Last week I was visiting Vellamo, the brand new maritime museum in my hometown. Quite unexpectedly, I ran across a piece of my roots there, a wooden Madonna figure from destroyed church of Lavansaari. Lavansaari is a distant island in the middle of the Gulf of Finland, a place I’ve never been able to visit. The sculpture was brought to the mainland during the Second World War.

While I was looking at the old statue from the 15th century, I could see women with their heads covered with a scarf sitting in the church, looking at the same figure that I was looking at now. I felt deep connectedness with my ancestors. The rough beauty of the wooden Madonna represents something genuine for me. On this Full Moon we should seek this kind of truth and genuineness.

The Full Moon takes place in the midst of the Mercury storm. Mercury is slow and ready to station direct the next day. The chart is an image of the feminine shadow, of women suppressed or excluded from their community, getting a warrior-like manifestation in Aries. Water is a symbol of unconscious, and there are several watery planets prominent. Many of the planets involved are dealing with speaking of truth.

There is a six-pointed star in the chart, formed by the Moon, Pallas Athene, Ceres, the Sun, Juno and Neptune.

The Aries Full Moon glows in exact conjunction with Eris. In the same conjunction with the Sun, Moon and Eris we find asteroid Lilith and a cubewano called 1992 QB1. The energies have to do with the feminine shadow.

In mythology, Eris is the goddess of discord. In astrology she can be seen as the messenger of postmodern consciousness. According to Eric Francis, a fragmentation of the self-concept that has occurred in our time in history is one of her themes. She represents an excluded woman. A theme of female equality can be attached to both Eris and Lilith as well.

In the Old Testament and the Midrash: the commentary that accompanies the Old Testament in Judaism, Lilith was the first wife of Adam. She demanded equality with Adam, but failed to achieve it. Then she was banished from the Garden of Eden and made into a demon figure. In astrology asteroid Lilith tells you about the original woman inside the woman. It is a woman’s deeper idea of herself and, in the chart of a man, his deeper idea of what a woman is.

1992 QB1 is the trans-Neptunian object that pointed to the existence of the Kuiper Belt. It was the first planet discovered beyond Pluto (in 1992), and as such symbolizes an edge and a bridge that took us into the next phase of existence.

Opposite the Moon in the same degree with the Sun is asteroid Eros. Eros is what turns you on, but it represents more than just sexual interest. According to Martha Lang-Wescott, Eros is the passion “for life, the thirst for survival and ‘living to the fullest’.”

The Full Moon and the minor planets in conjunction with it are in sextile to Neptune, the planet associated with denial, deception and lies, among other things. A sextile aspect is a soft aspect, which allows the planets involved to work together harmoniously. The Sun and Eros form a flowing trine to Neptune.

Another watery planet in Cancer, Varuna, is in square to the Sun-Moon opposition, forming a t-square with them. The empty leg in a t-square pattern (in this case in Capricorn) offers the challenge in handling the energies involved. Uranus is trine Varuna.

Varuna is a trans-Neptunian minor planet, named after a Vedic sky god watching every movement of men, and punishing liars and those who violate contracts. Varuna has been depicted in art as a lunar deity, as a yellow man wearing golden armor and holding a noose or lasso made from a snake. He rides the sea monster Makara. Eric’s keywords for Varuna are “the great equalizer”, and in this chart it is in exact midpoint of the Sun and Moon, a pair of masculine and feminine symbols.

Sedna, yet another water planet, is in Taurus in a tight semisextile to the Moon and in quincunx to the Sun. Neptune squares Sedna. The myth of Sedna, the goddess of the frozen waters, tells us a story of an Inuit girl who becomes betrayed by her suitor and also by her own father.

Mercury in Libra is getting ready for the direct station in 24 hours after the Full Moon. Mercury forms a quincunx to two interesting minor planets in Pisces, Borasisi and Sphinx.

Borasisi is a binary planet in the Kuiper Belt region. The name comes from Kurt Vonnegut’s novel Cat’s Cradle, meaning the Sun in a fictional cosmogony of Bokononism. In Vonnegut’s novel, the foundation of the fictional religion of Bokononism is based on living by the untruths that make one happy. The companion is the counterpart of the Moon and her name is Pabu. The story of Borasisi and Pabu is describing family patterns and the outcast of Pabu.

Asteroid Sphinx can represent great mysteries, but also missing information.

In Gemini, asteroid Kassandra is opposing the Great Attractor. Kassandra is an asteroid named after Cassandra, the prophetess who was able to predict the future, but nobody believed her. Astrologically she is dealing with the truth and whether to believe what others say. She also addresses the ability to follow advice.

The Great Attractor is a powerful point in Sagittarius, a mass of dark matter pulling everything, including our galaxy, toward it. The point has a polarizing effect, sometimes pushing emotions and ideas to extremes.

Venus in Scorpio is sharing her degree with Astraea, the fifth asteroid. In mythology, Astraea was a personification of justice. “During the Golden Age she dwelt upon the earth with mankind, but was driven away by the lawlessness of the later Bronze Age,” tells the Theoi Project site. Zeus then placed her amongst the stars as the constellation Virgo. The scales of justice she carried became the constellation of Libra.

