The Full Moon in early Aquarius is in conjunction with Chariklo. The Sun entered the opposing sign Leo on July 22. The Sun is in conjunction with Cyllarus. Both Chariklo and Cyllarus are centaurs, minor planets orbiting the Sun between Jupiter and Neptune and crossing the orbits of one or more of the giant planets.

Astrologically Chariklo can be linked to death and mourning, but specifically to holding space for the process of grief. According to Melanie Reinhart, “her qualities and themes include a particular capacity for silent witness and reflection which can be an essential part of healing.” Caring and compassion are important keywords for Chariklo.

July 22, 2021, was the 10th anniversary of the Utøya massacre. Ten years ago the right-wing extremist Anders Behring Breivik killed eight people in central Oslo and 69 people, mostly teenagers, on the island of Utøya at an annual summer camp of the Labour Party’s youth division. In 2011 when the shooting on Utøya started, Chariklo was rising near the ascendant.

When the memorial service in Oslo started on the morning of July 22, the Sun was still in the last degree of Cancer (just like it was ten years ago). Mercury in Cancer was in conjunction with asteroid 2254 Requiem. Mercury represents youth, among other things. Asteroid Requiem was semisquare (45º) to Venus in the first degree of Virgo and sesquiquadrate (135º) to Jupiter in the first degree of Pisces. The Mercury-Requiem conjunction was exactly opposite centaur Hylonome in Capricorn.

2254 Requiem is a main belt asteroid discovered in 1977 and dedicated to the memory of the discoverer’s mother, who died on the same day that this asteroid was discovered. The Requiem is a mass held in honor of the dead. Astrologically, Requiem indicates acknowledgement of grief or acceptance of loss. Centaur Hylonome is another indicator of grief. It has showed up in the event charts of mass grief. Hylonome was a female centaur who lost his beloved husband Cyllarus in the battle against the Lapiths. The Sun is currently conjunct the centaur planet Cyllarus.

At the highest point of the memorial chart, at the Midheaven in Taurus, is asteroid Ceres. In mythology Ceres is the Mother Goddess who grieves the loss of her child. Ceres’s position in the chart in a way reminds us specifically of one of the first victims on Utøya, Monica Bøsei, the island hostess, known as ”Mother Utøya”, who had been organizing the summer camp for over 20 years.

At the descendant of the chart in Pisces is 57 Mnemosyne, a large main belt asteroid. Mnemosyne is the goddess of memory in Greek mythology. The name means “remembrance” or “memory”. The descendant is the angle of relationships; it is the point where the self meets the other. We can encounter the victims of Utøya only by remembering.

Many of the survivors are still suffering from serious health issues. Some of them have been threatened. In ten years hate speech has only increased everywhere and the right-wing extremism is still alive. The 2011 attack was political terrorism aimed at democracy, it was not just an isolated act carried out by some lunatic. “We must not let hate stand unopposed,” said Prime Minister Erna Solberg at the ceremony. We all must work for empathy and tolerance.

Never again July 22!

The New Moon occurs at 18+ degrees of Cancer on July 10 at 01:16 UT. About nine hours later the Moon has reached the midpoint of Alicanto and ǂKá̦gára at 22+ degrees of Cancer. Alicanto and ǂKá̦gára are the two most recently named trans-Neptunian minor planets. A midpoint halfway between two planets combines the qualities of the planets in question. If there is a third planet at the midpoint, then all three qualities are combined. Alicanto and ǂKá̦gára are trine to each other at the moment.

474640 Alicanto is an extreme trans-Neptunian object (ETNO), orbiting the Sun well beyond Neptune in the outermost region of our Solar System. Alicanto’s orbital period is about 6070 years. ETNOs may be influenced by gravitational interactions with the hypothetical Planet Nine, predicted to have mass of five to ten times that of the Earth.

474640 Alicanto was discovered by American astronomer Andrew C. Becker in 2004 at Cerro Tololo Observatory in Chile. It reached perihelion (closest approach to the Sun) in 2009. In the astrological chart it is now in conjunction with Ceres at 23+ degrees of Taurus. The object was named from Chilean mythology in May 2021.

The Alicanto is a mythological bird of the Atacama Desert whose wings shine at night with beautiful, metallic colors. Its presence usually represents good luck. It only appears in the nights and guide lost travelers to a safe place with the shine of its feathers. A miner who follows it can find treasures, but if the Alicanto discovers that it’s being followed, it will turn off the shining of its wings and scuttle away in the darkness of the night. Also, if the miner is not of “good heart” the Alicanto will guide the miner off a cliff.

469705 ǂKá̦gára is a trans-Neptunian object and a binary cubewano. The primary body was discovered in 2005 by American astronomer Marc Buie at the Kitt Peak Observatory in Arizona. Its companion ǃHãunu was discovered with the Hubble Space Telescope in 2009. The orbital period is around 290 years. The system is currently undergoing mutual occultation and eclipsing events, which have begun in 2015 and should continue until 2035. Astrologically the binary is now at 22+ degrees of Virgo opposite Neptune in Pisces.

