The Chart of Ariel Castro

As of now, there is not a birth time. However, he does look like a Leo Ascendant. To me, Leo is the worst place to have the Ascendant. I hate to say that because Leo Ascendants get upset but I have promised to be honest. Leo in the Ascendant position brings forth the worst of Leo. Leo’s worst is being very self centered. When you meet a person who looks like a lion and will not stop talking about himself, he may very well have a Leo Ascendant.

Leo Ascendants may dominate conversations.You can not get a word in edgewise. Leo Ascendants may not comprehend normal social cues. If you want them to leave, they may not realize that you are trying to give them hints. You may, literally, have to walk them to the door, open it and propel them out.

I had to do this with a Leo ASC. I took his Bible and carried it to my front door and opened it. Then, I said, “Good bye”. He did not realize what happened.

For Ariel, I will speculate that he has a Leo Ascendant. The time of birth gives us the Ascendant and the Houses. Without time of birth, this is missing. We do know the signs of each planet. We do know the aspects though. The aspects are represented by the red, blue, green and black dotted lines on the chart.

What I Know For Sure

Moon in Aquarius conjunct Pholus Retrograde

This one aspect provides us with a lot of information. Moon in Aquarius is a cold moon. One would not expect warm fuzzies and hugs and kisses from this moon. One would not expect kind verbal endearments. One would expect someone who would give money and time to charities but nary a hug to a crying child. I exaggerate, a bit, but that is the true nature of the Aquarius Moon. If one does not call things as they are, one will learn a watered down version of Astrology and I respect Astrology and my readers too much for that.

Ariel’s Aquarius Moon is conjunct Pholus. I am quite familiar with Pholus, as I watch for it in charts. I pay attention to it in my own chart. Pholus explodes what it touches. Picture a child having a tantrum because he wants a package of gum in the grocery store. That is a picture of Pholus. Look at what Pholus touches in the chart and you will see where the adult explodes.

Pholus will make a person explode until he learns what Pholus is trying to teach. Looking at Pholus in this way makes it like a pus pimple or an infection. It is not trying to be “bad” by pushing it’s way to the surface. It is trying to heal.

I have Pholus conjunct Chiron. I have exploded my pain, to the dislike and dismay of man. I did not stop until I exploded enough that I healed. That is a perfect picture of Pholus conjunct Chiron.

I know a very, sexy man who has Pholus conjunct Ceres. Ceres is unconditional love. He exploded a feeling of unconditional love that made him impossible for most woman to resist. He had Eros conjunct the ASC which was a factor ih his being very erotic. We all want sexiness( Eros conj the ASC) combined with overflowing unconditional love( Pholus conjunct Ceres). Hence, this man was a player with great success.

Back to Castro. Moon conjunct Pholus would make for an explosion of the Moon. The Moon is one’s deepest heart and most intimate, intense, personal feelings. By the cold nature of the Aquarius Moon, one would expect a disconnection from one’s emotions. The disconnection from his emotions would make his explosions all the worse because when people who stuff emotions explode, it is far worse than fiery people who let anger out on a regular basis Not all people with Moon conjunct Pholus are killers. Please, take that caveat and apply it to the rest of the article. However, all Moon/Pholus people will have emotional explosions, in my opinion.

 

Retrograde Chiron

Many people have a Retrograde Chiron. Retrograde of any planet makes the native go deeply into the interior nature of the planet. With Chiron, it is pain. These natives are dealt a hand of pain by life. They cannot walk free from their pain until they cycle it, over and over and over and over. I have Chiron Retrograde conjunct Pholus. If you know me or ever read my articles, you know that I have cycled my pain over and over and over. I have exploded it, too. However, now I try to be of service to others with the same issues.

Retrograde Saturn

Many people have Retrograde Saturn.It makes one self doubting and insecure. It is a low self esteem aspect. If one persists in trying to mature, one will overcome this in later life. Saturn does allow for this as Saturn is akin to a stern father. He forces you to be responsible. He forces you to toe the line. You may feel very burdened by him but when you are older, you will have gotten wisdom.

