ASTROLOGICAL TRANSCENDENCE OF DISASTERS
by Lorna Houston
Copyright © 2008 All Rights Reserved

INTRODUCTION: The Personal Security Report which I wrote for Cosmic Patterns is about how to protect the individual from crime. However, we also need to feel secure from more widespread disasters, which affect more than one individual at a time. The same principles which are described in the Introduction to the Personal Security Report are all the more important for us to apply on a group level, for our common safety and security. For example, we can apply our willpower as a group and create a synergistic effect. We can empower ourselves and be creative. We can make our own best choices for ourselves in a participatory democracy. As long as we are in touch with our strengths, we can control our own destiny. We can be aware of any specific pitfalls or risks which could affect us, and direct our energy towards removing these problems - often well in advance of any possible danger. Whether a potential disaster is described as "natural" or "man-made", we can go beyond any fear to experience our own empowerment. Think of how Jesus calmed the storm when he and the disciples were out in the boat. Think of how God put a rainbow in the sky as a covenant with the world - a promise that a flood would never again destroy all living beings. As long as we lift our awareness above the false beliefs and negative thoughts of the material plane, we can bring in higher, transcendental thoughts to save ourselves from any thought of disaster or death. There are many ways to do this: prayer, meditation, higher intelligence, advance emergency preparations, reaching out to each other, and thinking positive thoughts which lift us right out of the situation. I am reminded of a friend who was in the Florida Keys during a hurricane when he was young. They boarded up the house and had a "hurricane party". He remembers it as a positive experience. A Sagittarian with a naturally positive outlook, he says that "fear" just stands for "false evidence appearing real". The astrological indicators of possible disasters can be transiting aspects. For example, a Mars-Uranus aspect might be likely to predict the sudden, high winds of a hurricane or tornado. For groups of people, transits to their common, natal planets can be a factor. For example, if the Sun is conjunct everyone in the group's natal Pluto, because they are all of similar age, they will all be confronting life-or-death questions during the same, few days. In addition, heliocentric planetary positions, not just geocentric, are important to take into account because they express the spontaneous, primal type of energy of the origins of our solar system, and these energies need to be channeled carefully for their safe and peaceful expression. CLASSIFICATION OF DISASTERS Besides classifying disasters as "natural" or "man-made", we can also classify them as to the four astrological elements of fire, earth, air and water. Here are some examples: Too much of the fire element: fires, heat-waves Too little fire: freezing Too much of the earth element: mudslides, earthquakes Too little earth: erosion and famine Too much of the air element: tornadoes, hurricanes Too little air: suffocation Too much of the water element: flooding, tsunamis, drownings Too little water: dehydration, wilting of crops Sometimes elements can combine to form a particular type of disaster. For example, fire and earth could combine by heating up the magma below the earth's surface to cause a volcanic eruption. Or, air and water could combine to make high waves. The solution to stop various types of disasters would be to create a balance between the different elements, so that there is not too much or too little of something. For example, water could be put on a fire, or sand (earth) could be put in the way to stop a flood. TYPES OF DISASTERS ASSOCIATED WITH SPECIFIC, ASTROLOGICAL ASPECTS If you know what likelihoods to expect, you are far better prepared to prevent them, to go away from the danger area, or to decide how you are going to stay and fight whatever it is. The following is a list of aspect combinations and the types of disasters which, in a worst-case scenario, they could indicate: Note: Some transits are far more indicative of disasters than others. For example, a Moon-Mercury combination is very innocuous compared to a Mars-Pluto aspect. Still, any event is the result of all of the factors present and a brief Moon or Mercury transit to another planet can act as the "trigger" which sets off the whole reaction. The Ascendant is also a frequent "trigger". Sun-Moon - (hot liquid a factor) Sun-Mercury - (possible trigger only) Sun-Venus - (possible trigger only) Sun-Mars - strong fire Sun-Jupiter - big fire with a lot of heat Sun-Saturn - long-lasting, persistent fire Sun-Uranus - explosion and fire or group of fires, a fire from lightning Sun-Neptune -chemical fire Sun-Pluto - atomic reaction or fire with fatalities or massive fire Moon-Mercury - (possible trigger only) Moon-Venus - (possible trigger only) Moon-Mars - house fire Moon-Jupiter - large house fire Moon-Saturn - house freezing cold Moon -Uranus - lightning hitting house Moon-Neptune - poor indoor air quality, toxins Moon-Pluto - destruction of homes and food, home flooded, attack or war to defend homeland Mercury-Venus - (possible trigger only) Mercury-Mars - (static interfering with communication) Mercury-Jupiter - (long-distance communication or transportation