Venus is sextiling Makemake, the newly named dwarf planet, which may have an association with memory, especially the collective memory of a tribe or a nation. This aspect together with Mercury, which is about to turn direct, may show a moment of an easy access to something that has been forgotten long ago.

Every generation — including our parents and us — makes their own mistakes. However, the wisdom of our ancestors can benefit us greatly, if we allow it.

References:

Mercury is Always Retrograde by Eric Francis

Eris Notebook: Dancing with Discord by Eric Francis

Encyclopedia Mythica, Lilith

Planet Waves Weekly, For Friday, June 27th, 2003, A Few Asteroids for Good Measure

Aries New Moon, and the Radha-Eris Conjunction by Eric Francis

Treehouse Mountain

Mechanics of the Future: Asteroids, Martha Lang-Wescott, 1996, Treehouse Mountain

The Theoi Project

Lavansaaren kirkko

At this Full Moon everything seems possible. The energy is fresh and enthusiastic. The Moon is in Pisces, the most imaginative sign of the zodiac. Pisces is co-ruled by Jupiter and Neptune. Jupiter has turned direct just recently, only about a week ago, after several months’ retrogradation, boosting us with optimism. Jupiter expands everything it touches.

Also Pluto has turned direct, simultaneously with Jupiter. It still has a couple of months left in Sagittarius, which is another sign ruled by Jupiter, before re-entering Capricorn in November. Pluto adds depth into this combination.

Pisces is the last sign of the zodiac. Last phases can be challenging, whether the last sign, the last phase of the Moon, the 12th house or the last degrees of a sign. Pluto is now at 28+ degrees of Sagittarius.

A Finnish astrologer Raimo A. Nikula has noted that it’s precisely the 28+ degree of a sign that is often the most difficult one, not the last degree. According to him there is always a paradox involved in last degrees: they can be both punishing as well as be spiritually very rewarding, because the individual has in his possession the whole experience and extension of the sign. Raimo has said that the last phases carry the possibility to purify the soul so that new life experience is possible, but first the individual may have to face things that rise from the unconscious.

The Full Moon is conjunct Uranus, the planet associated with originality, intellectual brilliance, flashes of insight and innovation. Opposite the Moon, the intelligent Virgo Sun is in conjunction with a trans-Neptunian minor planet Logos. Virgo is the analytical and mental sign ruled by Mercury.

Logos is a binary Kuiper Belt object with an orbital period about 305 years. Its companion is named Zoe. A binary planet is a pair of worlds that are often similar in mass and orbit one another around a gravitational balance point between the two — the barycenter. Logos can be associated with scientific breakthroughs, with scientists and technology. Eric Francis has noticed that Logos would appear to represent the “higher octaveâ€? of Mercury. “Mercury addresses both the spirit of the mind, and its content; it is the medium of communication, and to some extent that which is communicated. I feel all of these attributes coming from Logos”, he wrote few months ago.

Furthermore, according to Eric, Cubewano Logos and asteroid Atlantis are two planets distinctly associated with the use and abuse of information and technology. Atlantis would include distortions of science, and the effects of small things on big systems. Atlantis is a culture that in our mythology fell from grade as a result of the abuse of its technology.

There are many flowing trines in the Full Moon chart. Jupiter in Capricorn, Saturn in Virgo and Vesta in Taurus form a Grand Trine in Earth. Trines are harmonious and easy, and the planets in question work in an agreement, but this can lead to patterns that sometimes are difficult to get out of.

A grand trine represents a cycle that tends to hold its focus, for good or for ill. A planet at the midpoint of two planets, making sextiles to them and opposing a third, offers a focus and a way out of stuck patterns of a Grand Trine. Asteroid Atlantis in Scorpio is with a wide orb sextile to Jupiter and Saturn, and opposite Vesta, the eternal flame of creativity. Remember the symbolism of Atlantis and be aware of possible proneness to false information, for example.

Mercury, Venus and Mars are in a close conjunction in balanced and harmonious Libra. A conjunction of Mercury and Venus always indicates great creativity. Venus and Mars are symbols of our inner polar opposites. Venus is strong in its own sign. Mercury rules communication and all mental activity. Together these three assure a stable state of mind and an ability to present our ideas passionately.

This can be time of in-depth feeling or intellectual discharge; use the time well. Visions can be transformed into reality.

References:

Planet Wiki, Logos

Planet Waves Daily Astrology & Adventure, Scorpio Full Moon, UAC Update

Notes from the Technosphere

Eclipses come in pairs. Two weeks ago we experienced a solar eclipse, and now it is time for a lunar eclipse in turn. The Sun and Moon are aligning opposite each other, the Earth is between them, and the Moon is passing through the Earth’s shadow. The Full Moon of the month is a partial lunar eclipse in Aquarius. This eclipse occurs on the North node of the Moon. Neptune, Chiron and the node have been in conjunction all summer, and now the eclipsed Moon conjoins them.

Eclipses offer us a chance to create new patterns and take a new approach, but we ourselves need to make the decisions, to choose the direction and to make some effort in order to make it all happen. The Centaur planet Thereus is squaring the Sun and Moon as an indication of the inner resistance we may encounter in this. In mythology, Thereus was a centaur who used to catch bears and carry them into his cave angry and alive.