The names ǂKá̦gára and ǃHãunu were officially approved in June 2021 by The International Astronomical Union (IAU). In the mythology of the ǀXam people of the Karoo region of southern Africa, ǂKá̦gára and ǃHãunu fought an epic battle in the east using thunder and lightning, producing mountainous clouds and rain. The conflict was over ǂKá̦gára returning his younger sister, ǃHãunu’s wife, to their parents. ǀXam is considered an extinct language of South Africa. Its last speakers died in the 1910s.

The conjunction aspect also combines energies that are represented by the planets in conjunction. In the chart of the English novelist Mary Shelley (Aug. 30, 1797 – Feb. 1, 1851), the Moon is in conjunction with both Alicanto and ǂKá̦gára in Sagittarius. The conjunction is square to her Mercury in Virgo. Mary Shelley is famous for her novel Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus (1818), which tells about a young scientist who creates a hideous creature in an unorthodox scientific experiment. The novel is considered an early example of science fiction. Mary Shelley also edited and promoted the works of her husband, Percy Bysshe Shelley, one of the major English romantic poets.

Full Moon in Capricorn — June 24, 2021, 18:40 UT

In many parts of the Northern hemisphere, including Finland, people are sweating under a heat dome. The severe heatwave arrived early, fueled by global warming. We are facing the consequences of climate change.

The Sun entered Cancer on June 21, 2021. The summer solstice is the longest day in the Northern hemisphere. Saturn in Aquarius is square to Uranus in Taurus. The Moon was in Scorpio, opposing Uranus. In the solstice chart Mercury at the middle degrees of Gemini was still retrograding. It stationed direct the next day, on June 22. The Full Moon in Capricorn takes place on June 24. The Sun is conjunct centaur Echeclus in early Cancer and trine Jupiter in Pisces.

60558 Echeclus was discovered in March 2000 and initially classified as a minor planet. In December 2005 a large chunk of Echeclus broke off, possibly caused by an impact, and a cometary coma was detected. The body was given also the cometary designation 174P/Echeclus. Echeclus burst out again in 2011 and in 2017. It last came to perihelion in April 2015. Typically, when a comet approaches the Sun, the ice vaporizes and the coma shows. Also centaur Chiron is classified as both a minor planet and a comet. The orbital period of Echeclus is 35 years and its orbit crosses the orbit of Saturn.

Echeclus was named from Greek mythology after one of the centaurs that fought with the Lapiths at King Pirithous’s wedding. The centaurs were guests at the party, but they got drunk and tried to abduct the bride and other women. Echeclus was killed by the Lapith Ampyx, the son of Ophion, who had thrust his lance that lacked its point into the face of Echeclus.

When the cult film Fight Club was released at the Venice International Film Festival on Sept. 10, 1999, the Sun was in conjunction with Mercury and Echeclus in Virgo. The film is based on Chuck Palahniuk’s novel of the same name. Plahniuk (born Feb. 21, 1962) has the Sun-Chiron conjunction in Pisces. His Sun is in tight opposition to Echeclus in Virgo.

The director David Fincher (born Aug. 28, 1962) has a Sun-Echeclus conjunction in Virgo in his chart. He is a perfectionist and demands one retake after another to capture a scene perfectly. Fincher’s Sun-Echeclus conjunction is sextile Mars in Cancer and opposing Jupiter and Chiron in Pisces. Martyrdom and alienation are examples of themes in his film. The characters are often troubled and flawed, and they act on their dark, inner impulses. “We sort of attach the sinister to the mundane in order to make things interesting… I think it’s also because in order for something to be evil, it almost has to cloak itself as something else,” has Fincher explained.

At the time of the release of the film, the transiting Jupiter in Taurus was trine to David Fincher’s Sun-Echeclus conjunction in Virgo and sextile his Mars in Cancer.

Fight Club starred Brad Pitt (born Dec. 18, 1963) and Edward Norton (born Aug. 18, 1969). Brad Pitt was having his Echeclus return during the filming and at the time of the release. Pitt’s natal Echeclus is in exact conjunction with his Pluto in Virgo and trine to his Mercury in Capricorn.

Edward Norton’s Echeclus is conjunct Jupiter in Libra, opposite Chiron in Aries, and novile (40º) his Sun in Leo. When Fight Club was released, the transiting Echeclus was right at his Midheaven at 14+ degrees of Virgo. The transiting Mars in Sagittarius was sextile to his natal Jupiter-Echeclus conjunction.

Another interesting case study is the release of the film Face/Off on June 27, 1997. The director John Woo (born May 1, 1946) has natally Echeclus conjunct Mercury in Aries, sextile Uranus in Gemini, and opposite Chiron in Libra. Chaos in Pisces is exactly squaring his nodal axis of the Moon. Woo’s films are action films and he is known for highly chaotic action sequences.

At the time of the release of Face/Off, Echeclus was in the beginning of Virgo. The transiting Echeclus was square to Woo’s natal Venus in Gemini, sesquiquadrate (135º) to his natal Mercury-Echeclus conjunction in Aries, and formed a semisquare aspect (45º) to his Chiron in Libra. The semisquare and the sesquiquadrate belong to the same family of challenging aspects with the square and the opposition. They are not weak aspects, if the orbs are tight.