affected) Mercury-Saturn - block of highway or railroad Mercury-Uranus - (telephones or computers affected) Mercury-Neptune - (chemicals on trains or trucks involved) Mercury-Pluto - destruction of communication or transportation lines Venus-Mars - looting or victimizing the vulnerable e.g. during a disaster Venus-Jupiter - large amount of earth, such as a mudslide Venus-Saturn - heavy weights e.g. confinement by avalanche or mudslide Venus-Uranus - earthquake, perhaps shaking buildings Venus-Neptune - contaminated earth Venus-Pluto - environmental destruction Mars-Jupiter - large fire with high flames Mars-Saturn - (vitality lessened by the cold) Mars-Uranus - hurricane or tornado, destructive winds Mars-Neptune - fire involving chemicals Mars-Pluto - small event leading to a mass effect, such as the lighting of one match causing an explosion Jupiter-Saturn - fire in the north or frost in the south Jupiter-Uranus - sudden, large fire and explosion; rebellion because of religion Jupiter-Neptune - large flood of a lake or sea Jupiter-Pluto - large flood, especially of ocean or river; tsumani; large, fatal fire. Attack by religious extremists. Saturn-Uranus - particulate in the air Saturn-Neptune - dark, lingering pollution cloud Saturn-Pluto - extreme cold or freezing, loss of morale and extreme depression of many Uranus-Neptune - sudden chemical leak Uranus-Pluto - sudden, massive explosion, deaths from wind, tornadoes, hurricane. Deadly attack by rebels or terrorist group. Neptune-Pluto - toxic chemical causing deaths, extreme pollution levels. Please feel free to add your own examples to the above list. There are other types of possible disasters. You may live in a part of the world where you are familiar with ones we do not experience where I live in Toronto, such as monsoons, volcanoes, or forest fires. Your insights are important to the world's understanding of the totality of disasters and how to prevent them. The above list is in no way intended to suggest that every time that one of these aspects occurs, there is anything to be afraid of. Disasters occur only when a lot of things go wrong at once, and usually when several of the above indicators all come together in a very short time. Even then, they are usually prevented, because of the vast body of human knowledge, faith, and preventive measures which are already in place from the centuries of past, human experience. Other possible indicators, which could be added to the above list, include aspect patterns such as yods, T-squares, chains of planets, and kites. There are also eclipses and meteor showers. Note that aspects between the Sun and outer planets, or between two outer planets, are the most powerful in predicting the risk of disasters, especially if several such aspects occur within a short time. THE BENEFITS OF PREVENTING DISASTERS BEFORE THEY HAPPEN l) You and your loved ones can be protected from injuries or death. 2) Emergency workers can be saved from having to go into dangerous situations. 3) Human energy wasted on anxiety and grief can be freed up for much happier pursuits. 4) The planet can be healed and raised to a higher, spiritual level through the mass empowerment of happy citizens. 5) Property losses can be prevented. 6) The vast financial costs of disasters can be averted, such as the costs of emergency operations and equipment, insurance claims, lawsuits etc. 7) Emergency planning can be more effectively done by knowing ahead of time when the busy times are likely to be and what types of risks are to be avoided. CASE EXAMPLE: A LARGE PROPANE EXPLOSION August 10, 2008 at 3:45 a.m. (E.D.T.) in Toronto, Canada WHAT OCCURRED There was a fire and sudden, large explosion at a propane facility in the northwest part of the city at 3:45 a.m. A series of several more explosions followed until about 4:00 a.m. The smoke was so thick that the main east-west highway for the city had to be closed for hours. Residents were jarred from their sleep; windows were broken; parts of buildings were structurally damaged; and flying debris was found blocks away. More than 12,000 residents had to be evacuated from their homes because a fire continued to burn near another propane tank. A firefighter collapsed at the fire and died in hospital. An employee of the company was missing and thought to have died. An older person subsequently died of a heart attack. Other than that, due to an outstanding job done by emergency workers, there were no other deaths nor serious injuries. Residents could not return to their houses for days because of a concern about asbestos pieces and dust found on streets and lawns. The city had 120 workers clean the streets and yards. There are large insurance claims, class-action lawsuits, and distrust of governments for allowing a propane facility in a residential neighborhood. WHAT THE ASTROLOGICAL INDICATORS WERE The following indicators seem relevant: --A heliocentric Jupiter-Uranus sextile pointing towards the Sun in a yod --The South Node conjunct the Sun --A chain of planets in Leo after the Sun in the chart --A Mars-Pluto square --Sun opposition Neptune --Moon in sidereal Scorpio --Mars quincunx Neptune --Mars opposition Uranus --Sun sextile heliocentric Mars --An upcoming eclipse --The Perseid meteor showers WHAT CAN BE LEARNED ASTROLOGICALLY FROM THIS EVENT l) There was a very large number of unusual, strong indicators which happened to come together at the same time. This situation would have been very predictable to anyone monitoring the astrological transits. 