The Ecuador earthquake

On April 16, 2016 at 18:58 ECT, an earthquake occurred in Ecuador. The earthquake epicenter was located  approximately 27 km from the towns of Muisne and Pedernales in a sparsely populated part of the country and 170 km from the capital Quito. The earthquake had a magnitude of 7.8. Widespread damage was caused, with structures hundreds of kilometres from the epicenter collapsing. At least 587 people were killed and at least 8,340 others were injured in the earthquake.It was the worst natural disaster to hit Ecuador since the 1949 Ambato earthquake.

 

The earthquake chart

The Moon is moving away from the Sun and applying to Mars, Lord of the Horoscope in Scorpio. Moreover the Moon is aspected in mundo by a dexter square of Mars. Altair, star of nature of Mars and Jupiter is rising. The benefics are debilitated and so they are not helpful: Venus cadent in exile in Aries; Jupiter in exile in Virgo. The malefics are conjuncted in Sagittarius and they square in mundo the Lot of Fortune. The Lot of Fortune is opposed by her lord Jupiter. Mars is stationary with Antares, the violent star in the heart of Scorpio.

The preceding syzygy

The Luminaries are in Aries in the bound of Mercury at the horoscope, expected by a trine of Saturn and Mars. Saturn trines the Luminaries also in mundo. Mercury is doing the heliacal evening rising in the first house. The Moon is applying to Mars.So we can say that both Mars and Mercury  have the rulership over the syzygy. Mars is with Antares. Mars and Saturn are in a very close parallel of declination. Let’s note that the benefics are cadent and in exile.

The root cause: the Lunar eclipse on 27 September 2015

The lunar eclipse occurred on 27th of September 2015 was visible from Ecuador. The eclipse started at 20.07 and ended at 23.27. Therefore the effect should have lasted for 3 month and 10 days. Since the syzygy occurred in the XI place the effects will start in the first fours month after the eclipse. We can estimate that the effects have to start after about four month after the eclipse, that is at the end of January 2016, as the Moon is almost on the cusp of the XI house. So the effect were to be expected between February 2016 and the middle of April. The intensification of the effect should have been around the end of February.

The earthquake didn’t occur around the end of February but definitely occurred in the temporal window influenced by the eclipse according to the Ptolemaic doctrine.

From the lunar eclipse chart we see that the Moon is separating from Saturn which is on the occidental horizon. Saturn has no dignity over the Moon place but has dignity over the preceding angle that is the MC in Aquarius.  So we can conclude that Saturn is the ruler of the eclipse in Ecuador. Let’s note that Mars is at the IC and aspects Saturn by a dexter square, that is, making an epidekateia on Saturn. This very powerful aspect is even more effective since it occurred over the angles.

Let’s note that the Pleiades are rising on the eastern horizon. Ptolemy says:

The sign of Taurus as a whole is indicative of both temperatures and is somewhat hot; but taken part by part, its leading portion, particularly near the Pleiades, is marked by earthquakes, winds, and mists

About the moment when the event could probably occur, Ptolemy says:

The beginnings of the particular abatements and intensifications of the event we deduced from the conjunctions which take place in the meantime, if they occur in the significant regions or the regions in some aspect to them, and also from the other movements of the planets, if those that effect the predicted event are either rising or setting or stationary or at evening rising, and are at the same time in some aspect to the zodiacal signs that hold the cause; for planets when they are rising or stationary produce intensifications in the events, but when setting, and under the rays of the sun, or advancing at evening, they bring about an abatement.

As we can see from the chart for the Ecuador Earthquake at that moment Mars was making its first station.

If instead we look at the syzygy preceding the event we find that Mars trines the place of the Moon in the lunar eclipse. Let’s take a look to the preventive lunation before the earth quake. We see that the Sun is over the Moon place during the eclipse and Mars is exactly aspecting the Moon of the eclipse.

