The trial of Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes will start this week in California. She is charged with six counts of fraud relating to her now-defunct medical startup. The company, founded in 2003, claimed it would revolutionize the medical testing space with a new blood diagnostic technology. Theranos had reached a valuation of $10bn before it was exposed for overstating its core technologies and fabricating claims.
Jurors can expect to hear from patients misled by Theranos results, including a woman whose test results falsely signaled a miscarriage despite a healthy pregnancy, a man who was falsely indicated to have prostate cancer, and two others who received false positive HIV test results. Holmes is expected to lean on what is known as a Svengali defense, arguing that her role in the Theranos con was largely influenced by an allegedly abusive relationship with Balwani. His lawyers have called her allegations “outrageous, salacious and inflammatory”. He has his own separate trial early next year. If convicted, she faces up to 20 years in prison.
Holmes was born 3 February 1984 in Washington, DC, daughter of a vice-president of Enron, the energy firm which went bankrupt after an accounting fraud scandal. She has an Aquarius Sun square an ultra-determined and hard-edged Mars Saturn in Scorpio with Mars in a wide conjunction to Pluto – not short of driving determination. She also has a high-finance, head-in-the-clouds, selling-a-dream Jupiter Neptune conjunction in Capricorn. Her Uranus opposes her Gemini North Node which could suggest tendency to run against the grain of public interest.
At the moment she has tr Uranus square her Sun exactly and both it and tr Saturn collide with her Mars as well for a few months ahead; with tr Uranus in a jolting opposition to her Saturn into 2022. October looks catastrophic for her with tr Saturn square her Mars/Pluto midpoint with much slipping and sliding courtesy of Neptune for three years ahead with 2024 bringing a considerable upheaval; though 2025 looks more upbeat.
Ramesh Balwani, 13 June 1965, Pakistan, is much of a muchness with her having a Gemini Sun on the point of a T Square to Mars in Virgo opposition Saturn; and Uranus Pluto in Virgo square Jupiter North Node. Neither are exactly sentimental idealists to put it mildly.
Their relationship chart has a competitive composite Sun opposition Mars and needs-space Uranus square Saturn – it was never destined to be a happy combination. Mars Saturn can indicate a one-sided relationship but in this instance it might well point to a folie a deux focused on a damaging outcome. There’s also an intense Venus Mercury opposition Pluto.
He is not looking anything but flattened over the next fifteen months with tr Neptune square his Sun Mercury and opposition his Mars; with a high-anxiety tr Uranus opposition his Neptune from mid 2022.
ADD ON:
Her baby boy arrived 10 July 2021 and has a Sun, maybe Moon in Cancer, opposition Pluto with a tricky Venus Mars in Leo opposition Saturn square Uranus – not a settled temperament for sure with a ramped up Venus Mars clamped down by Saturn and a prominent, control-or-be-controlled Pluto. Pretty much following the family pattern. His Saturn is conjunct mom’s Sun and her three Scorpio planets collide with his stressed T Square.
Forbes have an intriguing piece on her family background which points to a pushy jealous mother.
She’s described by a family friend as having been ‘an emotionally withdrawn child of a once-illustrious family being driven by a jealous mother who wanted her daughter to make a name for herself —- both parents were striving to improve their position in the world and pushed her hard despite low grades and lack of business and technical skills.’
Both parents were Sun Aquarius. Father 1 February 1946 and mother 21 January 1951 (genealogy website). Her father was/is a charming, persuasive and controlling Sun Venus Moon Mercury in Aquarius opposition Pluto; with a hard-edged, unkind Mars Saturn in Cancer which runs down through the family’s DNA. Her mother has her Sun, Venus and Mars spread out through Aquarius with Pluto opposition Venus and widely Mars.
If mother was the pushy one then it is likely that Elizabeth has a Pisces Moon trine Pluto and maybe Mars.
Though the relationship chart with her father is Ivanka-Trump-papa hair-raising with a composite Mars, Saturn, Pluto, Uranus which is punishing.
Marjorie, you were right about this time of year being “catastrophic” for her.
Thanks Marjorie. Fraudsters fascinate me. There’s an excellent American podcast called ‘Swindled’ with a wonderfully deadpan narrator which dives into these people, their rise and fall and the trail of destruction and broken dreams they leave behind. There is something of the ruthlessly Plutonic in the transformation of the lives of the people they defraud.
One of the astrological themes I’ve noticed with fraudsters is an emphasis on fixed sign squares. I note Holmes’ Mars/Saturn/Pluto in Scorpio (which I think would give the hard headed ruthlessness needed for this kind of deception) echos imposter/fraudster Frank Abagnale’s exact same group of planets in Leo which squared his Taurus Sun/Mercury/North Node. Lou Perlman has a Leo Venus opposition Aquarius Moon in T square to Saturn in Scorpio. Bernie Madoff had a Taurus Sun/Moon/Uranus/Venus in Taurus square Jupiter in Aquarius and opposing his North Node in Scorpio. Paul Manafort has a Taurus Moon square Pluto in Leo. Charles Ponzi himself had Saturn/Neptune/Jupiter/Pluto all conjunct in Taurus square Mercury in Aquarius. Elizabeth Holmes’ Scorpio Mars/Saturn/Pluto squares her Aquarius Sun and like Ponzi she also has Jupiter/Neptune (inflated dreams) in an Earth sign – her’s is in Capricorn. I notice in these charts also, conjunctions to the South Node or squares to the nodal axis – some interpretations read this as skipped karmic lessons or a tendency to keep repeating behaviours which lead to self-undoing.
