The Full Moon was at 10+ degrees of Pisces in conjunction with centaur Nessus. The Sun in Virgo was conjunct plutino Orcus.

We regard highly those who keep their word. The Etruscan god of the underworld, Orcus, was the punisher of those who lied or broke their promises in ancient Italy before the Roman expansion. Orcus was the counterpart of the Greek Pluto.

90482 Orcus was discovered in 2004. It reached its aphelion (farthest distance from the Sun) in 2019. The orbital period is 245 years, almost the same as Pluto’s orbital period. Both Pluto and Orcus are locked in 3:2 resonance with Neptune (making two revolutions around the Sun, while Neptune makes three), but their orbits point in nearly opposite directions. Because of Neptune’s influence, Pluto and Orcus will always stay in opposite phases of their orbits. Orcus forms a binary system with its moon Vanth. They have their same faces locked towards each other constantly, just like Pluto and its largest moon Charon.

7066 Nessus is named after a centaur who, for his part is associated with deception. The name was proposed by astrologers and accepted by the International Astronomical Union (IAU). In Greek mythology centaur Nessus tried to rape Heracles’s wife Deianeira, but Heracles killed him with a poisoned arrow. The dying Nessus tricked Deianeira to take some of his blood and make a love potion that would keep Heracles faithful to her. Deianeira believed Nessus, but the potion in turn killed Heracles. In astrology Nessus is associated with themes that can stretch over several generations, and the healing process.

This Full Moon advises us to be honest and keep our promises, pay attention to the motives of others, and be aware of any possible attempts to abuse our trust.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, September 2nd, 2020 at 10:27 pm and is filed under Full Moon. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.