Birth data on Maurice Greenberg gleaned HERE. Born May 4, 1925.

FURTHER NOTES AS NEWS DEVELOPS

But Could He Have Known?

The four words no one wants to hear .. "but within 24 hours..." That's what happened to Maurice "Hank" Greenberg as you may have been hearing in the news. Greenberg, head of the giant insurance firm A. I. G. [American International Group], had his whole world change in just 24 hours. When you hear those words, completely changed within 24 hours, suspect Uranus. Let's review the facts first and then take a look at Greenberg's chart.

This is the case, by the way, that may be most notorious because Warren Buffet has been called as a witness.

Greenberg's guilt or innocence is not discussed in this article because I think it is a plainly established aspect of human nature for someone with absolute control over something to face a certain amount of temptation. In addition, Greenberg has a fixed planetary energy involving Sun, Venus, Saturn and Moon Nodes. People with this configuration (akin to a Grand Cross in fixed signs) have committed some of the greatest atrocities in the world -- if you have a lot of fixed energy you don't have to be, but you can become, quite riddled with hubris, that ancient Greek flaw of pride. Of more interest to me in this article is not that one man may have fallen to temptation, a fact that has not been established yet, but that one man's life could change so dramatically in 24 hours.

The following paragraphs are excerpted from "How a Titan of Insurance Ran Afoul of the Government" by Kurt Eichenwald and Jenny Anderson published April 4, 2005 in The New York Times.

Maurice R. Greenberg strolled through his executive apartment in Manhattan on Feb. 9, exuding ebullience. Surrounding him and his visitors were the trappings of wealth - windows that beckoned with views of New York Harbor, Chinese antiques, the services of a butler and a maid - acquired over his nearly four decades leading the American International Group, the global insurance giant.

And more success was coming: that day, A.I.G. announced robust earnings on eye-popping revenue of $100 billion.

Topping it off was the reality that Mr. Greenberg, 79, who is known as Hank, had outlasted them all: the regulators and prosecutors he acknowledged he stonewalled before A.I.G.'s recent settlement of fraud charges; the investors whose calls for stronger succession plans he mostly ignored; and the directors he largely cowed over the years with dismissive treatment.

To him, on that day, there seemed no better proof of the wisdom of his decisions than ....

But within 24 hours, Mr. Greenberg's starry image of the company's situation dimmed. Federal regulators had called [A.I.G.'s] general counsel, Ernest Patrikis, with word that a new investigation was under way into whether A.I.G. had cooked its books, and Mr. Greenberg himself was a subject of the inquiry, according to people close to the investigation.

Soon, lawyers were swarming around the company. An investor meeting was canceled minutes before it was to begin, and a once seemingly docile board called a series of meetings without Mr. Greenberg present or even invited to attend.

Helpless, he raged at the board as they contemplated his future by phone, saying "you're going to ruin this company," only to see his protest ignored....

"His personal identity is tied up in A.I.G.," a person briefed on the myriad investigations said. "He is proud of his accomplishments and he wants to protect them." There is "disbelief," he added.

return to the top

 

A subtitle in the article refers to the Twilight of Irreplaceable Men. You could say that there is a Leo feeling to this ... when someone's personal identity is tied up in anything, that's an Leo issue. Greenberg's company is his creation, his creature, himself. He has been running it with absolute power for 40 years.

Within 24 hours, explains the NY Times, "this legendary insurance executive ... suffered a public and humiliating end to his career, and he faces a future of potential civil litigation and criminal investigations." This is quite a reversal of fortune and it is extremely personal.

Greenberg is accused of having missed changes taking place in the world around him and having "clung to the model of the imperial chief executive". The Sun King perhaps? That kind of emperor?

One of the developments Greenberg may have ignored is that the day of the hero on Wall Street seems to be coming to an end. No one is irreplaceable. CEOs can't push their boards around any more. No more stonewalling. Well, then, times have changed and there is no more Divine Rule.

Two blows to the ego: public humiliation and severance from creation or self. All of this at the age of almost 80 and within 24 hours.

Notwithstanding there is a human tragedy here, hubris, aren't you dying to see this man's chart? Here it is.

This is Greenberg's chart. Click HERE to see readable version in separate screen or HERE to to scroll quickly to the bottom of this page.

return to the top

 

We don't have Greenberg's exact time of birth but a few things are significant.

