In a September 9th
Op-Ed article in the New York Times, economist
Thomas Friedman contended that three large forces will determine the quality of
life on this planet for the foreseeable future: Mother Nature—a term he uses to encompass environmental destruction
and population pressures; Technology
(especially its increasing power); and the Global
Market. Noting that these forces are now operating in “simultaneous, rapid
acceleration,” he predicts that they will force continued, massive dislocations
and produce the “meltdown of an increasing number of states all at the same
time in a globalized world.” We’ve certainly been seeing these meltdowns with Europe’s
migration crisis and the bombings in Syria and elsewhere, but we tend to be
surprised when more local happenings show how vulnerable we are to these “Big
Three” forces.
In fact, one recent
event—the tragic loss of the cargo ship SS
El Faro while at sea near the
Bahamas, shows how astrologically, time
and place are sometimes everything, and we’re just along for the ride. Reportedly, the ship was
carrying 391 shipping containers and over 290 vehicles, along with its crew of
33 individuals. This ill-fated ship can be seen as a shocking embodiment of the
“Big Three” forces, in fact—it was a commercial shipping venture (global
market); dependent upon information technology (it took a calculated risk
embarking just 6 hours before Joaquin was upgraded from a tropical storm to a
hurricane) and mechanics (its propulsion technology reportedly failed); and it was at the mercy of natural
forces that had no mercy to give.
The chart for
the final communication documented between the SS El Faro and Marine
Traffic at 4:01 a.m. on October 1, under Category 4 hurricane conditions
follows. The energies of the “Blood” Lunar Eclipse of the prior weekend are
still active here, of course, but keeping that in mind, let’s consider the
chart on its own terms. Please note that the chart is cast for the exact
coordinates cited in the report, even though my software insisted I fill the
location field with a nearby town):
Amazingly, Venus,
Mars, the Moon, Saturn and Neptune are all angular in this chart—Venus and Mars
straddle the late Leo Ascendant; the Moon conjoins the Taurus MC, squaring
Venus and widely opposing Saturn at the IC. Neptune, square Saturn, forms a
wide (9+ deg.) conjunction with the Aquarius Descendant and thus opposes the
Ascendant. This was truly a tragic case of being in the wrong place at the
wrong time!
Neptune is of
particular interest, of course, for ships that disappear at sea. Not
surprisingly, it forms a tight inconjunct with the Sun (representing the “native,”
or in this case, the ship and its captain) and retrograde Mercury, which may
have added to the stress by causing technology problems on the ship. Uranus
(disposing the Aquarius Descendent) semi-sextiles Chiron (Pisces) and trines
Venus, which in turn, disposes the chart’s Sun and Mercury. These aspects,
along with Uranus’ long-standing square with Pluto, surely added to the pain
and turmoil of the event.
Neptune’s assault
on the angles of this chart from the 7th house of “enemies” (the
hurricane and the sea) is magnified by its snug oppositions to 1st
house Mars and Jupiter (conjunct in their own right in Virgo). Mars, Saturn and
Neptune thus form a powerful (malefic, even) mutable T-square, and Saturn’s
pull from the 4th house of “endings” reflects the dreadful loss of
33 crew members that resulted.
Planetary dynamics
similar to what we’ve seen in the SS El
Faro tragedy were active in the South Carolina flooding, of course, as that
event unfolded between October 1-4. Thankfully, there were fewer lives lost,
but the scale of the disaster proved to be massive, nonetheless.
We don’t have to
search too hard to find Nature in an astrological chart: Nature is embedded in
a chart via the elements, the Zodiac signs and seasons, and in the physical forces
represented by each planet (i.e., expansion, contraction, balance, disruption,
etc.). With the South Carolina chart below, we can see that four key points
fall in earth signs: the Moon (timed for 10/1, noon) in Taurus; Mars-Jupiter (conjunct) in Virgo; Pluto in Capricorn. Mars and Jupiter
trine Pluto and oppose watery Neptune
in Pisces, facilitating a massive-scale disaster involving water. In fact, rain
accumulation has broken all records—according to Wikipedia, “Some
areas of the state have seen rainfall equivalent to a 1-in-1000 year event.”
Also reflecting
the potent earth and water energies represented, eight or more dams (earthen
constructions) were reportedly breached by the mounting flood waters
(Jupiter-Neptune). Pisces (the sign of Neptune’s greatest strength) has no
respect for boundaries and borders—an important point when we’re trying to
contain (Saturn) environmental impacts and
the resulting human desperation. We forget at our peril that Neptune—often characterized as spiritual, dreamy,
creative, artistic or other-worldly—is also
a strictly impersonal energy that could not care less what happens to
individual humans. Neptune—along with Pluto—function on that detached level that
transcends such worldly cares; in fact, the ancients understood perfectly that
these two were not merciful gods, and
that humans serve them, not the other way
around! (a more humble perspective we might want to adopt with the environment, going
forward).
Mars’ and
Saturn’s “malefic” reputations also hold true in this chart, as their square
here (Virgo to Sagittarius) reflects (as it did with the SS El Faro) the death toll, loss, destruction and dislocation
inflicted upon South Carolinians. Unfortunately, with a noon chart cast for the
emergency declaration, we can’t say much about chart angles, but it’s a good
bet that one or both of the malefics were angular during the course of the
storm.
A key takeaway here
is the role nature and the environment is playing in the growing unrest and
disorder we’re seeing around the globe and in our own back yards. Saturn and
Neptune are entering their last-quarter, waning square phase (Sagittarius to
Pisces), perhaps suggesting that we have the duration of this final quarter
(the new cycle launches in 2/2026 at 0°Aries) to get our
environmental “ducks in a row.” More thoughts on this powerful Saturn-Neptune
cycle to come!