The Sun-Moon-Neptune combination can be idealistic, intuitive, imaginative, artistic and sensuous, but also unstable and altruistic. Chiron, the wounded healer can make us painfully aware of things that are coming to an end, or require change. On the other hand, Aquarius is an easy-going mental sign, emotionally detached and rational, which ought to give some easement to these planetary energies.

Mars in Virgo is almost exactly square to Pluto in Sagittarius. Mars square Pluto is not usually described as an easy aspect, but no doubt there is drive in it. It can help us to avoid passivity that is possibly ensuing from the Neptune aspects.

Passivity is depicted in the chart also by a Grand trine; a grand trine can be harmonious, flowing and rewarding, but it can create cyclical patterns that are difficult to get out of. The notably accurate Grand trine in this chart beautifully combines the energies of two benefics, Venus and Jupiter, and Vesta, the asteroid of burning fire.

Mercury, Venus and Saturn are in triple conjunction in Virgo. Venus in Virgo helps us to sort out what matters most and what can be thrown overboard. Saturn’s presence adds consideration and practicality to this equation.

The trine between the Leo Sun and Pluto at the Galactic Core shows desire for profound transformation. Asteroid Icarus conjunct the Sun and opposite Neptune advises not to take any irresponsible escape from reality. Icarus can represent a desire to break free, or take a risk, but it can also point to matters where we possibly want to have a broad perspective.

Also in conjunction with the Sun is asteroid Freia as a protective image. This asteroid is named after the Norse goddess of sex, love and divination. Goddess Freya is equivalent for the Roman goddess Venus and the Greek goddess Aphrodite. She was a gentle protectress, “the giver of all joys, delights, and pleasures.” Full Moon is one of her symbols.

References:

Metamorphoses by Ovid

Planet Waves, Astrology Secrets Reveald, On the subject of Pluto and Icarus

Jean Lang, Myths from around the World, Senate Press Limited, 1996

By Kirsti Melto

Capricorn is usually not described as one of the easiest placements for the Moon, and a Full Moon here can be especially stressful. However, you can use the complex astrology of this moment for profound healing. It is not possible to go through the process of healing without experiencing some pain. We are all subject to pain at some point of our lives, and after the healing process we are freer to continue living.

There are two Yod patterns in the chart, and the energies involved in these aspect patterns imply that issues from the past may spurt out and ask for a discussion. These issues may have something to do with religious beliefs or convictions, possibly passed to you by your parents or grandparents. This can mean strife of some kind, or finding a balance between those beliefs and your mental reasoning, an adjustment between religion and logic.

In the Full Moon chart the Capricorn Moon has already passed Jupiter, but it is still in wide conjunction with it. In a separating aspect the energy is not so strong as it would be in an applying aspect, but the Luminaries (the Sun and Moon) are usually granted a wider orb than other planets. Also, the Moon and Jupiter are in a parallel conjunction, which intensifies the power of this conjunction.

If two bodies share the same degree of declination, that is, they are at the same distance from the celestial equator (either north or south of the celestial equator), they are said to be parallel. In Capricorn, Jupiter’s expansiveness is restricted, but in this case with the Moon it may still cause outbursts of feeling. Venus in Leo dramatizes these exaggerated reactions.

While the Mars-Saturn conjunction in Virgo has begun to separate, the Sun and Moon are each separately forming tight aspects to these planets; the Moon is sesquisquare Mars (an aspect of 135 degrees) and the Sun is novile to Saturn (an aspect of 40 degrees). Sue Tompkins mentions in Contemporary Astrologer’s Handbook about a Mars-Saturn combination: “this can be a contact of the bully and the bullied.”

In any Yod pattern there are two planets in sextile aspect to each other, and each of them is forming a quincunx (an aspect of 150 degrees) to a third planet. A quincunx is an annoying, stressful aspect which requires adjustment. This is not always so easy, and it requires a conscious effort to deal with the energies involved.

The first Yod involves Chiron in Aquarius, Varuna in Cancer and Logos in Virgo. Chiron, the healing planet, whose most important keyword is awareness, is the focal planet of this aspect structure, and the focal planet of any Yod is the place where you need to pay attention. Retrograding Chiron is forming a quincunx to the two other planets involved, Varuna and Logos, sextiling each other.

Eric Francis wrote in Small World Stories about Varuna:

“The energy of Varuna is that which is too large to comprehend, but which somehow touches us personally. Varuna contains some response to the question, ‘If God is so powerful why should s/he care about me’?”

“…One thing we can reasonably say about Varuna is that he exists on a very large scale and has the feeling of being so far beyond the human realm that he might as well be a deity-alien in a different dimension. But he’s not; we know his name, we can see him in our charts, and we can get a feeling for where we are bringing that quality of totally-beyond energy into manifestation in our lives.”

Philip Sedgwick’s delineation for Logos contains these keywords:

“Positive: clarity of personal priorities, belief in one’s own destiny, sense of personal urgency, commitment to self-nurturing and cause, sense of one’s connection to all that Is, logical, rational, use of natural order and law to describe and define life.”

