The Full Moon in Leo on Jan. 21, 2019, is a spectacle. It is a Total Super Lunar Eclipse.

If the Moon is above the horizon in your location at the time of the eclipse, you are able to see a big red “blood” Moon. During a total lunar eclipse, the face of the Moon turns red. A supermoon appears big. The Earth, Moon and Sun are all in line, and the Moon is at its closest approach to Earth. The name supermoon was originally launched by astrologer Richard Nolle in the 70’s, and nowadays astronomers are also using it.

The astrological meaning of this eclipse is comparable in significance with its visible awesomeness. The Full Moon is always an opposition of the Sun and the Moon. The day before the eclipse the Sun entered Aquarius, where group consciousness is highlighted. The Moon is in Leo, in the sign of individuality. The Moon is in conjunction with Varuna.

20000 Varuna is a large trans-Neptunian object – highly likely a dwarf planet – discovered in 2000. The orbital period is around 282 years. It has an elongated shape due to its rapid rotation. This cubewano was named after one of the oldest of the Vedic deities, who had unlimited knowledge. Varuna was first associated with sky, later with waters as well as with justice and truth. Due to his association with the waters and the ocean he can be identified with Greek Poseidon and Roman Neptune. In astrology Varuna has been described as a vast energy behind everything, almost too large to comprehend.

Uranus in late Aries is squaring the Sun and the Moon. Uranus is associated with rebellion, invention and sudden flashes of insight. Venus and Jupiter, traditionally defined as the benefics, are in conjunction in Sagittarius. They are square to Neptune in Pisces. Venus-Neptune connections are often related to romantic idealism and illusions in love. Add Jupiter into the mix, and we may be talking about religious experiences. In spite of Jupiter’s often beneficial influence, its tendency to exaggerate can lead to an unfavorable outcome. The Moon forms a sesquiquadrate aspect (135 degrees) to the Venus-Jupiter conjunction in Sagittarius and another sesquiquadrate to Neptune in Pisces. The sesquiquadrate is not a weak aspect. It resembles the square and is a challenging aspect.

Now it is a great time to reach for your dreams and visions, as long as you are aware of the pitfalls, too.

The New Moon at 15+ degrees Capricorn on Jan. 6, 2019, is the first eclipse of the year, a partial solar eclipse in Capricorn. The Sun and the Moon are in conjunction with Saturn, the ruler of Capricorn. Exactly at the eclipse degree is 55576 Amycus, a small centaur discovered in 2002 and given the name in 2005. At the next degree (16+ Capricorn) is Ultima Thule, the most distant world ever visited by a man-made spacecraft. Uranus is stationary direct in late degrees of Aries.

Ultima Thule is a nickname for 2014 MU69, a distant cubewano, which was targeted for the space probe New Horizons’ next destination after it would have completed a flyby of Pluto, which happened in 2015. The name means a place beyond the borders of the known world. On Jan. 1, 2019, New Horizons spacecraft made a close pass of Ultima Thule. The photos it sent to Earth revealed, that Ultima Thule is a contact binary, consisting of two separate bodies joined together. The larger one is now called Ultima and the smaller one Thule. This binary is a primitive object, which is going to help scientists learn important things about the origins of our solar system.

55576 Amycus was named after a centaur, which had an important role in the Centauromachy, a famous myth telling about a battle between the Lapith people and the centaurs in Greek mythology. The centaurs were a bunch of troublemakers (except Chiron and Pholus), and Amycus was a member of his tribe.

The aforementioned battle took place during the wedding of the king of the Lapiths, Pirithous, and his bride Hippodameia. Amycus was responsible for the first death of one of the Lapiths. Amycus was killed, the centaurs were defeated, and those who kept their lives were forced to flee from Thessaly.

As human beings we have an ability to choose our actions. What we do, whether good or bad, affects other people. Also we are members of our tribe, namely humankind. It is difficult to be a truly human all by oneself. Society gives human beings their humanity. I think that the astrological meaning of Amycus has a great deal to do with this connectedness and with the choices we make, including their consequences.