Nicholas Cage (born Jan.7, 1964) and John Travolta (born Feb. 18, 1954) played the leading roles in Face/Off. In Nicholas Cage’s chart Echeclus is conjunct Pluto in Virgo and trine the Sun in Capricorn. When the film was released, the transiting Echeclus was in sesquiquadrate aspect to his Sun in Capricorn.

John Travolta has natally Uranus in conjunction with Echeclus in Cancer. At the time of the release of Face/Off, the transiting Echeclus in early Virgo was opposing his Sun in the last degree of Aquarius and his Venus in early Pisces.

Face/Off was written by Mike Werb (born June 21, 1977) and Michael Colleary (born Jan.1, 1953). Michael Colleary’s Echeclus is in exact conjunction with Uranus in Cancer. They are opposite the Sun-Chiron conjunction in Capricorn. His Mars in Pisces is sesquiquadrate to the Echeclus-Uranus conjunction in Cancer.

In Mike Werb’s chart Echeclus in Sagittarius is opposite his Mercury in Gemini and with wider orb also opposite his Sun in the first degree of Cancer. The transiting Echeclus in early Virgo at the time of the release of Face/Off was sextile his natal Sun.

Mike Werb is also the screenwriter of The Mask, which was released on July 29, 1994. The transiting Echeclus was then in Leo sextile to Werb’s natal Mercury in Gemini and trine to his natal Echeclus in Sagittarius. It was also in conjunction with the North node of the Moon of Jim Carrey, who starred The Mask. Carrey’s performance helped his way to superstardom.

The New Moon in Gemini is a solar eclipse, which makes this New Moon more powerful than usual. The Moon is near its furthest point from the Earth and doesn’t completely cover the Sun, and that is why a ring of fire appears around the dark Moon. In some places the eclipse can be seen as partial. The Latin word annulus means “ring”.

This Gemini eclipse is conjunct Mercury and centaur Bienor, and square to Neptune in Pisces. Both Mercury and Neptune are in their home signs. Planets in their own sign have strength and they are able to express themselves fully. However, Mercury is retrograding. Mercury is the planet of communication and mental processes. Mercury is concerned with traveling, transportation and commerce. All kinds of confusion, misunderstanding and delay can happen when Mercury retrogrades. The square to Neptune adds possibilities for misconceptions, because Neptune tends to dissolve what it touches. Denial, dreams, deception, and delusion dwell in the Neptunian haze. Neptune is also the planet of art, visions and sensitivity.

This eclipse belongs to the Saros cycle, which started in conjunction with Neptune, on Oct. 12, 1624. Bernadette Brady describes the cycle like this: “A very unusual Saros Series involving sudden flashes of ideas that seem to have a psychic or unconscious flavor to them. Hunches, visions, prophetic dreams are the essence of this family of eclipses. A truly creative series which should leave the individual enriched. The ideas or hunches which come from this eclipse can be acted upon.”

Rose Lineman writes: “This initial eclipse in the second decan (sub-ruled by Uranus) and eighth duad (sub-ruled by Venus as expressed in Taurus) adds refreshing accents of fair play and social concern to sign expression of eclipses belonging to this series. It also reinforces any materialistic qualities naturally present in signs of member eclipses.”

Bienor is one of the biggest centaurs. It orbits the Sun between Saturn and Uranus, grazing the orbit of Uranus. The orbital period is around 67 years. There has been speculation about a ring around Bienor, but this hasn’t been proven yet.

The name Bienor means “Strong One”. Astrologically Bienor can challenge us, and push us to do things that can seem scary because we can’t be sure of the outcome. At the same time we are excited about the novelty of the circumstances. We can break fresh ground only if we are ready to take challenges.

If you are tempted to take Bienor’s challenge now, don’t rush though. Find out about things that you are about to engage to. Read documents carefully, and review contracts several times before signing them, unless you can’t postpone the signing. Make sure that you understand everything, and be clear in your own communication, too.

The Full Moon in Sagittarius is a total lunar eclipse. The ruler of Sagittarius is Jupiter, which recently changed signs from Aquarius to Pisces, about two weeks ago.

Another notable sign change happened only three days ago when the trans-Neptunian Manwë moved from Pisces to Aries. It is now at the Aries Point. It was named after the fictional deity in J. R. R. Tolkien’s Middle-earth legendarium. Both Jupiter and Manwë are sky gods and leaders of their pantheon. You can read more about Manwë here: The Vernal Equinox — March 20, 2021, 09:37 UT

Jupiter has a magnifying effect. In tight conjunction with Jupiter in the first degrees of Pisces is Damocles, the unusual object on an orbit of high eccentricity and inclination, crossing the orbits of Mars to Uranus. Damocles travels almost 41 years around the Sun, but in the astrological chart it spends most of that time, around 30 years, in Aquarius. Damocles entered Pisces in April and turned retrograde yesterday. It was named after a courtier of the tyrant Dionysius the Elder of Syracuse. Damocles was invited to a feast, where he was seated below a sword hanging in a thread. The ”sword of Damocles” has become a symbol of impending disaster, faced especially by those in positions of power.

In July both Jupiter and Damocles are retrograding back to Aquarius and will stay there the rest of the year.