The Sabian Symbol for the Chiron degree of this Full Moon is Aquarius 20, and it strongly supports the above mentioned aspects: A big white dove, a message bearer. Quoting M. E. Jones:

“This is a symbol of man’s recognition of a transcendental or superior wisdom from which he may always receive his inspiration and assurance, emphasized here by his inner faith and his self-strengthening through an ever-constructive attitude of mind. There are always secret signs of divine favor for a faithful heart, and they are no less real because the reason is able to dismiss them as a mere oversensitiveness to the prompting of a wholly naÔve insight. The keyword is conviction. When positive, the degree is a facility for ordering all personal desires in a cosmic framework and a gift for knowing when to act and what to do, and when negative, sanctimonious self-deception.”

The other Yod is formed by Mercury in Cancer, Nessus in Aquarius and Ixion in Sagittarius. Mercury is the apex planet, and because of Mercury’s rapid movement, this Yod is exact only briefly at the Capricorn Full Moon.

Mercury in Cancer is helpful in remembering and reflecting the past. We first need to be aware that something actually was wrong, before we can heal. The communication now can be sensitive, but emotional. Don’t let surfacing fears prevent you from having a conversation that needs to take place, because this is an excellent moment to achieve a release from possible karmic abuse patterns.

According to Eric, Nessus helps to identify and heal ancestral abuse patterns, which can be psychological, physical or sexual in nature. These can be collective issues, not just individual. Nessus may help to reveal something about the past hurts, but also how we are likely to hurt others.

Ixion is the planet that represents a dark power, that which we are all capable of — namely, anything. It can point to all forms of violence, physical or emotional, but also helps to heal the damage done.

At this Full Moon unsolved issues can be brought into light. Use the warmth of Venus in Leo and the sensitivity of the Cancer planets to assist you in this.

***

Earlier this week the news reported: the International Astronomical Union has finally accepted Mike Brown’s proposal for the proper name for the Kuiper belt object 2005 FY9. 2005 FY9 is now Makemake. Makemake is the creator of humanity and the god of fertility in the mythology of the South Pacific island of Rapa Nui (Easter Island).

The Capricorn Full Moon is trine to Makemake in Virgo. Although I am not yet offering any delineation for Makemake, I want to mention also the other aspects of this newly named planet in this chart: Makemake is semisquare Venus, opposite Uranus, quincunx Neptune and conjunct Logos.

By Kirsti Melto and Eric Francis

This profound Full Moon of June falls in the late degrees of Sagittarius conjunct Pluto and right on the Galactic Core. This is also another Aries Point event, as the Moon and Sun are squaring the Aries Point.

Every astrological factor has its polar opposite. At the moment of any Full Moon, the Sun and the Moon, a pair of polar opposites representing masculine and feminine, are opposing each other. Now they are aligned with the Galactic Core, the heart of our home galaxy. Also another pair of polar opposites is aligned with the Core: Venus, the ruler of Taurus, is tightly opposite Pluto, the ruler of Scorpio, the opposite sign of Taurus.

An opposition is the aspect of awareness. It can also mean confrontation, a face-to-face meeting, in this case involving love, relationships, desires, creativity, dark secrets, power or sex. Due to the involvement of the fixed points, a strong collective nature is present, which is able to affect us in a deep and noticeable way.

The Galactic Core is a massive cluster of stars at the core of the Milky Way. The Gemini-Sagittarius axis is an unusual section of space. When facing toward Sagittarius from Gemini, one gazes into the galaxy toward the core of the Milky Way. When facing Gemini, one looks out into open intergalactic space. The Galactic Core has something to do with the mysteries of our origins, and it may relate directly to our experiences of God, of soul and of higher self. We are all affected by the pulls from the Core.

It is possible that in astrology the Galactic Core has a significant role in the importance of the first degrees of the cardinal signs (Aries, Cancer, Libra and Capricorn), which begin the seasons. The cardinal points join individuals with the collective.

Pluto, the great transformer, associated with sex, death, money and power, is retrograding in the last degree of Sagittarius. Pluto makes the sign ingress from Capricorn back to Sagittarius on June 14 and remains there almost the rest of the year, re-entering Capricorn in November. This zone of the zodiac, where Sagittarius meets Capricorn close to the center of the galaxy, is the part of the sky associated with the 2012 phenomenon.

The Sun in sociable Gemini is still in conjunction with Venus. Venus has just recently passed the midpoint between the 2004 and 2012 Venus transits of the Sun. Venus opposes the Galactic Core on June 16, then opposes Pluto and enters Cancer, the sign ruled by the Moon, on the day of the Full Moon.

The Aries Point is the first degree of Aries. Any time a planet arrives in that degree, or makes a square or opposition to that degree, we can notice the effect. The combined effect of the Sun, Moon, Venus, Pluto and the Aries Point is what we are witnessing now. The Point has some unusual properties: public contact, a collective quality, the personalization of large events, and lasting effects through time, for example.

This Full Moon occurs close the Cancer Solstice, the beginning of a new season, summer in the north and winter in the south.

Ceres has entered the emotional Cancer about a week before this Full Moon. Ceres is in conjunction with the Sun and opposite Pluto. Opposition is the aspect of confrontation. In the well-known myth, Ceres and Pluto also confronted each other. In the myth Ceres’ daughter Proserpina was abducted into the underworld by Pluto. In her desperation Ceres stopped the growth of fruits and vegetables. Proserpina was freed, but she had to spend a part of each year in the underworld with her husband Pluto; for the other part, she was able to return to living with her mother on Earth. This story illustrates the changing of the seasons. When the daughter returns to her mother, nature starts blossoming again. Ceres can represent the nurturing we receive from others, but also how we function as nurturers in our relationships.