This solar eclipse in Capricorn belongs to the Saros series 2 South. In “Predictive astrology: the eagle and the lark”, Bernadette Brady has delineated this eclipse family, based on the initial eclipse in the series, as follows:

“This eclipse is concerned with unusual groups and the individual’s involvement with those groups. This could be the time when the individual notices or suddenly desires to find a particular group whose concerns would be with healing, the arts, or the love of humanity. The individual will feel that, through involvement with such a group, he or she will gain a great deal.”

The Sabian symbol for the eclipse degree is Capricorn 16, Boys and girls in gymnasium suits, and it speaks about society and co-operation, too. According to Marc Edmund Jones, “This is a symbol of practical experience as at root a matter of developing self-competency, and of life as a never-ending adjustment of ideals and motives to the everyday potentials of human society. The individual is called on to co-operate in a continual estimation and re-estimation of his powers and capacities by his fellows, and to bring an aliveness of interest to everything in which he would participate. A disciplined self-responsibility is demanded for a common achievement. The keyword is animation.”

By now it should be clear for all policymakers as well as ordinary people, that the climate change is real. The intense heat wave has caused devastation across the Northern Hemisphere. There has been excessive wildfires in Greece, California and Scandinavia; dried rivers in Germany, and ruined crops about everywhere.

The Paris climate agreement set actions to keep global warming limited below 2 degrees Celsius, but this may not be enough. Scientists are now warning about a domino effect of other factors, like melting ice, warming seas and dying forests, which could tilt the Earth into a state beyond which all human efforts will be futile.

The New Moon in Leo was a partial solar eclipse, the third eclipse in the current sequence. There is an ominous feeling surrounding this eclipse. The eclipse occurred at 18+ degrees of Leo in conjunction with asteroid 2 Pallas and trans-Neptunian 420356 Praamzius. Several planets are now in retrograde motion. Mercury retrograde is square to Jupiter, Mars retrograde is square to Uranus, and Venus is square to Saturn.

420356 Praamzius is a cubewano discovered in 2012 by a Lithuanian astronomer K. Černis and R. P. Boyle. It was named in February 2016 after an old Lithuanian chief god Praamzius. According to the official naming citation, Praamzius is the oldest and highest Lithuanian god related to the creation of the world. He is the god of the sky, peace and friendship in Lithuanian mythology. He is said to be also the ruler of time, the inescapable fate. He is also said to be the first beekeeper in the world.

About ten years ago the world was waking to the disturbing fact that bees were vanishing. We are not able to survive long without pollinators. Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD) is the phenomenon that occurs when the majority of worker bees in a colony disappears and leaves behind a queen, plenty of food and a few nurse bees to care of the remaining immature bees and the queen. Why this happens has not been entirely solved yet. Although there probably is more than just one cause for CCD, a link between bee colony collapse and climate change has been detected by researchers. Anyhow, climate change is the cause of species loss in general, and decrease of biodiversity is a threat to us.

Asteroid Pallas is the significator of wisdom and creative intelligence. Hopefully asteroid Pallas in conjunction with the eclipse is able to give us solutions in our worsening plight. The ban of plastic bags and straws is not enough for saving us. The Sabian symbol for the eclipse degree Leo 19 is “A houseboat party”. Without immediate and mutual action of all nations and people the party is over.

Eclipses usually come in pairs. In this eclipse sequence there are three of them, two solar and one lunar. This Full Moon in Aquarius is a total lunar eclipse and the second one in this sequence. Two weeks ago there was a partial solar eclipse in Cancer. Another partial solar eclipse will occur on Aug. 11, 2018, in Leo.

This spectacular lunar eclipse will be visible in many parts of the world, at least partially. This is the longest total lunar eclipse of the century, because the Moon is passing through the center of the Earth’s shadow, and also because the Moon is near its apogee (the point of greatest distance) and thus moves slowly. Totality lasts 1 hour and 43 minutes, and the total duration of the eclipse is 6 hours, 14 minutes. Central lunar eclipses are the darkest ones and they are relatively rare. The previous one occurred seven years ago. During the total phase, the Moon will look reddish. If the sky is clear, the total phase should be visible in its entirety in southern Finland, where I live.

