If Sutherland Springs, just east of San Antonio, Texas, was one of those sleepy little country towns we often hear about in literature–whether by Ernest Hemingway, Elmore Leonard or any other number of authors one might associate with such a phrase, it woke up on the morning of November 5 when half of the congregation of the First Baptist Church was shot and killed in bare minutes by one lone gunman. Many other congregants suffered multiple injuries, all from what sounded to one witness like a semi-automatic weapon at the church across the road. A toddler around the age of 2 or so was among the victims in this town of 683 people. So was the pastor’s 14-year-old daughter. At the time I began to develop this article, there was still no indication of the toddler’s condition. The youngest victim counted among the dead was 18 months old. This may have been the same child. As for the suspect who was first reported as someone known in the community and then later discounted as the same person and reported as erroneously listed, he took his life. He was killed after authorities closed in from Wilson County where the horrific scene took place about 30 minutes into the weekly church service and Guadalupe County, about 8 miles away.
At least two medical helicopters were noted at the scene as well as the FBI, Homeland Security, local police and volunteers. In this community, it’s surely a chilling sight to see the FBI and Homeland Security; but they stepped in as they needed to so they could determine any possibility of either an act of terrorism or a hate crime. Such a thought would not be likely to occur to most here where the church itself is known as the town’s only food pantry and serves several members who are in their senior years and incapacitated in some way.
Print news just began to arrive as I was writing, with the first one from The New York Times announcing more than 20 dead. I went to the charts with this news:
An Eastern 4th quadrant above-the-horizon dominance offers the focus on this 12th house Saturn-ruled chart with Pluto rising. A Venus-Jupiter out-of-sign conjunction jointly shares the midpoint at 1 Scorpio 45, offering a 1-minute partile conjunction to the MC! Individually, Venus conjuncts the MC at 3°56′ while Jupiter forms the conjunction at 3°58′. Together, they point to a closely knit community in which both the legal and spiritual neighbors have created what appears to be a family of sorts: You don’t live in a town so small without these bonds being created somewhere, and the First Baptist Church in this town offers that “family” home. One local describes Sutherland Springs as a “one blinking-light kind of town with a gas station and the post office.” Another said it’s a community that doesn’t lock its doors.
Ironically, November 5 seems to have history in Texas. On November 5, 2009, Virginia-born Major Nidal Malik Hasan opened fire with a semi-automatic pistol at Fort Hood, Texas, outside of Killeen, and within four minutes, 13 were dead and another 33 were wounded including Major Hasan who was left paralyzed from the waist down.
I wondered whether there might be some correlations between the Fort Hood shootings in 2009 and this event on the same date this year in Sutherland Springs. While the two had similarities–the Sutherland Springs shootings were linked to the Fort Hood tragedy in a way, I really feel like I was grasping at straws to find the connections. As I understood it, Major Hasan had attacked Fort Hood to avoid being sent to Afghanistan while the Sutherland Springs attacker had been dishonorably discharged from the military for domestic violence and was not legally able to buy a gun. “Legally” was the problem however since the military agencies responsible for placing his name on the “not allowed’ list appeared to be where someone dropped the ball. In part, however, I’m telling more than I intended to since I already wrote about some of this further down. My point for mentioning it here, however is simply to show the Powell chart with the Fort Hood shootings in the middle wheel and the Sutherland Springs shootings in the outer wheel so you can pick up with this triwheel where I will leave off.
Unlike the connections you’ll see in the Sutherland Springs shootings to the Powell chart, the Fort Hood shootings seem to represent a disconnect despite that both Hasan and Kelley were born in the USA. The Ascendant to the Sutherland Springs shootings, for example, forms a 27-minute partile conjunction to the Powell chart’s Moon. The only factor that seemed remotely connected was actually quite surprising. The Sutherland Springs shootings placement of Venus formed a 34-minute partile conjunction to the Fort Hood shootings Venus. A Venus Return of the two events! And to make it even more “perfect” in the sense of the triwheel connections, this pair of Venus Returns formed a 23-minute partile approaching square in the Fort Hood shootings chart while the Sutherland Springs shootings chart offered an 11-minute partile separating square to the Powell chart’s Pluto! As an afterthought to this remarkable pair of placements to the Powell chart and the two to each other, take note as well of the Powell chart’s Venus at 29 Gemini 32: Its antiscion falls at 00 Cancer 28, forming a 58-minute partile opposition to the Fort Hood Pluto! Such a connection here–one that obviously stands alone between the two shooting charts–appears to be what was still the Powell-connectivity to Fort Hood where the Sutherland Springs shootings chart had bypassed what might have otherwise offered the same connection. Maybe it wouldn’t have been through the Powell chart’s Venus of course since the Fort Hood connection had already claimed that one.
There was another unique relationship one might otherwise miss from the Fort Hood shootings chart, and that was the placement of the Ascendant of the military base event’s chart in semisextile (30°) to the Powell chart Moon (and even the Sutherland Springs Ascendant) with the Resonant Blooming Undecaquartisextile (165°) resolving at 00 Leo 26.5 in the 7th house. I’ll stop here and move on to round out this article, leaving you, dear reader, to find other treasures in this tri-wheel. If I’ve piqued your interest in searching for more of these hidden treasures in this trio, that alone would be a fun kind of eye-opener, wouldn’t it?
