Shots Fired at White House Correspondents Dinner

By Alex Miller

On Background:  Shots rang out at the annual White House Correspondents Dinner on 25 April 2026, as a lone gunman rushed the lobby of the Washington Hilton, heading for the banquet hall where the dinner was being held.  In attendance were more than a thousand journalists and administration officials, including Donald Trump, appearing at the event for the first time as president.  No one was injured and the suspect, Cole Allen or Torrance, California, was quickly subdued by police and Secret Service; the dinner was cancelled, to be rescheduled later.

The Lede:  With Mercury (17 Aries), ruling journalism and the Media, and Mars (12 Aries), ruling firearms and attacks, in conjunction, an incident of this nature was not unexpected, though shocking nonetheless.  The conjunction speaks to violence (Mars) in close proximity (conjunction) to members of the Press (Mercury). [This pairing is also in evidence at the April 23^rd death of Lebanese journalist Amal Khalil in an Israeli airstrike.]

In Brief:  Joining the conjunction is Saturn (8 Aries), here representing the US President as head-of-state, as well as other government officials in attendance.  Saturn is also the ancient lord of death, so the outcome could have been much more serious.  A square (90 degrees) from Jupiter (18 Cancer) speaks to the “celebrity” nature of the crowd, and ensures maximum publicity for the event.  Known as the “Greater Benefic” for its tendency to provide positive outcomes, Jupiter also has connections to the WHCD itself, as ruling publication, an essential step in reporting.

Deep Dive:  Doubling down on the firearm/shooting motif, asteroid Gunn (15 Capricorn), phonetic match for “gun,” squares Mercury/Mars, underscoring the attack on a gathering of journalists.  Reportedly Cole Allen was armed with both a shotgun and handgun.

The non-lethality of the attack may be attributed to the presence of Neptune (3 Aries) and a pair of asteroids, in conjunction with Saturn.  Neptune can create a confused, disordered environment and may allude to the mental state of the shooter, as well as the likely sense of disappointment felt by the suspect when he failed in his mission.  Asteroid BAM (4 Aries), an onomatopoetic rendering of the explosive sound of a firearm discharge, pairs with asteroid NOT (9 Aries), a general disqualifier or symbol of negation.  While the shooter did get off several rounds, there were no deaths or injuries.  Saturn also has a dampening or restrictive effect, further limiting the effectiveness of the attack.

Asteroid Whitehouse (1 Aquarius) has been encroaching upon Pluto (5 Aquarius) for weeks, revealing a pattern of massive corruption (Pluto-ruled) from the administration, on multiple levels.  But here specifically it represents the criminal acts performed by the shooter, and again, as modern lord of death, the potential for a fatal attack.  Whitehouse is squared the Sun (5 Taurus) and forms a T-Square (1) with asteroid Washingtonia (6 Leo), pulling focus (Sun) to the White House Correspondents Dinner (Whitehouse) at the Washington Hilton (Washingtonia).

Shooter Cole Allen is seen as eponymous asteroids Cole (22 Capricorn) and Allen (29 Aries), which square each other and form a T-Square with asteroid Donn (25 Cancer), representing Donald Trump.  This brings together suspect and likely target (no motive for the shooting has yet been identified, but presumably this involves Trump) in real time.

In a rare departure from tradition (based perhaps in Trump’s well-known dislike of mockery and an inability to take a joke), the dinner was hosted, not by a comedian, but by Oz Pearlman, AKA “Oz the Mentalist,” a noted mind-reader.  Oz is represented by asteroids Oze (4 Virgo) and Perelman (26 Aries).  Perelman also squares Donn, with asteroid Hosty (13 Gemini), indicating his hosting status, on their midpoint, semisquare (45 degrees) to each.  Oze is an especially apt stand-in for Oz Pearlman, who pronounces his name as “oze”, rather than the typical rendering, such as the Emerald City of Wizard fame, and the title of the gritty HBO prison drama series.  Oze is at station (2), marking a vital turning point for Oz Pearlman, with a trine (120 degrees) to the Sun (5 Taurus) placing him in the spotlight.

Or he would have been, but for this shocking lack of foresight from the mentalist.

In a final nod to cosmic synchronicity, Neptune/Saturn squares a duo of asteroids Hypnos (3 Cancer), suggesting the mentalist host, and Assafin (1 Cancer) a sort of lisping celestial nod to “assassin” which has appeared prominently in other assassination charts, including the one on Donald Trump in Butler, PA in 2024.

Notes:  (1) A T-Square is a dynamic pattern composed of two or more planets in opposition (180 degrees), each squared (90 degrees) a third.  It represents stress and conflict, with the fulcrum point (at the square) offering a possibility of resolution.

(2) Stations are periods when, from our perspective on Earth, a planet appears to slow its movement, come to a standstill, and reverse course.  This is an optical illusion created by the triangulation between the sun, Earth, and any third celestial body; astrologically, it represents a focusing of the energies associated with that point, and often coincides with major life events or a radical recalibration of how that point has functioned previously.

Sources: reporting from AP, MS NOW; chart data from serennu.com; graphic images by author

Title Image Credit:  drawn by Chat GPT