{"id":2869,"date":"2026-01-23T15:33:07","date_gmt":"2026-01-23T16:33:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/malvinartley.com\/blog.malvinartley.com\/?p=2869"},"modified":"2026-01-23T15:33:07","modified_gmt":"2026-01-23T16:33:07","slug":"the-fitz-the-prequel","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/malvinartley.com\/blog.malvinartley.com\/2026\/01\/23\/the-fitz-the-prequel\/","title":{"rendered":"The Fitz: the prequel"},"content":{"rendered":"

In a previous post we looked at the sinking of the SS Edmund Fitzgerald<\/em>, focusing on the astrology of the event itself. In this post we will focus on the launching of the ship \u2013 the birth of the ship \u2013 and compare it with the event chart to see if indeed events such as ship christenings and other birth events foreshadow significant events to the entity going into the future. For more, read on\u2026<\/span><\/p>\n

In order to accurately read and forecast events, it is essential to obtain an accurate chart time to the minute. All horoscopes can be seen as event charts, with the timing to the minute giving the ascendant\/horizon axis and the corresponding other angles. The angles of the chart are the essential ingredients of any astrological forecasting.<\/span><\/p>\n

So, we come to the christening event for the SS Edmund Fitzgerald<\/em>. The information is taken from a book just published by John U. Bacon, The Gales of November: The Untold Story of the Edmund Fitzgerald<\/span><\/em><\/a>, from which he has kindly given us the following excerpt<\/span><\/a>:<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cFor the christening of the SS Edmund Fitzgerald<\/em>, Northwestern Mutual went all out. President Edmund Fitzgerald invited the public to join the launch ceremony on Saturday, June 7, 1958, at the GLEW dock on the Detroit River.<\/span><\/p>\n

From just this excerpt we have the date and the location, the location also being an essential factor in forecasting. Continuing:<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThe launch attracted an impressive 15,000 spectators, more than the Detroit Tigers averaged per game that season. A veritable flotilla of 250 recreational boats \u2013 many of them Michigan made Chris Crafts, with their distinctive white hulls and chocolate brown mahogany decks \u2013 flying American flags from wooden poles off their sterns, bobbed in the waters nearby to get a closer look.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Fitzgerald\u2019s<\/em> baptism at 12:34 pm produced a mighty splash, a wave big enough to douse many of the well-wishers on the far side of the inlet, and a thunderous ovation from the expectant crowd \u2013 and then another splash, as the ship rocked back and forth until she banged into the opposite peer, hard.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Detroit News called it \u201cthe biggest object ever dropped into freshwater.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

So, we have all the information needed for a correct \u2018birth\u2019 chart for the Fitz<\/em>. The chart of for the event is below (bigger<\/a><\/span>):<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span><\/p>\n

In the previous post on the Fitzgerald<\/em> we noted that the christening had an ominous note to it. The customary christening bottle did not break on the first attempt. We note in the christening chart the Venus square to Uranus (unusual events and\/or relations regarding women) with Saturn at the apex of the Finger of the World pattern that the Venus\/Uranus square forms with Saturn. That showed the difficulties with the launch. The dockworkers had trouble removing the slip blocks which allowed the ship to enter the water. One of the spectators had a heart attack while witnessing the event and died at the scene. Any superstitious sailor would have told you those were terrible omens for the ship. What else do we see in the chart?<\/span><\/p>\n

The other immediate standouts from the chart are as follows: The Sun is in Gemini conjunct the Gemini Midheaven (MC) from the ninth house (long journeys). The Sun is opposed to Saturn, which is retrograde in the fourth house (the birthplace). The 4th<\/sup> house Saturn forms the apex of the finger of the world configuration just mentioned. In a human birth chart this would indicate a difficult childbirth. Venus is also square to Ceres, which is conjunct Uranus on the other side. Ceres conjunct Uranus will show as sudden turning points in destiny. All this is stressful enough, but then we begin to see the other factors.<\/span><\/p>\n

