Natalee Holloway: Speaking from the Grave

A nineteen year old named Natalee Holloway disappeared on May 30, 2005 while on spring break in Aruba. The prime suspect in her disappearance was Joran van der Sloot, an eighteen year old native of the Netherlands.  Due to a lack of hard evidence, Joran was never charged.

Five years passes….

In Peru, on May 30, 2010, a young woman named Stephany Flores Ramirez disappears.

On June 2nd, she’s found stabbed to death in the room of one Joran van der Sloot. Joran has fled to Chile but is apprehended there on the 3rd and sent back to Peru where on June 7, he confesses to his crime.

It’s to be vividly stressed that we have no birth times for any of the parties involved in this story. But even without that, given location and date of birth, plenty of things simply scream to be said.

Among all, the most touching is how clearly Natalee’s chart ‘reacts’ to van der Sloot’s doings. It started long ago but continues on, starting with… as he confesses in Peru and that news hits the airwaves, Sedna opposes Natalee’s natal Mercury.

Named for an Inuit goddess, Sedna represents our struggles to escape, hold on to or finally let go of our dreamy childish dependence. The myth (and the dwarf planet named for same) speaks in our chart of the trials we experience as we move from standard childhood ‘longings to be an adult’ into the somewhat chilling realization that with adult freedom and independence inevitably comes some measure of loneliness.

Or…an ‘alone-ness’ which, in isolating us, allows us to (hopefully) know ourselves better and thus move towards realizing our personal potential, providing ourselves with fulfillment instead of having to rely on someone else - replete with whatever they ‘require’ in return for that we think we can’t live without.   

In Natalee’s natal chart, Sedna sits conjunct asteroids Hel (terrible choices) and Phaethon (too headstrong for one’s own good). Obviously going off on her own for spring break brought these images out in a heartbreaking manner.

With an orbital period of 10,500 years, Sedna moves very slowly. But as Natalee arrived in Aruba, it opposed her Scorpio Venus, the first of three conjunct symbols. Seeking self worth from others, Venus in Scorpio tends to be too desirous, too controlling or too vulnerable – and often an uncomfortable mix of all three, particularly prior to when we get settled in our adult (individuated) mentality.

The second symbol is Ixion, a symbol all about entitlement and lack of gratitude which is a problem (though not impossible to manage) in everyone’s chart. Conjunct Natalee’s Scorpio Venus, this would have been her attraction to sensual vibes of the darker kind and probably the ‘bad boys’ among us. 

It’s also one form of description for a sexual predator.

Unfortunately for 19-year old Natalee, Sedna opposing her Venus set everything off. Natalee vanished. And as Sedna inched on to oppose Natalee’s Ixion, Joran van der Sloot, privileged son of a well-to-do judge….Joran walked away. Which is strikingly reminiscent of the mythic Ixion.

The third symbol in Natalee’s Scorpio triad is Mercury a symbol which by turns can manifest as  dedication and loyalty, an alluring quality and the ability to be lured, insight against blindness, denial against manipulation/coercion and honest polarized by total deception. Conjunct Ixion, to whatever degree she was ‘so very good’ she would have attracted the polarity. Even – unfortunately – been fascinated by it; that we do not own we become fixated by in someone else (projection).   

As Sedna finally confronted Natalee’s Mercury five years after Natalee’s disappearance, van der Sloot’s predatory instinct acted out again. And again as in the Ixion myth, then circumstances changed: the entitled son of privileged heritage committed his crime under circumstances which, far from making him nearly immune to punishment (as he seems to have been in Aruba)…now he was in a place where the people were immune to what would seem to be Joran’s ruinously self-entitled behavior.

Time will tell…and we may never know for sure…but astrologically, the clarity of the timing on Natalee’s chart with regards to this second murder of Stephany Ramirez suggests van der Sloot was well aware of the ‘anniversary’ of Natalee’s disappearance. The reasoning is this: if it was random, her chart wouldn’t reflect it with a series of transits as exact as we have seen.

For those of us bearing witness, possibly even worse is the idea that Joran van der Sloot has no strong signals on his chart for any of the dates involved - at least not using a chart without accurate time of birth. All we have is Vesta opposing his natal Juno as he was returned to Peru, where he confessed.

And yes, this may signal Joran feeling it time to own up. Some have suggested his confession is a ploy – a way to avoid the death penalty and get sent off to Peruvian prison where perhaps he could bribe someone and affect an escape before prison conditions (or another convict) gets to him.

Then again, given Vesta as an image of sacred service and Joran’s natal Juno (female integrity) conjunct  Kalypso (altruistic love) conjunct Medea (self-destructive love) is simply telling us that Joran van der Sloot takes a great pleasure in, even worships his own his ability to take a human life.    

One bright note in the morass - one we can only hope is felt by friends, family and victim spirits. As Sedna opposed Natalee’s Mercury and van der Sloot was apprehended, Sedna was also coming into unification with the position of Natalee’s Panacea – holistic inner healing.

And the truth will set you free.  

We hope Natalee and Stephany will now truly rest in peace. 


.