The Full Moon in Scorpio is a total lunar eclipse. The Moon in Scorpio and the Sun in Taurus are squared by Saturn in Aquarius. Mercury turned retrograde less than a week ago in its own sign, Gemini. There are two tight conjunctions in the chart, namely Mars conjunct Neptune in Pisces and Chiron conjunct Venus in Aries, and also some interesting recent sign changes.

Jupiter entered Aries on May 10, the same day that Mercury turned retrograde. Jupiter is now in conjunction with Manwë in the beginning of Aries. They are about to start a new cycle. Manwë is a trans-Neptunian binary planet. Manwë’s ingress into Aries lasts a couple of years altogether, and it will go back and forth over the Aries point several times. The final ingress takes place in January 2023. Jupiter too is going to revisit Pisces briefly, but until late October they both will be together in Aries. In mythology both Jupiter and Manwë are sky gods and leaders of their pantheon of gods. In this respect these two planets will intensify their mutual effect while they are conjunct each other. Jupiter in itself magnifies everything it touches.

The Aries point represents contact with the larger world or publicity. The secondary progressed Sun of Finland is now in the last degree of Pisces conjunct the Aries point. Because of the changed security environment of Finland due to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Finland has decided apply for membership in NATO. This is a historic shift in Finnish security policy, and we are entering a new era. The international media has widely noted our decision.

Damocles has entered Pisces recently. Like Manwë’s ingress, that of Damocles will also take time. The final ingress into Pisces on this round happens in 2025. Damocles is a peculiar little planet, like a comet without a tale. Its orbit is highly inclined and takes it from Mars to Uranus. The orbital period is almost 41 years. In the astrological chart Damocles seems to behave strangely. It spends around 30 years in Aquarius and then hurries through the rest of the eleven signs only in about ten years. The sword of Damocles is a symbol for an over-hanging threat, faced especially by those in positions of power.

On May 14 President Niinistö called President Putin, because he wanted to deal with the matter directly by speaking to his Russian counterpart. “I’m not the kind of person who just slips away around the corner,” said President Niinistö earlier. President Niinistö’s natal Sun is at 1+ degrees of Virgo, exactly opposite the transiting Damocles. Symbolically President Niinistö was looking at the threat face to face.

The Sun in Taurus is at the North node of the Moon. The North node is future oriented and conjunct the node there are three minor planets, which mythologically suit the current situation well. Lempo is named after the Finnish goddess of love and fertility. One of the Finnish words meaning love is “lempi”. Love can sometimes turn bad; it becomes “lempo”. In our unique situation the only trans-Neptunian body named from Finnish mythology is prominent. Pelion is a centaur named after the mountain where the Centaurs were said to live. Centaurs can bring some dark stuff from the psyche to the surface. They have the healing capacity too. Alicanto, the mythical bird in the darkness of the night can lead a miner to a treasure or a lost traveler to a safe place, but only if the person following the bird has a good heart. Hopefully we get to a safe place.

The first eclipse of the year is a partial solar eclipse in Taurus. A solar eclipse is more powerful than an ordinary New Moon, and this time it may feel even more so, because the Sun and the Moon are in conjunction with Uranus, the planet of sudden change and surprises. Moreover, Mars in Pisces is in sextile to the New Moon, supporting the transition. Chiron in Aries is at the midpoint of Mars and Uranus, helping to detect the area of life that needs special attention.

The Sabian symbol for the eclipse degree is Taurus 11 A woman sprinkling flowers. According to Marc Edmund Jones, “This is a symbol of the soul’s determination to give constant and tangible manifestation of its creative powers, and of its eagerness to pour itself into every potentiality of living. There is here an easy and rewarding partnership between man and nature, so that a natural profusion tends to match his inner generosity of spirit. He feels responsible for the welfare of his world, and its rewards for his interest are very great. The keyword is care.”

The Sun, Moon and Uranus are in conjunction with 15760 Albion (1992 QB1), the first body discovered beyond Neptune after Pluto almost thirty years ago. Albion was the door leading to the unknown and it paved the way for the future. Currently the catalog of minor planets contains about 4,000 trans-Neptunian objects observed since 1993.

In Scorpio, opposite the luminaries and Uranus is 184314 Mbabamwanawaresa, another TNO. Mbabamwanawaresa is named after the Zulu goddess of rainbows, who is called on when guidance is needed to make an important decision.

