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Poseidon the Earth Shaker
Gregory Clare © 11 June 2011

The Greek god Poseidon, or Neptune as he was known to the Romans, is one of the oldest gods recorded in our history. The first reference to the wavy haired elder of the gods appears some 6,000 years ago from the Aryan people. These early tribal wanderers referred to a god called Poteidān. The word appears to have come from the early northern Eurasians and can be inferred to imply Lord or Master. It is apparently a gender specific reference referring to He/Him, god of Locomotive Animals and Wheeled Transport.

 It is believed that the Aryans were an inventive people who spoke Sanskrit, one of the oldest known languages. Amongst their list of achievements were the domestication of the wild horse and the design of the wheel, which eventually led to the invention of the chariot.
This superior revolutionary development gave the Aryans an enormous advantage evident in their conquests of Eurasia, Babylonia and Egypt. Can you imagine the sound of chariot-driven invading armies to the foot fatigued inhabitants? The thundering stampeding horse driven locomotives would have been heard miles away instilling terror and panic in all those who could hear them!

Sometime between 2,000 - 1800 BCE these tribes expanded their territory, spreading their cultural and spiritual beliefs. Their beliefs spread quickly as these people moved more rapidly than any other tribe had done before. So the first references to Poseidon can be found through this connection to the taming of wild horses and a wagon dwelling culture as it spreads out to find new grazing lands.
These pastoral dwellers and their families eventually found their way to northern Greece. From there they appear to have merged with the local peoples of that time known as the Minoans and Ionians; moving ever onwards, finally settling on the coastal peninsulas throughout Greece. Like most early wanderers, instead of a systematic annihilation of their enemies they interbred with the tribes they found along the way.

This policy enabled an amalgamation of knowledge and in some cases a cultural shift in the gods of each tribe. Thus over time there was a transformation and integration of Achaean deities and the original Aryan gods. This epoch or phase of transition appears to be the birth place of most of the ancient Indian-Greek and Roman deities.

From around 1,200 BCE onwards, Poseidon emerges as a god not only of thunder as Homer writes in The Iliad around 800BCE, describing him as the ‘Earth-shaker’ but also as the god of water (Roman Neptunus) and the god of the sea (Achaean).
‘Thereupon the Earthshaker and Girdler of the World, touching them with his staff, filled them both with dauntless resolution and made new men of them. Then, with the speed of a striking hawk who leaves his post high up on a rocky precipice, poises, and swoops to chase some other bird across the plain, Poseidon the Earthshaker disappeared from their ken.’

What are we to infer from these historical stories about this elder brother of Zeus and Hades? How do we relate his characteristics to modern interpretation?

Contrary to popular belief, I feel that Neptune is the planet responsible for earthquakes and that Uranus only acts as the trigger. I also feel that solid or fixed signs are best associated with these events. The tropical cardinal Capricorn/Cancer axis is important.

Neptune has a Synodic or orbital cycle around the Sun of approximately 165 years, spending on average 13-14 years in each zodiacal sign.
The Moon, natal or transiting, also features frequently in earthquake delineation. The Moon in effect is responsible for the fermenting of life here on Earth through its ability to blend the collection of its repository. This mixing and fermenting which is swift in motion begins at the New Moon phase. This understanding of the sympathetic blending allows us to predict the nature of events.

On any given day there may be up to ten earthquakes above 5.5 on the Richter scale. However for the most part it is a country’s natal chart that shows the correlations and correspondences, thus astrology plays a very real role in forecasting cataclysmic events, in particular earthquakes and tsunamis. Neptune has a strong relationship to both of these. There have been many attempts to justify recent cataclysmic events and in this article I hope to answer many of the imbalances in reporting by the media, astronomers and astrologers. I don’t claim to have all the answers, but to present and substantiate the facts as best I can.

The Hellenistic traditional ruler of the Earth and father of Poseidon, Zeus and Hades was Kronos. Known astrologically by his Roman name of Saturn, he also plays a pivotal role as an Earth-shaker and more importantly as a significator of death. The two signs Capricorn and Aquarius are traditionally ruled by Saturn and both signs are opposed to the life force signs of Cancer and Leo.

