Enron's Collapse

By : N. C. Syminghton 1/31/2002

Enron, #7 on the Fortune 500 in 2001, collapsed in spectacular fashion over the past several months to the point that it is has been delisted, or deleted, from the New York Stock Exchange. The suddenness and the magnitude of its decline, as well as the deception leading up to it, point to the influences of the three "outer" planets: Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto.

Indeed, while all three of them show up together to signify Enron's collapse, their effects are not immediately obvious - at least not initially to me. Yet an event of such major proportions as this always will have connections to the outer planets i.e. Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto.

Hindsight sees the nature of things more clearly than foresight, and this certainly holds true for astrologers when they look to the past and the future. One of the reasons, however, that astrology fascinates me is, no matter what significant occurrence I am reviewing, the influences are unmistakable and exceptional. Because astrological factors can coalesce in many different ways, there exist multiple combinations that can trigger an important event. Yet its astrological signature is always unusually distinctive - once recognized.

So let me try to walk you through my investigation of the fall of Enron through the advantage of hindsight. The following perspective is only one way to astrologically view Enron's debacle, and while certainly not the whole picture, I consider it a revealing portrayal of what occurred.

Because the "birth" of Enron was the result of a merger, it complicates matters somewhat. In a case like this, what starting date signifies the commencement of Enron's life? I spent some time on the Internet, and I came up with four suitable dates to use (actually five but two dates were one day apart).

The first is April 20, 1985 (which I found in an untitled document) and marks the beginning of merger talks between Houston Natural Gas and InterNorth. See chart 1. The second, May 2, 1985, (from the Associated Press) is the public announcement of a merger agreement between the two. See chart 2. The third relevant date is July 16, 1985 (Dallas Morning News), when shareholders formally approved the merger. See Chart 3. The fourth date occurred on April 11, 1986 (Houston Chronicle) when Enron first traded on the stock exchange with its new name and new symbol, ENE. See chart 4. A fifth date, April 10, 1986, (Houston Chronicle) was an annual meeting of Houston Natural Gas/InterNorth shareholders who formally approved the name change to Enron by a 92% majority. See chart 5.

As a sidebar, Enron emerged as the second choice to rename the merged companies. The first name selected by company officials was Enteron. When members of the media - after consulting a dictionary - pointed out that the word referred to the alimentary canal system and the intestines (especially of an embryo), the name was abandoned.

Ok, so now we have five charts to work with. A case could be made for each one being the most appropriate for the horoscope of the company, Enron, as we know it - or knew it. Rather than go over the reasons for each, I will say that I found none of them, individually, compelling in their astrological makeup. The first trade chart showed certain characteristics pertaining to the fall and its timing, but they hardly seemed that remarkable.

I had to start somewhere so I began with Chart 4, the first trade date of Enron. This is the only horoscope with an exact time; trading began at 9:30 am in New York in 1986. Incidentally, this is clearly a chart of a successful company from the public's point of view. Jupiter, the planet of success is in exact conjunction with the Midheaven, representing goals and ambitions. Also, Jupiter trine Pluto, the planet of power, and sextile to Venus, the planet of money, in the sign related to money, Taurus, provide a combination to achieve success easily, to exert influence with little resistance, and to acquire vast resources. So where is the problem?

Looking at this horoscope, I noticed immediately the conjunction of Mars and Neptune on the Descendant (7th house cusp). Neptune relates to deception and Mars represents action, so deceptive actions show clearly. Being on the 7th house (the house of partners), however, would indicate deception perpetrated by others rather than something Enron projects, which would be the case if Neptune and Mars were on the Ascendant (1st house cusp).

If you know Enron's story, you will recall that the deceptive accounting revolved around the limited partnerships Enron formed. It was in these limited partnerships that it would park its huge losses so that they did not show up on the balance sheet of the company itself. The Mars Neptune conjunction (in the house of partners) accurately reflects this.

Following this line of inquiry, I would expect an important transit to set this conjunction off - to expose the fraud - around the latter part of 2001. Transiting Uranus, the planet of startling surprises, made a 45-degree aspect, semi-square, to the conjunction of Mars and Neptune and the Descendant during that time. Certainly this offers the possibility of shocking revelation of deceptive actions. Ok, that seems significant, but it really doesn't have enough force by itself to reflect the impact of Enron's fall from ascendancy.

It was time to investigate the other horoscopes of Enron. In studying the first trade chart, I made an assumption that the Mars, Neptune, and Descendant conjunction was a critical point - the point of vulnerability to an otherwise outstanding chart for success; the point that should represent Enron's downfall.

In a previous article, A degree of Connection, I wrote about how the same degree, or degrees, of the zodiac are often emphasized in different but related charts. This degree becomes the dominant tone, and when activated by transit or some other astrological factor, its reverberations, and its effects, are intensified because it connects several charts together.

On paper, I made a simple spreadsheet comparing the planetary positions in all four horoscopes. What I found seemed to confirm my assumption of the importance of the Mars, Neptune, and Descendant conjunction. Mars and Neptune in the first trade chart are at 6 to 8 degrees of the cardinal sign, Capricorn. In horoscope 1, Venus is at 7 degrees of the cardinal sign, Aries and Mercury is at 8 degrees of the same sign. In horoscope 2, two weeks later, Venus is 8 degrees of the cardinal sign, Aries. In horoscope 3, the Moon is in 8 degrees of the cardinal sign, Cancer.

