Chile Earthquake

Chile, South America. 3:34am ADT, Saturday 27 February 2010. 35S48, 072W42

This is the chart for the recent 8.8 magnitude earthquake off the coast of Chile near Talca.

The force of this earthquake has had a devastating effect on the country with a death toll of 700 and rising. The devastation is mainly due to the collapse of buildings and the effects of the tsunami. The President has declared a “State of Catastrophe”, and it will take many years for the Chileans to clean up after this natural disaster.

This is not the first time Chile has endured a strong earthquake. In 1960, a 9.5 magnitude quake, the largest ever recorded, killed 1,655 people and left 2 million homeless. Unfortunately, this quake is likely to end up with a similar tally.

What does the chart say about this quake?

What strikes me immediately is the Nodal axis on the horizon and Saturn conjunct the Midheaven. The Nodes herald a shift of energy, which always involves and affects people. Shift of energy indeed – how about the violent shaking and moving of the earth! Ruler of the chart Saturn, the greater malefic, often referred to as the grim reaper, rules foundations, structures and the physical world. And the lesser malefic, Mars, planet of energy, action, and aggression, was sextile to Saturn, ready to offer assistance. According to Ebertin, Mars-Saturn connections manifest as harmful or destructive energy.

To top it off, Venus is sextile the North Node, and my colleague Murray Beauchamp has observed that Venus is regularly involved in earthquakes. In the recent Haiti quake, Venus was combust and conjunct the North Node, and again the Nodes were close to the horizon. In fact the Nodes regularly feature on the angles of earthquake charts, including the Great Alaskan quake of 1964 and the 2004 Boxing Day Tsunami.