astroplethorama

The Lighthouse 11/08/2018

One might say this tale fails to fit with the themes of this enterprise, yet it might be said to be a harbinger of 2017’s Maria. In another sense, a cautionary tale about blithe reliance on modern technology in the face of vast natural forces.

Despite the fact that the lives of thirty-three human beings were lost at sea, the astrological side of the event is darn fascinating, and perhaps instructive.

The event in question: the loss of “El Faro” (Spanish for lighthouse) on 1 October 2015, sometime after dawn, somewhere in the general vicinity of Crooked Island in the Bahamas chain, en route from Jacksonville, Florida, to San Juan, Puerto Rico.

Many questions surrounded the tragedy: “In an age when any teenager can load his cell phone with a weather-radar app, why would a veteran captain steer his ship directly into the teeth of a hurricane? Why didn’t it take evasive measures? What could have happened to the El Faro so suddenly that the crew had no time to send distress signals or, apparently, try to abandon ship?” (1)

The ship embodied the latest designs and equipment for its time: It was launched 1 November 1974 at Chester, Pennsylvania. But — doing the math — that was forty years before. (As the Miami Herald asked in a subhead: “Old Ships Never Die. But Should They?”)

Such big ships do not go down often: The previous big American cargo ship disaster was in 1983.

The launch chart — even without a time — seems to indicate longevity, while the planetary configurations for sailing on 29 September 2015, in relation to the launch chart, strongly indicate time and luck running out.

There is a powerful emphasis on celestial bodies in water zoidia: Sun, Venus and Mars in Scorpio; Jupiter in Pisces, Saturn in Cancer — ample evidence of long seaworthiness. This somewhat loose water grand trine shows two “ways out”: a close square from Jupiter to Neptune, and a square from Saturn to Mercury (retrograde).Those ways out, in the fulness of time, would show El Faro the way down.

The ship sailed on the evening tide—Luna just below the eastern horizon, rising soon afterward—as Mercury (retrograde) was crossing the place of Pluto (lord of the underworld) in the launch chart, and as Mercury came between Sol and Earth. This latter relationship occurs three times per year, and is known technically as “inferior conjunction.” It is a most potent occasion in relation to all significances of Mercury / Hermes. Combined with the meanings of Pluto / Hades, it signifies the opening of a direct connection with the realm of the dead.

The total lunar eclipse two days before sailing was at a point in opposition to Pluto in the launch chart: symbolizing the siren call of death.

The second major indication of the timing was Neptune’s arrival at the place of Jupiter in the launch chart. It was exact to the degree and represented the submergence of the ship’s run of good fortune on the world’s sea lanes.

The sailing itself occurred at an unfortunate moment, with a very late degree of Aries rising, with Aries’ lord, Mars, in the sixth place with Jupiter. This latter is a strong indication of major mechanical problems cropping up in the course of the voyage, as well as the likelihood of excessive risk-taking. The prior solar eclipse also fell within the sixth place: not good.

At the time of El Faro’s last received communication — 1 October 2015, 7:20 a.m. EST — the ship’s condition was dire. “Winds of more than 130 miles per hour and waves of up to 30 feet had battered the ship, which had taken on water, had lost power, and was listing 15 degrees.” (2)

That too was a potent astrological moment, signaling completion: the ascending degree was exactly opposite the ascendant for sailing, and now in conjunction with Uranus (reversal of fortune, circumstances unprepared for) in the launch chart. Sol was only minutes of arc past Pluto’s place in the launch chart. Luna was late in Taurus, zoidion of exaltation — “void of course”: nothing more to be done, nothing effectual, after angular contact with generally-beneficent Venus. Plus, Luna was in the eighth place of death.

Luna’s zodiacal place at the end echoed her place at the beginning: within a few days following fullness.

Which calls the question: Knowing the configuration of the launch chart, would a shipping company’s staff astrologer have strongly cautioned against sailing when El Faro did? Most likely.

Oh yes.

What do you think?

-<zoidion>-

1. “The last voyage of El Faro,” Miami Herald, 10 October 2015
2. “El Faro: What happened to missing container ship?” Christian Science Monitor, 5 October 2015

Note: Times of sailing and last communication are from news reports.