[Note: This is the beginning of a multi-part series
on Ebola.]
On September 9, 1976--within 1 day of an extremely potent Full Moon at 15 deg.59' Virgo-Pisces--one of the 20th Century's most powerful and controversial world leaders died. As the death of Mao was reported, billions of Earthlings responded in a multitude of ways. He was such a towering figure on the global stage that anyone, even generally aware of history and current events, would have to be affected by the news. As Beijing and hundreds of millions of Chinese mourned his passing, another death--perhaps far more noteworthy for humanity's future--was occurring thousands of miles away in Central Africa.
In the small village of Yambuku, Zaire, a man died of a strange and overpowering hemorrhagic viral fever, a rapidly-moving disease that devastates the body's organs, tissues and cells, also revealing itself with blood often being released through the nose, ears, mouth and even eyes. This person's death occurred also very close to the moment of the September 8, 1976 Full Moon and it is here we begin our story.
My initial research on this subject has indicated the following: The New York Times and Facts on File--two usually reliable sources for world events--did not start reporting about the "birth" of Ebola until October 1976. The first article on "Ebola"--not even named yet as a deadly virus--appeared on page 23 of the October 10, 1976 edition of The New York Times, in an article written by Michael Kaufman (reporting from Nairobi, Kenya). In his initial paragraph, he indicated that about "four weeks ago" (close to Sep. 8-9, 1976), a man staggered out of the Central African jungle with a hitherto unknown virus. Facts on File began reporting on Ebola in its October 23, 1976 weekly edition, indicating that a fatal fever was sweeping through Central Africa.
In trying to track down the approximate onset of Ebola, I felt stymied. I was hoping to find another source that could more closely pinpoint the origin of this horrible disease and epidemic. At a Barnes and Noble bookstore in the Fall of 1995, I happened to see a copy of Dr. William Close's "documentary novel" on the outbreak entitled Ebola. While this was a novel, Dr. Close had actually been in Zaire as a physician--dealing with the epidemic and experiencing the death and dying first-hand--during the outbreak in the Summer and Fall of 1976. And his opening chapters, written in a documentary style based on his notes and information from a Catholic Missionary in Yambuku when the disease originated, completely confirmed Michael Kaufman's report from The New York Times that the first death from Ebola occurred extremely close to the September 8, 1976 Full Moon.
Now, what I am about to say, is the most important part of this story. When an epidemic begins or a world leader dies or a significant global event happens--and such an activity occurs very close to a major New or Full Moon or Eclipse--that lunation chart becomes the "vibratory talisman or energy vortex" and is often the main chart to study and research regarding the subject involved. What "blew my mind" and also began validating the September 8, 1976 Full Moon chart--as the valid "birth" of Ebola--was the Sabian Symbol for the Sun on that date.
As many of you know, Dane Rudhyar, one of this century's greatest astrologers, reinterpreted all of Marc Edmund Jones' 360 Sabian Symbols (one for each degree of the zodiac) in a book entitled An Astrological Mandala. This is a widely-used book by thousands of astrologers who examine birthmaps and find evocative symbols for natal planetary and angular degrees. Where was the Sun (heart; life-force; radiant energy) at this Full Moon--when Ebola began in the remote regions of Central Africa? The 16th degree of Virgo. [Note: The Sabian Symbols originated in 1925, during an extensive experiment in a San Diego park between Dr. Marc Edmund Jones and Elsie Wheeler, a gifted psychic.]
Upon looking in the ephemeris for September 8, 1976 and seeing the Sun placed at the 16th degree of Virgo (the placement is 15 deg.59' and therefore almost precisely 16 Virgo), I already knew what the symbol would be--because I am very familiar with Rudhyar's great book. Here is the symbol and please note that the major animal tie-in with Ebola is the monkey. [Note: Researchers believe Ebola in humans may be occurring through contact with infected monkeys; and, at the very least, there is a deadly Ebola strain that kills monkeys--and this just occurred again in Texas in April 1996! There is a different Ebola strain that kills humans, but the link with the Ebola strain killing monkeys and the cure for the viruses are still unknown.]