The Sun is also conjunct Cyllarus, a small Centaur planet discovered ten years ago. The myth of Cyllarus and Hylonome is a Romeo and Juliet type of love story. Cyllarus reminds us to be conscious of the choices we are making in our lives. The decisions we make directly affect our relationships, and we need to be conscious of our choices in this context. The threads of our lives connect us to every person in them. We are also part of our environments.

Mercury, still retrograde, is slow and powerful in Gemini, and makes its direct station on the day following the Full Moon, exactly opposite Ixion and the Great Attractor. Ixion is a minor planet representing that which we are all capable of. The Great Attractor is a powerful point in Sagittarius, a mass of dark matter pulling everything, including our galaxy, toward it. Astrologically the point has a polarizing effect, sometimes pushing emotions and ideas to extremes. Beware of the Mercury storm, which surrounds the Mercury station by about three days on either side!

***

Pluto has a considerable role in this chart. At the time of writing this article, the International Astronomical Union (IAU) released a press release: Plutoid chosen as name for Solar System objects like Pluto. Almost two years after the IAU General Assembly introduced the category of dwarf planets and demoted Pluto, the IAU has decided on a name — plutoid — for transneptunian dwarf planets similar to Pluto.

A plutoid is a dwarf planet that orbits beyond Neptune. A dwarf planet must be large enough to be round. They also decided to restrict the definition to the brightest of the dwarf planets. There are two plutoids named at the moment: Pluto and Eris. The two other objects fitting in the category are 2003 EL61 and 2005 FY9. This news is probably auguring the naming of those two unnamed planets at last!

The dwarf planet Ceres is not a plutoid as it is located in the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter. Ceres is the only object of its kind (stated the IAU) — large enough to be round and inside the orbit of Neptune. Therefore, a separate category of Ceres-like dwarf planets will not be proposed.

Mike Brown, the discoverer of all three known plutoids besides Pluto, wrote in his blog: “If Pluto is happy being a Plutoid then it is probably OK with the rest of us.”

By Kirsti Melto and Eric Francis

This is the second, and more intense of the two Scorpio Full Moons of the season. What was seed at the Beltane New Moon two weeks before has now rooted and matured. The lunar cycle, beginning with the New Moon and developing towards the Full Moon, finally peaks when the Sun and Moon are opposite each other and the Moon is reflecting the maximum amount of sunlight. This light gives us objectivity and consciousness to make decisions.

If the Taurus New Moon during Beltane was about balancing the male and female energies, this Full Moon in Scorpio is about solidifying that balance. At the New Moon, the Sun and Moon were exactly together; now they are face to face, seeing what they are getting. The Scorpio sign is powerful because it dares to look at the core of reality, and allows us to understand better our true nature.

Saturn is squaring the Sun-Moon opposition right at the midpoint of the two, functioning as an anchor for the attained balance. The Moon, previously in the April Full Moon chart sextile to Saturn, is now forming a more intense aspect to Saturn by the square.

As part of the Fixed Cross pattern, the Sun and Moon are occupying the last degree of the Taurus-Scorpio axis. Taurus, Leo, Scorpio and Aquarius are the four fixed signs. They manifest as willpower. A Grand Cross indicates strength and enduring. While squares are aspects of growth and development, crosses can be very dynamic. With all this energy abounding, we can also feel pulled in four different directions at once, which is worth keeping in mind.

The Sun, Moon, Saturn and Neptune are the main planets forming the Grand Cross. Saturn has already entered the mutable sign Virgo. The Centaur planet Okyrhoe is tightly conjunct Saturn. According to astrologer Mark A. Holmes, Okyrhoe seems to indicate, among other things, an ability to stand up for one’s beliefs or principles. Okyrhoe’s position opposite Neptune helps to avoid the possible confusion in grasping the realities, which sometimes results from the Saturn-Neptune opposition.

Also, plutino Orcus is in conjunction with Saturn but with a wider orb and being still in Leo, thus forming the fourth leg or arm of the Fixed Cross. Orcus was a Roman underworld deity, sometimes indentified with Pluto. Mark A. Holmes suggests that among the astrological attributes of Orcus are “boldnessâ€? and “having something to say.â€? Among Francesco Schiavinotto’s keywords for Orcus are â€?fight for survivalâ€? – also one of the attributes for Scorpio — and “endeavors aimed towards the boundary of the achievable.â€? This indicates that the struggle for balance is not wasted in the end.

Pluto, the modern ruler of Scorpio is retrograding in the first degree of Capricorn and forming an exact square to the Aries Point, a point which is associated with big events linking the public and private orders of reality. The effect is symbolically not just doubled but multiplied because of two consecutive Scorpio Full Moons and also Pluto retrograde travelling those degrees that it has gone through before.

Both Mercury and Venus are in their own signs, Mercury in Gemini and Venus in Taurus. Planets are said to be strong in their own sign, because they are in a sign with which they have much in common. Mercury is already in the echo phase, which began on May 11. Venus is applying conjunction to the Sun. Venus squares Neptune later on the day of the Full Moon.

