Jussie Smollett – Hate Crime Hoax in Chicago

Jussie Smollett, the popular American TV actor and singer, was charged on Feb. 21, 2019 with the felony of filing a false police report. He faces the possibility of up to 3 years in prison for an alleged hate crime that Chicago Police now says he himself choreographed. His bond was set at $100,000, and upon paying a $10,000 bond he was released from police custody the same day, with a court date set for March 14, 2019. In spite of overwhelming physical evidence and testimony, evidence from surveillance cameras as well as credit card, bank, phone, and text records from Smollett and the two men he hired and rehearsed to do the deed, Smollett continues to plead innocent of any wrongdoing.

He originally told Chicago Police that he had been attacked by two men in ski masks with red MAGA hats who put a rope around his neck, poured an unidentified liquid substance on him, yelled racial and homophobic slurs, also shouting “This is MAGA country!” (reference to Trump supporters and Trump’s theme: “Make America Great Again”). However, a witness parking her car nearby heard no sounds of the event, and none were evident anywhere in the surrounding area. In a television interview on Good Morning America Feb. 14, 2019 Smollett inferred that his attackers were white. But on Feb. 13th the case had already started to turn against Smollett and his story. The two “attackers” (two black men) were found and questioned by the police.

The alleged “hate crime” occurred at 2:04 am Jan. 29, 2019 in Chicago, prior to which the actor, then a star on the TV show Empire, received a homophobic “death threat” letter Jan. 22, 2019 from MAGA. This was one day after a Total lunar eclipse at 6:44 Cancer (sidereal zodiac), thus a more than usually intense period. The letter contained a white powder thought to be similar to anthrax. When examined by the authorities, it proved to be aspirin. Police later confirmed that Smollett went to Plan B (the “attack”), since the letter did not get enough attention by Empire bosses or feature him as the victim. He was also dissatisfied with his salary at Empire. If prosecuted by federal law enforcement, the fake “death threat” letter could bring an even heavier penalty than the staged “attack.”Click here for a brief guide how to read South Indian charts.

SOURCE: https://www.nbcchicago.com/news/local/Read-the-Proffer-Prosecutors-Detail-Allegations-Against-Jussie-Smollett-506171221.html The Proffer gives 2:04 am as the exact time of the attack. Cancer Navamsha Ascendant runs from 1:56 to 2:13 am CST, Chicago, IL.

The chart of the “attack” reported by Smollett does not look at all dangerous – since two major benefic planets, Venus and Jupiter, are in the Ascendant and Ascendant lord Mars is well placed in Pisces in the 5^th house receiving a benefic aspect from Jupiter. Mars is the planet of aggression and war, and it is in a harmonious trinal relationship with the great benefic planet Jupiter. Mars also rules over the police and law enforcement; and local police were proper and courteous, treating Smollett as a victim until his hoax was revealed. The “attackers” (two brothers of Nigerian descent: Abel and Ola Osundairo) were friends and colleagues of Smollett from the Empire TV studio. They were instructed to appear to rough him up but not do any significant damage, even allowing Smollett to appear to fight back.

Confirming this scenario, the planets form a very nice Parivartana yoga (mutual exchange of signs) between Ascendant lord Mars in Pisces and Jupiter in Scorpio. Mars and Jupiter are also great good planetary friends. The 3^rd and 5^th houses are linked to dramatic productions, and the 3^rd house contains Sun, Mercury and Ketu (south lunar node). Thus, 7 out of 9 planets are either in the Ascendant, the 3^rd or 5^th houses, all associated with creative activities, including ones aimed at broadcast communications (Houses 3 and 9).

One flaw of Venus and Jupiter together is excess – in this case unrealistic expectations from a poorly planned and ultimately criminal undertaking: filing a false police report and spreading a story that presented Smollett as victim of a hate crime, in this case of Trump supporters who were presented as inherently racist homophobes who do harm to black people and others they dislike or disagree with. Having inferred in a television interview Feb. 14, 2019 that his two attackers were white, he thought the ski masks would hide that reality.

Since Scorpio, the 8^th sign of the zodiac is rising, the event is associated with all things hidden or obscured. The rising degree at 2:00 am (the planned time for the attack) was 0:53 Scorpio. The two brothers arrived on time for the staged attack, but Smollett was late. They stayed close by, and when Smollett arrived at 2:04 am, they proceeded with the “attack” – which lasted for 45 seconds, according to the police account. The very early degree of the Ascendant indicates that it is too early to know what is really happening.