16 Virgo: "In the Zoo, children are brought face to face with an Orang-utang. Keynote: A direct confrontation with the 'wild' power of primordial nature within oneself." In addition to this, Rudhyar gives a key phrase of "karmic confrontation." Read the entire entry sometime, as Rudhyar refers to "ape species," the "perversion of the Man archetype," "original sin," "degeneration of enormous vitalistic power," the "sin of the mindless," and "planetary Initiation." Reading this symbol and realizing that the "birth" of Ebola into the human world occurred with the Sun at 16 Virgo (energizing the archetypal Monkey-Human connection and Sabian Symbol) struck me like a thunderbolt. But there is much more.
In our next issue, we will discuss all the following in greater detail--because they are all part of the Ebola picture and what this may mean for humanity as a devastating epidemic if the virus ever becomes airborn or mutates into a form that can kill millions, if not tens of millions of people, around the world. (1) What is the meaning of the awesome conjunction of Mercury, Venus, Juno, Mars and Pluto--all between 7+ and 10+ Libra? This is one of the most crucial cosmic signatures at the birth of Ebola into the human kingdom. It certainly smacks of a social (Libra) devastation of cataclysmic proportions (Mercury-Venus-Juno-Mars-Pluto all together). And you need to realize that Mercury was also stationary (motionless) and just about to turn retrograde at the Full Moon that initiated Ebola! Mercury is often associated with the health profession, traditionally considered the ruling planet of Virgo (health/illness) and strongly associated with the ancient symbol of the Caduceus. (2) What is the influence of Leo on the 8th house cusp (death; mysteries; the Unknown)--with the Sun ruling that house and placed in the 8th house itself at the 16th degree of Virgo? By the way, the incredibly significant Total Solar Eclipse on August 11, 1999 (part of a Cosmic Cross in fixed, power signs, including Mars, Saturn and Uranus)--that sweeps through Europe and the Middle East--has a focal point at 18+ Leo (extremely close to this 8th house cusp). (3) What does it mean that the entire Heliocentric Orbit of Pluto (20+ Capricorn Helio South Node and 20+ Cancer Helio North Node) is rising and setting (almost exactly) as Ebola begins in the human kingdom? And note here: The Uranus-Neptune conjunctions of 1993 took place within 1-2 deg. of the Ebola rising degree. (4) We will also examine the extraordinary Uranus-Lunar North Node conjunction at 4+ Scorpio which was ABSOLUTELY PRECISE ON THE DAY OF THE SEPTEMBER 8, 1976 FULL MOON! This is very important because Scorpio is the 8th sign of the zodiac and strongly links to all 8th house symbolism (including death by mysterious epidemics). In addition, Uranus is often linked to the head area of the body, the nervous system and circulation of the blood--all heavily afflicted by the Ebola virus. The Lunar North Node has a major link to the masses and anything in the public domain. (5) Right now--as I am composing this article (May 18, 1996)--Comet Hyakutake is about to station at 4+ Taurus (opposing the Uranus-North Node configuration and igniting the Lunar South Node at 4+ Taurus). (6) Another highly important planetary player in the Ebola birthmap is Chiron. Chiron--more than Mercury, Jupiter or any another key planetary body--is associated with medicine, wounds, pains and the entire health/illness, mortality/immortality dynamic. Why is Chiron so important at the start of Ebola? It's Celestial Latitude--distance North or South from the Ecliptic (Earth's path around the Sun)--was 0 deg.00'(!) during the late August 1976 time through September 11, 1976. This means that Chiron was physically crossing the Ecliptic precisely, "touching" and "igniting" the Earth's cosmic lifeline and cyclic energy spiral relative to the Sun (our ultimate Life-giver)! [A Chiron passage over the Ecliptic only occurs about every 20 years, lasting for a few days.] We will also explore the fact that in late April 1997 (not far away!), Chiron will return to 0 deg.00' Celestial Latitude for the first time since early September 1976. Also in 1997, Chiron at 1+ Scorpio (in January, March and September 1997) will oppose its own placement (1+ Taurus) from the birth of Ebola. This Chiron-Chiron polarity may serve to "illuminate" Ebola to humanity, in one form or another. And perhaps it may mean a cure--if researchers are tapping into Chiron's higher powers. [Important! During the Texas outbreak of Ebola in monkeys this past April, Chiron crossed 9 deg.-10 deg. Libra (right on Mars-Pluto in the Ebola chart)! Also--Chiron will be triggering the entire Libran group of planets in the Ebola chart from late May 1996 to early August 1996.] (7) The second star in the handle of The Big Dipper (one of the 7 main stars in The Great Bear constellation) is known as Mizar. While it is far from the Ecliptic, every star has an "ecliptic interface," the degree of the zodiac which it is actively influencing. Mizar is currently located at 15+ Virgo--in conjunction with the Sun at the birth of Ebola in 1976. Reinhold Ebertin, in his classic book Fixed Stars and Their Interpretation (page 55), links the slaughter of 20,000 Hugenots in France in August 1572, to a Sun conjunction with Mizar.
