The whole world has been looking at the Costa Concordia disaster, with fascination and horror. How could a modern luxury liner come to grief in the calm seas of the Mediterranean? How could anyone have died in the accident, given it happened so close to the shore? Then there’s the captain, Francesco Schettino. How did he manage to abandon his ship, leaving hundreds of his passengers still on board? What was the man thinking? What on earth was his star sign?
I spent the last few days trawling the internet, trying to find out when he was born. I think I finally found it, in a translation of a document from an Italian court. So far it’s the only source I have found, and normally I look for several sources before commenting on someone’s horoscope. However we’re all desperate to know about Schettino and his star sign, so I’ll throw caution to the wind and make some observations about what I think is his date of birth.
According to the document, Francesco Schettino was born on November 14 1960, which means he is 51 years old, not 52 as the press is reporting. It also means that he’s a Scorpio, and that really surprises me, Scorpio being one of the most courageous signs of the Zodiac.
Interestingly Francesco Schettino was born only eleven days before John Kennedy Junior, who had November 25 1960 as his birthday. If you remember, in 1999 JFK Junior was piloting a light plane, with his wife Carolyn as his only passenger. It was at night, over water, in conditions he wasn’t trained for. The plain crashed, and both husband and wife were killed.
It’s also interesting that on the exact day of Schettino’s birth, on November 14 1960, two trains in the former Czechoslovakia collided. Oil caught fire, and 118 people were killed.
Assuming Francesco Schettino really was born on November 14 1960, then I am not convinced thhe he is a coward. I suspect, instead, that he was confused. In his horoscope he has a conjunction between Mercury and Neptune. Mercury is the planet of the intellect, while Neptune is the planet of chaos and confusion. He also has the Moon in Virgo, unless he was born very late in the evening.
With his Moon in Virgo he would try his hardest to make sure that everything was properly organised, but he perhaps got caught up in the wrong details. At the same time, the Mercury-Neptune conjuction would have confused him, especially in moments of crisis. If he said that he accidentally fell into a lifeboat, I’m inclined to believe him!
Finally, Schettino has an 180-degree aspect between Mars and Saturn in his horoscope. Like John Kennedy Junior. In astrology Mars and Saturn are the ‘death pair’, and people with this combination often have an intimate association with death and its consequences. Kennedy saw his father and uncle assassinated, and ended up killing himself and his wife, through an over-estimation of his flying skills. Francesco Schettino was put in charge of a cruise ship, carrying thousands of people. Should such a man, with such a horoscope, have been captain of this ship?
Copyright © 2012 Archie Dunlop
{ 12 comments… read them below or add one }
@ Archie Dunlop
With respect:
If you don’t have the EXACT birth-time, sentences like:
“It also means that he’s a Scorpio, and that really surprises me, Scorpio being one of the most courageous signs of the Zodiac”.
have not much worth…
Michel Gauquelin did not commit suicide for nothing…
Mike Sermo,
Astro researcher
Mike,
Thanks for visiting the site.
Why did Michel Gauquelin commit suicide? Was it because his work wasn’t accepted by the scientific establishment or was it because of personal reasons? I don’t know. However I don’t think it was because of the techniques used by astrologers.
As far as accuracy is concerned, I believe Gauquelin conceded that even times recorded as exact are often quarter of an hour out. So does that mean one just stops doing astrology? In reality accuracy is not as crucial as is often made out – for example planet to planet primary directions can tolerate inaccuracies of 15-30 minutes.
In terms of star signs, it’s one technique I use. I understand its limitations, and like all other astrological techniques, with the possible exception of Gauquelin’s stipped down version, there is no statistical evidence that it works. But that doesn’t mean it doesn’t work! As for Gauquelin’s techniques, I’m not sure I could use a system that was lacking the Sun and Mercury, and was entirely based on whether or not five planets were in four particular zones.
Hey Archie,
You said:
“With the possible exception of Gauquelin’s stipped down version, there is no statistical evidence that it works. But that doesn’t mean it doesn’t work!”.
That’s the problem: Most astrologers can give you even exact predictions: No exact predictions, no acceptance by a (broad) western society…
You said:
“As for Gauquelin’s techniques, I’m not sure I could use a system that was lacking the Sun and Mercury, and was entirely based on whether or not five planets were in four particular zones”.
Gauquelin’s techniques are the stipped down base, no working astrological base no astrological future!
Gauquelin realized that, was stuck and committed not much later suicide.
My experience; the exact birth-time is an absolute must for exact, consistent and provable predictions…
Mike,
Making exact predictions is very, very difficult! One’s best chance of making an exact prediction, in my experience, is to answer a question correctly, using horary astrology – in other words, without reference to the birth chart.
As far as I know, Gauquelin’s system is quite unable to make any form of prediction, except for example, that such and such a person is more likely to be a writer than a soldier.
So if you’re in the business of making predictions, what system are you using? The natal technique most used for making accurate predictions is probably primary directions. For directions not involving the angles, 15 to 30 minutes is not going to make a big difference. With the Vimshottari Dasa system of Indian astrology one can sometimes get away with similar inaccuracies, though the vargas will quickly go awry.