Eclipses can only happen when the Sun and the Moon are at or near the Moon’s nodes. An eclipse can take place either at the North node or the South node of the Moon. This solar eclipse happens at the North node. The South node represents the past and familiar, whereas the North node is associated with the future and our potentiality. In Taurus in exact to the arcminute conjunction with the North node is the trans-Neptunian 474640 Alicanto.

Alicanto is an ETNO, an extreme trans-Neptunian object, with orbital period of more than 6,000 years. It is named after a mythical Chilean bird, whose presence is said to bring good luck. The Alicanto’s wings shine with metallic colors at night, and it can lead a miner to a treasure or a lost traveler to a safe place, but only if the person following the bird has a good heart.

The eclipse in Taurus occurs at the midpoint of the cosmic nurturer Ceres in Gemini and the visionary Neptune in Pisces. Venus has reached the Jupiter-Neptune conjunction, and now both beneficial planets, Venus and Jupiter, are in a triple conjunction with Neptune. This combination could mean compassion, romantic love, luck, visions, idealism, artistic creativity, and mystic love, for instance. Bear in mind though, that Jupiter is able to exaggerate, and Neptune can escape reality.

The Moon in Libra and the Sun in Aries are squaring Pluto in Capricorn. The Sun is in conjunction with Eris and asteroid Pallas. The Jupiter-Neptune conjunction in Pisces was exact on April 12.

Jupiter is the traditional ruler and Neptune is the modern ruler of Pisces. The orbital period of Jupiter is almost twelve years, so these two giants meet around every twelve years, but the last time they encountered each other in Pisces was in March 1856.

Jupiter expands and Neptune dissolves. If you read cookbook descriptions of Jupiter, Neptune and Pisces, you will discover that we should now be living a period of growth, idealism, inspiration, sensitivity, and limitless compassion. We ought to be searching for meaning, be drawn to spiritual matters or to mysticism, and wanting to work for the greater good.

For example, Constance Ullner (March 20, 1856) was born at the time of the previous Jupiter-Neptune conjunction in Pisces. She was a Finnish animal welfare activist and author. She was one of the leading proponents of animal welfare in Finland and in the Nordic countries. Ullner served as chairman of the Helsinki Association for the Protection of Animals in 1916 – 1926. She toured in schools and lectured also abroad. Ullner’s Sun is at the Aries point. The ruler of Aries, Mars is in Libra as the apex of a yod configuration. The other actors of the yod are the Jupiter-Neptune conjunction in Pisces and Uranus in Taurus.

Currently there is a brutal war raging in Europe, which jeopardizes the stability of the whole of Europe, and the aforementioned Jupiter-Neptune-Pisces energies may be hard to perceive. The Jupiter-Neptune conjunction of April 12 fell in conjunction with Finland’s Chiron in Pisces (Dec. 6, 1917). At the same time the transiting Chiron at 13 + Aries is aspecting several planets in Finland’s chart. It is trine to the Sun in Sagittarius, trine Saturn in Leo, quincunx the Moon in Virgo, and quincunx Pallas in Scorpio.

In Finland we are now living crucial weeks. Our foreign and security policy environment changed dramatically when Russia invaded Ukraine in February. On April 13 the Finnish government submitted a report to Parliament, which forms the basis of debate on whether we should join NATO. Parliament will now analyze and discuss the report. The decision to apply for membership will likely be made within a few weeks.

The first New Moon of the year occurs at 11+ degrees Aries, in the sign of new beginnings. The Sun and the Moon are lined up in Aries with Mercury and several interesting minor planets. Mercury is the planet of mental activity, traveling and communication, both in spoken and written form. Mercury is in exact opposition to Logos in Libra, a trans-Neptunian binary, which has affinity with Mercury. Let’s take a look at the Aries planets first, and then study Logos further.

At the Aries Point sits Manwë, a trans-Neptunian contact binary with the orbital period of almost 290 years. The secondary is named as Thorondor. Manwë may be a multiobject system shaped like a barbell, likely surrounded by rapidly orbiting moonlets besides Thorondor. According to the official naming citation, “In J. R. R. Tolkien’s mythology, Manwë is foremost among the deities who rule the world. Manwë takes special responsibility for the air and winds. He resides in the Undying Lands across the western ocean from Middle Earth. For intelligence of events in Middle Earth, Manwë relies on the kingdom of eagles led by Thorondor.”