A struggle between femininity and masculinity can be sensed in the aspects of Venus and Mars. Venus forms aspects with many planets, while Mars, the traditional ruler of Scorpio, looks a bit lonely in Leo making no other main aspects except for a trine to the Moon. The fiery Mars is though quite at home in a fire sign.

Chiron and Neptune are on the North Node of the Moon. Interestingly, these three are at the midpoint of Jupiter and Uranus. Jupiter is sextiling Uranus. Chiron is a planet of awareness and can be very helpful in pursuing objectivity. Neptune’s influence here may be twofold: Neptune may blur that awareness, but on the other hand there’s the possibility of dissolving boundaries.

The Moon is trining asteroid Lilith in the last degree of Pisces, conjunct the Aries Point. Lilith tells about the original woman inside the woman. She can also represent the crisis that “being the real me” brings into the lives of both women and men. Finding the real woman inside is necessary, though, before the balance between the male and the female can be stabilized.

By Kirsti Melto and Eric Francis

The Full Moon occurs in the first degree of Scorpio, the sign of mysteries of life and death. The Sun ingresses Taurus, the opposite sign, on the day before the Full Moon. Any planet in the first degree of a sign is effective, and a lunation happening here is a significant one. This is emphasized by the fact that we are going to experience two Scorpio Full Moons in consecutive months, this one being the first of them. The other one occurs in May in the last degree of Scorpio.

This is a passionate Full Moon. Scorpio is a sign of great recourses and strength. It is the sex sign of the zodiac. Besides creativeness and other positive manifestations which this sign is capable to produce, the Moon located in it can also yield to power struggles, obsessions, jealousy and control dramas over money, sex and other issues which usually stay hidden deep down in the unconscious. These kinds of emotions need to be directed in a constructive way. The Scorpio Moon herself acts as a helpful guide in this.

There are two very accurate aspect patterns in the chart. Firstly, the Sun and Moon are involved in a kite configuration. Secondly, Mars, Jupiter and Eris form a T-square in cardinal signs.

A grand trine occurs when three planets are in the same element, with close degree numbers to one another. Trine is harmonious and flowing, and the planets in question work in an agreement. It represents cyclical motion, and a cycle that tends to hold its focus, for good or for ill. When a grand trine is present, it’s important to watch the patterns we are creating in our lives. The Sun in Taurus, Saturn in Virgo and Pluto in Capricorn form a grand trine in Earth. The earth signs are physical in nature and deal with affairs of the material world. A grand trine in Earth is about maintaining security and stability.

A kite aspect pattern is a grand trine, but in addition there is a planet at the midpoint of any two planets. This point of the kite — the Moon — is the place where you can go for information about how to get out of an endless loop of the grand trine. The Sun-Moon opposition is the backbone of the configuration. The Moon forms a harmonious sextile to Pluto, the great transformer, the modern ruler of Scorpio.

We have some portents of feminine progress or change. Juno, the queen of heaven in the last degree of Sagittarius, is in conjuction with Pluto, the lord of the underworld. Juno represents values around marriage and legal relationship, partnership dynamics, commitment and the ways we keep score in relationships. The Juno-Pluto conjunction gives a notion as if marriage itself would be in transformation. Our partners may be going through irreversible changes.

The Roman goddess Juno was queen of the gods and the loyal wife of Jupiter. Juno protected the finances of the Roman Empire as Juno Moneta. Lucina was an epithet for Juno as “she who brings children into the light”. Juno, in the form of the Greek Hera, is also present in the myth of Eris and the Apple of Discord.

Eris was the goddess of discord, who indirectly caused the Trojan War; one of the greatest wars in Greek mythology. Because of her troublemaking tendencies, she had not been invited at a big wedding party to which all the other gods and goddesses, including Hera, Athena and Aphrodite attended. In her anger, Eris tossed into the party the Apple of Discord, a golden apple addressed “To the Fairest One”, provoking thus a quarrel about the appropriate recipient. Eris’ act and the pride of the other goddesses resulted in the Trojan War.

The dwarf planet Eris in Aries is squared by Mars in Cancer and Jupiter in Capricorn. Mars, the ancient ruler of Scorpio, is in applying opposition with Jupiter. The opposition will be exact on April 24. These planets form a T-square in cardinal signs. The challenge of the T-square is the missing leg of the cross in Libra. Seek for the balance from diplomacy, compromising and other Libran traits.

Interestingly, two other rivals of Juno aspiring the golden apple in the myth: Venus (the goddess of love) and Pallas Athene (the goddess of protection), are approaching in conjunction with Eris (the goddess of strife).

Chiron in Aquarius is applying a sextile to Eris. By the second Scorpio Full Moon in May this aspect has become very accurate. The most important keyword for Chiron is awareness. Chiron presents opportunities to become curious, conscious and aware. Chiron is dedicated to healing and service. We can use the Scorpionic power of this Full Moon to heal our relationships with others.

by Eric Francis

Today’s Full Moon forms an exact square to Pluto, which arrived in Capricorn in late January. Till now it has managed to stay out of the spotlight; it is now very much in the glow. Today the Moon opposes the Sun (also called the Full Moon), and both the Sun and Moon are square Pluto. All three points meet one another at opposing or right angles. In addition Mars in Cancer is still opposite Pluto, so the Sun and Moon will square Mars as well. This is dramatic, and it can be shocking. Full Moons tend to precipitate events; square aspects tend to do the same thing. There is nothing like a Full Moon to set off a knock effect and make the positions of other planets reveal their full strength and implicit themes, and this is what we are seeing.

