New Moon in Aquarius – Jan. 29, 2025, 12:36 UT

January 29th, 2025

The New Moon is in Aquarius, where Pluto has recently entered. Mercury is in conjunction with Pluto. Pluto is trine Sedna in the first degree of Gemini.

New Moon in Aquarius

Pluto’s trine to Sedna reflects the Doomsday Clock of the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists being moved closer to midnight yesterday. The Bulletin was founded in 1945 by scientists including Albert Einstein and J. Robert Oppenheimer. The metaphorical clock was now set to 89 seconds to midnight to warn the public and the world leaders about how close humankind is to destroying the world. The factors shaping this year’s decision include nuclear risk, climate change and the potential misuse of artificial intelligence, for instance.

Mars in Cancer is in conjunction with the newly named quasi-moon of Earth, Cardea. Last summer the International Astronomical Union and Radiolab announced a public competition to name one of the quasi-moons of Earth. The winner was chosen from seven finalists and announced on Jan. 13, 2025. Cardea is the Roman goddess of the hinge.

A quasi-moon is an asteroid that actually orbits the Sun, but if you watch it from the Earth, it looks like it’s orbiting our planet just like the Moon does. Cardea is a small Apollo asteroid discovered in 2004 by the Lincoln Near Asteroid Research project (LINEAR). The orbital period is one year. It stays as a quasi-satellite of Earth until around 2600.

Roman doors were hung on pivot hinges. Cardea was one of the deities who preside over doorways. They were said to be “doorkeepers of the earth”, guarding the passage to the earthly sphere. On Radiolab’s contest page Cardea was introduced like this:

A name imbued with elegance and depth, Cardea is the Roman goddess of doorways and transitions, symbolizing the guardianship of thresholds. This quasi-moon, forever straddling the space between Earth and the cosmos, reflects Cardea’s dominion over liminal states, embodying a celestial gatekeeper of the in-between.”

In its discovery chart Cardea was retrograding at 14+ degrees of Leo tightly opposite Neptune and also with wide orb opposite the Moon. Neptune symbolizes dreams, illusions, imagination and the unconscious. Perhaps Cardea really can turn the hinged door from our everyday reality to another place. The unique director David Lynch died on Jan. 15, 2025. In his birthchart he had 10th house Cardea in late Virgo trine to the Sun-Venus conjunction in Capricorn, semisextile Jupiter in Libra, and square to his lunar nodes in Gemini and Sagittarius.

Oxford English Dictionary defines the adjective ”lynchian” like this: ”Characteristic, reminiscent, or imitative of the films or television work of David Lynch. Lynch is noted for juxtaposing surreal or sinister elements with mundane, everyday environments, and for using compelling visual images to emphasize a dreamlike quality of mystery or menace.”

Lynch himself has said of his attitude to dreams: ”Waking dreams are the ones that are important, the ones that come when I’m quietly sitting in a chair, letting my mind wander. When you sleep, you don’t control your dream. I like to dive into a dream world that I’ve made or discovered; a world I choose…”

Actor Kyle MacLachlan wrote: “What I saw in him was an enigmatic and intuitive man with a creative ocean bursting forth inside of him. He was in touch with something the rest of us wish we could get to.”

Filmmaker Harmony Korine said: ”He embraced his own inner logic and filtered it through a subconscious magic. He created worlds and unmatched vibrations. He hit on things that were inexplicable and sacred and beyond articulation.”

Full Moon in Cancer – Jan. 13, 2025, 22:27 UT

January 13th, 2025

The Full Moon is in conjunction with Mars and Echeclus in Cancer. The conjunction is opposing Pluto in early Aquarius. The Sun and the Moon are square to Eris in Aries. Eris is the Greek goddess of strife and discord. She is the sister of Ares, the Greek counterpart of Mars, the Roman god of war. The Moon is sextile to Uranus. There is tension, impulsiveness and reacitivity in the chart.

