This New Moon in early Aquarius conjunct Pluto is an extreme supermoon, although the Moon is invisible, as it always is at the New Moon. The Sun and the Moon are in conjunction and the luminaries are in line with Earth. The Moon’s orbit around Earth is elliptical, and last time the Moon was this close to us was in 1030.

Instead of the Moon you may be able to see a rare visitor, the green comet C/2022 E3 (ZTF) which is now passing through the inner solar system and should be visible if not with bare eyes at least with binoculars. Its closest approach to Earth will be on Feb. 1, 2023. It hasn’t been seen from Earth in about 50,000 years and it won’t be back in millions of years. In the chart comet C/2022 E3 (ZTF) is now at 21+ degrees of Libra. It is moving clockwise through the zodiac, in the opposite direction than the planets, and at the Full Moon on Feb. 5, 2023, it will be at 22+ degrees of Gemini.

The Sun conjoined Pluto on Jan. 18 in late Capricorn and entered Aquarius on Jan. 20. Pluto is about to start its slow ingress into Aquarius. We are on the threshold of a new era. Pluto enters Aquarius for the first time on March 23, 2023. Pluto returns into Capricorn in June 2023, makes the second enter into Aquarius in January 2024, goes back to Capricorn once again in September 2024, and then in November 2024 enters Aquarius the third and the last time on this round. Pluto’s orbit around the Sun takes 248 years.

Pluto was discovered in 1930 and its companion Charon in 1978. Pluto-Charon is the first known trans-neptunian binary object and the largest of the binary systems in the solar system. The barycenter of the Plutonian system lies in the space between both bodies, and the four small moons (Styx, Nix, Kerberos, and Hydra) orbit not just Pluto but Charon as well.

Already before Pluto’s astronomical binary status was known, its dual nature was obvious to astrologers. The first book published on Pluto was in 1934 by a German astrologer Fritz Brunhübner (1894 – 1965), who wrote:

“Just as the two luminaries form a polarity, so Pluto, too, is a polarity – a duality – seeking union or blending into singleness. Pluto is the ‘die and be’ of Goethe; it is death and rebirth; Pluto kills or destroys but builds out of the elements of the destroyed – out of the old, something new; Pluto rises from the ashes like the phoenix. Pluto is transformations…”

Brunhübner even thought that the mythology of the god Janus had better represented the characteristics of Pluto, and the name Janus would have been more fitting. In Roman mythology Janus was the god of beginnings, gates, transitions, time, duality, doorways, passages, frames, and endings. He is usually depicted as having two faces.

American astrologer Isabel M. Hickey (1903 – 1980) published “Pluto or Minerva: The Choice is Yours” in 1973. She wrote: “There is a very negative side to Pluto. That side is as low as its higher aspect is high. When mob rule takes over, the negative side of this energy causes individuals to act far more viciously than any one of them would act by himself.” She also wrote: “The dark forces use the Pluto force destructively and thereby bring on their own destruction. It takes strength to be a devil. Most of what we call evil is ignorance. Organized evil is beyond the comprehension of the average person. The forces of Light and their work is just as little understood. Always and all ways we can choose which is right for us.”

The Full Moon takes place exactly conjunct Mars retrograde at 16+ degrees of Gemini. The Moon and Mars are in conjunction with Altjira, a binary Kuiper belt object.

148780 Altjira is a classical Kuiper belt object, cubewano. The primary was discovered in 2001 and the secondary in 2007. Altjira was named in 2008 from the mythology of the Arrente people, a group of Aboriginal Australian peoples. For some odd reason the secondary was not given a name of its own. Altjira was the central god of the Dreamtime who created the earth and then retired to the sky. The orbital period of Altjira is 294 years.

Some of my ideas and examples about Altjira is available here:
Full Moon in Gemini / Penumbral Lunar Eclipse — November 28, 2012, 14:46 UT

The New Moon occured in the early degrees of Sagittarius. The Sun and the Moon were part of a noteworthy t-square configuration. The New Moon opposed the wondrous planetoid Sedna, which is retrograding in the last degree of Taurus at the moment. A classical Kuiper belt object called Sila-Nunam in late Leo was the apex of the t-square. Sedna and Sila-Nunam are both named from Inuit mythology.

The New Moon was trine Jupiter, the ruler of Sagittarius. Jupiter was changing its direction and turning into forward motion simultaneously with the New Moon. In the chart Jupiter is still stationary. This is meaningful and adding power to the natural characteristic quality of Jupiter as magnifier and expander. If Jupiter touches another planet in the chart by an aspect, we can expect the effect of that other planet to be emphasized. Jupiter is tightly sextile to Sedna and in quincunx to Sila-Nunam.