The native with Saturn Retro does suffer from deep insecurity, which is not fun. I don’t think someone would choose Saturn Retro but it can reap rewards if the native sticks to the straight and narrow. This is Saturn’s lesson. Ariel did not do this, of course. This placement would show me that he suffered deep insecurity and low self esteem. If we knew his time of birth, we could tell in which sphere of life this manifested. We don’t know, but later when I speculate on his time of birth, we can re-visit this.

Retrograde Neptune

Many people have Retrograde Neptune. Retrograde Neptune forces the native to seek and search very deeply for God. The native will not be satisfied with a superficial relationship with God. This placement could be in the chart of a zealot as Retrograde planets are kind of an itch that must be scratched. They are akin to being in a dark tunnel, blinded. There is no way out but through. However, some people may never come out. They may be lost in the dark abyss and not find God. The Retrograde native will take a journey into darkness. It will be a different journey with each Retrograde planet.

With Neptune, it would be into the darkness of finding God. With Saturn, it would be into the darkness of finding self. With Chiron, it would be into the darkness of pure pain. Will the native emerge from these dark voids? Some people don’t. I think it would be fair to say that Ariel did not.

Retrograde Jupiter

Retrograde Jupiter is not as common as the previous Retrograde planets. Retrograde Jupiter could make a person feel like a loser. Jupiter is good luck. Retrograde is a cycling and recycling. Hence, the native may feel like good things pass him by. This could build great resentment. I think that a person with Retrograde Jupiter would need to be able to deal with failure and not let it overwhelm him to the point of giving up, entirely. My guess is that Ariel could not do this. As such, he turned to life in the netherworld.

Cancer Sun Combust Venus

This one surprises me a bit. This native is very charming. Sun combust Venus is a male model kind of aspect. I say this in the sense that they are charming and very likeable. They are likeable in a nonthreatening way, rather than in a super macho way which may be too aggressive for some people. When I say male model, I mean harmonious, balanced and kind of non aggressive as the pictures of male models appear.

Sun combust Venus may be a promiscuous person. It does not have to be, of course, but it seems as if men with this aspect tend to be promiscuous. This aspect is not hidden and clandestine, as one would think would be the case in a person who did Ariel’s crimes. It is a rather up front and direct charm aspect. I am trying to think of a famous person who would embody Sun combust Venus. I would say George Cloony. That is the feel of Sun combust Venus. It is not a dark underworld kind of feel as Michael Corleone in Godfather Two.

Cancer Sun, Cancer Venus

These placements make for a homebody. This man does not need a glittery lifestyle. He does not need to show off a woman as a Leo Venus would. His idea of a good date is a home cooked meal and watching a movie in an easy chair. He loves home and family, most of all. This description is not directly related to this man or this case. I was just elaborating on these placements and we will use this information, as we go on.

Venus combust Mercury in Cancer

This is another charm aspect in terms of being a sweet talker. This man could compliment and flatter you without seeming fake or creepy. This man would be a “feel good” to be around. His charm would be verbal. He would know what to say, how to say it and to do so at the appropriate time. Think diplomat.This surprises me, as men who have this would be able to be charming in a legitimate way and not need to resort to violence. However, as we move onto aspects, we should find more answers. I am just outlining single placements of planets in signs and conjunctions, at the moment.

Mars in Taurus

This Mars can be very, very stubborn. It takes a great deal of time to make up it’s mind but then sticks to it with a resolute stubbornness. I could see how Ariel would be a Mars in Taurus, as he managed to stay a depraved course for a very, very long time.