The most challenging task in mundane astrological forecasting is that you need to have a base or natal chart to work with. Then you need to compare the various associated charts. The most reliable charts to use are the quarterly cardinal ingresses of the Sun and the Solar returns for each country which may not always be available. There are also the Synodic planetary stations and yearly eclipse charts, major planetary Ingresses and monthly Lunations. A lot of work but in any research, short cuts or assumptions are open to criticism, so a sound approach is essential.

I use the Regiomontanus house system for mundane event charts. For a national chart (or any natal chart) I use the Hellenistic method of Whole Sign houses, Time Lords,  Profection and in some cases Zodiac releasing. As I mentioned above, I find the most useful tool for mundane chart analysis is the Quarterly Cardinal Ingress of the Sun. I also use Fixed Stars and the all important Confine Lords.
Let’s now examine one country’s experiences with earthquakes, tsunamis and other significant events of the past and present. I have chosen Japan, as this country sits on a major fault line known as the Ring of Fire and has what I believe to be an extremely challenging national chart.

Japan is an archipelago of 6,852 islands, with a group of four primary islands, Hokkaido, Honshu the largest island on which are the cities of Tokyo and Osaka-Kyoto, Shikoku, and Kyushu. The first official recorded information for Japan as a nation was 11 February 660BC , (Chart1) when Emperor Jimmu ascended to the throne. This is a very interesting chart set for 12:00 pm Tokyo. I have chosen to look at this chart for clues to understanding correlations that may exist to the first modern constitution which was proclaimed on the same day some 220 years later. This date must have some historical significance to the Japanese culture for them to have chosen the same date for both constitutions.

The first modern constitution, the Meri Constitution was proclaimed on 11 February 1889. (Chart 2) This is the base chart for Japan and the one I use for mundane forecasts for the country.

In the 660 BC chart the Moon is co-joined to Neptune in the fixed sign of Scorpio. This aspect is also opposed to Uranus and Mars in the fixed sign of Taurus. These planetary aspects are also in a T-square to a predominance of planets in Aquarius. The traditional ruler of Aquarius, Saturn, is in his own sign giving added strength to this violent T-square. This is suggesting a strong and wilful independent outlook as well as an inventive scientific approach by Japan’s leaders. A ruthless tone would be encountered by any who stood in their way. When these aspects are triggered there would have to be an explosion of energy. Is it any wonder that after WW2 this nation rose to be the largest economical and industrious nation for some 40 years?

 In light of what we know about Poseidon I feel this is indeed giving us some vital psychological archetypical information on the resonating synergy of the Japanese culture and its past and present evolution.

Using the 11 February, 1889 chart, let us examine Japan in more detail.

In astrology the Ascendant is said to describe the immediate environment. The dual sign of Gemini is rising. Retrograde Mercury, the ruler, is in the dual water sign, Pisces. Because of Mercury’s retrograde motion and its placement in Pisces, where it is said be in Depression (Fall) , the nature of Mercury in this chart is indifferent; it does not have the ability to function in its proper state. Mercury is also square to Pluto and in sextile to an indifferent Capricorn Jupiter in the 8th house.

As Mercury is the ruler of the Ascendant and also the ruler of the 4th whole sign house we can get still more detail. The 4th house represents the homeland, immovable objects, mines, crops, weather and earthquakes. The traditional  dispositor of Mercury is Jupiter and the modern dispositor is Neptune. Jupiter is in the 8th whole sign house and in the earth sign of Capricorn. Jupiter’s dispositor is Saturn, retrograde in the fire sign Leo, conjunct the IC. Saturn’s dispositor is the Sun in Aquarius in the 9th whole sign house conjunct the MC and in opposition to Aquarius’ traditional ruler, Saturn. This aspect is a mutual reception. If we now take all three dispositors we can put together a delineation of the 4th house in this chart.

