Keith Raniere, who moved from marketing, to running a pyramid scheme to setting up a personal development organisation using sex slaves has been found guilty of sex trafficking and conspiracy to commit forced labor, amongst other offences. He had recruited members of the influential Bronfman family, heirs to the billion-dollar Seagrams fortune to become involved in his cult. He faces a mandatory minimum of 15 years and a possible life sentence.
Born August 26 1960, he’s a controlling Sun Pluto conjunction in a tough-minded trine to Saturn, sextile Neptune – not short of ambition and Neptune Pluto can lean towards megalomania. He also has an opportunistic (chancer’s) Mars in Gemini opposition Jupiter square Venus in Virgo – superficially charming, self-centred from Venus Mars, lacking emotional depth.
What’s astrologically interesting is the strength of his 5th Harmonic, which can be creative and make for good business sense but has tendencies towards domination, forcing others to fit in with his life ideal. His not-always-well-balanced 7H is also marked and cruel. Even more so is his 18th harmonic which being a double of the pleasure-seeking 9H can go very bad.
Tr Neptune is moving in hard aspect round his Mars, Venus, Jupiter T square this year and on for several years which will undermine his ebullience, bringing a panicky sense of failure and dashed hopes.