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.

The New Moon in Aries is a total solar eclipse visible across North America. A total solar eclipse occurs when the Moon passes between the Earth and the Sun, completely obscuring the light of the Sun momentarily. All three bodies are in line. In the astrological chart, the Sun and the Moon are in conjunction, as always at the time of the New Moon. Even if the eclipse is not visible where you live, its astrological significance is not reduced because of it. In addition, the eclipse degree can remain as a sensitive point for years to come.

The eclipse occurs exactly in conjunction with the centaur planet Chiron, in the same degree and down to arc minutes. The trans-Neptunian Eris is also prominent in the chart. It is in the same degree with Mercury retrograde. Mercury turned retrograde on April 1, 2024.

We associate both the New Moon and Aries, the first sign of the zodiac, strongly with new beginnings. The eclipse intensifies the power of the moment. The eclipse is like a transition point that gives a chance to adjust the direction that we are taking. In Aries there is pioneering spirit, self-motivation and action.

Each solar eclipse is a member of a specific Saros series. Each series starts as a tiny partial eclipse at either the North or South Pole, produces an eclipse every 18 years, and finishes at the opposite Pole. Each eclipse family has the characteristics of its own. Today’s eclipse belongs to the Saros series 8 North, which started in 1501 at the North Pole. We can cast the chart for the initial eclipse and use it to help interpreting the current eclipse chart. The initial eclipse was in Gemini (ruled by Mercury), and astrologer Bernadette Brady has delineated it like this: ”Inventiveness and flashes of genius are the hallmark of this Saros Series. The individual will have intuitive leaps, insights, good ideas, visions or vivid dreams. This new-found inspiration will pull the person away from his or her social life or relationship, thereby causing strain in the private life. This is a time when the person needs to be free, if only for a few weeks.” (Bernadette Brady, Predictive Astrology, 1992)

Centaur planet Chiron was discovered in 1977. It orbits the Sun on an elliptical orbit that is merging the realms of Saturn and Uranus. The orbital period is about 50 years. Observations in 1989 showed that Chiron had developed a cometary coma. A tail was detected in 1993. Today it is classified as both a minor planet and a comet. Chiron has three rings (yes, three rings!) and their structure is constantly evolving. The evidence of the rings was provided by several observations of occultations, the latest of which was in 2022. What a maverick!

Sue Tompkins and Melanie Reinhart have written: ”…In this sense Chiron bridges the realms of Uranus (radical change, revolution and the overturning of old collective structures) and Saturn (lord of manifestation and preserver of existing forms). By weaving both impulses into a higher synthesis, more uniquely personal than either planet, Chiron’s process may help us to individuate beyond the various pressures of the collective to which we are all subject. Commitment to the healing of ourselves, others and our environment is the price this minor planet seems to be asking us to pay.” (Sue Tompkins, The Contemporary Astrologer’s Handbook, 2006)

According to Barbara Hand Clow, ”Chiron is a knife-like tool you can use to dissect levels of awareness.” (Barbara Hand Clow, Chiron Transforming Bridge Between the Inner and Outer Planets, 2004)

Mercury is now retrograding in Aries. Retrograding planets work a bit differently than planets in direct motion. Their energy is said to be more introspective. Martin Schulman has said: ”…through one’s Retrogrades, it is possible to ultimately become one’s own Guru through the enormous self awareness that emerges the minute the ‘not me’ identity is no longer a strong vibratory force in the person’s life.” By the ”not me” identity Schulman means the part of us that society, tradition, and our parents have taught us.

Although Schulman writes about ”Retrograde Mercury Personality”, the following can be adapted to transits as well: ”Once the communication barrier is passed, there is a tremendous amount of insight that comes out of the Retrograde Mercury. To make this easier, the Retrograde individual should not try to make the form of his life fit into the ideas and opinions of others around him. Instead he can find more comfort in being grateful for his rather unique way of seeing things.” (Martin Schulman, Retrogrades and Reincarnation, 1977)

Now Mercury and Eris are in a tight conjunction in Aries. Eris is is the most massive and second-largest known minor planet in the Solar System. It was discovered in 2005 and the next year named after the Greco–Roman goddess of strife and discord. It is a TNO in the scattered disk with the orbital period of almost 560 years.

