In this article I will analyse three of the major earthquakes which have affected Turkey over the last 100 years or so.
1939 Erzincan earthquake: December 27 1939, 01:57:23 am.
1999 Izmit earthquake: August 17 1999, 03:01:39 am.
2023 Gaziantep earthquake: February 6 2023, 04:17:34 am.
Despite the fact that some Fixed planetary configurations recurred, the three events unfolded under completely different astrological circumstances. One of the pathways I have been following is the possibility of previous eclipses being activated by regular transits. Such eclipses must have either shadowed (or partially shadowed) critical areas along major fault lines, or occurred near the Meridian line. The latter case, which appears more often in my research on major seismic events, is related to the moment of exact Sun-Moon conjunction (and not necessarily the moment of maximum eclipse). Therefore, I will begin this study by considering the eclipses which were angular over the areas affected by major earthquakes, and verifying if any transits, progressions or directions activated them when the geological events occurred.
December 1939 Erzincan earthquake
32,700 deaths and a magnitude of 7.8 (USGS.GOV).
In the decade prior to that event, the most angular Solar Eclipse which had occurred fell at 6 Leo on July 30 1935. At the moment of the quake, a Venus-Pluto opposition activated the eclipsed degree. The wide orb can perhaps be explained by the fact that the eclipse itself should be considered as an integral part of a complex configuration which involved Uranus at 5 Taurus, Mars at 0 Scorpio, and the Ascendant at 1 Scorpio. The average trigger point was 3.42 degrees of Fixed Signs, which was quite close to the Venus-Pluto opposition of the 1939 earthquake. Furthermore, if we calculate the average of the 1939 triggering configuration (Uranus at 18 Taurus and Venus-Pluto across 2 Leo/Aquarius) we obtain 10 degrees of Fixed signs, which was the position of the Secondary Progressed/Solar Arc Directed Sun of the July 1935 Solar Eclipse chart. Here I am applying a technique explained by Rob Hand in ‘Planets in Transit‘, a book in which he deals with transits to natal charts.
August 1999 Izmit earthquake
At least 17,000 deaths and a magnitude of 7.6 (USGS.GOV).
In this case it is possible to identify a quicker potential activation of the eclipse chart. The Solar Eclipse which occurred on August 11 1999 at 18 Leo was 16 degrees away from the local Meridian (of the epicentre). Nevertheless, the Sun-Moon conjunction squared the Ascendant/Descendant axis. The most significant planetary configuration of that worrisome Eclipse was the Fixed Square to which it participated by forming squares with Saturn at 16 Taurus, Mars at 16 Scorpio and Uranus at 14 Aquarius. The quick trigger (less than a week passed between Eclipse and earthquake), may be related to the combined aspects of these three planets to the eclipsed degree. Surprisingly, the average between Mars and Saturn at the moment of the earthquake was 18.47 Fixed, therefore the eclipsed degree.
February 2023 Gaziantep earthquake
At least 50,000 deaths and a magnitude of 7.8 (USGS.GOV).
In this case, the Solar Eclipse of August 11 2018 can be identified. The exact Sun-Moon conjunction occurred six degrees away from the MC in Gaziantep, in alignment with a partile Mercury-Jupiter square. Also, it needs to be noted that Jupiter was rising at that moment. The predominance of Fixed configurations is a dominant feature here as well. In February 2023, the Sec. Prog/Solar Arc Dir. Sun was within one degree of orb from the MC of the eclipse chart. Also, Uranus was at 15 degrees of Taurus, conjunct the Eclipse chart’s Descendant and aligned with the aforementioned Mercury-Jupiter square. At the same time, Saturn was on the eclipse chart’s IC . Yet, the most surprising trigger was that of the Full Moon in Leo which occurred on the day of the Gaziantep earthquake. The Full Moon fell at 16 Leo, on a tight square with Uranus, which rendered those days very unstable. Therefore, the earthquake occurred under a combined Solar, Lunar and planetary activation via both transits and progressions.
More research is needed on this topic, and there are surely hidden factors which are still ignored at this time. Nevertheless, I consider this research path worth pursuing.
