Bill Sampson, The Firewalker - "An angry, angry young man"
August 14, 2003
by Janice Brown @ The News Desk
All charts used at Asc. 0 Aries, Equal House,
No birth time, houses counted from the Sun, focus shifted to planetary energy
and sign.
d.o.b. April 17, 1959, Middleton, Nova Scotia, Canada
Parent's Divorce approx. June 15, 1978,
Daring Rescue approx. January 15, 1989
Car Bombing, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, November 17, 2000
TV Confession, February 5, 2001
Suicide Attempt, Rage, approx. May 15, 2001
Screamed For Hours, approx. April 15, 2002
Release, Still Punching Authorities, August 8-9, 2003-08-14
Open Chart in a separate window. (Windows expand icon will appear to allow you to make the image bigger)
A recent article on Bill Sampson's release after 31 months in an Saudi Arabian
prison, provided a range of events and dates to make this timely article possible.
In these dramatic times of Mars closeness to Earth, and Mars/Uranus stirring
up our uncomfortable secrets in Pisces, the revealed circumstances of Mr.
Sampson's life and sudden expulsion is right-between-the-eyes astrology. The
serious astrologer, or student, will also find stunning philosophical nuances
in the birth chart and event charts. Those who would like to add references
to eclipses, nodal movement, etc., are very welcome. Only stand-out aspects
have been mentioned.
Although many people were born on his birth date, our 'one-of-a-kind' human qualities tell the personal story within the framework of our time collective. There should be similarities in their times of achieving, choosing, struggling and searching for meaning. It would be exciting to assess others born on this date and complimentary data is welcomed.
We are not, here, assessing his guilt or innocence in the terrorist car bombings.
That is for the appropriate legal authorities. It is reward enough to see
astrology in action.
Natal Chart, April 17, 1959, Middleton, Nova Scotia, Canada
*Sun, Mercury in Aries
square Saturn in Capricorn, - his reputation.
square Mars in Cancer - his complicated home life, memories
*Mercury trine Jupiter in Sagittarius, venting via media
trine Moon in Leo, romantic action hero
*Mars in Cancer opposing Saturn Capricorn
While Bill Sampson is an absolute man of action, outspoken nature, and never-ending
conflicts, Mercury becomes a pivotal player as it is the style of communication
that most remember and, consequently, makes it into the news. Life provided
a vent and a purpose for his naturally fiery opinions and opportunities for
world travel from childhood. A teacher in Halifax called home once to say
Bill had been telling outrageous stories about going to school in bamboo huts
and shooting snakes.
"Well, yes" his mother, Barbara, told the teacher. "Those things
are true."
His aggression and hostility towards authority is now legendary. He's been
described as challenging for teachers, professors, both swearing and fist-fighting.
A fellow classmate is quoted as calling him "an angry, angry young man".
He has a warrior mentality and lied about his age to join the Seaforth Highlanders
Militia. He's been called confident and somewhat stubborn. Achieving higher
education took him from Toronto to London University and finally Edinburgh
where he earned a PhD in bio-chemistry and an MBA. His professional career
took place in Switzerland, the Middle East, Scotland and Saudi Arabia.
Many 'lucky breaks' are laser quick with this fiery Grand Trine, as well
as doors being opened with the battering ram of Mars opposed Saturn. Most
people would have folded, given in to his demands, when faced with this great
force or unreasonable anger. It's easier that way - then they run like hell
as soon as opportunity allows. By many ways and means, getting his way would
be paramount.
Yet, as uncomfortable as this energy can make us, we depend on the Bill Sampsons
in our world to carve new laws, stand up for our rights and to not take 'No'
for an answer. The second personal description most often quoted is "Courageous!".
"Bill had an incredibly strong character". "His mind was incredibly
strong".
His father said, "I'm proud of his courage. They've got him in their
power, but I bet there are days when they wish they didn't. I bet there are
days when they wish they'd never set eyes on him".
Parent's Divorce, approx. June 15, 1978
*Pluto in Libra criss-crossing North Node in 7th house from natal Sun
*Transiting Mars in Virgo conjuncts natal Pluto 6th from Sun,
squares Venus Gemini, squares Jupiter Sag
*Uranus in Scorpio, squared natal Moon, Uranus in Leo.
The chart for his parent's divorce - 1978 - depicts a long, passionate and
perhaps dirty legal conflict leaving a distrust of legal proceedings and the
hatred of having his personal ability to act, and his fate, overpowered by
others. Mars in Virgo caused considerable stress, felt physically, as he wrestled
with who to love, who to blame and the set up suggests a necessity to choose,
irrevocably, feeling torn apart in the process. Splitting loyalty wasn't possible.