2) Empirical studies could be done of other propane explosions, to determine if the same indicators were present. For example, the hypotheses could be that they occur more often than chance when there is a heliocentric Jupiter-Uranus aspect, or a Mars-Pluto aspect, or a yod etc. I know of one other, large propane explosion, which occurred on August 6, 1962 at Maple, Ontario (a few miles north of Toronto). The time was in the middle of the night, I recall, because my parents told me the next day that the sky had all lit up and turned pink. (Maple is five miles south of where we then lived.) In any case, the exact time would mostly just identify the "triggers" and not the main, outer aspects, which would still be obtainable from just the date. In that explosion, one man was killed and others injured. Several homes were destroyed and several more had to be evacuated. In other words, the events were quite similar to the more recent explosion. The main astrological indicators of it were: --a wide heliocentric Uranus-Pluto conjunction, opposition retrograde Jupiter in sidereal Aquarius --the annual Perseid meteor showers --Sun square Neptune --Neptune square the Lunar Nodes --heliocentric Mars in Aries So, the main astrological indicators were similar in both cases. 3) The fact that an unusually large number of potentially volatile indicators was present would point to the value of having emergency personnel know this, in order to be particularly prepared at such times and to have enough workers on duty. For example, the firefighter who died was just beginning his vacation but came into work in response to the unexpected call; vacations could be scheduled for less busy times. 4) Meteor showers may be an important indicator. The same words which are used in the astronomy books in reference to meteor showers, "fireball", "debris", and "dust", were used in the media accounts of the asbestos. Meteor showers, when combined with Sun, Jupiter and Uranus aspects, may be especially important. EXERCISES TO TEST YOUR ASTROLOGICAL KNOWLEDGE You are now familiar with the astrological indicators and have seen a practical example of how they can be applied. You are now ready to test your knowledge. Below are two dates of disasters which happened in the past. See if you can determine what happened and how the disasters could have been averted. (The answers are at the end of this section. Don't peak until you have done your best to figure out the answers yourself.) l) October 15, 1954 For the time, use 12:00 noon (E.S.T.). Toronto, Canada In this disaster, 81 people died. How did they die and what, if it had been done ahead of time, would have prevented these deaths? 2) April 26, l986 1:24 a.m. (location not named) In this disaster, a large number died and others had their health seriously affected. What happened, and how could it have been prevented? This third example is a date in the future: 3) June 24, 2012 12:00 noon Your city or town What might happen on this date, and what preparations can be made in advance to ensure a happy, peaceful outcome? ANSWERS TO THE "EXERCISES TO TEST YOUR ASTROLOGICAL KNOWLEDGE" 1) October 15, 1954 was the date of Hurricane Hazel. It blew right over the Appalachian Mountains to Toronto, even though most hurricanes from Florida are stopped by these mountains. The 81 people drowned in the Humber River because their houses had been built on what is called a "flood plane". When the river overflowed from the heavy rains, the houses which were too near the river were washed downstream. (Note how Neptune is at the pivotal point of a T-square involving outer planets.) Afterwards, laws were passed to prevent the construction of houses on flood planes. The Toronto and Region Conservation Authority was formed to oversee this. However, astrology and better foresight would have prevented the deaths before, rather than after, the tragedy. The United States more recently had Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans, and the houses which were built on too low land were flooded. Cities were often built at the mouths of rivers throughout the world as ports - to get saleable goods from inland out to the ships and to bring supplies in and up the rivers. However, the land at the mouth of a river is often unstable silt and sand which has been washed down the river. The Bible says to build on the rock and not on the sand. Examples of cities at the mouths of rivers are New York City, Shanghai, and Hong Kong. Food for thought: How can they be helped and saved in advance from any risk? 2) April 26, l986 was the nuclear disaster in Chernobyl, Ukraine. It involved a fire in a nuclear reactor and subsequent breach of containment of nuclear radiation, which spread over a large area of land and affected thousands of people. Note the exactness of the Sun-Pluto opposition. It was found, after the fact, that the proper safety measures had not been observed at the Chernobyl nuclear plant. However, what kept the other reactors from catching fire too and causing a much larger disaster was the disciplined and calm leadership of Yuri Andreyev, who directed the dropping of sand on the other reactors from above by helicopter. Each worker could only be above the reactors for a few seconds, so as not to be exposed to too much radiation. They successfully stopped the other reactors from catching fire. What can be learned from this for the future is that it was the earth element (sand) which was effective in preventing a larger nuclear disaster. In an interview (on CBC radio) years later, Mr. Andreyev said that he had signed a paper when he joined the army to always do his duty. He was still affected by the radiation, but he said "I saved the world". I would guess that his chart has a strong Saturn-Pluto influence. 