In the “attack” chart, the Moon (9^th house lord) is nearly at its maximum debilitated degree (3:00 Scorpio), though it receives some correction through several means. Even so, it means that the mind starts out in a disadvantaged state and can be clouded and not thinking clearly due to agitated emotions. Smollett was apparently unaware of the magnitude of his actions, or how easily his movements and his phone calls and texts could be tracked. Though he told his attackers not to bring their cell phones to the “crime scene,” he also assumed that police would not question his story too closely and would accept heavily redacted phone and text records.

The day after his arrest, Smollett was suspended from the Empire TV show, where he had worked since 2014. Here is his statement on the morning of Feb. 21, 2019, after he had been taken into custody by Chicago Police:

“I am working with authorities and have been 100% factual and consistent on every level. Despite my frustrations and deep concern with certain inaccuracies and misrepresentations that have been spread, I still believe that justice will be served.”

In the “attack” chart, the Moon gets extra attention in the Ascendant and also because the astrological day is still a Monday. (The Moon’s day runs from sunrise Monday up to sunrise Tuesday.) The Moon is watery, and 4 planets are situated in WATER signs: Scorpio and Pisces. In the Navamsha chart, the Moon goes to Cancer, its own sign (more WATER, more emotion). Cancer is associated with family and/or nation, and once again the Moon is prominent in the Ascendant. But it is closely linked the Rahu, the north lunar node that causes the eclipse of the Moon and brings greater emotional turbulence. Exalted Saturn is the third malefic planet aspecting Navamsha Moon, further exacerbating the lack of emotional, mental clarity and stability. Debilitated Jupiter is opposite Navamsha Moon, giving unrealistic confidence and optimism, though it too gets correction. Navamsha Venus is exalted in the 9^th house, which is excellent for publicity, as echoed by the non-stop media attention for Smollett after Jan. 29th.

But the Chicago Police uncovered the truth from Feb. 13, 2019 onward, when the “two attackers” returned to Chicago and were detained at the airport, held in police custody for questioning, and soon cooperated on this case. The true nature of Smollett’s “hate crime” began to unravel from Feb. 13^th with the discovery that the two attackers were hired by Smollett, carefully rehearsed and paid a check for $3500. Smollett’s lawyers say it was for 5 weeks of weight training and nutrition guidance, but this contradicted testimony from the Osundairo brothers.

Prior to this, from late Jan. through mid-Feb. 2019 Smollett was running with the attendant publicity as a black, openly gay TV star who was victimized in a hate crime in Chicago. He thought he was on the way to becoming the Left’s major hero and martyr and boosting his visibility on every front. At a nightclub event in early February he was cheered wildly when he told his audience how he fought back against his attackers.

In the “attack” chart, note that the severely debilitated Moon rules the 9^th house of communications and the media. And for 18 months from Jan. 2019 through July 2020 the eclipses occur mostly on the Gemini-Sagittarius axis (the classic 3^rd and 9^th zodiacal signs), while Pluto also transits through its last segment in Sagittarius, ending Dec. 30, 2020. Since this axis involves the media and world trade, among other things, there is continued focus on how the media covers national and world events. As Smollett’s clumsily laid plans quickly started to fall apart, it was not before the dominant leftist mainstream news and entertainment media had revealed yet again its tendency for blatant double standards. Smollett would be fiercely shielded, and was “innocent until proven guilty,” while the reverse treatment was meted out to someone like Brett Kavanaugh: “guilty until proven innocent.”

Ironically too, with the attacks on Kavanaugh, there was no corroborating evidence, whereas with Smollett, there is plenty of it – thanks to all manner of surveillance technology plus a signed check. Smollett is a Hollywood personality and a well-known Leftist activist, close to Democrat politicians such as Maxine Waters, Kamala Harris, and Corey Booker. They were all quick to defend Smollett, and to introduce an Anti-lynching bill in Congress. (Harris called it “a modern-day lynching.”) As the case evolved, leftist media pundits and politicians were slow to admit the truth, while some drew attention to possible drug or mental health issues, thereby diverting attention from those whom Smollett was truly targeting with his faux “hate crime.”

