Jupiter – Saturn Impact on Natural Disasters

Invoking the wisdom of the great sages Varahamihira and Parasara, DR. B. V. RAMAN drew attention to the fateful combination of the nultaneous transit of Krittika and Visakha respectively by Saturn and Jupiter during October and November 1970, which according to the sages forebode “terrible calamity for mankind” (THE ASTROLOGICAL MAGAZINE, January 1970). Such an eventuality envisaged nearly 2000 years in advance was remarkably fulfilled when a terrific cyclone struck the eastern part of the Indian subcontinent on November 13, 1970 wrecking havoc and leaving nearly half a million people dead, in what was one of the worst human disasters on record. Saturn in Aries ranged opposite Jupiter in Libra was greatly energized in alignment with the Full Moon releasing great devastating power. The sages thus provided the clue to the inherent potential of the superior planets Saturn and Jupiter as indicators of deadly calamities when in mutual opposition and conjunction position. We present below the incidence of some of the most catastrophic natural calamities that have struck in different parts of the world under the impact of the mighty planets Jupiter and Saturn coming together in conjunction or moving apart in opposition supporting the inference drawn by the sages.

 (ii) North Korea too was affected by the worst drought in a century in 2012 resulting in severe damage to livestock and agriculture.

(iii) Nigeria suffered from unprecedented floods resulting from heavy prolonged rains in 2012 submerging large areas.Nearly 1.3 million people were displaced with many casualties.

(iv) In December 2011 Typhoon Washi caused catastrophic damage and heavy casualties in Mindanao region of Philippines.

(v) The failure of the 1999 monsoon led to severe drought in 12 districts with Gujarat and Rajasthan the worst affected in 1999-2000 in India. Loss of crops and water scarcity caused great suffering.

(vi) A most devastating cyclone struck Bangladesh on November 13, 1970 causing heavy destruction and over 300,000 fatalities.

(vii) Peru was hit by a devastating earthquake on May 31, 1970 inflicting great destruction and leaving 66,794 people dead.

(viii) During the earlier round of Jupiter in Aries opposite Saturn severe windstorms in Europe caused tides in Netherlands and England on the night of January 31, 1953 resulting in the disastrous North Sea flood of 1953. The water level rode by 6.2 meters above sea level and caused extensive flooding and damage to the coastline. Thousands were evacuated and over 2000 people died.

(ix) During Saturn’s transit in Aries opposite Jupiter in Libra in 1911, a great earthquake of 8.4 magnitude struck Kazakhstan on January 3, 1911 causing extensive ground movement and destruction with many fatalities.

(x) In 1911, China also suffered a great calamity with a major flood in the Yangtze River wrecking havoc and claiming nearly 100,000 lives.

(xi) There is also a record of devastating volcanic eruption in Japan in 1792 when the two superior planets were similarly disposed. The violent eruption caused avalanches and tsunami that killed 14,300 people in Kyushu Island.

(xii) Lack of rains resulted in severe famine in Deccan, Maratha, Gujarat and Marwar in 1792 inflicting heavy mortality.

(i) Severe drought in the US Midwest during 2000-2004 affected crops with extreme damage to environment, leaving dry forests and depleted river basins. The north-east US was also affected by a severe drought in 1999.

(ii) During the transit of Saturn-Jupiter together in Aries in 1999-2000, Orissa was battered by a devastating super cyclone on October 29, 1999 wrecking havoc. Millions of people were affected by the cyclone and thousands killed. The disposition of the Nodes quadrangular to Saturn-Jupiter made the combination more potent.

(iii) Earlier Turkey was hit by a powerful earthquake on August 17, 1999, causing great destruction and loss of 17480 lives.

(iv) In December 1999, Venezuela suffered a great calamity from heavy mudslides and floods resulting in great destruction of property and death of nearly 20,000 people. The town of Los Corales was buried under 3 meters of mud and several towns disappeared.

(v) Mozambique was hit by catastrophic floods in Limpopo River caused by heavy rainfall for 5 weeks during February-March 2000 severely damaging crops and killing many people.

(vi) China was affected by a severe famine in 1941 during the earlier round of Jupiter-Saturn coming together in Aries. Nearly 3 million people perished in the calamity.

(vii) The Andaman Islands were struck by a major earthquake of magnitude 7.9 on December 31, 1881 generating a destructive tsunami under the impact of Jupiter-Saturn together in Aries.

(viii) Earlier, the Missouri River in spate from April 6-27 caused the Great Iowa Flood of 1881 flooding Iowa and inflicting heavy damage and loss.

