Crisis Solar Returns for the U.S.
Crisis Solar Returns for the U.S.
Who is Elon Musk?
February 2025
In a recent biography, Musk’s birthtime is listed as 7:30 am in Pretoria, South Africa. If this time is correct, Musk is a double Gemini (Sun and Ascendant) with Mercury in Gemini in the Ascendant as well. Those things confer a powerful intellect, which he should guard against displaying too readily, because he is much smarter than his boss, Donald Trump. In addition, a very powerful first magnitude star is also in the Ascendant: Procyon, the alpha star in Canis Minor, the lesser dog. Procyon means “before the dog” (the dog star, Sirius) because it rises before Sirius in the northern hemisphere. In the southern hemisphere, where Musk was born, Sirius rises well before Procyon. The local sidereal time of the chart for the 7:30 am birth time is 1h 45m 19s at Pretoria, South Africa. Procyon rose when 1h 48m 03s was passing through the M.C. there. The difference, 2m 44s of time is less than ¾° of arc; thus Musk is a scion of Procyon because it’s the most angular body in his chart.
The modern authorities on stars, in particular Bernadette Brady, Vivian Robson and Joseph Rigor, are mostly in agreement with Ptolemy about this star. My experience is that it imparts a distinctly aggressive quality to the nature, juxtaposed the playful, even childlike Gemini temperament, which is consistently irreverent, irreligious, disrespectful and curious; along with Virgo, it is one of the two most intellectual signs of the zodiac. All the authorities mentioned note that Procyon is characterized by quick and substantial gain, followed by serious losses.
The most important aspects to the Sun are the almost exact to the minute sesquiquadrate to Mars and the square to Uranus, which is applying 3° 36' from exact in zodiac longitude. This square is three times tighter in mundo, because the Sun culminates when Uranus rises slightly more than 4 minutes of time removed from simultaneous angularity. Four minutes of time is 1° of arc. Sun-Uranus combinations confer extreme dynamism, ambition and talent with a remarkably willful, independent, daring nature that doesn’t observe barriers and is attracted to high stakes gambling, both literal and figurative. Most of the Uranians are like that to a greater or lesser degree, but more is necessary to symbolize success on the scale of a person like Musk. That supplement is supplied by close aspects between the Sun and three exceedingly powerful first magnitude stars.
The Sun rose with the alpha star in Auriga, called Capella, so close as to be overwhelming in effect. The Sun rose when 1h 13m 39s of sidereal time was in the midheaven, followed 38s later by Capella, which appeared on the horizon when 1h 14m 17s was in the midheaven at Pretoria. The difference, 38s of time is less than ¼° of arc. Capella confers wealth, power and friends who are well-connected in life. Ptolemy stated that the star is like Mercury and Mars; in other words, its natives are smart, aggressive and opportunistic. This situation actually looks impossible because Auriga is nowhere near Gemini, but everything changes for bodies that are far from the equator or the ecliptic, and up-ended still more by the southern hemisphere. Capella has more than 23° of north latitude and more than 46° of north declination, such that its zodiac longitude is almost meaningless, especially on the horizon because it doesn’t rise or set anywhere near its ecliptic degree.
The Sun transited the midheaven with Canopus, the alpha star in Carinae, which is the second brightest star in the entire sky as seen from the Earth. Only Sirius, the dog star, is brighter. The Sun and Canopus were separated by 2m 22s of sidereal time when they appeared in the midheaven together. That’s less than ¾° of arc. Canopus confers success but it is domineering and overbearing. It also has a wrecking ball quality that makes its natives destructive. Musk certainly exemplifies that tendency at the moment.
The Sun set in mundo with Betelgeuse, the alpha star in Orion. They were 1m 34s apart when they entered the underworld together. That’s less than ½° of arc. The stars in Orion are fortunate in general, but Betelgeuse, an enormous red giant star, is the best, in my opinion. It gives success on a big scale, and sometimes more easily than one might reasonably be expected to get it, by inheritance, for example, or getting legal control over somebody else’s invention.
It’s unusual, in my experience, to have three big, important, bright stars with the Sun, all within a degree, especially as they simultaneously configure the angles of the chart. Actually, all four angles are picked up because Canopus crosses the I.C. with the Sun as well as the M.C. That condition, however, is to be expected for a life attended by fame, power and influence, if other factors support it. The aspects of these stars with the Sun are in mundo, which is essential to employ for bodies that are remote from the ecliptic. That is especially true of Canopus, which has more than 75 degrees of south celestial latitude. Sirius has more than 39 degrees of south latitude and Procyon has more than 16 degrees of south latitude. In any case, all three of them are well beyond the bounds of the zodiac and cannot be treated as if they were ecliptic bodies.
The dexter sesquare from the Sun to Mars, exalted in Capricorn, only 1 minute of arc from exact, is symbolic of a hyper-aggressive person who tends to operate at only one speed: flat out all the time. Musk also has Moon square Saturn, which exacerbates his full-on approach to life. The zodiac square is not close at 7° 07' but they were closely mundane square when Saturn rose and the Moon was passing through the I.C., less than ½° (1m 40s) from simultaneous angularity. Thus, the Moon-Saturn relationship is more than ten times closer in mundo than zodiaco. One of the salient features of Moon-Saturn is their extraordinary work ethic. They work circles around other people if there is a strong martial upside in the chart. They also frequently come out of a troubled home life and may be embittered by it. That last may be hard to reconcile because he has Sun sextile the Moon, which unless afflicted, is symbolic of a love match between the parents and most often someone who doesn’t waste decades recovering from their childhood. But the Moon, which doesn’t handle oppositions and squares well, is definitely afflicted, not merely by Saturn, but Neptune as well: Neptune set when the Moon was in the I.C. less than ¾° from exact (2m 51s). This illustrates why it’s important to look at the chart in terms of equatorial coordinates (right ascension and declination) as well as ecliptic coordinates (celestial latitude and longitude) because one can’t appreciate from longitude alone that the Moon picks up the Saturn-Moon opposition in mundo much more closely than it appears to in longitude.
