Beijing Floods Kill Dozens

By Alex Miller

On 28 July 2025, flash flooding in the Beijing, China environs caused the deaths of at least 75 people when a year’s worth of rain fell in several hours.  Among the most devastated areas, the Taishitun Town Elderly Care Center in Miyun district, where 31 patients lost their lives, out of 69 residents of the facility.  “The flood came rushing in, just like that, so fast and suddenly,” Zhuang Zhelin, a shop-owner in Taishitun, told the Associated Press. “In no time at all, the place was filling up.”(1)

Mercury is the planetary energy most often associated with weather, and with the messenger of the gods in retrograde status since July 18^th, weather extremes have increased globally.  Retrogrades occur when, from our perspective on Earth, a celestial body appears to slow its motion, come to a standstill, and reverse course.  It’s an optical illusion created by the geometric triangulation between Earth, the sun, and any third body, but astrologically, it represents a focusing of those energies into a more powerful, impactful mode, often evoking extreme manifestations. 

In this case, Mercury (11 Leo) conjoins the Sun (5 Leo), bringing further focus, and opposes (180 degrees) Pluto, modern lord of death (2 Aquarius), combining themes of weather (Mercury) and mortality (Pluto) and placing them in the spotlight (Sun).  As well, minor bodies such as asteroids put meat on the astrologic bones of the story, with asteroid China (3 Leo) conjoining the Sun and further highlighting the region at most risk.

Mercury is conjoined by asteroids Lachesis (10 Leo) and Requiem (15 Leo), both markers of death, with Lachesis named for the mythic Greek Fate who determines the span of life, and Requiem named for the funeral mass for the dead, enhancing the fatal effect of weather during the timeframe.  Asteroid Flood (18 Leo) also conjunct Mercury specifies which type of potentially deadly weather might be in the offing.  Additional emphasis is seen in this polarity’s square (90 degrees) to asteroid Ophelia (9 Taurus), named for the tragic figure in Shakespeare’s “Hamlet” who goes insane and drowns herself.  This creates a T-Square, a dynamic pattern that recombines the energies involved into a cohesive working unit, more effective and substantial than the norm.  This flooding is reminiscent of deluges in Texas earlier in the month, with Mercury in the same general position in the sky, opposing Pluto and accompanied by Lachesis and Flood.

A pairing of Saturn (1 Aries) and Neptune (2 Aries) provides a framework for the tragedy, with Saturn known as the ancient lord of death and Neptune associated with water, creating an underpinning celestial backdrop favorable to fatal flooding.

Numerous minor indicators concur.  Principally, Jupiter (10 Cancer), planet of excess and increase, forms a second T-Square, opposing asteroid Rip (for the acronym “RIP”, Rest In Peace, at 11 Capricorn) with asteroid Peking (14 Libra), the old, Western variant of Beijing, on the fulcrum pinpointing the precise location (Peking/Beijing) where an overabundance (Jupiter) of water could prove lethal (Rip).  As well, the suddenness and unpredictability of the deadly storm is seen as Uranus (0 Gemini) conjoined asteroids Storm (28 Taurus) and Osiris (23 Taurus), named for the ancient Egyptian god of the dead.

Asteroid Sturm (20 Virgo), German for “storm,” appears at 20 Virgo, conjoined Mars (24 Virgo), arbiter of violent death, squared by asteroid Raine (15 Gemini), alternate spelling and phonetic match of “rain,” specifying what type of storm is engendered.  Lastly, asteroid Rainer (26 Libra), another suitable cosmic stand-in for “rain,” conjoins asteroid Nemesis (21 Libra), named for the Greek deity known as the bringer of ruin and destruction. 

China has been plagued with flooding since the spring, described as the worst in a century.  This may be attributable to a Lunar Eclipse on 13 March 2025 (at 23 Virgo) which was squared the placement of asteroid Flood (18 Gemini) in the 1949 chart for the establishment of the communist regime.

Sources:  chart data from serennu.com; Communist China data from Nicholas Campion, Book of World Horoscopes; reporting from AP; graphic image by author

Notes:  (1) https://apnews.com/article/china-beijing-hebei-floods-tianjin-a4b948153bd59fc3614ac8765b44e0e2

Title Image Credit:  drawn by ChatGPT