Some chunk of heart had to be left behind but never forgotten.
Father's Daring Rescue approx. January 15, 1989
*Uranus in Capricorn approaching conjunction to natal Saturn, opposing natal
Mars in Cancer,
trining natal Pluto
*Neptune in Capricorn, friendly to natal Neptune in Scorpio, Saturn in Capricorn,
male parents house
*Mars in Aries, conjuncting natal Sun
Aries, Leo, and Sag fire is born to respond quickly and heroically. While
in Glasgow, on a camping trip in Wales, the man of action saved a young woman
from a violent current that had threatened to engulf her kayak.
"He didn't know me", she once said, 'but he shot to my rescue."
The flame endured through an engagement but they never married. That's a lot
of fire to stand beside and not get burned.
In 1989, the hero acted to save his father's life while crossing a glacier
in Switzerland. Bill noticed that the snow below his father's feet had begun
to slide, revealing a large crevasse under his climbing boots. He screamed,
urging him to jump to the edge - on the other side. Trusting his word, his
father dangled from the other side, finally rescued by Bill plunging his ice
axe into the glacier to stop his slide and swung him to safety.
He said, "Don't worry, Dad, I'll get you down", and carried his
80 lb. pack.
The male parent's house was fully packed and Mars was travelling in Aries
closely conjuncting his Sun. Whew! His response-unit Mercury threw aside self-concern
and parental duty came screaming to the forefront. It's an astrologers field
day to assess the potential for success or failure of his mission. We know
in retrospect that they both survived. We see the crisis aspects. With or
without birth time or even an accurate date we can assess this time of crises
and ascertain the friendly aspect to natal Neptune in 8th from Sun, in life-saver/taker
Scorpio, and transiting Pluto also receiving friendly energy from a trine.
Coincidentally, Pluto is the natal ruler of the 8th from Sun. In the most
basic terms it wasn't time for him to go to the great beyond.
Mr. Sampson is capable of calculating the odds in split-second decisions,
has no fear of (or overrides) potential harm to himself, and risks his own
life for others. That hero quality probably kept him in prison but his unwillingness
to be defeated would eventually get him out. You can win his respect, as his
father did, but you cannot force him to accept authority for it's own sake.
Car Bombing, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, November 17, 2000 (Exact date)
*Saturn Retrograding into Taurus, recently opposing Jupiter in Sag, squaring
Pluto in Virgo
*Mars recently squared Saturn in Capricorn and Mars in Cancer
*Mercury in Scorpio conjunct natal Neptune
*Pluto in Sag 9th from Sun, trine natal Uranus 5th from Sun, sextile North
Node
The fatal car bombing in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, had to be accounted for. Bill
Sampson and three other scientists, businessmen were on hand. There is no
pretence here to assess guilt or innocence. One way or another he was in the
wrong place at the wrong time. The eventuality of a good outcome, based on
transiting Pluto's fine aspects, to predict that mass-media would ultimately
win public favour, making Mr. Sampson a cause that governments would wrestle
over, would have been a dim stretch. The far future is usually lost in the
morass of today's struggles.
In the 1990's Mr. Sampson moved to Basel, Switzerland, where he worked as
a marketing officer to the Middle East for a pharmaceutical company. He left
the job in 1995 to start a business in Scotland laying pipeline, but moved
to Saudi Arabia when the business faltered a year later. He was in the capital
city of Riyadh on Nov. 17, 2000 when a car bomb ripped through Christopher
Rodway's GMC Blazer as he drove home from a local gardening centre.
With Saturn dragging through Taurus, 2nd from Sun, Mr. Sampson would have
spent the several months before the incident hard at work refining his values,
trying to plug the travel expenses gap and frugally laying the paving stones
to improve his financial picture. Small stuff, like Mars in 7th from Sun squaring
Saturn, told of legal hassles, trouble with partners, fighting legal restrictions,
and attacks on his reputation. Jupiter and Saturn had been dancing the push-pull,
give and take-away polka in Taurus/Gemini, conjuncting Venus and opposing
his fateful Jupiter in Sag. Keeping his mouth shut and accepting the status
quo quietly was not his style, especially now that Jupiter was cruising Gemini,
recently making a difficult square to 6th house from Sun, natal Pluto. If
edits affected his work - he'd agitate. If he was innocent, what had merely
been a difficult time getting his life on track was triggered by a plotter's
accusation into a fight for his sanity. If he was guilty, then the Mercury
whisper into Neptune's Scorpio ear was a betrayal. The problem was - this
time he had an adversary that understood power. His force would have to be
mighty indeed to defeat a government ruled by divine decree. How's that for
transiting Pluto slowly grinding through the 9th house from the Sun in Sagittarius?