Manwë is currently starting a new cycle and changing signs from Pisces to Aries. Planets operate in a different mode in each of the signs. Manwë was discovered in Pisces in 2003. It entered Aries for the first time in May 2021. The second ingress took place about a week ago. In October 2022 Manwë starts retrograding back to Pisces again, and then in January 2023 ingresses to Aries for the third and last time. It gets no further than the second degree of Aries until in April 2023.

At 11+ Aries, in exact conjunction with the Sun and the Moon, is Leleākūhonua, an extreme trans-Neptunian object (ETNO). The name compares its orbit to the flight of migratory birds and evokes a yearning to be near Earth. The Sun and the Moon as well as Leleākūhonua are right between Mercury and Chiron.

Chiron was the first centaur discovered (in 1977), and the first member of a new class of bodies orbiting between the Main asteroid belt and the Kuiper belt. The discoverer, Charles Kowal, called it a maverick. Officially it became named after the wisest of all the centaurs, Chiron. In astrology it is commonly described as the wounded healer.

Pallas at 17+ Aries is the third-largest asteroid, named after Pallas Athena, the protectress of the city of Athens, and also the protectress of heroes. The goddess Athena is associated with wisdom, handicraft, politics, and warfare. She is an excellent strategist and diplomat. In art Athena can be a symbol of freedom and democracy. Astrologically, Pallas represents creative intelligence.

At 24+ Aries is Eris, the most massive and second-largest known dwarf planet, which orbits the Sun in the scattered disc, beyond Neptune. Eris is named after the Greek goddess of strife and discord.

The astrological symbolism of each planet and minor body is multifaceted and cannot be described just in a few words, but it is quite easy to associate much of the aforementioned symbolism with the horrific war in Europe and with its consequences.

Opposite the Aries cluster at 9+ Libra, and most tightly opposite the New Moon and Mercury, is a binary trans-Neptunian Logos-Zoe with orbital period of about 307 years. In the Gnostic tradition, Logos and Zoe are a paired emanation of the deity, and part of its creation myth. Logos is the divine ordering principle of the cosmos, personified as Christ.

Logos is also a term in philosophy. The term has been used in different ways. It is often translated as some variation of logic or reasoning, but it originally referred to the actual content of a speech and how it was organized. According to the Greek philosopher Aristotle (384–322 BC), a speaker can use three basic kinds of appeals to persuade his audience: ethos (an appeal to the speaker’s character), pathos (an appeal to the audience’s emotion), and logos (an appeal to logical reasoning). You may have encountered the term logos recently in the media, when the press praised Arnold Schwarzenegger’s speech to the Russian people.

I love the Russian people. That is why I have to tell you the truth. Please watch and share. pic.twitter.com/6gyVRhgpFV

— Arnold (@Schwarzenegger) March 17, 2022

Actor and former Governor of California, Arnold Schwarzenegger has Mars conjunct Logos in Gemini in his birth chart. The sign of Gemini is ruled by Mercury, and Arnold’s Mercury is rising at his ascendant. In addition, his Mercury is trine his Jupiter in Scorpio. It is no wonder that he is a gifted speaker. His asteroid Pallas is in Pisces, and Pallas, Mercury and Jupiter form a grand trine in the water element, probably the most emphatic of the elements. According to Demetra George, Pallas in Pisces brings out the poetic, inspirational, and illusory qualities in artistic expression, and also creative skill in the media of film and photography. Politically it can be a proponent of nonviolent resistance, she says.

Arnold Schwarzenegger published his speech on Twitter on March 17, 2022. The Sun at 27+ Pisces was at Arnold’s Midheaven. The transiting Sun at your Midheaven is certainly the transit when you get public attention! The transiting Mercury and Jupiter in Pisces were sandwiching Arnold’s natal Pallas at 14+ Pisces and his solar arc directed Moon at 15+ Pisces. His solar arc directed Mercury was at the first degree of Libra, one of the cardinal signs (which are Aries, Cancer, Libra and Capricorn). The first degrees of the cardinal signs are related to the Aries point, which joins individuals with the collective.