What makes this eclipse astrologically really interesting is that the Moon will be in conjunction with retrograding Mars. At the moment we are in the middle of the retrograde period of Mars (from June 26 to Aug. 27), and Mars reaches its opposition to the Sun on the day of the lunar eclipse. Now Mars is closer to Earth and shines brighter than usually in the sky. Also Mercury turned retrograde the day before the eclipse.

Retrograding planets work a bit differently than planets in direct motion. It is possible that the usual expression of the planet gets inhibited. Normally Mars gives us courage, initiative, desire and other beneficial features, but also anger and aggression. In Aquarius this could come out as collective rage. Turning anger inwards is as undesirable as is uncontrollable rage.

The Full Moon is always an opposition of the Sun and the Moon. All eclipses take place near the lunar nodes. In Leo, opposite the Moon and in conjunction with the Sun and the North node of the Moon is 32532 Thereus, a centaur planet with orbital period of over 34 years. This centaur can help us in dealing with Mars retrograde. In Greek mythology centaur Thereus was a hunter who captured bears and carried them home, alive and struggling. Why would anyone take a raging bear to their home? The myth doesn’t give us the answer, as there is nothing more told about Thereus.

Behind anger there is usually pain, and it takes courage and patience to face old wounds. In “Women Who Run With the Wolves” by Dr. Clarissa Pinkola Estés there is a chapter in which she talks about rage and how to deal with it. Rage can become a teacher. She tells us a Japanese tale called “The Crescent Moon Bear”. These words of Dr. Pinkola Estés can offer us the missing piece of the Greek myth:

“So rather than trying to ‘behave’ and not feel our rage or rather than using it to burn down every living thing in a hundred-mile radius, it is better to first ask rage to take a seat with us, have some tea, talk a while so we can find out what summoned this visitor.”

Ever since I read the tale of the crescent moon bear, I have in my imagination seen centaur Thereus in his home cave, having tea and a chat with an angry bear. 32532 Thereus, like all other centaur planets, has potential for healing.

The New Moon at 20+ degrees of Cancer is a partial solar eclipse. The Moon covers only part of the Sun, but anyhow, this is an intense eclipse, because it takes place exactly opposite Pluto.

Right after the eclipse, on July 16, 2018, President Trump and President Putin will meet at the Helsinki summit. This is the first official meeting between these two world leaders. The Sabian symbol for the eclipse degree is Cancer 21 “A prima donna singing”. Perhaps we are going to see two of them.

This solar eclipse belongs to the Saros series 2 Old North. In “Predictive astrology: the eagle and the lark”, Bernadette Brady has delineated this eclipse family, based on the initial eclipse in the series, as follows: “This is a difficult eclipse family, as its members bring unfortunate news concerning friendships or relationships. You will be dealing with ideas of separation or the ending of a union. However, although the picture may look glum as the eclipse takes effect, the actual results are quite positive. You will quickly grasp what has to be done and fast action can bring good results. The theme of this eclipse is action concerning personal relationships.”

The planetary ruler of Cancer is the Moon. Sometimes, for a more accurate interpretation, each zodiac sign can be subdivided into three segments called decans. This eclipse falls in the last decan of Cancer, which is ruled by Neptune. In “Eclipse interpretation manual”, Rose Lineman describes this position like this: “Neptune’s [influence] in the third as sub-ruler lends an ethereal quality to Cancerian expression. Domestic priorities become prominent on a universal scale.”

Astrology is dualistic in its nature. Pluto’s polarity was clearly perceived soon after its discovery, long before its double companion Charon was found. Pluto is a planet of power. Along with its purging quality and tremendous ability to propel spiritual growth and renewal, also tendencies for control and manipulation belong in its dominion. The eclipse takes effect opposite Pluto. An opposition aspect can raise awareness or increase the possibility of a conflict.

