The Astrology of Stephen Paddock, The Las Vegas Shooter

The Las Vegas Shooter

Stephen Paddock

April 9, 1953

Time Unknown

Des Moines, IA  (CDT) Unknown / Speculative, but acceptable for this purpose

Porphyry House System

Due to computer issues, this chart isn't SolarFire. It's astro .com

I have pretty good success with sunrise charts when the time of birth is unknown. Here's what I see:

Paddock had two sets of mutual receptions - the Moon with Uranus and Venus with Mars. I see the latter pair frequently in lottery winner's charts. He made a bit of money by gambling, but I think he wanted more and more, and hadn't yet attained it. But I digress. Let me go back to those mutual receptions.

IN A SUNRISE CHART, Venus would rule his 2nd house of money, and Mars would rule his ascendant, and co-rule his 8th house of lotteries and other people's money. So those areas of life would be tied closely together. His self-identity, money, and the ability to win it would be inseparable in his mind. They made no aspect to each other however, and Venus was Rx, which may have frustrated his ambition in the matter. I've also found that in many charts of people with Venus retrograde tied to the second house that they think of their finances as "mine, mine, all mine!"  

The Moon and Uranus were also in mutual reception. There are so many things to see in that Moon. The Moon in Uranus-ruled Aquarius is emotionally detached. It thinks about and rationalizes emotions rather than feeling them. That would be compounded by the mutual reception with Uranus, as well as the Moon occupying the 11th house, which is also connected to Uranus and Aquarius because (for those who aren't astrologers) that's the house belonging to them in the natural zodiac where Aries is the first sign and Pisces is the last. That is a lot of detachment from one's emotions. Obviously, I am not a psychiatrist, but the definition of sociopathic narcissistic personality disorder is a lack of empathy for others, which this combination suggests he had (or lacked) in spades. But that begs the question of why he would send his girlfriend out of the country in order to prevent her from being implicated in his crime. I don't have all the answers.

Sure, the 11th is the house of groups of people (crowds), but it's also the house of twists of fate and lucky (and unlucky) breaks, as well as enormous odds like holes-in-one; identical twins giving birth on the same day an hour apart; or three men standing in line in Israel with consecutive numbers tattooed on their arms sixty-five years after the Holocaust (if this interests you, see the 11th House in my Memphis Astrology Pinterest boards). Uranus occupies the 4th house, but we know next to nothing about his childhood, home, family or private life. It's also the house of beginnings and the end of life. It's the first house of endings. Paddock may have been unemotional and detached from any or all of these things - an attitude of nothing left to lose.

The Moon was traveling very fast the day he was born, and Mercury preceded the Sun by a country mile. This pattern is defined as anxious, impatient and intolerant. These are people who jump to conclusions and fail to look before they leap. They feel a sense of urgency and act impulsively so they're not good listeners. They butt into conversations, interrupting other people who are speaking to impose their own ideas, thoughts and will. Raimo Nikula, the former chairman of the Finnish Astrological Association calls this combination "the Dictator," and in an article on astro.com, he provides a long list of dictators whose natal charts have Mercury leading the Sun, trailed by Venus (although I don't recall the speed of the Moon being mentioned, and he mistakenly identifies the order as counterclockwise). As he explains, Mercury, the scout planet, feeds the egoist Sun with information, which doesn't reach or become processed by the heart because Venus trails the sun. It gives freedom to act independently without regard to anyone else's advice. He also says this combination lacks  warmth and empathy, which concurs with the indications of the mutual reception. They tend to be strong leaders (or despots) which is easier when no one else's feelings or desires need be considered. It gives the feeling of being self-sufficient, detached, a loner, and cut off from others which increases with the passing years. Nikula further describes people with this order of the personal planets as those who instruct the rest of us, "Leave it to me! Don't mess with me!" For comparison, this combination is also found in the charts of Teddy Roosevelt, John F. Kennedy, Richard Nixon and Sarah Palin. They're hard-headed and care not one whit about pleasing anyone else. They are independent, tend to isolate themselves from others, and completely deny any feelings they might have if they feel it's necessary to do so. (You might be thinking, "Kennedy? Really?" Ask me later.)

