Mighty Eruptions On Earth

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                                                 MIGHTY ERUPTIONS ON EARTH





I know this is long but it's a fascinating article by Tim Freeman of Hawaii. Tim sent this the other day with many charts and beautiful pictures, I couldn't get the entire article opened before it froze my computer. I am placing the link for anyone with more capacity than I in case you want to try. Tim is a brilliant and has been a contributor to our posts for several years.







                             The Eruption of Halema`uma`u and the Lunar Eclipse







February 5, 2009

I wouldn’t have especially wanted this to be the first post on this journal, but time is of the essence. We are now only days from the lunar eclipse of February 9, 2009. It’s an interesting time to be sure. A strange tension seems to be in the air between a sense of relief and hopefulness in these first few weeks of the Obama administration and a deeper sense of apprehension and foreboding as a result of the various crises, especially now the global economic crisis, facing the world at this time. In the news in the last few weeks there have also been reports of rumblings from a few volcanoes around the world—earthquake swarms under Yellowstone, Koryakski volcano in Russia, Mount Redoubt in Alaska, and just today Mount Asama in Japan has erupted.

There is also the continuing eruption of Kilauea on the Big Island of Hawai‘i, although this one, due to Kilauea’s reputation as a ‘visitor-friendly’ volcano, has not drawn so much attention outside of Hawai‘i. Kilauea’s reputation is well deserved as its eruptions are mostly effusive, producing lava flows which have provided an exciting spectacle for multitudes of spectators over the years. Kilauea has been in continuous eruption since January of 1983, the longest continuous eruption in the recorded history of the volcano. This eruption has occurred not at the summit of Kilauea, but further downslope a few miles, primarily at a vent called Pu‘u ‘O‘o. From there the lava has flowed downward, burning mostly a lot of forest, but taking also about 200 homes, including the entire town of Kalapana on its way to the ocean. While the property damage has been significant, the actual threat to human life from these effusive eruptions has been minimal.

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Nevertheless, Kilauea’s reputation is somewhat deceptive, geologists are sure to remind us, as explosive eruptions have occurred regularly throughout the life of the volcano. Last March the first explosive eruption since 1924 occurred at Halema‘uma‘u, the central crater on the summit of Kilauea. There have been numerous explosions from the new vent in the months that have followed, but all of these recent explosions have been but small pops in comparison to the 1924 eruption. That eruption resulted in one fatality, but if an eruption of that scale occurred today, it would almost certainly be much more devastating due to the development of communities in the vicinity of the volcano and downwind in Ka‘u. The most famous eruption took place sometime in 1790 and reportedly changed the direction of Hawaiian history. The footprints of Hawaiians killed in the explosion are still found in the hardened ash surface of the Ka‘u desert.

Still, I don’t think residents are too greatly concerned about another great explosive eruption. Since the last explosion in October a collapse event blocked the vent opening with debris and the vent, once glowing brightly at night as the picture above illustrates, now is dark and the plume from the vent has been somewhat diminished. The greatest concern here has been the increased amount of vog (the fog of volcanic gases) which has had a significant impact on the quality of life on the island these last few months. No one really knows what is going to happen of course, but as a geologist friend told me recently, the relative serenity at the summit since 1924 could really be the exception, while the constant vog might be the rule to which residents of the Big Island will have to adjust.

Recently, however, certain observations have led me to consider that we might be on the verge of witnessing something more significant occurring at Halema‘uma‘u. These observations have certainly given me some reason to pause and reflect. You see, I live in quite an amazing place. The old cottage I rent is very modest to be sure, but it sits within an almost pristine native Hawaiian forest at an elevation of about 3800ft. The forest is truly enchanted. It consists primarily of ohia trees, famous for their lovely lehua blossoms often incorporated into the beautiful haku leis of hula dancers, but also numerous olapa, manono, pilo and other understory trees, the occasional majestic koa, and a variety of ferns, the most dominant being the hapu‘u, the great mothers of the forest. Most of these plants can be found only at these higher elevations and the same can be said of many of the native birds such as the elepaio, the little green amakihi, and my favorite, the scarlet apapane which feed on the nectar of the lehua blossoms. I remember that once Werner Herzog, during the filming of Fitzcarraldo, described the birds of the Amazon forest as shrieking in pain. Well these birds sing out of happiness, for these are the birds of paradise. With every note they seem to express their joy at being alive. Even the fluttering of the apapane in flight is a delight.

