A disastrous flood in Libya after two dams burst has left over 5000 dead and at least 10,000 missing. Entire neighbourhoods in Derna, the Libyan port city have been washed away, with many bodies swept out to sea.
A 2022 report in an academic journal had warned of flood danger but Libya has been riven by political infighting, corruption and external interference since the 2011 uprising which toppled Muammar Gaddafi. In the years after 2014, it has been politically split between the internationally-recognised interim government in Tripoli (in the west), and the administration in Tobruk (in the east). Derna was for several years controlled by Islamist militant groups until it was captured in 2019 by Gen Khalifa Haftar, the warlord in charge of an army in the east.
The Eclipses this year located to Libya have been triggering with the April 2023 Solar Eclipse having Mars on the IC and Jupiter on the Ascendant. The May 2023 Lunar Eclipse conjunct Uranus which rattled the Libya Venus for an emotional upset was also highlighted with the Full Moon falling across the Asc/Desc axis.
The October 2023 Solar Eclipse at 21 degrees Libra is exactly conjunct the Libya Neptune which certainly fits a water disaster as well ass Uranus on the Ascendant. And the October 2023 Lunar Eclipse located to Libya has Neptune conjunct the Midheaven.
There is no indication that Libya’s woes, political and other, will resolve quickly with tr Pluto square the Moon this year and next for a beleaguered population; and an undermining tr Neptune Saturn square the Capricorn Sun in 2025/26 alongside a jarring, accident-prone SA Mars conjunct the Sun.
Thank you for your additional, interesting insights Jane.
Any astrological indications of the international community helping Libya and Morocco (I hear it’s taken official aide from only four countries) with their rescue and recovery efforts?
A recent new report had reiterated Africa’s minuscule contributions to CO2 emissions (~5%) though the continent has taken the brunt of the terrible consequences of the climate crisis.
Thanks for such a detailed look at this horrific event in Libya, Marjorie. I can’t help but think about 2011, and how things have unravelled since then. Gaddafi, yet another Gemini leader (5 Gemini planets plus BML!), had his Sun conjunct the MC for Libya. His Jupiter, 29 Gemini, currently opposes the SA Mars at 29 Sagittarius. There was a Lunar Eclipse, 29 Gemini, in December 2011.
The other connection I noticed is Gaddafi’s natal Venus, 6 Taurus, square Pluto 4 Leo. His ascendant is 5 Leo. This resonates with Libya’s SA Pluto, 4 Scorpio, and the approaching October eclipse at 5 Taurus. April’s Solar Eclipse had the Nodes at 4 Taurus/Scorpio. Since Libya was once a prosperous country, this seems symbolic too.
I have no idea what’s stirring here, but possibly there will be yet another review of what went so badly wrong after the Western intervention in Libya in 2011. It’s thought-provoking to see that on the day Gaddafi was killed, 20 October, 2011, transiting Jupiter was 6 Taurus, and tr Saturn was 20 Libra. It seems as if the planets are sending a message…..
Jane the Solar eclipse is also conjunct the Mercury/South Node midpoint on that day, bringing to the forefront the past. With its Mercury/Mars midpoint sitting on the South Node as well. All in the sixth house of work and daily living. Perhaps this is the start of the people demanding a more balanced approach in their country. This will not happen overnight, yet this could be the beginning of a movement for change?
I hope so Helen. It is a divided country, and has numerous other problems although potentially could be prosperous again. The path taken since 2011 has not been a positive one, and I’m not sure how divided society itself is either. But looking at the past could be helpful, although as Marjorie suggests, difficulty and challenges lie ahead for some years.