Pluto is associated with places underground. Among other things, sewers belong to his symbolism. Pluto operates invisibly, and when the time is ripe, he brings the secrets into daylight. I was amused reading that sewer covers are being welded shut in Helsinki for the next week’s summit meeting as a security procedure. I don’t think that it is going to prevent Pluto!

This solar eclipse occurs in conjunction with 52975 Cyllarus, a centaur planet discovered almost 20 years ago by American amateur astronomer Nichole Danzl. The orbital period is over 133 years and the diameter is about 70 kilometers.

52975 Cyllarus was named after a young and beautiful centaur in Greek mythology. Cyllarus and Hylonome were like Romeo and Juliet. Cyllarus was severely wounded in a battle and died in the arms of his beloved. In her despair Hylonome killed herself by throwing herself onto the same javelin that had pierced her partner.

Symbolically the centaurs represent shadow material in our consciousness. A death of a centaur can stand for a crisis in one’s life, which through awareness leads to change and growth. In the case of Cyllarus, what happens afterwards may gain more significance than the initial occurrence. Cyllarus is reminding us to be conscious of the choices we are making in our lives. The decisions we make directly affect not just us but also other people around us.

“Earth’s increase, foison plenty,
Barns and garners never empty;
Vines with clustering bunches growing;
Plants with goodly burden bowing,
Spring come to you at the farthest
In the very end of harvest!
Scarcity and want shall shun you;
Ceres’ blessing so is on you.”
– William Shakespeare, The Tempest

The Full Moon in Leo was a total lunar eclipse and a SuperMoon. If the Moon had risen above the horizon in your location at the time of the eclipse, you were able to see a big red Moon. The media was advertising a Blue Moon. The term has no astrological significance and refers only to the fact that this was the second Full Moon in January.

This was a super powerful Moon. A lunar eclipse is considered more powerful than an ordinary Full Moon and so is a SuperMoon. The Moon’s orbit is elliptical, and when the Moon at the time of a Full Moon or a New Moon happens to be at perigee (the point of least distance) it is called a SuperMoon. Even the astronomers are using this term nowadays, but originally the term was launched by astrologer Richard Nolle in the 70’s.

The Full Moon in Leo was in exact conjunction with asteroid 1 Ceres, the very first asteroid to be discovered. Ceres was originally classified as a planet, and later downgraded to an asteroid. Now it is one of the dwarf planets and the only one in that category orbiting the Sun in the main asteroid belt. Ceres was discovered in 1801 by Giuseppe Piazzi. Recent studies suggest that Ceres possibly has a layer of liquid water in its interior, and also water in the form of ice everywhere on its surface. There is a strong possibility that life on Earth originated from Ceres. Piazzi didn’t know about these hypotheses when, in the early years of the 19th century, he proposed the name after the Roman goddess Ceres, Mother Earth.

In Roman mythology Ceres had a daughter, Proserpina, whom she loved dearly. One day Pluto abducted young Proserpina and made her the queen of the Underworld. Ceres desperately searched her daughter everywhere, but she couldn’t find her. In her grief and anger Ceres stopped the growth of fruits and vegetables. Jupiter sent Mercury to free Proserpina. Pluto made Proserpina eat six pomegranate seeds, because those who ate food of the dead could not return to the world of the living. Therefore every year Proserpina has to spend six months with Pluto. This is wintertime on Earth. The other six months she is allowed to live with her mother Ceres. When Proserpina returns, Ceres allows plants grow and flowers bloom again. The myth describes the change of the seasons, and nature’s eternal cycle of renewal.

February 2 is Candlemas, one of the Christian holidays. The name refers to candles that are blessed on this day for use throughout the year. Originally in the ancient Rome this festival was feasted in honor of Pluto and Ceres. The Romans walked through the city with lighted candles, because Ceres sought her daughter Proserpina in the night with the light of a candle. Also the Celtic pagan festival Imbolc is feasted around this time, halfway between the winter solstice and the vernal equinox.

In the Leo Full Moon chart we have a tight conjunction of two astrological symbols representing mother, the Moon and Ceres. Unconditional love, grief, nurturing and taking care of others, food-related issues and sharing are among the themes of Ceres.