By the way, do you know why Michel Gauquelin committed suicide? I don’t, and I would like to know. As far as I know, his problem was with scientists rather than astrologers. Someone once remarked that ‘if statistics prove that astrology works, I don’t believe in statistics’, or words to that effect.
Hey Archie,
You said:
“As far as I know, Gauquelin’s system is quite unable to make any form of prediction”.
Gauquelin’s research was/is still the stipped down base, no working astrological base, no astrological future…
You said:
“So if you’re in the business of making predictions, what system are you using?”.
Combining primary/secondary directions and comparing this with existing (exact) horoscopes.
You said:
By the way, do you know why Michel Gauquelin committed suicide?
Not exactly, I didn’t know him personally:
Using some psychological profiling and deduction:
If you are a man above 60 years old, want desperately scientific recognition after many, many years of intense work but (statistically) recognition probably will never come, what else is there to life for…
You said:
“As far as I know, his problem was with scientists rather than astrologers. Someone once remarked that ‘if statistics prove that astrology works, I don’t believe in statistics’, or words to that effect”.
If you are a “astrologer” and you can’t make any exact predictions, you will never get any scientific or even social recognition and “deserve” this treatment…
For example:
Nostradamus was/is famous, but his only solid prediction has failed…
(Is there an exact prediction that didn’t fail?, I (still) can’t find it…).
Nostradamus his modus operandi: Give exact predictions, but mask the exact time when the will occur… Yeah, right!
I don’t want to be a believer, I am just researching and I think that the best way to prove something is to give exact predictions.
Most astrologers only want to make (some) quick/easy money… No problem at all!!!; there way of living, not mine.
Your insights, and/of exact data of next presidential election candidates are welcome!
Mike Sermo
The Netherlands
Well, if you have the year of his birth right, he’s year of the rat. I would think from his actions that he’s an ox (capricorn in western and the devil in tarot) with bad karma but rats are very wiley creatures and often cause unintentional havoc. They are often first but only because they lie and cheat.
the combo of western/eastern astrology is eerily accurate and you don’t necessarily need birth times. chinese animals are based on jupiters rotation and evolve in 60 year patterns and 12 year cycles.
Obviously, Schettino is a very self-centered man. Working from the moon – who has the most self-centered moon placement? Moon in Leo, Aries, Gemini or Libra. Moon in Libra fits with your info on Nov. 14th. Just a thought. If you get confirmation of his BD please let me know!
Jackie,
Assuming his birthday is November 14 1960, it is unlikely (I think less than a 10% chance) that his Moon is in Libra – the Moon went into Libra at 10.07 pm Italian time on that day.
Very interesting. In astrology, I think it is important to keep accidental prejudice to a min, but although I particularly disliked cf’s proclamation that rats are first because they lie and cheat, I guess one cannot enter the debate without taking sides.
So! To say that Scorpios are courageous is a form of prejudice in that it implies other signs are not, but worse, it’s wrong. In my own experience, having been an unwilling Scorpio magnet most of my life, I’ve found Scorpios are more likely to snap than average. Scorpios are intense, virtuous, will face down any threat, and never show fear or pain, but that should not be confused with whether or not they snap.
All you’d have to do to snap poor old Cap Schettino is insult him — call him a fool, stupid or in this case blame him for a policy of deviating course when he and everyone else knew full well that that’s what cruise liners do, and I guarantee you he would go solemn and walk off. I’ve been betrayed many times by scorpios who felt aggrieved. Never offend a scorpio.
However!! There are extremes of strong and weak in every star sign. Rather then insult 1 in 12 readers, I suggest I’ve just been unlucky, and that we all have weaknesses and pressure points.
He was undoubtedly forced off the starboard side (jump or drown), and we know he went round the port side (by then the topside) in a boat, but we also know he refused to climb back on when pressed. Why? Well, I was somewhat shocked by the unprofessional bullying coastguard wasting time yelling at him and insulting him in order to get him back on — for what purpose?? The captain was poorly equiped, had no headlight, helmet, was exhausted, probably cold, had little training (maybe even feared heights), and as he himself said, there were trained professionals already up there. It was only then that he left.
I feel sorry for him. I suppose I’ve just added to the prejudice, but regardless of star sign, I think he’s been unlucky and unfairly judged. If indeed he is a Scorpio, the key to understanding what went through his mind is not that he flaked out, but that he became indignant, solemn, defensive, quiet, and ultimately snapped and went into betrayal. The wrong set of circumstances will undo anyone.
Alfredo,
Thanks for the comments, so sorry about my generalisations – but isn’t that half the fun of sun sign astrology? I suppose I see Scorpios as being stubborn and resilient, as people who are emotionally attached to what they have. Just the kind of people to go down with their ships.
Hi Archie, delightful to get your reply. What I wrote was intended to be self-critical in that yes, astrology demands a bias of sorts, and I jumped in too!
Anyway, Cap S’s DOB confirmed here it seems: http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/284454/20120119/francesco-schettino-costa-concordia-transcript-captain-court.htm — Also, overlaying his chart with the time of the incident, we see high confidence. (I’m just an amateur).
Anyway, thought provoking article. Cheers.