Titanic 100 Years On. The astrology of the fateful event.
There’s something about Titanic which resonates within us on a deep, emotional level. 100 years ago on the 10th April 1912, Titanic set sail on her doomed maiden voyage from Southampton to New York. The largest ship afloat at that time, she sank in the North Atlantic after striking an ice berg in flat, mirror-like seas resulting in the death of 1,514 people.
James Cameron’s 1997 blockbuster film Titanic broke box offices records worldwide and made its director the ‘King of the World’ with its story of the star-crossed young lovers on the doomed White Star liner Rose (Kate Winslet) and Jack (Leonardo DiCaprio). Which leads us to the question – was Titanic herself star-crossed? Was the ship in fact doomed from the moment she set sail? Astrology provides us with some intriguing insights.
On April 2nd, 1912 Titanic began her sea trails. This involved taking the ship out, making a few stops and turns and then sending her back into dock. As these trails began a fire was discovered in one of the ship’s coal bunkers. It had started the day before. This fire burned so hot – an estimated 1,330 degrees, that it warped one of the ship’s major bulkheads- the same one that failed so catastrophically just before the ship sank. On this day Mercury was direct in Aries (Mercury rules short journeys). However, within hours of this two major planets changed direction in the sky. Jupiter went retrograde in Sagittarius its ruling sign, and the planet Neptune went direct in watery Cancer. Both planets would have had a strong connection to the ship, with Jupiter representing the ship itself as it rules large (Titanic!) objects as well as long distance travel, and Neptune rules the sea. Then three days later, Mercury went retrograde – setting the stage for things to go very wrong.
Titanic set sail on her maiden voyage at high noon on April 10th, 1912. At this time the Sun and the North node were conjunct and on the high heaven in Aries indicating Titanic’s entry into the world. The South node was in Libra. But Neptune was by now lurking in the 12th house – of hidden dangers and casting an unseen shadow over the voyage. The North node in Aries gives fire and impulsiveness – we have already seen the fire burning out of control during the sea trails. When she struck the iceberg she was flying across the water at a speed of 22.5 knots which exceeded her top cruising speed by one knot and 24 of her 29 boilers were blazing away. What is more Mars and Pluto were conjunct – indicating recklessness and a connection to the underworld.
The South node in Libra in this case brings out the negative side of Libra which is all to do with complacency. No lifeboat drills were conducted during the voyage. It was not an auspicious beginning.
On April 11th, 1912 at 2.30pm Titanic left Kinsale, Ireland – the last time she would see land. Again, the astrology did not look good for the rest of the voyage. The Sun and North node were now sitting in the 8th house of endings. Mercury which rules communications was still retrograde and we can see how this played out first by Captain Smith ignoring not one but over 20 ice berg warnings, and later with the ship’s mayday calls going unanswered. By the time she struck the iceberg on April 14, 1912 at 11.40pm, retrograde Jupiter had moved into the 12th house while the majority of the other planets – Uranus, the Moon, Mercury, the North Node, Sun, Venus and Saturn all lie literally ‘sunk’ at the bottom of the chart., signalling where the ship is destined to end up.
It took 10 minutes for Titanic to reach the ocean floor, 2.5 miles down where she would rest until discovered by Bob Ballard in 1985. When she hit the bottom the dual sign of Gemini the twins was at the bottom of the chart and the ship was in two pieces.
100 years on and Titanic evokes a vast emotional spectrum within us as we recall her memory and those who lost their lives on that tragic voyage.
Helen Pin 2173
