Blackout 2003

Event Chart link August 14, 2003: click here for chart

Well last month was certainly an interesting time for all of us that were living through the blackout on August 14, 2003. I’m sure there are many stories around about how folks coped and were able to survive through it all. In some cases there have been great stories about folks without baby formula and others volunteering their own to help get them through.

At the time of the blackout I was with the family on a boat on the Trent Severn Waterways and trapped between locks. We still needed to pass through the last lock near lakefield, that was electrically controlled when the power failed. The one good thing is that we were not trapped in the previous lock, as it was over 25 feet to the top and you would have had to climb a slimy seaweed coated ladder to the top. One of my nieces has Cerebral palsy and would never have been able to manage the ladder. In the end we were able to contact my brother who had decided to stay back at the cottage for the day and he picked us all up. It was an adventure for sure. The folks at the locks were great and did everything in their power to help us and all those who were stuck there.

I ran an event chart for August 14, 2003 4:10 PM Akron Ohio for the transits at the time of the peak of the power failure.

A few interesting points are that the ruler of the chart is Jupiter since Sagittarius is on the Ascendant. Jupiter is at 27 degrees Leo 16′ and is conjunct the Sun and Venus in Leo, forming a stellium. Generally Leo is a sign of plenty, and Jupiter rules expansion. Jupiter is on the cusp of the 9th house and shows how this affected two countries.

Venus is the ruler of the 10th house (Libra), 6th house (work), and 5th house (fun). The Sun rules the 9th house of foreign interests (countries). This stellium in Leo indicated to me that everyone wanted to do everything at the same time, and the grids could not take it. Too much consumption, too little supply.

The overall chart pattern is in a see-saw pattern, showing a need to try to balance back and forth the issues at hand to come to some balance in the end. Otherwise wide swings would occur back and forth, and this actually did occur as power fluctuations swung wildly back through the lines.

The next thing that was interesting was that Pluto was in Sagittarius and retrograde, but was conjunct the Ascendant of the chart. Pluto rules oil and natural gas as well as nuclear plants. The shut down of the nuclear plants for protection, was one of the main contributors to the wide spread blackout.

Generally Uranus is the ruler of electricity. At the time of the blackout Scorpio was ruling the 11th house of the chart. This meant that both Mars retrograde and Pluto were also rulers of 11th house issues like electricity. In this case both Mars and Uranus were in the sign of Pisces and both retrograde in the 3rd house of communication. Pisces is an intercepted sign in the 3rd house showing something that was hidden or not being expressed for some reason. Uranus was in a wide opposition to Jupiter in Leo (chart ruler), and there was some information that was not communicated in a timely fashion at this time.

Mars was quindecile the Sun and Venus in Leo indicating some compulsive repetitive action that occurred that contributed to the problem.

Looking at the sequence of events that transpired you look to the Moon for timing. The Moon was in Pisces indicating being unaware of the seriousness of the problem. The first separating aspect was a square (conflict angle) between the Moon in the 3rd house of communication, and Pluto in the 1st house of the chart. This shows that a lack of communication would ultimately cause some conflict in the area of oil and gas as well as Nuclear reactors.

The Moon then opposed Mercury in the 9th house of foreign issues. This is about communication and transport that is hidden and out of their control. Since Mercury is in an intercepted sign, this indicates that issues are occurring in the background or beneath the surface-things that we are unaware of and will alter the whole situation. In this case Mercury rules the 7th house of partnerships and 9th house of foreign issues. Foreign partners would be affected by what was occurring and were unaware of the issues.

The Moon then formed a quincunx (adjustment) with Venus in Leo first and then the Sun in Leo. This shows that adjustments were being made and needed to be made first in the area of business or careers (10th, 6th, 5th house) and work, and then in the area of foreign interests (9th house).

The final aspect was again a quincunx between the Moon and Jupiter in Leo. An adjustment to the consumption rate needed to be made, this occurred after the blackout occurred to get folks up and running again since this is an applying aspect between the Moon and Jupiter.

A very interesting chart for sure. I hope you all have fun working with this one.