advice is a criticism or judgment.  I couldn't help but wonder how this retrograde Mercury in Leo was going to affect our president who is a Leo?  What we do is just watch, observe and witness what's going on during a retrograde Mercury.  People changing their minds, people getting into vigorous disagreements (nice way of saying arguments), people stuck in their opinions and refusing to open their minds to anyone else's viewpoint. Then there's the whole accident thing that seems to escalate during retrograde Mercury, which is traditionally not a good time for travel. I'm always asked by clients if they should change their schedule or sign important papers during this time.  My answer seems to be an avoidance of the question..".if you've already made plans to go on vacation, go and keep the Light around you." If you have to sign documents that are time sensitive, meaning linear time not cosmic time, then look them over carefully or consult a professional before signing on the dotted line.  With Jupiter in Gemini forming a sextile to Mercury in Leo, it's important to keep it Light, have a few belly laughs and not to take anything too seriously.  The weather could shift during this period from July 14th to August 8th and hopefully that will mean for those who are living on the east coast, cooler temperatures.  Just keep in mind that no matter what, it is all God and it is all good.