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It’s a very ephemeral paradise, however, as it sits only about three and a half miles from Halema‘uma‘u. This realization came home to me last spring with the new eruption. Before then I never knew where exactly my cottage stood in relation to the crater, but on the morning of March 24 I no longer had any doubt. It is a sobering experience, to be sure, to stand in one’s back yard and watch a towering plume of ash from a volcano rising just a short distance away. This image is not from that morning, but from some time later in the spring when the plume was mostly steam and gas and much less impressive, but it might still give you something of the idea.
Halema’uma’u plume from my backyard over friends’ house

Perhaps you might get the idea how this would give one some reason to pause, but what is it, you might be wondering, which gives me some reason to wonder whether we might be on the verge of witnessing some sort of escalation in the recent eruption? Well, that would be certain astrological configurations at the time of the coming lunar eclipse.

Astrological Considerations?

Well now I know I’ve probably lost most of my readers right there and jeopardized my career to boot; nevertheless, I think there is something here perhaps worth taking a look at. I wouldn’t call myself an astrologer and I’m not really making a prediction. Let’s say it’s a testing of a hypothesis. Astrologers have been focusing on a number of considerably challenging aspects in play now and in the near future.

There is, on the one hand, the ongoing series of Saturn-Uranus oppositions taking place now and in the years ahead. This would suggest a deep tension between the opposing forces of what is old and conservative (Saturn) with what is young and revolutionary (Uranus).

Stunningly enough, the first exact opposition occurred on November 4th of last year—that’s right, the very day of the very polarizing election when Americans had to choose between the old and conservative John McCain and the youthful voice of change in Barack Obama. That this opposition will occur four more times in the next two years suggests to astrologers that we are hardly through with the divisive tension between conservative forces and the need for change (ok, no surprise there).

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According to astrologers, however, we are coming up upon an even greater challenge with a series of square aspects (90 degrees apart) between Uranus and Pluto from 2012 to 2015. As Pluto has an orbit of about 248 years and Uranus approximately 84 years, they come together (form aconjunction) about every 100 years.

The last conjunction of Pluto and Uranus occurred in the mid 60s.

That conjunction was in many ways the astrological signature of the 60s.

Pluto is associated with the most powerful forces of transformation. It is said to magnify greatly whatever it comes into contact with. As Uranus is associated with revolutionary change a conjunction with Pluto would suggest a time of great revolutionary transformation. Anyone who lived through the 60's would probably regard that decade as the time of the most profound transformations in the world. It was as if that time was the last great wave and everything since has been following in the wake of that tumultuous time. If there is anything to astrology the coming series of squares would mark the next great wave. Of course, one doesn’t need astrology to tell that we are facing some very challenging times in the immediate years ahead.

Many, however, might think that with Obama’s election disaster will have been averted and, once the economy turns around, the nation will be back on course and life as we have known it will continue on. Now I do think that with Obama’s election certain disaster has been averted, but if there is anything at all to astrology, there is definitely not going to be smooth sailing ahead. The difficult aspects ahead will have manifested much more catastrophically, I’m sure, if Obama had lost, but they will manifest in some way nevertheless. One thing I’ve learned living in Hawai‘i is that when you play in the surf you should never turn your back to the ocean, remaining instead always alert for the next wave. I’ve examined astrology for over 25 years now, and in my humble opinion it’s not something that should be so easily dismissed, that is, if one doesn’t want to get pounded by the next breaker unaware and swept away in the strong current.

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But how is it that there can be anything at all to astrology in the first place? It’s surely a naive superstition, you say, to see any connection between the movement of the planets and events on earth, and even more preposterous to think that any astrological configuration could reveal anything about an upcoming volcanic eruption. Well maybe so, so let’s call this, as I said, a testing of a hypothesis.