Further considerations

I have already written an article about that lunar eclipse: God save the Queen. In that article I supposed that the eclipse should effect the UK and London since, according to Ptolemaic astrological geography, the northern Europe is under the influence of Aries where the Moon was during the eclipse. Verily almost the same astrological configuration occurred for Paris but I preferred London because during the eclipse Mars was in conjunction with the star Regulus, the ‘little king’ and UK is a monarchy unlike France. Those articles show how difficult is to predict events especially concerning where they will go to happen. Obviously Ecuador is not mentioned by Ptolemy in his astrological geography and so we don’t know which sign belong to, even if some conjectures could be done.  Moreover an eclipse can be a sign of multiple events in different parts of earth. The effect of that eclipse in UK (or France) should be expected later, about the next July and August. In order to verify if some effects will show up in UK we have to wait few more months. We have already seen that Cameron, the prime minister, was questioned  and weakened because of the recent scandal about the Panama Papers. In the next months UK will face important events as the EU referendum and the Queen’s birthday celebrations.

Mad as a March Hare

The March Hare will be much the most interesting, and perhaps as this is May it won’t be raving mad – at least not so mad as it was in March.  Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland

 

The first Full Moon after the Spring Equinox is coming renewing the promise of a new beginning. In many cultures around the world the Moon is associated with hares and rabbits as in the Chinese, Korean and Japanese folklore and in the Aztec mythology. Also in European mythology the hare, which in march is running madly for the beginning of the breeding season, is sacred to Aphrodite.

This time the Full Moon after Equinox is also a lunar eclipse. But unfortunately Venus will not be the eclipse ruler, as we will see, even if the Moon is in Libra, the sign of Venus. The Moon as mad as a march hare will shadow her true face and will make difficult to judge her effects.

Since the Moon is in Libra,  Saturn or Venus, should be the ruler. But neither Venus nor Saturn are aspecting the Moon which is applying to Mercury. Actually Saturn is the almuten of the Moon because it rules the Moon by exaltation, triplicity by day and terms. Moreover Saturn is doing the first station. So we can judge that Saturn and secondly Mercury rule the syzygy.

Saturn is stationary

 

Ptolemy says:

Saturn, when he gains sole dominance, is in general the cause of destruction by cold, and in particular, when the event concerns men, causes long illnesses, consumptions, withering, disturbances caused by fluids, rheumatisms, and quartan fevers, exile, poverty, imprisonment, mourning, fears, and deaths, especially among those advanced in age. He is usually significant with regard to those dumb animals that are of use to man, and brings about scarcity of them, and the bodily destruction by disease of such as exist, so that the men who use them are similarly affected and perish. With regard to weather, he causes fearful cold, freezing, misty, and pestilential; corruption of the air, clouds, and gloom; furthermore, multitudes of snowstorms, not beneficial but destructive, from which are produced the reptiles harmful to man. As for the rivers and seas, in general he causes storms, the wreck of fleets, disastrous voyages, and the scarcity and death of fish, and in particular the high and ebb tides of the seas and in rivers excessive floods and pollution of their waters. As for the crops of the earth, he brings about want, scarcity, and loss, especially of those grown for necessary uses, either through worms or locusts or floods or cloud-burst or hail or the like, so that famine and the destruction of men thereby result.

Since the eclipse will occur in the constellation of Virgo the events will concerns men  and because it will be in the equinoctial sign of Libra the weather and harvests.

During the lunar eclipse the Moon will be in the sign of Libra. Libra, as  Ptolemy says, has rulership over the north east part of Asia as China.

Let’s now look at some notable charts in different locations. Firstly, according to Ptolemy, in the region in the north east of Asia.

The lunar eclipse over Lhasa

The eclipse is already ongoing at sunset and it will last for 1 hour and 50 minutes. Therefore, since the eclipse occurs on the eastern horizon, the effects will start to show up in the first the four months after the eclipse, they will last about two months and they will more intense in the first twenty days.

The lunar eclipse over Guadalajara

The eclipse in Guadalajara is notable because Saturn, the ruler, is at the MC. We see also that Venus is rising but Saturn aspect her with a right square.

The eclipse will last for 3 hour and 20 minutes. Therefore, since the eclipse occurs close the western horizon, the effects will start to show up after eight months after the eclipse, they will last about three months and a half and they will more intense in the last month.