COMET ELENIN

If you enjoy a trip down a metaphorical rabbithole and are not of nervous disposition, try typing "Elenin" into the Google searchbox.

Elenin, technical name C/2010x1 is a long-period comet discovered last December by a Russian amateur astronomer, mathematics and astronomy teacher, Leonid Elenin, using a robotic telescope located in New Mexico (presumably remotely, as is possible these days). Elenin will make its closes pass to Earth in around three months time.

NASA representatives tell us that this comet isn't a giant, in fact it has been described as "wimpy" in comparison to some others we've seen in the past. Still though, the internet crowd of conspiracy theorists, doomsayers and even a few astrologers have been doing what they do best during the months since the comet's discovery: painting lurid pictures of what is to come - fearmongering, to grab readers' attention. There are some weird and not so wonderful ideas being fielded out there as to what Elenin's visit to the neighbourhood might mean for us.

The unusual, and significant (for me) factor about Elenin is the huge length of its round-trip. Three and a half million years is the current estimate arrived at by using software available. Could be inaccurate, I guess, but even something near to that would be impressive. Considerably shorter time spans would mean that this comet's visit to our skies has never happened before during recorded history. Astrologically THAT is the kicker, I think. Detail of exactly what it means for us can't possibly be interpreted, other than to say that it's likely to be something humans have so far not experienced ("as above so below").

My advice to internet searchers: ignore references to Nibiru or "brown dwarfs" (if the comet were one of those it'd be easily identifiable by now, by anyone with a powerful telescope - and it ain't). Ignore talk of collision. The comet will be travelling far from us, 22 million miles distant being the latest estimate.

Leonid Elinen has a page on Facebook - I'm averse to Facebook myself, but the information might be of interest to others. He also has a blog where readers can be sure they will be free from conspiracy theorists, or at least cushioned from them by more rational types. Thunderbolts Forum is another site with reliable information and a good proportion of level headed contributors.

There are many who believe that Elenin's transit, when it aligns to the Sun, links to the triggering of earthquake events. Those in Chile and Japan are cited as examples. There is some evidence to support that. I tend to see the comet (and the planets for that matter) more as the hands on a cosmic clock indicating movement and passage of waves of time. Here comes a long distance hand then, possibly pointing up a cluster of highly unusual events, not necessarily earthquakes, not necessarily disastrous. Why do all conspiracy theorists always go for the doomiest possible scenarios?

Several dates are being floated as "the ones to watch", linked to the comet's perihelion or alignments to Sun/Moon or other planets. These include 10 September, 27 September, 18 October, and our old friend 11 November (11.11.11) - in general the period from beginning of September to beginning of November. After that Elenin will be gone, never to be seen again in our part of the universe for more than 3 million years.

Comets, Prophecies, Mother Shipton, William Lilly.

I understand that round about now Comet Lulin (or is it Lu Lin?) is travelling at its nearest point to Earth, close to Saturn in Virgo, and close to the ecliptic. Nobody has any clear idea what astrological significance comets have; as each one passes we watch and wait, and hope a pattern emerges.

Traditionally comets have had a somewhat doomy reputation, often connected to the death of kings or leaders. I wonder whether this came about coincidentally, because it just so happened that a king once died while a comet was observable in the skies. Perhaps on more than one occasion someone prominent in public life shuffled off this mortal coil along with a comet's passing. Well, there are and were lots of kings and leaders in the world at any one time, many in their senior years. It doesn't take much imagination to see how that idea might have been born.

A medieval painting (1456 AD) shows a comet and ill-effects quite clearly: weather disruption, death, sickness. Again, whether connected to the comet or some other (astrological or different) reason isn't known.

Medieval Painting Dated 1456 AD, Near A Pass Of Halley's Comet.

Prophets and mediums throughout the years have come up with visions and predictions of doom and gloom; on occasion they, or their listeners have sometimes linked these to asteroids or comets striking the Earth, setting off all manner of disaster. It's not out of the question that this did happen in the very distant past, and could one day happen again. I don't, though, think that any prophet's proposed dates for the events are to be relied upon.

For the strong of constitution there's a website on the subject of predictions of disaster-by-comet HERE. I was particularly interested in the chapter on Mother Shipton (1488 - 1561) and her prophecies which some would try to say can be linked to disasters still to happen. She was a prophetess (some called her a witch) who lived in Yorkshire - my home county in England.

Mother Shipton's real name was Agatha Southeil, Shipton after marriage. There's a memorial place - Mother Shipton's Cave and Dripping Well or Petrifying Well, in a town called Knaresborough, on the banks of River Nidd.