I think the reason astrology is so easily dismissed is because it is so poorly understood. It is assumed by those who dismiss it that astrology is based on the idea that the planets (the sun and moon included) have some causal effect on earthly events and human lives. One might allow that there is some effect of the moon cycle, on the gravitational pull of the tides and on the menstrual cycle, and perhaps even on human behavior considering evidence about human behavior at full moons, though this latter effect can perhaps be attributed simply to the increased light. According to astrological theory, however, the moon has the slightest effect, perhaps affecting one’s shifting moods and feelings through the day. The larger most significant, life-changing events are always indicated by the movement of the distant planets. The ever so remote and diminutive Pluto (too small to even be designated a planet by astronomers now), for example, is regarded by astrologers as having the greatest power. Pluto, of course, was the name given to the Roman god of death, and for astrologers the planet is associated with the most powerful transformations of death and regeneration. Given its size and distance from earth a causal explanation of Pluto’s ‘power’ is clearly hard to accept. Yet for anyone who truly looks, that is, anyone who actually takes notice of the slow transit of Pluto across their own natal chart through their life, the ‘power’ of Pluto is even more clearly hard to deny.

How can this be explained? I know, the standard argument against astrology is that gullible people can find anything to identify with in an astrological chart. This explanation might certainly be plausible if one stays on the level of simple sun-sign astrology; but if one really takes the time to familiarize themselves with the whole chart, and then especially if one studies the chart in motion, that is to say, if one observes the transits and progressions of the planets in their ongoing motion and notes the aspects made to the natal chart, then it is really hard to deny that there is some kind of relationship between the movements of the planets and the events of our lives. The reason astrology is so easily dismissed is simply because one doesn’t look, and the reason one doesn’t look, especially almost all scientifically minded individuals, is because the idea is simply dismissed that the planets could have any such causal effect. But perhaps the relationship between the movement of the planets and the events of our lives is not causal at all.

[Bianca]

The best explanation for astrology that I have come across so far is based on the fractal patterning of nature. One explanation of fractal patterns is “simultaneity of structure across scale.” The pattern of the small is found in the pattern of the large, like the simultaneity in the structure of the arrangement of pebbles on a beach and the pattern of the whole coast from a great height. Or another example of the patterning of the part being repeated in the pattern of the whole is found in the patterning of the hapu‘u fern. The pattern of the whole frond is repeated in each one of its leaves.

More and more this fractal patterning of the universe is being
recognized. The pattern of the atom with its central nucleus orbited by
electrons, repeated in the pattern of the solar system and then again in
the galaxy. Everything in the universe appears to be moving in cyclic
orbits. Time itself, the very counting of the hours of the day and the
days of the year, is measured by the apparent movement of the sun across
the sky, which we know is really the result of the spinning of the earth
in its orbit around the Sun. Every event in our lives can be dated by a
calendar but the calendar itself is simply a representation of the orbit
of the earth around the Sun and the Moon around the Earth. As everything
in the solar system is in constant orbit the pattern of the whole is
never the same from one moment to the next, and as the orbits of the
planets differ in length and duration, the pattern of the whole is never
repeated. Each moment thus has a unique signature, a signature which can
be represented just as well by the precise placements of the Sun and the
Moon and the planets at that particular moment as by the timing of the
clock and calendar. The astrological signature of an event is only a
more detailed signature, revealing much more information about that
moment than the minute, hour, day and year of that event. When an
astrological chart is cast for a particular event it reveals where the
Sun, the Moon and the other planets were in their movements (apparent
movement for the Sun) at that precise moment of time from a particular
viewpoint on earth. That chart can then be compared to the chart of
another event and the relationship between the events can be marked by
the relationship between the planets in the two charts. This is what is
done when one observes the transits and progressions of the planets
through a chart, say a chart cast for a birth of a person or a chart
cast for any event.