Sedna came into our awareness in March 2004 when astronomer Mike Brown amazed us and introduced it to us in his press conference. The body is named after the Inuit goddess of the Arctic Ocean. Sedna’s orbit is one of the largest in the Solar System. The orbit is exceptionally elongated, the orbital period around the Sun is 11,400 years, and Sedna never comes even near Neptune. Sedna starts to change signs next summer and in 2024 enters Gemini. Because of the extremely long orbit, the astrological meaning of this dwarf planet is collective and refers to experiences that reach beyond several generations.

Sila-Nunam was named in 2012 after two Inuit deities, Sila and Nunam. This is a binary object, consisting of two almost equal sized bodies orbiting each other around a point in the free space between them. Sila-Nunam’s orbital period is 293 years. Sila is one of the oldest Inuit deities, even older than Sedna. Sila is the Inuit god of the sky, weather, and life force. Sila’s wife Nunam is the Earth goddess.

Sila-Nunam was discovered in 1997, the same year that an international treaty known as the Kyoto Protocol was signed. The agreement set targets for industrialized countries to cut their greenhouse gas emissions. Now climate emergency is real. The 2022 United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP27) ended on Nov. 20, 2022, in Egypt. Sadly, it was not a great success. No matter in what kind of havoc the world may be otherwise, the fight against the climate change must be one of our primary missions. This New Moon in Sagittarius urges us.

The Full Moon in the middle degrees of Taurus is an intense total lunar eclipse. The oppositon of the Sun and the Moon is exactly aligned with Mercury-Uranus opposition. Saturn in Aquarius squares the aforementioned planets and adds challenge.

A lunar eclipse works often a bit like Uranus, shaking us emotionally. Taurus, Scorpio and Aquarius are fixed signs, which are not keen on change. This eclipse disrupts their stability. Taurus is very concerned with security. The Moon represents our instictual reactions, memories, and what we need to feel safe. Uranus can strike like a thunderbolt. It is revolutionary and unpredictable. Uranus is also the liberator that can free one from something that has become a burden.

In Scorpio there is intensity. Mercury is the planet of communication, travels and commerce. It is also the messenger between our conscious mind and the unconscious. There can be a shift in one’s economical situation, in values, or in relationships. Try to be considerate in your communication now.

The Sun has entered Scorpio, the sign of transformation, passion and strength. The New Moon in early Scorpio is an intense solar eclipse. This is a partial solar eclipse. It will be visible from large parts of Europe, Africa and Asia, if weather permits. Two major cycles are merged now, namely the monthly lunation cycle and the Venus cycle.

The Sun and the Moon are in conjunction with Venus and dwarf planet Haumea, two planets associated with fertility. Venus is in the same degree with the luminaries. The Roman goddess Venus is associated with love, beauty, desire and sex. Astrologically Venus symbolizes that what we appreciate and value, and our relationships. Haumea is the Hawaiian goddess of childbirth and fertility. She can take many different forms and her children sprang from different parts of her body.

The New Moon is always a conjunction of the Sun and the Moon, and it is the starting point of a new cycle. It is a good moment for fresh starts and new beginnings. A solar eclipse occurs usually twice a year when the Moon obscures the Sun’s disc either totally or partially. An eclipse is considered more powerful than the ordinary New Moon.

Each solar eclipse is a member of a particular eclipse family, which has certain characteristics. These series of eclipses are called the Saros series. Each series will run for well over a thousand years and produce a solar eclipse every 18 years when the Sun, Moon, Earth and nodes of the Moon have returned to the same positions relative to each other. We can study the characteristics of a particular Saros series by delineating its birth chart or by searching similarities between events that have occurred 18 years apart at the time of the eclipses. The word saros means repetition.

The current solar eclipse is a member of a Saros series number 6 South. The initial eclipse in 1049 was also in conjunction with Venus. Astrologer Bernadette Brady has delineated it as follows: “The eclipse series is about being forceful and taking power. It has a manic flavour about it, with great force or strength manifesting in the relationship area. Individuals experiencing this Saros Series may experience sudden events, like falling in or out of love, or sudden sexual encounters. The individual may also exert a huge effort in some group activity.”

There is precise repetition in the cycle of Venus too, but in its entirety the cycle is complex. The rose pattern, or the pentagram of Venus, is the path that Venus makes over a period of eight years observed from Earth.