Paddock's chart is a mess. For those who are not astrologers, look at the lines in the center of the chart. It looks much worse in SolarFire, which draws more lines. There's not much flow there. It kind of reminds me of Jeffrey Dahmer's chart in that way.  Instead of a nice and neat ball of yarn, it looks like one the cat has been playing with. There are an inordinate number of configurations: 3 T-squares, 2 kites, a mystic rectangle, and 3 yods. Again, for non-astrologers: the yod configuration is shaped like an arrow. It represents "The Hand of God," or "Finger of Fate." The one I want to mention is the one that points to the Saturn conjunction with Neptune at the descendant. I won't do them all because I eventually learned that no one reads below the cut anyway, right? This is the aspect Kim Akinta referred to when she called him a bitter, broken and disillusioned man (and possibly delusional, as well, IMHO). To save time, I'm doing some copying and pasting from one of my old blog posts,"Neptune over Saturn (Nasty Little Transits)." Keep in mind that it wasn't a transit for Paddock, but a life-long aspect in his natal chart. When well placed and well-aspected, Saturn and Neptune can be the talent and discipline required to be a really good musician, dancer or sculptor. If not, it simply sucks. It's one of the crappiest aspects of all time. It's insidious, making things seem worse than they really are, causing pessimism, acute self-doubt, and often indicates a chronic illness. 

Saturn represents our framework, our structures, our bones. It's organization, security, and tradition (the way things "have always been," or "are supposed to be"). It shows what we can depend on, who we can turn to, who is in charge, who holds it all together for us. It represents the rules as we know them. It's reality. It's science. It's the father.

Neptune is a solvent that dissolves whatever it touches. It represents illusion, delusion, deception and confusion. It's a candle in the wind. It's fantasy, faith, and escapism. It is the opposite of Saturn. When Neptune passes over Saturn, it dissolves our structures, and removes those things we have always counted on. It pushes us out of our safe harbors and casts us adrift on a sea of confusion, desperation and self-doubt. When Saturn is afflicted, it becomes our disappointment, fear, guilt, and grief. It is our pain and suffering.

This is an aspect under which bad things happen to good people. Where Neptune is involved, there will be at least one, and likely many, elements of confusion, doubt, mystery, conspiracy, alcohol, drugs, chemicals, precipitation, gas, or liquids involved. In fact, this aspect is known as "the Killer Fog." It brings confusion and uncertainty. And all of this afflicted Paddock's ego, vitality, and self-identity because it opposed his natal Sun. It also opposed Venus, ruler of the 2nd house of money and resources, and the 7th house of Significant Others as well as the public in general, which the conjunction also occupied - at least in this chart. Being angular - again, in this chart - it would have been one of the strongest influences in his life. Robert Hand wrote that "the effect of this conjunction is to detach us from the material universe," which was in direct conflict with Paddock's penchant for gambling. But it certainly did detach him from the material plane in the end. 

When I return, I'll delineate some the transits of the fateful night, but for now, I'll leave you a hint: the transiting Jupiter-Uranus opposition conjuncted the Saturn-Neptune opposition to his sun, and Pluto squared it. The prenatal eclipses also played a role. We can only wish to know where in his chart the Solar Eclipse of August fell. 

For those of you who want to read about your own rising order of the Sun, Mercury, Venus combinations, here's a link to 

The Rising Order of the Sun and the Inner Planets - Introduction to the Pattern of Ego Processing by Raimo A. Nikula

UPDATE: October 30, 2017 Now that we have a birth time and place, this chart needs to be adjusted, particularly by noting the Natal moon is in the 8th house, rather than the 11th. I just haven't had time to do it. There are plenty of other places online to see the corrected chart.