Mars is at the 0\u00b0 Aries point at the apex of a yod with Neptune and Pluto forming the base sextile, to which we will return. It is actually crucial to beginning to understand why the ship sank. In addition we see a t-square with Mercury at the apex in Gemini, with the Moon opposite Pluto as the base opposition. This showed the far-reaching plans for the ship and the extreme effect it would have on public consciousness. Then we come to Neptune.<\/span><\/p>\n

Neptune and the Sun are in sesquisquare, with Neptune in Scorpio conjunct the north node, the latter being a very watery and emotionally tumultuous placement. It can also indicate hidden dangers in the depths of the sea. Venus is in a wide opposition to Neptune, and Mercury is in a quincunx with Neptune. Neptune should feature heavily with seafaring vessels. Mercury rules the Ascendant (ASC) and MC of the chart. The quincunx at the same time shows the allure of the vessel as well as misgivings about it.<\/span><\/p>\n

The ASC is at the 19th<\/sup> degree of Virgo, with the Sabian symbol reading, \u2018A caravan of cars headed to the West coast\u2019. The ruler of the ASC, Mercury, is in the ninth house, showing long voyages. The MC is at the 18th<\/sup> degree of Gemini, the Sabian symbol for which reads, \u201cTwo Chinese converse in their native tongue in an American city.\u201d Mercury also rules the MC. So, the ruler of both the Ascendant and the Midheaven, with the aspects to it, form a particularly strong indicator for the chart. There are no easy aspects to Mercury in the chart and it is highly stressed by squares and the quincunx as noted previously. With Mars conjunct the zero Aries point we note that this is a particularly important and defining event, 0\u00b0 Aries being a \u2018world view\u2019 point. Mars, Venus and Mercury are all in signs that they rule, with Mercury being the dispositor of the chart. But wait, there\u2019s more.<\/span><\/p>\n

Saturn is retrograde in Sagittarius and it squares the horizon axis. If we include Chiron as a significant factor \u2013 as many astrologers do \u2013 we have a Grand Trine in the chart formed between the Sun, Jupiter and Chiron. Saturn is also at the midpoint of a triangle formed by a trine between Jupiter and Chiron, both of which are retrograde, with the Sun as the opposite point of a kite. There are thus two ways to approach this chart \u2013 the supporting aspects for the purpose of the ship, and then the aspects that would show difficulties going into the future.<\/span><\/p>\n

For the supporting aspects in the chart, we start with the purpose of the ship. The Fitz<\/em> was a merchant ship and its sole purpose was to make money \u2013 a lot of money. In that, the Fitz<\/em> was a success. We have the following excerpt from the book mentioned at the start of this post:<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIn 1958, the Fitzgerald\u2019s<\/em> first season, she set the record for the largest single cargo, of 22,509 long tons. The next year, 1959, she broke her own record by carrying 22,943 long tons, or 45,886,000 pounds \u2013 about 130 Statues of Liberty, on a single trip \u2013 enough taconite to build 7000 cars per shipload.<\/span><\/p>\n

But with 300 ships on the Great Lakes all trying to set records, a challenger was never far away. Each time an upstart came after the SS Edmund Fitzgerald<\/em>, the Fitz<\/em> delivered her best, taking back her crown in 1961, again in 1965 and 1966 and every season from 1968 to 1971, showing no decline as she aged. When the Fitz<\/em> was at her best, no ship was better.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Where would such an achievement show in the chart? That shows precisely in the kite just mentioned. We see the Jupiter\/Saturn sextile in the base of the chart, one of the prime wealth-producing aspects one can have in a chart. Jupiter, showing gains and expansion, was at the Sun\/Moon midpoint, as well as the Sun\/Pluto midpoint and the Pluto\/MC midpoints. Jupiter with the Sun\/Moon midpoint shows desire for joint endeavors, for expansion and possessions. It shows joint success and shared happiness, and contributes to great wealth. Jupiter at the Sun\/Pluto midpoint shows the urge to expand and to acquire wealth and successful establishment of positions in life. This is successful striving for power.<\/span><\/p>\n