DATES

• 1. Saturn is about to enter Leo and will soon be crossing Greenberg's North Node at 8 degrees Leo on September 22, 2005. With Saturn transits,we usually allow 3 months coming and go, so one would expect an event on June 22, 2005. Where an outer planet is concerned, 52 days is a pretty exact hit. Think of it this way ... 25 years ago someone could have been reading Greenberg's chart and said, "there will be an important life changing event around September 2005." From that perspective 52 days is nothing.
  
  Like all Saturn transits, when Saturn passes over the North Moon Node, this is a significant time in a person's life, happening every 30 years. To be challenged this way at this time would indicate that Greenberg, known to be an old-fashioned tyrant, has not used his Leo charisma wisely. Or it could be just a shift in emphasis away from the Leo and back to the Aquarius.

Before I give you some more examples and another transit that hits this point, let me quote Martin Schulman's description of North Node in Leo from HERE. The emphasis added is mine. As you read this, feel yourself broadening out an understanding of this man's life issues. If you want to read about your own Moon Nodes, EMAIL ME with your date of birth and I'll tell you what yours are.

The Leo North Node symbolizes a struggle with the will. In this incarnation, the individual is learning to develop strength within himself. Conditions force him to stand alone, very often with the absence of shoulders to lean on. He eventually learns that if his life is to be better it must be created by himself. But before he can build any such creations he must overcome his lackadaisical carefree attitude. 

He still continues a past-life tendency to spend too much time feeling sorry for himself at his lack of friends when he feels they are needed most. Somehow in moments of stress, others always seem to be absent. Long periods of loneliness, isolation and in many cases a good part of the time spent as a hermit are not uncommon. 

Ultimately, when the mind is made up, there is little that can sway this individual from his destiny. He must learn that his isolation is a self-imposed prerequisite for gathering strength. Very capable of strong leadership in this life, he must learn to overcome all doubts within the self. The continuance of his past-life desires for friendships actually weaken him, as they do little to build his individual confidence.

He must learn how to become more goal-oriented rather than following his accustomed tendency to dissipate his energies. The interesting thing is that while he continues to think he needs others to answer his questions, he rarely takes their advice. The friends that he does have will be from all walks of life. In a sense, this increases his scope, for they bring to him now the awarenesses that he earned in former incarnations.

 Once determination takes root, there is no stopping the path towards success, for he does not like to settle for second best. Much thought is given to the future. In fact, he is used to living there, until one day he makes the realization that 'today is yesterday's tomorrow' and that nothing will exist in the future that is not created now! 

He is not the easiest of people to understand, for he will do anything to retain and emphasize his own sense of individuality. In past incarnations, he developed a detachment from the majority of the world, allowing him to feel free to go his own way. Now he takes pride in being unique and different, caring not as much for the traditions of society as for whatever rules he has set up for himself. 

His main difficulty in this life is a lack of control. Without discipline he can generate his power into useless projects, until he realizes that nobody will stand over him with a whip. If he builds on past-life knowledge, he has a great ability to do something for the human race, for he is capable of depersonalizing his actions for the good of all mankind. 

Many with these Nodes live a rags-to-riches life, the big change coming after the tendency to overlook is turned into an ability to oversee! Their greatest amazement occurs when they discover prior-life talents in themselves that they never thought they had. Happiness is reached once principles to which to dedicate the life are found.

Furthermore, these principles must be unshakable so that the individual feels he is creating something solid. He will then identify his life in terms of the size of the principles to which he has attached himself. Disturbed by the scattered activities of others, which remind him of his own past incarnations, he feels the strong need to see life moving along a directed course towards a specified goal. Still, he wants to retain his complete independence. As a result, he finds it difficult to tolerate others cramping his style. When they do, they will find him constantly testing limits. 

The Aquarius South Node brings with it past life roots strongly embedded in the principles of fairness and equality. In the current life, the individual is given the opportunity to be on his own so that unhampered by others he may express his intrinsic beliefs. His job now is to show people as flamboyantly or as powerfully as he may choose the ways in which the world can overcome its burdens. His greatest achievements occur after he has surrendered his personal will to the service of humanity. 

There is no question but that this is good leadership material so long as the ingrained past-life Aquarian sense of fairness is never violated. This individual is capable of making revolutionary changes in what was once established tradition. He is first, last and always amazed and fascinated by all the possibilities man can reach. At the same time, he is offended when he sees people pitying their self-imposed limitations, for well he knows the experience of pulling oneself up by one's bootstraps. He aspires to stand tall and not be ridiculed for those beliefs which he has struggled so hard to express. 