Air Singleton–Moon ins Aquarius

A Singleton is an interesting phenomena. The Singleton is a one of anything. In this case, it is one Air planet. If he had no air planets, it would be an Air void. An Air Void would go well with a crime like this because the Air Void has a great deal of trouble communicating. The Air void can become a volcano because he cannot communicate the problem when it is small.By the time he does communicate, the problem has assumed boulder status and is ready to run over him and everyone else. Ariel has the classic problem of letting things build up for so long that he explodes even though he has a Singleton and not a classic Air Void, in my opinion. When a person has one planet short of any void, he still shows traits of the void, in my experience with charts.

The Singleton has a different slant than the Void,however. The Singleton feels he needs to prove himself.To make it practical, I think Ariel needed to prove he was intellectual. The Singleton seems obsessed with mastering the traits of both the sign and the planet. I think his struggle to be understood and known ( and not being able to do it) was a major factor in his resorting to an underworld life with a captive female as a substitute for a real relationship.

ASPECTS

I have listed planets in signs and some conjunctions but the story does not seem to be told well enough, yet. I think the aspects will shed more light. Placements are planets in signs and houses. Aspects are the workings of planets in signs and houses. If the planets and houses are the actual cae such as a BMW or a Chevy, the aspects are how it zooms from zero to sixty or how it putters and barely gets off the ground. The workings are very important when we study a man such as this. Judging from the many red lines in his chart( hard aspects) he had many struggles and many frustrations. We will discuss these as we move on.

Moon conjunct Pholus Oppose Uranus

We discussed Moon conjunct Pholus. Ariels’ Moon conjunct Pholus has one of the worst possible oppositions. That is an opposition to Uranus. Uranus is a live wire. I have articles on Uranus conjunct Mercury, which confers a brilliance. However, these natives, often, have mental instability. Think of a live wire shooting through your mind. That is Uranus( the planet of electricity) conjunct Mercury( the planet of the mind)

Back to Ariel. Moon oppose Uranus is a person who does not like routines and does not like commitment and does like kink. When a woman asks me if a man will commit and I see Moon oppose Uranus, I have to say that he may not commit easily or at all. Fear of commitment and wanting to play life loose and free with commitments and relationships is classic for this aspect. Think of the song “I am a Wanderer”

His Aquarius Moon is kind of a double dose of Uranus as Uranus rules Aquarius. Aquarius moon has a fear commitment, anyway.When we add the opposition to Uranus, we have a person who probably would not want( or could handle) a conventional relationship or marriage.

When we add Pholus to the mix, we have a person who has cold emotions but can explode when his emotions get overwhelmed. On top of that, he wants eccentricities, as Uranus is the planet of the eccentric and the kinky.Hence, from all of this, we can see instability in daily life, fear of actual commitments with woman and tantrum like emotions, all of which he displayed.

Moon conjunct Pholus square Mars( exact)

Moon square Mars is classic for men who hate woman. Do all men who have moon square mars hate woman? I would say so. Why do I say this? The chart never lies. We may not like hard truth but I try to live grounded in reality. One could mitigate the word hate with resent, don’t like, feel anger toward and a number of ways to say it which may be more palatable but it is the same.

The moon is woman, one’s mother and one’s own feminine side( as men have a feminine side) Mars is the planet of aggression, passion and war. The square locks these together in a tug of war which is inextricable. To me, any square cannot be changed. It can be worked around. Other aspects can soften and mitigate it, but it is what it is, for better or worse.

Back to Ariel. So far, one of the most telling aspects for the gruesome life he lived is the above one. His Moon is explosive due to Pholus. It is cold and not empathetic, due to Aquarius. This is exacerbated by Moon oppose Uranus whereby eccentricity and kinkiness enter. To that, we are add hatred of woman. Not all men who have these aspects do what Ariel did, obviously. However, all will have similar emotional issues, in my opinion.

