Appendix D
Marshall Appelwhite

Marshall Appelwhite has a “fault” in his 3rd chart somewhat like that of Virginia Woolf, only not as bad. Her neptune was with the moon. Appelwhite’s is with the sun--more creative, less prone to psychosis. Moreover, his set contains jupiter (sun/neptune/jupiter--the religious man), while hers consisted only of lights plus neptune. His ability to stay away from psychosis hung on his “religious”--9th house, aliens, space travel--involvement, that is, using that jupiter. But Appelwhite’s sun/jupiter/neptune influenced both an Angle and 3rd house, so it was forefront. Woolf’s was not. Here is what Appelwhite’s set looks like:

We could add birth South Node at 20 Virgo 03 to the above, especially since it had progressed through the set and was at 14 Virgo 18 when Appelwhite died. The two non-psychotogenic (“good”) planets in this set are jupiter and saturn, both of which also serve to link the set to c 3rd house (potentially “bad”). On the other hand, the whole set is a loose one in terms of orbs. Woolf’s was close.

Let’s keep looking at this set. When, to its lower end, we add B Asc at 11 Pisces 12, we get a fairly close set involving Asc/node/saturn/neptune, with saturn co-ruling c 3rd house. If not prone to psychosis, Appelwhite was prone to a sense of helplessness and an unnerving depression (saturn/neptune). Once again, everything hangs on that jupiter.

I am not sure of how to add in the 5th house influence to the above. With his abhorrence of his homosexuality, and lot of other combined Pisces/5th/9th/11th influences in his charts, Appelwhite’s sanity appears to hang on his teaching (jupiter, the guru) in groups (11th) about being alien (9th) and not being sexual (5th opposes 11th). His sun conjunction mars in Cancer in b 5th/c 9th favors expressing (or sublimating) sexuality through 9th house (unusual ideas) matters.

On the day of his death Marshall Appelwhite did have a progressed psychotic set in his 3rd chart:

This has no 3rd house emphasis, but combined with (a) above, that is, what he started out with, he’s a lot closer to psychosis. His return for this period has saturn at 11 Pisces 25, conjunct his B Asc (in all his charts, some more of them listed below) in c 5th house. On the date of his death, transiting saturn was at 15 Pisces 12, approaching set (b). Both negatively affected his mental state, making him prone to deep descents into pessimism.

Appelwhite’s 1st chart contained:

Note in this chart his B Asc in Pisces in c 5th house has acquired a conjunction to mercury in Pisces (and transiting saturn). The progressed node has begun to emphasize his original Asc/mercury/saturn. Depression? A feeling of vulnerability? About him, his sexuality (5th), his beliefs (9th) or his group (11th)? Set (c) constitutes the depressed 1st chart (or weak ego) which plays a part in developing psychosis in the 3rd chart.

(a), (b), and (c) together raise reasonable doubts about Appelwhite’s sanity at the time of his suicide. I wonder, too, if instead of a 3rd house (ordinary mind), he is not suffering from a 9th house (higher mind) psychosis. After all, it was to the 9th house (space flight) that he and his group took leave.

Having shown his sensitive B Asc in his 1st chart, here is the place to show how his c 5th house is aspected in one of his other charts. In his 12th chart his whole c 5th contains the following:

None of these planets rules an Angle. I do not consider c12 venus to be conjunct B Asc. However, whenever Appelwhite was with some one with a light in that area of Pisces (ca. 8-12 Pisces), his B Asc/venus/neptune would function as a conjunction. This set shows a lot of “female,” passive, self-dissolving, even self-martyring sexuality. (It is still square c saturn at 12 Sagittarius 18, which is in all charts.)

In his 8th chart (with which I have done little work), he has b8 mars at 12 Pisces 07 conjunct B Asc in c 5th house.

If a man was homosexual and affirmed it, if he liked being feminine and even masochistic, this set (d) would be the set to have. Appelwhite, however, did not affirm his homosexuality.

The above sets give us some idea of how Appelwhite’s homosexuality played out, or failed to, since he thwarted it. It must have taken a lot of his energy to depress and avoid all such sensibilities. Considering that, his castration, which even he put off for a long time, comes as no surprise. (I don’t think it really helped, and will discuss why shortly.)

The above shows us some of Appelwhite’s sexual proclivities, but do they really make him homosexual?

The 7th chart is the main one I consult to estimate homosexuality. The overwhelming set which accompanies male homosexuality in the 7th chart is light/mars/neptune influencing an Angle and a 5th house. I call it a "minimum" significator" because there may be astrology which facilitates its expression as well as that which suppresses it. For both sexes, neptune and Pisces, not uranus, is the planet involved in same sex preferences. And, quite likely, a lot of moon/venus and venus Angular and influencing 5ths has something to do with the "femininity" of the homosexual male, while the same thing with mars likely goes toward a masculine sensibility.

[June, 2010:
I have now written a paper on homosexuality using charts of fifty homosexual males as examples. Here is the link: A Paper on Male Homosexuality Demonstrating the Minimum Significator in Fifty Charts]

As can be discovered reading that paper, charts which can validly contain the significator are more than the 7th. The three charts it occurs most in are the 1st, 5th, and 7th. A few occur in the 12th chart. And, one of the men--John E. Boswell--has his occur in his 9th chart. I would never have suspected that to be the case, but I believe Boswell's life makes a pretty good case for that chart containing his homosexual significators.