People, over time have left small objects (children's shoes, hat, gloves, etc.) hanging under dripping water near the cave, and due to a heavy dose of minerals in the water, the objects have turned to stone. I visited the cave several times, long ago with my parents.
I recall that my grandmother, also a Yorkshire woman, had an old postcard with some of the Shipton prophecies printed on it. She kept it carefully preserved in her dressing table drawer. A few lines from the card I still remember

"Around the world thoughts shall fly,
in the twinkling of an eye....
Iron in the water shall float
As easy as a wooden boat;
Gold shall be found, and found,
In a land that's not now known".... there was more.

Some sources on the net propose that the whole thing, including Mother Shipton's existence, is a hoax. That, I believe is untrue. I do think though that additions have been made to her original prophecies in more modern times - there lies the hoax.

At a website presenting information from a detailed investigation of the Shipton story, carried out in 1881, here a name familiar to astrologers crops up: William Lilly. He "makes no question that Mother Shipton existed, and says that in his time the authenticity of her prophecies was undisputed. He had means, which we in modern times have not, of drawing a conclusion, and altogether it is tolerably certain that Mother Shipton had an actual existence."

The conclusion, from study of unimpeachable sources, available in in the British Museum, was that Mother Shipton's prophecies were fulfilled before the middle of the 17th Century. That tends to cancel out any present-day doom-mongers' attempts to place events Mother Shipton had prophesied into the 21st century or later, and relate them to comet or asteroid strikes still to come. She did say that the world would end in 1881, so her prophecies, in common with those of all prophets through the years, were not infallible.

There's an interesting article on Mother Shipton's life at a section of the Knaresborough tourist website. It's an easy, but long, read, with serious historical detail included about her parents and background. (Left: Mother Shipton's Cave in Knaresborough, Yorkshire.)

Comets - who needs 'em?

Comet Holmes has been causing a stir among astronomers and astrologers recently. We managed to see it for the first time on Wednesday evening, when the skies were completely clear over the old homestead. Opinions vary as to this comet's astrological significance, inevitably some are gloom-laden and depressing. I'm going to ignore those - I can see more depressing items than you can shake a stick at, every day in news articles on the web. I sure as hell don't wish to think about anything extra that Comet Holmes may have in store for us!

In the 21st century we don't need comets to bring us death and destruction, we can do it all freehand, thank you very much. War in Iraq, potential attack on Iran, dreadful events in Darfur, famines, greed, torture, sick children without health care, environmental destruction, the USA slipping silently and uncomplainingly into fascism. We are playing a blinder, aren't we? Anything that Comet Holmes can bring, on top of that lot, is likely to be pretty insignificant in the great scheme of things.

Comets have been fascinating Earth's population throughout the centuries, a few examples of this below, from Wordcraft.net. The first two, plus small illustration at the start of the blog entry, are from 1910 (Halley's Comet), the third is from the 15th century, and the last from the 19th century.









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Oh - I nearly forgot ! Happy Birthday Oklahoma! Oklahoma became a state on this day in 1907, today it celebrates its Centennial.

Paint it "blue" in 2008, Okies, and then.....(singing)

"You're doing fine Oklahoma,

Oklahoma OK

O-K-L-A-H-O-M-A, Oklahoma!!!"

The Weather, Comets and Astrology

A cardinal visiting our backyard for his breakfast yesterday.

Whilst I don't believe that "The End Times" are nigh, the long string of recent freak weather detailed at The Great Red Comet blog http://sky-watch.blogspot.com/ does give cause for thought, especially regarding Comet McNaught's possible effect on our weather since it appeared in our skies. (Late addition - please see interesting information posted today on this topic at Jude Cowell's site http://starsoverwashington.blogspot.com/ )

In astrology we believe "as above, so below". Above us last week in the USA and Europe was a rare sight (for those lucky enough to be in the right place at the right time). Below, here on Earth, many people experienced rare weather. To be reasonable about this, it IS mid-winter in the northern hemisphere. Skeptics will say "What do you expect?" Agreed - we expect it to be seasonally cold or hot, but the longlasting and severe swath of Arctic weather presently spreading across the USA is more severe than normal. Oklahoma has been declared a Federal Disaster area by President Bush - that's rare! Scientists say that the only way an object such as a comet can affect the Earth is to hit it. How can they be so sure ?

I'm not in a position to comment on the rest of the weather items mentioned in The Red Comet blog, but grouped together as they are, it inclines one to pause and wonder.

More on weather and astrology at a blog written by Ken Paone, who, I understand, has been working with Kepler's long-range weather forecasting method for about 14 years.