Mars square Uranus( 5 degrees)

Mars in hard aspect to Uranus is classic for being accident prone.We don’t want Mars conjunct Uranus, as the conjunction is the most intense aspect, more so than the square. If you think of it logically, Mars is action and Uranus is instability,not a good mix. The square locks in action with instability. This native may act erratically. He may act in weird and kinky ways. This aspect is consistent with the very bizarre life that Ariel led. Do all people who have Mars square Uranus live a bizarre life. No, but I bet that they all want to.

 

T Square in Fixed signs

This is the most telling part of the chart, so far. The T square is very, very, very hard. Criminals seem to have these overall chart shapes such as the T square, Grand Cross and Grand Trine.. I will explain the T square, why it is so hard and how it relates to Ariel and his life of horrors. The T square is the combined configuration of Moon square Mars, Mars square Uranus and Moon oppose Uranus. If you look at his chart, you will see a big, red triangle . This is the T square. We don’t have houses. I wish we did as these will show us the spheres of life which are most important to Ariel and in which his T square will play out. I will speculate later on some possible house placements but for now we will have to ignore houses.

The T Square is in what is called the Fixed Quadriplicity. The Quadriplicity categories are Cardinal, Fixed and Mutable. Quadriplicity denotes how strong( in terms of leadership and being a self starter) stubborn or adaptable to change one is. Quadriplicity is important when looking at T squares. The worst Quadriplicity for a criminal is cardinal .Cardinal will take take the strongest action and not need outside approval. Cardinal signs are leaders. Cardinal signs are good for a heroes, but not for a criminals. Many men who are wife beaters have strong cardinal features such as a Cardinal ASC. This is classic for physical abusers. This is because the cardinal signs will put what they think and feel into action more than the Fixed and the Mutables.

The Fixed signs have the trait of stubbornness. They will be like a dog with a bone .Once they make up their minds, they will not change. Hence, Ariel was able to stick to his plan for a decade. I would not have been surprised if his T square Quadriplicity was cardinal though, as he was brutal. I would not have expected mutable as they leave one plan when it gets too hard and go onto the next.

We talked about each aspect that makes up the T square. There is kind of a closed loop with the two squares and the opposition. Pholus is in there, too. Pholus explodes what it touches. It touches Ariel’s emotions and his drive. Uranus is in there and it hates convention and is eccentric and kinky. Eros is in there, too, making Ariel’s drives very erotic. There is kind of a loop that goes round and round like the water in the Dead Sea. It is stagnant.There is no opening though which fresh water can enter. I think this would describe the world of Ariel Castro.

 

Mars Trine Saturn (exact)

This is Ariel’s one trine. This trine is very good for getting done what you need to, with discipline. I have this and think my ability to discipline myself is from this. A trine is a gift and a blessing. Ariel has it in earth signs so his use of it would be in the practical world. I have it in water, so my use is more in the emotional world, as a centering for my emotions. At any rate, I can see this trine playing into Ariel’s bizarre lifestyle. Ariel could discipline himself in practical matters of the earth. The fact that he could keep these woman prisoners for years is a sign of discipline and a manner of controlling the material world in an intelligent and crafty way. Ariel is a disciplined person, in other words. Someone without this discipline could not have carried out this nefarious plan. That person would have made fatal mistakes and been discovered much earlier. If I decide to prolong this article, I may talk about the transits at the time he was discovered. They are very telling, as well.

 

Mars in Taurus conjunct Eros( 3 degrees)

Three degrees is wide for an asteroid but I do consider three degrees as the outermost bounds for an asteroid conjunction. Again, when a man has Mars conjunct Eros and several of Ariel’s charm aspects, he would not need to resort to aberrant behavior to get woman. Mars conjunct Eros is a sexy guy. He would vibe erotic vibes. Woman would feel that from him, with no effort on his part.

 

Eros square Moon ( 3 degrees)

Three degrees is wide, even more so in a square but we don’t know the exact degree of the Moon, as we don’t have time of birth, so the square could be closer. For this reason and because I do count 3 degree conjunctions as the outer most orb, I would count it. Eros square moon combined with moon square Mars exacerbates the trait of dislike for woman with his erotic side split off from his own emotions and sensitive side. This aspect adds to the fact that Ariel can objectify woman and see them as erotic objects for his use. This fits with his crimes.