The news carried the tally of 26 dead as Governor Greg Abbott declared the Sutherland Springs shootings the worst in Texas history. Freeman Martin from the Texas Department of Public Safety said they had not yet determined whether the shooter–“a white male in his early 20s”–died by his own hand or by the actions of authorities. They did know, however, he had used an assault-type rifle (a Ruger, .223 rifle, a Bushmaster) and had multiple other weapons in his car. The dead in this tragedy range in age from 18 months to 72 years of age, and their bodies were found inside and outside of the church. One apparently died in the hours following the incident. Those who think things like this don’t happen in small communities, the sheriff said, “found out today that they do.”
The gunman, 26-year-old Devin Patrick Kelley, dressed all in black and a ballistic vest, was first seen at 11:20 AM but no calls about anyone suspicious near the church had been placed. I thought about altering the chart but decided to leave it since we haven’t been given the precise time of the call for the first shots, only his arrival. I did create a second chart but nothing actually stands out to me that makes this more remarkable than the one I’ve used. The shift from the 11:30 time in which the MC shows at 1 Scorpio 44 and the 11:20 time of arrival in which the MC shows at 29 Libra 07 is remarkable; but I don’t see this as potentially more significant than the 11:30 AM time.
I decided to compare Kelley’s untimed chart with the witnessed time of his arrival, when he began shooting outside the church. In this way, I can compare this moment and still recognize the recorded time of the murders inside the church. As I’ve done before with untimed charts, his will be on the outside of the biwheel.
Take note of the 12-minute partile conjunction between Kelley’s natal Uranus and the arrival time chart’s Ascendant with Pluto, of course, as I mentioned above with the shootings chart for 11:30, already in the 1st house. If I posted the Powell chart with this as well, we’d see the Powell chart’s Moon at 15 Capricorn 16, in a 39-minute partile conjunction to Kelley’s Neptune. Is this perhaps a sign that he had indeed lost it? If so, then perhaps we need to consider Stephen Paddock as well and ask the same thing: Are we beginning to see a question of mental health issues having been ignored so much on the heels of state and federal budget cuts taking out the mental health clinics across the country? If so, then perhaps the current administration–since it was brought up in condolences to the Sutherland Springs residents and members of the First Baptist church who lost loved ones and friends, pregnant women and toddlers through seniors up to 72 years of age–needs to reconsider the federal budget and the inclusion of millions needing to be in place for mental health needs.
Whether or not what took place on the 5th of November had anything to do with the regrettable things Devin Patrick Kelley did in his life, we may never know. His discharge from the military offered a big red flag as a warning sign; but government officials discovered his discharge from the US Air Force had been related to domestic violence, saying Kelley’s name should have been on the Federal list of those not allowed to purchase weapons, and it wasn’t.
According to Heavy, Kelley’s discharge from the Air Force appeared to be a matter of semantics. “However, CBS News reported that the suspect is former ‘US Air Force E1 (2010-2014). He received a dishonorable discharge. He was court martialed in May 2014.’ The network also wrote, ‘Kelley is a former U.S. Air Force member who served from 2010 to 2014. He was dishonorably discharged and court martialed in May 2014.’ But, Heavy wrote, “According to Daily Beast, ‘Kelley was court martialed in November 2012 and a judge sentenced him with a bad-conduct discharge, 12 months confinement, and two reductions in rank to basic airman, according to an appeals court decision in 2013 that affirmed the decision against Kelley.’
“Heavy has confirmed that a petition for review of Kelley’s appeal was denied in March 2014. The case is listed as No. 14-0387/AF. U.S. v. Devin P. KELLEY. CCA 38267. The National Correspondent for the Los Angeles Times “wrote on Twitter that the court martial was because Kelley assaulted his wife and child. Kelley married the woman he was married to at the time of the shooting in 2014, according to online records and her own Facebook page.”
“A LinkedIn account appearing to belong to Kelley said he enlisted in the U.S. Air Force in 2009 after graduating from high school. Kelley was discharged from the Air Force in 2014, according to Defense Department records,” The Daily Beast noted. “Kelley was court-martialed in November 2012 for assaulting his [first] wife and their child. A judge sentenced him with a bad-conduct discharge, 12 months confinement, and two reductions in rank to basic airman, according to an appeals court decision in 2013 that affirmed the decision against Kelley.” A bit confusing, I know, but my sharing the fhree versions allows you to attempt to make some sense out of this series of disjointed quotes.
Kelley’s second wife, Danielle Shields, said they married in April 2014. Texas marriage license records in Comal County confirmed their marriage on April 4, 2014. Danielle’s page also shows two small children, one of whom is an infant. Danielle’s parents as well as Kelley’s own parents and his two sisters apparently belonged to the church although they weren’t at the church on the morning of the 5th. Still, many news reports alluded to a likelihood that a conflict between Danielle’s mother and Kelley may have been the reason for Kelley’s having targeted the church congregation that morning. And yes, those who thought they recognized him that morning probably had done so. While Kelley didn’t attend church services very often, Heavy mentioned Kelley’s having been a Bible study teacher at the church!