Full Moon in Cancer

One hardly dares to read news these days. Donald Trump wants to buy Greenland from Denmark and will not rule out military force to take it. Russia is using its shadow fleet to cut cables in the Baltic Sea. The situation in the Baltic Sea is serious. Sweden sends three naval vessels and one air force aircraft to a new NATO-led surveillance operation. Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson said yesterday that Sweden is not at war, but there is not peace either. “Real peace means freedom and no serious conflicts between countries.”

For the time being the peaceful decades in the Baltic Sea are history. Europe does not need threats from its partner, nor Elon Musk interfering in its politics.

Full Moon in Gemini – Dec. 15, 2024, 09:02 UT

December 16th, 2024

The Full Moon was in Gemini in an exact conjunction with a large trans-Neptunian object nicknamed “Buffy”. Mercury is the ruler of Gemini, and it was stationary in the opposing sign Sagittarius, about to turn direct.

Full Moon in Gemini

Buffy” – officially known as (612911) 2004 XR190 – is a strange object discovered 20 years ago (Dec. 11, 2004) by Lynne Allen as part of the Canada-France Ecliptic Plane Survey (CFEPS). At the time of the discovery “Buffy” was in Gemini opposite the Moon and retrograding Mercury in Sagittarius. The discovery was announced in December 2005.

Buffy” is an extended scattered disc object with the orbital period of more than 433 years. It has an estimated diameter of 335 to 850 kilometers. What makes “Buffy” so unusual is the orbit, which is difficult for scientists to explain using previous theories of the formation of the outer solar system. “Buffy” is a kind of a hybrid.

Side view of Buffy’s orbit. (Image: Wikipedia)

The orbit is unusually circular for a scattered disc object and the body never comes closer than 50 AU. The other objects discovered beyond that distance have non-circular orbits because of the gravitational influence of Neptune. In addition, it has a high inclination of almost 47° with respect to the ecliptic. The object is the largest object with an inclination larger than 45°. The discoverers nicknamed 2004 XR190 as “Buffy” after the television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer, because it is possibly going to be a theory slayer, as they explained.

The object was numbered in January 2024, which means that its orbit is well enough determined for reliably predicting the position far into the future. “Buffy” can be officially named now. The team has proposed several Inuit-based official names to the International Astronomical Union.

The Sabian symbol for the discovery chart’s ascendant is Virgo 1 A man’s head. The Sabian symbol for the discovery chart’s MC is Gemini 2 Santa Claus filling stockings furtively. Perhaps they offer clues for the meaning of the object. Christmas is near so announcing the official name would be a nice gift from the IAU.

New Moon in Sagittarius – Dec. 1, 2024, 06:21 UT

November 30th, 2024

This is the first New Moon after Pluto’s ingress into Aquarius on Nov. 19. The New Moon is opposite Jupiter, the ruler of Sagittarius, and in conjunction with asteroid Urania. Mercury in Sagittarius turned retrograde on Nov. 26. Mercury is in conjunction with asteroid Discovery.

New Moon in Sagittarius

30 Urania is a large Main-belt asteroid named after one of the nine muses in Greek mythology. The muses were daughters of Zeus and Mnemosyne (memory). Urania is the heavenly muse of astrology and astronomy, and also the patroness of those who are navigating seas by the stars. She is depicted holding a globe and a compass. She is sometimes associated with universal love.

In astrology asteroid Urania stands for the capacity of handling theoretical, hypothetical or abstract principles and informaton; the capacity for self-reflective awareness; and the ability to “see the big picture” (Martha Lang-Wescott, Mechanics of the Future: Asteroids, Treehouse Mountain). According to Demetra George, “In her search for celestial truths, Urania uses her mental astuteness to probe both the microcosm and the macrocosm.” Demetra George has presented Urania and Chiron as a pair, where Urania represents the principle of inspired knowledge and Chiron the principle of wholistic understanding. She calls them “The Knowledge Holders” (Demetra George & Douglas Bloch, Asteroid Goddesses, Ibis Press).