Algol( 25 degrees Taurus)–A Fixed Star

This would be the first thing an Astrologer would look for in a case like this. Algol is the fixed star of evil. I studied a chart of a serial killer who had Algol conjunct the ASC. I am not saying everyone with Algol conjunct the ASC would become a serial killer, but everyone would have strong, dark impulses he would have to fight off.

With Ariel, we don’t have time of birth, so don’t know in which House or which angle Algol sits. However, it is conjunct Nessus, which is the asteroid of abuse. I would call this very, very, very dark.To make it practical. I would put these together as evil playing out as abuse, which is exactly what transpired.

Asteroid Lie Conjunct Nessus

This is quite amazing, too. Lie is self explanatory. It is conjunct the asteroid of abuse. He would abuse and lie. He would lie and abuse. Both fit.

Mercury Retrograde conjunct the Asteroid Swindle

Mercury Retrograde is very common. It makes a person have to go deeply into any subject in order to understand it. However, then he can use it in more creative and masterful ways. I have it and love it but I have it in Gemini, where it is exalted. Ariel has it in Cancer, where it may be a struggle to learn and to communicate. I am getting a sense as I do his chart that he swallowed and swallowed and swallowed things because he did not know how to voice them. Then, they exploded. I am adding up several parts of his chart to get this. I think he was a super pressure cooker and the valve which he could not access was the ability to communicate.

However, here we are talking about the Asteroid Swindle, too.The Asteroid Swindle is what it says it is. I have seen the Asteroids Lie and Swindle prominent in the charts of con men. The strongest placement for an asteroid is not when it conjuncts an another asteroid but when it conjuncts an angle( ASC, IC, DSC or MC) or a personal planet such as the Sun, Moon, Mercury, Mars or Venus. I would add Saturn and Jupiter here, too, although they are not technically personal planets.

 

 

I have put his ASC at 15 degrees Leo.This ASC is speculation based on his looks and MY analysis of him. This is my opinion and just that, so please take it as such.

Using the 15 degree Leo Ascendant

Dejanira conjunct Vertex

 

If one puts Ariel’s ASC at 15 degrees Leo which is a critical degree for evil, his Vertex conjuncts Dejanira. This is the most chilling aspect so far. I will try to explain. The vertex is a fated point. The Anti-vertex is opposite the vertex. The Anti-vertex seems to be what you are. The vertex seems to show what life brings you. Life beings him Dejanira, which is victims. I am literally chilled by this.

Mars conjunct the MC

Using the 15 degree Leo ASC, he would have Mars conj the MC. His actions did reach all sectors of society in a well publicized case. This would fit. He could not hide what he did. It was shown to the world, which is the classic description of a planet conjunct the MC. With a planet conjunct the ASC or MC, people will see it, whether you like it or not. With the ASC, your small world will see it. With the MC, the greater society will see it.

Aqua Moon conjunct the DSC( 3 degrees)

This is quite an amazing aspect in light of the story. What conjuncts the DSC is what the person rejects in himself and finds in the partner. This is the classic interpretation of planets conjunct the DSC, in my opinion. Hence, we have a telling situation in which Ariel looks for his own emotions and his own sensitivity in woman. He, virtually, cannot get it on his own and his partners provide it. This will not result in what Ariel did, of course, but you could see how it would factor in.

I have an article on the 7th House and Co-dependency. I think a full 7th house is hard because a person projects out many parts of himself and looks for them in the partner. This is simply a hard situation.

Chiron in the 7th House

Pain with committed relationships. This would fit as one would assume he did not know how to have a marriage or a committed relationship.

