By Kirsti Melto and Eric Francis

Capricorn solstice — December 22, 2007, 06:08 UT

SOLSTICES ARE TIMES when the Sun in its apparent annual motion along the ecliptic reaches its northern and southern extremes. Astrology at the time of a solstice or equinox (the midpoints between the solstices) are often used as predictive tools by astrologers.

The Sun reaches its most southern point around Dec. 22 each year. This is when the Sun “stands still” at the first degree of Capricorn, hence the term sol (Sun) stice (still, as in stasis). The Sun is crossing one of the cardinal points (also known as the four directions, which are the first degrees of Aries, Cancer, Libra and Capricorn). The cardinal points are highly sensitive, all directly related to one another. They tend to arrive with the message that the personal is political. Planetary events near these points tend to connect us to the larger events and movements in society around us.

The current solstice chart looks noteworthy, accented by many points collecting around the first degree of Capricorn. There is not just the Sun there, but also Jupiter in the same degree, and Mercury and Pluto very close by, too. Pluto is still near the Galactic Core and the Sun and Mercury passed the point only some days earlier. Jupiter entered Capricorn Wed. night, Dec. 18. Mercury entered Capricorn on Dec. 20, and the exact Sun-Pluto conjunction occurs on Fri., Dec. 21. The quadruple conjunction of these planets suggests that something we will all notice is about to happen, a total rebirth or transformation.

True, this is happening all the time, but some times we notice more than others. The involvement of so many planets in a cardinal sign suggests that some pioneering work is going to arise, something that we all are going to notice; the involvement of Capricorn points to government or a large corporation, and the movement in Pluto into Capricorn talks about a restructuring of some kind in any event. When Chiron reached this point in late 2001, we saw massive corporate restructuring and many scandals were revealed.

Sun-Mercury-Jupiter conjunction also squares the Centaur planet Bienor, “the Strong One,” currently in the late degrees of Pisces. Bienor will be arriving in Aries soon enough and will be in a square aspect to Pluto through 2008.

Retrograding Mars in Cancer is also in the aspect structure. It will soon make exact oppositions to Mercury and Jupiter, and then the Sun and finally Pluto. Mars is acting both as a counter-balance in this equation and as a kind of protagonist. But Mars is retrograde in a receptive, emotional sign: it’s not likely making its presence known unless provoked, which would not be that difficult.

The Moon in early Gemini squares Saturn, which stationed retrograde in Virgo on Dec. 19. The Moon opposes asteroid Juno, the queen of the gods who was known for her jealousy, and the Centaur planet Hylonome, which has associations with grief, healing of unnecessary grief, and mass appeal.

Mercury, the planet of all communication, forms a very close novile (40 degrees, division of the circle by 9) to Chiron, who in mythology was a great teacher. The novile series of aspects are related to trines and sextiles, and they are said to be related to the Nine Muses, who offer their inspiration in the arts and sciences.

Venus in Scorpio squares Neptune and opposes Sedna, the goddess of the frozen waters. In this T-square we have two watery planets, Neptune and Sedna, and two goddesses of abundance, Venus and Sedna, aspecting each other. Venus is reminding us to keep our hearts open and to be compassionate, and in Scorpio on any theme associated with Venus: love, eroticism, or materialism. Square Neptune, we have the potential for unrealistic feelings and wishy-washy values slipping in. Those would be the presence of values we don’t really hold, or some form of self-deception.

The theme of universal love is repeated in the conjunction of asteroid Amor and Uranus in Pisces. The North Node of the Moon has recently entered Aquarius, the sign of universal brotherhood. Venus is also trining Varuna, “the great equalizer,” another water god.

In one of the cardinal points in the early degrees of Libra we have asteroid Photographica, which deals with all things photographic and photogenic, often manifesting in a literal way.

In Aries asteroid Hephaistos is in tight conjunction with Eris and 1992 QB1. In Greek mythology Hephaistos was the god of technology, blacksmiths, craftsmen, artisans, sculptors, metals and metallurgy, and fire. His Roman equivalent was Vulcan, husband of Venus.

What exactly this chart is heralding remains to be seen.

Full Moon in Cancer — December 24, 2007, 01:16 UT

The Full Moon in Cancer occurs in the early hours of Christmas Eve. Now also the Moon is occupying one of the cardinal points. The chart is having a strong Aries Point flavor.

The Moon has entered Cancer a couple of hours before midnight (UT) and is conjunct Mars. Not much else has changed in the two days since the solstice. In Virgo two binary Kuiper belt objects have stationed retrograde meanwhile, Typhon and Logos.

By Kirsti Melto and Eric Francis

THIS FULL MOON looks quite spectacular! The Full Moon at 1+ degrees Gemini falls in exact conjunction with Comet 17P/Holmes, which has been regularly in the news and the skies since the late October. This is the famous comet that has blown up bigger than the Sun.

A comet is a small icy object with a coma and tail, orbiting the Sun in an elliptical orbit. The coma is generally made of ice and dust and it is formed when the comet passes close to the Sun and the comet warms. Both the comet and tail are illuminated by the sunlight when the comet travels through the inner solar system.

Comets are usually categorized as long-period and short-period. Astronomers believe that the Oort cloud — a reservoir of material and debris at the edge of our solar system — is the source of all long-period comets. Short-period comets are believed to originate from the Kuiper Belt, which is a region of space closer than the Oort Cloud. (Pluto, for example, is a Kuiper object.) They are also called Jupiter Family comets, because their orbits are controlled by the gravity of Jupiter.