In the wall-to-wall coverage of Jussie Smollett, evidently nothing was learned from the fiasco of jumping too early on too many stories before all the facts were in. This includes the incident in Jan. 2019 with the Covington Catholic High School boys wearing MAGA hats. Lawyers for the boys and their families are suing a long list of pundits for defamation and false statements. Among them is The Washington Post, whom they are suing for $250 million – the price Amazon’s Jeff Bezos paid in 2013 to purchase The Washington Post.

Meanwhile, during the Smollett investigation some 24 detectives were put on the case, when Chicago was going through a more than usually crime-ridden period. (A lot of police can be seen from the strong interaction of Jupiter (abundance) with Mars (law enforcement) on Jan. 29, 2019. Also, the faux attackers were both body builders with extraordinary physiques: abundance (Jupiter) of muscularity (Mars).) The Chicago Police Chief has requested that Smollett issue an apology for this reason alone, requiring so much expensive manpower in a high profile case that was unnecessary and self-generated. In the process real hate crimes perpetrated against blacks, gays or transgenders are minimized next to a faux hate crime focusing on a celebrity. Here is the statement by Chicago Police Superintendent Eddie Johnson on Feb. 21, 2019, the day Smollett was taken into police custody:

“This announcement today recognizes that Empire actor Jussie Smollett took advantage of the pain and anger of racism to promote his career. I’m left hanging my head asking ‘why’? Why would anyone – especially an African American man – use the symbolism of a noose to make false accusations? How could someone look at the hatred and suffering associated with that symbol and see an opportunity to manipulate that symbol to further his own public profile? Smollett attempted to gain attention by sending a false letter that relied on racial, homophobic, and political language. When that didn’t work, Smollett paid $3500 to stage this attack and drag Chicago’s reputation through the mud in the process. And why? The stunt was orchestrated by Smollett because he was dissatisfied with his salary. So he concocted a story about being attacked.”

Click here for a brief guide how to read South Indian charts.

SOURCE: Sonoma County Vital Records. Birth certificate obtained by Vedic astrologer and ace data researcher, Steve Stuckey. Many thanks to Steve for tracking down this information!

Jussie Smollett was born at the Summer Solstice, and 12 minutes before a Solar eclipse at 6:10 Gemini. Thus, his natal Sun and Moon are extremely close to the exact eclipse degree. This is a very potent symbol. The life of a person born close to an eclipse is bound to be dramatic and impactful, compounded if the date coincides with solstice or equinox. (Prince William was also born June 21, 1982, but with Sagittarius Ascendant. President Trump was born within hours of a Lunar eclipse.)

Smollett’s Ascendant is Taurus, ruled by Venus, planet of love and of the arts. Venus has a fierce desire to establish her own version of harmony in the world. Taurus is a fixed sign, and Taurus Ascendant people like material security. They want to establish staying power in whatever they do, preferably also with financial security, especially with Venus in Taurus.

Since the eclipse shortly after birth occurs in the 2^nd house, we can predict that the individual will experience some turbulence in the affairs of the 2^nd house. It rules over speech, voice, eating and drinking habits, and also personal income. This should occur when it receives the effects of Saturn’s transits and/or the effects of eclipses on this axis. Saturn’s transits are even more impactful if one is in the Dasha (planetary period) of Saturn. Smollett entered the 19-year Saturn Dasha Oct. 17, 2016. He is currently running Saturn-Saturn period, and will enter Saturn-Mercury Oct. 21, 2019 thru June 30, 2022.

As mentioned earlier, from Jan. 2019 through July 2020 the eclipses occur in either Gemini or Sagittarius. On June 21, 2020 there is a Solar eclipse at 6:13 Gemini, repeating 38 years later almost exactly the Solar eclipse degree at Smollett’s birth. This should be very dramatic for those who have a birth chart with an eclipse so close to the one in June 2020. From Oct. 26, 2017 up to Jan. 25, 2020 tr. Saturn in Sagittarius is opposite Smollett’s 2nd house, throwing the light of truth on these matters and demanding they be addressed. Smollett has a history of one DUI (driving under the influence) in 2007, in which he had no driver’s license with him and gave a false name. He is known to have purchased drugs (Ecstasy, at least) within the past year. He is also very focused on his level of financial income, and the police give dissatisfaction with salary as his chief motive for staging the attack and sending a death threat letter to himself.