Image: The pentagram of Venus

The exact conjunction of the Sun and Venus occurred on Oct. 22, 2022 in the last degree of Libra, together with Haumea. Venus is now on the far side of the Sun in direct motion, and the Sun is between Venus and the Earth. This is called a superior conjunction. (The inferior conjunction takes place when Venus is retrograding.) If we compare the phases of Venus to the lunation cycle, we can call this current phase “Full Venus” (and the inferior conjunction as “New Venus”). Whereas the New Moon is a fruitful time for starting new, the full phase is the time of fulfillment of that which was started.

Astrologer Anne Massey has studied the cycles of Venus thoroughly in Venus, Her Cycles, Symbols & Myths (Llewellyn Publications, 2006). The New Venus in the same sign repeats every eight years, and the Full Venus also repeats every eight years. The signs change slowly within time. Eight years ago on Oct. 25, 2014, the superior conjunction of Venus with the Sun occurred at this same position in Scorpio. According to Anne Massey, both the New and Full Venus seem to equal an eclipse in strength.

Let’s cherish things that we value, especially our relationships!

Autumnal Equinox – Sept. 23, 2022, 01:04 UT

The Sun entered Libra a couple of days ago on September 23. In the Northern Hemisphere, the autumnal equinox marks the beginning of autumn. Yesterday evening the Moon conjoined with the Sun in early Libra. The New Moon occured in the same degree with centaur Rhiphonos, and opposite Jupiter and the trans-Neptunian Manwë at the Aries Point.

At the New Moon a new cycle is beginning and new possibilities are emerging, especially now that Jupiter, the planet of growth and expansion is oppsite the luminaries in Aries. Rhiphonos in conjunction with the New Moon is emphasizing the theme of growth. Moreover, the trans-Neptunian Chaos is in early Cancer. Aries, Cancer, Libra and Capricorn are the cardinal signs of the zodiac, and they all are associated with beginnings and change.

Manwë shares some common ground with Jupiter. Chaos is named after the void state of the universe in the Greek creation myth, the nothingness preceding creation. Gaia, the personification of the Earth, was one of the first beings born out of Chaos. Only later did the meaning of the word chaos change to mean disorder.

Centaur Rhiphonos was prominent about six months ago as well, at the time of the vernal equinox and the Full Moon in Virgo. Russia had invaded Ukraine a few weeks before. I then described Rhiphonos and some transits to the charts of President Zelenskyi, Ukraine, and the European Union. The Full Moon in Virgo was in conjunction with Rhiphonos of the European Union at 26+ Virgo, and now Venus and Mercury are tightly in conjunction with it, and the Libra New Moon is not far away either. The solar arc directed Moon of President Zelenskyi is still at 2+ degrees of Libra, in the same degree with the current New Moon and the transiting Rhiphonos.

The European Union was formally established in 1993, but I like to use the chart of the Schuman Declaration as the birthchart of the EU (May 9, 1950, at 18:00 CET -1:00, Paris, France). In this chart the 7th house Sun in Taurus is in exact conjunction with the trans-Neptunian Praamzius, named after an old European god, the god of the sky, peace and friendship in Lithuanian mythology. The core principles of the Schuman Declaration were peace and solidarity. The Europe Day held on May 9 every year (the anniversary of the declaration) celebrates peace and unity in Europe. This peace was brutally broken by Russia seven months ago.

In August and September Ukraine launched counteroffensives, which have been successful and caused great humiliation for Putin. Last Wednesday Russia announced a partial mobilization of its reservists, threatened to deploy nuclear weapons in the war, and claimed to be at war with the collective West.

The transiting Uranus is now at 18+ degrees of Taurus. It is in exact conjunction with the Sun and Praamzius of the European Union, opposing President Zelenskyi’s radix Uranus in Scorpio, squaring his Moon in Leo, conjoining Putin’s Jupiter in Taurus, and exactly squaring Putin’s nodes of the Moon in Leo and Aquarius.

What will winter bring to us? Uranus can be unpredictable. Inflation soars and the cost of energy has already risen sharply. In Finland we are even expecting to have two hour power cuts every now and then during the coldest winter months because of the shortage of electricity. However, our problems are nothing compared to those of the Ukrainians; the war is not expected to end anytime soon.

”Europe will not be made all at once, or according to a single plan. It will be built through concrete achievements which first create a de facto solidarity.” – Foreign minister of France Robert Schuman on May 9, 1950.