Amy Shapiro writes about Eris-Mercury aspects: ”Mercury, like the chemical element, in its purest state is a tool of reflection, as a mirroring surface for what is near it. Eris polarizes all that she encounters.” (Amy Shapiro, Inviting Eris To The Party, 2014)

The last quote is from Henry Seltzer, and he too is talking about natal aspects between Mercury and Eris, but we can apply this again to the current transits as the stepping stone on our path to find our true ”me” identity: ”All the intellectual roads that you traverse have the power to bring you into closer connection with yourself. It is a life-long study to discover who you really are, on the inside, and once you do, you find that you are in a far better position to express your unique attitudes to the world around you.” (Henry Seltzer, The Tenth Planet, 2015)

Vernal Equinox – March 20, 2024, 03:06 UT

The new astrological year has begun with the tinge of lies and self-delusion. The Sun entered Aries on March 20 in triple conjunction with Neptune and 66652 Borasisi. The trans-Neptunian Borasisi followed the Sun into Aries on March 24. Borasisi is in the middle of its sign change; this was its second ingress, and the last one takes place in January 2025. The Full Moon in Libra on March 25 is a lunar eclipse. The Sun is still only five degrees apart from Borasisi. Pluto in Aquarius is sextile to Borasisi.

Borasisi is a binary object, a pair of bodies orbiting around their common center of mass, the barycenter. It belongs to cubewanos, which are given mythological names associated with creation. The companion’s name is Pabu. The names come from Kurt Vonnegut’s novel Cat’s Cradle. The novel is satirizing issues of science, technology, the arms race, and the purpose of religion. Borasisi and Pabu are the personifications of the sun and moon in the cosmogony of Bokononism, the fictional religion, which is based on living by the untruths that make one happy. Astrologically Borasisi represents these themes and how we choose what comes to truth and lies.

If you have been following the news recently, you can’t but help notice the echoes of the themes of Vonnegut’s novel. The lunar eclipse draws our attention to these issues.

Putin won the presidential election in Russia. Actually nobody believes that the vote was free or fair.

It is now more than two years since Russia invaded Ukraine, and for the first time Kremlin has used the word ”war” instead of a ”special military operation”.

The leaders of European countries had a meeting in Brussels. Among other topics, they discussed the need to strengthen the defence industry due to the changed security situation in Europe.

The award-winning Finnish journalist Matti Kuusela caused a scandal by revealing that he has written self-invented material in several articles during his career. According to him, readers should understand that not all articles are completelty true. In the name of journalistic credibility the publisher removed hundreds of articles from the web.

Finland was ranked the happiest country in the world for the seventh year in a row. The young people whose quality of life is weakened by both the poor economic situation and increased mental health problems hardly agree. Nor do those people whose social benefits have just been cut. More than half a million social welfare recipients will receive less support starting April 1. While the government says it aims at halving the number of those who receive income support, Kela (the Social Insurance Institution of Finland) estimates that the number of people receiving income support will actually increase.

The reading skills of Finnish youth have weakened, especially in reading that requires critical thinking. Every third high school student has difficulty distinguishing a lie from the truth when reading online texts. We are all exposed to propaganda, conspiracy theories, and the products of artificial intelligence on a daily basis. Using the internet a lot does not make one a good critical reader. Thinking skills have to be learned separately. Young people need support in this.

In natal charts a prominent Borasisi can represent creativity and for example, a talented fictional writer. The famous detective writer Agatha Christie (Sept. 15, 1890 – Jan. 12, 1976) had her Sun conjunct Borasisi in Virgo. William Faulkner (Sept. 25, 1897 – July 6, 1962) and F. Scott Fitzgerald (Sept. 24, 1896 – Dec. 21, 1940) had their Sun conjunct Borasisi too. The first three Matrix films were written and directed by the Wachowskis. We can recognize the themes of Borasisi in the film series. Lilly Wachowski (born Dec. 29, 1967) has both her Sun and Mercury in conjuction with Borasisi in Capricorn. Lana Wachowski’s (born June 21, 1965) Borasisi in Capricorn is opposed by the Sun and Mercury in Cancer.

The Full Moon at 5+ degrees of Taurus is a partial lunar eclipse. Eclipses occur twice a year during the period that is called an eclipse season. There are usually two eclipses during the season, one solar and one lunar. A lunar eclipse occurs at the Full Moon when the Earth is between the Sun and the Moon and the shadow of Earth obscures the disc of the Moon either totally or partially. A solar eclipse in Libra two weeks ago is now followed by a lunar eclipse in Taurus. The Sabian symbol for the eclipse degree is A bridge being built across a gorge.