Tr. Saturn is also in the 8^th house from the Ascendant, called Ashtama Shani. This passage of tr. Saturn in the 8^th house from the Ascendant or natal Moon is often associated with some sort of loss. In this case, since Smollett has natal Moon in the subsequent sign from the Ascendant, there are two successive periods of Ashtama Shani. The next one occurs when tr. Saturn is in Capricorn in the 8^th house from his natal Moon. (Tr. Saturn is in Capricorn Jan. 25, 2020 to April 30, 2022; July 13, 2022 to Jan. 18, 2023.) Right now, tr. Saturn opposite Sun is challenging for the physical health and can pit one against the authorities. As we see here, Smollett was not only challenging his bosses on the Empire TV series to raise his salary (from the current $125,000 per episode), but to pay attention to the anti-gay death threat letter he received from a supposed MAGA person. Next was the inevitable confrontation with the Chicago Police, and to follow will be the FBI, regarding the death threat letter.

The uncertainty and instability in the 2^nd house is in sharp contrast to the surface impression of the planets in the Ascendant, which bestow yogas (planetary combinations) of success both career-wise and financially. This is due to both Venus and Mercury in the Taurus Ascendant. There are many blessings apparent with Venus in the Ascendant in its own sign, already a good indication for good physical health and a beautiful or handsome appearance. Venus is conjoined with its great good planetary friend, Mercury. Mercury achieves Digbala in the Ascendant (best possible angle of the chart), so this combination is very fortunate as is each of the planets in their own right in the Ascendant. Mercury and Venus conjoined also bestows sweet speech.

So there is much on the surface here to be thankful for, and indeed Jussie Smollett’s life and career seemed to be on a remarkable upward trajectory up to late Jan. 2019. He had released his first music album in March 2018, and had been in films, commercials and TV shows since 1987 (at age 5), and in the Empire TV series since 2014. Many of those had been with one or more of his 5 siblings: 2 sisters and 3 brothers. The family was a close and happy one, with both parents present until the father’s death in early Jan. 2015.

What is arresting about this chart is that every single planet in the chart, even the Ascendant, is linked to the Solar eclipse. Each is connected to the Sun, Moon, or Rahu (north node of the Moon). This involves the Sun, Moon, and eclipse axis: Rahu and Ketu. They are tied together through either zodiacal sign or nakshatra ownership. (Each of the 27 nakshatras runs for 13:20. They are considered potent in Vedic astrology.)

There are 5 major astrological factors involving the Sun or Moon-ruled nakshatras: Ascendant, Venus, Mercury, Mars, and Saturn, with Saturn having extra weight as the current Dasha lord (Oct. 17, 2016 to Oct. 18, 2035). Then the natal Sun, Moon, Rahu and Ketu are of course on the eclipse axis. Even Jupiter is in a Rahu-owned nakshatra and participates in a Nadi yoga with Rahu: Rahu is in Jupiter-owned Punarvasu nakshatra, while Jupiter is in Rahu-ruled Swati nakshatra. Exchange of nakshatra lords in Nadi Jyotisha provides an important planetary energy exchange, potentially even more important than the sign exchange. So we can conclude that no planet in this birth chart remains untouched by the effects of the Solar eclipse at birth, and it can drive the person at times out of control, if proper spiritual practices are not in place to modify excessive behavior, especially in relation to matters of the 2^nd and 8^th houses. Clearly Smollett wanted to take command of raising his salary. But he was not properly seeing the many benefits he already enjoyed and was building on in terms of his career and reputation.

In addition to the great benefits of Venus and Mercury in the Taurus Ascendant, Smollett has the advantage of versatility and adaptability. This is due to 6 out of 9 classical Vedic planets in dual signs (Sun, Moon, Rahu, Ketu, Mars and Saturn). He is not only an actor, but a singer and songwriter and photographer. He has directed or produced several projects in his adulthood, having begun his career in show business very early at age 5. Gemini is very sexually oriented, and Smollett is not only gay, but recently announced himself as “sexually fluid.”

One might hope that Moon in Gemini ruled by such a strong Mercury would find greater emotional and mental equilibrium. But no, this Mercury is in Rohini nakshatra, ruled by the Moon. Others can be jealous of the Rohini person, and it is possible that Smollett has experienced some of that. But even more significant is the fact that the Moon (and Sun) are so close to the Solar eclipse degree that it can be destabilizing, especially when tested by Saturn’s transiting aspects (as now) plus current eclipses. Moreover, we see that the Ascendant, Mars, Mercury, and Saturn are all located in Moon-ruled nakshatras. So all of these planets reflect that potential mental and emotional instability of a mind too much focused on 2^nd house affairs: financial income, speech, voice, and intake of food and drink.

