The New Moon marks the beginning of a new lunation cycle. The Taurus New Moon takes place soon after Jupiter conjoined Eris in Aries, on April 29th. It was the day of the royal wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton. Also the scene of the most famous tale of the Greek goddess Eris was a wedding party.

During the following two days Mars passed over Eris and Jupiter. Suddenly the images of the newly wed couple kissing on a balcony changed to pictures of Osama Bin Laden and people celebrating his death.

Conjunct the New Moon is a strange little asteroid, Phaethon. Phaethon is showing mixed cometary and asteroidal features and its unusual orbit goes closer to the Sun than that of any other numbered asteroid. This is why it was named after the son of the Greek sun god Helios. The name Phaethon means the “shining.” Astrologically Phaethon can bring a feeling of being a bit out of control.

At the Aries Point, the sensitive point where public and personal affairs intersect, we find asteroid Karma. We may feel that as individuals we don’t usually have much influence on the affairs of the world. With our personal choices we create our personal karma though. At the Aries Point we can make an impact on the world.

In conjunction with Karma are two helpful asteroids, Urania and Circe. Urania is the heavenly muse of astrologers and astronomers. Urania gives ability to put things in perspective. Asteroid Circe is named after a minor goddess of magic, the daughter of Helios. Circe has a desire to help. “Its position indicates who, how and, most importantly, WHY you aid others,� writes Martha Lang-Wescott.

The three asteroids at the Aries Point make a novile aspect (40 degrees) to the Luminaries and Phaethon. The novile is a minor aspect with a similar quality to the trine, though more subtle. It could act as a harmonic link between subtle spiritual dimensions and the ordinary realms of human activity.

References:

Treehouse Mountain by Martha Lang-Wescott

Martha Lang-Wescott, Mechanics of the Future: Asteroids, Treehouse Mountain, 1996

Frances Sakoian and Louis Acker, Minor Aspects, 1978

Lunar Eclipse / Full Moon in Gemini – December 21, 2010, 08:13 UT
Winter Solstice – December 22, 2010, 23:38 UT

This special Full Moon in the last degree of Gemini was a total lunar eclipse at the South node of the Moon. The eclipse took place on the Winter Solstice.

The Sun-Moon opposition was squared by the Jupiter-Uranus conjunction in Pisces. A pile of minor planets and asteroids including Logos, Juno, Makemake and Typhon on the cusp of Virgo and Libra, completed a mutable grand cross. The Sun in the last degree of Sagittarius was accompanied by a large diversity of planets and asteroids including Mercury retrograde, Pallas, Crantor, and Pluto. The Moon conjoined the Centaur planet Cyllarus in early Cancer. The rich symbolism contained in the prominent heavenly bodies parallels the news and events unfolding in the world.

In the Northern Hemisphere the Winter Solstice marks the shortest day of the year. After the Solstice the days get gradually longer and the light starts to increase. In the current charts asteroid Balder, named after the shining god of the Vikings, is squaring asteroid Hoder, the namesake of the twin brother of Balder. Asteroid Saga is in conjunction with Balder. Balder gets additional sparks from Vesta. This is the time to be reminded of the story of Balder.

Balder was the most beautiful and beloved of the old Norse gods. Because of Loki’s trickery, the blind brother Hoder threw a mistletoe at Balder and thus caused Balder’s death. The gods were weeping for him. He was ceremonially burnt upon his own ship at Summer Solstice, symbolized by the Midsummer’s bonfires. Balder is said to return to life after Ragnarök. The Earth will appear again from the sea, it will be fertile, green, and cleansed of all its sufferings.

The myth clearly has its origins in the change of seasons. The joy of people is present in the sunlight, in the presence of the radiant god Balder. The gloom of the winter months is symbolized by the death of Balder, carried out by the twin brother. The god of light is reborn at the Winter Solstice and greeted with the burning of the yule log and also with the lights in contemporary Christmas trees.

Happy Winter Solstice!

