Mars retrograde is implicated in Tuesday's earthquake.
Many astrologers agree that looking at Tuesday's transits, it would have been very difficult to predict an earthquake, especially of such magnitude and impact. So what happened? I believe Mars was the astrological "x" factor.
Mars retrograde is making a direct pass over the earth axis this week and next, triggering Saturn and Pluto by an angle.
Remember that under Mars retrograde, forces that have been beneath the surface suddenly emerge and are out in the open. That is what happens to us as individuals, so it makes sense that this would be the case for the earth as well. Many volcanos have been active in the past few weeks, and this week alone there have been little-to-medium earthquakes in California, Oklahoma, Maui, and in the South Pacific.
Will there be more?
Well, I would say the next two weeks are dicey from a geopolitical and environmental standpoint. Mars retrograde is moving very slowly across the earth axis, and its influence will be felt globally for at least another week.
I am more concerned about the amount of political pressure Pres. Obama is experiencing than I am about more earthquakes.
The Jan. 15th new moon and eclipse contained this energy and we will be living with it til the next full moon in two weeks time. Pressure will keep on building until the end of January, when Mars moves into its opposition to the Sun and the full moon occurs. Mars retrograde will be passing over the President's Sun during this time. The progress of the health care bill will become even more bogged down and probably not move forward til March.
Mercury went direct on January 15th! And
there was also a solar eclipse, visible in South Asia. South Asia may
be the locus of environmental and political events in the next two
weeks.
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Dear Friends,
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I know the tragedy unfolding in Haiti is on everyone's mind this week. It is a humanitarian crisis of unbelievable proportions, and I urge us all to support the relief efforts in whatever way we can. I recommend Oxfam since they have three decades of experience doing good work there: Oxfam America's Haiti Program
Some of you have already contacted me about my mention of earthquakes in the last newsletter, and in light of recent volcanic and seismic activity across the globe, you may want to know my thoughts about whether we have more of this in store. My short answer is, of course. This is life. Stuff happens --- we all live on tectonic plates that shift around.
Most astrologers think about Saturn and Uranus when we think about earthquakes. Those two planets in combination can have to do with the kind of dramatic earth upheaval involved in earthquakes. Although we have been under strong Saturn Uranus aspects on and off for the past year and a half, the opposition is not in effect right now. Of course, it will be again this spring!
But we are under the influence of a Saturn Pluto square, and it is on the Cardinal or "earth" axis. I believe that any transit of an outer planet across the earth axis brings the potential for significant global events. The earth axis is the plane created by the equinox and solstice points, 0-degrees of Aries, Cancer, Libra, and Capricorn, the so-called "cardinal" signs. Saturn and Pluto do indicate a stressful set of pressures, Saturn representing the structure of seismic plates and Pluto being a very intense, underground transformational force. Saturn and Pluto operating together are game-changers. Sadly, destruction is often part of the picture.
In fact, some astrologers have suggested that major earthquakes occur when there is a proponderence of planetary energy in these four cardinal signs. We do have a number of planets in Capricorn right now, and of course, one of them is Pluto. I always believed that Pluto's transit of the earth axis would portend significant environmental changes for the earth itself.
Haiti is experiencing a Saturn return -- transiting Saturn is exactly where it was positioned in its national birth chart. In other words, Haiti's natal Saturn has Saturn and Pluto sitting on it right now. It is a life or death moment for that nation, not only because of the earthquake damage but also because of the political and economic conditions that exist there.
The other astrological factor contributing to the extent of this disaster is the position of the planet Hades. (Never heard of it? It is a way-out-there planet utilized in the Uranian system of astrology.) This planet is in the last degrees of Gemini, approaching the 0-degree Cancer mark, also on the earth axis. Any transit to the earth axis recently has involved Hades, which ups the ante in terms of suffering and in terms of compassion. Note that the outpouring of support for relief efforts has already topped $71 million in the US. I hope Haiti will be able to rebuild effectively with the help of its Saturn return, and that the Saturn Pluto square helps create the conditions there for a rebirth. Throwing off the oppression of structural adjustment and colonialism is part of what can happen under a Saturn Pluto square.
Power to the people! 
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Astrology Update from Patricia Maher
