On Friday, 13 January 2012, at 9:42 PM local time, the cruise ship Costa Concordia struck a rock and partially sank off the Tuscan coast of Italy at Isola del Giglio. Coming too close to shore, allegedly to give islanders a better glimpse of the light-bedecked ship, the impact ripped a 160-foot gash on the port side, whereupon the vessel quickly listed and began to fill with water. A very disorderly exit of the 4,229 passengers and crew ensued, with 11 deaths known as of January 17, another 29 persons still missing.
The captain, Francesco Schettino, is alleged to have abandoned ship and is currently under arrest pending investigation of charges for involuntary manslaughter and abandoning ship before passengers were evacuated. Schettino maintains that his course, although altered, was presumed to be safe, as the rock which he struck was not listed on nautical charts of the area. By tonnage, the Costa Concordia is the largest vessel in history to be shipwrecked; provisional structural analysis suggests the ship is a constructive total loss.
An astrological chart set for the moment of impact shows the Moon (water, sailors, ships) at 20 Virgo conjunct Mars (accidents) at 22 Virgo, both rising on the 17 Virgo Ascendant and conjoined the Pulsar (newsworthy events, the media) at 18 Virgo, squared the Black Holes at 18 and 19 Sagittarius. Asteroid Italia (#477, for Italy, in whose waters the vessel sank) is exactly semisextile the Moon from 20 Leo.
The Sun at 22 Capricorn exactly trines Mars and is within the event horizon, or orb of influence, of the Black Hole at 19 Capricorn and exactly squared another Black Hole at 22 Libra, indicating sudden, dramatic and unexpected reversals of fortune, the substitution of a parallel reality for the one currently pertaining. The Sun is also tightly squared TNO Eris (division, stress, strife) at 21 Aries and exactly trine TNO Sedna (named for an Inuit goddess of the sea, noted for having been cast overboard and drowned by her father) at 22 Taurus (Sedna thus forming a Grand Trine with Mars and the Sun).
An exact combination of Venus (pleasure cruises) and Neptune (the sea, confusion, flooding) on the Black Hole (reality transformation) at 29 Aquarius is further enhanced with asteroids Toscanos (#96086, for the Tuscan coast off which the accident occurred) at 20 Aquarius, Atropos (named for the Greek Fate who severs the thread of life at death) at 27 Aquarius and Lachesis (the Fate known as “the Allotter,” who determines the span of life) at 28 Aquarius. Close beside in early Pisces are centaur Chiron (wounds, wounding, with 64 persons injured in the disaster) at 2 Pisces and asteroid Gigli (#10371, for Isola del Giglio) at 5 Pisces.
Pluto (death, evacuation) and Mercury (navigation, nautical charts) combine exactly at 7 Capricorn, with asteroid Icarus (rash, reckless actions) conjoined from 4 Capricorn, and asteroid Concordia (#58) within orb at 2 Capricorn, itself tightly squared Uranus (accidents, disasters) at 1 Aries. Clustered at the 15 Gemini Midheaven, providing high visibility and notoriety, are TNO Chaos (the confused and disorderly exit) at 13 Gemini and asteroid Francis (#2050, representing the captain, Francesco Schettino) at 11 Gemini, all points conjoined the reality-warping Black Hole at 13 Gemini. Asteroid Bacchus at 12 Sagittarius opposes Francesco and is conjoined the IC, leading to the question of whether alcohol (Bacchus) was a foundational element (IC) of the tragedy.
Finally, asteroids Poseidon (the sea), Requiem (the funeral mass for the dead) and Osiris (Egyptian god of the dead) combine at 10, 11 and 13 Scorpio, inconjunct Francesco/Chaos and squared to a pair of Black Holes at 12 and 13 Aquarius.
Alex Miller is a professional writer and astrologer, whose website AlexAsteroidAstrology.com offers a trove of info on the role of asteroids in personal and mundane astrology. He is the author of The Black Hole Book (available on Amazon.com) and The Urban Wicca, former editor of “The Galactic Calendar,” and past president of The Philadelphia Astrological Society. His pioneering work with Black Holes in astrological interpretation began in 1991, when his progressed Sun unwittingly fell into one. Alex’s books and writings are available on his website. Alex can also be reached for comment or services at .
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