Archive for January, 2020

New Moon in Aquarius — January 24, 2020, 21:42 UT

Friday, January 24th, 2020

There is a grand cross aspect pattern in the New Moon chart, formed by the Sun-Moon conjunction in Aquarius, Uranus in Taurus, Varuna in Leo, and Rhadamathus-Zhulong conjunction in Scorpio. Uranus and Zhulong promise a sudden change, Varuna and Rhadamanthus dispense justice.

20000 Varuna is a trans-Neptunian object discovered in 2000 and named after one of the oldest of the vedic deities, the maker and upholder of heaven and earth. Varuna deals with matters of truth, lies and keeping agreements. He “punishes those who sin without remorse, and forgives those who err with remorse.” Varuna has been described as a vast energy behind everything, and “the great equalizer”. He is calling us to take responsibility for our world.

38083 Rhadamanthus is another TNO. It was discovered in 1999 and named after a Greek mythological figure, the wise king of Crete, the son of Zeus and Europa. He had a great sense of justice, and because of that he became one of the judges of the dead.

472235 Zhulong is a scattered disc object discovered in 2014 and named in 2019 from Chinese mythology. Zhulong was a giant red solar dragon with a human face and scarlet serpent body. It controlled the day and night of the world by opening and closing its eyes. Zhulong has been called also the Torch Dragon, since he was described in some of the classic texts as carrying a torch.

The Sabian symbol for Scorpio 4, the current degree of Zhulong, is also talking about shine. The symbol is “A youth holding a lighted candle.” The first image that came into my mind was the face of Greta Thunberg (born Jan. 3, 2003), the Swedish teenage environmental activist, who is at the moment attending the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. Greta has natally a centaur called Okyrhoe at 3+ degrees of Taurus. This means that the current New Moon along with Uranus and the aforementioned trans-Neptunian minor planets in the grand cross configuration are all transiting her natal Okyrhoe.

52872 Okyrhoe is a centaur orbiting between Jupiter and Saturn. It was discovered in 1998 and named after Ocyrhoe, the nymph daughter of Chiron and Chariklo. She was a prophetess who was transformed into a horse for revealing the secrets of the gods. Her ability to speak was thus taken.

I’m hoping that in Greta’s case the current transits to her natal Okyrhoe are pushing it to the opposite direction, finally letting her get her message through to the world leaders. According to astrologer Mark Andrew Holmes, “Okyrhoe seems to indicate being criticized or attacked, being able to cope with attacks or unpopularity, ability to stand up for one’s beliefs or principles.”

Greta Thunberg’s natal Sun at 12+ degrees of Capricorn is in close conjunction with her Chiron. The transiting Jupiter at 12+ Capricorn is now right over her natal Sun-Chiron conjunction. Jupiter is the planet of growth and expansion. It was traditionally known as the “greater benefic”. A Jupiter transit is usually good and makes things work out well. Hopefully it will strengthen Greta’s role as a teacher and healer. She said in Davos:

“Since last summer, I’ve been repeating these numbers over and over again in almost every speech. But honestly, I don’t think I have once seen any media outlets or person in power communicate this and what it means. I know you don’t want to report about this. I know you don’t want to talk about this, but I assure you I will continue to repeat these numbers until you do.”

Full Moon in Cancer / Penumbral Lunar Eclipse — January 10, 2020, 19:21 UT

Friday, January 10th, 2020

The Full Moon in Cancer is a lunar eclipse, and it happens only two days before the Saturn-Pluto conjunction in Capricorn on Jan. 12, 2020. The Moon aligns opposite the Sun and a considerable cluster of planets and smaller celestial bodies gathered in Capricorn. Closest to the Sun is 15810 Arawn, a trans-Neptunian body in the plutino class.

