Sixto Rodruiguez : Finding Sugarman

Though you may have never heard of him yet, mysterious folk-rock singer songwriter Sixto Rodruiguez is quickly becoming a world-wide superstar as the film Looking For Sugarman, a biopic and detective story of his unusual life, is seeing a wider distribution now that it has been nominated for an academy award. After a promising start recording with some of the great producers of the 1960's/70s his expected success and popularity was a no show and the "Bob dylan of Detroit" quickly faded into obscuritya fact lamented by bewildered managers and producers who had such high expectations of him.

After a dissapointing stateside response to his works he turned to a modest and humble life as a steelworker in detroit. Meanwhile, unbeknownst to him and his producers, his popularity surged to superstardom in Africa where his music went on to become not only "more popular than elvis" but stirring anthems for solidarity, racial unity and opposition to apartide. His voice was powerful enough to even gain the ire of the south african government who suppressed some of his music.


While his name and notoriety was on par with the beatles, jimmie hendrix and other superstars of the time, he had no idea, made almost no money from record sales and never toured again. Rumors circulated through south africa that he had committed suicide on stage and thus his absence form the world stage. In the late 90's he was discovered to be alive by some of his fans and he was booked to perform in south africa which was to his surprise several sold out arena sized shows.

The film, documenting this detective trail of his fans is catching the filmgoing world with the same enthusiasm he has been receiving in south africa for decades. It is widely regarded as a deeply moving film about the power of music and the beautiful spirit of this musician.


His sun is in cancer, a shy and retiring sign which is sensitive to ones environment and the emotions of those around them. His sun is not far from Jupiter which is powerfully placed in cancer, the sign of it's exaltation where it's effects are best expressed. Jupiter-sun aspects tend to be a sign of a rather huge ego yet Instead of jupiter's grandstanding, big-mouthed and puffed up, here it is quietly but deeply caring for the wellbeing of all people especially those in need. This is the calling card of the exalted status of Jupiter in cancer touching the sensitive and shy Sun in the same placement.


I am guessing he was born early in the AM before the sun rises, giving him a nocturnal chart which gives more emphasis to his moon than sun, also emphasizing his quiet demeanor and lack of haughtiness so common with sun-Jupiter connections. A nocturnal chart also emphasizes venus as the more beneficient sign (rather than Jupiter in diurnal charts) and his moon is probably just between Venus and Saturn which is a sign of inhibitedness towards dramatic expression and animated affections. Instead he is careful, retiring and quiet -yet his works, obviously coming deep in his heart, moved millions of people to take a stand against the oppression of apartide in south Africa, a beautiful and loving oveture of the "peace and Love" generation that was so often muddied by polemic and grandstanding. It's no wonder his works took so long to be noticed in the US.

Finding Sugarman

In 1996 His progressed Jupiter came to conjunct his sun, activating the natal promise of a luck in the performing arts and just two years later, at age 56, while Progressed jupiter was just a degree from his sun (an exceedingly lucky and beneficient phase) he was rediscovered by the filmmakers of Looking for Sugarman and his rediscovery led to gigs in whcih performed before thousands in huge arena sized stadiums.

Oct 7 2012 As transiting Jupiter was passing through gemini and his pile of Gemini planets, Rodriguez was featured on the CBS news magazine 60 mins. Just as the moon was conjunct his sun/Jupiter midpoint. Venus conjuncted his natal North node and the sun in libra trained his natal venus.


The documentary Looking for sugar man, which is still sweeping the nation has nominated for an academy award on Feb 24 2013. The sun trines his natal jupiter and squares his saturn. Transiting jupiter also conjuncts his saturn. It's likely that Jupiter conjuncting his saturn will unshackle him from his belated fame once and for all especially considering that transiting saturn was square his progressed Jupiter-sun conjunction at the height of his South African revival. With these signs it seems like his popularity will continue to surge in the coming months as the film will get more theater screenings leading up to his Jupiter return this summer.

LA Cop Killer

Christopher Dorner, the LA "Cop Killer" is allegedly dead, burned alive in a house fire and/or gunshot wounds, perhaps self inflicted.