"The Weather Alternative" http://theweatheralternative.blogspot.com/

On 27 December 2006 the author told of an historic snow storm.

"January 12, 2007 will mark the 119th anniversary of the Children’s Blizzard. Also known as the Schoolhouse Blizzard or the Schoolchildren’s Blizzard, this powerful storm hit the U.S. Plains unexpectedly on January 12, 1888. Only those who lived close to telegraph offices or railroad stations received news of the approaching storm from the U.S. Signal Corps. Many people, however, were caught unaware. Children were trapped in one-room schoolhouses or met their fate trying to find their way back home. Farmers were caught without protection taking care of their livestock as were family members doing errands in town. It is estimated that 235 people died that day on the Dakota-Nebraska prairie—more than a hundred of them children.

He goes on to say

The astro-meteorology behind the Children’s Blizzard shows that on the 11th and 12th of January Mars conjoined Uranus as Mercury made a 90 degree angle to Mars and Uranus. Mars-Uranus contacts indicate acute, energetic, erratic action and provoke wind velocities of varying intensities. Mercury-Uranus is known to provoke falling temperatures and erratic gusts of wind. Mercury-Mars action indicates sudden brief spurts of whipping winds....................................

This January(2007), roughly from the 27th through the 30th, shows that the solar eclipse of March 29, 2006 will be activated. The implications are that a powerful storm, perhaps a blizzard, will develop over the Plains and push eastward across the Mississippi Valley and toward the East Coast. I’m in no wise thinking that this storm will be anything like the Children’s Blizzard of 1888. The similarity resides in the fact that, in both cases, eclipse charts are involved. The planetary energies involved, however, are different. This January we will be dealing with a Mercury-Saturn opposition, a sure harbinger of a strong low pressure system."

So..... more fun to come then ????

Comets

Jonathan Cainer's website alert to the fact that Comet McNaught might be visible these nights led me to go see if I could spot it near the horizon, and later, seek more information about comets in general.

So far I haven't been able to see the comet, we have had clear skies for the past 2 nights, and found a reasonably clear horizon. Perhaps in SW Oklahoma we are too far south ? Most photographs of the comet I've seen on-line come from more northerly locations, Canada, northern Europe, or Scotland.

I found some interesting facts and figures on comets here:
http://www.geocities.com/mahtezcatpoc/comets.html
and
http://accessnewage.com/articles/astro/HALE-BOP.HTM

What has intrigued me is that the two comets which were visible in 1996 and 1997 might have had influence in my own life. It could be pure coincidence, of course, or due to a combination of other astrological influences which were certainly present at those times. I thought it interesting enough to relate my story, anyway.

According to the first of the above linked sites
" Comet Hyakutake perihelioned on May 1, 1996 at 11 Taurus 26 and attained a maximum magnitude of +0. "

In my natal chart the South Node of the Moon lies at 13 Taurus, with Uranus conjunct - this was close to the comet's perihelion! On 21 April 1996, 10 days before the comet perihelioned one of my life's biggest disasters occurred.

A fire broke out in a building adjoining the 2nd floor apartment where I and my late partner had lived for some 23 years. The fire spread, engulfed our apartment and destroyed everything in it. We escaped with our lives, the few clothes we had on and, fortunately, my handbag, with credit card and some cash. We had to start again, from scratch. It was difficult at first. The alternative apartment we found wasn't pleasant. We suffered a break-in during the first few months - how unlucky were those burglars, for we had next to nothing to steal!

In early spring of the following year, 1997, I made a determined attempt to find a different place to live. In late February Comet Hale-Bopp was conjunct my Sun at 6*46 Aquarius, according to the second link above. In early March I found a nice and affordable house to rent. But it seems that the comet's influence persisted.... my mother, who was in reasonably good health for her age at the time, helped us to move in to the new abode. Within 3 months she was diagnosed with cancer, and by August she had died. She left me her home by the sea, 70 miles away. We were unable to move at the time due to my job, but when I retired in 1999 we moved to live there .

The chain of events had not ended. My partner became ill, deteriorated gradually and died early in 2003. The chain continued. I met my present husband, we married in 2004 and I sold my home and emigrated to the USA late that year. The chain ends here, in Oklahoma!

As I pointed out , these matters could well be coincidental, or connected to other astrological events in my natal chart (notably a Saturn return in 1997, Pluto conjunct my natal Venus on two occasions in 2003, also Uranus was close to my Sun all through 1996). I can't help feeling though that one or other (or both) those comets, so close to sensitive points in my natal chart, initiated or intensified this chain of events. It has been the most eventful time of my life! A visit to The Twilight Zone ?