Firstly Jupiter in Capricorn in the 8th. This planet is in direct contact with the Ascendant ruler Mercury in Pisces and can also ‘see” the 4th House. Jupiter in the 8th - an abundance of others’ resources, but not without losses. From the 7th and 4th are indicated large amounts of export income derived from crops and with the Moon ruling the 2nd in Gemini, commodities - rice, fish and whales. The 8th is also directly related to secretive research. Saturn as the next dispositor cannot “see” the 4th house or its ruler and is said to be in aversion to Mercury, but it does have direct influence over the dynamics or the affairs related to the IC/MC, which are the associated angles. Retrograde Saturn in Leo is also indifferent in its quality. Its associated mutual reception with the Sun, hot/fire and cold/snow and wind would be a fair description of events above and below the ground. Mountains of fire covered in snow, also fire mountains under the sea, the turbulence of which is influenced by seasonal change.

The Great Kantō earthquake devastated Tokyo on 1 September 1923 at a reported time of 02:58 UTC and resulted in the death of an estimated 150,000 people. The earthquake’s epicentre was near Sagami Bay. This Earth-shaker of magnitude 7.9 produced a tsunami of a reported 20 feet which devastated vast areas.

Making use of a bi-wheel (Chart 3) the first noticeable aspect has the god of earthquakes, Poseidon (Neptune), in the sign of Leo and when viewed in the bi-wheel he is co-joined to the natal traditional ruler of the Earth (things underground), retrograde Saturn. If the time of 12pm is correct for the 1889 chart, this aspect is sitting on the natal IC. Transiting Mars is partile square to natal Neptune.  Using whole sign houses natal Mercury, the ruler of the natal 4th is opposed by transiting Mars/Venus/Sun/Node/MC . One of the most frequent observations for earthquakes is the predominance of fixed signs and in this chart there is a fixed Grand Cross involving transiting Taurus Moon, Jupiter, Neptune/Mars, natal IC/Saturn and natal Sun/MC.

 In the 1923 Solar Return, (Bi Wheel Chart4) there is a clear example of a difficult year following the Return. Solar Return retrograde Neptune is partile conjunct natal retrograde Saturn. This aspect is also square Solar Return Jupiter. The two malefics, Saturn and Mars, are not in good shape, even though Return Mars is in its own sign. The Return Mars/Chiron in Aries is receiving a T- square from the Capricorn Moon which is in detriment, and the Return retrograde Saturn. Both are in challenging aspects.

Using Time Lords Profection , 1923 is the 34th year from 1889 and so the Profected year Lord is the eleventh sign, the lord of which is Mars. The quality of the natal Mars is not good and it is square natal Moon which is ruled by natal retrograde Mercury, which is also not in good shape. The Solar Return Mercury is making an exact trine to natal fixed sign Neptune and both planets are in the last degrees of their signs.

The 22 June 1923, Cancer Ingress cast for Tokyo is a horrifying chart and when viewed as a tri wheel (Tri Wheel Chart 5) leaves no doubt about the coming events. Ingress Mars has moved into its Fall in the sign of Cancer. This aspect is triggering a Grand Cross with the 1923 Solar Return chart Mars/Moon and Ingress Saturn.
As further confirmation the Saros Series 15 south eclipse on 17 March, 1923 (Bi Wheel Chart 6) is defined as “This series is about the release of tension. A situation which has been lingering will suddenly clear. In the clearing of the problem there is also a sense of grief or loss which is not so much personal as belonging to a group or collective.” The Solar Annual Eclipse reinforces the accuracy of the 1889 chart. A partial lunar eclipse 6 days prior on 26 August 1923 gives even further support.

We all know about the events of 6th August 1945 at 08:16 LMT. Set for Hiroshima and combined with the 1889 chart (Bi Wheel Chart7), as they say, ‘every picture tells a story’. The 1945 Solar Return for the 1889 chart clearly tells the story of what happened. The 1945 Cancer Ingress tells just as gripping a story. The Lunar Eclipse of 25 June 1945, the Solar Eclipse of 9 July 1945, the Full Moon Lunation on 25 July 1945 and finally the New Moon on 8 August 1945 all clearly describe what happened. The conventional Secondary Progressed charts can be also used, but I have found that when trying to give an accurate timed prognostication you do need to make use of the more time relevant charts.

