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According
to the National Interagency Fire Center, wildfires
are currently burning over twice as much acreage in the western states
as they usually do in an average year. What do the heavens say about these
natural catastrophes?
Smokey
Can’t Bear It
This
year’s wildfire season took a turn for the worse back in May. In early
May, the U.S. Forest Service set what was to be a controlled burn in New
Mexico. This fire ran out of control and raged
over the controversial Los Alamos facility. As a result, governmental
involvement, and lack thereof in fire control
(not to mention the controversy surrounding the presumably nefarious Los
Alamos facility), took a barrage of heavy scrutiny. Now the federal government
is under fire regarding its policy, funding and
attitude toward prevention of fires and preservation of our natural forests.
All this began, oddly, in the state where the original forest fire-fighting
icon, Smokey the Bear, lies buried.
Swift
Lightning
Most
of the wildfires this season started from lightning. Though traditional
astrology states that Mars rules lightning, modern astrology links it
to Uranus. Uranus, ruler of Aquarius and uncontrolled, wild electrical
surges, is now moving through its own sign. This intensifies all the natural
associations of the planet to the sign, especially wild electrical storms.
Most of the wildfires this season occurred from lightning bolting from
thunder clouds that were not bearing rain. Back in May, both Jupiter and
Saturn in earthy
Taurus formed squares to Uranus in Aquarius. Jupiter supports excess numbers
of storms while Saturn suggests dry storms containing rain that evaporates
before reaching Earth. Add Aquarian lightning, and it’s a lethal combination.
And
why is this? Every eleven years or so the Sun
cycles through its own pattern of storms and eruptions that eject energy
into space. With the Sun presently at the maximum
intensity of this activity, it provides upper-atmosphere stimulation that
causes radical shifts in the jet stream. Even Florida, a state assumed
to be dripping wet, has been experiencing more than its share of dry storm-initiated
fires. A simple, yet intricate pattern of weather
assessment can be determined by tracking planetary positions relative
to the Sun. And through September, these storm
patterns are likely to persist, not letting up until November, when the
solar stimulation naturally recedes.
Messing
with Mother Nature
Truly,
the fire danger, though severe and spanning land
equaling more than the combined area of the states of Connecticut and
Rhode Island, pales by comparison to recent history. Currently, about
4.5 million acres lie charred and burning. Yet in 1950, we lost over 17.5
million acres of land to wildfire. Since that
time, airplanes, helicopters and smoke jumpers have made vast improvements
in fire-fighting techniques. In addition, there are now more roads into
remote places, providing us both a chance to get away to nature and fire-fighting access. In addition, newer techniques of clearing underbrush,
building fire breaks and other manipulations of nature reduce the annual
volume of acres lost to fire.
In
addition to the effects of Jupiter, Saturn and Uranus, the huge overlaying
theme of the time comes from Pluto, which is moving through Sagittarius.
Pluto represents the hard truth. Pluto also rules hell. Many of the fire
scenes have been compared to Dante’s Inferno by the media.
The sign Sagittarius is linked to open, expansive spaces and wildlife.
How we treat nature seems to be the consideration. And it’s complicated.
Fires
of note are typically categorized by the number of homes destroyed and
lives lost. Seldom are fires measured in the
tragedy of lost homes for critters and their loss of life. In days of
old, fires just exhausted themselves, often finally
going out with the first snow. But with the exponential growth rate of
people on the planet and the resources it takes to support them, less
wild area exists. Thus, when a fire occurs now,
it is more likely to affect humans. It must be promptly and vigorously
fought.
The
federal government cannot properly address this issue. They have neglected
nature and cut the budget, despite the allegedly quasi-green administration
attitude. If they clear the underbrush and thin trees, purists argue,
they tamper with mother nature. With Pluto, the bringer of the fires
of Hades, running free in Sagittarius, a fire sign long associated with
the great outdoors, government participation in fire fighting, especially
“controlled” burns, will come under great scrutiny. With Jupiter opposing Pluto in
both September (by direct movement) and October (by retrograde),
watch as unexpected and abundant funds (Jupiter) appear for putting out
persisting hot spots, fire cleanup and forest
reclamation. Pluto ultimately rules budget, tax monies and the power of
politics.
Truly,
we can do nothing about the effects of mother nature. But with Pluto in
Sag’s hard truth, we are compelled to redefine our respect, treatment
and relationship with nature. Mother nature talks to us. Are we listening?
Can we even hear her whispers?
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