Earthquake Prediction: What are the limits?

I wrote this a month ago, but decided not to publish while the event was so recent. The questions asked below could equally be applied to the recent earthquake in Chile. This too I would prefer to look at closer at a later date.

The recent earthquake in Haiti has had me examining the charts and has raised many questions.

• Could the earthquake have been predicted? And under what circumstances?
• By whom and with which charts?
• If an astrologer had seen the potential danger could he have been able to help?
• Would he have been believed? And if so could he have prevented panic?

Before looking at the charts I would like to tackle these questions and try to answer them.

• Theoretically yes. But in practice it would be highly unlikely. The main problem is that no one person can digest all of the mundane charts for every location for all hours of the day. That would require omnipotence. A local astrologer might indeed look at all of the relevant mundane charts and see a potential and he might even be able to narrow down the more crucial time period but I don’t think it likely that he would be able to narrow down the time frame to the exact minute.
• A local astrologer is the best candidate or any astrologer who for whatever reason chooses a locality to study. Which charts are relevant? Well there are a whole slough of them. There are ingress charts, moon phase charts, solar and lunar eclipse charts. All calculated for the latitude and longitude of the locality. The question of a solar eclipse casting its shadow beforehand is one I would like to discuss further.
• That is the crux of the problem. Probably seismologists are faced with the same question. The best help is to emphasize the prevention of unwanted damage. In an earthquake region this means that buildings should be planned for just the eventuality of an earthquake, but in very poor regions of the world to what extent can this be done? So added to the ethical questions is a political one. What role does foreign aid have? Should it build up an economy or an infrastructure?
• Again this question is also likely faced by the seismologist. Can exact times really be predicted or must one be content with recording events and then trying to understand them in the hope of eventually, in an unseen future, to have an exact predictive method. And when one has an exact method, and is believed, how does one prevent panic? That is entirely dependant on how critical information is received and treated and by whom- in this case a governmental institution is likely. Who is party to the prediction and who is able to act on it? In this case again a political decision as a whole region is affected.

Here is the chart for Port-au-Prince at the time of the earthquake:

Earthquake:Port-au-Prince, Haiti, 12.01.2010, 9:53:10pm EST

Most notable is Uranus on the descendant and Moon close to the IC. The Moon, Pluto and Mercury are also in the 4th house. The antiscion of Mercury Lord 1 is conjunct the IC. If we look at the midpoints we find Jupiter/Neptune at the midpoint of Moon/Uranus. Mars also on the midpoint of Mercury/Uranus. The Moon is in opposition to the IC of the Solar Eclipse of July 2009.

If we look at some of the mundane charts, Capricorn Ingress, previous solar and lunar eclipse, can we see earthquake potential? Could a local astrologer who follows the charts have seen the possibility? Let us look at a few factors:

Solar Eclipse July 22, 2009 ASC/DESC ( 25 Pisces/Virgo). Uranus conjunct Asc 26 Pisces; MC/IC (26 Sagittarius/Gemini)

Capricorn Ingress 21 Dec, 2009 ASC/DESC (18 Aries/Libra). MC/IC (13 Capricorn/Cancer) Mercury wide conjunction to MC (19 Capricorn)

Lunar Eclipse 31 Dec ,2009 ASC/DESC (25 Taurus/Scorpio). MC/IC (13 Aquarius/Leo) Mars near IC (18 Leo).

If we take into account the planetary positions during the inception of Haiti as an independent state (Jan. 1, 1804 Gonaives Haiti) then there might be call for more acute attention, particularly considering the recent Saturn return at 3*27 Libra. There is also a Pluto/Mars conjunction at 3* Leo if you want to bring Pluto into the picture. The predominance of Uranus, Mercury and Mars in the above three mundane charts should have a local astrologer looking for more detail. That means looking at more than one solar eclipse and looking at the moon phase charts for the period as well as ingresses of Mars and Mercury. I however don’t think that anyone could have predicted the destruction of this earthquake on the three charts alone. The earthquake chart of course provides the detailed information.

“Persian Nativities” and Sect

I recently received my copy of “Persian Nativities” translated and edited by Ben Dykes. Now this article isn’t quite a review as I have just finished reading the introduction and am partway into the Book of Aristotle. I can only speak of a first impression.

It is always refreshing to read a translation where the translator actually thinks in detail about the content and presentation of his translation and where the Introduction ( of course you read the introduction, don’t you?) already provides a few seminal ideas. This is the case here. In section 6 of the Introduction Ben Dykes speaks of the concept of  ‘sect and being “at rest.” ‘ I would like to discuss this a little as I think it is an exciting idea.

A planet in its own sect is referred to by Hugo of Santalla, who translated the Arabic text into Latin, as having quies and quietus, in other words as being at rest or restful, as Ben Dykes points out. How may we visualize this and how may it help to understand sect qualitatively? This is the image that came before my minds eye, actually there were two, but first things first. If you light a candle in a room that has little or no draught, the flame will burn steadily and quietly, and although constantly in motion appears to rest on top of the column of the candle. The flame consumes not only the wax of the candle but also the air (oxygen) around it, so in effect there are barely visible swirls and eddies of warmer and colder air around it. But the general appearance is that of rest. Now carry the candle outside into a light breeze. There the flame is likely to dance around and almost gutter. Sometimes larger, sometimes smaller until either the wind quietens or it is extinguished. Now a planet, traditionally is not just a block of matter, it is a potency, and that is anything but passive. So a planet in sect is like the ever active flame that is allowed to unfold its potency, quietly and effectively. A planet out of sect is not allowed this, its potency must contend with an inimical environment. So the Sun by day effectively shows his potency. His light and warmth are present, felt and seen by all. At night he still sheds light and warmth but it is not experienced.

A second analogy could be found in the animal world. Just think how uncomfortable a nocturnal animal such as the owl or bat would be during the day. Restless would be lightly spoken. The same could be said for a diurnal animal such as a Robin.

I look forward to the passages in the text where sect is discussed. You should too.