She’s a “daughter of a vice-president of Enron”…wouldn’t this upbringing also give her an “adjusted” opinion of what is and is not possible?
I would think so, larry. Her Sun square Saturn/Mars is quite hard edged and could possibly paint a picture of a father who values financial status and financial power over and above everything no matter how dishonestly gained. Traditionally, Sun square Saturn natives can have a father who is distant in some way or hard to reach on an emotional level which can affect their own self-worth.
Thanks. From my upbringing, I developed/acquired many hard-edged habits and opinions. Now, later in life, I’m finally able to overcome them.
Jail is a tough schoolmaster for most. Few would survive unchanged (very bad) or positively (good). We could expect her baby to also be grossly affected by this situation.
Do you have Sun square Saturn larry? I do too and one of the gifts of this aspect is that time is your friend, so to speak – with maturity comes the confidence and self-worth that one struggled with when young. My father was distant and unable to emote, although he was at heart a good man and I think probably severely damaged by his own eccentric and grandiose father, described by relatives who came into contact with him as ‘impossible’.
I’m actually Sun-Saturn in the 4th.
Sounds like a tough start in life.
This is so fascinating. Thanks Marjorie, and VF. I looked up Jordan Belfort – The Wolf of Wall Street was based on his story. He’s 9th July, 1962 with Neptune in Scorpio (trine Jupiter in Pisces) square Moon’s Node in Leo, and Saturn in Aquarius, which is conjunct the S Node.
Harshad Mehta – the film Scam 1992 is based on his fraudulent career – is 29 July 1954. He has Leo Sun square Saturn in Scorpio. Mercury, Jupiter in Cancer are conjunct the S Node, with Uranus in Cancer not far away either. Uranus squares Neptune in Libra, and Virgo Venus (money) trines the NN, sextiling the Jupiter/Mercury and S Node.
Rogue trader Nick Leeson (Barings Bank scandal) does have Mars in Scorpio at 2 degrees, with the S Node at 10 Scorpio. He has the wildly optimistic Jupiter in Cancer trine Neptune in Scorpio too. Birth date is 25th February, 1967. I was interested to see that Nick Leeson doesn’t “fit” quite so well, possibly because he was more of a risk taking gambler than someone setting up a complicated scam.
The nodal axis is interesting as it can represent connections with others, possibly karmic ones. Also the idea of aims and ambitions with the NN, and sacrifice or loss with the SN.
Many thanks for those interesting Astro examples, Jane. Of course a Taurus/Scorpio emphasis in the natal chart is connected to finance, both individual and collective and Leo/Aquarius connects to speculation and risk taking. In those old 17th century engravings illustrating the horoscope, the 11th house which relates to the sign of Aquarius is often represented as a wheel of fortune, one turn of which can decide whether one gains or loses. We often think of the 11th in modern times as connected with groups, networks, etc so I think this older symbolism enriches our understanding of the house and possibly the sign too. The emphasis in fixed signs would be essential I would imagine for any business or entrepreneurial ambition, because it takes absolute determination, drive and dedication to make it big in the business world.
When you described South Node conjunctions as ‘requiring a sacrifice’ that reminded me of my own entrepreneurial paternal ancestors whose charts have a Taurus/Scorpio emphasis. My great grandmother for instance had Chiron/Neptune/Saturn/Pluto plus South Node all conjunct in Taurus opposing her Venus in Scorpio conjunct North Node and both she and my g grandfather had to leave all their wealth and property behind and go back to the U.K. when the Russian Revolution erupted. My great grandfather had Jupiter in Leo opposition Mars in Aquarius T-squaring onto a Scorpio Sun. His own businessman, entrepreneur father who emigrated from Scotland to Russia to make his fortune had Mars in Scorpio opposition Sun in Taurus – he scammed a fellow businessman and they fell out big time. My siblings both have Sun opposition Moon across Taurus and Scorpio and even my paternal cousin has Moon in Taurus opposition Neptune in Scorpio. Obviously this is a powerful family legacy, astrology-wise. Money, the making of money and lack of confidence and self-worth have been a recurring theme in my paternal line for generations.
Thanks VF, very intriguing about the 11th house. In Vedic astrology, this is one of the houses associated with wealth. As are the Moon’s Nodes (Rahu and Ketu) which they say expand the planets they touch, rather like Jupiter. Of course, expansion can be good or not so good, as we are seeing with some of these examples.
Your family story sounds amazing. Like a novel! We have a strong Pluto aspects theme in my family ancestry, well the paternal line anyway. They spent a century in the East End, and gradually edged outwards and upwards – reinventing themselves in truly Plutonic fashion. There’s also a fair amount of Scorpio, Capricorn, and Cancer. The Pluto aspects continue to this day, in the next generation too. So far, no major criminals though!
VF, Thanks for the interesting thought about 11th house/Aquarius and Wheel of Fortune. I’ve known some wonderful Aquarians and a couple of real hustlers. Makes sense.