People attacked Kelley on Danielle’s page, accusing him of everything from ISIS to Antifa although there’s no evidence of that kind. Danielle, age 22, had been going by the name of Kelley. She changed her name to Shields possibly following the attack.
In the chart noting Devin Kelley’s arrival at the church where the initial shootings began, pay close attention to the arrival chart’s Moon. Its antiscion at 25 Cancer 42 sits in partile square to the Uranus at the 4th house cusp, the IC. This placement also sits within 5° of the IC which Marion March and Joan McEvers recommend in their work with Returns as a placement for planets to be considered in the next houses. While this isn’t a Return chart, it is a chart we should consider in the same way especially since there’s a strong possibility that Kelley’s Moon might actually be in Gemini and not in Taurus. At the very least, this is almost a complete 50-50 likelihood for the Gemini Moon. Yes, I’ll admit to speculation on this but such a placement would also allude to more than one marriage.
I also have to wonder about his Venus and what might have happened in 2015. Was it family-related or perhaps the timing of his shift from religion to avowed atheism? The Solar Eclipse at 29 Pisces 27 on March 20, 2015 would have formed a potential 13-minute partile conjunction to his natal Venus. But pay attention to the 21-minute partile square between 12th house Saturn in the arrival chart and Chiron on the 3rd house cusp in the same chart. This duo would most likely have made contact to his natal Venus. It’s also likely that the 2015 Solar Eclipse had been triggered again for some reason. The placement of Venus in the arrival chart–27 Libra 48–formed a 24-minute partile conjunction to the antiscion of Kelley’s Sun. While there will be those who want to point to the squeaking tight 1-minute orb in the opposition between the arrival chart’s Mercury and his proposed Moon, again, the Moon is speculative and really can’t be given more weight than that.
It is not my intention to dilute what’s here with the untimed chart of Devin Patrick Kelley, rather to offer the opportunity for what might have been going on with him for such a tragic series of events today. He had expected to get away–at least until he crashed the car. That seems to have been the deciding factor for his having taken his life. I’d be more inclined to say he took his life in this case rather than officers doing it for him. If they’d captured him, they’d have been far more likely–by their own training–to have tried to capture him alive to determine his motivation. From where he was sitting, he apparently felt death at that point was the only option.
Consider the dynamics of these three charts in the tri-wheel–Powell as the innermost one, the shootings in the middle wheel and Kelley’s untimed chart at the outermost wheel–and take note of the incredible timings between them. The Moon in the Powell chart forms a 27-minute partile conjunction to the Ascendant of the 11:30 AM shootings chart (as well as a 3-minute partile conjunction to the shooting chart’s placement of Juno, for those of you who like to work with these placements) and a 39-minute partile conjunction to Kelley’s Neptune, which I mentioned some paragraphs above. Transiting Pluto is also still within a 1°57′ orb of a separating conjunction to the Powell chart’s Moon. But note the Powell chart’s natal Pluto receiving a 7-minute partile conjunction from the Equatorial Ascendant in the shootings chart and an 8-minute partile conjunction from Kelley’s North Node! We cannot make the same surprised conclusion, however, about the shootings chart and Kelley’s supposed MC since–again–his birthtime is not known.
There are other components that make this tri-wheel a huge consideration for seeing how these events were likely to have come together: Take note of the 10 Gemini 32 placement of Mars in Kelley’s chart (at the Powell chart’s 6th house cusp) in semisextile to the Powell Sun 7th house placement at 10 Cancer 33 (remember as well, the Powell Sun-Part of Fortune [PoF] 3-minute partile conjunction also plays a role here), which resolves in a Blooming Undecaquartisextile (165°) at 25 Sagittarius 32.5, forming a 28.5-minute partile conjunction to the 12th house (Powell) placement of the shooting chart’s Saturn! The shooting chart’s Saturn, btw, opposes the Powell chart’s placement of Venus as well, lending to the cold-heartedness with which these rapid-fire killings took place. If Kelley said anything at this time, however, it doesn’t appear so since the Powell chart’s 6th house Venus formed a 21-minute partile quincunx (150°) to the shooting chart’s Mercury. Some news stories pointed to Kelley’s having murdered those who made him aware they were still alive as their cries, screams or any other sounds alerted him.
I confess I nearly stopped this article with one less biwheel (coming up) and one less tri-wheel (I’m sure you can figure out which one). Both are connected really, and even here I hadn’t expected to do that. But then astrology being what it is–expecting the unexpected, as the saying goes with Uranus at the helm–we need to remain open to the “what if” and the “why not.” And so one last biwheel before I wind this up. It’s the missing piece I hadn’t expected.
As I mentioned earlier, Devin Patrick Kelley’s chart has no known birth time (yet), but we can still glean some knowledge from it, and I knew this was the missing piece when I more or less tripped over it! This won’t be a full analysis. At this point, it’s not needed, and I’m just offering this as that remarkable “oh my!” moment before I close.
