New Moon in Leo — August 01, 2019, 03:12 UT
Before the discovery of Albion in August 1992, the only objects that were found beyond Neptune were Pluto (1930) and its binary companion Charon (1978). The space beyond Pluto seemed empty. The existence of the Kuiper belt was not proved yet. Of those distant minor planets of which I am usually writing about, only two centaurs were discovered, Chiron (1977) and Pholus (1992). The discovery of Eris in 2005 resulted eventually in Pluto’s demotion from planet status. Today, after 27 years since the discovery of Albion, thousands of centaurs and Kuiper belt objects have been found.
Albion remained unnamed 25 years, and we learned to call it by its provisional designation 1992 QB1, sometimes shortened as QB1. Even without having a name itself, it gave its name to a whole class of minor bodies, the cubewanos (“QB1-os”), the classical Kuiper belt objects. Then in January 2018, out of the blue, it was named Albion, the name proposed by the discoverers, American astronomers David C. Jewitt and Jane X. Luu. After so many years, I am still not quite adjusted to use the name Albion.
The orbital period of Albion is about 289 years. It was discovered at the Aries Point, in the first degree of the astrological sign Aries, which is the first sign of the zodiac. It was a remarkable discovery and the body was in a significant position, just starting a new phase.
1992 QB1 was named after Albion from the creation mythology of English poet and painter William Blake (1757–1827). Albion is the island-dwelling primeval man who divided himself into the four Zoas (Urthona, Urizen, Luvah and Tharmas), each representing important aspects of human character. Blake has used the name also in its traditional meaning as the ancient and mythological name of Britain.
William Blake has said: “In the universe, there are things that are known, and things that are unknown, and in between, there are doors.” His words certainly fit with the astrological delineations that have taken shape already before the naming of Albion, suggesting it is representing the edge, the bridge leading to the unknown, or the archetype of the thresholder. In astronomy it opened the door to unknown regions and a new understanding of our solar system.
William Blake was an eccentric who saw visions and was considered mad by many of his contemporaries. He did not gain recognition for his work during his lifetime. Not many of his poems are translated in Finnish, because his texts are not easily expressed in our language. However, I read from a Finnish article that Sylvi Kekkonen (1900 – 1974), a writer and the wife of our former president Urho Kekkonen (in office 1956 – 1982), was reading her own Blake translations in the Finnish radio. In the same article the writer says that the purpose of Blake’s works is to wrench one’s perception from the customary route. This kind of approach is just what was needed from the discoverers of 1992 QB1, David C. Jewitt and Jane X. Luu. In an interview by astrologer Eric Francis, Jane X. Luu told about her thoughts at the time they started their research: “Why study something that lots of other people study? We were going to do things that nobody else wanted to do.” She also said: “These things were always out there, but people didn’t look for them. People are not good at finding things they don’t expect to see.” You can read the whole interview here: Cue: Be One (or The Kuiper Belt Turns 20)
The New Moon in creative Leo is forming energizing square aspects to Albion and Uranus in Taurus. Uranus is famous for its ability to produce flashes of insight. Every New Moon is a beginning of a new phase. Mercury, the planet of intelligence, is now turning direct. This seems to be a good time to step through a door and start researching uncharted areas.