“With our fingers we make million holes
We run and we fall into pot holes
On a mission to savor the world oooh
We peek at the sky through tree holes
Comet oh damn it…�

- Björk and Sjón, The Comet Song

Last week I went to say hello to a friend who works in the local day care center. The cheerful environment and atmosphere of the visit still affects me. The Full Moon chart appears to me like a playground of little mermaids and comet chasers, in spite of some clearly stressful chart factors present.

The Full Moon in the last degree of Taurus was loosely conjunct Sedna, one of the strangest little planets in our solar system. The Moon squared Chiron and strictly opposed two other Centaur planets, Chariklo and Echeclus, which both have an association with Chiron.

Chiron works through raising awareness and at the Full Moon was asking for our attention by squaring the Sun-Moon opposition. The apex of any T-square is the driving force of the configuration. Chiron is in conjunction with Neptune, the god of water and the sea. After a long retrograde period, Chiron and Neptune have stationed direct earlier this month, which gives boost to their impact. The empty arm of a T-cross shows where the tension can be released. In this case it points to Leo, the sign which, among other things, can be associated with childlike playfulness.

In astrology comets can be seen as messengers. Astronomically comets are distinguished from asteroids by the presence of a coma or a tail. However, the line between comets and asteroids is not always clear. Sometimes a comet can lose its tail, as it passes close to the Sun many times in its orbit. The ice evaporates away and the comet may come to resemble an asteroid. Chiron was the first object to be given a double designation of a comet and an asteroid (95P/Chiron). Echeclus is the only other Centaur object besides Chiron which has the dual comet and asteroid designation (174P/Echeclus).

The Sun is in conjuction with Echeclus and Chariklo. Centaur planet Chariklo is named after Chiron’s wife, a water nymph in Greek mythology. Caring and commitment are her qualities.

Venus rules two signs, Taurus and Libra. The Full Moon fell in Taurus. Venus in Libra is strong and she stationed direct just a few days before the Full Moon. In the chart Venus forms a yod pattern with the Moon and Uranus. Astrologer Anne Massey reminds us in Venus: Her Cycles, Symbols & Myths that originally the essence of Venus was more diverse than that of the contemporary goddess of love and beauty. We have “sanitized� Venus over the centuries. Anne Massey writes further:

“Aphrodite emerges from sea foam, or spirit, into matter. We symbolically link the ocean to the unconscious or collective — the realm of Neptune. In fairy tales, the little mermaid becomes sea foam to be washed away by the ocean — ascension from matter into spirit.â€?

A reflection of the duality of the goddess shows in two images on a news page telling us how the statue of the Little Mermaid was placed back on her stone in Copenhagen after the long journey abroad. The images instantly reminded me about Sedna, the Inuit goddess of the sea. In the art Sedna is often depicted as a mermaid. In one of the many versions of the Sedna legend she is a skeleton woman.

Sedna is a primordial, distant object beyond the edge of the Kuiper belt. Mike Brown discovered this reddish little planet seven years ago, in November 2003. Sedna travels 12,000 years around the Sun on its exceptionally long and elongated orbit, far from the planets. In an astrological chart Sedna is in Taurus, moving slowly and acting almost like a fixed star. Scientists are puzzled about Sedna’s crazy orbit. Why is it so strange? So far Sedna has kept her secrets. Until the astronomers find more objects in similar orbits, there is no way to know for sure.

Mike Brown writes about the exciting possibilities on his blog: There is something out there — part 1 and part 2. The chase for more Sednas continues…

References:

Wikipedia, The Comet Song

Wikipedia, Comet

Anne Massey, Venus: Her Cycles, Symbols & Myths, Llewellyn Publications, 2006

Mike Brown’s Sedna page

Mike Brown’s Planets

The Scorpio New Moon coincides with Kekri, the ancient harvest and new year’s festival of the Finns. Kekri has its origins in pagan times, as has Samhain, the Celtic cross-quarter celebration. In the old days the date of the Kekri feast was not fixed, but slightly varying yearly depending on the circumstances. Nowadays it is held on the first Saturday of November.

