New Moon in Virgo — Sep 16, 2012, 02:11 UT

Autumnal Equinox — Sep 22, 2012, 14:49 UT

The sign of Virgo represents both the archetypal mother, the harvest goddess, as well as her daughter, the virgin maiden. Appropriately in conjunction with the Virgo New Moon was a representative of the daughter, asteroid Persephone. Ceres in Gemini is opposing the Galactic Center. Gemini and Virgo are both signs ruled by Mercury. Mercury was in conjunction with the luminaries. The days are shortening and we are reminded of the approach of winter, the unavoidable return of the daughter to the domain of Hades.

However, I would like to draw your attention to another young bride, Salacia, the goddess of salt water, the wife of Neptune. In Pisces (ruled by Neptune), directly opposite the New Moon we find a minor planet named after her.

120347 Salacia is a binary Kuiper belt object orbiting the Sun at an average distance slightly greater than that of Pluto. This dwarf planet candidate was discovered in 2004. The name was assigned on February 18, 2011. The companion was named Actaea. Both bodies in the binary system are named after sea nymphs, more precisely nereids, which are nurturing female spirits, sailors’ friends.

According to the myth, Neptune wanted to marry the beautiful nymph Salacia, but she was reluctant, and to preserve her virginity, she hid from him in the Atlantic Ocean. Neptune sent a dolphin to look for her and persuade her to come back and marry him. Salacia agreed, and so she became the female divinity of the sea, the queen of Neptune.

Water is the necessary element of life. Also the two major components of salt, chloride and sodium ions are needed by all known living creatures in small quantities. The salt levels within our bodies influence our internal balance. Water symbolizes the unconscious. The astrological symbol for instincts, unconscious responses and emotions, is the Moon. The physical Moon governs the tides on the Earth, and similarly the astrological Moon affects the ebb and flow of our feelings.

Salacia was the personification of the calm and sunlit ocean. However, according to some sources there were two entities associated with Neptune, actually two different aspects of a same deity. Salacia represented the violent and gushing waters, whereas Venilia the still or quietly flowing waters. Salacia was also known as the goddess of springs, ruling over the springs of highly mineralized waters.

In its discovery chart, Salacia is in conjunction with Centaur Asbolus. The name Asbolus means carbon dust. What happens if we mix carbon with salt water? Carbon dioxide plays a major role in global warming and climate change. In the Earth’s atmosphere it acts as a greenhouse gas. Carbon dioxide is composed of oxygen and carbon. The oceans absorb carbon dioxide, which dissolves in water forming carbonic acid, causing ocean acidification.

The oceans are tied to the water cycle. Scientists have noticed that the salinity has changed over the last 40 years. They don’t know why this has happened, but it suggests that something fundamental is going on in the water cycle. They have gathered information about wind speed, sea surface heights, temperatures and rainfall, but have missed an important element, sea salt. In June 2011 Aquarius/SAC-D satellite was launched to map the salinity from space. On the midheaven of the launch chart was minor planet Salacia.

The astrological meaning of a planet is always more complex than just the most obvious meaning derived from mythology. Perhaps Salacia’s violent and gushing side reflects in mundane astrology and the recent events in Libya. In February 2011, precisely at the same time when Salacia was named, protests in Libya against Gaddafi’s rule began. The vilolence in Benghazi last week coincides with the Sun’s opposition to Salacia and the current New Moon.

In the equinox chart the Sun is still opposing Salacia. The Moon at the Galactic Center is aligned with Ceres. We can try to evoke the nurturing side of Salacia.

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