On this day, of all days, the trial of the South African paralympic athlete, Oscar Pistorius finally comes to its conclusion.
Given how much media attention this court case has received worldwide, and my own ties to South Africa, I could not help myself from consulting the stars to try and get a heads-up on his verdict…As we wait for the end of the lunch recess to hear the last part of Judge Masipa’s verdict, here is a quick breakdown of a horary chart, cast for just after midnight this morning and what it seems to suggest.
HORARY CHART
Firstly, Gemini is rising which points us in the direction of Mercury, currently in the sign ruling law and legal decisions, Libra, which seems radical.
Mercury is coming off of a square to Pluto and a sextile to Jupiter. The former hints at a draconian application of the rules/law, while the latter suggests leniency and a strong attempt at impartiality – “innocent until proven guilty.” At this stage, then, things could go either way. Given Pluto’s position in the 7th house, it would appear that significant others, including members of Reeva’s family and perhaps even some of those close to Pistorius, think he is guilty when all is said and done.
But Jupiter rules the 7th house cusp, which points to the judge being less certain and perhaps fairly kindly disposed towards the defendant. Jupiter’s positive aspects to Mercury and the Moon appear to back this up, but they are SEPARATING, so in the process of leaving. Also, as ruler of the 6th house, Pluto in Capricorn, coming off the square to Mercury, means that she feels she must apply the letter of the law meticulously to the case – after all, her own reputation as a judge may be at stake if she gets it wrong under the glare of such intense scrutiny.
Now, when one looks at legal judgements, it is usually the cusp of the 9th house that tells us which planet represents the verdict. In this case, it is Uranus, ruler of Aquarius, which is located in the 10th house of public office and positions of leadership. Uranus happens to be approaching a conjunction with the Moon, a significant player in any horary chart. This suggests a surprise for the public (the Moon can rule public opinion) which is certainly what we got this morning when the judge ruled out the two charges of premeditated murder and homicide with intent to kill.
Uranus is also moving towards an opposition with Mercury in Libra. This hints at unexpected twists and turns, as well as surprise decisions. Will Oscar walk free? Although for many, this is an unbelievable prospect, given all the media coverage and how poorly he performed in the witness box, with Neptune ruling the Midheaven and positioned in the 9th house of judgements, and moving towards an opposition with Mercury, it does look as though he may well get away with it. As if to confirm this, the Moon becomes void of course after her conjunction with Uranus, which means that nothing further can be done to alter events – their course is set as long as the Moon remains in Aries.
Could anything prevent this seemingly incredible turn of events from occurring?
Here, we need to look to Saturn, co-ruler of the 9th house as the former traditional Lord of Aquarius. Situated in the 6th house, ruled by Pluto and in mutual reception to Pluto (they are in each other’s sign), it is currently approaching a sextile to the Sun in Virgo, ruler of the 3rd house cusp – announcements, decisions, speeches etc. This combination represents authority figures who are both cautious in their style of thinking and way of expressing themselves, but also strict (Virgo and Scorpio) in terms of applying the letter of the law and conservative (Saturn) in approach. Is this a better description of Judge Masipa than the overly confident and flaboyant Jupiter in Leo?
The Sun is moving off from a contact with Chiron in Pisces in the 9th house of legal judgements, so away from the possibility of the judge continuing to feel sorry for Oscar and sympathising too much with his apparent emotional distress,which might cause her judgement to be temporarily clouded.
It’s movement towards the sextile with Saturn (solid, perceptive if potentially severe judgements) and its position in the third, roughly opposing the Midheaven, hints that all is not as it at first seems. The Sun is Virgo is a stickler for the rules and excellent at processing fine details, so this judge will be very nuanced in her verdictand leave no stone unturned with regards to legal tests and landmark cases.
Exact at just after 5pm local time in South Africa, this aspect is the last transit scheduled for the day, so may just prove to be the clincher. Will he be convicted of culpable homicide? If the Sun and Saturn are anything to go by, then yes. But if the Moon has the final say, then no. I can’t help but notice that she happens to rule the 2nd house of money, which may point to a bribe or financial exchange of some kind, which is of course a real problem in South Africa, which could of course sway the decision in Oscar’s favour.
Whatever the outcome, I would go so far as to speculate that the judge may privately think that Oscar Pistorius is guilty, but may publicly stress that the evidence against him is not irrefutable enough to convict (nebulous Neptune opposing Mercury in Libra). This has certainly been true for the first two counts. Let’s see if he passes or fails the last one, which has very strict criteria. With Mercury heading for an opposition to Uranus, I am not sure he will.
Photo Credits
“Oscar Pistorius-2” by Oscar Pistorius.jpg: Elvar Pálsson
derivative work: Coda.coza – Oscar Pistorius.jpg. Licensed under CC BY 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons.
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