At the lunar eclipse we may be emotionally touchy. The eclipse is said to be a turning point that allows us to have a fresh start. Quoting Demetra George, ”During a lunar eclipse, it is the past, symbolized by the Moon, which is obscured and can be released. In the absence of the conditioning of the past, the possibility emerges of meeting experiences in a new manner.” (Demetra George, Finding our Way Through the Dark, 1994)

The Sun is in the emotional, intense and transformative sign of Scorpio. Besides the Moon, there are Jupiter and Uranus in Taurus. Uranus is in conjunction with a peculiar little body 39P/Oterma. In the past 39P/Oterma has went through a transformation, and in the future its orbit probably will be transformed again.

39P/Oterma is a Chiron-type comet currently on a centaur-like orbit contained between Jupiter and Saturn. This small family of comets is named after its largest member Chiron, officially designated as both a comet and a centaur, which blurs the line between minor planets and comets. 39P/Oterma’s diameter is around 4 – 5 km and the orbital period is nearly 20 years.

Comets are named after their discoverers. 39P/Oterma was discovered by the Finnish astronomer Liisi Oterma on April 8, 1943, in Turku, Finland. The letter P in the name stands for a periodic comet. It was discovered while it was an active comet. A close approach to Jupiter on April 12, 1963, put it on its current inactive centaur orbit. It came to perihelion in July 2023. According to Wikipedia, the orbit of 39P/Oterma keeps its overall characteristics at least until the beginning of the 24th century.

The comet was discovered in 1943 at 4º 50’53” Libra (the Sabian Symbol: ”A man teaching the true inner knowledge”). The close approach to Jupiter in 1963 that put it on its centaur orbit occurred at 1º 37’15” Aries in conjunction with Jupiter (the Sabian Symbol: ”A comedian entertaining a group”).

In astrology the planets can be divided into three groups: the personal planets (Mercury, Venus and Mars), the social planets (Jupiter and Saturn), and the transcendental planets (Uranus, Neptune and Pluto). The social planets Jupiter and Saturn connect the individual with society and represent the interaction between the individual and the larger world. 39P/Oterma’s orbit between Jupiter and Saturn suggests that its influence is connected to a person’s participation in the world at large.

In the standard Finnish language there is currently no such word as ”oterma”. The name is possibly derived from an old Finnish word ”ota”, which means wild hay. It could also mean a thorn or a spear. There is Lake Oterma and Oterma village in the Northern Ostrobothnia. The area is old Sami residential area. Since there isn’t any mythology behind the name of the centaur 39P/Oterma, perhaps these subtle clues help the astrological delineation.

The New Moon in Aries on Apr. 20, 2023, is a solar eclipse, the first eclipse of the year and a rare and intriguing one in several ways.

A solar eclipse occurs usually twice a year when the Moon passes between Earth and the Sun, and all three bodies are in line. A total eclipse occurs when the Moon completely obscures the light of the Sun. When the Sun and the Moon are exactly in line with Earth, but the apparent size of the Moon is smaller, a bright ring of the Sun appears around the Moon, and the eclipse type is called an annular eclipse. A partial eclipse occurs when the Sun and Moon are not exactly in line with the Earth and the Moon only partially obscures the Sun. This current eclipse in Aries belongs to the extraordinary fourth type of solar eclipses, a hybrid eclipse.

Sometimes an eclipse can shift between annular and total. It is called a hybrid eclipse, an extremely rare phenomenon, which will only happen a few times per century. It will happen only four more times this century. This annular total solar eclipse is visible in Australia and Indonesia. However, the transition from annular to total and back again occurs at two remote locations at sea.

This hybrid solar eclipse takes place in the last degree of Aries. It is square to Pluto, which recently entered Aquarius. The Moon enters Taurus right after the eclipse and the Sun follows a few hours later. A powerful transformative shift can be expected. Mars is the ruler of Aries and Venus is the ruler of Taurus. The eclipse is in aspect to both planets. It is in quintile to Mars in Cancer and novile to Venus in Gemini.

The quintile (72°) is generally considered as the aspect of creativity. When we divide the chart circle (360°) by five we get the quintile. Robert Hand has written about the five-series aspect family: “All these aspects seem to have a quality that we usually associate with Pluto, with overtones of Venus and Mars.” Dane Rudhyar has described the novile (40°), which is the division of the circle by nine, like this: “At the level of the Nine, the individualized person discovers and envisions the meaning and purpose of what he or she is.” According to him, the novile can lead to personal rebirth.