The Full Moon occurs in Pisces in conjunction with centaur Nessus. Mercury in Libra is stationary; it began its retrograde phase earlier the same day. The Moon is sextile to Uranus at the North node of the Moon in Taurus.

In mythology Mercury was the messenger of the gods, who traveled between the worlds of the mortals and the gods. The planet Mercury symbolizes mental processes and communication, whether verbal or written. Mercury retrograde can bring unconscious material and unfinished business from the past to the surface.

Nessus was the third centaur discovered (in 1993) and the first celestial body in modern times named at the suggestion of astrologers (in 1997). The orbit of Nessus crosses the orbits of Uranus and Neptune and even that of Pluto. The themes of Nessus, such as the abuse of power, revenge, being oppressed, and patterns of helplessness, can stretch beyond a person’s own lifetime, through generations. Astrologically Nessus helps in recognizing the patterns and reach the point where there is no more need to ”pass the buck”.

The Finnish author Kira Poutanen ponders the theme of transgenerational trauma in her latest novel Surun kartta, ”The map of sorrow” (WSOY 2021). The main character of the novel is a woman who goes through a difficult childbirth, in which her body rouses memories that possibly belong to somebody else. Can memories really transfer from one generation to another without words?

The transgenerational trauma is a concept that has been studied in psychology and even in genetics in recent years. Research suggests that trauma can leave a chemical mark on one’s genes, which can then be passed down to future generations. 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. That which is not talked about or dealt with becomes a burden of the next generation. Healing the effects of trauma either in therapy or otherwise can help release undesirable patterns and stop passing them to one’s offspring.

In Kira Poutanen’s chart (born March 30, 1974) centaur Nessus is at her North node of the Moon in Gemini, trine the Venus-Ceres conjunction in Aquarius, and quintile (72°) her Sun in Aries. The quintile is often called the aspect of creativity. The novel Surun kartta was published on Oct. 5, 2021, when the transiting Nessus at 12+ Pisces was exactly conjunct Kira Poutanen’s radix Mercury in Pisces. The transiting Chiron in Aries was in conjunction with Poutanen’s Sun, and the transiting Jupiter in Aquarius was trining her radix Nessus in Gemini.

“If ‘manners maketh man’ as someone said
He’s the hero of the day
It takes a man to suffer ignorance and smile
Be yourself no matter what they say.”
– Sting, Englishman in New York

The New Moon in Virgo squares Mars in Gemini and opposes the trans-Neptunian Gonggong in Pisces. This aspect pattern is the t-square (two planets are opposite each other and form a square to a third). Mars is the apex of this pattern. Mars enables focused action. The opposition and square aspects create tension and friction. However, squares are dynamic aspects that create will. In mutable signs approaching the goal may not be as straightforward as in the other sign modes.

In Horoscope Symbols in the beginning of the Mars chapter Robert Hand writes: ”One does not merely exist; one must exist as something or someone in particular. And one must also be able to maintain one’s individuality in the face of pressures from the world and other members of society – pressures that threaten to violate one’s true nature or even survival itself.”

Sting (born Oct. 2, 1951) wrote his famous song Englishman in New York about Quentin Crisp. In some occasions he has said that the song is partly about himself and partly about Crisp. Both Sting and Crisp have a prominent Gonggong in their chart. Sting’s Gonggong in Aquarius is trine his Sun-Saturn conjunction in Libra, sextile his Jupiter-Eris conjunction in Aries, and semisextile his North node in Pisces.

Quentin Crisp (Dec. 25, 1908 – Nov. 21, 1999) was an English eccentric and gay icon who moved to New York in 1981. He was known for his fashion sense and wit. Crisp has said: ”Style is being yourself, but on purpose.” Crisp’s Gonggong is conjunct the Sun and Mercury in Capricorn, square Saturn in Aries, and semisextile Venus in Sagittarius.

Sting wrote in his memoir Broken Music: ”I want to do this on my own terms, I want to be singular, and if that means being marginalized, then so be it. I will become stronger, and even if no one else knows who I am, I shall know myself.”

225088 Gonggong is the fifth-largest known trans-Neptunian object in the solar system and a dwarf planet. It is a scattered disc object with an orbital period of 554 years. The orbit resembles that of Eris, but Gonggong is currently moving farther from the Sun (whereas Eris is approaching the Sun). Gonggong was discovered in 2007 and finally officially named in 2020 after a Chinese water god, known for creating chaos and destruction. Gonggong ends up being killed or sent into exile.