At the moment the Europe is shocked about the hijack of a civilian airplane on Sunday. Ryanair flight 4978 from Athens to Vilnius was forcibly diverted to Minsk, Belarus, and journalist and activist Raman Protasevich, who was aboard, was arrested. The authorization of this outrageous action came personally from President Alexander Lukashenko.

The lunar eclipse at 5+ degrees of Sagittarius squares Lukashenko’s natal Sun at 6+ degrees of Virgo and the transiting Jupiter-Damocles conjunction in early Pisces opposes his Sun. The Jupiter-Damocles conjunction transits also Lukashenko’s natal Mars in early Capricorn and his Damocles in the first degree of Aquarius. Belarus declared independence on Aug. 25, 1991. The Sun of Belarus is at 1+ degrees of Virgo, and thus the current Jupiter-Damocles conjunction opposes also the Sun of Belarus.

Is the sword of Damocles finally going to hit Lukashenko? EU leaders have condemned his action and agreed on sanctions against Belarus. Lukashenko has been in office since 1994, the same year that Damocles ingressed from Capricorn to Aquarius. Hopefully the era of Lukashenko is coming to its end now that Damocles has started to change signs again.

The New Moon in Taurus is in conjunction with Mors-Somnus, a binary plutino named after the twin gods from Roman mythology, the personifications of death and sleep.

Mors-Somnus was discovered in 2007 by Scott Sheppard and Chad Trujillo. The orbital period of this binary is 243.67 years (a few years less than that of Pluto), the diameter is approximately 100 km, the two components have almost equal size, and their colors are indistinguishable from each other.

Sigmund Freud and Carl Gustav Jung were two famous pioneers of psychoanalysis. They both worked with dreams and the unconscious. Freud had his Mars tightly in conjunction with Mors-Somnus in Libra. C.G. Jung’s Mors-Somnus in Libra was in conjunction with Jupiter and sextile to Mars in Sagittarius.

The concepts of the collective unconscious, the archetypes, and synchronicity (an acausal connecting principle) were developed by Jung. These ideas can also be found in contemporary psychological astrology. Jung discovered that beneath the personal unconscious lies the collective unconscious, which consists of images and behavioral patterns accessible to all individuals and in all times. These archetypes are often found in art, mythology and fairy tales of different cultures, for example archetypes like the hero, the trickster, and the shadow. Jung believed that there are as many archetypes as there are typical situations in life.

Our dreams are the message carriers from the unconscious to our conscious mind. A dream is valid in the first place for the dreamer, but at the same time it can have a collective meaning. Jung studied both the dreams of his patients and his own, which altered and strengthened also his perceptions of life after death. He believed that through our dreams the unconscious can provide messages and hints about matters that we rationally cannot know anything about. Dream interpretation can also help us to understand our long ago forgotten instincts.

The Sabian symbol for the New Moon degree is Taurus 22 White dove over troubled waters. The dove is bringing a message. Dr. Marc Edmund Jones interprets: “This is a symbol of the clear direction or absolute orientation which comes to man from birth as a consequence of his indwelling spirit or divine heritage, whether or not there is any conscious co-operation with it on his part.”

Pay attention to your dreams and meaningful coincidences!

The Sun, Mercury and Venus have moved to Taurus. The Sun is in conjunction with Uranus and 15760 Albion, the thresholder that proved the existence of the Kuiper belt in 1992. The Full Moon in Scorpio is in conjunction with 184314 Mbabamwanawaresa, one of the latest named residents of the Kuiper belt, discovered in 2005.

Both Albion and Mbabamwanawaresa are cubewanos with the orbital period roughly around 300 years. The diameter of Mbabamwanawaresa is approximately 242 km, which means that it is bigger than Albion, perhaps even twice the size of Albion.

184314 Mbabamwanawaresa was officially named last summer after the Zulu fertility goddess Mbaba Mwana Waresa, the goddess of rainbows, the symbol of the link between heaven and Earth. She has also another name, “She who chooses the state of an animal”. The Zulu call on her when they need guidance to make an important decision.

Indeed, the astrological meaning of Mbabamwanawaresa could have something to do with decision-making. Some people with their Sun natally in close conjunction with Mbabamwanawaresa have been in a tough situation, where they’ve been forced to make a life-altering decision. The Chilean President Salvador Allende committed suicide during the 1973 military coup (Mbabamwanawaresa conjunct the Sun and the North node). Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, the Belarusian opposition politician, decided to flee to Lithuania after the 2020 presidential elections. She was afraid on behalf of her children and how the repercussions would affect them (Mbabamwanawaresa conjunct the Sun and Haumea). Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, stepped down from his role as the working member of the British royal family and moved to the United States. His worry over his family and children was contributing to his decision (Mbabamwanawaresa conjunct the Sun, Rhiphonos and Haumea).

The Zulu mythology offers hints of other possibilities, too. Last summer after the naming I followed my hunch and noticed that many people who are linked to the 2007 film Into the Wild, have a prominent Mbabamwanawaresa in their charts. The film tells the story of Christopher McCandless, a young man who hiked into the Alaskan wilderness and died there. Since then I have discovered that many people who are naturalists, evolutionary biologists, or have studied man’s place in nature, have tight Mbabamwanawaresa aspects. The examples follow at the bottom.