Ukraine officially declared itself independent on Aug. 24, 1991. The referendum confirming independence and the first presidential elections took place on Dec. 1, 1991. In The Book of World Horoscopes Nicholas Campion gives the time for the announcement of the result as 6:00 pm GMT. The current New Moon in Aries squares Ukraine’s Uranus in Capricorn in both charts. In the first chart Pallas is at 10+ Libra, opposed by the transiting New Moon. The transiting Logos is in conjunction with it. The New Moon is right at the Midheaven of the latter Ukraine chart. The Moon of the latter chart is at 17+ Libra opposite Eris at 16+ Aries. Pallas of the New Moon is now transiting this opposition tightly. The current new Moon is square the lunar node axis of Ukraine at 11+ Cancer and Capricorn.

President Zelenskyi’s chart also receives transits of the New Moon, especially his lunar nodes at 9+ Libra and Aries. I hope that these are good signs for the diplomatic process and the peace talks.

Vernal Equinox – March 20, 2022. 15:33 UT

The Full Moon at 27+ degrees Virgo is in conjunction with retrograding centaur Rhiphonos at 29+ Virgo. The Sun in Pisces is opposing them. The Moon enters Libra about four hours later and the Sun enters the first degree of Aries two days later, on March 20, 2022. The Sun’s ingress into Aries is the Vernal Equinox, which starts the astrological year.

The orbital period of centaur planet Rhiphonos is 35.5 years. In Greek mythology Rhiphonos was one of the twelve Dionysian Centaurs who drew the chariot of the infant Dionysus. Zeus had set them to guard his son Dionysus against Hera’s anger. Later Rhiphonos was one of the commanders of the centaurs who accompanied the adult Dionysus on his travels. My impression of the astrological Rhiphonos is that it indicates a growth story.

The European Union was established on May 9, 1950, by the Schuman Declaration. The declaration has several aims, among them to make war between member states impossible and to encourage world peace. In the chart of the European Union the Sun in Taurus is in exact conjunction with Praamzius, a trans-Neptunian body named after the god of the sky, peace and friendship in Lithuanian mythology, and one of the few Kuiper belt objects named after a European deity. The EU’s centaur Rhiphonos is at 26+ Virgo and Praamzius of the USA is at 29+ Virgo. Thus this Full Moon is also tightly in conjunction with Rhiphonos of the EU and Praamzius of the USA.

The Act of Declaration of Independence of Ukraine was adopted on Aug. 24, 1991, when another centaur planet was in the early degrees of Libra, namely centaur Thereus at 2+ Libra. The orbital period of Thereus is 34.7 years, close to that of Rhiphonos. According to Wikipedia, Thereus was named for the phrase thēreios bia ‘beastly strength’, used to describe centaurs in Greek mythology. The official naming citation notes that the centaur Thereus was a hunter who captured bears and carried them home angry and alive.

When Russia began the invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24, 2022, Rhiphonos was retrograding at 1+ degrees of Libra. Ukraine has shown the world enormous strength. When the invasion started, the Sun at 5+ Pisces was opposite retrograding Thereus at 6+ Virgo.

President Volodymyr Zelenskyi’s (born Jan. 25, 1978) natal Thereus rises at his Gemini ascendant and his natal Rhiphonos is in Cancer. Solar arc direction is one of the astrological techniques, by which the positions of natal planets are progressed to some specific moment. When Zelenskyi’s natal planets are directed to Feb. 24, 2022 (the beginning of the invasion of Ukraine), his solar arc directed Moon is at 2+ Libra conjunct Thereus of Ukraine (2+ Libra) and conjunct the transiting Rhiphonos at the time of the invasion (1+ Libra). His solar arc directed Rhiphonos at 4+ Virgo is conjunct Thereus of the invasion at 6+ Virgo.

President Zelenskyi was inaugurated in 2019. He is a former comedy actor and television personality. In a few weeks Volodymyr Zelenskyi grew from a comedian to the courageous head of state who replied: “I need ammunition, not a ride!”

