The story of Cory Lidle’s plane crash into a New York City building seems bizarre to me. The trajectory that the plane took to crash into the building was completely unexpected, and the presence of an experienced flight instructor on the plane as it crashed for virtually no reason defies explanation.

Susan Custer has posted Cory Lidle’s chart and her analysis. I have somewhat of a different take than Susan’s:

Lidle was an Aries, independent and self-directed. Aries people don’t like to take orders, and Cory Lidle was no exception from all accounts. Pluto was nearly exactly opposite his Sun, showing an individual who has difficulty with authority figures (Pluto represents power and death) and a need to come face to face with death and experience life on the deepest level. His Jupiter squared both the Sun and Pluto, adding a reckless (Jupiter) approach to the need to confront death. He was known for immersing himself completely in whatever he became involved in, and flying was no exception.

Jupiter in his chart was in Capricorn, giving him a strong work ethic and need to achieve that conflicted with the independence of his Aries Sun. Mars in his chart was in Taurus, which desires peace and serenity and stability — not the adventures that his Aries Sun required. There is thus an inner conflict between the need for accomplishment and stability of the earthy Capricorn and Taurus battling with the adventurous Aries.

As Susan writes, depending on the exact placement of his Moon Lidle had a Grand Cross in the Cardinal signs of Aries (Sun/Chiron/Mercury), Libra (Pluto), Cancer (Moon) and Capricorn (Jupiter). The Grand Cross is the most difficult of all of the major aspects, but it also creates the most tension that motivates tremendous growth. The Cardinal signs are signs of action and initiation – they are the leaders. This aspect generates a huge amount of energy that propels the individual into projects of all kinds, but it can be difficult for that person to focus. His Cancer Moon, very sensitive and easily wounded, was squared by both Chiron and Pluto. Challenging aspects of Chiron to the Moon show an emotionally (Moon) wounded (Chiron) individual, and the square of Pluto to the Moon shows an intense (Pluto) emotional nature that is easily made afraid.

We therefore have an individual who at his core may have been fearful (Moon/Chiron/Pluto) yet who had a strong adventurous streak (Aries) as well, and it may be that he overemphasized the Aries part of his nature in order to combat the other.

At the time of Cory Lidle’s crash, his progressed Moon was exactly conjunct Chiron in his natal chart which, by the way, was also exactly conjunct the new planet Eris. The progressed Moon shows our unfolding personality, and when conjunct Chiron we tend to encounter events that force us to face our old wounds (Chiron) so that they can be healed. The progressed Moon therefore became a part of the Grand Cross and was likely to activate a significant event of some kind.

I will be keeping an eye on this situation as the details unfold. I feel strongly that there is more to this situation than meets the eye.