Today’s 5.8 (or so) quake that rattled Virginia, DC and New England, and shut down a nuclear power plant, happened just hours after the Sun ingressed Virgo. While this event, in my reading, did not have any of the usual signatures associated with quakes (big pileups of planets, New Moon or Full Moon very nearby), Venus and the Sun were making oppositions to Neptune and Chiron. You might expect that to have more psychological effects, but this was definitely a real earthquake. And it happened in classical Mercury retrograde style, with one thing going wrong after the next.
Notably, the Washington Monument was damaged by the earthquake, and Politico has just reported that it will be closed indefinitely as engineers figure out how to deal with a crack near the top of the obelisk.
In a less-than-symbolic angle on the story, the quake’s epicenter was less than 15 miles from the North Anna nuclear plant, which lost off-site power and had to rely on its diesel backup power to cool the reactor and the spent fuel ponds. One of the plant’s backup generators then went out, however, and another one had to be used. Also, a number of other nuclear plants in the area declared unusual events.
The Moon was in Gemini for the Virginia quake — just as it was for the Fukushima quake on March 11, and just like it was when the first reactor blew up. The Gemini Moon is a factor that can set off the Nuclear Axis, the chart of the first self-sustaining atomic reaction. That chart is getting a lot of transit activity at the moment — by which I mean that planets in the sky now are making angles to planets in the Nuclear Axis chart. Most astrologers cannot see these transits, which include minor planets — the centaur Pholus (small cause, big effect) and Pluto-like Ixion (anyone is capable of anything).
While the chart for the Virginia event is somewhat less intense than for the Fukushima plant, there are enough similarities to be concerned, particularly planets grouped in the 8th house (death, transformation). One of those planets is the Moon, which is in an exact aspect to centaur planet Nessus. And both Venus and the Sun are opposite centaur Chiron. So we have the first three discovered centaurs all showing up for this event, in grand style.
The Venus-Chiron opposition is interesting. For those of you who are fans of Barbara Hand Clow’s take on Chiron, you may recall that she lists Venus opposite Chiron as being associated with the memory of big disasters in the collective memory of humanity. I don’t recall how she got to that conclusion — she may have channeled it — but the aspect certainly has the sensation of an emotional trauma and a state of high alert. The truth is, we should be worried; as someone once said, a nuclear power plant is a very sophisticated device for finding fault lines.
I’ll be following this story as it develops, and as I get additional insights into the chart, and the event; one angle I’m tracking is how high-pressure gas drilling may be loosening up fault lines that don’t usually see a lot of action.
Note to Planet Waves FM listeners: I have a podcast for you, but I’m traveling and have not had a chance to do post-production, so it will go up Wednesday night. For the same reason there will not be a regular edition of Daily Astrology — but we’ll resume that Wednesday night.
I know there are songs about the earth standing still but is there a story in mythology somewhere about all the planets standing still for a period of time? It seems that the last 48+ hours has held the same basic astrology; the square between Pluto and Uranus, with Jupiter, Mercury, Saturn, Neptune and Chiron all creeping along, and leaving only the Sun, Moon, Venus and Mars changing their positions more or less as usual. All of us, all over the world, are having the same basic patterns in our skies, only the personal planets, sans Mercury, are personalizing each area with their own disruptive event. Earthquakes are popular, and the Libyan people have their unique situation. Then there’s a hurricane in the Atlantic Ocean moving a lot of people into unplanned action, and stockholders are rattled by Steve Jobs decision, but probably everyone is being jolted in some way all at the same time.
It would seem that the cardinal signs have us all enthralled. In their present square, Mars and Saturn in Cancer and Libra are in the corresponding degrees that Uranus and Pluto will be squaring each other from in about three years. We should all pause and think about that.
be
Over the past week I have felt the need to have provisions on hand…but I could be picking up on the “airwaves” from anywhere – my intuitive skills are still quite global, not well-fine-tuned.
On the other hand, Steve Jobs stepped down this afternoon……that might count as number 3 shake.
xo
The ascendant for today’s earthquake in Peru is 18+ Sagittarius. Jupiter is chart ruler and is in the 5th house. Jupiter, of course, is practically standing still as it approaches retrograde station in less than a week. The Moon at 3+ Cancer was opposing Uranus and applying to square Pluto at the time of the Peru quake. Simultaneously the Moon was sextile Venus and trine Chiron. All the other other planetary aspects from the Virginia earthquake chart are still functional. With Rahu rising on the Peru earthquake chart there is not such a good feeling about things taking place in threes.
