Stephen R. Reed, Ex-Mayor-For-Life of Harrisburg, PA - Part 1
Today's post is a political figure, Stephen R. Reed. Once touted as Mayor-for-Life of Harrisburg, PA (he was mayor for seven consecutive terms), earlier today his fall from grace has become all but certain with an indictment on 499 counts(!!!) over the Harrisburg Incinerator scandal. If convicted and sentenced to the maximum for all of the charges, well, let's put it this way: We'll be well-past the Age of Aquarius, and straight into the Age of Capricorn, that's how long a consecutive sentence on everything would be (He's looking at 2349 years, according to PennLive).
Let's begin with the Natal charts. We'll start with the basic chart without the asteroids.
* Ignore the Houses and angles for Mr. Reed. I chart for noon when I don't know the birth time.
The first thing that stands out is Sun Conjunct Pluto, and that's a big one, also about a half-degree of orb so pretty tight. Sun conjunct Pluto, in his case, is power and presence. This kind of individual enters a room, and you just know it. They are there. They don't need to send of a signal flare for attention because they are that attention, plain and simple. Even when one with this placement tries to avoid the spotlight, it's not likely they'll go unnoticed for long. And this particular placement is even better because his Sun and Pluto are both in Leo. Sun in Leo can have pretty big presence all by itself. Pluto in Leo with the Sun? Even more everpresent. It's something to think about though, for as Count Dooku said in Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith: "Twice the pride, double the fall." (How fitting that his own fall came very quickly after!)
Now, while some interpretations I've seen seem to say about sexual potency or intense affairs, I don't know if that was the case with Mr. Reed. At least, I'm not aware of any sexual component of scandals at this time. The only thing I know of related to that section of his body is the fact that he's been diagnosed with stage 4 prostate cancer, which is bad news all in itself. His scandals that are coming home to roost now are largely financial. Somehow fitting, as the sun is also associated with gold.
his Sun/Pluto conjunction is also Semisquare Uranus in Cancer. A Semisquare is like a Square, but is more internalized, not as rough as a square, but is still considered a hard aspect. Not insurmountable, but does require effort to overcome. It's half of a square at approximately 45 degrees, so naturally with this minor aspect we'll want to use a smaller orb for this as well.
Uranus represents revolutionary change. Cancer is a bit emotional, being a water sign, and a cardinal water sign at that. It was around the 2000's that Mr. Reed began accumulating more of the Wild West artifacts for the ill-fated National Civil War Museum in Harrisburg, PA. Apparently with the Grand Jury report that's been released, it wasn't just the museum receiving some of these artifacts, as some were found in a warehouse under his control, and also in his own three-story house. It's almost like it became an obsession at some point, and one of the PennLive articles mentioned one of the witnesses mentioning the word "depression". I don't discount it, and if there was that going on, he certainly could have used some help. But he didn't seek that out, and I can't say I'm surprised with the Sun/Pluto in Leo alignment. Regardless, there is also evidence that he took a "my way or the highway" approach to governing, as there was testimony about an engineer who informed him that the incinerator project was destined to not succeed, and the response from Reed amounted to, and I paraphrase: "Thank you. You're fired, by the way."
Let's look at another aspect in his chart: Mars square Neptune. Mars in Cancer already is in Fall, or not as strong as it would be in other signs, particularly if it were in Aries or Scorpio (both of which it Rules), or Capricorn (where it's Exalted). Squaring Neptune, we're seeing a mental component to this, a conflict between his drive, his action, and that of his thinking, his mentality, I dare say his grasp on the reality of situations. While Sun/Pluto form a week sextile to his Neptune, that very same Neptune is also on the fixed star Algorab. Algorab, per Constellation of Words:
"Of the nature of Mars and Saturn. It gives destructiveness, malevolence, fiendishness, repulsiveness and lying, and is connected with scavenging."
(Note that this quote is itself cited in Fixed Stars and Constellations in Astrology by Vivian E. Robson, I believe first printed in 1923).
Not everyone with Neptune conjunct Algorab has that attribute, to be sure, otherwise anyone born around that time in 1949 would be in trouble! Neptune, due to its slow movement, is generational after all. However, in Mr. Reed's case, it would appear there was some component to the activities attributed to him and that he is accused of. Particularly, the acquisition of the Civil War-Era and Wild West artifacts that are featured prominently in the financial scandals surrounding Harrisburg, PA.
Also, consider that "nature of Mars and Saturn." Neptune in this case would have a similar feel to Neptune conjunct Mars and also Neptune conjunct Saturn. With actual Mars squaring his Neptune, this becomes a bit difficult. Note that generally when it comes to fixed stars, we usually count just the Conjunction. (Some count Oppositions as well, but I'm on the fence about that. Mars square Algorab by itself I'd generally ignore, save for his Neptune being there).
Let's also consider Mercury conjunct fixed star Regulus. This union, per Constellation of Words:
" Honorable, just, popular, generosity abused by opponents, fame, gain through high position"
Mr. Reed certainly had high position and fame as a seven-term mayor. He also gained through his position, though whether all of that was above-board seems to be in doubt with the Grand Jury indictment. What gets me is how he didn't get indicted during his first successor's first (and only) term as mayor of that city. So what's triggering this now, and not earlier? Terrestrially, I have no idea as I haven't been paying as much attention since relocating from Pennsylvania. However, transits are at work that may be affecting this.
In my next post, I'll be touching on the asteroids in his chart. Part three of this series will begin to look at the transits as of the time of the Grand Jury indictment, and how it all fits in to his current woes.