Astrology developed over centuries of human observation of the
relationship between the movements of the planets and the events of
human lifetimes. When astrology first developed apparently several
thousand years ago, human beings were far more dependent upon
observations of the night sky. It was essential to follow the apparent
movement of the Sun, as well as the movement of the Moon, to know for
example when to plant and when to harvest. The movements of those moving
stars or “planets” perhaps quite understandably might also have seemed
to hold some significance. Through lifetimes of human observation the
movements of the observable planets became associated with particular
types of events and experiences, and these associations gradually
developed into the astrological signature of the planets. It is not at
all hard to understand why these ancient people would have attributed
some causal power to the planets and thus considered them to be gods
controlling the destiny of human beings. Perhaps what they were noticing
were not planet-gods impacting human destiny but simply the fractal
patterning of nature.

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Early astronomers like Kepler who first gave us the laws of planetary
motion were also astrologers. Astronomers today consider this fact
somewhat embarrassing, or at least a sign of the not quite yet mature
development of the science. With the development of a more rigorous
skepticism, and the understanding that celestial objects were physical
objects, made of basically the same stuff as the earth, obeying the same
laws of physics, the idea that the planets could have some impact on
earthly events and human lives understandably became more and more
unbelievable.

I think it is perhaps ironic that astrology is so often dismissed as
merely some kind of ‘metaphysical’ mumbo-jumbo. Here I am using the word
‘metaphysical’ not in its original, philosophical sense, but as it has
come to be understood in the ‘metaphysical’ community as a belief in
something beyond the physical. The belief in astrology is derided as any
other such ‘metaphysical’ belief. But perhaps astrology doesn’t really
have anything to do with anything beyond the physical. Perhaps it’s also
some vestige of the mind-body dualism inherited from Descartes which
stands in the way of considering astrology in the first place. What
makes us most distinctly human beings, according to Descartes, is the
mind which is not made of the same stuff as the body, the earth, and the
distant planets. It is thus preposterous to think that the distant
planets can have any effect upon the mind or psychological character of
human beings.

Now, however, many people, especially scientifically minded people, are
inclined to think that we are made of the same stuff as everything else,
the same stuff of the earth, the planets, and the distant stars. We are
but stardust, composed of the elements created in exploding stars, and
obeying the same laws of physics which govern the causal interaction of
everything in the universe. The physical properties of this stardust can
now be precisely measured and analyzed. We know today what the planets
are made of and we can calculate accurately their size and motion. We
know, for example, basically what Saturn and Uranus are made of and how
fast they are moving, and we know that the two planets are at this time
opposite of one another in their orbits around the Sun from our
perspective on earth. We don’t consider, however, that is we modern
human beings, the product of a more mature scientific culture, that this
opposition of Saturn and Uranus can possibly have any significance on
earthly and human events. The absence of any plausible causal connection
makes the very idea too preposterous to even consider. Perhaps, however,
this very understandable skepticism regarding a causal connection has
led science and thus we modern humans to miss the significance of the
fractal patterning. Perhaps we are but stardust, but all this stardust
is caught up in the same orbital movement of the whole solar system. If
there is something to the fractal patterning of the universe perhaps it
is not so far fetched after all that the unfolding of the events of our
lives occurs, not as a result of, but nonetheless in synch with the
movement of the planets.

[Bianca]

                                         The Astrology of the Eruption of Kilauea






How does one get an astrological chart for a volcano? If there is
anything to the astrological patterning of nature, then all one has to
do is construct a chart for a particular event and then observe the
relationships to the astrological patterning of subsequent events. In
thinking about this it occurred to me that it might be possible to cast
a chart for the 1924 eruption at Halema‘uma‘u and then see if there were
any significant relationships between the charts for subsequent events
at the volcano. I undertook this just as a curiosity, but what I found
turned out to be quite interesting indeed.

First there was the challenge of casting a chart for the 1924 eruption.
Fortunately, the USGS at the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory have provided
a fairly detailed account of the historical eruptions of Kilauea on
their website. From their page on the 1924 eruption I learned that the
eruption began in the early morning of May 11. No one saw or heard the
first explosion, but just before 8:00 one witness observed small rocks
being ejected from the pit. A series of small to moderate explosions
occurred over the next two weeks, but it was precisely at 11:09 am on
the morning of May 18 that the biggest explosion occurred, the one that
claimed the life of a man named Truman Taylor.