Note too that on Jan. 5, 2019 there was a Solar eclipse at 21:17 Sagittarius, closely conjunct Smollett’s own eclipse axis. His Rahu is at 20:29 Gemini, Ketu at 20:29 Sagittarius. Meanwhile, tr. Saturn was then close to 18:00 Sagittarius, putting further pressure on money houses 2 and 8, as his 8^th house cusp would be exact at 18:27 Sagittarius. So we not only have Ashtama Shani (Saturn in the 8^th house from Ascendant or Moon), but Saturn tightly conjoined the 8^th house cusp, adding extra emphasis and pressure to the affairs of those houses. He composed and sent the faux “death threat letter” sometime close to the eclipse on Jan. 21, 2019 and wrote this on Twitter Jan. 20, 2019. (The entire message is reproduced here exactly as it appears, with the addition of my explanatory phrases in brackets):

“AOC is only speaking facts. [Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, the far Left Democratic congresswoman who has recently introduced the Green New Deal, etc.] This is so far beyond political party affiliation. Across the world… no matter the border…from sea to shining sea…45 [President Trump] and all his white hooded cohorts are a national disgrace. And if you support them…so are you. Clowns.”

The previous year, in March 2018, he wrote this message on Twitter: “I am simply here to help save the world. Nothing is more important than love.”

With the preponderance of Leftists in entertainment and news media as well as academia, one can see how Leftist activists such as Smollett become emboldened to draw battle lines with themselves as “the only moral force,” referring to Trump and his supporters as Ku Klux Klan – a radical accusation, to put it mildly, but routinely acceptable to Leftist-owned social media. And it was specifically Trump supporters he accused of attacking him.

At the recent Academy Awards ceremony in Hollywood Feb. 24, 2019, Spike Lee used his acceptance speech for Best Director as an opportunity to invoke Democrats as the Party of Love, and their political enemies as the Party of Hate. He urged the audience to “mobilize” against the current President in 2020. The audience all cheered and clapped, as expected.

In such a polarized political climate, Jussie Smollett clearly sees himself as the Party of Love, which must defeat the Party of Hate at all costs, even if it renders him vulnerable to making such a stupendously false move – one that will surely jeopardize the rest of his life career-wise, along with his personal reputation and credibility. The Chicago Police Superintendant Eddie Johnson said it best: “I’m left hanging my head asking ‘why’?” An astrologer may point, as I do, to the Great Divide across America escalating since the Total Solar eclipse crossed the entire land mass of continental United States in Aug. 2017. Also, in terms of Smollett’s birth chart, one can point to the lack of inner strength to surmount the pressures on his own highly charged eclipse axis. These are coming now from tr. Saturn and the eclipses, thus capable of unhinging a mind and heart that is not properly grounded, and overly tuned into the culture of victimhood as a way to achieve goals.

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[Update: Feb. 11, 2020: Jussie Smollett is indicted again following a six-month investigation by special counsel Dan Webb in Cook County, Illinois. Sentencing is to come. Note that in the article above the author highlights the impact of the upcoming Solar eclipse on June 21, 2020 at 6:13 Gemini. This occurs very close to Jussie Smollett’s natal Sun at 6:09 Gemini and Moon at 6:02 Gemini, and in the 10th house of maximum visibility from Dasha lord Saturn (an important sub-Ascendant). A subsequent Lunar eclipse July 4, 2020 at 19:29 Gemini is on Smollett’s natal Rahu at 20:29 Gemini. Three out of nine natal planets are closely affected by two eclipses, plus a third eclipse June 5, 2020 at 21:25 Scorpio is within three degrees opposite his Ascendant at 18:27 Taurus. By June 2020 the negative impact on the life of Jussie Smollett should be definitive. The lead-up to June 2020 suggests there may be no reprieve this time, as in 2019.]

Selected References

[This article also appears in the March 2019 issue of AstroLogic magazine, an on-line magazine.]

Edith Hathaway

Vedic Astrology

Jussie Smollett – Hate Crime Hoax in Chicago

Selected References