At the time of the New Moon in Pisces there are three noteworthy conjunctions in the last three signs of the zodiac. Venus, Mars, Pluto and asteroid Vesta are in a tight quadruple conjunction in Capricorn. Both Venus and Mars make their exact conjunctions with Pluto the next day. Mercury and Saturn are in conjunction in Aquarius. Their exact conjunction takes place only an hour before the New Moon. The Sun, the Moon, Jupiter and centaur Nessus form a quadruple conjunction in Pisces. The New Moon is always a conjunction of the Sun and the Moon. The Moon conjoins Jupiter and Nessus four hours after the New Moon. This New Moon is colored with centaur Nessus and magnified with Jupiter.

The world changed in a day when Russia attacked Ukraine last Thursday. “The mask has now fallen and only the cold face of war is visible,” said President Sauli Niinistö. Putin attacked not just Ukraine, but also the core values of Europe. It was the end of innocence for Europe. We have hardly ever seen a consistent Europe as we see today. The buck stops here!

The discovery of Nessus in 1993 was the third discovery of a centaur after Chiron (1977) and Pholus (1992). The naming of Nessus was historical, because it was the first celestial body in modern times named by astrologers. Several astrologers in different countries had separately studied the object and had come to the conclusion that it should be named Nessus. In 1997 the name was officially accepted by the International Astronomical Union.

Nessus addresses issues such as the abuse of power, being oppressed, and patterns of helplessness. Its themes can stretch over more than one generation. Nessus helps to release those patterns, so that the healing can take place and integrity can be developed. Otherwise the ill can go on and on through generations. According to Melanie Reinhart, one of the pioneers of centaurean astrology, “Nessus activations correspond with times when things really do end, finish and transcend to another level, when release occurs and when the turning point is reached. This sometimes happens through an intensification of suffering. The end of falsely hopeful innocence, and the opening of a deeper wisdom, is signaled by Nessus transits.”

Among the most important keywords for Nessus is the phrase “The buck stops here,” which is a metaphor for not passing one’s responsibility on to anybody else.

Europe is praying for peace. Our thoughts are with the suffering people of Ukraine and their courageous President Zelenskyi.

Venus and Mars in Capricorn are in a long conjunction, which was already suitably valid for Valentine’s Day on Feb. 14. The Moon had opposed the conjunction from Cancer on Feb. 13. The exact conjunction of Venus and Mars took place just before the Full Moon in Leo on Feb. 16. These aspects can indicate passion and romance, but there are also more serious tones in the chart.

The Moon in Leo and the Sun in Aquarius are tightly square the lunar nodes. Sedna is at the North node of the Moon in Taurus. The Sun is in conjunction with Damocles.

Astronomer Mike Brown, the discoverer of Sedna, has described Sedna as the most scientifically important trans-Neptunian object found, because understanding its unusual orbit is likely to yield valuable information about the origin and early evolution of our Solar System. The astrology of Sedna and the myth behind its name may also help us understand the future of our planet and our own influence on it.

One orbit of Sedna around the Sun takes approximately 11,400 years. Because Sedna was the coldest and most distant body in the Solar System at the time of its discovery, it was named in honor of the Inuit goddess of the Arctic Ocean and the mother of all sea creatures, who rewards the Inuit with food from the sea. If Sedna is not happy, the people will starve. There are several variants of the Sedna myth, but in all of them Sedna’s father takes her out to sea in his kayak, throws her over the side, and chops off her frozen fingers when she tries to climb back into the kayak. Her fingers become the seals, whales, and other sea creatures. Sedna becomes the goddess of cold waters.

Myths tell symbolic stories. They rarely manifest literally in someone’s life. However, the Finnish astrologers were astonished when Mike Brown at the press conference on March 15, 2004, announced the discovery of mysterious Sedna and the name he had chosen for the object. At the time we in Finland were following the drama at the North Pole, namely the disappearance and search for Dominick Arduin, a French-Finnish wilderness guide and arctic adventurer from Lapland. The case had some striking similarity with the myth of Sedna.

Dominick Arduin was born in Paris (Feb. 7, 1960). She had moved to Finnish Lapland 15 years prior to her second attempt and subsequent disappearance, and wanted to become the first woman to ski alone to the North Pole. She reached the Magnetic North Pole in 2001. Her first attempt to reach the geographic North Pole in 2003 failed. She had fallen into freezing water and due to frostbite most of her toes had to be amputated.