In “Asteroid Goddesses” Demetra George ponders Ceres’ rulership in signs, and introduces Ceres as the ruler of Cancer, Virgo and the Taurus-Scorpio polarity. She mentions that Ceres, in her Virgoan expression, symbolizes workers, labor unions and strikes, among other things. On February 2 a massive political demonstration takes place in Helsinki. Finland’s largest labor organization, the SAK, is protesting the so-called “active model”, the government’s program to reduce the benefits of the unemployed. Thousands of workers will gather to show their solidarity with the unemployed. For instance, the bus and metro workers, and many branches of the public sector will be striking. The delivery of meals to daycare centers may be disturbed, and parents have been advised to pack some food along with their children on Friday. Several themes of Ceres can be recognized concerning Friday’s events.

The Atlantic hurricane season lasts roughly from June to November. Uranus was exactly opposite 42355 Typhon already in the Summer Solstice chart. The total solar eclipse on Aug. 21 was tightly aspecting the Uranus-Typhon opposition. Typhon changed signs to Scorpio on Sept. 20, the same day that the New Moon in Virgo occurred. In the Autumnal Equinox chart on Sept. 22, the Moon was in conjunction with Typhon. Now, at the Aries Full Moon on Oct. 5, Jupiter was conjoining Typhon.

In Greek mythology Typhon was huge. Since the summer all over the world there have been natural disasters on a large scale, which fit in the symbolism of Typhon: wildfires, hurricanes, floods and earthquakes. The joined remains of hurricane Lee and Maria reached even us in Finland, giving us a whole month’s worth of rain in a couple of days.

The spiral shape is characteristic for hurricanes and typhoons. It can also be found in the double helix structure of the DNA molecule that carries the genetic code of all living organisms. Viruses also contain DNA, although they cannot naturally reproduce outside a host cell. In August 2017 the worst flu outbreak on record hit Australia. It is expected to turn into a pandemic. In the Full Moon chart on Sept. 6, besides the Uranus-Typhon opposition, asteroid 55555 DNA was in conjunction with the Moon (mutations) and Neptune (diseases).

42355 Typhon and the main belt asteroid 55555 DNA interestingly appear in the charts of many pandemics.

More than 4000 people died in the yellow fever during the epidemic of 1793 in Philadelphia. Two of the early cases were treated on Aug 7, 1793. In the chart Jupiter (expansion), Uranus (sudden events) and Pluto (viruses) were forming a t-square. Jupiter was in exact conjunction with Typhon in Scorpio. Mars (fever, infections) was in trine to the Jupiter-Typhon conjunction.

The first recognized cases of AIDS were reported by The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on June 5, 1981. Five homosexual men in Los Angeles were reported to have a rare form of pneumonia seen only in patients with weakened immune systems. In the chart Typhon is in conjunction with Chiron in Taurus and in a wide opposition to Uranus at 27+ degrees of Scorpio. Also Mars (infections) and asteroid DNA, both in the first degree of Gemini, were opposing Uranus. Jupiter (expansion) in the first degree of Libra (one of the four Aries points, a point of interaction between the individual and collective) was in trine to Mars-DNA conjunction.

Asteroid DNA, Jupiter and Typhon made a triple conjunction at 11+ degrees of Leo in late September 2002. In the middle of November 2002, DNA opposed Uranus on the axis of 24+ degrees of Leo/Aquarius. The Sun-Mercury conjunction in Scorpio was at the midpoint completing the opposition aspect to a t-square pattern. The epidemic of SARS (severe acute respiratory syndrome) appears to have started in China on Nov. 16, 2002. The first case of infection was speculated to be a farmer in Foshan County. The Jupiter-Typhon conjunction was opposing Neptune in Aquarius in February 2003. On March 12, 2003, WHO issued a global alert. The Sun was squaring Pluto at the time.

