6/13/08 - Tim Russert died today, probably where he would have wanted it to happen if it had to happen far too early......working at NBC, getting ready for his Sunday broadcast of "Meet the Press".

Tim was born on May 7, 1950 in Buffalo, New York. He was a Taurus with a Capricorn moon; two earth signs....practical, down to earth, a giver of time....his time. That's how earth signs show their love, by showing up, spending time, doing for you. And from all the accolades coming in today on MSNBC, Tim did just that.

The solar chart shows Mercury (communication) together with his sun. Well, Mercury doesn't get too far from the sun in our charts so that isn't too noteworthy, but certainly heightens communication. His moon was in Capricorn. That usually bespeaks his emotions are warm but rather solid and sensible ; again it's an earth sign, so he shows his love by doing.

Saturn and Mars are together in Virgo. This often talks of a military type person, or someone who is very disciplined and structured. Venus is in Aries. He probably felt more like an Aries, because Venus is who we are in the chart. And he did pioneer and lead the way in many ways.

Russert had a grand trine in earth, by signs, and a grand trine in Fire,, and a grand trine in water....interesting he would be in news, which is air, but if he has late Capricorn or Aquarius rising, that would bring that element in to play.

I watched the entire day on MSNBC, and it was palpable, the love these reporters and associates had for this man. Everyone who spoke today has talked about his laughter, his joy, his enthusiasm, his love for his son, his wife, and his father. So where would that come from? It sounded like Leo energy, but looking further, I rectified a different chart.

Let's speculate that he was born somewhere around 12:30 am. That would give him a late Capricorn rising with the Moon on the ascendant. He loved family, and he loved kids. They said he was always inquiring about the kids of the people who worked for them....encouraging them to go home and have a family life....and he, too, while a workaholic from the looks of it, still snuck out to catch his son's ball games. While on one hand they tried to joke and say "Tim wouldn't have gone home early", he did get to those games and be there for him, because his own dad worked two jobs and wasn't able to be at his own sports activities. The United States is a Cancerian country of course, and so to have a moon near the ascendant would give him an emotional attachment to the country, would show his interest in history and the past (in Capricorn), and show his love for children, and going out of his way to show an interest in other people's children. Someone commented on the air, that his work was motivated by the concern for the sons and daughters of all america...certainly an unconditional moon sign energy.

So moon, hovering around the ascendant, makes sense. And it also, being in Capricorn, speaks to his love for his father. With Sun squaring Pluto, one might think he had some power issues with dad, but if that were true, the love from the moon and Sun trining Saturn overtook it. While there was a lot of love, there still was a drive and a need to excel, possibly coming from the square. While he understood why his father couldn't be at his games, it still had a profound effect on him. A moon rising person would also be indicative of his round, "moon" face, and his struggle with weight (we might conjecture that he had Cancer/Leo rising, but that doesn't seem to work quite as well).

A 12:30-ish birth time would then put Aquarius as the bulk of the energy in the first house. We had an Aquarian solar eclipse earlier in the year, and I said then that Aquarians would be in the headlines. This might be another indication that this is approximately the correct time. This chart would show his love for the news, his enthusiasm for the truth, his desire to burst the bubble on political pomposity. And, in a bittersweet way, if his death could help others to get healthy and stay healthy, an Aquarian will do that. They will share their story with anyone if it will help. An Aquarius rising would bring the aspect of air into the chart, and indicate a journalist intrigued with politics, when we see that Jupiter - politics/publishing was the first planet from the possible ascendant.

This rising time would put Jupiter first, and show his interest in religion, law (he had gone to law school, and was complimented for the way he interviewed his guests in a lawyer-type way) and foreign travel. Both Jupiter and Venus would be in his 2nd house of money, bringing him money and protecting it at the same time.

It was reported he died from coronary thrombosis, an asymptomatic coronary artery disease. He knew he had it and was happy in April that he passed a strenuous stress test. The doctor said that he could have done that an hour before and could have passed it. These things come on suddenly. He had an enlarged heart.

When we look at the Chinese overlay, Saturn is in Virgo right now, and Mars is moving in on it. Not only did he have Saturn and Mars together, natally, the two were moving into the natal position once again. I was just telling my son the other day, to be extra careful til after the middle of July, as Saturn causes stress on the body, particularly when it is aspecting itself....and for Tim, it was moving in to his second Saturn return. Saturn was moving thru the heart meridian overlay, almost out, but we also have a second yod going on right now, with Jupiter in Capricorn, Neptune/Chiron in Aquarius and Uranus in Pisces. Neptune/Chiron would be the trigger shooting down the energy to Leo on the other side. ...and whether by solar or natal chart, the energy is shooting over to the heart meridian. So, this yod power point is there, and Saturn is just a bit beyond it, both in the heart area.

Saturn rules bones and Mars rules muscle, and the two together can put stress on our muscles....the heart being a muscle, of course.

If love and laughter are the answer, it's hard to see why these people, full of love, full of laughter are just as prone to go as others. My son died 5 1/2 years ago, and he too, loved life, was loved by everyone who knew him, and was always full of laughter. They leave far too soon.

copyright 2008, Pamela Leigh Powers, all rights reserved.