And lastly, Jupiter at the Pluto\/MC midpoint shows the achievement of unusual objectives and successes along with the possession of financial power. The Fitz<\/em> certainly achieved the goals set forth by its investors. And with the Sun conjunct the MC in the ninth house the achievements of the Fitz<\/em> were genuine showstoppers. We have more regarding the Fitzgerald\u2019s<\/em> achievements from the aforementioned book:<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThe Edmund<\/em> Fitzgerald<\/em> fulfilled all the aspirations of its creators hoped it would achieve, and more: beyond being the biggest and the best, its many admirers deemed it the most luxurious freighter on the Great Lakes. To outfit the Fitzgerald<\/em>, Northwestern Mutual hired Detroit\u2019s legendary downtown department store, JL Hudson and told the retailer to spare no expense\u2026In 1958 carpeting and air conditioning were considered luxuries in homes and cars, and virtually unheard of in factories. Likewise televisions were still sufficiently rare that motels that had them saw fit to brag about this feature on roadside signs. The Fitz<\/em> was ahead of them all, with carpeting, air conditioning and TVs throughout the living quarters\u2026<\/span><\/p>\n

The purpose of all this was not to indulge employees, but to attract the very best crewmen at every position\u2026 The Fitzgerald\u2019s<\/em> owners knew that even the industry\u2019s most impressive ship and crew couldn\u2019t leave port without customers willing to pay for their services. The ship\u2019s clients were high-powered executives and their spouses, who had already sampled many of the world\u2019s delights and were hard to impress. But even the upper crust had never experienced anything like this: one of only two four-star rooms on the greatest, most productive freighter the Great Lakes had ever seen, an opportunity so rare you couldn\u2019t buy it at any price.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Perhaps the picture is clear enough.<\/span><\/p>\n

Okay, so the Fitzgerald one is was one exceptional ship. But what led to its wreck during that storm in 1975? We find the answer in the design of the ship itself. Again from the book:<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThe big thing about Great Lakes shipping is, we\u2019re pretty slow to take to changes, and we\u2019re usually behind the curve,\u201d says University of Michigan naval architect Brendan Falkowski. \u201cBut that\u2019s not a bad thing. That means everything has been tested and proven before we adopt new technologies.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

But the Fitzgerald was an exception to this rule to. Unlike most ships, which were built entirely on site, the GLEW architects decided to try a new system with Hull 301: building the ship\u2019s body in three prefabricated sections elsewhere, then shipping them to GLEW, where they were carefully lowered onto the hull\u2019s bottom plates. They then went a step farther, employing a new hybrid method of welding and riveting the sections together, recent innovations that made welding faster and cheaper than riveting. Because rivets are heavier than welds and also require a joiner plate over each one, welding also reduced the ship\u2019s final weight by some 1.2 million pounds. This in turn would allow the ship to take on more cargo and go faster. Thus, this approach saved time and money in both the construction and operation of the ship, while the designers were confident the final product will be just as good, if not better, than relying on rivets only.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

The basic problem amounts to this: By being such an early adopter of several innovations, the ship would be sailing on systems that had not been thoroughly tested before launch. Welds break more easily than rivets, and in making the Fitzgerald<\/em> more flexible by welding, they intended for the ship to be able to flex and bend in heavy seas. Where would this be shown in the chart?<\/span><\/p>\n

Welding, welders and iron are all ruled by Mars and Aries. Mars, being at the 0\u00b0 Aries point, represents the innovation and change of view in shipbuilding. However, Mars is under stress in the chart, is at the apex of the aforementioned yod, and receives only weak midpoints. In fact, the only aspects Mars receives are from Pluto and Neptune in the yod itself. If Mars was at the exact midpoint of Neptune and Pluto, the situation would be worsened. But as it is, this yod makes for uncertainty. It is worth reading through the midpoint anyway, to get an idea of what is actually represented here:<\/span><\/p>\n