 

South Node in the 8th House in Pisces

The SN is what you have mastered. He would have been comfortable in the world of taboos. This does seem to be a strange placement for the SN in light of this case. I bring it up for that reason. With Pisces here, he would have been comfortable with the mystical. I don’t know if he was into any mystical kinds of practices or even into satanic practices. I bet he was as people who get into a dark, tortured and torturing lifestyles usually subscribe to some kind of satanic mystical practice.

Cancer Sun, Venus and Mercury in the 12th House

This placement is an important key as to why I think this ASC is right. He would have to have some 12th house planets, in my opinion. The 12th house is the house of suppression. Someone does not do what Ariel did without a HUGE amount of suppression, to be very frank. He has very important personal planets in the 12th House. These represent key parts of his personality. They has them suppressed due to being in the 12th House. They are, also, very close to each other. This adds to the suppression.. Think of being in a tight, crowded elevator and how that feels. Planets too close to each other feel the same way. It feels like a bottleneck and a pressure cooker.Ariel is seeming more and more like a pressure cooker, which is what one would expect to find.

Cancer Sun in the 12th House

Cancer Sun is a tender sun. It loves home and family, yet it is not a push over as it is cardinal and cardinal signs are leaders. The problem in this case is the 12th house placement as this shows an ego which cannot express itself directly. Cancer is known for being passive aggressive because Cancer has a hard time expressing passion and anger. This is greatly exacerbated by the 12th house placement.

Any Sun in the 12th house is an ego and self identity which is suppressed. The father is an absent figure, often. The 12th house Sun feels alienated from the people and sees himself as an outsider.

Cancer Venus in the 12th House

Venus in the 12th house is one of the hardest planets to have in the 12th. The Moon is the hardest, in my opinion. At any rate, a 12th house Venus cannot directly ask for love. Any planet in the 12th house cannot be direct about it’s needs. If it is the Sun, it is ego needs. If it is Venus, it is love needs. If it is the Moon, it is emotional needs. If it is Mars, it is needs to expression drives such as aggression, anger and passion.

In Ariel’s case, it is Venus. A man with Venus in the 12th is more like a woman. Before you pummel me with tomatoes, let me explain. A man with a 12th house Venus is too passive. He does not put himself to ask woman for dates or do the various mating ritual behaviors which force a man t0 risk rejection. No one likes rejection but for a 12th house Venus, it is as scary as a snake in the grass.I use this metaphor because I have a garden and am always afraid I will come upon one. Venus in the 12th would be harder for a man than a woman, as woman are allowed to be more passive and demure. Men need to be the hunters. The man needs to hunt love in order to find it. That is the way of the world. A man with this Venus will be frustrated, very frustrated.

Cancer Mercury in the 12th House

.Ariel has Mercury Retro which can obsess. Mercury Retrograde goes deep into any subject or thought process. This could tend to obsession and a feeling of being stuck. However, for Ariel, the 12th house placement is a bigger factor than the Retrograde. The 12th house Mercury has an inability ability to express his thoughts. This Mercury may not feel he is worthy of his thoughts or worthy or self expression. It is a very, very sad place for the Mercury.

 

Uranus conj the Leo ASC

Uranus conj the ASC is a weird-o placement. It does not need to be a creepy weird-o. It could be someone who wears a plaid shirt with checked pants just to provoke a reaction. . It could be a rebel who will wear a tux to a beach party and jeans to a formal. Uranus ASC will be different. I can say that. His difference will be apparent. Uranus is the planet of kink, too. This person may be kinky. I would think he would try anything for a kick. With Leo as the ASC, he would want to be the center of attention. His 12th house planets would want the opposite—-to hide. There would be a big struggle between his wanting to appear larger than life and being afraid to show who he really is. This kind of struggle would be consistent with the story.

