I have written a number of papers on health problems. Here are their links ::
Parkinsons I
Robin Williams and Parkinsons Remission (?)
Diabetes (18 Cases, Including Some Deaths from the Disease)
Alzheimer’s Disease (17 Cases)
Alzheimer’s Compared with Parkinsons, Parkinsonism, and Kreuzfedt-Jacob Disease and the Astrology That Mitigates All of Them
Asthma (10 Cases, Including Some Deaths)
Human Growth Hormone (1 Case)
The Astrology of Heart Disease
Death of One Adult Twin from Heart Attack and His Brother Ten Months Later--the Picards
The Silent Twins: June's Death From Heart Trouble (Myocarditis) While Her Sister Lived
Death of Enron CEO Ken Lay of Heart Attack
The Kray Twins: Ron Died of Heart Attack; His Brother Reginald of Cancer
The Astrology of Kidney Disease


Introduction
The recent massive stoke suffered by Israel’s Prime Minister Ariel Sharon reminded the world of the disaster that is stroke. Sharon’s first stroke, a mild one, occurred on December 18, 2005. Thereafter it was decided he needed surgery to repair a small hole in his heart. Before that could occur, Sharon experienced a second, serious stroke on January 4, 2006 with massive bleeding, necessitating brain surgery to save his life.

In this short paper I show the astrology of stroke for only three individuals—Ariel Sharon, Cary Grant, and Les Aspin. All three were picked because their birth times were to the minute. Sharon’s is a rectified birth time with a Rodden rating of A (see Data Acknowledgments below). Only three are included because I cannot now do more. These three are enough to demonstrate certain common elements of stroke, fulfilling my aim in this seed paper.

Method
Before I present the astrology of stroke, I would like to say a few words about this method. Individuals already familiar with it can skip or skim this section:

This astrology uses the sidereal positions of the planets based on the Fagan-Bradley SVP. For my view on the difference between tropical ("Western") astrology and sidereal ("Eastern") astrology, read:

The Sidereal and Tropical Zodiacs: A Discussion

Harmonics are taken from the sidereal position of the planets. The Egyptian harmonic, discussed in the paper “About This Method,” is used.

About This Method

This method uses only conjunctions, applying and separating squares, and oppositions. Planets so related to each other are referred to as “in the same set.” A set, then, is two or more planets (or an Angle) connected to each other through conjunction, square, and opposition within the defined orbs (2nd paragraph below). The set is more active if it contains a light, and less active without one. Learning to look in terms of “crosses” can be helpful in rapidly finding planets that are in the same set.

”Lights” include suns, moons, and moons nodes. When mercury rules an Angle, especially if it rules two Angles (Gemini and Virgo), it functions both as a light and a planet. For instance, when mercury rules B MC and B Asc and is in the same set with mars and saturn, that constitutes a lighted (by mercury) mars/saturn set with forefront influence (the two Angles). MC and Asc act similar to lights in the sense they enliven and empower the expression of any planet they are touching, but they are not really lights, and their orb is smaller than regular lights.

All planets in a set are lighted, then, when the set includes an Angle, sun, moon, or nodes, and mercury when it rules at least one Angle.

Orbs for planets in sets with lights is 5°; without lights, about 2.5°. Orb for MC/planet or Asc/planet is 2°. Orb for progressed planet-to-Angle or vice versa is 1° and increases ½° - ¾° when a light is involved. If I could be certain each time of birth was absolutely correct, orbs could be established definitively.

In the paper on gurus I introduce the concept of “path” when speaking about an astrological set. Planets in a set, the houses they are in, and houses ruled by them describe an astrological path. If, for instance, planets in a set rule 4th, 5th and 9th houses, then the 4th, 5th, and 9th houses are inextricably connected to each other. Energy of learning as well as failure, determined by planets in the set, flows among those three houses. That energy flow can be called a path. Paths have interesting implications.

To my knowledge, all planets in a set must express. They may express simultaneously or consecutively, but one does not just eliminate the effects of an unwanted planet from a set. This all-or-none principle of operation still allows great variability in expression. For example, mars/neptune occurring in the charts of drug addicts and runners. Each experiences this set differently. The drug addict approaches neptune (a high) in his set first. He is back-handed by mars (anxiety, pain, suffering). A runner, on the other hand, approaches mars (action, disciplined running) first. He is rewarded with neptune (a high).

Also in the paper on gurus I coined terms for sets which contain the greater and lesser benefics as well as those containing the greater and lesser malefics. Respectively, “golden benefic” is the term for a set containing light/venus/jupiter; “dark malefic,” for sets containing light/mars/saturn. These two sets contribute to humanity’s extremes of experience.