(ix) A great calamity struck Barisal in erstwhile Bengal in May 1822 in the wake of Jupiter-Saturn coming together in Aries when the tidal waves produced by a severe storm caused great damage and loss of nearly 40,000 lives.

(x) Complete failure of potato crop led to acute food shortage and starvation deaths in the Ireland famine of 1821-1822.

(i) Bangladesh in Indian subcontinent suffered another deadly calamity in 1990 during the transit of Jupiter in Cancer opposite Saturn in Capricorn. A terrific cyclone devastated coastal Bangladesh on April 30, 1991, with nearly 250,000 fatalities.

(ii) A massive drought in Somalia from 1991 to 1994 combined with the war to cause severe famine in which nearly 30,000 people were starved to death.

(iii) The severe cyclone struck East Pakistan on May 9, 1961, causing much destruction and loss of over 11,000 lives.

(iv) Holodomor, Ukraine famine of 1932-1934 resulted from heavy crop failure and led to the death of about 5 million people during the disposition of Jupiter in Cancer opposite Saturn in Capricorn.

(v) The Great European Famine of 1315-1317 that took a toll of about 7.5 million lives was occasioned during the transit of Jupiter in Cancer opposite Saturn in Capricorn.

(i) Mt Pelee Volcano in Martinique exploded on May 8, 1902, and within minutes Saint-Pierre City was in shambles, burning to death all but two of its nearly 30,000 inhabitants under the impact of Jupiter-Saturn conjunction in Capricorn. A day earlier Soufriere Volcano in St. Vincent had erupted with much devastation.

(ii) Large-scale drought in Australia in 1902 caused enormous loss of crops and livestock.

(iii) India suffered a deadly famine in 1344-1345 causing severe starvation and heavy fatality with Jupiter and Saturn conjoined in Capricorn.

(iv) Japan was rocked by six years of drought, famine and disease from 1226-1231 causing immense suffering and mortality under the influence of Jupiter and Saturn coming together in 1226.

(ii) With Jupiter positioned in Taurus opposite Saturn in Scorpio Sicily became the victim of a devastating earthquake on January 11,1693. It generated a powerful tsunami leaving two-third of Catania in ruins and 60,000 inhabitants dead.

(iii) Chile bore the brunt of one of the strongest and most destructive earthquakes that struck on May 25, 1751. The great shock lasted about 6 minutes and produced powerful tsunami. The calamity struck under Jupiter’s sojourn in Taurus opposite Saturn.

(i) Texas suffered a most severe drought starting from 1950-51 with southwestern US and New Mexico also badly affected.

(ii) The Great Assam earthquake of August 15, 1950 came in the wake of Saturn transiting Leo opposite Jupiter in Aquarius. The 8.7    magnitude earthquake caused heavy destruction and loss of life.

(iii) Dry weather in 1890 and 1891 along Volga River extending up to Urals and Black Sea resulted in severe drought that led to catastrophic famine in which half a million people perished. Here also Saturn in Leo was disposed opposite Jupiter in Aquarius.

(i) Worst in 100 years, Canada suffered the most extensive and costly drought in 2001-2002 badly affecting the Prairies with heavy loss of crops.

(ii) The Summer drought in 2001 affected much of Central America from Nicaragua to Guatemala causing heavy crop failure

(iii) The conjunction of Saturn and Jupiter in Taurus unleashed a devastating earthquake in Bhuj on January 26, 2001 causing great destruction and over 10,000 fatalities.

(iv) Saturn and Jupiter were together in 1941 when a major disaster struck Peru. A huge glacier piece fell into the lake producing high waves that breached moraine walls and submerged Huarez City. The disaster caused heavy damage and nearly 5000 deaths.

(i) Jupiter-Saturn joined together in Leo during the massive crop failure in Ukraine leading to a severe famine in 1922-1923 in which nearly 5 million people perished.

(ii) California was subjected to severe drought from 1862-1865 wrecking havoc in most parts of the region under the impact of Jupiter- Saturn in Leo.

 (ii) The US seismic disaster was followed by the deadly Rudbar earthquake hitting Iran on June 20, 1990 with devastating force causing great destruction and killing 40,000 inhabitants.

(iii) During the movement of Jupiter in Gemini opposite Saturn during 1930-1931, Napier in New Zealand was struck by a massive earthquake on February 2, 1931, the shock lasting 2.5 minutes and destroying most of the city with many fatalities.