Indeed, more seems shaken today than just the mid-east coast.
Not shaken in a topsy-turvy way, perhaps more stirred than shaken even.
But today methinks many of us are marching to a different beat, knowingly or not.
Just a feeling.
xo
marymack,
Bless you for sharing your personal experience. I hope others will tell us of their revelations from this ‘experience’. It is from these stories that we can glean the reason for it’s happening. All the study of the chart(s) will give us insight aplenty but your and other’s stories of how the earthquake impacted their feelings, attitudes and outlooks will carry the message of the Universe to a whole other level.
Having said that, I am wondering if the trans. Mars to U.S. Sibly Sun (cusp of 8th house) in conflict with trans. Saturn to U.S. Saturn (in 10th house) is an important wake-up call to the consciousness of the country (as a whole) that the strait-jacket restrictions the government has put itself and the rest of us in must find a way to loosen up or be broken beyond recognition when the Pluto squares by Uranus come a calling next year. Mother Nature knows best and it would be wise to follow her advice. Transiting Uranus is very near and will station at the nadir of the U.S. Sibly chart (the roots) while transiting Pluto is still in the 1st house (the ‘body’ so to speak). This message was brought to you by Ceres transiting the 3rd house and square the Galactic Center in the 1st house.
be
in the chart, we should not overlook the opposition of stationary Mercury with Nessus -both right on the mid-points of the Uranus-Pluto square
After I post a note, see below, I cruse the PW pages for a read and all kinds of insights on the day(s). Lo and BEHOLD, I read this:
Look inside. Listen to your heart. You may notice that there is a non-linear emotional knowing-ness coming from deep inside you that wants and needs to manifest. These deep emotional currents are telling you about your real relationship with your ideals, potentially showing you both those that may be holding you back (because they belong to the past or someone else) and those which represent your noblest and most refined sense of purpose, which can help you soar into your future.
INCREDIBLE. Fits my sense of the shake completely.
thank you all
mary
I don’t have what many might consider “collectible” but to the extent that I have things that are dear to me, they are located on this shelf in my living room. Sitting on the couch in the quiet still country I was able to take in all of it and it was awesome and disorienting, to say the least. What moved me from this place of awe was the rattling of my “collectibles” across the room. I dove to grab the photo of my Mom before it hit the ground … and alas, the corner of the frame stabbed my foot and cracked the glass. It was far from major damage but I was left thinking about the impact of all the emotional energy that I carried around all these years for my Mom. Unprocessed emotional energy lived on in me, well after her death. And it could be that this one item that flew off the shelf and onto me served to show me the physical manifestation of the wounds that Moms cannot / will not sholder.
m.
the new madrid earthquakes of 1811-1812 are all estimated at right around 7.0 in intensity, and forecasts give around 10 percent chance of something on that magnitude happening again in the next 50 years
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1812_New_Madrid_earthquake
so how in the hell are these people allowed to roll the dice and build nuclear plants that have a one in ten chance of becoming the next chernobyl or fukoshima?
“Entergy spokesman Jerry Nappi says the Indian Point power plant is designed to withstand a 7.0-magnitude earthquake.”
…so when the new madrid fault goes active and produces anything near what it produced in the 1800’s we are going to also have a nuclear incident to deal with
turns out the doomsday clock might be ticking to a different beat than we thought
On another note, I was briefly awakened from a sound sleep by a 3.6 rolling jolt that pulled up the foot of my bed and rattled the windows. I went back to sleep shortly afterwards. There was a time last night that I thought I was dreaming the whole thing.
Astrodem, aprilius, and Sarah:
Thank you for verbalizing the experience of “the shift”, which has manifested for me in the combination of skill sets I’m employing: writing, theater and cooking (catering). Everything takes on the air of creative “project”, with the challenge to excel past norm, even past “excellence”. Life does not feel like a job. It feels like a great book to write. This is not a “wheee!!”, but a “let’s get to it!!!”.
A couple of other things that would contribute to the quake would be that transiting Saturn is conjunct the U.S. Sibly Saturn, so a Saturn return for USA. This of course, square the Sibly Sun.