One can try to examine the astrological meaning of a body from the discovery chart of that body. This is not always a fruitful method, but in Mbabamwanawaresa’s case it seems to work. In its discovery chart, Mbabamwanawaresa is in Libra in conjunction with Jupiter. The ascendant is in Sagittarius (ruled by Jupiter) in conjunction with the Galactic Centre. Pluto, the great transformer and the symbol of rebirth, is rising.

The Sabian symbol for the ascendant degree of the discovery chart is Sagittarius 28 An old bridge over a beautiful stream. According to Dr. Marc Edmund Jones, “this is a symbol of the eternal stability of the world at large, and of each person’s ability to preserve its form and function in full accordance with his own convenience. Implicit in the static symbolism is the complete dependability of man-made structures at their best, and the joy of nature in making them an enduring part of herself in every respect. What is ephemeral in any possible phase of the real is merely that which serves no purpose in its transient state of existence. The keyword is conservation.

Examples:

Charles Darwin (Feb. 12, 1809 – Apr. 19, 1882) was an English naturalist, geologist and biologist, best known for his contributions to the science of evolution. He published his theory of evolution in his 1859 book On the Origin of Species. — Mbabamwanawaresa conjunct Jupiter in Pisces, semisextile (30º) the Sun in Aquarius, and sextile the Moon in Capricorn.

Henry David Thoreau (July 12, 1817 – May 6, 1862) was an American naturalist, essayist, poet, and philosopher. He was deeply interested in the idea of survival in the face of hostile elements, historical change, and natural decay. He neither rejected civilization nor fully embraced wilderness. Instead he sought the middle ground integrating nature and culture. — Mbabamwanawaresa in Aries square the Moon in Cancer, sextile Venus in Gemini, semisextile (30º) Mars in Taurus, semisextile (30º) Saturn in Pisces, trine Jupiter in Sagittarius, and trine the Midheaven in Sagittarius.

Carl Gustav Jung (July 26, 1875 – June 6, 1961) was a Swiss psychiatrist and psychoanalyst who founded analytical psychology. Jung’s work has been influential in the fields of psychiatry, anthropology, archaeology, literature, philosophy and religious studies. He was concerned for man’s loss of connection with nature. From The Earth Has a Soul, C.G. Jung on Nature, Technology & Modern Life: “At times I feel as if I am spread out over the landscape and inside things, and am myself living in every tree, in the splashing of the waves, in the clouds and the animals that come and go, in the procession of the seasons.” — The Sun in Leo sextile Mbabamwanawaresa in Gemini.

Richard Dawkins (born March 26, 1941) is a British ethologist, evolutionary biologist, atheist thinker, and author. Dawkins first came to prominence with his 1976 book The Selfish Gene, which popularized the gene-centered view of evolution. (He first introduced the term meme.) Dawkins is a guest star on the Nightwish album Endless Forms Most Beautiful (2015). He provides narration on two tracks: “Shudder Before the Beautiful”, in which he opens the album with one of his own quotes, and “The Greatest Show on Earth”, in which he quotes On the Origin of Species by Charles Darwin. — Mbabamwanawaresa conjunct Pluto in Leo, trine the Sun and Eris in Aries, and quincunx Ceres in Capricorn.

Tuomas Holopainen (born Dec. 25, 1976) is a Finnish songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and record producer, and best known as the founder, leader, keyboardist and songwriter of symphonic metal band Nightwish. In 2017 a new insect species discovered by a Finnish biologist, was named as Sciophilia holopaineni after Tuomas Holopainen, because of Holopainen’s love of nature. Endless Forms Most Beautiful, a studio album by Nightwish (2015), was primarily inspired by the work of naturalist Charles Darwin. Richard Dawkins is a guest star on the album, providing narration on two tracks. The song “My Walden” is inspired by the book Walden by Henry David Thoreau. — Mbabamwanawaresa in Virgo square Neptune in Sagittarius, semisquare (45º) the North node in Scorpio, semisextile (30º) Pluto in Libra, and quincunx Eris in Aries.

Aries energy is heavily emphasized at this New Moon. Besides the Sun and Moon, there are planets Mercury and Venus, dwarf planets Eris and Ceres, and centaur Chiron in Aries. The New Moon was in conjunction with Eris.

Eris is now at the Mars/Jupiter midpoint. Eris is squared by Pluto in Capricorn. Last year Eris was also receiving squares from Jupiter and Saturn. Eris is named after the Greek goddess of strife and discord, who indirectly started the Trojan War. Recently there has been alarming news about the growing tension at the Ukrainian border and in Crimea between Russia and Ukraine. Also in Northern Ireland the worst wave of violence for years is now causing concern.

Nicholas Campion writes in The Book of World Horoscopes: “The history of the Cold War in Europe may be traced to The Yalta Conference, at which Roosevelt secretly agreed with Stalin that the Soviet Union should have a sphere of influence in eastern Europe after the Second World War.” He sets the chart for the beginning of the conference at 5:10 pm on Feb. 4, 1945. Saturn in Cancer was squaring Eris in Aries in 1944 – 1945. The dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991 marked the end of the Cold War.