In 2019, the discoverers of the object hosted an online poll for the general public to choose between three possible names: Gonggong from Chinese mythology, Vili from Norse mythology, and Holle from German mythology. Gonggong was the winning name. It has been suspected that the majority of the votes for “Gonggong” came from a vote spamming bot. I woted for Vili, and in the light of these examples I am even more convinced that the astrological meaning of this object can be found rather from Norse mythology. The name Vili means “will”.

In Norse mythology Vili and Vé are the chief god Odin’s brothers, but according to the rune experts, the three actually represent the same entity. Freya Aswynn writes: ”Odin appears in a three-fold form, as Odin, Vili, and Ve. This threefold division represents the three aspects of Odin as warrior, shaman, and wanderer.”

Also Edred Thorsson describes the threefold structure of Odin in Runelore. According to him, Odin (master of inspiration) is the transformative force at the root of consciousness and enthusiasm. Vili (the will) is ”the conscious application of a desired plan consciously arrived at.” Ve (the sacred) is the spirit of separation in an independent sacred space. ”This separation between consciousness and ‘nature’ (that outside consciousness) must be effected before any transformations or ‘work’ can take place. All three are necessary; all three should work together as a whole,” writes Thorsson.

The New Moon is a time for fresh starts. Let’s strive for being ourselves, on purpose.

The Moon in Aquarius and the Sun in Leo are forming a t-square with Uranus at the North node of the Moon in Taurus. The trans-Neptunian Lempo is in conjunction with Uranus. The Sun is in its own sign Leo, and Uranus is the ruler of Aquarius. Venus in the first degree of Leo forms a sesquisquare aspect (135º) to centaur Nessus in Pisces.

The plutino Lempo is a triple system consisting of two components of similar size (Lempo and Hiisi) and a third (Paha), a small satellite circling the binary. Lempo is one of the most interesting objects in the Kuiper belt. It resembles the Pluto system, where four small moons are orbiting the central binary of Pluto and Charon. The orbital period of Lempo is over 247 years. Lempo’s perihelion (the point in its orbit that is nearest to the Sun) is just outside the orbit of Neptune. It reached perihelion in 2015.

The largest component Lempo was discovered by American astronomers Eric Rubenstein and Louis-Gregory Strolger in 1999. The components of the triple system were named from Finnish mythology in 2017. On his website Dr. Strolger expresses his thanks to Dr. Bryan Holler for the name.

According to the guidelines of the International Astronomical Union, all plutinos are given mythological names associated with the underworld (for example Arawn, Orcus, Rhadamanthus and Ixion). Lempo is the Finnish devil who, with the help of his two demon cohorts, Hiisi and Paha, brought down the hero Väinämöinen. However, until Christianity came to Finland, Lempo was worshiped as the goddess of love and fertility.

An event called the Human Be-In, held in San Francisco on Jan. 14, 1967, is considered a prelude to the Summer of Love, a social phenomenon during the summer of 1967 in San Francisco’s Haight-Ashbury district. Hippies, Flower Power, anti-war demonstrations, hallucinogenic drugs, psychedelic music, and free love belong to that phenomenon. In the chart of the Human Be-In event the Sun, Mercury, Salacia and Lempo are in a quadruple conjunction in Capricorn. The conjunction forms numerous aspects to planets, namely a sextile to Chiron and Saturn in Pisces, a sextile to Neptune in Scorpio, and a trine to Uranus and Pluto in Virgo. Jupiter in Leo is opposite Lempo in Capricorn.

The main organizer of the Human Be-In event was artist and activist Michael Bowen (Dec. 8, 1937 — March 7, 2009), who in his chart has a Sun-Lempo conjunction too. The conjunction is in Sagittarius in a novile aspect (40º) to Jupiter in Capricorn. The novile has a similar quality to the trine, though more subtle. According to Frances Sakoian and Louis Acker, the novile could act as a link between subtle spiritual dimensions and the ordinary realms of human awareness and activity (Frances Sakoian and Louis Acker, Minor Aspects, 1978). Bowen’s Jupiter is opposite Pluto in Cancer. At the time of the event, the transiting Jupiter-Lempo opposition aligned with Bowen’s natal Jupiter-Pluto opposition.

After Christianity came to Finland, the reputation of the god Lempo worsened. Her name became used as a swear word. One of the Finnish words which mean “love” is “lempi”. Sometimes “lempi” turns to “lempo”. The stars don’t compel, but sometimes people make bad decisions, which can lead to bad situations. Recently we have been able to learn about the sinister side of Lempo on the news concerning the marriage of Johnny Depp and Amber Heard.