The pagan holidays were based on the tropical year, i.e. the apparent annual motion of the Sun around the Earth. Solstices and equinoxes are called the quarter days, marking the change of the seasons and the Sun’s ingress into one of the cardinal signs: Aries, Cancer, Libra or Capricorn. A cross-quarter day falls halfway between a solstice and an equinox, when the Sun is at 15 degrees of a fixed sign, either in Taurus, Leo, Scorpio or Aquarius. Now the Sun is in the middle degrees of Scorpio.

In the pre-Christian agricultural society Kekri was the most important festival of the year. It marked the end of the harvest and also the turn of the year. It was a communal celebration including abundant eating and drinking. People were looking for omens, and the spirits of the dead were said to wander in this world. The dead relatives were acknowledged as living members of the family, with whom the abundance of the harvest was shared. The spirits were invited to bathe in the sauna, too.

Aptly the New Moon in the mid-degrees of Scorpio occurred in conjunction with asteroid Vesta. Vesta is associated with the element of fire, and bonfires played a large part in Kekri festivities. The Romans regarded Vesta as the goddess of the sacred flame and the guardian of the home. A hearth was the centre of the household. At the end of the harvest season the outdoors work was finished and people moved working inside the house. Astrologically Vesta is often seen as the ruler of the sign Virgo, but there is also a correspondence between Vesta and Scorpio.

A common belief has been that there was a Karelian god named Kekri which protected cattle, but this is a misconception. Later studies show that Kekri was a ghost, a spook, or an elf.

Kekri and other pagan harvest festivals in different cultures became linked with the Christian holidays dedicated to saints and the dead and celebrated in the beginning of November. In contemporary Finland we light candles and visit the graves of deceased relatives. Some of the traditions associated with Kekri have devolved on the modern Christmas and New Year’s celebrations. Also Halloween and many of its symbols, like lanterns and skeletons, originate from the ancient celebrations.

Huya, a trans-Neptunian object and a dwarf planet candidate, is in conjunction with the Sun, the Moon and Vesta at 15 degrees of Scorpio. Huya will come to perihelion (the point in an orbit that is closest to the Sun) in 2015 and is currently inside the orbit of Neptune. Huya was discovered about ten years ago by Venezuelan astronomers and named after the god of rain and hunt of the Wayuu who live on the arid La Guajira Peninsula between Colombia and Venezuela.

The Wayuu believe that the life cycle doesn’t end with death, but that a relationship with one’s bones continues. A few years after the first burial, a woman gathers the bones of the deceased and cleans them. Then the remains are buried again. The second burial has been an important tradition. Long-dead Wayuu are believed to return on the Earth in the form of rain, which assures the rejuvenation of vegetation and life.

References:

Helsingin Sanomat, Kekri - ancient celebration to mark end of harvest season

Wikipedia, Cross-quarter day

Herranen & Kaartinen, Kauan eläköön suomalainen kekri!

Salakirjat, Mikä on kekri?

Demetra George & Douglas Bloch, Asteroid Goddesses, Ibis Press, 2003

Wikipedia, 38628 Huya

Wikipedia, Wayuu

Guajiro - Religion and Expressive Culture

On the 20th October Ceres conjoined Pluto in early Capricorn. In October’s Aries Full Moon chart the tight Ceres-Pluto conjunction is right on the North node of the Moon and square the Aries Point, the point where personal comes political. The Sun is in Libra.

Ceres brings the myth of Persephone into the focus. Hades (Pluto) abducted young Persephone and she became the queen of the underworld. Her mother Demeter (Ceres) was desperate. Eventually Persephone was able to return to her mother. Persephone had eaten pomegranate seeds though during her stay in the underworld, and therefore every year she has to go back for a part of the year with Hades, the other part she is allowed to spend with her mother. The myth explains the change of the seasons.

The Moon’s Nodes are the points in space where the yearly path of the Sun and monthly path of the Moon intersect as seen from the Earth. In astrology the North node is considered future oriented (while the South node is associated with the past). The Full Moon is always an opposition of the Sun and the Moon. The Sun is currently in Libra, the sign symbolized by the scales. The sign is concerned with justice, equality and relationships.

