Continuing on the theme of what can and cannot be predicted, the weather is the next logical topic and evidently a noted Burmese astrologer has publicly apologized for his failure to predict Cyclone Nargis. But in a country like Myanmar where they take astrology seriously, evidently the citizenry depends on their astrologers for this kind of thing:

Myanmar astrologer Myint Lwin is upset because he failed to see Cyclone Nargis coming.

In a country where personal, political and economic destiny are intertwined with mysticism and astrology, he vows to do better next time.

“Many people died, so I’m very sorry,” Myint Lwin said, flipping through a folder of lunar, solar and stellar charts on his tatty wooden desk. . . .

Working in a shop-house on a bustling Yangon street of tea shops and trading companies, Myint Lwin has studied interplanetary alignments during tropical storms over the past two years.

He is vice-chairman of the Myanmar Astro Research Bureau, which aims to bring together a handful of eminent astrologers to train budding seers.

Word of Myint Lwin’s study of cyclones has spread among astrologers in the wake of Cyclone Nargis, which struck the southwestern Irrawaddy Delta and the former capital on May 2, leaving nearly 134,000 dead or missing and 2.4 million destitute.

Almost anyone in Myanmar who can afford it will see an astrologer before making an important decision, even the generals of the military government.

Ken over at The Weather Alternative has this to say about the cyclone:

The last lunar eclipse of February 2, 2008 provides us with a glimpse of the astrological aspects at the time of the cyclone’s landfall. On the 3rd, Mercury was parallel Mars. Conjunctions, squares, oppositions, and parallels between these two planets have long been known to produce whipping winds. The astro-locality map at right shows the angular positions of Mars and Venus on May 3rd. The two planets cross very near where the cyclone hit. Venus was square it own position at the time of lunar eclipse.

Still, these planetary alignments will occur many times without a major cyclone hitting so as with all astrological predictions it’s easier to look backwards than to predict forwards. Does this lessen the importance of astrology in our daily lives? Not at all, in my opinion since astrology’s greatest value is in its ability to help each individual chart their own course and their own destiny despite the storms of change.