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Farmers' tearful farewell to flooded pigs prompts sympathy online



Photographs of two farmers bidding an emotional farewell to 6,000 pigs who they feared would drown in severe flooding in China may have helped secure their rescue. Pictures of the tearful goodbyes spread across social media, with many netizens calling for the animals to be saved.
The animals have been partially submerged in the water since Monday, when the farm flooded after heavy rain in Shucheng county in Anhui province. Many dozens of people have been killed in flooding along the Yangtze River after torrential rain, and millions of others have been affected.
Initial reports said the pigs could not be moved due to environmental protection and epidemic prevention measures. Now local media report that a team has visited the farm and that the pigs have been rescued. July 5 http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-36710811






A truly remarkable story that illustrates the power of social media to bring about changes. But can this story be seen in the stars? A chart for the New Moon of July 4 drawn for Shucheng county offers clues. Here the New Moon [12cn53] is conjunct 17 Monocerotis,[12cn30] a star in Chinese asterism Sse-Tou, the Four Trenches which among other things came to represent China’s four great rives, the Hoang-Ho, Yang-Tsze, Hoai and Tsi and the irrigation trenches associated with them. Astrologers judged whether there would be floods or droughts by the clarity or blurriness of these stars. Also here Venus [20cn26] is conjunct stars in Canis Major which were part of the Chinese asterism Choui-Wei, the Situation of the Waters which governed the overflowing of rivers. The astrologers said that if this asterism was clear and tranquil it was a good omen, but if it faded or seemed to drift and combine with the Milky Way, the rivers of the Empire would overflow and flood the land [1].

Finally, we look for the pigs, the lovable characters in this story who are in distress. And sure enough we don’t have to look far. The IC [27ar01] is part of the Chinese asterism Wai-P’ing, The Outer Enclosure. This was a bamboo hedge fence around the pig farms and marshes to keep the animals safely in and people safely out [2]. (How strange that we can actually see the pigs’ enclosure in the picture with the news!)

[1] Secrets of the Ancient Skies; Diana K. Rosenberg (v.1, p.703)

[2] Secrets of the Ancient Skies; Diana K. Rosenberg (v.1, p.689)

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