On March 5, 2004, Arduin began her second attempt from the Arctic Cape, Russia. If the ocean had frozen well, it would have already been possible for Arduin to ski on ice at the beginning of the expedition. In 2004 it was not the case and there was a huge area of open water stretching out to sea from the cape. She had a satellite transmitter with her and a small kayak for crossing open waters. The next day her support team lost contact with her. The search for Arduin proved futile and ended on March 21, 2004.

Sedna was discovered at 17+ degrees of Taurus from images taken on Nov. 14, 2003. Five days earlier, on Nov. 9, 2003, a total lunar eclipse took place at 16+ Taurus at the North node of the Moon, and in tight conjunction with Sedna. The lunar eclipse and the transiting Sedna fell square to Dominick Arduin’s natal Sun at 17+ Aquarius. Her natal Sedna at 26+ Aries has an exact aspect to many of her natal planets: sextile to Mercury and Chiron in Aquarius, trine Jupiter in Sagittarius, and quincunx the North node in Virgo. When she disappeared on March 6, 2004, the transiting Damocles was at 16+ Aquarius conjunct her natal Sun, and the slowly moving Sedna still at 17+ Taurus squaring her Sun. Arduin’s solar arc directed Damocles at 26+ Pisces was in aspect to all her natal placements at 26+ degrees of their signs. Her solar arc directed Sun was at the Aries Point. Although Arduin did not achieve the world record as the first woman to ski solo to the North Pole, she got fame, sadly through her disappearance.

Even today, a woman has not reached the North Pole alone, and perhaps one never will. The British adventurer Rosie Stancer got close in 2007. She was only 89 nautical miles short of reaching the goal. It was too risky to land the helicopter on the melting ice to pick her up later, and she didn’t want to risk the lives of the pilots. Ambition probably drove Dominick Arduin to her second attempt so soon after her failed one, but I’m sure she also understood how the worsening ice conditions at the Pole due to climate change would soon decrease possibilities for success.

The effects of climate change are not the same everywhere. The polar regions, however, are warming faster than other places. According to climate forecasts, the total disappearance of summer sea ice in the Arctic is possible by 2040. The ice-dependent species are more in danger than ever. I also read recently that the highest glacier on Mount Everest is melting rapidly. It has lost more than 50 meters of thickness in last 25 years, and the ice that took 2000 years to form has now melted away.

We suffer from the effects of pollution, too. Chemical pollution has passed safe limits for humanity and microplastics threaten the health of children. The total mass of plastics now exceeds the total mass of all living mammals.

Astrologically Sedna is linked to climate change. Damocles at the halfway of the lunar nodes is like a symbol of the current situation, when things can slip in either direction. Sedna’s warnings are not subtle anymore; she wants us to notice our bad situation. The Full Moon at the Leo-Aquarius axis emphasizes the responsibility of both individuals as well as communities in the endeavor for the better future.

The Full Moon took place in Cancer. The Sun was at the midpoint of Venus and Saturn. The Sun in Capricorn was in conjunction with Pluto and 55576 Amycus. Venus continues to retrograde in Capricorn. Mercury stationed retrograde on Jan. 14 in Aquarius.

Centaur 55576 Amycus enters Aquarius in 2023. Amycus was discovered in 2002 and it is named after one of the centaurs in Greek mythology. The centaurs are best known for the battle between the Lapiths and the centaurs during the wedding of the king of the Lapiths, Pirithous. The drunken centaurs lost their control, and one of them tried to rape the bride. Pirithus’s friend killed him, and Amycus was then responsible for the first death of one of the Lapiths. Amycus also lost his life and the centaurs had to flee from Thessaly.

Archbishop Desmond Tutu has said: “We think of ourselves far too frequently as just individuals, separated from one another, whereas you are connected and what you do affects the whole World. When you do well, it spreads out; it is for the whole of humanity.” We choose our actions, and our choices have consequences, and not just for ourselves. The following people have not been afraid to take a stand, speak, or act on their beliefs.

Irena Sendler (Feb. 15, 1910 – May 12, 2008) was a Polish humanitarian, social worker, and nurse who served in the Polish Underground Resistance during World War II in Warsaw. She participated, with dozens of others, in smuggling Jewish children out of the Warsaw Ghetto and then providing them with false identity documents and shelter with willing Polish families or in orphanages, saving those children from the Holocaust. The number of Jewish children saved through Sendler’s efforts is not known, but she claimed that she had saved 2,500 children. – Amycus conjunct the Sun and Venus in Aquarius, semisextile (30º) Eris in Pisces, and trine Pluto in Gemini.