The 20th of October was the Global Dignity Day. People in more than 40 countries took part and celebrated our oneness in being human. The mission of the Global Dignity program is the universal right of every human being to lead a dignified life. One of the co-founders of the program is philosopher and professor Pekka Himanen, a Libra, whose breakthrough work, HimEros (1996), portrays Socrates escaping Hades to Helsinki.

We all want dignity and have the right to be treated equally and with respect. During the past week people in Finland have suddenly shown remarkable consistency in claiming this right. Already more than 33,000 people have left the Finnish Evangelical-Lutheran Church after last week’s televised debate over gay rights. The mass flight from the church is a reaction to anti-gay statements expressed in the broadcast.

Poverty and malnutrition are among the things which threaten a dignified life. Ceres was the goddess of agriculture, so food and nutrition belong to her domain. Ceres addresses, for example, the issues of how we develop feelings of self-worth, how we care for others, and the principle of sharing.

References:

Wikipedia, Persephone

Wikipedia, Global Dignity

Wikipedia, Pekka Himanen

Helsingin Sanomat Intrnational Edition, Oct. 18, 2010

Demetra George & Douglas Bloch, Asteroid Goddesses, Ibis Press, 2003

The Virgo New Moon forms no major aspects to the main planets. There aren’t any notable minor planets conjunct the Moon either. So Venus gets my attention today for the following reasons.

Venus occupies the last degree of Libra and is just about to enter Scorpio. The New Moon occurs only a few hours before the Scorpio ingress. A sign ingress of a planet per se is always meaningful, because it marks the beginning of a new phase.

Venus has started to slow down for her retrograde station, which takes place on Oct. 8, 2010. The echo phase started just recently. Retrograde planets tend to be inwardly oriented. When Venus is stationing retrograde, she is closest to the Earth – big and bright. Venus approaches the Earth as an evening star and departs as a morning star. The direct station occurs on Nov. 11, 2010. So called New Venus – the beginning of a new Venus cycle — takes place exactly halfway between the stations.

Venus signifies our values, what we enjoy, the things we appreciate, and how we express love. Venus is associated with friendships, artistry and poetry. In exact conjunction with Venus is a Main-belt asteroid 4572 Brage. Asteroid Brage was discovered on Sept. 8, 1986 (24 years ago to the day) and named after Bragi, the Norse god of poetry. Runes were said to have been carved on Bragi’s tongue.

I wish to express my sincere gratitude to Chad Townsend, my proof-reader in Tucson, Arizona. He is a Virgo friend, who assists me with Lunations blog. I am a Finn; the English language is not my native language, so I truly appreciate Chad’s grammatical corrections. During the years he has provided inspiration by sending me interesting web links, poetry and lyrics. Thank you, Chad!

References:

Anne Massey, Venus: Her Cycles, Symbols & Myths, Llewellyn Publications, 2006

Wikipedia, Bragi

The Full Moon showed up in the Neptunian haze. Pisces is a dual sign. The glyph of this water sign depicts two fish tied together swimming in opposite directions. The Full Moon conjoined Neptune and Chiron, thus soaking up their energies, which strengthened the inherent feeling of sensitivity and vulnerability of the Pisces Moon. Orcus, a minor planet in Pluto’s class, was opposite the Moon and emphasized the theme of duality in the chart.

The Moon at 1+ degrees of Pisces occupies the same degree with one of the largest dwarf planet candidates, 2007 OR10. This Kuiper belt object has been nicknamed Snow White. This object has not been officially named, as the discoverers want to learn more about the planet before proposing a real name for it. Also the astrologers need to study the planet carefully before they can establish the astrological meaning of it. More about this relatively new discovery in my blog post from November 2009.

A Full Moon takes places once a month when the Sun and the Moon are opposing one another. The Virgo Sun shared its degree with asteroid Sphinx, centaur Elatus and trans-Neptunian Orcus. The Sun is still in close conjunction with these three bodies.

