Typhoon Haiyan

I am sure that you are all praying for the people that perished in the Philippines and for those left behind trying to survive the aftermath. Thank goodness the initial estimate of 10,000 deaths was incorrect. 673,000 people have been displaced and 13,000,000 affected, with the death toll currently estimated at 2,850.

In my recent blog, I listed 12 things that we should know about eclipses. The November 3rd eclipse occurred in a challenging location of the Philippine’s chart forming an ominous square aspect to the nation’s planet of death (Pluto) in the house of disappointments. The transiting big boys (Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto) were also lined up in very challenging formations within the Philippines’ chart.

A country’s astrological Ascendant rules its inhabitants’ well-being and health. As the Philippines’ ascendant is Virgo, it’s ruler is Mercury. In terms of underlying dynamics, the Philippines has a challenging progressed aspect (underlying condition) between Mercury and the problematic major malefic Saturn. This tough progression was triggered on November 7th by a number of transiting planets with the eclipse as a precursor just a few days earlier. Geographically, the eclipse actually occurred over central Africa, so we can expect significant events in that region, but any eclipse appears in all nations’ charts.

We shouldn’t be overly surprised as the eclipse involved the highly unfortunate Saturn as well as Mercury (ruling wind) in the deep water sign Scorpio. This was the worst storm known to have afflicted our planet. Haiyan brought sustained winds of 235 km/h with gusts of 275km/h and waves as high as 15 feet. This hurricane was 30% wider than the largest hurricane to ever hit the Atlantic. Katrina extended 400 miles wide at one point. Sandy extended 940 miles. Haiyan? An unbelievable 1,200 miles as it approached the Philippines. We do not have instruments capable of measuring the extent of this force.

I do not believe that events occur in isolation. In other words, I do not believe that the consciousness of our home planet is dissociated from ours. The earth is our mother, yet we continue to rape, pillage, and ignore her needs in our seemingly never ending greed for more. Perhaps the economic collapse of 2008 was indicating that we should slow down? We also continue to ignore the disgraceful disparities in wealth of different peoples around the world. This latest catastrophe serves as a screaming reminder that we are seriously out of kilter, but what will it take for us to do something meaningful about it?