Though one might try and construct a chart for the start of the eruption
on May 11, it seemed better to cast a chart for this event, since the
time was precisely noted, and also, since it was both the largest
explosion and the one that resulted in a fatality, it could
understandably be regarded as a signature for the 1924 eruption . In any
case, here is an astrological chart for that evening

The first thing I noticed is that this explosion occurred right at the
full moon. In fact, upon closer inspection I realized it occurred
precisely eight minutes prior to the exact full moon. Curiously, it so
happens that May 11th was the last quarter moon. What began then comes
to its fullest expression at the full moon.

It was about an hour before noon at that moment and so we find the Sun
in the chart high in the 10th house and the Moon hidden below the
horizon in the 4th house. Neptune (17:42 Leo) was just rising and is
thus on the Ascendant (18:52 Leo). Mars (13:35 Aquarius) had just set
and is thus just below the horizon (Descendant 18:52 Aquarius). Jupiter
(17:15 Sagittarius) was well below the horizon in the 4th house with the
Moon, and Saturn (26:55 Libra) was a few hours from rising and in the
3rd house. Uranus (20:55 Pisces), often associated with sudden,
unexpected, unpredictable events, was a couple of hours from setting and
thus in the 8th house which is traditionally associated with, among
other things, death. Pluto (10:48 Cancer) had already risen and is in
the 11th house with Venus.


What one would look for to see if this chart, or this moment, were
significantly related to subsequent significant developments in the
eruption history of the volcano would be some significant contacts
between the position of the planets in those subsequent events and the
position of the planets, as well as other key points, in the chart for
this moment. Especially important would be any contact between the
positions of the outer planets in the respective charts. The other key
points in this chart to note would be the four ‘angles’ of the chart,
the Ascendant (AC) and Descendant (DC) and the Nadir (IC) and Midheaven
(MC). The Ascendant would always be especially important, and in this
case perhaps even more so as it is conjunct an outer planet, Neptune.


The USGS has provided a table summary [link] of the historical eruptions
since 1750. I’ve compared the charts of each of them since the 1924
eruption to the chart for the 1924 eruption and found some startling
results. I will here consider five chart comparisons, four of the most
significant events in the eruption history and then the coming lunar
eclipse.

[Bianca]

The Summit Eruption of Kilauea Iki



One of the most significant periods in the eruption history took place
in the Winter of 1959-60. On November 14, 1959 at precisely 8:08 pm the
eruption of Kiluaea Iki began. It was a short-lived eruption, lasting
just a little over a month, but it produced some really spectacular
fountains. As one can see from the chart below this eruption also
occurred at the full moon, this time about three hours prior to the
exact full moon. See a detailed account of the Kilauea Iki eruption on
the HVO website.

Were there any significant contacts between this event and the 1924
event? The following image shows the relationships between the planets
in the 1959 event to the 1924 event.

Here we can see that the full moon in the 1959 chart falls almost
exactly on the MC/IC axis of the 1924 chart. Mars is just about exactly
on the IC and Uranus, perhaps most significantly, sits close to the
Ascendant. There were many full moons, of course, between 1924 and 1959,
and some most likely lined up close to this axis or even the AC/DC axis.
Mars obviously had crossed this point on the IC multiple times. Uranus,
however, as it takes 84 years to orbit the Sun, has so far been here
only once and it happened at the time of this spectacular eruption. This
surely would count as a very significant connection between the two events.

[Bianca]

The Kapoho Eruption



The Kilauea Iki fountains created a large lava lake in the crater, but
at the end of the eruption the lake drained out back into the vent. A
few weeks later the lava broke out far downslope near the town of Kapoho
near the Puna coast. The eruption began at 7:35 pm on January 13, 1960.
The eruption also produced some spectacular fountains and the lava
heavily damaged the village of Koa’e and completely destroyed the
village of Kapoho. See the account of the Kapoho eruption on the HVO
website.

