The life of a miner is almost impossible to understand for someone who has never been down a mine. 2000 meters under the surface the temperature is 35C and the humidity 90%. There is no light, except for the lamp in your helmet. So when the mine collapses – as it did for the 33 Chilean miners on August 5th, 2010 – and you have two days food rations to survive on, death seems a near certainty. Death is what comes to most miners under these circumstances. In China at the same time there was a mine explosion which killed 37 miners. (In fact over 2500 miners lost their lives in China in 2009.)The Chilean miners were into their 17th day of darkness and starvation when a drill piece entered their chamber on August 22nd. They we able to send a note saying “estamos bien el refugio los 33″ – all were alive and well – and from that moment Chile was galvanized into national effort to liberate the miners from the bowels of Mother Earth. Engineers, designers, psychologists and experts from around the world devised a method to keep the miners sane and to bore through solid granite. They went into action, expecting – if all went well – to have the miners out by December. The story of the resurrection of the 33 miners has become a metaphor of rebirth with political repercussions worldwide.
After all, it has been estimated that one billion people witnessed the rescue of the miners 69 days after their burial. People in Pakistan ask why – in comparison to their president who was in Europe during their catastrophic floods – the president of Chile was present at the mine and welcomed each and every miner coming out of the birth channel so laboriously drilled. Chinese miners ask what Chile can do, that China is unable to. Workers listen the words of President Pinera of Chile (whose approval ratings have soared to 86% – re-election anyone?) who said that from now on Chile would start aiming to become the first Latin American country in which poverty, bad working practices and injustice would be eradicated.
Traditionally Chile has been one of the more enlightened Latin American countries, giving strong support to the UN and other international organizations, and welcoming free trade agreements and open banking. In the West we tend to associate Chile with the 17 years of repression under General Pinochet, but in actual fact this country has been remarkable free of military dictatorship at other times in its history, in comparison with for example Mexico, Argentina and Brazil.
Chile gained independence on February 12th, 1818, which was a time of the complete dissolution of Spanish power in South America.
CHILE: 12.02.1818 12.00 LMT – Santiago, Chile. AS 13.42 TA (BOWH)
Horoscopes in this period of history show that a new conjunction cycle of Uranus and Neptune began – a cycle which repeated once again in the early 1990’s with another dissolution of a dominant political entity – the Soviet Union. Napoleon had been defeated in 1815 and the European map was redrawn, and this awakened independence movements all over South America. In the horoscope for Chile, Uranus is catching up with Neptune in Sagittarius, and drawing ever closer to a square with Pluto, which in turn is conjoined by Saturn… an extremely unstable constellation, which brought revolution in Spain and the subsequent loss of Mexico and the rest of its colonies in South America.
Spain was not very happy about Chile’s declaration of independence and sent an army to crush the rebellion. This was thoroughly defeated at the Battle of Maipu on April 5th of the same year, which is an alternative horoscope that can be used for Chile. (Note 1)
In both horoscopes for Chile the Sun conjoins Venus. In fact, taking 12 noon as the timing for the independence chart, the Moon and North Node conjoins the Ascendant in Taurus, and this may well be an indication of Chile’s greatest resource – it is a major supplier of copper, which is traditionally ruled by Venus. Chile has thrived and prospered through these copper resources since 1818, but in the 1960’s the Cold War saw Chile being drawn in to the communist sphere of influence, which led to the election of President Allende, who promptly nationalized the US owned copper mines. As there were huge corporate US interests running major industries in Chile, and because the US did not take kindly to visits by Castro and Soviet officials, the US government started plotting the downfall of Allende.
It is difficult to know how much Allende contributed to his own downfall – his radical left-wing policies alienated students and workers alike. But the CIA financed the ultra-conservative forces in Chile and as recently released records show that President Nixon’s avowed policy was, quote, “Make the economy scream [in Chile to] prevent Allende from coming to power or to unseat him”, there were powerful forces arrayed against him. A military coup took place on September 11th, 1973, Allende was killed in the Presidential palace (or took his own life), and an era of brutal suppression followed under the dictatorship of general Pinochet. In fact about 3000 people lost their lives (and countless were imprisoned), strangely reminiscent of the 3000 people who also lost their lives under another infamous catastrophe that took place on September 11th … 28 years later in New York.
The military coup took place when transit Uranus was opposing the new moon conjunction Venus of the battle of Maipu horoscope. More significantly, Saturn at 3.37 Cancer was square Pluto 3.31 Libra. Saturn/Pluto aspects are the signature of repressive dictatorships, and in this case they activated the position of Jupiter at 4.52 Capricorn and Mars at 5.13 Cancer in the two 1818 foundation horoscopes.
