Nepal landslide

More than 160 people are feared dead after a huge landslide hit in northern Nepal. Ten deaths have been confirmed following Saturday’s (Aug. 2) disaster but rescuers said there was no chance of saving any of the more than 150 people believed still buried under the rubble. Landslides are common in mostly mountainous Nepal during the rainy season, which runs from June through September. The landslide that struck early on Saturday blocked a mountain river, causing it to back up and form a lake that was threatening to burst and sweep away several villages, although Parajuli said the water level was slowly falling.

The chart for the current Cancer Ingress of the Sun at Kathmandu is shown here. As Kim Farnell explains in her article “A Basic Guide to Astro-Meteorology”, the fourth house and planets therein are a major indicator of the weather. Here we find Neptune in Pisces on  the IC.

Neptune is conjunct the star Fomalhaut [4pi03] in the constellation of the Southern Fish. This is an important, first magnitude star, the 17th brightest star in the sky and the most southerly star visible at 50°N. Fomalhaut, (from the Arabic Fum al Hut, 'the Fish's mouth'). The area in which it lies has an heavy emphasis upon constellations with watery imagery, the goat-fish (Capricorn), the whale (Cetus), the water-pourer (Aquarius), the fishes (Pisces), and the dolphin (Delphinus) all located nearby, obviously earmarking this region as one that related to the rainy season of the ancient year, by which many of its stars are associated with floods or troubles at sea. The Southern Fish is usually depicted on star maps at the feet of Aquarius, where it swallows up the water poured from his urn .

Neptune [7pi]  forms a hard aspect to Jupiter [24cn] which is conjunct the stars Procyon, alpha Canis Minoris.  In ancient China  this was Nan-Ho, the Southern River and along with a few minor stars was the asterism Choui-Wei, the Situation of the Waters which governed the overflowing of rivers. Also influencing is xi Geminorum in Pollux’s cap which was Tsi-Choui, the Accumulated Waters or the Massed or Swollen Waters; a close watch was kept on this star to see if there was a danger of summer floods [2].

Progressing the ingress chart to the period between Aug 2 to 4 brings the progressed meridian once again in aspect to Neptune triggering  its aspect to Jupiter.

Finally, we look at the chart for the  Waxing Crescent Moon of July 31. Here  we find the Sun [7le] in a quincunx aspect to Neptune [7pi] on the descendant – in other words, highlighted once again. The Moon [23vi] is conjunct the star Benetnash which Elsbeth Ebertin links to “mountain slides, earth tremors and catastrophes caused by weather”[3].

[1] http://www.skyscript.co.uk/meteorology1.html

[2] Secrets of the Ancient Skies; Diana K. Rosenberg (v.1,p.703)

[3] http://www.constellationsofwords.com/stars/Alkaid.html