Sign changes of Pluto always throw society into a new gear, and since we’re all on the bus, we all come along. However, exceedingly few people feel like their lives are part of something larger. We tend to take everything directly, personally, and forget that there is a greater scheme out there; that personal and global events are inseparably joined.

Pluto does not change signs often: in the current era, it occurs about every 12 to 15 years. When Pluto makes a move, we typically find ourselves in one of those “everything is changing at once” moments. This is what’s happening right now. But this is having some very specific expressions, all of them relating to Pluto and Capricorn joining forces — the rearrangement of structure.

The setup involves something called the Aries Point. Simply, this is the first degree of Aries — where the Sun arrived Thursday as it entered Aries. This first degree of Aries is always active. Any time a planet arrives in that degree, or makes a square or opposition to that degree, we can notice the effect. After watching the point for years, I gave it the key phrase “the personal is political.” (This phrase was coined in the Sixties by the radical feminist group Red Stockings; I have adapted it to astrology.)

When astrologers say that a planet or event is “on the Aries Point,” they typically mean that it’s in the first few degrees of Aries, Cancer, Libra or Capricorn — one of the four cardinal signs or cardinal points, also called the four directions. And because Pluto is sitting right in the beginning of Capricorn, it qualifies, and in reality so does Mars in early Cancer. The combined effect of Sun + Moon + Pluto + Mars + Aries Point is what we are witnessing now. Other factors that have been lurking in the background are making themselves known as well.

Pluto is the tiny anti-planet that so many people love to hate. Despite the recent discovery and naming of Eris, Pluto remains the final arbiter in the current scheme of the cosmic psyche, the bottom line relating to sex, death, money and power. When we break through this rather congested, tumultuous dimension of reality, we can can come out somewhere known as The Self.

Eris points us to how confused we are about that little detail. She is the patron saint of the postmodern identity crisis; when we feel clueless about our sense of self, sense of mission or inner orientation, this is Eris speaking. When we take advantage of this chaos and turn it to the fertile void, this is a journey we can allow Eris to guide us through.

Eris liberates us into a sense of life. The problem is, we choose death again and again; that is, we choose the dark side of Pluto.

Pluto is the cleanup man, or maybe the wrecking ball; he has the solution, or maybe the dissolution; he represents the inevitable; he has the power to drop the World Trade Center like a couple of marionettes (that was a particularly potent Pluto + Aries Point event).

Capricorn is the sign that represents the structure of society; it represents history and tradition and old institutions; it represents our relationship to the material world. Pluto entering this sign is promising deep, sweeping changes to the fragile material world that we have known for most of our lives, a world we have long wondered whether it could continue for much more time

During the Pluto in Sagittarius era, we witnessed nearly nonstop expansion, globalism and a prevailing philosophy of optimism, despite another prevailing philosophy of terrorism. (Sagittarius is the sign of “isms.”) Now that Pluto is in Capricorn, we are seeing contraction, pessimism, restructuring and a serious wake-up call to the more grounded realities of an earth sign.

By Kirsti Melto and Eric Francis

Full Moon in Virgo — February 21, 2008, 03:31 UT

ALL ECLIPSES give us a chance to enter into a new territory. A potent total lunar eclipse on Feb. 20 (in the States) 21 (in the UK and Europe) occurs in the second degree of Virgo. It takes place in a region called the Sphinx Point on the Leo-Virgo cusp, one of the most fertile places of the zodiac. It is a place where passion meets mind.

The Moon here adds extra feminine energy into the blend, though the Sun plays an important counterpoint, balancing out the lunar energy. The part-imaginary, part-real zones where two astrological signs meet are always interesting because the transition between two different energies releases a lot of potential for originality. Leo to Virgo is helpful because it emphasizes the discipline necessary to sustain creativity.

Virgo is one of the signs associated with Chiron, and Chiron heals through raising awareness. In the eclipse chart Chiron at 17+ degrees Aquarius makes precise aspects to several planets: a semisextile (30-degree meeting, or one sigh away) Uranus in Pisces, burning with curiosity; it makes a square to the nurturing Ceres in Taurus, challenging us to meet our body’s needs; and a quincunx to Varuna, the great equalizer, in Cancer.

Planets are still grouped in Aquarius, one of the signs of technology. Besides Chiron there are Mercury (now direct), Nessus, Neptune and the North Node. Venus entered Aquarius on Feb. 17 putting the emphasis on companionship and independence in relationships.

The eclipse chart’s Sun is still in a wide conjunction with imaginative Neptune in Aquarius, the ruler of Pisces. The Sun is exactly conjunct sparkling Vesta, the brightest of asteroids. Retrograding Saturn in Virgo in opposition to these planets and conjunct the Full Moon gives the necessary grounding.

The Moon is conjunct Saturn and both are trine Pluto in early Capricorn. This is a gentle invitation to deal with reality.

Pluto is square Bienor at the Aries Point, an aspect which will be in place for a long time because both Pluto and Bienor move so slowly. Bienor carries the idea of whether we put our strength to work for us, or against us.