I use the concept of “fault” in a geological sense indicating a weak place in the astrological structure pre-disposing the individual to a physical, emotional, or psychic “earthquake.” Faults, by definition, exist only in the pre-progressed charts. Faults for death, for example, usually contain the same planets the individual gains through progressions when he dies. Some one, for instance, who dies in an accidental aviation crash often has partial faults containing mars and/or saturn with influence to Angles, 4th and 9th houses in his 7th and 9th charts at birth. They suggest the potential for such a death. In order to represent death, however, the progressed chart must show the same significators (or have them re-emphasized) through progressions, to which transits and returns can contribute. Right now I identify only faults containing malefics. Since, however, benefics can also sponsor devastating problems, their fault status eventually be clarified.

Because this approach uses both a birth and conception chart and they share the same axis, birth houses usually overlap different houses of the conception chart. These are called “house overlaps.” House overlaps play an important part in this astrology. Throughout this paper I use the convention when writing about house overlaps of putting the birth house first, then the conception house. So, for instance, a “5th/1st” overlap refers to an overlap of birth 5th house with conception 1st house in that order. A “9th/3rd” has birth 9th house overlapping conception 3rd house. Birth house/conception house in that order.

“Shell chart” is used to describe birth and conception planets and their houses erected around the same axis before harmonics are added. All twelve harmonic charts are derived from the planets of the shell chart

Birth planets (including their harmonics) rule only birth houses. Conception planets (including their harmonics) rule only conception houses.

Although the harmonic used for each chart is always 2 greater than the number of the chart, for ease in reading I have adopted the convention of writing the harmonic number the same as the chart number. For instance, “b12 mars” represents the harmonic of birth mars for the 12th chart (but the harmonic used to find b12 mars is the 14th).

In abbreviating, I use “b” for birth, “c” for conception, “p” for progressed, and “t” for transiting. A number following them, e.g., “3” or “7,” shows the harmonic chart we are examining. For instance, “b7 pluto” represents the harmonic of birth pluto for the 7th chart. “Pc3 mars” is the harmonic of progressed conception mars for the 3rd chart.

I do not use harmonics of Angles. Compared to planets, Angles move very fast. Small errors in time of birth lead to larger errors in harmonics with Angles than with planets. An error of only four minutes in birth time produces a regular MC that is approximately 1° off. Applying the smallest harmonic, that for the 1st chart, its harmonic MC would be 3° off. With the largest harmonic, that for the 12th chart, its harmonic MC would be 14° off. With a 2° orb for Angles-to-planets and only 1° for progressed Angles-to-planets, errors in harmonic MCs starting at 3° render harmonic Angles useless.

This method uses a solar return that occurs every 40 degrees (exactly) after birth up to death, with nine returns occurring annually.

Partial charts below are shown as a convenient way to demonstrate Angles, houses, and house overlaps. All the sets showing conditions on the date of the stroke, however, are shown in table form. All are from the 7th chart. Let’s start with Sharon’s stroke.

SHARON
As of this date, Prime Minister Sharon, now 77 years old, is still in critical condition but showing signs of improvement.

Sharon is now entering a strongly saturnine part of his life: his birth and conception saturns are in Scorpio in c 4th house (with conception saturn also in b 8th), shown in Set (2). They indicate the alienation, despair, and depression that often accompany prominent saturn. Even though they are buried in his 4th house, he has experienced these saturns before. Widowed twice, he experienced c saturn prior to this because it rules c 7th house and was experienced as the loss (saturn) of partners (7th). He also experienced them in his early life, as a child with his parents—when they sponsored the little boy who became man-the-fighter, the man who despised pity. This kind of 4th house astrology could easily represent the astrology of some one who would rather have died from his stroke. Sharon will need considerable assistance emotionally in dealing with the damage done by his stroke.

We can see his extra heavy saturn influence reflected again in his return for January 18, 2006. Return MC is at 6 Taurus 38 picking up pc saturn at 7 Scorpio 18. Return Asc is at 9 Leo 01 and return7 moon at 8 Aquarius 02 joining his 7th chart set consisting of b SN at 9 Taurus 27, b mercury at 8 Aquarius 14, and c7 saturn at 10 Aquarius 42. Return9 jupiter is at 9 Leo 25, but it likely represents the care and concern he receives, not how he feels. Transiting saturn is at 13 Cancer 47R still close to square his b7 mercury at 14 Aries 10. Return NN at 11 Pisces 48 is lighting his b7 saturn at 11 Gemini 40.

Sharon’s stroke set, shown in Set (3) below, is actually an all-charts set because both mercury and mars are non-harmonic. Sign positions shown before parentheses are for his mild stroke of December 18. Those shown in parentheses are for his massive stroke on January 4. Here they are:

Progressed mars and progressed mercury for January 4 shows an exact square. Here are their positions for dates surrounding his second stroke:

Along with the closeness of mercury/mars, transiting uranus appears also to have been a precipitator for January 4th. (On December 18 it was at 12 Aquarius 28.) I do not know what time his stroke occurred, but on January 4 at 7 a.m. EET transiting moon was at 15 Aquarius 05, providing a possible light if his stroke occurred approximately four hours earlier.