 

Pluto in Virgo in the 1st House

Pluto in the first house is a leader. He could be a leader for good or bad but this Pluto can make a plan and follow through, even if it is a nefarious plan. When one meets a Pluto in the first house, one senses power. Think of a cop stopping you walking up to your car window. The way he strides is classic Pluto in the first house. He knows who is boss. He knows that you do, too, and he likes it. I kind of felt that Ariel may have had Pluto in the first house. It would take that level of brute strength, nerves and will of steel to pull off something like he did.

 

 

Neptune in the 3rd House and opposite Mars conjunct the MC

Neptune in the 3rd House can make for lies and deceptions. Does it always? Well, it always makes for fantasy. Is it always nefarious? No. However, this person can have a hard time seeing reality. This person may not lie on purpose. He may not be able to separate the false from the real.

For Ariel, he has an opposition of Neptune to his Mars conj the MC. This aspect would indicate that he did not face reality well and he acted on those assumptions and it was in a public way. That is what happened.

 

 

 

Saturn in Capricorn in the 5th House

This placement is interesting because a 5th House Saturn makes it hard for a person to be creative and to play. A Leo ASC with Uranus conj wants to be seen, He wants to be outrageous. Saturn in the 5th quells self expression. I find this Saturn to be one of the hardest because I crave free self expression. That is a Gemini trait. At any rate, for Ariel, he feels blocked and stymied when he wants to let loose. This does not surprise me.

Jupiter in Saggi in the 5th House

Jupiter in the 5th house is the opposite of Saturn, so I suspect he could let loose at times and at times, he felt very suppressed and muffled. We have to remember that I choose the Leo ASC and it’s degree, so Jupiter may not be in the 5th House. Saturn feels right in the 5th house. If Jupiter is here, too, then Ariel went back and forth with being able to express his fun, childlike side and feeling repressed in it’s expression.

 

Summary of Ariel’s Chart Using The Leo ASC

When I do charts, I need a day or two to mull them over before I can come up with insights. For Ariel, I think that many factors came into play for the tip of the iceberg we saw, which was his terrible crime. All people have many impinging factors. They only show the tip of the iceberg, to most people. I will stay focused on Ariel and I will tell you what i think happened. This is my opinion.

Ariel wanted to be seen, heard and be important. We all do but the Leo ASC does more. It is fine to get some of your ego needs met by approval, attention and favor from other people. We all do. God made us that way. God made man to need man. Each person will get his approval needs met in a healthy way or an unhealthy way. That is a characteristic of human nature.

For Ariel, he has several native charm aspects. In fact, these charm aspects surprised me the most. I bet that he was a charming person before he turned bad. However, the charm aspects were not enough to mitigate the other very, very strong hard aspects, in my opinion. The hardest thing Ariel has in his chart is the Sun, Venus and Mercury in the 12th House. He has a third or so of his personal planets in the House of suppression. The 12th house really cannot be understood by those who don’t have planets in it. I liken it to growing up black in a white society. We may empathize with it’s difficulty but we will not get behind the eyes of that person, not totally. The 12th house suffers in a way that others do not.

I would describe the suffering as wanting to break out of a shell or a glass prism and not knowing how. I would liken it to my favorite book, “The Bell Jar’ by Plath. Plath was trapped. It was not her fault. She wanted to get out with all her will and her might but she could not. Am I saying that 12th house people will have the kind of downfall that Plath or Ariel sadly did? NO. For beginners in Astrology, they are particularly squeamish when one talks about placements which are in their own charts. I was the same way. We all are. It is like medical school syndrome where you think you have every disease you study. There is always personal choice despite any chart. Better still, there is always God who is ABOVE any chart.

With that very honest caveat, I will go on. Ariel had the same needs for approval that we all do but he could not make his ego strong enough to get them in a legitimate way. This goes directly to the Sun in the 12th House. Now, we will add Venus in the 12th House. Venus in the 12th House make sit very hard for a man to chase a woman. Men need to chase. There are some woman who will chase a man, but they are few. They are usually Venus in Aries, as an aside. However, a man with venus in the 12th house is too afraid of rejection to seek love. He hurts too badly inside to put himself out there. We all know the feeling of being shut down and afraid in a social group. This person has it all the time. Venus in the 12th house for a man is very hard. It is very hard for a woman but less so.