Mars in Gemini, which recently stationed direct, is very close to its last opposition to the Galactic Core for this cycle. Here, the energy of the warrior and of desire is trying to decide what it wants. Gemini often represents a decision; the Galactic Core, looking back at Mars, is a question of how we conceive of desire as part of a self-image. We tend to think of it as “unspiritual,” without recognizing that without the engine of desire deep in the human psyche, little would happen on our planet.

Soon, Mars opposes Pluto in Capricorn for the third time. This represents the long working out of some kind of confrontation. Situations that seem highly polarized now will seem less so after these two important oppositions — Moon to Sun and Mars to Pluto — work themselves out.

Mars in late Gemini is square Pallas in Pisces, the asteroid of mind. Pallas is the archetype of strategy, law, wisdom and protection. So this is a question of whether what we want goes along with out strategy for how to get it. For sure, the question will arise.

Asteroid Atlantis, one of the minor planets representing technology, is retrograde in the late degrees of Libra, hovering over the cusp of Scorpio — the sign ruled by Pluto and Mars. Atlantis carries a theme of “whether we are all doomed” or something imminent that may be in our imagination, or lurking in our DNA from ancient history. Still, it often seems that our current world leaders bear some resemblance to the Atlantians who did not know better than to ease off on their greed and do something productive with all the technological power they had in their hands.

We till have a chance to learn. We might ask — do we use our technology for beauty? Or do we merely use it for power and profit? Beauty seems the way to go, and the cosmos will surely be offering something unusual, passionate and aesthetically beautiful in the form of tonight’s total eclipse of the Moon.

By Kirsti Melto and Eric Francis

THE MOON AND SUN will soon oppose each other in the early degrees of Leo and Aquarius, respectively. This is the Full Moon. It always happens with the two lights, or luminaries, in opposing signs, activating a full polarity. Leo and Aquarius deal with self-consciousness and group-consciousness. The Moon in Leo can have a dramatizing feeling in it.

This is the last Full Moon before Pluto ingresses Capricorn, the sign that represents corporations, government and the structure of society. It is also the last Full Moon before a series of eclipses. Pluto then aligns with the position of the winter solstice Sun, which brings in something called the Aries Point. In other words, we are about to experience a Full Moon on the brink of both eclipses and Aries Point events, and the total result may be dramatic or precipitous.

In the Full Moon chart, Pluto is in the challenging last degree of Sagittarius (the last degree of any sign is transitional, and humans tend to have difficulty adapting to change). But this degree has an interesting Sabian symbol, apropos of Sagittarius: The Pope blessing the faithful. It’s as if we made it this far on this seemingly endless Sagittarian journey, we get to experience some reward or blessing for our sustained faith and conscious effort.

Venus, meanwhile, is conjunct the Galactic Core — take it as you will, the planet of love, abundance and eroticism conjunct the Source at the core of our galaxy. It forms an exact conjunction to Pluto close to the eve of Pluto’s transit into Capricorn.

So this chart contains the energy of that combined transit — Venus plus Pluto plus the Galactic Core. The three are square the Aries Point (the potent first degree of Aries). This suggests some kind of cultural struggle where love, lust, sex and our notion of spirituality (the conjunction) challenge that of the prevailing culture (the Aries Point).

Remember that Pluto is a binary planet. Its binary nature reminds us that there are two sides to the story. One of the earliest works on Pluto, called Pluto or Minerva: The Choice is Yours by Isabel M. Hickey (published in 1973) proposed that there are two sides to Pluto. One what we normally think of as the Plutonian aspect of Pluto (intense, dark, shadowy, irresistible), and then the wisdom aspect, which she described as Minerva, or wisdom. “In unevolved souls,” she wrote, “Venus-Pluto contacts are often indicative of those who tie sex and money together.”

However, she adds, “There is a potentiality for universal love when the Minerva aspect is in operation. This is the love principle that is able to transcend ethnic, racial, cultural and social barriers.”

Notably, Mars retrograde is opposing Venus, Pluto and the Galactic Core. The Mars-Pluto opposition can be forceful and needs to be handled carefully. The opposition emphasizes the diametrically opposed viewpoints we think of men and women as having. Given that the “female” side of the equation is conjunct God, Lust and Wisdom, and the “male” side is in Gemini, we need to remember that these two supposedly distinct viewpoints are not as simplistic as they may seem.

Mars conjuncts Centaur planet Cyllarus, who reminds us to be conscious of the choices we are making in our lives — particularly the choice to fight, or walk away from one. Cyllarus says that the decisions we make directly affect our relationships, and we need to be conscious of our choices in this context.

Mercury, which is already in its echo phase preparing for a retrograde, is in exact conjunction with Neptune in Aquarius. This can be an excellent aspect for artistic work, but also be associated with idealizing things or telling lies. Focus your creative on that which calls for it, and ride that Mercury conjunct Neptune to stations retrograde on Jan. 28.

Jupiter in Capricorn is in close trine to Saturn. This suggests that the two biggest planets — one representing structure (Saturn) and the other representing expansion (Jupiter) are working together. With a trine, we get the feeling of a door or energy pathway opening, and the planets can be mutually supportive.

All in all, we are in a doorway with this Full Moon represented by Pluto about to enter Capricorn, and being on the verge of two eclipses. Pay attention and transition gently. You have gained momentum, and now you can let the cosmic movement carry you through the opening.