The Sun = 20 Cap 00
The Moon = 20 Can 00
Mercury = 20 Cap 06
Saturn = 22 Cap 33
Pluto = 22 Cap 42
Arrokoth (nicknamed Ultima Thule) = 17 Cap 48
Amycus = 18 Cap 50
Arawn = 20 Cap 42
Ceres = 21 Cap 49
Chariklo = 24 Cap 15

15810 Arawn was discovered in 1994 and named two years ago in 2017 from Welsh mythology. According to the naming rules of the International Astronomical Union (IAU), all plutinos are given mythological names associated with the underworld.

In Welsh mythology Arawn was the ruler of the Celtic otherworld, Annwfn, meaning “the in-world”, derived from an (“in, inside”) and dwfn (“world”). Annwfn was like a paradise, a world of eternal youth where disease was absent and food was ever-abundant. It was not equivalent to Hell of Christians. The influence of Christianity transformed the otherworld to the underworld.

The Mabinogion are the earliest prose stories of the literature of Britain. The stories were compiled in Middle Welsh in the 12th – 13th centuries from earlier oral traditions, during the period when the Welsh struggled to maintain their independence. The First Branch of the Mabinogi tells how Pwyll, the prince of Dyfed, and the shapeshifter Arawn met and befriended. Honor is highly revered value throughout the Mabinogi.

Sioned Davies says in her English translation of The Mabinogion (Oxford University Press 2007) about the tales: “Not only do they reflect themes and characters from myth and legend, they also show how Wales responded to conquest and colonization.” The patriotic hymn Gweddi dros Gymru (“A prayer for Wales”), written by Lewis Valentine, a Welsh politician and Welsh-language activist, is sometimes considered to be the second Welsh national anthem. It is usually sung to the tune of Jean Sibelius’s Finlandia Hymn, one of the most important national songs of Finland. Finlandia, Op. 26, is a tone poem written in 1899 and revised in 1900. The premiere was on July 2, 1900, in Helsinki, during the Sun-Arawn conjunction in Cancer. At the time Finland was incorporated into the Russian Empire as the autonomous Grand Duchy of Finland. (Finland declared itself independent in 1917.) In order to avoid Russian censorship, Finlandia had to be performed under alternative titles at various musical concerts.

The Sun represents the main expression of the individual. In astrologer Bernadette Brady’s words, “it reveals the myth or story that the individual follows through life.” The conjunction is a strong aspect which combines the energies of the planets in question. The following examples are soulful artist with the Sun-Arawn conjunction:

Frida Kahlo (July 6, 1907 – July 13, 1954) was a Mexican painter known for her many self-portraits and works inspired by the nature and artifacts of Mexico. She has a stellium in Cancer consisting of the Sun, Neptune, Jupiter, Ceres and Arawn.

Woody Guthrie (July 14, 1912 – Oct. 3, 1967) was an American singer-songwriter, who wrote the song “This Land Is Your Land“. Also Guthrie has a stellium in Cancer, including the Sun, Neptune, Venus and Arawn.

Van Morrison (born Aug. 31, 1945), the “Celtic Soul”, is a Northern Irish singer-songwriter. He has said: “If you’re trying to be something other, like something superficial, trying to be someone you’re not, then that would take you away from your true centre.” His Sun-Arawn conjunction is in Virgo.

Freddie Mercury (Sept. 5 1946 – Nov. 24, 1991) was a British singer, songwriter, and the charismatic lead vocalist of the Queen. He has the Sun-Arawn conjunction in Virgo.

Nick Cave (born Sept. 22, 1957), the “Prince of Darkness”, is an Australian musician, singer-songwriter, author and actor, whose songs often deal with love, death, and religion. He has a triple conjunction of the Sun, Mars and Arawn in Virgo.

Van Morrison has expressed very likely something essential about Arawn in his lyrics:

Soul is a feeling, feeling deep within
Soul is not the color of your skin
Soul is the essence, essence from within
It is where everything begins

Soul is what you’ve been through
What’s true for you
Where you going to
What you’re gonna do

Soul is your station for the folk of your nation
Something that you wear with pride
Soul can be your vision or something that is hidden
It’s not something that you gotta hide