I also find it intriguing that transiting Pallas Athene (planning) is still backing up and is almost conjunct the U.S Sibly Pluto (power), while transiting Ceres is sextile both of them. If we add Astarea and Industria in Cancer to this pattern it would seem appropriate that the President would have justification to include job creation for necessary shoring up the nuclear facilities in is address after Labor Day.
be
I would include the Mars square Saturn as part of the triggering mechanics too. What really caught my eye though is that the midheaven at 9 Virgo 59 is conjunct the U.S. Solar Return (for Sibly chart) Moon at 9 Virgo 02. In that chart there is a grand Earth trine ( pointed out by Gary in his Asteroid article in the Mt. Astrologer and by Len recently), about which Robert Hand has written: “Where the simple trine. . . is considered benign, the grand trine is not. It is a very strange and difficult arrangement of Planets.” The Solar return’s trine includes the Moon, Pluto and Jupiter, both of whom are strong in their stationing positions.
The Solar Return chart also has the sextile between Pluto and Chiron (and Neptune) forming a yod with Mercury in Leo. That Mercury is almost exactly square Jupiter in the SR chart, and that Jupiter squares Pluto. Transiting Mercury was exactly opposed transiting Nessus over the weekend and is still within a close orb today.
This Sunday’s New Moon in Virgo will have another grand trine which includes it’s conjunction to Venus, and it’s trines to Jupiter and Pluto. The New Moon will conjunct the U.S. Sibly Astarea. Transiting Astarea is conjunct transiting Industria in Cancer these days and they are conjunct the U.S. Sibly Mercury and opposed the U.S. Sibly Pluto. I call that earth-shaking.
be
Fantastic to read such positive, groundbreaking stuff at moments like these, that bring up such fear. Good on you, gals!! And knew as always that this was the place to come to for real info.
Re: “one angle I’m tracking is how high-pressure gas drilling may be loosening up fault lines that don’t usually see a lot of action”….
I assume you’ve seen that Southern Colorado on the New Mexico border has experienced twelve or more earthquakes in the last two days? Check fracking near Trinidad, for many examples in the last few years. These, however, were felt hundreds of miles away.
http://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/recenteqsww/Quakes/usc0005idz.php
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/24/us/24earthquake.html
http://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/recenteqsus/Maps/US2/36.38.-106.-104_eqs.php
Astrodem and aprilius – me too, me too. Whew!
“Once in a while you can get shown the light, in the strangest of places if you look at it right.”
..I’m learning to open up to others.
I appreciate this community, thank you Eric.
Thank you all.
Here is Scarlet Begonias
Love, and Peace..
Jere
..Scarlet Begonias.. Great tune!
“sometimes you find the light in the strangest of places if you look at it right.” – Grateful Dead
Interesting, I’ve had a similar experience in the past week or so. Also have a “chart lit up like a Christmas Tree”. Mine has come as a gradual realization how unconscious choices compel me to do certain things, and the idea that I have a choice in how I live my life. I’ve also felt that art, music, and nature really help me to keep balanced.
Eric,
I just had a rather stunning, even breathtaking shift in self-perception and identity. Who knows if it will last, or if it’s truly authentic: I hope so because it feels right. I took a look at my chart for today and it’s lit up like a Christmas tree with conjunctions and oppositions from transiting planets. I also couldn’t help but notice that this shift in my sense of identity happened on the same day as the earthquake. This shift feels like something that’s been a long time in the making, and the mundane trigger was a trip to Georgetown Optical to get some new eyeglasses. Now that I’ve made the shift, it’s harder to describe what I shifted from than what I shifted too. Before it felt like my identity centered around being an agent of political change. Now it feels like I just became a charter member of the creative class — and the realm of politics and ideas and language just happen to be my canvass. Everything that I was and believed and wanted before is all still there, but it’s like there’s now room for all these huge other parts of my life that didn’t really fit into the picture. I’m a little irritated that this shift happened in the context of a quasi-consumerist transaction. But I am also well aware of the delightful poignancy of a perceptual shift happening in the context of buying eyeglasses. Honestly I could spend days walking you through the synchronicities and connections that make all of this feel like it makes sense, but for now I’ll stop right there. I just thought you should know about this. The earth shifted, and apparently so did I.
— Astrodem