So … please begin your own research in this area as Ebola--which has killed several hundred people in Africa in a handful of major outbreaks in the past 20 years--may yet become a global scourge in the years ahead. Note that in Secondary Progressions based on the September 8, 1976 Full Moon chart (Ebola birth), the Sun will ignite the 7+ to 10+ Libra zone (Mercury-Venus-Juno-Mars-Pluto) from 1998 to 2001. Also--when the Ebola virus first started killing people in 1976, some researchers thought it might be related to the so-called "Green Monkey" virus/outbreak in Marburg, West Germany, back in 1967. On June 30, 1966, Uranus (revolution; shocks) and Pluto (death; metamorphosis; the Underworld) united for the third time in nine months at 16 deg.06' Virgo (health/illness)--just 7' of arc away from the Sun at the birth of Ebola a decade later. [The last Uranus-Pluto conjunctions had occurred in 1850-1851, so they are very rare.] Thus Ebola, in some form, may have been conceived or incubating in the mid-1960s and then came out in a lethal form for humans starting in early September 1976.
The most recent confirmation and catalyst for me in finally writing this astro-story was the Ebola outbreak in Texas in April 1996. This was played down by the media because it would have sent shock waves through the public. But several monkeys--shipped from the Philippines--fell ill and died from a strain of Ebola in mid-April. Because of this, a quarantine was established and several dozen monkeys in this group were all put to death. Only a few articles appeared on the subject and our nation's disease centers told the public there was nothing to worry about, that this form of Ebola only affected monkeys, etc. However, a very perceptive writer composed a feature that made it to The New York Times editorial page, indicating that we may be bringing the deadly human Ebola virus into this country if we continue using possibly infected monkeys for medical research, that it was just a matter of time before the entire Ebola disaster exploded into the public down the road--unless we took steps immediately to stop importing these monkeys into the USA.
When all this occurred in mid-April, transiting Uranus reached 4+ Aquarius--precisely squaring the Uranus-Lunar North Node conjunction at the time Ebola began in the human kingdom on September 8, 1976! Uranus (revolution; the unexpected; surprises; connections to the Air element) will recross 4+ Aquarius during May/June 1996, January 1997 (virtually exact during the Presidential Inauguration and therefore dynamic for the next four-year leadership/administration cycle in America) and late September to early November 1997. [Note: This Uranus transit squaring Uranus from Sep. 1976 is also a First Quarter Square Pattern--symbolizing a "Crisis in Action," a need to cut through obstacles and deal with the situation forcefully, clearly and quickly.]
I welcome your thoughts, comments and ideas on this provocative subject of Ebola. More next time….
[Mark Lerner is the publisher of Welcome To Planet
Earth--in print and within ASTRONET on America Online. Please
contact him via e-mail at Markgobear@aol.com. or at PO Box 12007,
Eugene, OR 97440.]
