Archive for April, 2017

New Moon in Taurus — April 26, 2017, 12:16 UT

Wednesday, April 26th, 2017

Today was the Taurus New Moon. The Sun and the Moon were in conjunction with two minor planets, a trans-Neptunian object 1992 QB1, and a centaur planet named Pelion.

1992 QB1 was the first body discovered beyond Neptune after the discoveries of Pluto and Charon. Today, 25 years later, the number of TNO discoveries is almost 1800. The orbital period of 1992 QB1 is almost 290 years.

Pelion was discovered in 1998. It is a centaur planet with an orbital period of almost 90 years – more than three times shorter than that of 1992 QB1.

1992 QB1 was a remarkable discovery; it proved the existence of the Kuiper belt, which had only been hypothesized till then. Because of this, 1992 QB1 has gained its meaning as a thresholder. It is the bridge beyond the edge, leading to the unknown. Something similar we can associate to Pelion. Mount Pelion was the homeland of Chiron and other centaurs. It was the place where Jason and the Argonauts started their quest for the Golden Fleece. The current New Moon conjunct these two objects can also lead to a brave new beginning.

In spite of the considerable difference in their orbital period, 1992 QB1 and Pelion have managed to travel together for two years. The Aries New Moon in 2015 was also in conjunction with 1992 QB1 and Pelion. Please read my blog post then: New Moon in Aries — April 18, 2015.

Full Moon in Libra — April 11, 2017, 06:08 UT

Tuesday, April 11th, 2017

Just recently, when asked about the weirdest object in the solar system, Dr. Mike Brown tweeted: “Yay Haumea. Seriously weird. With an entire weird family, to boot.”

The current Uranus-Eris conjunction in Aries is opposed by Haumea, one of the biggest members of the Kuiper belt. In Libra near Haumea is Jupiter, the magnifier. At the time of the Libra Full Moon, the Sun and the Moon aligned with this powerful opposition. Pluto in Capricorn, halfway, completed the aspect pattern as a t-cross.

What are the properties that make Haumea so strange? Haumea is the fastest rotating body and also the most bizarrely shaped body of its size class. The rotation period is only about four hours. The shape of Haumea is therefore elongated and resembles an American football. Haumea is almost entirely composed of rock. It has only a thin icy outer shell. It is unusual, as most things out in the Kuiper belt are about equal portions of rock and of ice. In the distant past another object probably slammed into Haumea, and this giant impact caused all of its odd properties.

Haumea has two moons, Hi’iaka and Namaka. It also has a family of its own that includes besides its moons, also several quite large trans-Neptunian objects with similar physical and orbital characteristics than Haumea. None of these have been given a name so far. They are thought to have formed as a consequence of the impact from the mantle of Haumea.

Haumea is the cosmic midwife, as Eric Francis aptly has stated. It is named after the Hawaiian goddess of fertility and childbirth, who has power to change her form, and who has experienced several rebirths. The name may come from the word “hanaumea”, meaning sacred birth. The two moons are named after her daughters. Haumea can be identified with Papa, the goddess of the earth. She also lived as a mortal woman, and she became a growing breadfruit tree. Haumea’s many children sprang from different parts of her body. Her children have also been said to be born from her brain.

It is easy to understand, that the Hawaiian myth describes how the hot red lava burst out from surprising spots of the ground and starts to squirm towards the sea, forming new land and reshaping the landscape, and finally turning into new fertile soil.

It is not easy to separate the influence of the mysterious Haumea, when it is together with powerful planets in an aspect formation, like it is at present. In addition, we associate Pluto with renewal and rebirth. Most of the 1950’s Pluto and Haumea were in conjunction in Leo. Both planets move very slowly, so almost everyone born in the 50’s has the conjunction in their chart, although tightest it was in the middle of the decade. We can talk about a whole Pluto-Haumea generation. Some truly gifted artists were born with a triple conjunction of the Sun, Pluto and Haumea in their natal chart.

Patrick Swayze (born Aug. 18, 1952) was an American actor, dancer, and singer-songwriter. His breakthrough role was in the film Dirty Dancing as the sexy dance instructor. He did many of his own stunts. His triple conjunction of the Sun, Pluto and Haumea in Leo is at his South node of the Moon. Jupiter in Taurus is squaring the triple conjunction.

James Cameron (born August 16, 1954) is a Canadian filmmaker, director, producer, screenwriter, inventor, and deep-sea explorer. In the time between making Titanic and Avatar, he spent several years creating documentary films. In 2012 Cameron reached the bottom of the Mariana Trench, the deepest part of the world’s oceans, in the Deep sea Challenger submersible. He is the first person to do this solo. Cameron’s Uranus in Cancer is in a loose conjunction with Jupiter. Uranus is semisextile to his triple conjunction of the Sun, Pluto and Haumea.

Stephen Fry (born Aug. 24, 1957) is an English comedian, writer, and activist. Many of us remember him in the role of Jeeves. Besides the acting career, he has been reading Harry Potter novels for the audiobook recordings, and performed on Kate Bush’s 50 Words for Snow album. Stephen Fry’s birth data has the Rodden Rating of B (the data is from biography), but if the time is correct, then his triple conjunction of the Sun, Pluto and Haumea falls right at his ascendant. Uranus is trine to Eris, and Jupiter is opposite Eris.

Tim Burton (born Aug. 25, 1958) is an American film director, producer, writer and animator. He is known for his dark and eccentric fantasy films. His Capricorn Moon is in quincunx aspect to the triple conjunction of the Sun, Pluto and Haumea. His Gemini ascendant squares the triple conjunction.

Stevie Ray Vaughan’s (born Oct. 3, 1954) Libra Sun is not in conjunction with Pluto and Haumea, but he was born only a couple of days after the exact Pluto-Haumea conjunction in 1954. The Sun is opposite Eris. The Jupiter-Uranus conjunction in Cancer is semisextile to Pluto and Haumea. Stevie Ray Vaughan was an American musician, singer, songwriter, and record producer. He is one of the greatest guitarists of all times.

Another talented guitarist, with a triple conjunction of the Sun, Pluto and Haumea, the British Mark Knopfler (born Aug. 12, 1949), has said: “…if there is a definition of freedom, it would be when you have control over your reality to transform it, to change it, rather than having it imposed upon you. You can’t really ask for more than that.” His words can well be used in delineating the meaning of the conjunction of Pluto and Haumea in Leo.