Artificial Fertilizer – Blessing or Curse
In light of the present and expected further increasing shortages of commodities including fertilizer the subject seems to be interesting enough to have a closer look.
Over the last two centuries, many attempts have been made to artificially produce a substance that can create an abundance of agricultural commodities. One of the most groundbreaking inventions in that context was made by a chemist Fritz Haber in cooperation with Carl Bosch.
“In 1905 Haber reached an objective long sought by chemists—that of fixing nitrogen from air. Atmospheric nitrogen, or nitrogen gas, is relatively inert and does not easily react with other chemicals to form new compounds. Using high pressure and a catalyst, Haber was able to directly react nitrogen gas and hydrogen gas to create ammonia.
His process was soon scaled up by BASF’s great chemist and engineer Carl Bosch and became known as the Haber-Bosch process, considered by many as one of the most important technological advances of the 20th century. Haber’s breakthrough enabled mass production of agricultural fertilizers and led to a massive increase in growth of crops for human consumption” (Science History Institute).
The, in 1916 US approved patented invention (US1202995A), certainly has changed and influenced the world more than many other better known innovations. For a change, it appears that someone really tried to better the world by offering a method that promised an end to starvation and famine.
Let’s have a look if the patent and its subsequent follow up products of chemical fertilizers is the promised land for man’s survival or if there is rather a “Goose with the golden egg” fable ending.
According to accessible patent information online – the application for the patent was submitted in summer of 1909 by the BADISCHE ANILIN & SODA FABRIK, OF LUDWIGSHAFEN – later BASF to be granted in the fall of 1916.
Before dissecting the chart in more detail – one of the main characteristics that stands out at first sight, is that the fourth quadrant is placed right into the first – which could already be viewed as a headline for the chart – “Heaven to be made real” – clearly, an imposterious preposition as we very likely will soon find out.
The potential of the chart – here a Capricorn AC – with Saturn in Hs.7 something decisive is delivered into the present, a sort of industry benchmark we could say, but with a certain catch – Saturn being paired with Neptune, indicating that the origin (Uranus) is lost.
Quite telling, and explaining the fertilizing properties of the invented substance – Hs.1 contains Uranus, which comes from Hs.2 – an “Aquarius substance” that feeds its fertile properties into the energetic potential (Hs.1) of the chart. If one reads the description of how to “create” ammonia it is apparent that high pressured gasses (Aquarius) are the base ingredients of the process. These pressurized gasses (“a kind of captured Uranus” in a physical sense), is obviously “donating” its nourishing (Uranus), compensated energies to this kind of invention. (The in the substance contained energy gets released, when applied to soil or ignited).
The Scorpio sun gives on one hand testimony to this kind of process, on the other it explains the life promoting properties, promising richness (being the sign of Hephaestus). We can find Pluto in Hs.6 – which is ruled by Gemini – translating into regulated conditions, an attempt to enrich the environment. Gemini rules Hs.5 as well – attempting to control and regulate life (Hs.5).
Certainly, by applying artificial fertilizer, we try to ignore the fact that soil has its limitations. It needs to rest, does not tolerate monoculture and can only produce so much, in short we do not accept the given limitations (of the fourth quadrant) and try to force a higher yield by using artificial fertilization – regulating the ground. Certainly it is no coincidence and quite fitting to that content of time, that Demeter, the goddess of agriculture and grain, is assigned to Hs.6 (Virgo).
So, where is the catch to this chart and the promised horn of plenty? Aside from the aforementioned fourth quadrant, being in the first, there are two other aspects that reveal the not so “successful” conclusion to the story of the manmade cornucopia. First, the MC and Sun are on a point of the zodiac that has been identified by W. Doebereiner as a point of an encounter with the finite and the DC. Second, the visible present, Cancer, clearly points to a time content of conception, but with its planet, Moon, in Hs.12 it is sunken into the waters before time and eventually lost. This is emphasized as well through the Moon-Pluto aspect, which reveals that conception (fertility) is hindered and Pieces/Neptune is denied – given the interpretation a full circle from its starting point.
To sum it up – misappropriating and excluding the forces of the fourth quadrant and diverting them into a form of potent substance/material that increases the fruit bearing properties (Hs.6) only works as long as the plutonic process and mindset is able to support the process. Like with all plutonic constructs they all share one common destiny – eventually regulative forces will correct and the perceived “magical” powers will vanish, in this case exhaustion is most likely the probable outcome.
That kind of process finds its parallel in the phenomena of depleted soils and an overall loss of bacterial life (loss of bio/life – see Moon in 12.), which is understandable in the context of a Scorpio Sun – the exclusion of others.
The tale of the goose with the golden eggs, which refers to a short-sighted destruction of a valuable resource, or to an unprofitable action motivated by greed, which is quite fitting to the present industrial farming practices and dependency on artificial fertilization. It is a known fact that heavy use of artificial fertilizers diminishes, impacts the biodiversity of soil, and contributes to erosion. We will see where the path of the golden egg of artificial fertilizers will lead us. I believe it does not take much foresight to know that the times of an abundance of agri commodities created by artificially produced fertilizers will come to an end. The world got used to the “miracle creating” properties of the industrial produced substances and it will take some painful experiences for mankind to find out that soil is not a conveyor belt, it needs a lot of mending and caring to protect its biodiversity, which is the ultimate source of life. There is and there will be no substitutes for the over hundreds of years applied farming techniques. The ideas of Masanobu Fukuoka might already lead us in the right direction.
On a side note:
Just for some historical waypoints on this chart – “the Oppau explosion” 1921– happened close to the Uranus in Hs.1 (4.8 years from the AC) – which destroyed the entire original BASF fertilizer plant – according to Wikipedia – “two explosions, half a second apart, occurred at 7:32 am on September 21, 1921, at Silo 110 of the plant, forming a crater 90 by 125 m (300 by 410 ft) wide and 19 m (62 ft) deep.[4] In these explosions 10% of the 4,500 tonnes of fertilizer stored in the silo detonated.[4][6] The explosions were heard as two loud bangs in north-eastern France and in Munich, more than 300 km away, and are estimated to have contained an energy of 1–2 kilotonnes TNT equivalent.” (wikipidea)
Another historical point – we are right now transiting the Jupiter of the chart, which is aspected with the aforementioned Neptune-Saturn – the lost Uranus. That very Uranus got released in 1921, which caused the plant to blow up, destroyed thousands of homes around it, impacted and halted the production of ammonium sulfate and nitrate fertilizer – interrupting the production of artificial fertilizer. This time it is Jupiter that “helps” to distribute the hindered Uranus (from the Neptune-Saturn) causing a worldwide shortage.
Copyright 2022 by Dirk Heinicke
09.06.2022 – with precise historical connect – an explosion of another sort – the spot price for Ammonia