Some say that the second cold war has already begun. For example Edward Lucas’s The New Cold War was published in 2008, relatively soon after the discovery of Eris. Eris was discovered in January 2005 from images taken in October 2003. Also the launch of many popular platforms of social media is dated in the same period. LinkedIn was launched in May 2003, Facebook in February 2004, YouTube in February 2005, and Twitter in July 2006. Populist movements have gained popularity in the 21st century, too. Polarization is the feature of today.

Everything stated above may be relevant with Eris. However, the molding of the astrological meaning of a planet may sometimes take time, and the myth behind the name is not always in-line with the astrological meaning. It seems that in Eris’s case the delineation is still developing.

Astrologer Raimo Nikula proposes in Eris vai Proserpina? (Eris or Proserpina?), that the symbolism of planet Eris is better in accordance with the Greek myth of Persephone, the equivalent of Roman Proserpina, the daughter of Ceres. Unfortunately both names were already taken for asteroids, but the planet could have been named as Kore, as the daughter of Demeter (Ceres) was also called in Greek mythology. The name Kore is Raimo’s own favorite.

In myth Ceres’s daughter Proserpina was abducted by Pluto, and she became the queen of the Underworld. In her desperation Ceres stopped the growth of fruits and vegetables. Proserpina was freed, but she had to spend a part of each year in the Underworld with Pluto; for the other part, she was able to return to living with her mother on Earth. Before the abduction she was Kore, “the maiden”.

In his book Raimo Nikula reminds that for example the name of Uranus doesn’t correspond with its astrological symbolism either. Among other things he notes that astrologer Dane Rudhyar (1895 – 1985) proposed the name Proserpina as the name for a yet undiscovered planet beyond Pluto: “Beyond the planet Pluto, symbol of the Guardian at the Gates of Immortality, we may already distinguish the presence of a new orb. I have suggested long ago the name Proserpine for the yet unknown planet; for in that name lies hidden the symbol of all resurrections. And the stage beyond Pluto can only be that of the Resurrection.”

Before the official naming, astronomer Mike Brown, the discoverer of Eris, had also speculated that Persephone, the wife of the god Pluto, would be a good name for the object. According to science writer Govert Schilling, Brown initially wanted to call the object “Lila”, after a concept in Hindu mythology that described the cosmos as the outcome of a game played by Brahman. The name resembles “Lilah”, the name of Brown’s then newborn daughter. However, one of the names by which the Hawaiian goddess Haumea was known is Lailai, which sounds a lot like Lila. Haumea is another dwarf planet discovered by Mike Brown’s team. Goddess Haumea was called by many names, because she could take many different guises and morph from old woman to young girl, and become her own daughter or granddaughter. In 1900 Edward Tregear wrote in The creation song of Hawaii: “‘Lailai of the distant night, Lailai the woman,’ appears as a very shadowy figure, and it seems impossible to understand what power she is intended to represent. She is indeed, to be described best in the line, ‘This woman was from a race of illusions (myth)’—and is evidently some Cosmic goddess, probably the impersonation of the Eternal Feminine in Nature.”

In Jungian psychology Kore is the personification of feminine innocence. Quoting Carl Jung, “Demeter and Kore, mother and daughter, extend the feminine consciousness both upwards and downwards. They add an ‘older and younger,’ ‘stronger and weaker’ dimension to it and widen out the narrowly limited conscious mind bound in space and time, giving it intimations of a greater and more comprehensive personality which has a share in the eternal course of things.”

Interestingly, the New Moon in Aries was also in conjunction with asteroid 4946 Askalaphus, which is a Jupiter trojan and therefore named after one of the Argonauts from Greek mythology. But there is another Ascalaphus in mythology, the custodian of the orchard of Hades. He told the other gods that Persephone had eaten pomegranate seeds in the Underworld, and because of this revelation she was obliged to return to the Underworld every year. Demeter was so angry because of this that she buried Ascalaphus beneath a heavy rock in the Underworld. Heracles for his part rolled the stone away and released Ascalaphus.

In Eris vai Proserpina? Raimo Nikula suggests as one of the meanings of the transit of Eris to the natal Sun as getting lighting to unfinished and current matters. He writes: “A conjunction can be particularly illuminating and truth-revealing.” Are there going to be crucial revelations now that the transiting Sun is in conjunction with Eris and Askalaphus?

The Moon is in Libra. The Sun in Aries is in exact conjunction with Venus and Chiron. The Sun is also in conjunction with an extreme trans-Neptunian object 541132 Leleākūhonua.

Libra is the sign of balance and equality. In Aries we can meet impatience and enthusiasm. Venus shows what we appreciate and what gives us pleasure. In The Contemporary Astrologer’s Handbook (Flare Publications and The London School of Astrology, 2006) Sue Tompkins and Melanie Reinhart have written about Chiron: “Commitment to the healing of ourselves, others and our environment is the price this minor planet seems to be asking us to pay.”

We appreciate balanced relationships. Chiron in this combination is highlighting our current challenge of maintaining such, or finding equality in the midst of disease, social distancing and other restrictions. The return back to normal still requires patience and commitment from us.

541132 Leleākūhonua is an extreme trans-Neptunian object (ETNO) and a sednoid with an orbit of roughly 32,000 years. The name compares its orbit to the flight of migratory birds. I find its symbolism reassuring. Spring is just around the corner and the migratory birds will return as always.