The 2009 swine flu influenza reached the media spotlight around the time of the Taurus New Moon on April 25, 2009. Asteroid DNA was at 16+ degrees of Pisces opposite Typhon. Mercury (lungs) was in tight sextile to Uranus and trining the triple conjunction of Jupiter, Neptune and Chiron in Aquarius. Mars (infections) was at the Aries Point. On June 11, 2009, WHO raised the alert level to phase 6 and announced the pandemic. Because Mercury had been retrograding in May, it was in sextile to Uranus and in trine to the triple conjunction of Jupiter, Neptune and Chiron in June for the second time.

There was also a swine flu outbreak on Feb. 5, 1976, in Fort Dix, in the U.S. Army installation. The epidemic mysteriously disappeared within a couple of months. Uranus in Scorpio was opposite Typhon in Taurus. Mercury was in conjunction with asteroid DNA in Capricorn. They squared Jupiter-Chiron conjunction in Aries. The Sun in Aquarius was in exact trine to Mars in Gemini (lung infections).

According to the Online Etymology Dictionary, the Greek term typhos, which means smoke, mist or fog, is related to the Greek word typhon, meaning the whirlwind. The disease called typhus got its name from the Greek typhos, describing the state of mind of those infected. The extreme weather phenomena today reflect the collective psychic state of the humankind. The healing can begin only by us, the individuals.

Typhon, a mythical monster in Greek mythology, is the father of the winds. His name is considered to be a possible etymology for the word typhoon, a term which means a tropical cyclone. A typhoon differs from a hurricane only on the basis of location. A typhoon is a storm that occurs in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, a hurricane occurs in the Atlantic Ocean and northeastern Pacific Ocean.

“From the thighs downward he was nothing but coiled serpents, and his arms which, when he spread them out, reached a hundred leagues in either direction, had countless serpents’ heads instead of hands. His brutish ass-head touched the stars, his vast wings darkened the sun, fire flashed from his eyes, and flaming rocks hurtled from his mouth.” — Robert Graves, The Greek Myths.

Indeed, there is a monster rumbling first through the Caribbean island chain, and now about to make its landfall in the mainland of Florida. Hurricane Irma is an extremely powerful hurricane, which already has caused devastation and death on its path. It is one of the most powerful Atlantic Ocean hurricanes in recorded history. When Irma on Sept. 5 strengthened into a Category 5, it even showed up on seismometers designed to measure earthquakes.

Uranus is currently in a tight opposition to 42355 Typhon, the namesake of the Greek mythological monster. 42355 Typhon was discovered in 2002. It is considered the first known binary centaur, when using an extended definition of a centaur.

The Uranus-Typhon opposition was exact on the Great American Eclipse chart of Aug 21, 2017, and it was still very tight on the Full Moon chart of Sept 6, 2017. The Full Moon at 13+ degrees of Pisces was in conjunction with Neptune, named after Roman god of the sea. In the Full Moon chart the retrograding Mercury was occupying the Total Solar eclipse degree at 28+ Leo. The Full Moon in Pisces was transiting exactly over the Sun of Florida at 13+ Pisces, and it is where the transiting Neptune has been hovering already several months (the state of Florida joined the United States of America on March 3, 1845).

The Total Solar eclipse on Aug 21, 2017, at 28+ Leo was aspecting tightly Uranus at 28+ Aries and Typhon at 28+ Libra. Hurricane Harvey made its landfall on Aug 25, 2017, at Port Aransas Texas. Heavy rain and flood caused great damage in Houston. The Moon of the landfall chart at 26+ Libra was in conjunction with Typhon and in exact transit square to Typhon of the city of Houston (Houston was incorporated on June 5, 1837). The current Uranus-Typhon opposition was aligning with Houston’s nodal axis of the Moon at 29+ degrees of Aries and Libra.

On Sept 6, 2017, just before the Pisces Full Moon, Hurricane Irma made its first landfall on Barbuda. On both charts Mercury is stationary about to turn direct at 28+ Leo, thus activating the Total Solar eclipse degree again.

In the Greek myth Zeus captured Typhon underneath Mount Etna in Sicily, and there he causes volcanic eruptions and earthquakes. On Sept 8, 2017, a strong 8 magnitude earthquake hit the coast of southern Mexico. Tsunami alerts were issued for the entire Pacific coast of Central America.

