CHRISTMAS TERRORIST PROFILED

He probably wouldn't like that, being profiled. Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab was the son of one of the richest men in Africa. At the time of the attempted bombing of a Northwest Airliner, he was living in a $4 million apartment in London's West End. Apparently he was pissed off that Yemen was being bombed, but beyond that, he was a Muslim extremist.

So what focal planet created this temperament? You might expect Uranus (different just to be different) in mutable (can be influenced) Sagittarius (a high regard for "the truth"). Since Aquarius is ruled by Uranus, you will find an apex person to have a desire for social reform in a radical manner. As with all highly Uranus people, he built up an overload of nervous tension that needed to be released. The mutable nature of the T-square made him idiosyncratic and prone to a changeable nature. People around him probably considered him too unorganized to follow through with his socially subversive ideas. The possibility, though, did not escape the father who tried to protect himself by turning his son in -- an act that some might say confirms the father's contribution to his son's character.

His next focal planet (and you would expect more than one -- the more you have the crazier you get) is Mercury, again mutable. Virgo, ruled by Mercury, is known as a very critical sign. So one of the negative traits associated with this is a critical nature that feels the need to judge others -- a trait that also discourages close associations because it tends to lack warmth.

And third, Umar, has Saturn, again, mutable. Saturn apex people are extremely ambitious so it is this focal planet that allowed him to carry out his plans. However, there is this tendency (since all focal planets are weaknesses) to be insecure, usually due to lack of respect from the father (Saturn). These people will often have a good education to prove themselves. But deep down the father thing nags at them and the need to prove themselves to him (or do something that embarrasses him or angers him).

So Uranus suggests an unconventional path, Mercury, a judgmental one and Saturn, the ambition to carry out the plan. All in the sign of Sagittarius -- that's foreigners. And throw in his Sun conjunct Neptune (disillusionment or delusion). But ultimately, it is the issue of personal inadequacy that caused him to try to kill innocent people to profoundly embarrass his very important father -- that was the tipping factor.

So why didn't he carry out his plan -- after all, he was studying to be an engineer? His chart is really not negative at this time. Depending on his time of birth, he may have his progressed Venus (people you love) square (bad) his Moon (his feelings). I'm guessing he didn't. Because without a negative progression, the transiting Pluto conjunct his Sun and Neptune and square to Saturn didn't trigger.

He simply didn't have the right aspects to die. In order to die, you need a negative progression and a negative transiting Pluto aspect.

I actually think this young man could be rehabilitated -- another reason to think he is a Capricorn (the Sun changed signs the day he was born). Because with Pluto sitting on his Sun, this fifteen year period will render him a completely different person. If in fact, as I've heard, the sentence for his crime is 20 years, he may transform. Perhaps, by then, he may be able to forgive his father and understand the "do unto others" thing or the Muslim equivalent.