While his capabilities for love run deep, the rest of him is not too far below the surface. The continuation of his past-life attractions to momentary fascinations keep throwing him off the track, making it difficult for him now to see the core of his true self clearly. And so, he must identify with his achievements as the only real barometer of his worth. Though he may at times strongly wish to be alone, he could never live without people, for he thrives on their admiration of his achievements. He believes in firm justice, and yet he is quick to pardon once people have admitted they are wrong. He is never one to strike when a person is down. The sense of fair play has become such a part of his soul that although he feels he should be more competitive, it makes him uncomfortable to be part of any competition which involves foul play.  [Interesting to see if he is indicted of wrongdoing.]

Things which wouldn't have bothered him in past incarnations suddenly become important as he starts to dig into life rather than disassociate from it. Although it is his present life karma to apply his Uranian ingenuity through practical and traditional Leonian outlets, he still struggles to maintain his unique character. Some with this position spend the later years of their life alone. Others who are married still hold onto such a strong streak of independence that they tend to keep other family members on the periphery of their circle. The house position of the South Node indicates the area where past-life needs for originality and freedom are still seeking expression. [We don't know the house position because the time of birth isn't known.]

return to the top

 

A look at a person's Moon Nodes, particularly with the help of Martin Schulman, should reveal the general life path of the individual as it certainly does in this case. We have no way of knowing the nuances of Greenberg's personal approach to leadership, nor his views on friendship but it is likely from the extent of his success that he settled these things early in life, before the first Saturn Return at 28-30 years old.

rough chart of how company's stock has done since the news

Children was also important to someone with NNode in Leo. Greenberg has two sons, Jeffrey and Evan, seeds which did not fall far from the tree. Both worked at A. I. G. for years but Jeffrey left the company in 1996, later emerging as chairman and chief executive of Marsh & McLennan. He was succeeded by Evan, who in turn left the company in 2000. On Oct. 14, 2004 New York State attorney general, Eliot Spitzer, sued Marsh & McLennan, led by Jeffrey Greenberg, on accusations of bid-rigging. Named as co-conspirators and accused of accepting improper payments were A.I.G.; ACE Ltd. headed by Evan Greenberg; and Hartford Financial.

Did his sons involve him or did he involve his sons. What do you think?

Greenberg's natal Saturn is in Scorpio and it opposes his Sun/Venus. This man can whip up some mortal enemies. Sun/Venus and Saturn would make a Grand Cross with the Moon's Nodes, though Nodes, not being planets, are not considered in chart configurations.

It just means that Greenberg's greed and power mongering could take him far, far from his aegis of true power which in his case is to lead in the direction of the light and the very best for all.

Here is the second transit that is really the one we're looking for ... Uranus! Remember, all this happened in 24 hours.

return to the top

 

• 2. On March 20, 2005 Uranus hit 8 degrees of Pisces for the first time. This makes an inconjunct to Greenberg's North Node. Inconjuncts represent irreconcilable conflicts which may be so unconscious that they are not even recognized (by the individual) as conflicts.
  

Here I suggest that because of the inconjunct it seemed that all Greenberg's problems were over (reconciled) right before the roof caved in.

Here's directly how the NY Times describes it:

... after a tumultuous few months, things seemed to be calming down. Early in January, auditors reported that they had finished a yearlong effort analyzing A.I.G.'s internal controls as required under the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, the tough securities law adopted in the wake of the Enron and WorldCom collapses. A.I.G. scored quite high, the auditors proudly reported.

The Beginning of the End

The end began days later, with a single phone call....

return to the top

 

• 3. Pluto began to square Greenberg's Moon February 12, 2005, by far the closest hit transit-wise, in fact a direct hit. It fell within 3 days of the actual event and since we don't have the exact time of birth or exact degree of the Moob, may even have been closer. This means that the Pluto square Moon transit must be given the most emphasis in unraveling the mysteryof what this "really" means to Greenberg.

Pluto transits to the Moon can be such difficult transits. Often they involve a great deal of searing emotional pain, loss, separation and the destruction of a bond of significant importance. Jennifer Anniston has just experienced this with her apparent betrayal by Pitt but also his rejection of her over issues about bearing children. [See Aniston.]

Hard Pluto transits to the Moon can bring the loss of the thing you think you can't live without. And indeed, I'm afraid in the case of Greenberg, that may be exactly what has happened. Greenberg has been rudely, savagely (look at this from his point of view so you can learn to read charts for other people as their advocate) deprived of his I D E N T I T Y, and with that extra elbow to the ribs or take out at the knees which only Uranus is capable of ... in 24 hours.