As the eruption took place so soon after the Kilauea Iki eruption (and
was directly connected with that eruption) the transits between the
Kapoho Eruption and the 1924 chart are basically the same as with the
Kilauea Iki eruption. Obviously Uranus is still on the Ascendant of the
1924 chart. The two eruptions can be seen as two phases of an episode
marked by the crossing of Uranus over the 1924 Ascendant. It is
interesting to note, however, as revealed in the chart of the Kapoho
eruption, that it also occurred at the full moon, this time about six
hours before the exact full moon, but shortly after the moon had risen.
That must have been an awesome sight to see the full moon rising over
the eruption! It is also interesting to note that Uranus was not only
still on the Ascendant of the 1924 chart, it is close to the Ascendant
of the chart for the Kapoho eruption.

The transit chart shows that Uranus, since it was in apparent retrograde
motion, was even closer to the Ascendant of the 1924 chart. Neptune is
more exactly in a trine (120 degrees) aspect to Pluto in the 1924 chart,
and Jupiter has just completed its return to the 1924 position (actually
exact on Dec. 20th at the end of the Kilauea Iki eruption).

There were numerous events in the years that followed leading up to the
next major event I shall consider. Most significantly would be the
eruptions on Nov. 10, 1973 and July 19 and September 19 of 1974. During
this period transiting Uranus was crossing over the position of Saturn
in the 1924 event.

[Bianca]

The Pu`u `Ō `ō-Kupaianaha Eruption



Sometime in the predawn hours of January 3, 1983 a new vent opened up on
the east rift zone. This eruption has continued unabated until the
present day and is by far the longest eruption in the recorded history
of Kilauea. There have been numerous episodes in the history of this
eruption. From 1983-86 a series of high fountains built a new cinder
cone called Pu`u `Ō `ō which eventually built to a towering height of
255 m, over twice the height of any other cone on the east rift zone.

From 1986-1991 the eruption shifted to a new vent called Kupaianaha a
short distance away. Lava flows from this event reached the ocean by
November of 1986 and then in the late spring and early summer of 1990
completely destroyed the town of Kalapana along the Puna coast. From
1992-1996 the eruption moved back to Pu`u `Ō `ō with flows from the vent
continuing to reach the ocean. From 1997-1998 a series of collapse
events significantly reduced the size of Pu`u `Ō `ō. Since then several
episodes have seen new flows reaching the ocean and different entry
points. Today the flows are still reaching the ocean at a point called
Waikupanaha, often creating some incredible littoral explosions at the
ocean entry point.

[Bianca]

Littoral Explosion at Waikupanaha, July 16, 2008



The HVO account of the eruption does not mention a precise time of the
beginning of the eruption on January 3, 1983. I have heard stories,
however, from a number of nearby residents who recall being awakened
from their sleep in the predawn hours. I have somewhat arbitrarily cast
the chart for the beginning of the eruption at 3:30 am.

This time the event did not begin on the full moon but four days after.
The chart shows two significant outer planet conjunctions, Saturn and
Pluto in the 12th house and Jupiter and Uranus close to the Ascendant in
the 1st house. It would be very interesting to find the exact time of
the eruption for I suspect that one would find either Pluto, Saturn,
Jupiter or Uranus on the Ascendant.

The transit chart shows that Mars at that moment was precisely on the
Descendant of the 1924 chart, the Sun opposite Pluto, Jupiter conjunct
the Moon, and Pluto conjunct Saturn in the 1924 chart.

