Getting ready for the Supermoon Saturday

NOTE: I have decided to indefinitely post-pone Chiron and Sea level rise part two (in which I planned to demonstrate, in a darkly humorous way, how sea level rise would inundate famous beer breweries) in light of the recent events in Japan. Chiron has a lot to teach us about this event, I feel, but it's not the right time to make light of things being flooded by the sea.

Anywho, events around the world the past few weeks have really taken off. The U.N. voted in favor of a No-Fly Zone in Libya which would essentially be the beginning of military intervention by foreign countries in the Libyan conflict. Meanwhile, Japan is still reeling from its horrible earthquake and tsunami, and while many sources claim that the nuclear crisis is becoming more stable, there is rampant uncertainty and concern.

While all of these events make for high emotional "tides", we can also look to the "Supermoon", march 19, for an increase in lunar energy here on earth. The moon is at perigee, or the point closest to the earth in it's slightly imperfect orbit. If you keep your eyes peeled near the horizon for moonrise, you'll see the moon a whopping 14% larger. Astronomically speaking, this slightly closer proximity to earth causes the larger appearance, somewhat higher tides, some "oohs" and "awws" from stargazers, and the chance to giggle at the hokus-pokus nonsense of astrological predictions.

I feel that astrology is an ever-present thorn in the side of the hyper-rational community. I'll be the first to admit that, no, I (nor any astrologer I know of) cannot go into a lab and arrive at a proven result for astrological phenomena. Sometimes, however, events such as today's Supermoon make it to the mainstream media, and it can go from a point of general curiosity to an old-fashioned scientific turkey shoot. Words like "nonsense", "medieval" and "ridiculous" get used quite a bit, and without empirical proof on your side, it's hard to defend oneself. You may see many articles about how the Supermoon could cause more disasters, odd weather, etc, and just as many articles about how there's no backing in science for it.

From an astrological perspective, however, there is a resonance between the heavens and events on earth. They are part of the same system, that transcends empirical scientific proof. "As above, so below." As such, the Supermoon is a reflection of increased lunar influence. However you describe it, the connection is there. And historically speaking, Supermoons have been associated with several seismic disasters, including: The Galveston hurricane of 1900, the 1989 World Series earthquake, several historic eruptions. Richard Nolle had an article in The Mountain Astrologer (click on his name to see) about his observations such environmental effects around the time of Supermoons.

Another interesting supporter of this theory is a former scientist of the USGS named Jim Berkland, famous for predicting the 1989 World Series earthquake. In this video interview he discusses factors that contribute to this "window" of possible seismic activity, while never mentioning astrology. Instead, he mentions the significance of the "tidal" energies of the Earth's groundwater and tectonic plates, which could be linked to the moon's activities. He also mentions the phenomenon of marine animal die-offs shortly before major earthquakes, possibly linked to animals' greater electromagnetic sensitivity.

This is an interesting crossover event, one in which both science (even if it's considered unproven or "fringe" science) and astrological significance combine with similar indications, as a wider than usual audience looks on. What is the indication? In short, a time of increased energy, of contraction and expansion, both emotionally and physically. And really, who can say where one ends and one begins? As we face a plethora of changes, the energy over these few days is particularly dynamic.

It took me a few days to write this article, but I am thankful that it took so long after hearing about a possible NEW oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico- discovered the very day of the Supermoon. In typical Yin, lunar fashion, it remains subtly hidden from the full view of mainstream media, and seems to be a story only accessible from small and local news sources. If you can find enough about this event, keep your eyes peeled for developments. The new moon on April 3rd may bring the energy of this event full-circle, and we may find out more. In the meantime, just ride the waves, and hang on through whatever might be churning under the surface of our lives...