Providing additional mars, but not necessarily connected to stroke, on January 4 Sharon also had pb7 mars at 13 Sagittarius 58 conjunct his B MC (in c 6th house) at 13 Sagittarius 36.

One of the suggestions his stroke would be life-threatening is contained in the following set:

Set (4) in his 7th chart started out as sun/sun/moon/node/jupiter/jupiter/jupiter/neptune, with b7 jupiter at 1 Pisces 13, c jupiter at 3 Pisces 28, b7 neptune at 4 Virgo 18, and c7 jupiter at 1 Sagittarius 10.

The “midpoint” for the last mars in Set (4) is 3 Mutable 43. Active sun/mars/saturn is life-threatening, especially with influence to a 4th house.

Without modern medical techniques, Sharon would have died. Modern medicine makes a difference. It will make more of a difference as medicine improves in prevention and repair, as it surely will.

GRANT
Actor Cary Grant died age 82 in Davenport, Iowa of a massive stroke while on tour promoting his films to college students.

I am not sure…would progressed Angle to mercury and mars already conjunct in Pisces have presented a stroke? Or does mars have to be progressing to mercury. Can mercury be progressing to mars. Sharon’s progressing mercury is catching up to his progressing mars, but those are both moving.

In addition to transiting uranus to a set (shown below) he had progressed B Asc at 2 Sagittarius 47 conjunct c uranus at 2 Sagittarius 13. His saturn for death came from two places. (1) Progressed c saturn, starting out direct, had turned R, was at 14 Capricorn 40, and re-opposing his B MC. (2) Progressed b saturn, ruler of b 4th, was at 25 Capricorn 30 opposing c moon, ruler of C Asc, at 25 Cancer 26.

Because it was pc mars to c mercury (and not a harmonic), Grant has a second mars-to-mercury set formed by pc7 mars to c7 mercury (I have omitted the benefics in this set, two harmonic jupiters there from birth):

ASPIN
Les Aspin, once one of Robert McNamara’s whiz kids, was a former Secretary of Defense for President Bill Clinton as well as a staff member of President John F. Kennedy’s Council of Economic Advisors. A noted workaholic, he also had heart problems. He was admitted to Georgetown Medical Center on May 20, 1995 at 7:55 a.m. after suffering a massive stroke. At that time he was lucid, but his condition gradually deteriorated and he died the next day at 7:55 p.m.

The other planets in Sagittarius were included to show part of the astrological basis for Aspin’s “fascinated by government from the start,” with, I believe, the correlation of Sagittarius/9th representing “government (legislation/law)”—all this in c 10th house of career. He was a Congressman from Wisconsin for 22 years and an economist (3rd/8th overlap, among other things).

Aspin’s progressed set for the day of his stroke, May 20, 1995, was:

Birth mars started out at 5 Cancer 17, while birth mercury started out at 29 Cancer 25, so mars was catching up to mercury. The following table shows their progress over the years:

Aspin did not have either Angle/mars or Angle/saturn usually found at death. His chart started out with C MC at 2 Sagittarius 49 and b7 uranus, ruler of b 6th house, direct at 1 Pisces 14. Uranus turned stationary retrograde when he was 34 years old at 5 Pisces 21. On the date of his death it had returned to 3 Pisces 18R. This method shows Angles to uranus in Scorpio or Pisces, sort of a symbol’s symbol, can substitute for the usual Angle/mars/saturn shown at death.

He had a telltale set of transits (for 7 a.m.) when considered along with his progressions:

I glanced at Aspin’s 12th chart, which produced a powerful set suggesting the 12th might also be important in stroke. At least it was in his:

Discussion
All three individuals suffering stroke in this paper showed close progressed mars to either mercury or progressed mercury. All three had forefront uranus to an Angle, either from progression or transit.

If I have not missed anything, common houses influenced by the major set for stroke were 4, 6, and 9, but there are too few charts here to conclude anything.

Further Work
Significator sets involve establishing which charts determine conditions or events. They also require establishing which houses must be influenced by the main set. Future work should include establishing those parameters using more charts.

Houses influenced play a major role in determining what happens. People could have progressed mars to mercury and not have a stroke or anything approaching a stroke. To give one example, I know that mercury/mars/saturn in 5th and 7th charts with 5th house influence show trouble with children—accidents, deaths, difficulty conceiving or carrying to term. Age also makes a difference. Young people, who surely have their quota of progressed mars to mercury, rarely express them through strokes.