The Sun has entered Aries and a new astrological year begins. The Sun at the Aries point is in conjunction with Venus and 385446 Manwë, both at 28+ degrees of Pisces.

Soon 385446 Manwë is starting to change signs, and it will be hovering around the Aries point the whole year. It will be prominent in all four equinox and solstice charts of the year. It enters Aries tor the first time in May, stays there the whole summer, and then retrogrades back to Pisces. The second ingress to Aries is in March 2022 and the third in January 2023. The orbital period of Manwë is almost 290 years. It moves slowly, and that is why the ingress takes time.

385446 Manwë is a binary trans-Neptunian object, possibly a contact binary and likely surrounded by rapidly orbiting moonlets. The primary was named after Manwë, the fictional deity in J. R. R. Tolkien’s Middle-earth legendarium. The secondary was named Thorondor after the king of Manwë’s eagles.

Manwë was the lord of air, wind and clouds. Poetry was Manwë’s delight and the song of words was his music, tells Tolkien. All birds were dear to Manwë. Spirits in the shape of hawks and mighty eagles flew back and forth and brought to his knowledge everything that was going on in the world. Eagles were sacred animals of the Greek sky god Zeus and his Roman equivalent Jupiter, too. Sharp-eyed eagles are the symbol of power, their wings symbolize protection, and because they fly higher than other birds, they represent connection to the divine.

Astrologically Manwë seems to be meaningful in charts of many occultists, mystics, astrologers, and visionaries.

Examples:

John Dee (July 13, 1527 – 1608 or 1609) was an Anglo-Welsh mathematician, astronomer, astrologer, teacher, occultist, and alchemist. He was the court astronomer for, and advisor to, Elizabeth I. – Manwë conjunct the Sun in Cancer, trine Mars in Scorpio, square Saturn in Taurus, and opposite the Moon in Aquarius (Rodden rating DD)

August Nordenskiöld (Feb. 6, 1754 – Dec. 10, 1792) was a Finnish-Swedish alchemist and Swedenborgian critic of slavery. He was supported by the king of Sweden, Gustav III, in his efforts to find the Philosopher’s Stone, in order to create gold. He was involved in an attempt to found an anti-slavery colony in Sierra Leone, but he died there in a violent clash. – The Sun = Pluto / Manwë, Uranus in Pisces semisquare (45º) Manwë at the South node in Aries (the Sun conjunct Varda in Aquarius)

Jules Verne (Feb. 8, 1828 – March 24, 1905) was a French novelist, poet, and playwright. He has sometimes been called the “Father of Science Fiction”. – Manwë in Leo opposite the Sun and Eris in Aquarius, square the Moon in Scorpio, quincunx Venus in Pisces, and quincunx Neptune in Capricorn; Manwë is the apex of a yod configuration formed by Venus, Neptune and Manwë.

Helena Blavatsky (Aug. 12, 1831 – May 8, 1891) was a Russian philosopher and author who co-founded the Theosophical Society in 1875. She gained an international following as the leading theoretician of theosophy. — Manwë conjunct the Sun and the North node in Leo, opposite Eris in Aquarius, quincunx Neptune in Capricorn, and quincunx the Midheaven in Pisces; Manwë is the apex of a yod configuration formed by Neptune, MC and Manwë (Rodden rating C).

Annie Besant (Oct. 1, 1847 – Sept. 20, 1933) was a British socialist, theosophist, writer, orator, and clairvoyant. After Blavatsky’s death, Besant became one of the leading figures in theosophy. – Manwe in Virgo semisextile (30º) Mercury in Libra, trine Mars in Taurus, and quincunx Uranus in Aries

Alan Leo (Aug. 7, 1860 – Aug. 30, 1917) was a British astrologer, astrological data collector, author, and theosophist. He is considered the father of modern astrology. He shifted the focus of astrological work from prediction to personal analysis. – Manwë in Libra semisquare (45º) the Sun in Leo, sesquisquare (135º) the Midheaven in Taurus, opposite Neptune in Pisces, and in aspect to the Moon’s nodes (Rodden rating B)

Evangeline Adams (Feb. 8, 1868 – November 1932) was an American astrologer and author. While Aleister Crowley ghostwrote her books on astrology, Adams is an acknowledged contributor to Crowley’s own astrological text The General Practice of Astrology. She has been described as “America’s first astrological superstar”. – Manwë in Libra trine Mars in Aquarius, quincunx Jupiter in Pisces, opposite Neptune in Aries, and quincunx Pluto in Taurus; Manwë is the apex of a yod configuration formed by Jupiter, Pluto and Manwë.

Rasputin (Jan. 21, 1869 – Dec. 30, 1916) was a Russian mystic and self-proclaimed holy man who befriended the family of Nicholas II, and gained considerable influence in late imperial Russia. — Manwë in Libra trine Mercury in Aquarius, sextile Saturn in Sagittarius, square Uranus in Cancer, opposite Neptune in Aries, and quincunx Pluto in Taurus

Aleister Crowley (Oct. 12, 1875 – Dec. 1, 1947) was an English occultist, ceremonial magician, poet, painter, novelist, and mountaineer. He founded the religion of Thelema, identifying himself as the prophet. He designed the Thoth Tarot, a tarot deck painted by Lady Frieda Harris, and wrote The Book of Thoth, intended for use with the deck. – Manwë conjunct the Sun and Venus in Libra, square Mars in Capricorn, trine Saturn in Aquarius, sextile Uranus in Leo, quincunx Pluto in Taurus, and quincunx the Moon in Pisces. Manwë is involved in two yod configurations: The first one is formed by the triple conjunction of the Sun, Venus and Manwë, the Moon, and Pluto. The other is formed by the Moon Uranus, and the triple conjunction of the Sun, Venus and Manwë.