“Heroes do extraordinary things. What I did was not an extraordinary thing. It was normal.”

Desmond Tutu (Oct. 7, 1931 – Dec. 26, 2021) was a South African Anglican bishop and theologian, and anti-apartheid and human rights activist. He was a friend of Nelson Mandela and committed to non-violent activism. The African Ubuntu philosophy that recognizes the humanity of a person through a person’s relationship with other persons is best known through the writings of Desmond Tutu. Ubuntu defines what it means to be truly human. – Amycus at the Aries Point conjunct Eris in Aries, opposite Mercury in Libra, sesquiquadrate (135º) Jupiter in Leo, and sesquiquadrate (135º) Mars-Ceres conjunction in Scorpio. The Aries Point joins individuals with the collective.

“My humanity is bound up in yours, for we can only be human together.”

Gloria Steinem (born March 25, 1934), “The Mother of Feminism”, is an American journalist and social political activist who became recognized as a leader and a spokeswoman for the American feminist movement in the late 1960s and early 1970s. – Amycus conjunct the Sun, Mars and Eris in Aries.

“The story of women’s struggle for equality belongs to no single feminist nor to any one organization but to the collective efforts of all who care about human rights.”

Michael Moore (born April 23, 1954) is an American documentary filmmaker, author, and left-wing activist. His works frequently address the topics of globalization and capitalism. – Amycus conjunct the Sun in Taurus, and trine the Moon-Mars conjunction in Capricorn.

“I don’t use the words ‘political activist,’ because I think it’s redundant. If I’m a citizen of a democracy, it means I’m automatically a political activist. I have to be. All of us have to be. If we’re not active, it ceases to be a democracy.”

Alexei Navalny (born June 4, 1976) is a Russian opposition leader, lawyer, and anti-corruption activist. In August 2020, Navalny was hospitalized in serious condition after he was poisoned with a Novichok nerve agent. He was recovering in Berlin, returned to Russia in January 2021 and was immediately arrested at the Moscow airport. He is recognized by Amnesty International as a prisoner of conscience. In October 2021, he was awarded the Sakharov Prize for his work on human rights. – Amycus conjunct the Sun and Venus in Gemini, sextile Eris in Aries, and opposite Neptune in Sagittarius.

“I am not ready to back away from my views.”

Edward Snowden (born June 21, 1983) is an American former computer intelligence consultant who leaked highly classified information from the National Security Agency (NSA) in 2013. His disclosures revealed numerous global surveillance programs and prompted a cultural discussion about national security and individual privacy. In 2020 a U.S. federal court ruled that the U.S. intelligence’s mass surveillance program exposed by Snowden was illegal and possibly unconstitutional. Snowden was granted permanent residence in Russia in 2020. – Amycus in early Cancer conjunct the Sun in the last degree of Gemini, and quincunx Jupiter in Sagittarius; the Sun-Amycus conjunction is square the Aries Point.

“My sole motive is to inform the public as to that which is done in their name and that which is done against them.”

Greta Thunberg (born Jan. 3, 2003) is a Swedish environmental activist who is known for challenging world leaders to take immediate action for climate change mitigation. In August 2018, at age 15, she started protesting outside the Swedish Parliament. Soon other students engaged in similar protests in their own communities. Together they organized a school climate strike movement under the name Fridays for Future. – Amycus in Libra opposite Eris in Aries, sextile Jupiter in Leo, and sextile Pluto in Sagittarius. Amycus is involved in a kite configuration. Eris, Jupiter and Pluto form a Grand trine in fire. The Eris-Amycus opposition forms the spine of the kite and Amycus is the apex of it.

“It will take a far-reaching vision, it will take courage, it will take fierce, fierce determination to act now, to lay the foundations where we may not know all the details about how to shape the ceiling.”

The New Moon at 12+ degrees of Capricorn takes place at the midpoint of Mars and Saturn. Mars in Sagittarius is sextile Saturn, the ruler of Capricorn, in Aquarius. The New Moon is in conjunction with asteroid Tantalus at 13+ Capricorn, exactly at the midpoint.

2102 Tantalus is a small near-Earth asteroid, discovered in December 1975 by Charles T. Kowal, the same astronomer who two years later discovered centaur Chiron.