Lucky for Mr. Sampson it trined his natal Uranus in Leo, giving him the creative
brilliance to outwit the giant. He exploded into the justice system, world
consciousness and daily news. One way or another he was forced to take a stand
on foreign affairs, cultural passions, or religious power brokers.
TV Confession, February 5, 2001, Saudi Arabia
*Jupiter in Gemini 3rd from Sun, conjunct natal Venus, opposing natal Jupiter
Sag 9th from Sun, square natal Pluto
*Neptune in Aquarius 11th from Sun, opposed natal Moon in Leo 5th
*Venus in Aries lst crossing 0 Aries Asc., conjuncting natal Mercury, sextile
natal Venus Gemini, trining natal Jupiter Sag
*Mars transited Scorpio, 8th from Sun opposing Saturn transiting Taurus.
Tattered and dishevelled, puffy-eyed Bill Sampson told the camera that he
was responsible for two separate car bombings that had rocked Riyadh the previous
November- one had killed Mr. Rodway, 47, and wounded his wife; the other had
injured four.
Beside Mr. Sampson were two other men, a Scottish anaesthetic technician
and a Belgian doctor, who confessed to the bombings, which the Saudi government
claimed were part of a turf war over the country's illegal booze trade.
"I detonated the device using a remote-control switch," said Mr.
Sampson, pointing to a diagram on a board beside him. The big question of
the TV Confession is whether Bill Sampson was telling the truth or acting
out of self-interest only, to buy some personal comforts or financial reward
using the Jupiter and Venus aspects, or if it was sacrifice.
The day of the broadcast was also the day of his father's 70th birthday celebration.
A devastated James Sampson knew his son frequented places such as the Celtic
Corner and the Legs Arms, underground taverns that although officially outlawed
by the Saudi regime, were largely tolerated.
"Bill had an incredibly strong character," said Bruce Bakker, one
of Mr. Sampson's high school friends. "I can't imagine what that length
of time in solitary would do to anybody, but if there's one person who is
able to deal with it, it would be Bill. His mind was incredibly strong."
Reports suggest the biochemist spent his days in a padded, windowless cell
no bigger than six metres long. The lights were never turned off. For three
years he was not allowed to read or write. He simply walked in circles, likely
more than 20 kilometres a day. Perhaps even worse than the monotony, Mr. Sampson
had no idea of what was happening outside his cell. While the world stood
still on Sept. 11, 2000, he continued walking in circles, oblivious to the
fact that the United States had been attacked by terrorists.
But stress will not be denied. Four months after being arrested he complained
of severe chest pains and underwent an angioplasty and was returned to jail
a few days later. He eventually had to be sent for a second angioplasty.
In their 10,000-word brief, Mr. Sampson's lawyers said their client was forced
to confess to the bombings after police hung him upside down, kept him awake
for more than a week and threatened to harm his family. They said authorities
slapped and punched him while he was bound in chains, even promising to free
him if he confessed.
The question of the TV Confession is whether Bill Sampson was simply worn down by Saturn's passage and his steely determination was eroded by opposing Mars, and perhaps self-interest was blown-huge by Jupiter/Venus connections and comfort became all important. Or, could his confession been an act of sacrifice, extreme love, to stop the carnage on himself and his friends. He would have intuited from Jupiter's square to Pluto that confessing would thoroughly cook his goose, cause physical hell, maybe forever. He certainly would have understood that his words had the power to heal - or a least stop torture. With Jupiter Gemini opposing his true Jupiter Sag feelings he could also have justified his statement by thinking it was after all only words - not his true beliefs. He could think he was lying to liars so what the heck.
The mass media coverage at least guaranteed the world would know of their
plight.
Seeing His Father, Suicide Attempt, Rage - May 15, 200l
*Neptune transits Aquarius opposing natal Moon Leo
*Saturn transits Gemini conjunct natal Venus, recently squaring natal Pluto
Virgo
*Mercury, Jupiter transit Gemini opposing transiting Pluto in Sag
Neptune's passage through the 11th house from the Sun would make Bill wonder what had happened to the friends he thought he had - opposition to natal Moon seemed like his personality was disappearing, he would fear becoming invisible, and betrayed. Frustrated by the slow movement of governments and justice, his darkest hour came with no spark of hope in his mind. He knew he had to stand taller, shout louder, to get into world leader's heads, and the world news, to even survive. If his reactions were by that time only instinctual, his primal instinct for survival was still accurate.
