Cusp – a transitional period of astrological time occurring between two signs of the Zodiac which bears the influences of both signs.

That’s the very most astrologers will consensually agree upon whenever attempting to define the astrological term listed above that’s heatedly disputed over to the present day.

Some astrologers say a cusp period lasts 5 days, others say 3.

Some say the cusp occurs right when a sign is newly starting during the first few days of its 30 day transit, while others adamantly insist the cusp takes place while a sign is drawing to a close at the very end of its month long cycle.

The 3rd Week of April: A Non-Cusp’d Period of Time

Should a debate arise as to the exact time range when a cusp period takes place, I’ll allow the opposing side to make their best argument before tossing in my gauntlet of cusp finalization – the 3rd week of April.

April’s infamous week strongly supports the cusp theory which states the final week of a Zodiacal sign embodies the concentrated influences of the sign that is drawing to a close, versus a temporary window of time comprised of the shared influences between the upcoming sign about to commence with that of its soon to end predecessor.

This is further reinforced by the last full day of Aries, April 19th racking up the most cataclysmic happenings on that one date, by far.

As the last two decades during the 3rd week of April have repeatedly shown, no other astrological influences could be at play other than the first of the Fire Signs, Aries, along with its planetary ruler, Mars, given the news making events taking place during that week have been consistently rife with chaotic violence, guns, and the literal presence of the element of Fire:

The OK City Bombing, the siege of the Branch Davidian Compound in Waco, the Columbine and Virginia Tech Shootings, along with the most recent addition to this list of deadly current events – 2013’s Boston Marathon Massacre.

Keeping that theory in mind, it stands to follow that the cusp period between the Mars ruled sign of Aries and the Venus ruled sign of Taurus takes place during the 3-5 days AFTER April 20th, as evidenced by a yearly event that combines the influences of the two signs which takes place every April 22nd.

Earth Day is truly a cusp oriented happening, given the event emphasizes the Mars oriented action of activism through the Venusian lens of environmental love and planetary peace.

Deadly Deviations from the Norm

If we loosen the triple threat requirement of Violence, Flames, and Firearms and extend our search past the last 20 years, the list of historical events taking place during the third week of April expands substantially, each sharing a common theme of potential death and destruction. Consider the following:

The Pratt Street Riot, April 19th, 1861 – Technically, the official start of America’s Civil War took place with the first shots fired by Confederate soldiers at Fort Sumter, South Carolina on April 12th, 1861 but many feel this country’s most bloody war really began 7 days later during the third week of April when the Pratt Street Riot occurred in Baltimore, Maryland on April 19th.  Despite there being no casualties when Fort Sumter fell, militia men from a place that may sound familiar from Part I, Boston, Massachusetts were called upon for extra guard in Washington, D.C. As the soldiers travelled south towards the capital, they encountered resistance from Marylanders as they made their way down Pratt Street in Baltimore resulting in fires, looting, and the first casualties of the Civil War with four Union soldiers killed and twelve Confederates.

Assassination of President Lincoln, April 14th, 1865 – We now go from the start of the Civil War to a few days following its close. Although there is an absence of fire associated with this violent event, there was plenty of Iron.  As stated in Part I, the metal associated with both the sign of Aries and its ruling planet Mars is Iron.  Not only did assassin John Wilkes Booth employ the iron based weapon of a pistol to kill the President in the beginning of the third week of April, at the same time that evening fellow conspirator Lewis Powell attacked then Secretary of State, Frederick Seward in his home as he lay in bed recuperating from a broken jaw with another iron based tool of aggression – a knife. Fortunately, the brace Seward wore for his jaw prevented him from suffering the same fate as the President that violent evening.

It must be stated that immediately after Lincoln was shot, another person seated in the President’s private theater box, Major Henry Rathbone attempted to thwart Booth from escaping only to be stabbed to the bone in the arm by the assassin with his own iron based knife.

The Great Toronto Fire, April 19th, 1904 – Although this event doesn’t have the common themes of either Violence or Guns, the Great Toronto Fire makes up for things with an overabundance of the element which the sign of Aries is based in, making it the most damaging event in Toronto’s history since that city’s formation. But even after causing over $10 million Canadian dollars worth of damage and leaving over 5,000 of the city’s then population of 200,000 out of work, this flame making historical event had not a single fatality. Interestingly, this isn’t Toronto’s only “Great Fire”.  The Canadian city experienced an earlier Great Fire which also took place in the month of April during the Fire sign of Aries on April 7th, 1849.

