The Solar Eclipse of 1908 and the Destruction of Messina

The Messina earthquake and tsunami of 1908 devastated southern Italy on Dec. 28, 1908. The double catastrophe almost completely destroyed Messina, Reggio di Calabria, and dozens of nearby coastal towns.

What was likely the most powerful recorded earthquake to hit Europe struck at about 5:20 AM local time. Its epicentre was under the Strait of Messina, which separates the island of Sicily from the province of Calabria, the “toe” of Italy’s geographical “boot.” The main shock lasted for more than 20 seconds, and its magnitude reached 7.5 on the Richter scale. The tsunami that followed brought waves estimated to be 40 feet (13 metres) high crashing down on the coasts of northern Sicily and southern Calabria.

More than 80,000 people were killed in the disaster, equivalent to the toll from an atom bomb. Many of the survivors were relocated to other Italian cities; others immigrated to the United States.

A few days earlier, on December 23, a hybrid solar eclipse took place at 1o Capricorn, just after the winter solstice, a sensitive time of the year. It was close to the South Node, hence more likely to be malignant. A key feature of this chart is the almost exact Uranus-Neptune opposition, with Uranus at the Medium Coeli and Neptune at the IC. The Neptune affliction of the 4th house is consistent with the huge tsunami that followed.

Mars, ruler of the ASC and the 8th house, was sesquiquadrate Saturn and prominent in the 7th house. It was also exact biquintile Pluto, favouring the release of plutonic energies from deep below the Earth.

Another curious feature is apparent on the Stellarium skymap – the eclipse is taking place right on the bow of Sagittarius, pointing down towards earth…