30 Urania was discovered by English astronomer John Russell Hind (1823 – 1895) in the early days of the asteroid discovery. Hind found 10 asteroids and was one of the most successful asteroid discoverers of his time. He discovered Urania in 1854 at London.

9770 Discovery was found in 1993 by probably the most famous Japanese astronomer, Takeshi Urata (1947 – 2012), who discovered numerous asteroids. Takeshi Urata’s birthday is unknown, but let’s take a look at John Russell Hind’s chart (born May 12, 1823, Nottingham, England). Asteroid names function often amazingly accurately in astrology.

John Russell Hind’s Taurus Sun is in close conjunction with the trans-Neptunian Arrokoth, which is named in honor of those who are inspired to look up to the sky and learn about the stars and worlds beyond our own. Asteroid Discovery is in exact conjunction with the magnifying Jupiter in Gemini. Both “Knowledge Holders” make harmonious sextiles to the aforementioned conjunctions: asteroid Urania in Cancer is in sextile to the Sun-Arrokoth conjunction, and Chiron in Aries is in sextile to the Jupiter-Discovery conjunction.

New Moon in Taurus – Nov. 15, 2024, 21:28 UT

November 16th, 2024

An intriguing Full Moon in Taurus is in tight conjunction with Uranus, Lempo and Alicanto. Will we find unpredictable treasures?

Full Moon in Taurus

Earlier this week we received exciting news about Uranus. A new analysis shows that the Uranian system is more exciting than previously thought. Contrary to the previous understanding, some of the moons of Uranus could have the conditions that are necessary for life. One scientist even vividly described how below the surface there could be oceans teeming with fish.

Lempo is a triple plutino named from Finnish mythology after the devil who brought down the hero Väinämöinen. However, until Christianity came to Finland, Lempo was worshipped as the goddess of love and fertility. According to the myth, a glowing fireball shot from the sky and hit the ground. People started worshipping the sacred Fire Woman, who gave bread, iron and love to humankind, and also escorted the deceased to the Otherworld.

Just a couple of days ago, on the morning of Nov. 13, a brilliant fireball exploded over the U.S. Midwest and parts of Canada. The meteor from outer space provided a fiery spectacle to those who were witnessing it, and some said that it was the most spectacular they had ever seen.

Alicanto is one of the extreme trans-Neptunian objects orbiting in the outermost region of our solar system. How it came to have its orbit cannot yet be explained. The orbital period of Alicanto is more than 6,000 years. The 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.

Alicanto was named after a nocturnal bird from Chilean mythology. Alicanto has wings that shine at night with beautiful, metallic colors. Alicanto has the ability to decide who can see it. A miner who follows it can find treasures, but a greedy one will be guided off the cliff. The presence of Alicanto is a good luck omen. Since myths are metaphors, we can assume that the treasures are symbolic or spiritual rewards rather than worldly ones. However, my examples are quite worldly, but fascinating.

Catherine the Great (born May 2, 1729 at 02:30 AM, Stettin, Kingdom of Prussia) was empress of Russia from 1762 to 1796. She has Alicanto at her Midheaven in Sagittarius. Catherine the Great had seized power from her husband. The reign of Catherine is often considered the “Golden Age” of Russia, when the Russian Empire became one of the great powers of Europe. The empress was a lover of art and books. She began to acquire valuable works of art from all over Europe for her collections, and art collecting became a fashionable phenomenon among the Russian upper class too.

Vrouw Maria was a Dutch wooden merchant ship carrying a valuable cargo when it set sail from Amsterdam on Sept. 5, 1771, for Saint Petersburg. The ship carried works of art that Catherine the Great and other Russian nobility had bought from Holland. The Sun-Neptune conjunction in Virgo opposed Sedna in Pisces. The ship ran aground in the outer archipelago of the municipality of NaguFinland on Oct. 3, 1771 and later sank. The art treasure ending up at the bottom of the sea was a hard blow to the empress.