In Virgo we are analyzing information, concentrating on details, and striving for perfection. Asteroid Sphinx represents a great mystery. In the chart it can refer to missing information or lack of understanding. Sphinx in Virgo may feel nerve-racking. A little bit of Piscean compassion will help.

Chiron and Elatus are both Centaur planets traveling in space between Saturn (limitations) and Uranus (freedom) and symbolically bridging the conflicting meaning of these giants. Saturn and Uranus have recently made their last opposition in the current series of five. Chiron and Elatus will continue their long ongoing opposition till 2015. Astrologer Len Wallick elaborates further on the opposition of Elatus and Chiron on the Full Moon axis on Planet Waves Daily Astrology blog.

The Kuiper belt object Orcus shares some fascinating similarities with Pluto. Their orbits are nearly identical. Both are locked in 3:2 resonance with Neptune, making two revolutions around the Sun, while Neptune makes three. Both have perihelia above the ecliptic, but their orbits point in nearly opposite directions. Pluto and Orcus will always stay in opposite phases of their orbits because they are forced by Neptune to have precisely the same orbital period.

Mike Brown, whose team discovered Orcus in 2004, calls Orcus the anti-Pluto. It is named after a god of the dead in Etruscan and Roman mythology. Orcus was a punisher of broken oaths and portrayed as a hairy, bearded giant. Like the name Hades, or the Norse Hel, Orcus could also mean the land of the dead.

Orcus is actually a binary system. The big and bright companion is named Vanth after a daimon in Etruscan mythology who guided the dead to the underworld. She was depicted with wings and a torch, and frequently shown in the presence of Charun, a guard of the underworld.

A true binary planet is a pair of worlds that usually are similar in mass. Each orbits the other around a gravitational balance point in space between the two. This center of mass, also called the barycentre, is not located within the interior of either object. Orcus and Vanth are probably tidally locked, which means that they have their same faces locked towards each other constantly, just like Pluto and Charon.

Orcus and Vanth form an unusual system in the Kuiper belt. It seems to be some kind of intermediate, which offers always two possibilities or choices. The origin of the companion is uncertain. Two scenarios appear equally plausible for explaining the formation of this binary: a giant impact or by capture. While most large Kuiper belt objects like Orcus have small satellites, and smaller objects and their satellites tend to be much closer in size, Orcus sits in the middle. Orcus is one of the larges objects in the Kuiper belt with a relatively large companion.

Astrologically Orcus can be associated either with the underworld or with orca whales, sometimes called killer whales. Killer whales despite their name are not a threat to humans, and actually they are not really whales but dolphins.

Mercury, the ruler of Virgo, is currently retrograding in its own sign. This can add confusion and misunderstandings. Be extra careful if you are making important decisions now. Check the facts and the missing bits.

References:

Martha Lang-Wescott, Treehouse Mountain

Mike Brown’s Planets, S/1 90482 (2005) needs your help

Brown, M. E.; Ragozzine, D.; Stansberry, J.; Fraser, W. C.; The size, density, and formation of the Orcus-Vanth system in the Kuiper belt

The New Moon starts the monthly lunation cycle. At the time of the exact conjunction of the Sun and the Moon, the Moon is invisible from the Earth. The conjunction occurs in the middle of the Dark Moon period, which lasts about 3 days.

The dark phase of the lunar cycle is personified by various dark goddesses, which symbolize the feminine shadow. Two of these goddesses, Nyx, the queen of night, and Nemesis, one of her daughters, were present at the Leo New Moon: asteroids 3908 Nyx and128 Nemesis were in conjunction with the luminaries. They are still in focus, closely conjunct the Sun.

Asteroid 128 Nemesis is a very large and dark main belt asteroid, discovered in 1872. Asteroid 3908 Nyx was discovered in 1980. It is 1-2 km in diameter and it may be a fragment of the asteroid Vesta.

In all astrological cycles, there is the last, dark phase preceding the beginning of a new cycle, new growth. The dark period is for healing and renewal, and we all have many of these periods during our lifetime. These are times when we may experience a loss, an ending of a relationship, or some other kind of change in our personal lives. We tend to fear the unknown, but still we have to let go of the old in order to start something new.