Moon-Neptune can operate in several ways that show the various sides of Neptune. The Dalai Lama has the conjunction which demonstrates that some of the Moon-Neptune people are inclined toward a high calling in life, especially the spiritual side; some people who have it are musical; others are psychic whose abilities have been hard won through suffering, faith, perseverance and discipline. Some people with Moon-Neptune combinations are more neurotic than most people or, more often, someone in their family has mental problems. Many people who have it are wealthy, especially people in the entertainment industry. The native may inherit wealth, be remarkably licentious, and succeed in gaining position, rank, money and power via underhanded means, which are sometimes legal, sometimes not. The point is that Moon-Neptune in both its upside and difficult modes, tends toward extremes and rewards that are occasionally out of proportion to skill required or effort expended in ordinary life; in more extraordinary circumstances, this combination can approach the supernatural.
If Saturn also enters the picture, the situation is often corrupted unless there are other saving graces. Moon-Saturn frequently suggests a debilitating or oppressive home environment, sometimes physical limitations or poverty. In any case, one does not want to see two first class malefics with the Moon. A Moon-Neptune person may be remarkably popular and an inspiration to others. This is especially true if the Moon is dignified in Taurus or Cancer, but in Leo, as Musk has it, most people are uncommonly self-absorbed and frequently think that they are called to perform great deeds for mankind. But upon close inspection, their motivation is wanting, which is to say driven by avarice, and they may embrace the coarse, thuggish side of life. The Moon is tender, gentle and sweet and is damaged by the malefics. Moreover, Musk has Moon mundo square Algol: Algol rises when the Moon is at the I.C, although it is a little more than 8 minutes of time (2°) from exact. This suggests a mean streak that is under control. One can see that in him from Saturn and Neptune with the Moon, compounded by Mars with the Sun. He has the boyish charm of Gemini, but underneath, he is a hard man.
His wealth is mainly shown by Jupiter sextile Pluto. That pair in any combination is a signature of people who have done exceptionally well in life with respect to assets, abundance and power. In Musk’s case his Jupiter is strengthened by association with yet another powerful star. His Jupiter is mundane square Regulus, the alpha star in Leo. Jupiter culminated in the midheaven with 15h 42m22s, only 43s of sidereal time before Regulus set. Forty-three seconds of time is less than ¼° of arc. The effect is to enhance the power of Jupiter by association with royal power or government.
His Venus dignified in Taurus, is closely trine exalted Mars, which is the right sort of symbolism for somebody who accumulates a harem or at least is very successful with women. One can expect to be popular and attractive to the opposite sex with bodies in their dignities configured with each other in easy aspect. He has fathered twelve children by three women so far. Still, with Venus in the twelfth house, his relationships with women and friends may not be characterized by smooth sailing.
While it is unfortunate that the Saturn-Neptune opposition, only 0° 18' from exact, touches the Moon, taken by itself, that planet combination has two basic manifestations: first, it produces problems between the native and the father who rarely get on well, other things not considered. Second, it also confers the big picture. Not only do these people see which way the wind blows, they act on it. People who have this combination, who are in a position of authority, have a broad sweeping vision that makes them futurists. Edwin Hubble, for example, who discovered that the Adromeda Nebula is a galaxy and that the universe is immensely bigger than previously thought, had the very close Saturn-Neptune square, but he didn’t put people out of work. Henry Ford, who had the close opposition (½°) did put people to work via his advocacy of the moving assembly line. Here he showed one of the best things about Saturn-Neptune: these people sometimes conceive the ideal way to do practical things.
Musk has the symbolism of a job builder and has done so in some areas because he also has Jupiter opposite Saturn (3° 28'), which is a classic company-founder and building-raising combination. However, the current transits to his chart indicate adversity, rather than resolution.
Musk has walked right into transiting Pluto trine his natal Saturn and sextile his natal Neptune. Transiting Pluto to natal Saturn shakes up the status quo to an extraordinary degree. Natal Saturn represents fixed conditions, the things that are not designed to change that have proven to be stable, which in most cases have endured because they are invested with intrinsic merit—like the U.S. Constitution. Transiting Pluto to natal Saturn is the classic “shit-disturber” combination. It has made Musk the second most reviled person in the country after Donald Trump himself, because he is part of Trump’s program to put people out of work to shrink the federal budget, rather than revising the tax code so that wealthy people and corporations pay their fair share. Running interference for Trump and the Project 2025 crowd as minister-without-portfolio, will likely evoke civil disobedience. Musk represents only himself and cares nothing for the lives he disturbs, but he also deflects attention from Republicans in Congress who do represent millions of people, but sit on their hands and do nothing except to roll over for Trump, no matter what he does. People always learn this too late. The Republicans are the party of the wealthy, in effect the stooges for the wealthy, who care nothing for the country, but only their wallets. Transiting Pluto sextile natal Neptune is like having the rug pulled out from under one’s feet, sort of like Lucy hustling Charlie Brown into kicking the football that she pulls away at the last second. When Musk has done Trump’s dirty work, he too will be discarded.
© Kenneth Bowser, 2025. All rights reserved.
