Hurricane Katrina
The Fires of Earth are Stirring

Malvin Artley, astrologer and engineer, gives an esoteric picture of the devastation wrought on August 29, 2005, by Hurricane Katrina, in the light of Chinese astrology. The Gulf State of the USA have been smashed by a natural disaster of tremendous magnitude, for which the government, let alone the population, seems to have been totally unprepared. Malvin argues that this and other recent catastrophic events have been evidence that the planet is undergoing a great spiritual transformation.

New Orleans: the Kundalini Fire...?

There has been speculation as to whether New Orleans is one of the major energy centers for the US. If so, I would have to say it is the base chakra, the reasons for which would take too long to go into here. The subject of planetary centers is a vast and complex one. But, the tragedy that is New Orleans today will evoke many of the things for the US described in the quote above. There are so many issues to be addressed with this, such as the inadequate response of the governmental agencies that are supposed to be able to handle such things, the lack of resources and people due to the Iraq War and because funds were cut to the very agencies that could have prevented the tragedy, the racial problems still in evidence, the great divide between the wealthy and the poor (which is probably one of the primary reasons why this event has taken on its current proportions), and these just to name a few. All of these issues have been brought out in the foreign media. Since I am not in the US these days I cannot speak for the American media.

People overseas get a different view of the crisis than do the average US citizens. For people who are not familiar with the US, it should be realized that the populations of Louisiana and Mississippi are overwhelmingly black. Most of that populace in the affected areas escaped the storm. Widespread looting and anarchy have been reported. It should also be firmly held in mind that it is always a small percentage of any population that causes trouble in a crisis, whereas the vast majority of people are simply trying to help or get on with their lives. Such is the case in New Orleans. Gas (petrol) prices have been shown to have shot through the roof at certain service stations. There are always people in every culture who try to profiteer from other people's misery. Theirs will surely be a heavy karma. As always, there are stories of heroism and the indomitable human spirit in the face of adversity that will come out of this event as well. If we look carefully at ourselves, though (and I speak to my fellow citizens here), there is a great deal to take stock of in our collective handling and perceptions of this event. Disillusionment can be a very good thing, however.

Disasters Spell a Warning

All of this brings us back to a more important question, and one which should be very carefully examined in light of what has just happened. What will happen if we have another disaster of this nature-like an earthquake or the like-and it takes place near or in one of the major coastal cities elsewhere in the US? What will that mean for our economy, for us as a nation, for the current conflict in Iraq or for our current way of life, for example? Things can change dramatically at a moment's notice, as we have seen. All the warning signs are there. All we have to do is open our eyes and look.

There have been many disasters since the Cancer full moons this year – 5 major airline crashes and the recent Baghdad tragedy, for examples. The energies had felt quite compacted and focused all through the Saturn/Chiron opposition. It has only been since that has released, though, that these events have occurred. The scenario is much like what we have with migraine headaches, in that the headache only comes after the stress is released, not while it is happening. There are many astrological markers at work that are bringing all these things to pass, and I mention the main ones as I come across them. Incidentally, the Saturn/Chiron opposition that has recently passed will be back with us in the early part of 2006 and stay there until July of that year. There are also two eclipses coming up next month. There are bright spots in the midst of all that, though. The US chart is particularly stressed this year, however, as is the chart for the president. Need we really say more? Take some time, open our eyes and look around-we all need to take stock of things.

A Chinese Astrological Approach

This brings us to the Chinese section of this article As was stated earlier, there is some beautiful symbolism in the Chinese chart for this event. The chart I am using is for when Katrina made landfall in New Orleans, Louisiana, just after sunrise on the 29th of August. The 4 Pillars for the event are as follows:

As with any 4 Pillars analysis, the main Pillar to examine is the Day Pillar, for it carries the primary energy of the person or event. [A Pillar is the vertical column below each of the headings.] We find that it is exactly the same as the Year Pillar, so the energies for the year are amplified on such days. I covered those in my Chinese New Year analysis for this year. The main points from that New Year letter are as follows:

1. There will be a host of new administrations installed throughout the world this year, and we will see if they come up to scratch (barnyard puns aside) or if they need to be curtailed or even thrown out. We will also be shown this year if we, as the human race, are up to speed and have learned the lessons presented to us over the past 9 years and what we need additionally to help us all move more securely into the future.
2. This year is a Yin Wood year, marking a time of reflection.
3. Wood is an element associated with growth, starts, bearing, creativity, a more rustic approach to things, environmental issues, agriculture, electrical work and the general care of children. We may see advances in childcare this year and legislation for the protection of children throughout the world. (re: Beslan, which highlighted the dynamic) We should also be mindful of any anger that comes up because it would have deleterious effects upon the associations with wood just mentioned. Anger is the emotion that “harms” Wood.
4. This also marks a year where it will indeed become more necessary for the voice of the people to be heard, and hopefully people will speak up increasingly as the year goes on over all sorts of issues that hold us back from a fuller expression of the higher aspects of our humanity. This particular expression of this Rooster is of interest, though, and it bears some examination. The Rooster Crowing at Noon describes a phase wherein, although things may have been well thought out, they are often not welcomed. Change is not always a friend to people under this expression. It is an admonition to pay attention to correct timing and presentation around ideas.
5. Feminine countries, such as the US, will be strongly affected by this dynamic this year as a result. Russia and Brazil are also feminine countries of note.
6. The combined element is the Water of Rains and Springs. It is an element that generally brings hope and joy, refreshment and new growth, renewed vigor and recovery from debilitating illness. Water is always associated with communication, deep reflection, intuition and telepathy. Herein lies the hope for the best expression of this Pillar.

Animal: Swallow
This is a good day for renovations and repairs. It is a bad day for travel and relocating.
Day Indicator: H – Danger
There is nothing else of use on this day except to stay at home and party.

New Orleans will certainly need renovations and repairs – and not just physical repairs, either. And, it certainly was a bad day for travel, although most of the population was already relocated by that time. The Day Indicator simply means that it was a dangerous day all around, and that it was best to stay indoors and not venture out. Sounds like it was good advice for the 29th in New Orleans. It is doubtful many people partied, though.

Perhaps one of the more stunning symbols comes from a little-known, but highly accurate, system of divination called The T'ai Hsüan Ching, which was written about 1000 years ago by Yang Hsiung. I will have more about that system at a later date. It is a system of 81 tetragrams, each of which is assigned a 4 _ day period, along with 731 commentary statements which cover every day and night of the year. The one for the daylight hours of the 29th in the Northern Hemisphere is as follows:

TETRAGRAM 56

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Closed Mouth: Yin moves to stasis. Yang does not move it. All things are brought to closure.
29 Aug (Daytime): A closed river waters an entire land. (New Orleans is at the mouth of the Mississippi River.)

Lastly, from the planetary positions in the lunar mansions we find that the Moon on that day (prevailing emotional currents, mothers, childbirth, “breaking of the waters” and bodies of water) was in the 22nd Chinese lunar mansion, the auspices of which are as follows:

Mansion 1 of the Red Phoenix Palace This is the head of the Phoenix. It presides over water, cleaning, ablutions, repairs and refurbishments. Because of the association of cleanliness with Godliness (virtue), this mansion also presides over law and order, moral uprightness and cleansing of moral wrongs. The luck in this mansion is said to vary because of the conflict of the elements involved. This is a good day for taking exams, tending to herbivorous animals and all types of industriousness. It is a very good day for gardening. It is also an auspicious days for widows. It is not a good day for funerals because of the risk of epidemics and sudden death, though, and all projects in progress should be worked on instead of being put aside.

Need we say more? Well, we could actually say quite a bit more, but this will hopefully fill out a bit of the info that the western astrological forums are already putting out about the storm and about the US. A quick search of internet sites will turn up the western reports. Again, we will have to see if New Orleans rises from the ashes, as it were.

My friends, just as with 9/11, I hold out great hope that this will bring us closer together as a nation and that some of the less seemly aspects of our past can be swept away, put in their place and a fresh start can be made. If this disaster does not unite us in common cause for the greater good, what will? I would advise everyone to take stock of their situations and see if they are where they need to be and what they would do if something like this happened in their locale. Above all, though, we need to be like a cork on the waters in these times and ride with things as we need to. That is one of the secrets of going through trials such as this.

Certain things in life cannot be avoided. We all have our situations in life to move through and debts to pay. We also all have a great deal we can give to each other in the process. People like my parents who lived through WWII went through much worse devastation than this and managed to thrive and grow, much stronger as the result of their shared experiences. The same should be true now, though this is in no way meant to lessen the impact of what has happened in New Orleans. They would also have a treasure house of wisdom upon which we could all draw at the moment. Now we have a first-hand experience of what the Sumatra Tsunami victims must have felt. In the end, there is no real difference between the peoples of the world. Please give generously, whether of physical help or donations. We all strengthen each other by so doing.

Blessings,
Malvin
4 Sep 2005

For those outside the US who wish to donate money or help, a good place to start is with The American Red Cross.

So endeth the lesson.

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