Tantalus is a Greek mythological figure, famous for his punishment in Tartarus, the deep abyss where souls were judged after death and where the wicked received divine punishment. Tantalus was invited to dine at the table of the gods in Olympus, but he abused Zeus’s hospitality and stole ambrosia and nectar to bring it back to his people, and revealed the secrets of the gods. He was condemned to spend eternity tortured in Tartarus. He was made to stand in a pool of water beneath a fruit tree with low branches. Whenever he reached for the fruit, the branches raised his intended meal from his grasp. Whenever he bent down to get a drink, the water receded before he could get any.

The New Moon emphasizes the need for endurance. According to astrologer Martha Lang-Wescott, asteroid Tantalus can signify times when what is wanted is just out of reach or feeling as though one is tested. This can be frustrating, but willingness to work hard awhile will help.

Winter Solstice – Dec. 21, 2021, 15:59 UT

Full Moon occurs in Gemini on Dec. 19 and lightens this dark season a bit. The Moon in Gemini and the Sun in Sagittarius align exactly with the Galactic Center. Venus is in close conjunction with Pluto in Capricorn.

Venus stationed retrograde on Dec. 18, and at the Full Moon it is still stationary, which means that it is powerful and deserves our attention. Anne Massey writes in Venus: Her Cycles, Symbols and Myths: “A stationary Venus, like the final note of a piece of music, echoes long after the musician has struck the last chord, holding a powerful influence. Stations stay active for a long time, leaving a permanent marker, which Venus will revisit time after time.”

On Dec. 21 the Sun enters Capricorn and marks the Winter Solstice in the Northern Hemisphere, the shortest day of the year. After the solstice the days start gradually get longer again. By the solstice the Moon travels 30 degrees from Gemini to Cancer, and is tightly opposite the Venus-Pluto conjunction.

Usually my focus tends to be in the distant icy Kuiper belt bodies, but now I am introducing to you a new discovery from the opposite direction, inside the orbit of Venus, namely asteroid 594913 ʼAylóʼchaxnim, “Venus Girl”. Asteroid ʼAylóʼchaxnim is in conjunction with Venus and Pluto in both charts.

The Main asteroid belt is located between Mars and Jupiter. During the past twenty years or so, 25 asteroids have been found orbiting entirely within Earth’s orbit. 594913 ʼAylóʼchaxnim is the first asteroid discovered to have an orbit completely within Venus’s orbit! Its orbit is moderately eccentric and grazes that of Mercury. The orbital period around the Sun is about 150 days. At about 4.1 million years from the present, ʼAylóʼchaxnim will most likely collide with Venus. The diameter of ʼAylóʼchaxnim is approximately from 1 km to 1.5 km.

In the geocentric astrological chart the only major aspect Mercury and Venus can form with the Sun is the conjunction. This applies also to ʼAylóʼchaxnim, since it is inside Venus’s orbit.

ʼAylóʼchaxnim was discovered on Jan. 4, 2020, at Palomar Mountain in California. The name was approved on Nov. 8, 2021. The name means “Venus girl” in the indigenous Luiseño language of southern California. The name celebrates the location of the discovery, which is on ancestral land of the Pauma Band of Luiseño Indians, and the fact that ʼAylóʼchaxnim is the first discovered asteroid to orbit entirely within the orbit of Venus.

According to Wikipedia, the name is derived from ʼaylóchax, “morning star” (also “food left overnight”), which in turn derives (ʼa-ylócha-x) from yulóchax “to stay the night, be kept overnight”. Of course, the morning star refers to Venus, which can rise ahead the Sun as morning star or behind the Sun as evening star. Venus stations retrograde when it is evening star, and it stations direct after the interior conjunction with the Sun, while it is morning star again.

Constance Goddard DuBois notes in her study The Religion of the Luiseno Indians of Southern California (1908), that it is possible that in the old times the Luiseño recognized the motions of the planets, but only Venus was distinguished by a special name, Aylucha, “that which is left over from evening till morning, food or anything of the kind.” Only the most important stars had names.

In Roman mythology, goddess Venus was born from the sea foam as an adult woman. Now we have a celestial body named as “Venus Girl”. Is she perhaps representing some so far missing aspect of Venus, which mankind needs in its present time?