Governments were working behind the scenes, questioning his treatment, but it caused strains between Canada and Saudi Arabia. Neptune and Saturn were at work according to their natures.
Seeing his father was only depressing and eight days after the meeting Mr. Sampson's mental and physical condition took a severe turn for the worse - a turn that many suspect he has yet to recover from. He was rushed to hospital with a crushed vertebra, trauma to his feet and scratches on his wrists. His supporters immediately accused the Saudis of assaulting him. It was later revealed, however, the Mr. Sampson actually tried to kill himself and was inadvertently injured by the guards who tried to stop him.
He had refused to speak to Canadian consular officials or his lawyers. To
protest his incarceration he had stopped wearing clothing, stopped bathing.
He began cursing the Prophet Mohammed in front of his Muslim captors, telling
them he does not recognize their court because it is the tool of a religion
based on the teachings of a false prophet.
"I'm rather proud of that actually, not proud of his intelligence, but
proud of his courage," Mr. Sampson's father said last year.
Screamed for Hours, Diplomatic Efforts Working, A Formal Forgiveness - April
2002 and months following
*Mars transiting Gemini conjuncts natal Venus, opposes natal Jupiter Sag,
squared natal Pluto Virgo
*Jupiter transits Cancer conjuncts natal Mars, opposes natal Saturn in Capricorn
*Saturn transits Gemini sextiles natal Moon, Uranus in Leo
In April, 2002, as Mr. Sampson's family wondered whether he would ever be formally charged with a crime, rumours began to circulate that he had already been sentenced to death at a secret trial. The rumours proved true, even though his lawyers had no idea that a hearing had occurred.
With one option left, Mr. Sampson's lawyers filed an appeal. In the months
following, he continued to deteriorate. He threw things, screamed for hours
on end, and refused to see a psychiatrist.
But, far from his cell, diplomatic efforts were made for his release and his
five British co-accused. In May, right on time with Jupiter's blessing of
family connections, the son of Christopher Rodway, the hospital technician
killed in the blast, officially forgave Mr. Sampson and renounced his right
under Islamic law to pursue the death penalty. Mr. Sampson's lawyers then
filed a clemency plea. After weeks of waiting, Prime Minister Jean Cretien
sent a senator to meet Crown Prince Abdullah.
Official Forgiveness bring Release - Still Punching August 8, 2003
*Jupiter transits Leo, trines natal Sun
*Uranus enters Pisces squaring natal Venus Gemini, natal Jupiter Sag, opposing
natal Pluto
*Sun, Venus transit Leo conjuncting natal Uranus
*Saturn transits Cancer, recently conjuncting natal Mars, opposing natal Saturn
and trining natal Neptune Scorpio
*Mars transits Pisces trining natal Neptune Scorpio and natal Mars Cancer,
natal Saturn Capricorn
The official forgiveness paperwork worked their magic and as quickly as Mr. Sampson had been imprisoned he was suddenly released. He found it hard to believe and resisted responding, likely leery after years of promises. Apparently he became aggressive catching sight of a Canadian consular official. He shouted and hit him. Gee, isn't that amazing? He's fed up the diplomatic process! After years of being anti-almost everything offered, it's going to take a long time to reach a level of faith that his world won't rock and heave at a moment's notice and…be once again beyond his control.
"You have to pay tribute to the guy's intestinal fortitude," said a Vancouver lawyer and a high school friend. "That was a horrendous ordeal and he's apparently survived it with a great sense of self-image and he's stood up to his captors. You have to pay tribute to his courage."
With Pluto's slow groove through his 9th house from Sun, it will be some
time until a trine with natal Sun lets him find reason, meaning or a vision
of his future. Uranus's passage through Pisces will kick up disturbed memories
and bitter feelings. Any antagonists can forget seeking forgiveness during
the private catharsis of Pisces time. He'll likely tell of his experiences,
probably through written media when Uranus at last conjuncts natal Mercury.
The rest of the time span of Saturn transiting Cancer will be spent in seclusion
processing depression, letting slow, slow time pass before emotions are sparked
with the instinct to find the joy of life, in Leo.
As a sign of respect, all of the newly released prisoners were asked to write
letters thanking the Saudi regime for granting them clemency.
They all did, except for Mr. Sampson.
Copyright Janice Brown 2003