The eruption began as a relatively small fissure on the rift zone. For
several months numerous fissures broke out. Pluto and Saturn were both
in apparent retrograde motion at the start of the eruption and by June
of 1983 when the high fountaining began they were both tightly conjunct
Saturn in the 1924 chart. According to the account on the HVO website
“[f]or the next three years (episodes 4-47), Pu`u `Ō `ō erupted
approximately every three to four weeks, usually for less than 24 hours
at a time. These eruptive episodes were characterized by spectacular
lava fountains that catapulted lava as high as 470 m above the vent.” I
wonder whether anyone recorded the exact dates of the start of these
fountains as it would be interesting to see if there were any
correlation with the full moons. By December of 1983 Jupiter was again
completing a return to its position at the time of the 1924 eruption
just as it was during the Kilauea Iki and Kapoho eruptions. Uranus
crossed that point in 85-86 as the high fountaining continued. Through
1987 Saturn was crossing that point and Pluto was trine to its position
in 1924. When the town of Kalapana was destroyed in 1990 transiting
Jupiter and Uranus were in opposition, with Jupiter conjunct Pluto and
Uranus thus in opposition to Pluto in the 1924 chart. At that time
transiting Pluto was also close to the IC of the 1924 chart. In November
of 1995 Jupiter was again returning to its position in 1924, Saturn was
crossing the 1924 position of Uranus and lava was continuing to flow to
the ocean at Kamoamoa. From April of 2000 to January of 2001, Uranus was
crossing the Descendant of the 1924 chart, and lava crossed the eastern
boundary of the national park and destroyed more homes in the Royal
Gardens subdivision on its way to the ocean. During the Mother’s Day
breakout in 2002 Jupiter was transiting over Pluto in the 1924 chart
while Pluto was transiting over the 1924 Jupiter. In March of 2007 there
were new breakouts from the west flank of Pu`u `Ō `ō as Jupiter returned
yet again to its 1924 position and Saturn crossed the 1924 Ascendant at
the same time Neptune was on the 1924 Descendant. Finally, last March,
2008 a new development occurred.

[Bianca]

Halema‘uma‘u Awakens

At 2:59 am on the morning of March 19, 2008 Halema’uma’u awakened with
the first explosion at the summit since the 1924 eruption. As one can
see from the chart below this explosion occurred two days prior to the
full moon. In the chart for this event one notices the Sun is square to
Pluto which is opposite Mars, while the Moon is conjunct Saturn. Five
days later when the Sun was close to the midpoint of the Pluto/Mars
opposition another explosion sent a towering plume of smoke and ash
skyward (the plume I saw from my backyard).


Any astrologer who is reading this narrative I’m sure will have already
understood the connection between this event and the 1924 eruption. 2008
is, of course, 84 years, or one Uranus cycle, from 1924 and thus we see
in the transit chart below Uranus has returned to almost exactly its
position at the 1924 eruption. Five days later Mars is almost on the
Pluto/Venus conjunction in the 1924 chart.

[chart]

Through the rest of the spring and summer Uranus crossed its 1924
position while while further explosions widened the new vent and the
vent glowed brightly at night. The plume briefly turned brown with each
new explosion while otherwise remaining an impressive column of steam
and gas.

Uranus was about two degrees past its 1924 position on June 26 when it
turned retrograde. It then crossed over its 1924 position again on
September 7th. On September 5th a lava lake was first observed within
the new vent. On October 12 at 7:28 am another explosion, which you
really must check out here, was captured on video from the Hawaiian
Volcano Observatory. As one can see from the chart below Uranus had
arrived about where it was on March 19. This explosion occurred a couple
of days prior to the full moon just as the moon was crossing that
critical Uranus point.

Sometime shortly after this event, and as Uranus was continuing
retrograde and further away from the 1924 Uranus position, part of the
vent collapsed and blocked the vent opening. The plume became
diminished, even wispy at times, and the glow was no longer visible.
Uranus turned direct at the end of November and ever since has been
inching closer and closer once again to its 1924 position. Now today,
February 5th, 2009 is the day that Saturn and Uranus are again in exact
opposition, and it turns out that Uranus is just about exactly where it
was in 1924.

[Bianca]

                                             The Lunar Eclipse of February 9, 2009






As seen in the chart below the eclipse occurs at 4:49 Monday morning.
Perhaps if the skies are clear one would be able to see the eclipsed
moon setting over the ocean from the Kona side of the island. Perhaps
one might even be able to see it from Volcano House overlooking
Halema’uma’u.

