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The tragic case of Nigeria's 'bird' woman








Footage of a badly burnt woman being berated by a crowd in Nigeria has been watched hundreds of thousands of times on YouTube. The film begins in a blur. An angry mob and a policewoman can just be made out, gathered in a circle on the dusty ground. As the camera finds its focus, the grim reality becomes clear. In the middle of the circle sits a woman, almost naked, her body bloodied and burnt. The title of the video, "Flying Bird turn into old woman in Oshodi", doesn't appear to explain the disturbing scene, but its description, and a local news article, combine to create an unusual narrative. Eyewitnesses quoted by the newspaper say a black bird had been flying in the sky over Oshodi, in Lagos, before striking an electrical cable, falling to earth and transforming into a woman. The same eyewitnesses say she confessed to being a witch. BBC, 19 October 2014. http://www.bbc.com/news/blogs-trending-29644681






Shown here is the chart for the last Full Moon eclipse of October 8 at Oshodi, Nigeria. The eclipse is prominently placed in the angles of the chart. The eclipse luminaries rule the 8th and 9th houses. The 8th house is linked to all hidden matters including the occult and witchcraft while the 9th house can be dogmatic religious or philosophical opinions so that an opposition between the two lords can reflect biased or dogmatic belief systems about witchcraft or occult matters.

The Sun [15li] and Venus [10li] are conjunct the stars Vindemiatrix (Al Muredin), epsilon Virginis [10li08] , omicron Hydrae [10li30]  - the evil headed monster and Gienah , gamma Corvi [11li06] and Algorab, delta Corvi [14li] of Corvus – the Raven (the black bird in the news!).

Both crows and ravens have appeared in a number of different mythologies throughout the ages. In some tales of the Welsh myth cycle, the Mabinogion, the raven is a harbinger of death. Witches and sorcerers were believed to have the ability to transform themselves into ravens and fly away, thus enabling them to evade capture [1].

Describing the star background in this area Diana Rosenberg writes:

The Virgin’s purity makes people self-righteous “holier-than-thou” zealots persecuting those who in their eyes, do not adhere to their ideas of morality and high standards. Few other skyscapes are so polarized between light and dark, clear air and suffocating darkness, with a tremendous conflict between the Virgin’s honest, upright will-to-do good and the Hydra’s dark lair of greed, sensuality and arrogant self-interest; some are tempted to dishonesty, become involved in scandals and have trouble with the law; there are both oppressions and struggles against them and transits to these stars often bring about major changes in laws, mores, governments and ways of thinking often preceded, accompanied or followed by witch hunts. [2]

Progressing the chart to October 19, the date of news aligns the meridian axis with the eclipse bringing us a report of  the unfortunate event.






[2] Secrets of the Ancient Skies, Diana K. Rosenberg [ v.2, p.64-66]


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