If we knew the houses, we could say more, but the square from Pluto was in Sagittarius and Greenberg's natal Moon is in Virgo natally. Greenberg's Sun has just progressed into Leo and his Moon may have just progressed out of Leo (give or take a year depending on exact time of chart). Is it time for Greenberg to reexamine what it really means to be a Leo. Hell, yes!

Sagittarius and Virgo have to do with ethics and integrity. Greenberg just got a mortal blow in that area.

return to the top

 

In one of those quite fascinating nuances of astrology ... the very day that Uranus retrogrades off 8 degrees Pisces, Saturn will hit 8 degrees of Leo. That will be September 21 and 22, 2005. Watch the news on those days. Put a little "*" on your calendar. That day begins a succession of transits to Greenberg's chart that will continue for years. Saturn will hit a planet and then there will be an echo when Uranus hits it, or vice versa, sometimes many years later. This is because of the different speeds at which the planets travel.

• North Node is at 8 degrees of Leo: September 22, 2005 Saturn conjuncts North Node while Uranus is inconjunct North Node
• Saturn is in Scorpio at 10 degrees: In October 2005 Saturn will square Saturn (report card time -- wish we knew which houses these were in) and in February 2006 Uranus will hit 10 degrees for the first time making a trine -- perhaps some pleasant surprise at that time
• Pluto is at 11 degrees of Cancer: Saturn hits 11 degrees of Leo in November 2005 -- this is a very easy aspect that may bring some brilliant new ideas to this very brilliant man (Aquarius South Node) as to how to adjust to the "new world order" (i.e. Saturn/Pluto) Uranus reaches 11 degrees of Pisces March 2006 in a trine which my bring very brilliant solutions indeed, transformational. If Greenberg is stile resisting, however, any transit involving Pluto can be fatal. This is why. Pluto goes for transformation. If you will not do this in your body, i.e., changing yourself completely, you will certainly be allowed to do it by changing form entirely, i.e., leaving your physical form. The pressure of Pluto will not be denied (bend or break). Greenberg here is having transits TO Pluto, not BY Pluto so the effect is considerably lessened, unlike Pluto TO his Moon in February 2005 (discussed above).
• Sun is at 13 degrees Taurus: April 2006 Uranus reaches 13 degrees of Pisces making a sextile or easy aspect to the Sun - perhaps there will be much good restitution at that time at least personally, to feeling better about himself and his creations (sons included) Saturn does not reach 13 degrees of Leo until July 2006 - this makes a square to the Sun, a very difficult and challenging aspect. For a man of Greenberg's age it could actually be fatal. Let's hope not.

return to the top

 

Note: How can a transit be fatal? It can be fatal because stress is a killer. Stress directly affects the immune system which normally fights off everything from flu to cancer quite well, thank you very much, every day of the year. But if there is enough stress to deplete the adrenals and drop a person below the threshold of proper immune system function long enough, premature death is the price paid. If you question this, you are in grave danger, so let me ask you to test this yourself by observing -- many, many people come down with cancer two years after a major tragedy, failure or loss in their lives. Don't believe this for reading it. Look around you and see if this is not true. [Please send examples via email.]

Saturn transits to the Sun are major stressors because they usually bring periods of enormous responsibility. The advice is to reduce your life to its bare essentials for a year or two in order to use what energy is available to maintain the immune system at a proper level. Most people experiencing a Saturn/Sun transit feel older than they do at other times of their lives, regardless of age. Greenberg is 80 years old this year. He's used to handling stress or he wouldn't have made it this far but it will be nearing the second year after this horrifying personal event.

• Venus at 16 degrees Taurus: August 2006 Saturn reaches that degree making a square and in March 2007 Uranus makes a nice aspect
• After this there is a skip to Neptune at 19 degrees and I will stop here.

return to the top

 

Here are some examples which you can place on the Leo/Aquarius polarity and see how Mr. Greenberg handled this energy. The comments come from the NY Times.

Rapid growth and the success of acquisitions transformed A.I.G. from an also-ran to a leader of the American insurance industry. In the process, Mr. Greenberg gained a reputation as a brilliant but demanding taskmaster, associates say, something of a tyrant in chief. Even directors were not spared his withering rebukes.

"That's a ridiculous question," a witness recalled Mr. Greenberg responding to a director's inquiry during a board meeting. "You don't understand the insurance business."