Both Johnny Depp (born June 9, 1963, 08:44 CST +6:00, Owensboro, Kentucky) and Amber Heard (born Apr. 22, 1986, Austin, Texas) have asteroid Juno opposite Chiron in their birth chart. Asteroid Juno symbolizes relationship dynamics in committed relationships. Johnny Depp’s Lempo is in Capricorn at his South node of the Moon. His Mars-Uranus conjunction in early Virgo is square to his Nessus in Gemini.

In Greek mythology centaur Nessus was a ferryman on the river Euenos. Heracles and his wife Deinaneira wanted to cross the river. Nessus carried off Deianeira first and tried to rape her. Heracles saw this from across the river and shot a poisoned arrow into Nessus’s heart. The dying centaur gave to Deianeira some of his blood mixed with semen. He lied that it was a love potion which would keep Heracles faithful to her forever. Later Deianeira spread Nessus’s poisoned blood on Heracles’s robe, and he died in agony.

Astrologically Nessus addresses issues such as abuse, revenge, being oppressed, and patterns of helplessness. The themes of Nessus can stretch over more than one generation and we can pass the patterns to someone else even unconsciously.

Amber Heard’s natal Sun in early Taurus is conjunct her North node of the Moon and sextile to her Lempo in late Aquarius. In the chart comparison her Sun is at Depp’s Midheaven, the cusp of the 10th house of career. Her Lempo opposes Depp’s Mars-Uranus conjunction. Her Jupiter is in conjunction with Depp’s Chiron in the middle degrees of Pisces.

When Johnny Depp and Amber Heard were married in February 2015 (the same year when Lempo reached its perihelion), Depp was having his Chiron return. Heard filed for divorce in May 2016. During the brief time period that they shared, the transiting Lempo went over Heard’s Sun and over Depp’s Midheaven in early Taurus. While the transiting Nessus ingressed from Aquarius to Pisces, it was in conjunction with Heard’s Lempo and opposing Depp’s Mars-Uranus conjunction. Depp’s solar arc directed Nessus in Cancer was conjunct his natal North node and opposite his Lempo. His solar arc directed Jupiter was conjunct his natal Nessus, and his solar arc directed Chiron was conjunct his Midheaven. Heard’s solar arc directed Sun in early Gemini was conjunct Depp’s natal Nessus.

The keywords for the healing process of Nessus are “The buck stops here.” Revenge is never the answer. One has to find ways to stop passing wounding patterns on to someone else.

The New Moon in Leo is in conjunction with asteroid Ceres and trans-Neptunian Varuna. Mercury is in Leo too, squaring the lunar nodes and Uranus in Taurus at the North node. In Pisces a trans-Neptunian object Teharonhiawako is in aspect with the New Moon (sesquisquare), Mercury (quincunx), and Uranus (sextile).

Ceres is the first asteroid discovered (in 1801). It is the biggest asteroid and the only dwarf planet orbiting in the Main asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter. Ceres is named after the Roman goddess of agriculture and grain crops.

Varuna is a large trans-Neptunian object, the largest classical Kuiper belt object known at the time of its discovery (in 2000) and the first object named beyond Pluto (in 2001). Varuna is named after an old Vedic deity, who rides the sea monster Makara and catches liars and those who do not honor contracts with his noose. He is the guardian of moral law.

Mercury rules formal agreements, contracts and treaties. Mercury square Uranus can indicate disruptions and difficulties in compromising or reaching agreements.

Teharonhiawako is actually a binary trans-Neptunian object, named from Iroquois creation myth after two twins who personify good and evil. The primary is named after Teharonhiawako, the maize god. Maize was considered as a special gift from the creator to mankind. The secondary is called Sawiskera after the cruel and destructive twin, who eventually was conquered by his good brother. The myth is a story about the morals of people.

The Ukrainian grain has been the topic of the past week. Ukraine is normally one of the major grain exporters of the world. Now more than 20 million tons of wheat and maize are trapped in the country because of the war. The grain is desperately needed to tackle a global food crisis that has worsened since Russia invaded Ukraine.

Last Friday after difficult negotiations a United Nations-brokered deal was signed to ensure the safe movement of Ukrainian grain to global markets. Russia agreed not to target ports while grain shipments are in transit. The ink had not even dried on the agreement, when Russia the next day attacked the port of Odesa. Putin cannot be trusted; he does not honor international law or any contracts. However, Ukraine aims to start the grain exports soon.

Eventually Putin will have to meet with Varuna.