San Francisco Quake Watch

With the upcoming Cancer Ingress of 2010 just a couple of days away, it bears looking at the chart of San Francisco.  The recent New Moon of June 12, 2010 took place at 21 Gemini, conjoined the radical Ascendant of the San Francisco chart.  The city and its inhabitants of San Francisco can expect new developments taking shape this month and we may be getting some news from this region around the time of the summer solstice as transiting Mercury goes over the spot where the New Moon took place.  Also of note on this day is the arrival of Comet McNaught 2009 R1 to the degree of 20 Gemini when it passes over the fixed star Capella.  Capella has been associated with earthquakes in respect to solar eclipses but no data exists in regard to comets.
Could this portend a quake?  Well, it's quite possible if not on this specific date, then quite soon. 

There are several transits taking place to radical positions in the chart.  Transiting Mars squares the Radical Moon.  Transiting Venus is square Radical Venus.  Transiting Neptune is conjoined the Radical MC.  The Transiting Node is square to Radical Saturn and sextile the Radical Vertex.  The Transiting Moon (June 20th and 21st) will be in Libra square to Radical Lilith, trine to Neptune on the MC, and in opposition to the Radical Sun, Uranus and Pluto before continuing onward into Scorpio where it will oppose the Radical Venus. It's a lot activation for this chart especially with the Transiting node squaring Radical Saturn.

The recent New Moon of June 12, 2010  and the Cancer Ingress of 2010 ( set for Washington DC) both have very difficult aspects and feature a  lot frustrated energy between the outer planets of Saturn, Uranus, Jupiter, and Pluto.  For San Francisco there are changes, and the public's nerves may be on end.  Discontent abounds with the New Moon in waxing square to Transiting Saturn in the 4th house.  Saturn in the 4th house poorly aspected is a harbinger of bad weather and can increase the danger for earthquakes.  From now throughout the summer, it's time to be alert and ready.  San Francisco and the whole of California for that matter is under quake watch.
Specific days of elevated risk are June 20, 21, 26 through July 11 when the eclipse season arrives in full force.  July 1, 2, and 3rd are especially treacherous days for seismic activity as Comet McNaught 2009 R1 reaches perihelion, and the transits (especially Mars coming into conjunction with Radical Jupiter in the 4th) activate eclipse degrees.

The Eclipse Season and Comet McNaught 2009, R1

The eclipse season is just around the corner and with that brings the possibility of increased seismic risk. 
The upcoming lunar eclipse of June 26, 2010 as I have stated before in early posts pose a real danger to California as the natal Uranus of the LA chart will be eclipsed in addition to the progressed AC/DC axis at 4 Cancer.

However, I would like to digress to mention what is currently happening in the northern sky.  Comet Mc Naught 2009 R1 is transversing the constellation of Perseus in Mid-June as it heads towards the Sun increasing in brightness.  On June 13th, the comet will be 3 degrees south of the fixed star Mirfak and will conjunct fixed star Capella within 1 degree and transiting Mercury at 20-21 Gemini on June 21, 2010, the date of the Cancer Ingress.  I found an excellent article by Jonathan Flanery on the astrological influence of comets.  http://www.skyscript.co.uk/comet.html
In his article he notes in ancient times, comets were thought to be important portents of a malefic nature for events here on planet earth.  Their appearance coincided with disturbances in human affairs, animals, and the weather brought about by the rise of some agent. 

This particular comet is named for Robert McNaught of Australia's Siding Spring Observatory who spotted the object on an image taken last year on September 9th.  This comet originates from Oort cloud beyond the outerbounds of Pluto making it's first orbit in from that region.  No one can say for sure just how bright Comet Mc Naught will become but when it first spotted at 17th magnitude it has only increased in brightness as it makes its way toward the Sun.  Currently, the comet is at 5th magnitude (visible to the naked eye in dark skies) and could become as bright as the magnitude (2nd) stars in the Big Dipper.  The closest the comet will come to Earth occurs on June 15-16 at 1.13 AU's or approx. 100 million miles( not that close, an AU is the distance from the Earth to the Sun).

According to modern astrologers, comets act as messengers.  The comets that originate from the Oort Cloud, bring forth messages and decrees from the fixed stars.  The ancients believed that comets were important when they became visible to the unaided eye and were important portents of celestial power.  According to Mr. Flanery's article, the message a comet is not delivered until the comet makes its closest approach to the Sun wherein the message to be delivered becomes absorbed. Comet McNaught reaches this point (perihelion) on July 2, 2010.  This point is thus very sensitive as it is the message of the comet and when this point is transited by Mars or the Sun, changes begin in earnest according to the message brought by the comet.  Comets tend to signify changes and realignments in the areas of politics, finances, and trade sparked by a initial disruption to the system.  In Mr. Flanery's article, he states the effects of comets are first noticeable in the places and enterprises ruled by the sign of the comet's perihelion.  In this case, the perihelion of Comet McNaught 2009 R1 is in the sign of Cancer.  However, by the time it reaches perihelion, the comet will be so low in the sky that it's visibility will be next to nothing for those of us living in the northern hemisphere.

Given this background information, I've been thinking about what the message of Comet McNaught 2009 R1might be.  The date of perihelion for this comet is highlighted as it is also the degree of the lunar eclipse of December 31, 2009 at 10 Cancer and the Sun will be transiting this degree on July 2, 2010.  It's a double whammy.  Nasa puts the position of the comet at 15 Cancer, magnitude 4.6 on this datebut it could be much brighter.  This position is also opposite the  lunar eclipse of July 7, 2009.  Cancer holds rulership over bodies of water, coastlines, fish and sea creatures, Mother Nature ( the Cosmic Mother), the boating industry, real estate ( homes), municipal politics, the weather, and is the Sun sign of the United States.  According to Rex Bills' Rulership Book, it is suggested that Southern California is ruled by this sign. Clearly, there will likely be some new developments involving the BP disaster in the Gulf.  But what else?

Looking at the fixed stars as the comet passing by Earth, it traverses the constellation of Perseus June 10-June 16, just south of fixed star Mirfak on June 13th at a declination near +48.00, longitude at 2 Gemini and then conjoins the fixed star of Capella in the constellation Auriga, on the date of June 21, 2010 when the Sun enters 0 degrees Cancer.  This is important for the Cancer Ingress is the stage for astrological forecasting over the next 3 months. The fixed star Capella (+46.00 declination, longitude at 21-22 Gemini) has a Mercury-Mars nature according to Ptolemy and is the 6th largest star in the sky.  In general, the star is fortunate as it portends military honors.  However,  it may also portend earthquakes in a mundane chart.   The main unknown in all of this is how bright will the Comet McNaught 2009 R1 become and what date will it become visible to the naked eye by most observers.  If indeed, the comet is bright enough to see on June 13th, then perhaps the message of comet will be tied up with the associations of the constellation Perseus.  According to George Noonan, the constellation is indicative of events affecting large numbers of people, especially those events caused by major meteorological phenomena.  It's very difficult to say at this point as there is very limited knowledge and research on the astrological effects of comets, but it gives us something to think about.