It is interesting then that the mining drama in Chile also took place 37 years after the coup under the next Saturn/Pluto square… this time signifying resurrection for Chile.
MINE ACCIDENT: August 5th, 2010 12.00 Calama. AS 14.31 SC
I do not have the exact time for the accident, but the mine collapsed when the miners were having lunch in their shelter, which was very fortunate. Here we can see the massive T-square with Mars conjoining Saturn, both opposing the Jupiter/Uranus conjunction (still in Aries at this time) and squaring Pluto. The position of Jupiter at 4.52 Capricorn in the 1818 horoscope is powerfully stimulated by this T-square. This itself indicates are that there will be a major reform of the mining industry, which Jupiter in Capricorn symbolizes.
The unfolding of the drama deep inside the bowels of the earth in northern Chile, appeared to synchronize with the unique dance of Mars and Venus, as they conjoined twice with Venus entering Scorpio and moving retrograde, allowing the much slower Mars to catch up.
Seventeen days into their living burial, hope came to the miners, their families, and President Pinera who committed the resources of the Chilean state, and his own credibility, to rescue the miners from what at first seemed an impossible situation.
The horoscope for the discovery of the miners on August 22nd happened exactly as Venus moved through Libra to conjoin Mars. If Mars represents the men (in detriment in Libra) Venus was their savior. This conjunction exactly opposed the new moon for the Maipu horoscope. Furthermore, Mercury at this time had just moved stationary retrograde at 19.02 Virgo, exactly squaring independence Uranus and opposing independence Chiron. Surprising news for the healing of the nation.
The remaining 52 days was a media scramble that transformed the arid desert where the miners were buried into a hi-tech colony. But underground, as Venus and Mars entered Scorpio, the miners – now with food and communication – still had to battle with the darkness and desperation. We cannot know – yet – what they went through, but Venus will go direct in November and once again trace its steps through Scorpio. The miners had made a pledge of silence about the first 17 days, when nerves snapped and hysteria sometimes took over. However, with huge sums of money being offered for the full story, many details will come out during the period from November to January, when Venus makes its final pass through Scorpio. We will learn of the wives and mistresses left behind, and the way money can be used to get people to divulge secrets they would rather not.
RESCUE: First miner rescued 13th October, 2010 00.10 Calama. AS 4.30 CN
The first miner emerged from the earth – a second birth – just after midnight on October 13th. This rescue horoscope speaks eloquently of the rescue as the first man to be “reborn” emerges with the Descendant exactly on the Pluto/Node conjunction and Mercury exactly conjoining the IC – travel up the tube. Mercury is exactly opposing the new moon of the Maipu chart. By this time Mars had in fact overtaken Venus, which was now retrograde exactly on the South Node in Scorpio in the independence chart. Here the nodal axis from Taurus to Scorpio serves as a kind of birth canal, leading from the darkness underground to the blinding television lights above. The nodes are the escape route for Venus, uniting the men underground, with their women above. In parallel, during the course of the next day, the moon conjoins Pluto and the north node, and the god of the underworld releases his victims, allowing them to come back to the surface and a new life.
The actual date when all the miners reached the surface was 13.10.10, which – as President Pinera himself pointed out, adds up to 33. It took 33 days from commencement of drilling to reach the miners… one day per man. The diameter of the shaft was 66 cms. As Maria Segovia, sister of miner Dario Segovia said, “The 33 appears in everything, everything matches, it’s a miracle,” and the many devout Catholics in Chile point out that Jesus was 33 when he was crucified and resurrected.
The true miracle will be if mine owners review safety practices and improve conditions for their workers. The mine in Chile had actually been closed because of safety concerns and reopened because the price of copper has been extremely high. Miners worldwide have traditionally been exploited by corporations and governments. The bond of solidarity between miners and mining communities is extremely strong, but it is no compensation for the danger from accidents and lung disease that all too often claim the lives of miners. If the miracle in Chile is to have long-term impact, then Saturn in Libra must bring balance and justice in regulating that the heartless guardian of the mines… Pluto in Capricorn.
Adrian Duncan 19.10.2010
1. The Battle of Maipu took place on the new moon in Aries on April 5th, 1818 and ended at 14.30 with the defeat of the Spanish forces. Source: The Book of World Horoscopes – Nick Campion.