3) June 24, 2012 has not happened yet, but note the exactness of the Uranus-Pluto square. Note also the Sun-Uranus square and the Sun-Pluto opposition. Note the aspects to the Nodes of the Moon. This date, and the dates around it, deserve careful, advance planning.. Some of the considerations may be fire safety, nuclear safety, and prevention of explosions. The next section "The Transcendental Perspective" should be helpful in this light. THE TRANSCENDENTAL PERSPECTIVE In this world, our perception of the Divine can become clouded by the amount of attachment to materialism, even to the point where it appears as if the perversion, the straying from truth, is what is real. However, the truth is always there and if we stop to pray or meditate, even for a few minutes, we can always find the real truth again. Sometimes we even need to deny what our senses are showing us, in order to remember that our senses are not our highest source of understanding. Our senses just show us what is going on in the material world, not how the world was created, nor what our role is in the divine plan. The truth is that we were created in God's image, and that we are meant to rise above the world's problems and do godly things. In this state of awareness, the truth is peace, safety, perfection, life, and compassion. As long as we have a clear perception of this, we can do God's work and be a channel for divine miracles. Everyone has a particular mission in life. As astrologers, our mission often has to do with the planet Uranus - seeing the world objectively from the distant perspective of the stars and, thereby, rising above the day-to-day problems and bringing in the Light to guide others. If we can see the patterns to disasters, we can uplift others and show them that disasters do not have to happen. Deaths do not have to happen. People just think they do, because they are basing their reality on the past, rather than on a detached, objective evaluation of the infinite, future possibilities. Deaths just happen to people who believe in death. So, believe in life and transcend death. Those whose response to being in a situation of danger is to pray, meditate, or think positively are doing the best thing they can do. They are bringing in a new perception of the situation they are in. They can, therefore, think and act in a way which will actually uplift and transform the situation. They will change it from being a perversion of truth to a resolved problem. They will be the people who will survive a disaster and, if everyone operates from the higher plane of awareness, everyone will survive. Start out with this belief; do not just try to create it afterwards by closing the barn door after the horse has already run out. Now you have the chance, so do everything you can to create a positive, safe future. As you go along, use your Cosmic Patterns Personal Security Report to project your awareness into the future - on the broader scale - so that you will be safe and secure not only from crimes against the individual, but also from disasters. Be assured that you can rise above mass karma to be an inspired leader in the solution. INTERNATIONAL APPEAL FOR ASTROLOGER-VOLUNTEERS FOR DISASTER TRANSCENDENCE There are many projects which can be undertaken to use astrology to prevent and transcend disasters. If you feel that you have a talent for any of the following, or that it is your mission to carry out any of these initiatives, then, by all means, go ahead and be the person who will achieve it for the world. Or, you may feel inspired to use a different approach of your own. This article is intended as a catalyst, because it will take the efforts of many persons cooperating together to solve the problems of disasters for once and for all. Here are some suggestions: l) Create an open forum-style data bank on the Internet, for astrologers and others to enter the dates, times and places of past disasters and future dates of concern, along with information and comments. There could also be an on-line discussion as to which astrological indicators are the best to pre-identify risks of disasters and what are the best astrological antidotes for them. 2) Conduct and publish empirical studies of specific types of past disasters, with enough data to show correlations between astrological phenomena and these events. 3) Create an international think-tank for innovative ideas as to how to prevent disasters, based on astrological knowledge and practical application. 4) Establish prayer or meditation groups to raise the planet's vibration to a higher, spiritual level, so that the material level on which disasters are created can be transcended, for now and forever more. 5) Create an International Astrological Centre for Disaster Transcendence. 6) Establish a website where anyone can add positive ideas, philosophies, and personal stories regarding how to transcend disasters. 7) Establish harmony and synergistic cooperation with the traditional, non-astrological emergency planners, for the common good. If you initiate any of these tasks, you may wish to establish a computer link with this article, so that interested persons can contact each other. Together we can save the world!