There are many other Japanese earthquake/tsunamis that give equally corresponding results. Here are a few that you may wish to check out for yourself as space prohibits reproducing all the charts here.
21 Dec 1946, 04:01am LMT Nankaido Japan, earthquake and tsunami.
16 June 1964, 16:04:01 UT Niigata, Japan, earthquake and tsunami.
26 May 1983, 11:59:57 LMT Sea of Japan, earthquake and tsunami.
12 July 1993, 22:17 LMT Hokkaido, earthquake and tsunami.
11 April 2011, 14:46:23 LMT 129 km (80 miles) E of Sendai, Honshu, Japan, earthquake and tsunami.

Here is a list of 12 of the most notably destructive earthquakes recorded and the largest measured on the Richter scale. Many of these earthquakes were accompanied by destructive tsunamis. The last one, the Chilean earthquake of 1960, is the most powerful earthquake on record. Note that they carry many of the correspondences described above.

Except for two of these earthquakes there are accurate times available for all of them. Unfortunately I did not have room to include the angles, the aspects or the mutable signs in the table but they are all worth while checking out.

So what are we to infer from this tragic, catastrophic data? Firstly Neptune is in a fixed sign in 10 out of the twelve events; of the two cardinal signs that Neptune occupies, the ruler of the sign is in a fixed sign and in the one mutable sign that Neptune occupies, the ruler is also in a fixed sign.

Another interesting statistic is that Uranus appears in four fixed signs and in the sign of Pisces seven times. Most of the times that Uranus has appeared in Pisces there have been Tsunami’s. He is in a cardinal sign once and in this case the ruler, the Moon, is in a fixed sign. It is obvious from the table that the majority of the planets are in either a fixed or cardinal sign.
I know this a not a scientific sample but even so these examples do appear to be well above what one would expect statistically. If you have the time and the interest you can find most of this data from the USGS website http://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/world/most_destructive.php

End notes

Eclipses

In April 2010 I was asked to write an article on the year ahead (Australia 2011).  I wrote the article but missed the deadline for submission and as such uploaded it to my website on April, 11, 2010. In this article my synopsis was;

Hoist the storm sheets, batten down the hatches and maintain a careful watch, Australian’s are sailing into unchartered waters during 2011! The word is, be prepared, equipped and fitted out for challenging times are approaching!

Sudden and unprecedented change is headed for the shores of OZ during 2011.The last days of 2010 and the early part of 2011 will see the start of this frenzied period.

The full forecast is in the endnotes. or see Australian Forecast click here for Charts

While researching the article I noticed that there would be six eclipses during 2011, this is the maximum number of eclipses that may fall in any one calendar year. This often happens when the Moon’s Node regresses into the early degrees of Capricorn as the degrees coincide with the change of calendar year. There are four Solar and two lunar eclipses during 2011.

What effects would these eclipses have and why? Not all eclipses bring problematical events. Eclipses belong to families and these families were named in ancient times as the Saros series. The word Saros is assumed to have come from the Babylonian word Sar which is related to a time unit or cycle. However there may be another source from which the word arises; the Greek verb Sareion which means “to sweep clean". This is an interesting Hellenistic phrase and may need further exploring.

The Saros series or cycle which is running during 2011 is known as Saros series 13 North and South. The first of these solar eclipses occurred on January 4, 2011 at 13 degrees 38’ in the image of “The Goat Horned One” or Capricorn. The next will occur on June 1, 2011 and then on July 1, 2011. The Saros series 13 seems to bring with it unprecedented change which is linked to extreme events that appear to galvanise the nation and generate mateship particularly in Australian history.

Of interest also is that there appears to be at the same time a rise in the achievement of Women in Public Office or the advancement of Women’s equality. This is evident in 2011 with the introduction of Australia's first national Paid Parental Leave scheme which started on 1 January 2011. In 1902 The Commonwealth Franchise Act 1902, was introduced to allow women the right to vote. Again in March 1921, Edith Cowan was the first Women elected to Parliament. 

Who could forget in 1956 Barry Humphries and his introduction of the fictitious character Dame Edna Everedge. In 1975 the first Gay rights were established in South Australia and the introduction of the family Law Act. Finally in 1992 The High Court delivered the Mabo Decision and in 1993 the Greens stood for Parliament.