The shipwreck of Vrouw Maria became one of the most famous treasure ship legends in Finland. More than 200 years passed after the sinking before Rauno Koivusaari discovered the wreck on June 28, 1999. Only a fraction of the cargo has been saved so far. The cargo holds have not been disturbed, and the condition of the precious art on board is unknown.

Rauno Koivusaari gives the time for the shipwreck in Aarrelaivojen jäljillä by Rauno Koivusaari and Heikki Saure (Otava 2009): ”The difficulties began at two o’clock in the afternoon, when the wind turned west and became very gusty. The crew hoisted a reef on the mainsail, which made it easier to steer the ship. The rough seas continued. At half past seven in the evening, the crew retired indoors for a moment of prayer, and only two men remained on deck. Just then, a crash occurred.” In the event chart Alicanto is at the descendant (the treasure descending) and opposing Catherine the Great’s Moon-Venus conjunction in Gemini.

Darrell Miklos (born Feb. 19, 1963) is a deep-sea diver and treasure hunter with the Sun-Alicanto conjunction in Pisces opposite Uranus in Virgo. Miklos is known for the reality television series Cooper’s Treasure (2017). Miklos was a family friend of the late astronaut Gordon Cooper, who participated in Project Mercury, the first human space program of the United States. Miklos claims that while Cooper in 1963 was orbiting Earth in space, he recorded dark spots in the waters and believed that those anomalies may be the locations of shipwrecks. Darrell Miklos had Cooper’s notes and maps, and he started searching the suspected shipwrecks located by Cooper. Whether there is any truth to the story or not, the tv-series was captivating. At least I can assume that Miklos’s Sun-Alicanto conjunction has influenced his career choice as a treasure hunter and rewarded him with a profession he can enjoy.

New Moon in Scorpio – Nov. 1, 2024, 12:47 UT

November 1st, 2024

The passionate and intense New Moon in Scorpio coincides with the celebrations of All Saints’ Day, Halloween, Samhain and the Finnish Kekri. This is considered a time when the veil between our physical world and the spirit world is at its thinnest. Candles, lanterns and bonfires are lit to illuminate this dark time.

The traditional and modern rulers of Scorpio, Mars and Pluto are in exact opposition to each other. The New Moon is in conjunction with Zhulong, a scattered-disc object in a 2:5 resonance with Neptune.

Zhulong was discovered in 2014 by Pan-STARRS (The Panoramic Survey Telescope and Rapid Response System), an astronomical survey program which is systematically surveying the entire sky on a continuous basis. Other discoveries by Pan-STARRS are for example Oumuamua, the first interstellar object detected passing through our solar system; Kaʻepaokaʻawela, an asteroid in a 1:1 resonance with Jupiter, and possibly of interstellar origin too; and Kamoʻoalewa, one of the quasi-satellites of Earth.

The orbital period of Zhulong is around 420 years and its diameter is about 233 km. Zhulong is named from Chinese mythology after the Torch Dragon, a giant red dragon with a human face and scarlet serpent body. It controlled the day and night by opening and closing its eyes. It has been described as shining a torch over “the ninfold darkness”.

New Moon in Libra / Annular Solar Eclipse – Oct. 2, 2024, 18:49 UT

October 3rd, 2024

The New Moon at 10+ degrees of Libra was an annular solar eclipse. In the same degree with the Sun and the Moon were two main-belt asteroids, Astraea and Mnemosyne, and one of the largest trans-Neptunian objects, Makemake. Mercury was in a close conjunction with the eclipse.

Libra is the sign of relationships and balance. The eclipse appeared on the South node of the Moon. The South node is said to represent familiar things and the past. Sue Tompkins has suggested the keywords “association, joining, entanglement, connection, meeting, remembrance” for the South node (Sue Tompkins, The Contemporary Astrrologer’s Handbook, 2006).