Each solar eclipse is a member of a particular eclipse family, a Saros series, which has certain characteristics. Each series will run for well over a thousand years and produce a solar eclipse every 18 years. 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 eclipse chart has the same distinguishable flavour as the initial eclipse of this Saros in 1103 had.

The Saros series is number 7 North. The initial eclipse was in Libra opposite Pluto in Aries, and occurred on the Venus/Mars midpoint. Astrologer Bernadette Brady has delineated it as follows: “A very sensual family of eclipses, ranging from sudden sexual passions and lust to birth and procreative drives. This series is not subtle, and can catch people off guard and confront them with their own very deep passion which may have been hidden for many years.”

The solar eclipse in Aries is in conjunction with a tiny near-Earth asteroid ꞌAylóꞌchaxnim, which remained hidden until January 2020. It is the first and so far the only asteroid known to have an orbit completely within Venus’s orbit. The name means ‘Venus girl’ in the indigenous Luiseño language of southern California. The name celebrates the location of the discovery. The orbital period around the Sun is about 150 days. At about 4.1 million years from the present, ʼAylóʼchaxnim will most likely collide with Venus. In the old times the Luiseño people called Venus as Aylucha, “that which is left over from evening till morning, food or anything of the kind.” The presence of ‘Aylóꞌchaxnim emphasizes Venus in the chart, and the fact that the transformation at hand can be built on what already exists.

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!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The New Moon in Sagittarius was a total solar eclipse at the south node of the Moon. The south node is oriented in the past. Ancestral themes can arise. The Sun and the Moon were in conjunction with Mercury and Vesta. Mercury symbolizes our intellectual activities. Vesta is a Main belt asteroid. It is brightest of the asteroids and even visible to the naked eye. It is the symbol of the eternal flame, or the sacred flame. Vesta indicates the focusing principle, and now in Sagittarius in conjunction with the Sun, the motivation for finding one’s purpose can be strong.

A solar eclipse is a powerful New Moon, and the New Moon always starts a new cycle. Sagittarius is a freedom-loving and future-oriented sign. Growth, optimism and joy can be attached to it by its sign ruler Jupiter. However, there are also some dark shadows in the chart, represented by some Kuiper belt minor planets. The eclipse was square to Aphidas and Orcus in Virgo, and Okyrhoe and Nessus in Pisces.

The Sabian symbol for the solar eclipse degree is Sagittarius 13 A widow’s past brought to light. The keynote by Dane Rudhyar is: “The karma of past actions as it affects opportunities presented by a new cycle.”

Each solar eclipse is a member of a particular Saros Series. The characteristics of the series can be delineated on the grounds of the chart of the initial eclipse in the series. According to Bernadette Brady, “This is a very joyful, happy family of eclipses. There is a sense of good news, falling in love, a peak experience that is joyful in some way.” There is a Neptunian influence in this 5 New South series. Rose Lineman says that it “heightens sensitivity and reinforces psychic tendencies.”

Neptune retrogrades every year for about five to six months. Neptune has just turned direct on Dec. 1, which emphasizes the Neptunian influence of the eclipse. So does possibly the fact that the eclipse was squaring centaur Okyrhoe in Pisces. Okyrhoe is named after a prophetic nymph daughter of Chiron and Chariklo.

Centaur Nessus offers healing on issues to do with the abuse of power, and it has ancestral implications. Quoting Melanie Reinhart and Sue Tompkins: “Nessus activations correspond with times when things really do end, finish and transcend to another level, when release occurs and when the turning point is reached.”

In Greek mythology, during the battle between the Centaurs and Lapiths, the centaur Aphidas remained in a drunken sleep. One of the Lapiths killed Aphidas with a thrown spear while he slept. Withdrawal is not always the best policy, at least not if you want your inner light shine.

Orcus is a plutino and named after the Etruscan god of the underworld and punisher of broken oaths. Orcus is a transformative energy, like Pluto. According to Jeremy Neal, “rather than a metamorphosis of control needs, Orcus requires a metamorphosis of integrity.”

Asteroid Euphrosyne is conjunct Saturn in Aquarius. Euphrosyne is a large Main belt asteroid which has a small moon. It is the third-roundest known asteroid. It was named after one of the three Graces, a goddess of joy, mirth and merriment. The solar eclipse sextile Euphrosyne is suggesting that grace of joy is coming into your life, although it may first require some work and serious commitment.