Coupled with these dates are the 1938 Empire Games, in 1939 Australia entered the Second World War and Victoria was devastated by the Black Friday bushfires. 1956 Australia hosted the Melbourne Olympics and we had the Great Floods of Brisbane and Northern NSW. In 1974 we had Cyclone Tracy and more great floods hit Brisbane and Northern NSW and who could forget the dismissal of the Whitlam Government!  The Victorian, Shepparton floods “The economic cost and personal trauma within the community caused by the 1974 and 1993 floods remind us of the need for a flood management system.” And finally the 15 percent Goods and Services Tax (GST) was introduced as the centerpiece of the Hewson Liberal campaign ‘Fightback’, the election that he couldn’t lose but was won by Paul Keating.

All of these events occurred during Saros 13 cycle. click here for Charts

The Saros 13 North sequence commenced on August 14, 1776 , Saros 13 South commenced on May 24, 803 OS. The Mundane birth chart for this Saros 13 North which originated from the North Pole is very interesting when relocated to Sydney. I have chosen Sydney to relocate the chart because I have had much success in forecasting mundane events from this location. I have published and shown that the proclamation of the Nation was read from Centennial Park and as such for whatever reason there is definitely a correspondence with regards to the mundane chart and Australia’s history.

The mundane chart I use for forecasting is the 1901 Federation Proclamation and one of the key signification links to this chart is the use of the Solar return. The 1901 chart Solar returns appear to echo the events of the year ahead with uncanny timing.

 One example of this can be seen in the Proclamation 2010 solar return. In a very brief synopsis the most outstanding feature of this chart is the Cancer Moon opposition Venus and retrograde Mars in Leo. When put in a bi wheel with the 1901 base chart a dynamic story emerges! In short, the return Venus is co-joined to natal Saturn/Sun.

The Sun indicates leadership and Venus is feminine.  It is also opposed to the 2010 return Moon, a significator of the public mood or sentiment. The other indicator I have mentioned is the 2010 solar return retrograde Mars and it is square the 1901 natal Moon. One of the primary tools I use for forecasts is the Hellenistic method of whole sign houses. So when we assess this bi wheel we see the probable areas of action, the 10th which is Government, the 4th which is opposition, the 11th which is the Lower house and the 5th which the Upper house of Parliament.

Coupled with this is the fact that the 4th also represents mines and wealth in the ground (buried treasure). The 2nd house is our money and movable wealth and this house contains the natal exalted Taurus Moon which squares the proclamation 2010 solar return retrograde Mars in the 5th house of the Senate.

Who remembers the key events of 2010? Mining Tax and a first time woman Prime Minister! Mars is also the mundane ruler of iron ore and metal. The natal 4th house is ruled by the Cancer Moon and the natal exalted Moon is ruled by Venus, which is in the 9th house. We also had our first Saint. Venus is also the 12th house exalted ruler of Pisces.

The other key significator is the eclipses and with proficient timing the 18 year, 11days and 8hrs Saros 13 series appears to be a remarkable predictor of mundane events here in Australia. Why that is, I feel, is due to the original birth chart of the Saros series 13 North in particular. So let’s look at this relocated eclipse natal chart of 1776 and explore the findings of my research so far. As with all research it’s always ongoing and evolving.

The first noticeable correspondence is the 01 degree Aquarian Ascendant. The 1901proclamation chart carries a 02 degree Aquarian MC, so here we have arguably the most sensitive angles in the horoscope interchanging their positions. This 01-03 Aquarian degree can be found throughout many noteworthy events in our history.

If we look at the 1901 proclamation solar return chart for 2011, again we can see the 02 degree Aquarian Ascendant and something very peculiar occurring. The 2011 return looks very similar in many ways to the 1776 eclipse chart. Same Ascendant, MC and one of the key significators, Saturn, close to the MC at 16-17 degrees of Libra. You will find this Saturn in many of the other major event transit charts too. The position of exalted Saturn will usually be in the same position, square or opposition to the original 1776 position. Saturn is the traditional ruler of Aquarius and Capricorn.

