We had yet another small earthquake here in Morris County New Jersey, in the wee hours this morning.  That’s three in the last couple weeks.  To be fair, a seismologist predicted that another one within the week was likely; nevertheless, earthquakes are unusual in this neck of the woods so they have us speculating. 

Christopher Knowles connects these earthquakes with the equally unusual rash of UFO sightings in Morris County last month.  Indeed, there were more sightings around here last night, on the eve of the latest earthquake.  Very interesting.  I need to start braving the cold to keep an eye on the night skies.  

Meanwhile, I’ve been looking at the earthquakes from a more geomantic standpoint.  What is the earth saying, I ask myself.  I saw meaning in the timing of the first two earthquakes (explored here and in connection with the 2006 Mount Desert Island earthquakes here), but this latest quake didn’t suggest anything to me at first.  Then I remembered the conversation I had with my husband before going to bed last night.

Since late last summer, we’ve been talking on and off about digging up the whole lawn and growing vegetables.  We’ve been talking about it in a noncommittal way, as in it would be a good idea but it would sure bother our neighbors.  Last night, however, we talked about it very seriously.   Of course, during World War II these things were called “victory gardens.”  People were encouraged to do it to reduce the stress on the war-time food supply.

Now take a look at where the USGS positions the latest earthquake, and while you’re at it, the first earthquake, too.   In case you don’t feel like clicking, I will tell you: VICTORY GARDENS.

Could the earth be giving us a hint?

Maybe I’m reaching, but a planting a victory garden does seem like a good, constructive thing to do.

Namaste

We had another small earthquake here in Morris County, New Jersey — the second this month.  First a 3.0 earthquake on Imbolc, centered within a mile of my home.  Then a 2.4 earthquake on Valentine’s Day a few miles away.  Of course, these are no great shakes as far as earthquakes around the globe go, but they are unusual here.  I’ve lived in New Jersey all my life and never experienced one before.

According to the USGS, this latest quake occurred at 22:22:22 UTC.   There they are again – those numbers with repeating digits.  They speak a language to those who will listen.  Granted, the actual words are muffled by the veil.  All I can make out is a murmur.  Nevertheless, they say pay attention. 

Indeed, the timing of both earthquakes is suggestive.  Imbolc comes from the old Irish i mbolg  meaning ‘in the belly.’  Now overrun by groundhogs, the day still represents the hopeful quickening of spring within the womb of winter.   

Obviously Valentine’s Day is associated with the heart, but long before the holiday was named for a Christian saint (any one of three), it was the ancient Roman purification/fertility festival Lupercalia.  After sacrificing a goat and a dog, being smeared with blood and then wiped clean with milk, two young men ran around Rome playfully lashing people along the way with strips of hide from the sacrificed goat.  Women came forward and lined up hoping to be struck, for the light lashing was supposed to impart fertility and an easy delivery.

And I think that’s what we should hope for now – an easy delivery.  The old order is crumbling and a new world needs to be born.  Will we come forward and be constructive midwives to this birth, or will we cling to structures that are on a downward spiral?  We can still choose now, but at some point down the road, there may be no choice.

Last night I was getting ready for bed when I heard a loud boom and then the whole house shook.  My first thought was that there had been an explosion out on the street so I rushed to look out the front door.  There was nothing but snow falling quietly in the dark outside.  My next thought was that a tree had fallen on my house from behind, but no, the backyard was quiet as well.  I didn’t find out until this morning that it was a 3.0 earthquake and we were basically in the epicenter.

 Now, a 3.0 earthquake is nothing in the scheme of things, and indeed there were no damages.  But this is Morris County NJ and a significant earthquake here is sort of like a snowfall in Florida.  It does happen but it’s not common and people tend to make a big deal about it.  I personally have never experienced it before.

I’ve been keeping an eye on earthquake activity in the world, especially since my trip to Bar Harbor this past September when I was surprised to learn that there had been an earthquake there in 2006.  We have taken several vacations in Bar Harbor during the Autumnal Equinox.  On such a trip in 2004, at the top of Cadillac Mountain in Acadia National Park, I had what I believe was a spontaneous heart chakra opening.  Our trip this Equinox was our first time back since then.  This time we found the East Face Champlain trail closed and a notice saying it was damaged in an earthquake in 2006.

Significant earthquakes in Maine are about like earthquakes in New Jersey.  They do happen but they’re not common.

As I wrote in Right Place Revisited, the land at Acadia National Park felt different to me this September, even before I knew about the earthquake.  The energy was still there, but something seemed off and metaphors for upheaval abounded.  I did a little googling upon my return and learned that it wasn’t just one earthquake but a series of earthquakes that shook the park in 2006.  The first occurred on the Autumnal Equinox.  If we had taken a vacation that year, chances are we would have been there for it.

All of the quakes were minor.  The first was 3.4 and over the next 11 days there were some aftershocks, a 2.5 and a 3.9 (summarized by USGS here).  There was a pause and then one more on December 20th.  Apparently, the damages occurred in the 3.9 quake.  (A NPS slideshow showing some damages to the trails and Park Loop Road can be found here.)

Anyway, Acadia was as beautiful as ever this September, and we had a great time.  Still I came back with a nagging feeling.  It was like the 2004 experience had been the grand banquet at the Grail Castle, and this fall was waking up the morning after and finding the guests gone and the Castle empty.  I felt like Parzival — had I failed to ask the question?

Vague ideas about this have been itching at the back of my mind.  Last night’s earthquake, centered practically on my front lawn, prodded me into writing about it.  To what end, I don’t know, but somehow these events seem meaningful to me.  And as Acadia’s earthquakes opened on the Autumnal Equinox, last night’s earthquake here at home coincided with Imbolc.  This, too, seems meaningful and appropriate.  Something is ‘in the belly.’