What does this mean? It means that all four horoscopes connect through specific degrees - between 6 and 8 degrees of cardinal signs. Why is this significant? Cardinal signs (Aries, Cancer, Libra, and Capricorn) are always 90 or 180 degrees from each other. These aspects, square and opposition respectively, cause tension and tend to produce visible results. How does this affect Enron? It enhances the impact of transits to that degree area, so that the point of weakness - represented by Mars and Neptune in the first trade chart - is exceptionally vulnerable. Why? Because it locates at the degree area shared by all four charts, thus amplifying the effects.

Let me take it one step further. Because the dates of all four horoscopes are within a year and because Neptune is slow moving, Neptune makes either a square or opposition to all the planets at the critical degree area (6 to 8 cardinal) in all the horoscopes. So not only is this degree area the connecting link for all the Enron charts is shows that Neptune is involved at the heart of Enron's activities.

Does this unequivocally show that Enron was destined for deception? Not necessarily, but it does mean great care needed to be exercised since it was too easy for the company to become deluded and not see things for how they are - or were. On the other hand, the business that Enron originally was in - oil and gas - was perfectly represented by Neptune; so had it stayed in that arena, deceptions could have been minimized. Why? The company would be fulfilling a legitimate and positive meaning of Neptune. (See the articles Astrology and the Flow of Life.) Again, if you followed the media accounts of Enron, reporters talked about how difficult it was to say exactly what Enron did as a business; its dealings were complex and extensive. These are other expressions of Neptune, but potentially negative. And of course, the accounting practices to hide their losses were very definitely a negative attribute of Neptune.

Ok, if you are still with me, we are now returning to the first trade chart of Enron, chart 4. The transit of Uranus to the Neptune, Mars, and Descendant conjunction occurs in the fall of 2001, and it is made stronger - than a first glance would suggest - because of the link of the zodiacal degrees of this conjunction with the same degrees in the other Enron charts. Therefore, Uranus can produce a significant shock at this time. Incidentally, in the first trade chart, Uranus' natal position is in the 6th house (house of employees). They certainly received the shock of their lives with unexpected terminations and no severance pay, as well as the decimation of their 401(k) plans - loaded with Enron stock.

Enron is only 15 years old, but Uranus made one other major transit to this sensitive degree area of 6 to 8 degrees cardinal when it was in conjunction with natal Mars, Neptune, and Descendant of the first trade chart. This occurred in 1989 and 1990. According to a timeline presented by BBC News, "in 1989 Enron begins trading natural gas commodities. It soon becomes the largest natural gas merchant in North America and the United Kingdom." Enron did not stop there and became a market maker in a number of derivatives including weather futures! As a trading firm, it created a complex web of products, culminating in its participation in the California energy crisis of 2000 and 2001.

Enron's involvement in commodities, or futures (Uranus), set the stage for its collapse. The transit of Uranus over natal Mars, Neptune, and Descendant initiated a chain of actions that eventually led to a revelation of its weaknesses and deceptive practices in a shocking way.

Finally, I would like to show one other timing device to "seal the deal." It is a technique in astrology called "directions" and is another method used to predict events. In its basic form, it moves - or directs - each point or planet in the horoscope by one degree per year. For the Enron first trade chart, timing for fall 2001 requires directing the chart around 15 degrees, since its inception date is April 1986. Let's see what happens when we do this.

First, directed Sun is at 6 degrees 30 minutes of Taurus, exactly opposed natal Pluto for 2001. It signifies that this year would cause power (Pluto) struggles affecting the very identity (Sun) of the company. Second, directed Neptune is at 21 degrees of Capricorn, square natal Sun for 2001 and 2002. Here we have the potential dissolution (Neptune) of the company's identity (Sun) and the danger (square aspect) to the company from deceptive practices (Neptune). That seems pretty obvious. Third, directed Pluto is at 21 degrees 30 minutes of Scorpio. It forms an exact 45-degree aspect (potential crisis) to the conjunction of Mars and Neptune for 2000, 2001, and 2002. The power of Pluto, which comes from the darkest depths or most hidden recesses, puts extreme pressure on any deceptive actions and even forces more deceptive tactics, like the ongoing shredding of documents. Finally, the most telling direction is Uranus at 7 degrees 30 minutes of Capricorn, exactly conjunct natal Mars for 2001 (and Neptune in 2000).

These comprise a compelling set of directions that help create an unmistakable signature for an event or series of events that are exceptional - if not unprecedented - in the financial world and beyond.

Let me summarize my investigation of Enron. Using the first trade chart as the base chart, Neptune (conjunct Mars and the Descendant) represents the point of weakness in an otherwise outstanding horoscope for success. Looking at the four main horoscopes of Enron, they are all connected by planets in 6 to 8 degrees of cardinal signs. Neptune (the planet of deception) is involved in this degree area, and therefore its effects are magnified; so being the point of weakness (in the first trade chart), it can cause considerable damage when activated. That happens in 2000 and 2001 when transiting Uranus makes a 45-degree aspect to Neptune (Mars and Descendant) and directed Uranus conjuncts the same.

In addition, directed Pluto also makes a 45-degree aspect to Neptune (Mars and Descendant) in 2000 and 20001. Directed Neptune squares natal Sun to further show the threat that deception can have on Enron's very identity. Taken as a whole, it is a stunning picture of the convergence of the outer planets upon the point of vulnerability in Enron, revealing the magnitude of its fraudulent activities and its subsequent collapse from the pressure.

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