(iv) Earlier Dominican Republic in the Caribbean was hit by one of the worst storms on September 1-5, 1930, largely destroying the capital city of Santo Domingo and killing nearly 8000 people.

(v) The progression of Jupiter in Gemini opposite Saturn during 1811-1812 led to a succession of great earthquakes in New Madrid. USA on December 16, January 23 and February 7,1811 destroying half the town of New Madrid. Venezuela also suffered great destruction by a deadly earthquake striking on March 21, 1812 and taking a toll of over 26,000 lives.

(vi) Massive famine in France during 1693-1694 left 1.3 million people dead under Jupiter’s transit in Gemini opposite Saturn.

(i) Japan suffered her worst calamity when the Mega earthquake of magnitude 9.0 struck off Pacific Coast on March 11, 2011 raising powerful tsunami waves that rose up to 6 meters and caused extensive devastation in Miyako. The nuclear plant suffered serious damage, causing radiation leakage and 15883 people lost their life. The disposition of the Nodes across Gemini-Sagittarius quadrangular to Saturn- Jupiter added to the fury of the calamity.

(ii) A stream of 336 terrible tornadoes swept across USA between April 25-28, 2011 causing widespread devastation and loss of 353 lives. Another set of violent tornadoes swept through Midwest US from May 21-26 wrecking heavy destruction and 175 fatalities.

(iii) Mt Merapi in Philippines erupted explosively on October 25-26,2010 causing great damage and loss of lives.

(iv) Powerful earthquake on September 3, 2010 caused widespread devastation in Christchurch, New Zealand.

(v) Pakistan suffered her worst floods in July- August 2010 with vast areas inundated causing devastation and loss of hundreds of lives.

(vi) Devastating floods hit Central Europe from May 20 to June 10, 2010 with Poland the worst affected.

(vii) The Great Tokachi-Oki earthquake of magnitude 8.3 hit Japan on March 4, 1952 producing tsunami and causing heavy damage and casualties under Jupiter in Pisces opposite Saturn.

(viii) Earlier, the Great Flood of Kansas in 1951 was the most devastating for the Kansas City, inundating the district with 4.5 to 9 meters of water.

(ix) During Jupiter’s stay in Virgo opposite Saturn in Pisces in 1732 Japan went through widespread famine resulting from the devastation to the crops by locusts. The calamity affected nearly 1.6 million people leaving 17,000 dead.

(i) Jupiter-Saturn joining in Virgo led to a devastating tropical storm striking China on August 2-3, 1928 and causing great damage and death of over 50,000 inhabitants.

(ii) The Great California Flood of January 9-12, 1862 resulting from continuous rainfall caused great calamity with the entire Sacramento and San Joaquin Valleys getting inundated over 400-480 km in the wake of Jupiter joining Saturn in Virgo.

(i) Jupiter-Saturn conjunction in Sagittarius led to the Great Chilean Earthquake of May 22, 1960, possibly the largest earthquake in recorded history reaching the magnitude of 9.5. It caused landslides and tsunami waves 25 meter high wrecking destruction and leaving over 6000 dead.

(ii) In the deadliest earthquake to strike Morocco on February 29, 1960 Agadir was almost destroyed and nearly 15,000 people perished.

(iii) A long period of dry weather culminated in large scale drought in Australia in 1902 causing enormous loss of livestock and crops to inflict great suffering to the people. Both the superior planets were together in Sagittarius.

(iv) The Great Calabria Earthquake in Italy struck on February 5, 1783 with devastation, generating 20-ft tsunami waves and leaving 35000 dead in the wake of Jupiter joining Saturn in Sagittarius.

(v) With the passage of Jupiter-Saturn together in Sagittarius in 1782 South India including the Mysore Kingdom and Madras territory weathered the catastrophic famine which claimed millions of lives.

(i) The conjunction of Jupiter-Saturn in Pisces resulted in a famine in Ireland during 1821-1822 following complete failure of potato crops and leading to starvation deaths.

(i) It is observed that the mutable signs are the most vulnerable to major catastrophes under stimulation of the superior planets Jupiter and Saturn followed by their disposition in common signs and the immutable signs appear to be the least vulnerable.

(ii) The movable sign Aries appears to be the most vulnerable for Saturn-Jupiter to be in conjunction or in opposition.

(iii) The movable sign Cancer, the fixed signs Scorpio and Aquarius and the common sign Gemini are least affected by the joint impact of Jupiter-Saturn in affecting major calamities.