Here is Appelwhite’s 7th chart homosexual inclination:

Set (e) influences two Angles. It influences c 5th house twice. Does saturn in it act like a brake on his homosexual desires? Or does his mars/saturn/neptune act more in terms of self-destruction? I would think that when he did have that homosexual relationship in college, he experienced his mars/neptune (inflamed desire) and later, each time, experienced his saturn (depression).

The date of his voluntary castration was given only as “1996.” As a date it does not give me much to work with. His castration was also only a “year” before his suicide. Taking the rough midpoint of the year, July 1, 1996, the significant progressed Angle was pB MC at 11 Aquarius 28 opposing progressed c neptune (ruler of c 5th house) at 11 Leo 10, identifying that 5th house matters (sexuality) were forefront.

Looking at progressed planets for his B Asc in Pisces in c 5th for the estimated date of his castration, progressed c1 (1st chart of individual identity) mars was at 14 Pisces 10. Progressed c6 (6th chart of health) uranus was at 13 Pisces 33R. But we cannot know if either was actually on the Asc without a more definitive date.

I almost missed Appelwhite’s progressions for psychosis. I mentally convert into Egyptian harmonics from regular ones given in the software. I have been doing this for so long I do it very quickly. Sometimes, however, I switch harmonics without realizing it. In doing Appelwhite’s, between mars and jupiter I slipped unconsciously from the 3rd harmonic to the 7th.

I found and remedied those errors. In spending “extra” time on Appelwhite’s charts, I admitted to myself I still did not know why he felt impelled to die then and take his group with him. So, I looked at more of his astrology. Appelwhite’s 11th chart astrology is similar to that of the other three individual discussed in this paper. They share a group-destruct (11th-mars/saturn/neptune. siege conditions). Another chart, however, is instrumental in Appelwhite’s demise. It is his 4th chart. Our 4th chart shows our real estate, home and property experiences, even if renting. It also shows our relationship to our father, that is, how we experienced him:

Appelwhite’s 4th and 7th charts have lighted Angle/mars/saturn. The latter, for sure, shows Appelwhite’s relationship with his minister father to have been choppy and rejecting. His father did not approve and damped down or otherwise frowned on (saturn) Appelwhite’s inborn enthusiasm (Angle/sun/mars).

There are two lights above this set--b moon at 28 Aries 44 and c4 moon at 28 Cancer 00. On March 27, 1997, progressed b4 mercury (4th ruler) was at 26 Cancer 19 and progressed b4 North Node at 25 Cancer 50. The latter enlivened an already forefront condition. Psychologically, probably unconsciously, Appelwhite was in the depths of re-experiencing his father’s scorn and rejection.

His progressed locality birth MC was at 25 Capricorn 14, fitting into the above set.

If I doubted his father’s negative influence, I could also note that his c moon, at 14 Capricorn 40 (in c 3rd/b 11th houses--its sign good for his showing his desire for mental control in groups) has picked up c4 saturn at 13 Capricorn 46. Saturn usually stands for rejection. His locality conception MC for San Diego was at 14 Cancer 52, bringing this set forefront.

His (non-harmonic) c saturn square B Asc shown several times above acquires c4 uranus at 8 Virgo 41 and c4 sun at 10 Virgo 23. Uranus is autocratic. His father came down hard and uncompromisingly (uranus) on Appelwhite’s “failures” (Asc/saturn).

There is another reason I believe Appelwhite’s enthusiasm was damped down in childhood. In his 1st chart he has the following condition:

If ever there was a flamingly sexually exhibitionistic child, this set portrays it. Imagine, then, being that way and having a father who was a Presbyterian minister.

When he had his testicles excised Appelwhite was symbolically destroying his unacceptable generative creativity (Leo)--an act likely first committed by his father. He finally become the passionless “Aquarian,” that is, uranian (its ruler), establishing his control (c moon in Capricorn) of himself (3rd--interests), and, by the way, of groups (11th).

So, even if we can say that his father did not create his homosexuality, Appelwhite’s sexuality was certainly powerfully shaped through his father's influence. His desire to unite (sexually) with other men was considerably increased as a result of his thwarted, rejected desire as a child for a loving relationship with his father. That blessing was withheld.

I write enough about blaming mothers and fathers that by now I would like to make clear I do not favor blaming everything on the parents. I dislike the “nation of victims” we have become. A child, however, is absolutely dependent on the love of some adult, usually a parent, for his later models of how to exist himself. They teach him how to function, to have healthy self-love and self-respect. They can teach him otherwise, or they can fail to teach him anything at all. There is a difference between recognizing failed parenting and categorically blaming all parents for any failings in their children.

We saw the same importance of the 4th chart--in both overall effect and in timing--with Charles Whitman when he ascended the tower at the University of Texas and murdered all those innocent people. While we do not know for sure about Appelwhite’s relationship with his father, we know about Whitman’s rage against his father because he left notes and letters describing it. Whitman failed in a rage. Appelwhite failed--was that a last laugh?--cutting a cloak with a rather large swath from the tail of Hale-Bopp. Was he also showing his father just how high, really, he could rise?

Touch-Me-Not