To those that have been watching, hearing or personally witnessing cases of police corruption across the country (particularly in LA and NY), it perhaps comes as little surprise that someone finally retaliated in such an explosive and violent manner. If you have not read his manifesto you may find it interesting to do so before reading (or skimming, rather) this report though it is not necessary. As is often the case with emerging stories like this we don't have an exact birth time and miss out on the crucial aspects to the ascendant and midhaven...

big ideas and big mistakes

Starting with his gemini sun I see it is strengthened with the sign's planetary ruler, mercury, nearby in a conjunction. This shows someone with an active, thoughtful mind and a personality that is based on thoughts and ideas rather than emotions, habits, sensation, ect . His mercury and sun are both opposite his natal neptune with mercury in almost an exact aspect. This suggests that despite being thoughtful and contemplative there is trouble separating fact from fantasy and clarity and coherence take a back seat to imaginative, sometimes blurry ideas that aren't always grounded or expressed in an understandable way. His communication style is unique and somewhat scattered, a hallmark of this aspect. He has been widely regarded as rambling in his long winded, 6000 word manifesto posted on his Facebook page.


Mercury is well placed in gemini but is distorted with the tight opposition to neptune and to make matters more extreme, the declination of his mercury is out-of-bounds, a quality that gives someone thoughts and speech that is "out of the bounds" of what is considered normal or acceptable. People with moon out of bounds are eccentric personalities with special needs, yet with mercury they have eccentric, unusual and taboo ideas. This aspect takes whatever trouble is in the opposition to neptune and elevates it to an extreme. Right or wrong in his actions, and there are strong opinions on both sides, he is definitely outside the box of normality and went well beyond the bounds of legality to communicate his message.

His sun is also in a wide square to Saturn showing a stressful relationship with authority and perhaps his father as well who apparently was a military man as he moved quite a lot while he was young. His perspective of authority is strict and tense. Despite being rebellious against it he also has a definite and strong sense of right and wrong and a identification with integrity though obviously it is one that is complicated by passions.

His sun is conjunct the asteroid Atlantis which is described by asteroid astrologer Martha Lang-Wescott as "to be proud of one's ethics and to view the self as "one who knows things other's don't"; to have had invasive or retributive experiences through the father, but to feel that they contributed positively to the development"

Again, this aspect shows a peculiar and strong identification with both ethics and ideas and also shows a troubled relationship with the father, though he may not see it as such.

Bellatrix : shadow star

Finally, yet by no means least significant, His sun is conjunct the fixed star Bellatrix, a troubling star associated with violent death. It's keyword is "success through the shadow" and when conjunct the sun it is considered an omen of violent death.

According to Ptolmey, Bellatrix is like Mars and mercury and "It gives great civil or military honor but danger of sudden dishonor, renown, wealth, eminent friends and liability to accidents causing blindness and ruin."*

If positive properties can be drawn out, will lead to advancement and success, but those who succeed always have to allow for being surrounded with envy and hatred. Quick decision making, thoughts and plans being realized with energy, courage, fighting spirit, strategic talents, ability to organize, discrimination. Reckless aggressiveness of a belligerent daredevil. [Fixed Stars and Their Interpretation, Elsbeth Ebertin, 1928, p.33.]*



If we are to believe the claims in his manifesto, he was indeed surrounded by hatred from his fellow police officers, if not then they certainly do now! and clearly based on the events (and wording in his manifesto), his plans have been realized with energy, courage , fighting spirit. His strategic talents, fostered by training in the military, seems to be aiding him as he is yet to be caught -a remarkable achievement in todays surveillance state. Opponents of him certainly will see him as being "reckless" with "aggressiveness of a belligerent daredevil".

As a side note, Bellatrix is the female warrior and called the "amazon star". In his manifesto he makes several negative remarks about lesbian officers who he deemed to be especially violent. He also seems to hold Hillary Clinton in surprisingly high regard. Perhaps his fixation of women in positions of power are tied to his own inner female and his troubled relationship with violence and justice?


also aside, with the sun conjunct Bellatrix comes blindness by accident and though he is obviously not blind he does complain about a head injury in college football and wants his brain to be examined by neurologists to study the effects of concussions on the brain.

Malefic Mars and the promise of violence

In cases involving violence Mars is of particular interest and his Mars is certainly afflicted.


His entire natal chart is an aspect pattern called a locomotive with Mars leading the way (this aspect pattern touches on the train as metaphor with mars as the conducting car pulling the rest along) His whole chart is oriented towards Martial inclinations, perfectly fitting for a police officer with a military career who was also a former college football player.

His mars is afflicted by being in the sign of Taurus, opposite it's ruling sign of scorpio. Here it opposes uranus which is associated with sudden, violent outbursts that are atypical of the slow and steady Mars in Taurus. This is a tense, high wire aspect and when coupled with a confusing quincunx to pluto shows a difficulty to properly channel the deep plutonian instincts of survival, control and power-dynamics.