The San Francisco Earthquake, April 18th, 1906 –  Much like Toronto’s Great Fire, the earthquake which rocked the city of San Francisco isn’t readily associated with either Guns or Violence but this historical event which took place during the third week of April at the dawn of the 20th century makes up for things by having a major surplus of the element of Fire. Immediately following the 7.8 quake, fires broke out throughout the coastal city and raged for four full days afterwards. Over 80% of San Francisco was destroyed with most of the destruction attributed to the quake’s ensuing fires. San Francisco’s Fire Department was widely blamed given dynamite was employed for unsound buildings but its misuse in turn created even bigger blazes, many of them initially uncontrollable. Added to that, inexperienced fire fighters were hastily added due to the Fire Commissioner, Dennis Sullivan losing his life after the dome of the California Hotel crashed through the roof of the local Fire House when the quake initially hit. Unlike Toronto’s Great Fire which had no casualties, this highly flammable event claimed over 3,000 lives and cost the city $235 million ($6.1 billion in 2015 standards) worth of damages, making the San Francisco earthquake one of the worst natural disasters in the history of the United States.

The Warsaw Ghetto Uprising, April 19th, 1943 – When considering the atrocities of the Holocaust, many often wonder how so many people went to their deaths like “lambs to the slaughter”. A vast majority of victims never imagined what actually awaited them after being told the lie of “resettlement” was death. However, there were those who upon learning the brutal truth of what was happening around them behaved anything like defenseless lambs. In the spring of 1943, after being informed the deportation trains weren’t being sent to labor camps but to camps designed for extermination, the Jews residing in Poland’s capital decided to take defensive action, resolved not to go down without a fight. Beginning on April 19th, the Jews of the Warsaw ghetto counterattacked SS soldiers, bravely fighting with the meager guns and rifles they had at their disposal. Despite managing to resist their Nazi oppressors for an entire month, these fearless men and women were greatly outnumbered and forced to surrender. Disturbingly, the uprising which began on the final full day in the Fire sign of Aries was squelched by Nazi squadrons going block by block using flame throwers and throwing fire bottles in the sewers.  “We were beaten by the flames, not the Germans.” claimed a survivor.

It must be noted the only Nazi concentration camp that was destroyed and not dismantled, Treblinka, was brought down by its prisoners later that same year during the fire sign of Leo in August of 1943. Using explosives and stolen firearms, the revolt was planned and implemented mainly by the Jews who were transported to Treblinka following the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising.

Illinois Tornado Outbreak, April 19th, 1996 – The Midwest is certainly no stranger to the presence of tornadoes but the state of Illinois became too well acquainted with the moving natural disasters during the third week of April in 1996.  On that one day 33 supercell tornadoes erupted across the state with winds reaching up to 170 miles per hour causing numerous fires from downed power lines and 11 deaths overall.  Although the outbreak lasted for 3 days until the 21st, April 19th holds the record as the most prolific tornado day in the state of Illinois’ history.

Events of the Natural and Potentially Dangerous Non-occurring Kind

Last on the danger zoned list are events which have taken place during the third week of April that were definitely threatening but resolved themselves due to either Mother Nature remedying things or from good old fashioned human failure taking over.

The Bay of Pigs Invasion, April 17-20, 1961 – Although considered a “failed” mission that wasn’t able to achieve its intended goal, the invasion of Cuba backed and funded by the American government had deadly repercussions all the same with 100 people killed and 1,100 incarcerated. This noteworthy failure that was based in the blunderings of the CIA not only was a source of major embarrassment for the Kennedy Administration, the Bay of Pigs would be the foundational source behind  another event of the non-occurring kind that would prove to be far more threatening in a violently gun oriented, fiery way exactly a year and a half later – The Cuban Missile Crisis.

Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull Volcano, April 19th, 2010 – Neither this particular Icelandic volcano nor its particular eruption which took place during the 3rd week of April in 2010 were in any way exceptional.  In fact, eruptions of the same magnitude occur roughly 15 times per century. But a wind pattern occurring simultaneously  with a daily spewing of .15 million tons of fine ash lasting for 39 days in a row halted all air travel to and from Europe for the entire 3rd week of April that year from the 14th to the 21st. Although there were no human casualties, this unremarkable volcano with its less than average eruption (it ranked a mild 3 out of 8  on the Volcanic Eruption Index) caused countless economic casualties world wide, with billions of euros being lost and every market of commerce and trade being severely affected by the abrupt lack of business.  It ain’t for nothing locals from the Land of Fire and Ice have bequeathed Eyjafjallajökull with the most fiery of euphemisms, “the place where Satan goes backpacking“.

This series began with the observation that a significant number of  newsworthy events have taken place during the 3rd week of April over the last 20 years having three traits in common: Violence, Fire, and Firearms.  Although these historical happenings have been listed by name,  I feel visual reinforcement is needed if we as a societal whole wish to eventually put a stop to the current trend of the 3rd week of April being consistently marked with devastating tragedy year after year.

Third Week of April, 2016 – So far 2016’s 3rd week of April has been no exception to the Mars/Aries cataclysmic rule with the occurrence of multiple deadly earthquakes taking place in Japan on April 14-18th and in Ecuador on April 16th..

*Brad Kronen’s book “Love in the Stars” published by Llewellyn Worldwide, Inc.  is available for purchase at your local book seller or online at amazon.com at the link listed below.

Brad Kronen’s guide on Astrology and Relationships “Love in the Stars” for purchase on amazon.com