There is a connection between global warming and extreme weather phenomena. We have to accept our shared responsibility in stopping the climate change.

Full Moon in Aries / Penumbral Lunar Eclipse — October 18, 2013, 23:38 UT
Full Moon in Aries — September 30, 2012, 03:19 UT
Full Moon in Sagittarius — June 07, 2009, 18:12 UT

The New Moon at 28+ degrees of Leo was the second New Moon in the sign this year. The New Moon was also a total solar eclipse, which was visible in the United States, from coast to coast. The eclipse was in conjunction with a trans-Neptunian object 346889 Rhiphonos. Rhiphonos is in the early degrees of Virgo, so this was an out of sign conjunction.

In astrology, even if the eclipse is not visible where you live, it has an impact nevertheless, and the effect can sometimes be felt already beforehand. In Finland it manifested in the worst possible way on Friday, Aug. 18, 2017, when the first terror attack in our country took place.

A Moroccan asylum seeker stabbed several people at a busy market place in the city of Turku. The attack was aimed at women. Two of the stabbed women died, eight people were injured. Two of the wounded are men who tried to help the victims. There would have been more casualties without the interference of some brave citizens, both native and immigrants. They risked their own lives when they heroically intervened in the assault. There was Rhiphonos working.

In Greek mythology Rhiphonos was one of the twelve Dionysian Centaurs who drew the chariot of the infant Dionysus. Zeus had set them to guard his son Dionysus against Hera’s anger. Dionysus’s mother was a mortal woman, with whom Zeus had fallen in love and had an affair. The Dionysian Centaurs were originally sprites, but when jealous Hera found out about their assistance, she transformed them into ox-horned centaurs.

The leaders of our country have stated that hate must not be answered with hate. Nonetheless, a pizza place in Turku and a barber shop in Helsinki were attacked during the weekend. A journalist, who wrote an article about one of the immigrants who helped the victims, received an avalanche of hate mail. Hate speech is gushing in the social media. The sense of safety has been disrupted among natives as well as the immigrants and asylum seekers.

On Monday morning on my way to work, I noticed that there were no immigrants at all on the bus, or on the streets downtown. Obviously they are afraid of leaving their homes. In addition to the feelings of horror and sorrow, which the Friday’s attack aroused in me, it was a great cause of distress for me to realize and admit to myself that in Finland, those who have come here seeking asylum, need to fear us Finns. There is a lot of racism in Finland, and we should not shut our eyes to it.

The Islamic Council of Finland (Sine) has condemned Friday’s attack and said in a statement: “Violence against innocent civilians – whether it happens in Turku, Barcelona or Charlottesville – violates the basic principles of Islam and all other religions, as well as general human values.”

We need to do everything we can to prevent terrorism. President Niinistö said on Tuesday, that Finland has the right to deport those who seek asylum without a valid cause, and that opposing judiciary’s decisions shake the entire social order. The state leaders should also clearly condemn racism and note that racism is a crime, so that we all could get our sense of safety back.

Every New Moon is a time of new beginnings. An eclipse is more powerful than an ordinary New Moon. An eclipse offers us a moment to pause, to notice the matter which calls our attention, and to choose a new path if necessary. The presence of Rhiphonos supports us in this.

The Full Moon in Aquarius on Aug. 7, 2017, is a partial lunar eclipse. A lunar eclipse is more powerful than an ordinary Full Moon. The effects of an eclipse can be felt for about six months. The Sun in the opposite sign Leo, is in exact conjunction with 420356 Praamzius, a trans-Neptunian object in near 3:5 resonance with Neptune.

420356 Praamzius in conjunction with the Sun in this Aquarius lunar eclipse chart is emphasizing concerns over freedom, equality and friendship, which are attributes commonly associated with the sign of Aquarius.

420356 Praamzius was discovered in January 2012 by K. Černis and R. P. Boyle. Kazimieras Černis is a Lithuanian astronomer and astrophysicist, who has discovered a great amount of minor planets. Praamzius is possibly a dwarf planet. Its orbital period is over 280 years, and the orbit is very round. Praamzius has the second-lowest eccentricity of any TNO, after 2003 YN179.