A threefold lunar cycle consists of three phases: the waxing New Moon, the Full Moon and the waning Dark Moon. These phases symbolize the three stages of womanhood: maiden, mother and crone (the wise woman). The dark phase before the New Moon represents the crone.

The Dark Moon also represents the Jungian shadow, the rejected part of the psyche. We all have a shadow, which we tend to project into other people, and the more these projections are unrecognized, the blacker and denser the shadow grows. The shadow is the messenger of our unconscious mind.

The underworld of the ancients is a metaphor for the unconscious. The dark goddesses were all queens of the underworld. If we acknowledge our inner dark goddesses and are able to develop a compassionate relationship with our shadow, the healing and renewal can occur.

Nyx, Mother Night, was a figure of exceptional power and beauty. She was one of the Greek primordial gods. This group of gods represents various elements of nature, and they were born of Chaos. Nyx took on an even more important role in several poems attributed to Orpheus. In them, Nyx, rather than Chaos, was the first principle.

Nyx was was the black-winged goddess of the night. According to the myth, she laid a silver egg out of which the world is born, in the lap of the infinite deeps of darkness. In her triple aspect, Nyx displayed herself as Night, Order and Justice. The Fates, the Furies, the Hesperides, Nemesis, and sometimes Hekate were said to be her daughters. The task of the daughters was to ensure that the natural laws of the universe were carried out and maintained.

Nemesis, the daugher of Nyx, was the goddess of retribution. She was depicted with a wheel of fortune in one hand and an apple bough in the other. Nemesis symbolizes our conscience and guides us towards right action. When we pay honor to this goddess, then she resides within us as a wise, kindly influence. If we don’t pay attention to her, then we have to deal with the consequences.

Quoting Demetra George: “Nyx, Goddess of Night, teaches us that we are, at our most fundamental level, all part of the same whole. Her daughter Nemesis then guides us toward respecting others as extensions of ourselves through right action with the natural laws of an orderly universe.�

References:

Demetra George, Mysteries of the Dark Moon, HarperCollins Publishers, 1992

Demetra George, Finding our Way Through the Dark, ACS Publications, 1995

Wikipedia, Triple Goddess (Neopaganism)

Wikipedia, Protogenoi

During the Full Moon, the Sun and the Moon are opposite each other, face to face. The Moon is fully lit by the Sun, and in the reflected light we are able to see things clearly. Ideas which originated on the previous New Moon have matured, and now they can be carried out.

Oppositions have much to do with relationships. The aspect brings us awareness, but there is also a challenge involved how to integrate the confronting energies. An opposition calls for compromise.

The Cancer New Moon two weeks ago was also a powerful solar eclipse. The Moon was in conjunction with Juno, drawing our attention to relationship issues. Relationship concerns are still in focus, indicated by asteroid Cupido in conjunction with the Full Moon. Now we are able to look at things more objectively though. The Moon in Aquarius is sociable, but it tends to be emotionally detached, cool and rational.

In Roman mythology, Cupid was the god of erotic love and beauty. He was the equivalent of the Greek Eros. The story of Cupid and Psyche can be understood as describing the process of psychological integration. The Moon and asteroid Cupido are trine to asteroid Psyche in Gemini. Astrologically Psyche represents a psychological wound from which one hasn’t recovered.

The healing planet Chiron has re-entered Aquarius due to its current retrograde motion. According to Martha Lang-Wescott, retrograding Chiron implies a struggle between living up to parental / societal / conventional expectations and values, or seeking to live the life what feels right.

The ruling planets of Aquarius, Saturn (ancient) and Uranus (modern) are opposing each other tightly. Saturn changed signs about a week ago and is now in its exaltation in Libra, the sign concerned with relationships. Both planets are forming soft, harmonious aspects to the Moon.

In close conjunction with Saturn we find asteroid Panacea, another minor planet associated with healing. A panacea means a remedy for all diseases, evils, or difficulties. It was sought by the alchemists as an elixir of life and the philosopher’s stone, the legendary alchemical substance which would enable the transmutation of lead into gold. In the chart, asteroid Panacea suggests what you believe it takes to find solutions. She represents cures for all kinds of problems, not just those related to health.

Is it realistic to assume that we can find a cure for everything? Maybe not, but at least the conjunction with Saturn is a reliable, responsible factor. This is an appropriate time for aiming at solutions.

References:

Treehouse Mountain, Astrological Keywords: Asteroids

Wikipedia, Cupid and Psyche

Martha Lang-Wescott, Mechanics of the Future: Asteroids, Treehouse Mountain, 1996

Wikipedia, Panacea

Wikipedia, Panacea (medicine)

The New Moon in Cancer is a total solar eclipse, the second of the eclipses of this season. Two weeks ago we experienced a lunar eclipse conjunct Pluto. The intense cross alignment formed by the slow-moving planets Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Pluto, gives extraordinary potentiality to these two eclipses.

The Moon in Cancer has a tendency to play safe. The eclipse takes place at the South node of the Moon. The South node represents the past, the familiar territory of life, and the things which we may want to cling to. This creates some amount of resistance to change. Nonetheless, the current sky urges to try something new.

Eclipses are powerful transition points which offer us a chance to move stuck energy and take a new approach in life. The sextile between the New Moon and Mars helps the start-up. The eclipse falls in conjunction with Juno and Varuna indicating a revaluation of our relationships. Profound honesty is required for a functional outcome.

In mythology, Juno was the patroness of marriage. She was the loyal and jealous wife of Jupiter and the mother of Mars. Asteroid Juno represents committed and meaningful relationships. It can symbolize the rewards and fulfilment that they offer, but it can be an indicator of possessiveness, jealousy and power struggles as well.

Varuna, a potential dwarf planet in the Kuiper belt, was discovered nearly ten years ago. The object was named after an important Hindu god, who was believed to be present at every gathering and know all thoughts of all humans. As a sky god Varuna could be associated with Uranus. As the god of oceans and rivers he can be identified with Neptune. Varuna judged the actions of humans and punished those who did not keep their word. He was riding a sea monster Makara and catching the liars with his noose. In other words, Varuna loves truth. In the eclipse chart he encourages us to look at ourselves and our relationships honestly and act righteously.

The Venus-Neptune opposition shows proneness for romantic idealism. The energy of Neptune can be delusory. It can blur the reality and give illusions about love. Chiron in conjunction with Neptune helps in facing the truth. Chiron works through raising awareness.

Each eclipse belongs to a larger pattern and is a member of a particular eclipse family, which has certain characteristics. These series of eclipses are called the Saros series. They were first discovered by the ancient Babylonians. Each Saros series will run for well over a thousand years and produce a solar eclipse every 18 years when the Sun, Moon, Earth and nodes of the Moon have returned to the same positions relative to each other.

Each Saros series has a beginning, a middle and an end. The series starts as a tiny partial eclipse at either the North or South Pole and will finish at the opposite Pole to where the series started. At any given time, there are about 42 Saros series active, half running from North Pole to South Pole and the other half running from South Pole to North Pole, all at different stages of their lives. As one series finishes another will be starting, and taking its place. There is an overlapping period when the two series are both producing eclipses within a month of each other. This will be the case next year, when we will experience two solar eclipses during the summer season.

We can study the characteristics of a particular Saros series by delineating its birth chart. Also, we can look back and find similarities between events that have occurred 18 years apart at the time of the eclipses. The current Cancer solar eclipse is a member of a Saros series number 12 South. The first eclipse in this series in 1541 occurred in Libra, the sign concerned with relationships and justice. Based on the aspects and planetary patterns of the chart, Bernadette Brady suggests that a long-term worry “at first seem worse and then clear, with successful outcomes.�

References:

Wikipedia, Juno (mythology)

Encyclopedia Mythica, Varuna

Wikipedia, Saros cycle

Mary Dowton and Steve Cahill, The Astrologer’s Textbook Of Astronomy, 2002

Bernadette Brady, The Eagle and the Lark, Samuel Weiser, 1999