A solar eclipse occurs when the Moon passes between Earth and the Sun. The Moon’s orbit around Earth is slightly elliptical, and that’s why the Moon sometimes appears smaller than the Sun. A solar eclipse that occurs when the Moon is near its farthest distance from Earth is called an annular eclipse. The Moon doesn’t completely cover the Sun, and the Sun appears as a very bright ring, surrounding the dark disk of the Moon. On October 2, 2024, ”the ring of fire” was visible in parts of South America. The eclipse was seen as a partial solar eclipse in parts of South America, Antarctica, North America, the Atlantic Ocean, and the Pacific Ocean, including Hawaii.

Rapa Nui (Easter Island) was in the relatively narrow path of the annular eclipse, which is noteworthy considering that the eclipse was in exact conjunction with Makemake.

136472 Makemake is one of the three big discoveries that were announced at the end of July 2005, namely Eris, Haumea and Makemake. Makemake is the largest cubewano and the brightest trans-Neptunian object after Pluto. It is fairly round and the estimated dimensions are 1434 x 1420 km. The orbital period is about 306 years. Makemake will reach its aphelion in 2033. Makemake was long thought to be alone, but in 2015 a moon was discovered and nicknamed ”MK2”. There may be another large, undiscovered satellite orbiting Makemake.

A recent study from February 2024 challenges our understanding of distant icy worlds like Makemake. The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) gave scientists a surprise. Evidence of internal geochemical activity on Eris and Makemake suggests that there may be water oceans beneath their surface.

The discovery team of Makemake nicknamed the object “Easterbunny” because of its discovery shortly after Easter. The official name Makemake was chosen in part to preserve the object’s connection with Easter. It is Polynesian in origin and is the name of the creator of humanity and the god of fertility in the mythology of the Rapa Nui, the native people of Easter Island. Makemake was the chief god of the Tangata manu bird-man cult and was worshiped in the form of sea birds, which were his incarnation. His material symbol was a man with a bird’s head.

The bird-man cult included an annual dangerous competition on Rapa Nui. The contestants had to swim to the nearby island to collect the first egg of the season of a certain tropical seabird, and then swim back to Rapa Nui. Many lost their lives. The winner was entitled to gifts of food, and his clan would have sole rights to collect the wild bird eggs and fledglings of that season. The winner had to go into seclusion for a year and spend his time eating and sleeping, and could not engage in any other activity. He did this for his community.

Easter Island is one of the most isolated inhabited places in the world. The island is famous for its monumental statues called moai. Rapa Nui history has been presented as a warning for humanity’s overexploitation of resources. There was an environmental collapse and a cultural collapse on the island. The trees were cut down, and when the wood ran out, the islanders couldn’t even make canoes and became completely isolated from the rest of the world. The few hundred people left were unable to remember their past, they lost their collective memory. According to the newest research, although the residents did cut down the trees, they were able to adapt to the changing environment. The island never had more than a few thousand people prior to European contact. Europeans brought disease and slave traders took a third of the island’s population. In the 1870s, there were only 110 people left on the island.

Asteroid 5 Astraea was discovered in 1945. The four first asteroids, Ceres, Pallas, Juno and Vesta, were first classified as planets. However, after the discovery of Astraea, new asteroids started being discovered at a rapid pace, and it became apparent that there were thousands of members of this new type of celestial body. Astraea’s orbital period is little over four years and the mean diameter is 125 km. The fifth asteroid was named after Astraea, the Greek goddess of justice. She was the last of the immortals to live with humans during the Golden Age. As mankind became wicked, she was the last to stay on earth. Zeus then placed her amongst the stars as the constellation Virgo. The scales of justice she carried became the constellation of Libra. According to myth, Astraea will one day come back to Earth, bringing with her the return of the utopian Golden Age.

Martha Lang-Wescott suggests that Astraea may have something to do with the difficulty of letting go of things, people or events. This can be a virtue or a hindrance. Astraea gives persistance, or it can make you cling to situations longer than is good for you. Astraea can make it difficult to know exactly when things are starting or ending. Also, one can become the observer, the witness who stands without judgment and ”insures that a cycle has truly reached completion (Martha Lang-Wescott, Mechanics of the Future, 1996).”