420356 Praamzius was named in February 2016 after the oldest and highest Lithuanian god related to the creation of the world. Praamzius was the god of the sky, peace and friendship in Lithuanian mythology.

Among the events which have taken place, and the people who have been born, while the Sun has been conjunct Praamzius, are the following:

March 15 – March 16, 1907 — The Finnish parliamentary election in 1907 was the first in the world with woman candidates, as well as the first elections in Europe where universal suffrage was applied. Nineteen women were elected. Eris was also in conjunction with the Sun and Praamzius in Pisces.

March 22, 1916 — J. R. R. Tolkien marries Edith Bratt in Warwick, England. The story of Beren and Lúthien is regarded as one of the central tales in Tolkien’s mythology. The story and the characters reflect the love between Tolkien and his wife Edith. The Sun-Praamzius conjunction is in the early degrees of Aries.

April 15, 1930 — Vigdís Finnbogadóttir, who served as the fourth President of Iceland from 1 August 1980 to 1996, was born in Reykjavik, Iceland. She was the world’s first democratically directly elected female president. Her Sun-Praamzius conjunction is in Aries.

May 2 – May 5, 1945 — World War II: The Soviet Union announces the fall of Berlin; Lübeck is liberated by the British Army; the German Army in Trieste surrenders to the New Zealand Army; the Neuengamme concentration camp near Hamburg is evacuated; The Netherlands is liberated by British and Canadian troops; Denmark is liberated; Prague rises up against occupying Nazi forces; the prisoners of Mauthausen concentration camp are liberated; and the city of Amsterdam is liberated by Canadian soldiers. The Sun passed Praamzius in Taurus. On the Victory Day on May 8, 1945, the conjunction of the Sun and Praamzius is still in effect.

May 9, 1950 — Robert Schuman, one of the founders of the European Union, presents his proposal for the creation of a pan-European organization, which he believes to be indispensable to the maintenance of permanently peaceful relations between the different nations of the continent. This proposal, known as the “Schuman Declaration“, is considered to be the beginning of the creation of what is now the European Union. The Sun-Praamzius conjunction in Taurus is exact.

May 14, 1954 — The Hague Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict was adopted in The Hague, Netherlands. The Sun-Praamzius conjunction in Taurus is exact.

May 16, 1955 – Captain Richard Phillips was born in Winchester, Massachusetts. He is an American merchant mariner who served as captain of the MV Maersk Alabama during its hijacking by Somali pirates in April 2009. He offered himself as a hostage to save his crew from the pirates. His Sun-Praamzius conjunction in Taurus is exact and sextiles his Jupiter-Uranus conjunction in Cancer.

May 18, 1957 — Michael Cretu, a Romanian–German musician, singer, songwriter, and producer was born in Bucharest, Romania. He is the founder behind the German musical project Enigma. He has a triple conjunction of the Sun, Praamzius and Ceres in Taurus.

May 28, 1963 — President Urho Kekkonen suggested in his speech at the Paasikivi Society, that the Nordic countries should establish themselves as a nuclear-weapons-free zone. The different attitudes of the Nordic governments prohibited, however, concrete negotiations on the issue at the time. The Sun-Praamzius conjunction is in Gemini. In Aries Jupiter was in conjunction with Eris.

June 1, 1968 — Mathias Rust, a German aviator who during the Cold War years in 1987 flew from Helsinki to Moscow and illegally landed near Red Square and the Kremlin, was born in Wedel, West Germany. Mathias Rust has said that his flight was intended to reduce tension and suspicion between the two Cold War sides. He has a triple conjunction of the Sun, Nessus and Praamzius in Gemini.

June 21, 1983 – Edward Snowden, who leaked NSA documents in 2013, was born in Elizabeth City, North Carolina. He has said, that by revealing his identity he hoped to protect his colleagues from being subjected to a hunt to determine who had been responsible for the leaks. Snowden’s Sun in the last degree of Gemini is in conjunction with Praamzius in the beginning of Cancer.