The Anareta and Death in an Astrological Chart

Recently I came across a terrific astrology blog by the Greek astrologer Petros Eleftheriadis and I’ve been reading through his various posts, which are always thought-provoking.  Today I was reading his comments on the chart of a young man who was stabbed to death at school at the age of 15.  The youngster was born in Newton, Massachusetts, on July 28, 1991 at 4:29 PM EDT and he died tragically on January 19, 2007 in what was described as “a random act of violence.”

Petros discusses the boy’s natal chart and his secondary progressions and solar and lunar returns at the time of death, so I won’t repeat that discussion here.  What interested me about the chart was the concept of “anareta,” which refers to a planet or point in the chart that acts destructively toward life in a manner opposite to that of the “hyleg,” which is the “giver of life.”

In studying charts about death, I always look at four particular parts or points that have proved effective over the years.  These are:

• Emerson’s Point of Death:  Mars + Saturn – MC
• Medieval Part of Death: 8th Cusp + Saturn – Moon (this depends on the house system, which was probably either Regiomontanus or Alchabitius)
• Anareta by Day: ASC – Moon + Ruler of 1st House
• Anareta by Night: ASC + Ruler of 1st House – Moon

Usually one or more of these points is active at the time of death.  In this case, the young man’s hyleg (giver of life) in Ptolemy’s system is the natal Part of Fortune.  The Moon rules his natal 8th house of death.  At the time of the stabbing the secondary progressed Moon conjoined the Part of Fortune of the Solar Return.  In addition, the Moon becomes the hyleg of the secondary progressed chart for the time of death, and the anareta moves to 3 Aquarius 17, almost exactly conjunct his natal Saturn at 3 Aquarius 22.  His natal Saturn rules his 3rd house (early schooling) and opposes his natal Sun in the 8th house.

To make matters clearer, here is a tabulation:

Chart Points ->            Hyleg:                            Anareta:

Natal Chart:          Part of Fortune             20 Gemini 01

Progressed:          Moon                               03 Aquarius 17

Solar Return:       Moon                               03 Libra 30 (Pars Fortuna)

Here is the natal chart with the superimposed progressed chart in the middle and Solar Return on the outside:

15 year old boy stabbed at school

CLICK ON THE ABOVE IMAGE FOR A CLEARER VIEW

 

Emerson’s Death Point

Here is the quote from Barbara Watter’s book on Horary Astrology, p. 173, which describes Emerson’s Death Point: