Who Loves the Future, Baby? California Agriculture

February 2 wasn't just Ground Hog's Day. In California it was "Wonderful World of Agriculture Day." On February 2, Governor Jerry Brown appointed an Organic Farmer to head, get this, the Department of Pesticide Regulation.

Brian Leahy was previously the Assistant Director of the California Department of Conservation. From 2000-2004 he was Executive Director of the California Certified Organic Farmers. Now he is Head of the Department of Pesticide Regulation. Brian Leahy is an organic farmer! And he can do politics!

Neptune has just moved into its own sign of Pisces and is just a few degrees away from having an exact Neptune Return in the natal chart for California. California's Sun is in Virgo (Sept. 9, 1850) and that opposes the sign of Pisces (not an opposition, though, because degrees are too far apart). If you're a control freak a Sun-Neptune opposition can be the transit from hell. Neptune just sort of makes sure you don't know what is going on for a few years. Then you wake up and look back and say, What the Hell just happened?

So, I thought we were all just going to have to succumb to the situations which are looking pretty dire. But, there you go. Wonders never cease (especially when you've got good leadership).

Neptune also rules hypersensitivity. The Neptunians will be the first to feel the poisons. They will also be more concerned for the welfare of others. And Neptune knows how to get what it wants, but through mellow means... and that does sound like California style.

I think that the Uranus-Pluto square is also an extremely strong influence here. Both of these planets create change, usually catastrophic change. Scary change that requires heroic adaptation. Pluto works from the underground and Uranus works from the Lightening Flash. They pull and zap at the same time and our knees get a little creaky. We can't really see them coming the way we can see Saturn crap coming. We don't necessarily feel like their experiences made us stronger.

Together Uranus and Pluto can be a PTSD diagnosis 20 years down the road. But, in this case, not only are we about to go through a Neptune Return, but we are going through a Ceres Return and Ceres has been in conjunction with Uranus! (It was a close one degree orb on February 2.) Ceres rules Farming! Ceres wants to make things grow. Ceres is a Goddess and she likes getting help from Uranus and Pluto when the tomatoes begin to taste like acid and the cantaloupe tastes like wax. On February 2, Ceres was at 5 Aries in conjunction with Uranus at 1 Aries. They were squared by Pluto at (oops didn't write it down) ___ Capricorn. Oh, wherever Pluto was.

Governor Brown is an Aries. Capricorn is Governance. Uranus shocks the shit out of everyone. Wonder what Leahy's sign is, of course, but couldn't find it. When we're relaxed we can see that Uranus represents Hopes and Wishes and the Future. And this so makes me love the future.

Virgo and Cancer also rule farming. Cancer, ruler of environment and home, has been at the empty leg of that long Cardinal Sign t-square totally needing to be represented.

Mars was at 21 Virgo was facing this extra long transit through that sign. It hadn't started moving Retrograde yet. So all things that Virgo rules, like jobs, service, public health, health habits, diet, hygiene, etc. will receive the benefits of extra attention.

Virgo's ruler, Mercury, was at 23 Sagittarius in a wide conjunction with The North Node at 15 Sagittarius. The Moon at Noon on February 2 was in Gemini. We got a new way of thinking (Gemini). We're getting new rules to play by (Sagittarius).

Like, Wow, Dudes!

Christchurch Earthquakes

Christchurch, New Zealand has suffered two serious earthquakes in the past 6 months. It looks like this place, known as the "Gateway to the Antarctic," is vulnerable to the Virgo/Pisces Axis. The first earthquake, 7.0, occurred last September when the Sun was at 12 Virgo. Today's earthquake logs Sun at 3 Pisces. Christchurch's Solar Arc Sun is at 14 Virgo, SA Uranus is at 25 Virgo. I found that interesting correlation with successive Solar Arc charts and earthquakes while studying the Parkfield earthquake series back whenever that was.

Christchurch's Nodal Axis is at a major Cardinal Point at 1 Libra (NN)-Aries (SN). I personally look for strong Cardinal sign tensions in earthquakes and this Axis has been going through major outer planet t-square transit of Saturn-Jupiter-Uranus-Pluto over the past year. Jupiter and Uranus have been passing together over this spot for almost a year at this point. And the Sun-Mars conjunction passing over Pluto-NN, Uranus and then Neptune-Chiron has been a pretty trigger happy set of transits.

Today's earthquake, an aftershock to September's quake, happened right in the middle of lunch hour with the Sun at 3 Pisces. This is one reason why it's done more damage. Also, it was a shallow earthquake which rattles things up more. The Christchurch cathedral has suffered major damage, which perhaps explains the strong Jupiter (Religion) and Neptune (Spiritual) transits of this earthquake.

First off, Christchurch is going through it's Neptune Return. Natal Neptune is a 2 Pisces. That's just for beginners. Pluto is in conjunction with the North Node right now so when doubled up with any other significant transit could bring some problems. And today's earthquake Pluto is exactly squaring earthquake (transiting) Jupiter. This Jupiter is conjunct Christchurch's natal Sun to the degree and is squaring natal Jupiter 12 Cancer.

Current reports say that there are about 65 dead and 100 unnaccounted for. I send my best thoughts to the suffering right now.

New Zealand Earthquake 7.0
Sept. 4, 2010 4:35 am (LT); (Sept. 3, 2010 16:35 UTC)

Sun 12 Virgo; ASC 20 Cancer; Moon 6 Cancer; MC 17 Taurus; NN

I wasted a bunch of time fiddling to see how the Eclipses might have contributed but my computer is set to calculate everything for New York time. There's a chance that the Sun-Moon conjunction of the July 10-11, 2010 Eclipse is conjunct the ASC of the September earthquake.

New Zealand Earthquake 6.3, Aftershock of Sept. 4, 2010 earthquake
Feb. 22, 2011 12:51 pm Lyttelton, New Zealand

Sun 3 Pisces (H10); Moon 25 Libra (H6); ASC 10 Taurus; MC 20 Aquarius; NN 30 Sagittarius (H10)

I suppose an earthquake which is considered an aftershock has different astrological indicators which will fine tune the charts. Don't have a clue what they would be.
--The Venus ruled Moon and Chart might be one.
--It looks like the IC/MC Taurus Axis is now the ASC/DESC Axis. That would make a lot of sense in Astro terms.

Christchurch, New Zealand given its name:

Mar. 27, 1848 Christchurch, New Zealand

Sun 7 Aries; Moon Sagittarius or Capricorn; NN 1 Libra

Jupiter 13 Cancer; Saturn 19 Pisces; Uranus 18 Aries; Neptune 2 Pisces; Pluto 26 Aries