Mars is also conjunct Chiron which, along with his sun square saturn show that he may have had a troubled relationship with his father, certainly with authority and mars-chiron aspects are signs of physical abuse or misuse of martian energy on him as a child. It is also known for "quarrels for not following the rules, to declare independence from regulations and expectations and to argue ones point of view."** His entire manifesto is this former summary including his declaration that he is "not a fucking christian"

This is deep wounding relating to the martial nature. He totally identifies with it yet it is troubled and wounded and his "last resort" to expressing it is by giving in to the urges of violence.

With both chiron, Uranus and pluto in hard aspect to a debilitated mars in Taurus it's no wonder he is now exploding with rage.

Menkar : Star of victim and victimizers

Finally, Mars is also conjunct the fixed star Menkar whose key word is "a victim of the unconscious" and with mars it is associated with "Evil associates, immoral, violent, murderous, violent death."*

The star is linked to the forces of the collective unconscious, that which can emerge from the sea of the collective and greatly influence the individual for better or for worse.*


He is adamant about having "evil associates" and wether or not you judge him as immoral he is certainly murderous and will, considering sun conjunct Bellatrix, probably die a violent death.


Mars here is the "victim of the unconsciousness" and perhaps his actions are indeed the will of the collective unconscious which seeks retribution against the growing and increasingly corrupt police state in america. I believe that he is a victim of this fore and that this is an example of how astrology can assist those afflicted with such aspects by bringing it into conscious light so that they can make decisions that don't backfire upon themselves.

His mars sits on his Sun/Pluto mid-point which is someone who takes action on his feelings of identity vs powerful entities such as an entire police department. Mars here is difficult to control and passionate, violent outbursts may have happened before or, their unexpressed pressures have led up to one final violent explosion.

Timing of the events

Looking at the secondary progressions I see that Christopher's Sun is square his natal Pluto and his Mars in Gemini is square the natal Saturn in Virgo. Both of these aspects show potential for a conflict with authority with him as the agressor. His mars, being earlier in the zodiac than saturn, shows that he has the upper hand against authority (saturn) where he works (virgo). Sun - Pluto aspects are associted with life-or-death dramas and conflict with powerful entities that may be utilizing their authority and control against the common good. These aspects can, and often are, internalized and the drama was likely also playing out within his own mind (mars in gemini)

Looking at the transits...

Jupiter stationed at his sun/mercury midpoint (Identity and ideas) and retrograded until 6 Gemini where it stationed direct squaring his natal Saturn. He may have spent the retrograde period planning, stocking up on supplies and preparing a safe house. Perhaps this is why he has remained so elusive. This is occurring as his progressed sun squares Pluto (tensions and struggles with authorities, violence and power) and as his progressed mars in gemini squaring his natal saturn, activating the internal tensions of his sun square saturn.

Febuary 2nd when he murdered his first two victims transiting mars in pisces was conjunct his uranus/pluto midpoint, the two planets aspecting his natal mars showing a predeliction for sudden outbursts of violence. The transit to this midpoint shows him doing just exactly that.


Febuary 4th Police find materials in a trash can linking him the murders in Irvine california. This same day Mars and mercury (the two trigger planets in this event) came together in conjunction at 5 Degrees pisces, square transiting jupiter (errors in judgement, missing details) and, most ominous, this conjunction was exactly conjunct his Part of death, perhaps a foreshadowing that he had sealed his fate with murky judgement.


The New moon in Aquarius on Feburary 10th was trine his natal mercury which adds fuel to his slippery ellusivity and also saw a peak in the media attention regarding this case which included a police announcement of a 1 million Dollar award for information leading to his arrest.


Febuary 12th transiting Mars and Chiron in pisces came conjunction, the same aspect indicating trauma and violence in his natal chart while mercury will soon conjunct his south node, associated with karma, loss, finality and history. Mercury coming to exact conjunction with his south node on thursday Feb 14th will likely bring out reports of his past as media attempts to piece together the back-story, reflecting on why someone would act out such explosive violence, perhaps while ignoring the underlying issue of police corruptions.


The picture presented is one where faulty, blurry reasoning mixed with passion and violence played out on the public stage.


sources:

*All star lore from http://www.constellationsofwords.com

**Mechanics of the future : Aseroids by Martha Lang-Wescott