As almost everyone on the Internet knows by now, on Saturday there was an incident at the Cincinnati Zoo where a three year old child wandered into the gorilla enclosure, resulting in staff killing Harambe, a male gorilla.
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Before we get into the astrology, I suppose something should be said about the whole issue of zoos and animals in captivity in general. Yes, on the one hand, it’s not “natural.” On the other hand, zoos are hardly the chamber of horrors they once were, and frankly some members of some species (like gorillas) need to be protected and nurtured because of the threat of extinction presented to them by other primates (looking at you, Dear Reader).
I love all primates, and gorillas are easily in my Top Five. Humans, for the record, are somewhere in my Top Twenty, just ahead of chimps (who are kind of jerks) but well behind howler monkeys and the Emperor Tamarin. Now, having said all that: I believe that shooting Harambe was justified in order to save the child. Furthermore: yes the mother of the child should probably have kept a closer eye on her kid… but if you don’t think three year old humans aren’t capable of some serious shenanigans, then you don’t know your three year old primates very well.
If you have a problem with any of that, the comments section is below. Now, on with the astrology.
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Harambe was born May 27, 1999 in Brownsville Texas. His transits for the time and date of death are interesting, but they’re not the most obvious astrological “victim” of the incident. Without birth data for the mother and child in question, it’s amazing how damaging this incident could prove to be for the zoo itself.
There’s no “time of birth” on record for the Zoological Society of Cincinnati, but he was “born” on July 11, 1872 in Cincinnati. Most notably, the chart features a close Sun-Venus conjunction in Cancer which is closely opposite Saturn in Capricorn. This might normally be kind of a “hard luck” combination, except that those points are closely aspected by Pluto in Taurus and Moon in Virgo. Put all that together and it’s a durable and successful aspect pattern.
No placement in a chart can go forever without having difficult transits, and May 28 2016 provided what turned out to be a highly damaging combination of effects. Transiting Saturn is now closely opposite that Sun-Venus conjunction, and was within less than a degree to the exact conjunction with the Zoo’s natal Saturn. This becomes even more significant if the Society was “born” around noon, which would make Venus the Ascendant ruler (public perception) and also make it conjunct the natal Midheaven (“purpose”).
Furthermore: transiting Jupiter in Virgo was opposite Neptune in Pisces, and both were closely square the natal Nodes. One could argue that the Zoo’s “karmic destiny” was about to be challenged by someone’s misjudgement, or the cumulative effect of small misjudgements, starting with whoever designed the gorilla enclosure. Transiting Saturn conjunct the Zoo’s South Node certainly didn’t help either.
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These transits will be in effect for a while yet — at least the next couple of months in fact. There will be undoubtedly some sort of permanent ramifications for the Zoo and its mission. All we can really ask here, I believe, is this: let’s be kind, understanding, and patient with the primates… even if they can’t always be bothered being that way with each other.
See also: Mercury, Neptune, And A Good Day To Kill A Baby Giraffe
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