The modern ruler Uranus, if you use it, does say something in all the charts as well. The challenging position of Mars also appears regularly. It is not surprising to see the two Malefics dominating the chart. Other key significations are the solid or fixed signs around 20-22 degrees. These degrees feature regularly in major events. The 1901proclamation chart does have the all important exalted Taurus Moon at 20 degrees. The Moon presents another area for research, as the Moon and its nodes are chiefly responsible for the eclipses in the first place. There are many more corresponding aspects, far too many for me to go through here. Hopefully, in the coming months or years I will be able to present these to you.

click here for Charts

Let me just give you another short brief example which should showcase this extraordinary cyclic association. On December 14, 1974 at 03:24:44hrs AEDT in Sydney there was an eclipse. This eclipse was Saros series 13 north. As mentioned above the key feature was Saturn and the Saturn position in this chart is 17 degrees Cancer, opposition to the 1776 position. Of note is the Chiron return and the exact trine degree of the Sun to the 1776 chart. Also the 1974 eclipse South node co-joins to 1776 Uranus which squares the rulers of the 1974 eclipse chart, the Sun and Jupiter. There are many more correlations to be found such as the Eye of Cyclone Tracy crossing over Darwin at 00:00hrs ACST, on December 25, 1974. You will find many more interesting associations to the Saros 13 series as well to the 1901 proclamation chart.

The January 4, 2011 Saros 13 North eclipse has Saturn at the original position of the 1776 chart. In fact Saturn is about to station at this very degree on Australia day 2011. The January 4, 2011 eclipse Mars is also very near its opposition to the 1776 chart and as pointed out earlier, in the 1901 proclamation 2011 return Mars is at its opposition.

Saros series 13 South relocated to Sydney began on May 24, 803 OS. This eclipse series also carries many corresponding aspects to both the 1901 proclamation chart as well as the 1901 proclamation 2011 solar return. The Saros 13 South has Venus/Vertex opposition 1901proclamation Sun/Saturn, again from the 10th house to the 4th house. Saros 13 South Chiron/South node/IC is co-joined to the 1901 natal Moon and Saros 13 South Sun/Moon/Jupiter is opposing the Sagittarius Stellium in the 9th house.

It gets more intriguing when we compare the Saros 13 South eclipse to the 1901 proclamation 2011 solar return. Like its cousin the 13 south has quite a few uncanny correlations to be found. Saros 13 south Ascendant is co-joined to the 1901, 2011 return Neptune/Chiron conjunction and Saros 13 south’s MC and North node are co-joined to the 2011 Venus/Moon conjunction. The 2011 return chart Mars is partile trine the Saros 13 south Chiron/South node and the return Venus/Vertex is opposition to Saros 13 south Sun/Mars/Pluto. You will see very similar results when looking at past events.

I acknowledge there are many ways to tell a story as there are many technical methods available to astrologer to assess charts. However the Secondary progression and Solar Arc directed charts also support this research. How eclipses or any other relevant charts from the remote past could possibly carry any form of connection to current charts never ceases to amaze me! But there is no doubt that connecting these charts  does indeed give as good a forecast result as one can hope for!

One final chart I looked at is the chart of the Toowoomba floods. With all due respect to those affected by the events that unfolded in Toowoomba, QLD on Monday January 10, 2011, @ 14:33 hrs AEST, this event chart has 22 degrees Taurus rising and Chiron/Neptune exactly on the MC. When placed over the 1901 proclamation chart the Event Uranus/Jupiter/Moon falls in the natal 12th house and they tightly square the 1901 positions of the Sagittarius Stellium in the 9th house.

It’s also noteworthy to mention that the Fixed Star Scheat located in constellation Pegasi at 29 degrees Pisces features very prominently and should not be over looked. Vivian E, Robson links this Star with extreme misfortune and drowning.

In summing up, if my findings do indeed carry any weight then Mundane astrological forecasting can assist in planning for future events. After all if natal genealogical astrology can aid in the development of individuals and help to address areas in life where we struggle at times, then surely Mundane forecasting can assist in helping us to be prepared for major political and geo physical events.  As the weather man says when giving his forecast, take an umbrella with you today, it looks like rain.

Reference and acknowledgments