Deepwater Horizon blowout

It's been a long time since I've done any astrological analysis on an event chart because I still have not recovered from my prediction on the outcome of Barack Obama's announcement to run for the presidency. Those of you who followed that know that this was an event chart with a void Moon. I had never, in my 40 years of study and experience, ever seen this fail to be a significator of a project that would not come to fruition. I've also yet to hear an adequate explanation as to why this time honored stricture did not prevail. I said at the time I made my prediction that if Obama was indeed elected I would stop doing astrology altogether. Yet here I am. My curiosity got the better of me and the event chart you see to the left is the result. BTW, I am open to hearing from other astrologers what they they think of Obama's end run around that void Moon but please don't burden me with magical, "new age" theories or erstwhile Aquarian mumbo-jumbo. If such "out-of-the-box" thinking becomes acceptable then astrological analysis can be thrown out the window and replaced with anyone's psychic or intuitive guess. You may as well then do readings by throwing a deck of cards on the floor. Granted I have known people who can do this exact thing but please don't call it astrology. I make no apologies for my stance in this regard as far as mundane and horary astrology is concerned. I arrived at my position through extensive studies in the early '70's with my dear friend and teacher, the late Barbara H. Watters. Those of you who know her work know she abhorred wishful thinking. 40 years later her influence still guides me and I recall the remark I most often heard from her when she was faced with a barrage of "interpretations" from her students : "Always go back to the chart." It is in this spirit that I would have you look at the present chart of the moment the Deepwater Horizon oil rig disaster began - the chart that has set my feet back on the path of astrology.

It's always good to start at the beginning, as the Red Queen advised Alice, which, in this case, is the cusp of the first house, the Ascendant, at 15º Sagittarius. The Ascendant describes those who initiate an event. There are no other planets in Sagittarius and 15º is the exact midpoint of the sign which should give us an expression of the most typical, unadulterated Sagittarian traits one could possibly find. (Yes, there are positive Sagittarian traits but they most often occur because of the elevating influence of the Sun which is not the case here.) This is indeed an accurate description of those who have set in motion the disaster that is now unfolding with ever expanding consequences. One cannot escape the synchronicity of the very name of the rig, Horizon, for this is what Sagittarius is all about - ever seeking new horizons and exploring new territory. Earlier that day officials from BP had thrown a celebration for the workers who had just completed the deepest drill ever made. We are now finding out that reckless optimism, a well known Sagittarian trait, had been driving the push to complete the drilling and was largely responsible for what took place. Two very critical components of the fail-safe system of the drill had shut down. When it was brought to light, the powers that be chose to ignore the reports and pressed on. There was also enormous pressure on the workers to step up the pace because they were trying to make up for lost time caused by a previously unsuccessful attempt. This is an all to common bind Sagittarius often finds itself in as efforts are made to recover from debts incurred from a previous bad gamble.

For now I am only going to delineate the factors that involve the Ascendant of this chart. There are simply too many other important elements to describe in one session and, to be honest, I wouldn't wish on anyone the burden of taking in all the horrors of this chart in one sitting. Yes, folks, the prognosis is not good.

To continue, the fixed star, Ras Algethi is rising with the Ascendant at 16 SAG 09. When rising, this star portends the good and bad sides of Saturn. It is also associated with lies, tricks and deception which we have already seen in BP's estimation of the amount of oil that is spilling into the Gulf of Mexico and now possibly being carried by currents into the Atlantic Ocean. The good side of Saturn? Ambition, mining, structure and the ability to deal with hardship -- all of which resonates with Horizon's work. The bad side? Frustration, limitation, and an inability to adapt to change -- pretty much BP's response to this disaster so far. A further Saturnian influence comes from the exact opposition of the fixed star, Cursa, at 15 GEM 17, which is known to have an influence like Saturn. A most revelatory side note regarding this star is that it is the principal star of the constellation Eriadnus. Eriadnus represents the river Padus into which Phaeton fell when slain by Jupiter for having set the world on fire by misguiding the chariot of his father Phoebus. No, I'm not making this stuff up! Could there be a better analogy of the present situation?

Another perilous association to the Ascendant is its extreme proximity to the degree of the Moon's Nodes -- only 11 minutes of arc. The following is a quote from Barbara Watters' "Horary Astrology and the Judgement of Events": "The Nodes are sometimes regarded as Karmic points which act like an adverse combination of Saturn and Uranus to bring sudden retribution or calamity to someone concerned with the outcome of the event." Nothing more need be said.

So far, with the analysis of only one point in the chart, the Ascendant, we have a stunningly accurate description of the people and forces involved that precipitated this tragedy. For the most part it involves the distillation and concentration of two opposing energies - Sagittarius and Saturn. The unstoppable optimism, drive and recklessness of Sagittarius meeting the compression and natural laws of the Saturnian elements that occur at 5,000 feet.

The Ascendant is of course only the tip of the iceberg of the entire First House. To deepen the examination we would look to the ruler of the First, Jupiter, which we find on the hidden side of the Fourth House at 21 PIS 45 and also at Pluto in the First House at 5 CAP 22. I will take these factors up and more in my next post.