I think you are getting the idea about 12th House planets.Mercury follows suit. Mercury in the 12th house makes personal communication and personal expression very hard. Picture saying” I love you” to someone. It takes a risk because person might not say it back. It takes putting yourself out there. That takes confidence. A person with Mercury in the 12th wants to say it( and hear it) as much as anyone but these kinds of personal risks are too hard. Hence, if we put all the 12th House planets together, we can get a sense of the inner prison of Ariel Castro.

To sum it up so far, Ariel did not know how to get his ego needs met in a legitimate way. That takes confidence and assertion that he did not have. Ariel did not know how to make it in society because that takes a strong ego which he did not have. Ariel did not know how to communicate who he was and what he wanted because his communication apparatus was not direct and forthright. ARiel did not know how to get a woman because he could not put his love out there. He wanted very badly to do all these. He wanted to be seen, heard and important. This struggle was a pivotal one in his life

To go on. Ariel has an Air Singleton. The Singleton seems to drive people to express it. It does not seem like a comfortable drive but more of an obsession. His Air Singleton is his Aquarius Moon. This tells us several things. He probably really wanted to express his deepest heart and deepest emotions. I bet he struggled with this, mightily, However, being low in air means being low in communication abilities. I know I am going to get reamed over the coals for this, but my main purpose in anything I do is teaching. If I am so esoteric that you don’t learn, I have failed. People who are low in air, air voids or an air singleton will be frustrated in their ability to communicate and express who they are. This is my opinion. So, to go back to Ariel, he wanted to let people know who he was. He wanted to be a warm fuzzy, as we all do. He wanted to share his heart. He wanted to be emotionally intimate but he did not have the words. So, if we add this insight to our others, we find a man who is locked in a prison due to not being able to communicate his heart and his feelings.

I think you can see the picture of a man with lots of needs and desires which are building up as a volcano with no appropriate means of expression. This is one theme in Ariel’s chart. We will add another. I don’t think there could be a worse asteroid than Pholus conjunct Ariel’s Moon. Pholus explodes what it touches. You certainly do not want to explode the pent up pressure cooker that is Ariel castro. You do not want his vitriol and angst to come forth in one big blow. You would want him to be able to communicate with a priest, a friend, through writing, the arts, sports or any number of vehicles of expression. However, Pholus is like the wild card. It can make the best of us, well……………….. wild. So, the next theme is the asteroid Pholus conjunct Ariel’s already stressed Moon.

We are not done with Ariel’s difficult Moon.. Ariel’s Moon squares Mars( exact). This is hatred for woman. We can call it dislike or disrespect for woman if that makes you feel better.If you are in a relationship with a man who has Moon square Mars, you will see it. Will be beat you? NO Will he be abusive? NO. I am not saying he will. However, he will harbor a dislike for woman. Ariel has it exact. Exact is very different than not exact.Each degree makes a world of difference. Did Ariel hate woman? YES. That has been shown to be the case.

Mars has a wrinkle attached to it, we could say, in light of this case. Mars conjuncts Eros. This is actually a nice aspect as Eros is erotic vibes and we all love those. The sexiest man is a man with Eros conjunct the ASC. There is nothing wrong with Eros. God made it. However, for a man like Ariel who could not go after a woman in the right way and with enough genuine self confidence and sense of self, Eros conjunct Mars could be a problem. That is why every single aspects needs to be judged in context of the greater chart. A man with Eros conjunct Mars will be an erotic animal. He will be sexy, to say it out straight. This is a good thing but if the man cannot use it in the right way, it will be a curse. For Ariel, his Mars and Eros are conjunction the MC. This aspect describes exactly what happened. Ariel will be known to the world( the MC)by his actions and his actions were in the realm of sexuality.