I’ve been predicting that as Uranus (revolutionary rebellion and individuality) edges closer to Aries (warfare) and begins to form a challenging square to Pluto (transformation) in Capricorn (government),  we will be seeing more “lone wolf” acts of rebellion such as the one last week where someone piloted a plane into an IRS building in Austin Texas.  Now, with Mars closely approaching it’s stationary point which will culminate March 10, we have another “lone wolf” act of rebellion against the symbols of the government of the United States.

Today John Patrick Bedell, questioned for ID as he ventured off the subway at the Pentagon, opened fire on police guards and was himself shot and killed.  Like Joseph Stack, the pilot who crashed into the IRS building in Austin, Bedell was an intelligent and thoughtful individual who was furious at what he saw as government corruption.  Like many of us, Bedell was suspicious of the US government’s role in the September 11 tragedy and the ongoing drug war.  Like Stack, Bedell acted alone and there is no sign of conspiracy.  He and Stack, I believe, are the face of the new type of war we will be facing in the coming few years as Uranus in Aries faces off against Pluto in Capricorn.  Both were tied more to the left than to the right wing of the spectrum.

Bedell (5/20/1973, no time known) was a highly intelligent and emotionally sensitive individual, with the Sun at the last degree of Taurus conjunct Mercury (mind).  That last degree of Taurus is starting to bleed into Gemini, the sign that is ruled by Mercury, and Bedell was likely haunted by flood of images and ideas (Gemini) that he found difficult to process (Taurus).  

His Mars (aggression) is in the sensitive sign of Pisces, where it can become passive aggressive, and it was in a nearly exact square (challenging aspect) to the planet Neptune, ruler of Pisces.  This is a “double whammy” which confines the aggressive instinct (Mars) into a world of fantasy and dreams where he felt scapegoated and sacrificed (Neptune).  I suspect he channeled his personal aggression into his hatred for the government where it could be objectified and therefore more comfortable.

Chiron (wounding and healing) was in an exact opposition to Uranus (electromagnetic energy field) in his chart, illustrating the hyper sensitivity that he had to his environment.  People with this aspect sometimes spend a large part of their lives learning how to balance their energy system so that they can make it through the day without difficulty.   

He had a Capricorn Moon which suggests a rather cold upbringing, and the Moon was squared by Pluto which added an obsessive quality to all of his emotions and feelings. When his Mars progressed from Pisces into Aries back in 2005, he would have felt a surge of Mars energy that likely felt liberating and released him from the watery Neptunian fog that typically surrounded his drive and desires (Mars).  Then in 2008 when Pluto entered Capricorn, it formed an exact square to his progressed Mars, and to his progressed Sun as well which had by then entered the sensitive sign of Cancer.  As Mars in aggressive Aries stoked the fires of his long-repressed rage reacted against the sensitivity of the Cancerian progressed Sun, transiting Pluto in the sky set the whole thing off and brought about what was likely a bit of a psychotic break.  News reports say that he had been treated for bipolar disorder and other issues for several years.

And now, with transiting Mars in the sky stimulating everyone’s aggressive instincts, it all came to a frothing head.

In my opinion, t’s not very  useful to shrug these events off as the actions of lone nuts.  They speak to a growing disturbance in our culture and society that needs to be addressed and taken seriously.