57 Mnemosyne is a large asteroid discovered in 1859. It’s orbital period is over 5 years and the diameter is about 113 km. It is named after the Greek goddess of memory and remembrance, and the inventress of language and words. The Theoi Project site mentions that she “represented the rote memorisation required to preserve the stories of history and the sagas of myth before the introduction of writing.” Asteroid Mnemosyne emphasizes planet Mercury’s function in the chart, as Mercury is associated with memory, and with written and spoken communication.

Memories can fade or become distorted. Perhaps one of the challenges of this eclipse is to find the right balance between the memories you hold dear and carry with you and the ones you’d better let go of. Rapa Nui has slowly revealed some of its secrets, as has the planet Makemake. Scientific research will continue, and so does the astrological research of Makemake.

Salvador Dali (May 11, 1904 – Jan. 23, 1989), the Spanish surrealist artist, had Makemake in Taurus in conjunction with his Sun, Mercury and Mars. His Makemake is occupying the midpoint of Astraea and Mnemosyne. One of Dali’s most famous works is The Persistence of Memory, which depicts a surrealistic image of soft, melting pocket watches. It has been interpreted that in the painting, everything created by man is perishable, the only permanent thing is the cliffs in the background, where the true permanence of memory resides. In his last years Dalí became withdrawn and he lived almost in isolation.

New Moon in Virgo – Sept. 03, 2024, 01:56 UT

September 4th, 2024

The New Moon on September 3, 2024, occurs in the Mercury ruled sign Virgo, the sign that strives for perfection. Mercury in Leo stationed direct on August 28 and gave a boost to matters ruled by Mercury. Pluto retrograded back to Capricorn on September 1 and is now in the last degree of Capricorn. The New Moon is in conjunction with plutino Orcus and asteroid Nemesis. An aspect pattern called the Hammer of Thor is formed by Pluto, Eris, and the conjunction of the Sun, the Moon, Nemesis and Orcus.

New Moon in Virgo

Orcus is the second-largest known plutino, after Pluto itself. Its diameter is comparable to that of Ceres, the largest main-belt asteroid. Orcus shares some remarkable similarities with Pluto. The orbital period of Orcus is 245 years, just slightly shorter than Pluto’s period. Their elongated orbits are nearly identical, except they are pointing in opposite directions. Because both are locked in 3:2 resonance with Neptune, they will always stay in opposite phases of their orbits. Both Pluto and Orcus form a binary system with their relatively large companion. Orcus’s satellite is named Vanth.

According to the naming rules of the International Astronomical Union, all plutinos are given mythological names associated with the underworld. Orcus was named after the punisher of false and broken oaths of Etruscan origin. He was inescapable. Vanth was a bit more gentler spirit, a female demon who guided the deceased to the underworld. According to astrologer Jeremy Neal, ”the mythology of Orcus, from ancient to Medieval times encompasses themes and tenets of integrity, revenge, judgement, isolation, desolation, implacability and imprisonment and these form the foundation of the astrological lexicon for this dark, distant and enigmatic entity.”

Nemesis is a large main-belt asteroid with a diameter of 180 km and an orbital period of 4.5 years. It was discovered in 1872 and named after the goddess of retribution in Greek mythology. She was the distributor of fortune, neither good nor bad, but simply to each according to what was deserved. She is the symbol of our conscience and guides us towards right action, describes Demetra George. We will face the consequences of our actions.