If one looks at the transits of the eclipse to the 1924 chart, however,
one notices that not only does the Saturn/Uranus opposition line up
exactly on the 1924 Uranus point, the eclipse itself straddles the
critical Ascendant/Descendant axis of the 1924 chart.

I don’t know what to expect, however, I would think that if there really
is anything to this astrological fractal patterning of nature, and it
sure seems in studying this history that there is something to it, that
there should be some significant development in the eruption at
Halema’uma’u sometime around this eclipse. I would expect from what I’ve
read what astrologers have to say about eclipses, that there would be
something happening within five days either side of the eclipse. We are
already within that window now. I would think that if there were
something really big about to happen, there would already be some
significant precursors happening now. There doesn’t seem to be any such
precursors happening yet, but it will certainly be interesting to see
what happens over the next few days.


I’ll close by adding that it was an eclipse that drew me to live up here
next to the volcano in the first place. Back when I was a graduate
student on Oahu, I came over here to watch the total solar eclipse of
July 11, 1991. By an amazing stroke of luck I was able to witness the
eclipse looking across Halema’uma’u from the southwest rift zone. It was
perhaps the most incredible thing I have ever seen. The steam vents in
the crater rose straight as columns during the three minutes of totality.

This painting of the crater is looking directly over the area where the
new vent has opened up.

Update Feb. 6, 2009 10:30 am HST: According to the USGS Eruption Update,
there was a brief brown plume (small explosion) on Wednesday. Yesterday
morning the vent was glowing again for the first time in months. Today
they report that lava has been observed rising in the vent!

Update Feb. 6, 2009 9:35 pm HST: Went to the HVO Observatory this
morning with friends. We heard reports that the vent was glowing
brightly last night and about 30 minutes before we arrived a good
harmonic tremor was felt, which I suspect would mean lava moving up the
vent. It was also reported that the ocean entry points are going strong
again.

Update Feb. 18, 2009 3:24 pm HST: Ok this will be the final update to
this entry. There hasn’t been a major development coinciding with this
lunar eclipse, but it was an interesting weekend. There was a dense ash
plume on Wednesday February 4th as reported earlier. HVO released the
photo a few days later which I post here. After months of relative quiet
at the summit, the weekend of the lunar eclipse did see the first major
ash plume since October 12th. Thus, recent events at Halemau’uma’u did
fit the pattern. When Uranus first approached its 1924 position in March
2008 Halemau’uma’u did awaken. It remained active for several months,
turned retrograde and reached another peak in September/October 2008 as
Uranus again crossed that point. As Uranus continued retrograde away
from that point, events at the summit diminished, so much so that some
(reported in the Hilo Tribune-Herald) thought the eruption at the summit
was finished. But after turning direct and returning again to this 1924
position there was another peak in activity at the summit. I went to the
summit on the night of Feb 6 and for the first time heard a deep
pounding from the crater (Pele’s heartbeat?). The vent was glowing again
for the first time in months. One of the volunteers at the Jaggar
observatory overlook reported that on Saturday the 7th there were very
loud sounds from the crater, sounding like a jet engine taking off.
There is a nice video from the HVO website (click on ‘images’ and scroll
down to Feb 7) of thermal imagery of the lava lake rising at falling
within the vent. I went to the summit again today. The opening of the
vent seems even larger after the Feb 4th explosion. It’s easy to look
backward and see how the pattern played out, it’s another thing
altogether to guess how the pattern will play out in the future. The
next full moon on March 10th falls almost exactly on the Saturn/Uranus
opposition. In fact, the Sun at the full moon will be exactly on the
1924 Uranus position with the Moon, of course, opposite. Maybe that will
be the trigger for something bigger to come.


This is the link to all the images and the article. As I said, it froze my computer but some of you might have better capabilities and would want to see these spectacular images.



http://web.me.com/tjf57/Dionysian_Diaries/Dionysian_Diaries/rss.xml

Posted by SAMM on February 20, 2009 1:33 PM



http://www.astroworld.us/archives/2009/02/mighty_eruptions_on_earth.html#000711