Lady Frieda Harris (Aug. 13, 1877 – May 11, 1962) was a British artist, best known for her design of Aleister Crowley’s Thoth tarot deck. – Manwë in Libra sextile the Sun-Uranus conjunction in Leo, sextile Jupiter in Sagittarius, and quincunx Mars and Saturn in Pisces; Manwë forms a yod configuration with the Sun and the Mars-Saturn conjunction.

Alice A. Bailey (June 16, 1880 – Dec. 15, 1949) was a British writer of more than twenty-four books on theosophical subjects, and was one of the first writers to use the term New Age. Her esoteric astrology deals with the evolution of soul consciousness and the obstacles to that evolution. She described the majority of her work as having been telepathically transmitted to her by a Master of Wisdom, initially referred to only as “the Tibetan” or by the initials “D.K.”, later identified as Djwal Khul. – Manwë in Libra trine the Sun in Gemini, opposite Saturn in Aries, and sextile the Galactic Center in Sagittarius

Fritz Brunhübner (July 3, 1894, – March 9, 1965) was a German astrologer, lecturer, teacher, and the author of the first book published on Pluto in 1934. – Manwë conjunct Uranus in Scorpio, trine the Sun-Moon conjunction in Cancer, and quincunx Pluto in Gemini

Aino Kassinen (Dec. 13, 1900 – July 28, 1977) was a famous Finnish clairvoyant. In her youth Aino Kassinen became acquainted with theosophy, which influenced her worldview strongly. She was consulted by ordinary people, celebrities, politicians, and economic leaders. — Manwë conjunct Venus in Scorpio, semisextile (30º) the Sun and Jupiter in Sagittarius

Isabel Hickey (Aug. 19, 1903 – June 17, 1980) was an American astrologer, the author of Astrology, A Cosmic Science. – Manwë in Scorpio at the ascendant trine Jupiter in Pisces, quincunx Pluto in Gemini, and semisextile (30º) Uranus in Sagittarius (Rodden rating AA).

Jack Parsons Oct. 2, 1914 – June 17, 1952) was an American rocket engineer, chemist, and Thelmite occultist (Thelema was founded by Aleister Crowley). Associated with the California Institute of Technology (Caltech), Parsons was one of the principal founders of both the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) and the Aerojet Engineering Corporation. Parsons’s occult writings were published posthumously. — Manwë in Sagittarius semisextile (30º) Mercury and Mars in Scorpio, trine Neptune in Leo, quincunx Saturn and Pluto in Cancer, trine the Moon in Pisces, and square the Moon’s nodes

Carlos Castaneda (Dec. 25, 1925 – Apr. 27, 1998) was an American author. He wrote a series of books that describe his training in shamanism, particularly with a group whose lineage descended from the Toltecs. – Manwë conjunct Mercury in Sagittarius, sextile Venus and the ascendant in Aquarius, and quincunx Pluto in Cancer; Manwë is involved in a yod configuration (Rodden rating AA).

Jim Morrison (Dec. 8, 1943 – July 3, 1971) was an American singer, songwriter and poet, who was the lead vocalist of the Doors. He was well known for improvising spoken word poetry passages while the band played live. – Manwë conjunct Mercury in Capricorn, sextile Venus in Scorpio, and square Neptune in Libra

Jimmy Page (born Jan. 9, 1944) is an English musician, songwriter, and one of the greatest guitarists of all time. He wrote most of Led Zeppelin’s music. He has owned an occult bookshop and publishing house. His interest in the occult started at the age of fifteen, when he read Aleister Crowley’s Magick in Theory and Practice. – Manwë in Capricorn opposite the Moon in Cancer, square Neptune in Libra, square Eris in Aries, trine the Midheaven in Virgo, quincunx Mars in Gemini (Rodden rating A).

Paulo Coelho (born Aug. 24, 1947) is a Brazilian lyricist and novelist, best known for his novel The Alchemist. — Manwë in Capricorn opposite Mars in Cancer, semisextile (30º) the Moon in Sagittarius, and square Eris in Aries

Robert Plant (born Aug. 20, 1948) is an English singer, songwriter and musician, best known as the lead singer and lyricist of Led Zeppelin. Plant’s lyrics are influenced by Norse and Welsh mythologies and by J. R. R. Tolkien. — Manwë in Capricorn trine Mercury in Virgo, sextile the Moon in Pisces, and square the Moon’s nodes

J. K. Rowling (born July 31, 1965) is a British author, best known for writing the Harry Potter fantasy series. – Manwë in Capricorn trine the Moon in Virgo, quincunx Jupiter in Gemini, and semisquare (45º) the Midheaven and the South node in Sagittarius (Rodden rating C)