The quadruple conjunction of the Sun, the Moon, Orcus and Nemesis in Virgo forms the apex of an aspect pattern called the Hammer of Thor. The pattern is formed by two planets squaring one another, and both making sesquisquare aspects (135 degrees) to a third planet. At this New Moon, Pluto in the last degree of Capricorn is square to Eris in late Aries, and both are sesquisquare to the aforementioned Virgo planets. Thor’s Hammer has been described as a particularly difficult pattern. According to Jeremy Neal, ”it generally connotes a difficult energy (represented by the square) which has to find an outlet through the apex planet. This is why – like Thor’s Hammer – it is a weapon of great destructive potential.” It can also be used as a force for good. In Norse mythology, Mjölnir, the hammer of the thunder god Thor was used both as a devastating weapon and as a divine instrument to provide blessings. It was a magical weapon which would never fail, never miss, and would always find its way back to Thor’s hand. It is a protective symbol.

One important news topic of the week has been Vladimir Putin’s visit to Mongolia on September 3. Mongolia is a sparsely populated country between Russia and China. It is a member of the International Criminal Court (ICC), which has issued an arrest warrant for Putin over war crimes. Members of the ICC are bound to detain suspects if an arrest warrant has been issued. It seemed clear in advance that Mongolia would not take measures to arrest Putin, because otherwise he would not have taken the risk of traveling. Mongolia is totally dependent on Russian energy. However, Mongolia will have to face consequences for not fulfilling its obligations. In Mongolia’s chart (a declaration of independence on March 3, 1921, 12:00 noon LMT, Kyakhta, Russia) the Pisces-Sun opposes Jupiter in mid-Virgo (the chart data from The Book of World Horoscopes by Nicholas Campion). Jupiter rules the justice system. The conjunction of the New Moon, Orcus and Nemesis transits tightly Mongolia’s Sun-Jupiter opposition.

Then let’s look at Putin’s chart (Oct. 7, 1952, 09:30 MSK, St. Petersburg, Russia). He has a precise Thor’s Hammer formed by Chiron in Capricorn, Eris in Aries, and Pluto at his Midheaven in Leo. Pluto is the apex of the hammer and should find a way of releasing the pressure. Putin’s hammer pattern is under a lot of pressure right now. Mercury stationed direct on August 28 at 21+ degrees of Leo, right at his Midheaven and Pluto. Mercury rules formal contracts and agreements as well as travel and tranportation, among other things. The transiting Pholus at 7+ Capricorn and the transiting North node of the Moon at 7+ Aries are activating his pattern too. In addition the current New Moon in Virgo (together with Orcus and Nemesis) transits his tenth house of aspirations, career, and public status.

When we look at Putin’s solar arc directed chart progressed to September 3, we can see some prominent conjunctions. His solar arc directed Orcus at 12+ Virgo is in conjunction with the current New Moon. His solar arc directed Pluto at 4+ Scorpio is at his radix ascendant, and his solar arc directed Sun at 26+ Sagittarius is conjunct his radix Mars.

Putin has repeadetly violated international law and agreements. Eventually he will have to face the consequences for his actions too. He will meet his Nemesis, although it hasn’t happened yet on this trip.

Full Moon in Aquarius – August 19, 2024, 18:26 UT

August 19th, 2024

The Full Moon in Aquarius opposes the conjunction of the Sun, Mercury and Vesta in Leo. Mercury turned retrograde on Aug. 5, 2024. Mercury retrograde can bring unconscious material and unfinished business from the past to the surface. Vesta conjunct the Sun in Leo refers to one’s identity and purpose. There are several charged t-squares in the chart, suggesting that something is brewing and seeking release.

Full Moon in Aquarius

Uranus in Taurus is in exact square to the Sun and the Moon. The unpredictable and rebellious Uranus is in tight conjunction with Lempo, the goddess of love (or fairy tale gone bad), and Alicanto, the mythical bird guiding a miner to the treasure (or off the cliff).

Centaur Pholus in Capricorn dances with Quaoar square to the lunar nodes. Pholus has been described as the centaur of fast moving changes and rapid transformations. Pholus is associated with the “small cause, big effect” events.

Mars and Jupiter are in conjunction in Gemini. Venus in Virgo opposed Saturn in Pisces and squared Jupiter in Gemini this morning. The exact Jupiter-Saturn square takes place about three hours after the Full Moon. At 19+ Gemini there is a third body in conjunction with Mars and Jupiter, namely centaur Oterma that was discovered as a comet (in 1943) but currently has a centaur-like orbit contained between Jupiter and Saturn. Saturn is in conjunction with centaur Nessus. Centaurs can bring some dark stuff from the psyche to the surface, but they have a healing capacity too.

The themes of Nessus deal with the abuse of power, sexual abuse, revenge, oppression, and patterns of helplessness. They can stretch beyond one person’s lifetime, through several generations. Nessus helps in recognizing the patterns. Melanie Reinhart’s keywords are “The buck stops here”.

The transgenerational trauma is a concept that has been studied in psychology and in genetics. Research suggests that trauma can leave a chemical mark on one’s genes, which can then be passed down to future generations. That which is not dealt with becomes a burden of the next generation. For example, wars, famines and genocides are thought to leave a mark on the descendants of those who suffered them. Trauma doesn’t cause a genetic mutation, but it can alter the mechanism by which the gene is expressed.

Fittingly for the Nessus topic, it was announced today that a new interdisciplinary research starts at the University of Tampere. It explores the effects of war stress on Finns in three generations. The research is based on the service records of 1,300 Finnish men who served in the army between 1939 and 1945. The research gives an opportunity to trace the biological factors that convey the consequences of the environmental exposures experienced by the parents to the offspring and their health. The first research results are expected next year.

New Moon in Cancer – July 5, 2024, 22:57 UT

July 6th, 2024

The New Moon in Cancer occurs in the same degree with centaur Bienor. Asteroid Ceres in Capricorn is exactly opposite the Sun and the Moon.

New Moon in Cancer

Of the named centaur planets, Bienor is the third largest after Chiron and Chariklo. Its diameter is approximately 200 kilometers. Bienor orbits between Saturn and Uranus, grazing the orbit of Uranus. The orbital period is around 67 years, longer than that of Chiron or Chariklo. Bienor will reach perihelion in January 2028.

Bienor was discovered in August 2000. Bienor seems to have a highly elongated body. Chiron and Chariklo possess rings, and it is hypothesized that Bienor has either a ring or a satellite (or both), or it may be a binary system.

The name Bienor means “strong one”. In Greek mythology Bienor is one of the centaurs who fought against the Lapiths at the wedding of king Pirithous. Not much is said about individual centaurs in mythology, but the manner of their death, among other things, can be used to outline the astrological meaning of the centaur planets. The death of a centaur is metaphorical and symbolizes transformation and healing. Most of the centaurs were killed by arrows or spears, but Bienor’s death was different. The hero Theseus jumped on his back, which was “never trained to carry riders”, smashed his face and pounded his temples. Perhaps this brutal depiction offers clues.

Among the people who have a prominent Bienor are the first President of the United States, George Washington (the Sun conjunct Bienor in Pisces), President Barack Obama (the Sun conjunct Bienor at the descendant in Leo), the President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelenskyy (the Sun-Venus conjunction in Aquarius sextile Bienor in Sagittarius), the late Prime Minister of Sweden, Olof Palme (the Sun and Mercury conjunct Bienor in Aquarius), the artist and singer Yoko Ono (the Sun conjunct Bienor in Aquarius), and the English singer-songwriter PJ Harvey (the triple conjunction of the Sun, Jupiter and Bienor in Libra).

PJ Harvey has revealed in interviews, that her goal is not to repeat, but challenge herself and to do things that are new and frightening.

The new Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, Keir Starmer, took office on this New Moon day. The Labour Party won Britain’s general election, and the victory ended 14 years of Conservative government. The Brits wanted change, and Prime Minister Starmer has promised a national renewal.

So far astronomers have only a limited understanding of the physical properties of Bienor. They have gathered data for instance through the technique of stellar occultations. Further data collection is necessary for them to fully understand the body. This is also true in astrology; Astrologers should put Bienor in the charts and further study this notable centaur to understand it better.