Comet Holmes is a short period comet orbiting between Mars and Jupiter with an orbital period of 6.9 years. It was discovered in November 1892 by Edwin Holmes in London. It was closest to the Sun during last May and is now already quite far, moving away from the Sun. Comet Holmes is a peculiar one. It was first so faint that it couldn’t be seen without a telescope. Then suddenly around Oct. 23-24 it dramatically brightened and became visible to the naked eye. The change of brightness was in a scale about a half million times, and is the largest known outburst by a comet. At the time of its discovery in 1892 comet Holmes very likely was undergoing the same kind of outburst. Astronomers are puzzled why the comet suddenly brightened now that it’s already on its way back to cold space.

Comet Holmes looks very different than any other comet we have seen. It doesn’t seem to have a visible tail and it looks like a big fuzzy ball. At the moment the coma has dispersed to an area larger than the Sun thus making the comet the largest object in the solar system! And it continues to expand.

In astrology, comets tend to have had a bad reputation, likely associated with one factor: they are unpredictable. The logic goes, if it’s not in the ephemeris, it’s not a good thing. Or, the old-styled reasoning goes, if it comes from the region outside the safe boundary of Saturn, we cannot really trust it. Saturn is the ‘safe boundary’ that protects us from the wild and woolly cosmos…the wall around the city which must be locked at night and where, outside, live the wild things, the barbarians and the Centaurs.

They seem to be portents of change, which sometimes means progress and sometimes not — usually it is up to those who take the opportunity of change to seek their fortunes. Western astrology has not made a science of comet divination, though Chinese astrology has. The first comet to be taken seriously by Western astrology has been Chiron, which is categorized as a Centaur planet and as a proto-comet. For a comet nucleus, it is extremely large, about 160 to 180 km — but despite its size, it’s definitely a comet.

Restless, curious and talkative, the Moon in Gemini welcomes the change that is awaiting. Mercury, the ruler of Gemini is a planet of mind and it is squaring Neptune tightly and trining Uranus, another planet associated with intellectual and creative advances. Uranus is also associated with change and awakenings. An aspect between Mercury and Uranus can indicate intellectual brilliance.

Mercury has been out of the echo phase about a week now and Uranus stations direct only some hours before this Full Moon, giving a super boost for flashes of insight and mental creativity. The square between Mercury and Neptune could indicate that someone is telling lies, but fortunately Mercury is also making a trine to Varuna, a trans-Neptunian minor planet which is named after a Vedic sky god watching every movement of men, and punishing liars and those who violate contracts. This is a good sign that the truth is not only welcome, it is necessary. But it is also a reminder that it’s easier to honor agreements or negotiate new ones, than it is to violate them.

The Sun in Sagittarius is conjunct the Centaur planet Hylonome, which is associated with the healing of senseless grief. Hylonome works on an individual level and also on a collective one, as “the cry of the people.” She is saying that we need to listen to one another. Venus in Libra trines Neptune (nice for the imagination) and squares Vesta (pointing to where conventional ideas about femininity have a tense relationship to more liberated ones). The Moon, when full, forms a novile aspect to now retrograding Mars in Cancer (a novile is one-ninth of the full zodiac, or a 40-degree connection). The Moon is also parallel with Mars, enhancing this aspect.

The Sun and Moon, in opposition, are closely squaring the lunar nodes. This may have the echo of an eclipse, because Sun + Moon + nodes = an eclipse — when the Sun is conjunct one of the nodes. Now the Sun is square the nodes and we have a Full Moon, so it’s like we get a taste of the energy: a point of no return, a threshold, a push forward, a break in continuity.

There are planets involved. On the North Node we have a protective image of Pallas Athene, goddess of wisdom and strategy. The second-discovered asteroid (technically called 2 Pallas), she is the planet of the mind, having been born out of the head of Zeus in full armor. Pallas was the protector of the city of Athens, whose government leaders were apparently every bit as foppish as our own, but she did her best. She has excellent negotiating skills and in a natal chart (somewhat astonishingly) frequently represents constructive involvement with government or politics; and the ability to be a leader in one’s community.

She was born in full armor from the forehead of her father, Zeus. Astrologically, Pallas is a symbol of protection, strategy and wisdom, and she represents political and negotiating skills. However, not being created by sexual reproduction, she has a cool touch, having given up a major aspect of her femininity.

There is one more implication of the mental emphasis of this chart. Jupiter is still in square aspect to Logos, a binary trans-Neptunian planet. A “binary” is a pair of planets that are similar in mass and orbit one another around a point that resides outside of either of the two bodies. The point is called a barycenter. In English, the word logos is the root of ‘log’ (as in record) and of ‘logic’. Heraclitus (ca. 535 – 475 BCE) established the term ‘logos’ in Western philosophy. His main doctrine was the unity of opposites. He thought that all things are composed of opposites, and because the opposites are at strife with one another, all things are in constant change. The change is governed by logos, a principle of order.

Jupiter is approaching a conjunction to Pluto and the Galactic Core. The exact conjunction — a major event of the decade — takes place in December.

The conjunction of Eris and 1992 QB1, which has been mentioned several times previously in this blog, is exact to the minute on this Full Moon. These are two very slow-moving bodies and their conjunction is extremely rare, occurring perhaps once per millennium. This is the second of three exact passes for this cycle, the other two being April 24, 2007 and Jan. 29, 2008.

Another aspect involving one of the binary TNOs mentioned here before is Uranus opposite Typhon, the first binary Centaur. Strictly speaking, Typhon is not a Centaur-class body, but some astronomers use a broader definition of Centaur that also includes planets with Typhon-type orbits. In mythology Typhon was said to be the cause of volcanic eruptions and the father of hot storm winds. According to Philip Sedgwick his positive traits astrologically are “balance of parts and wholes, sense of details and big picture, ability to reduce overwhelming tasks into manageable steps.”

Good advice as usual from Mr. Sedgwick — particularly with all this mental activity afoot, and a big comet showing up for a visit.

By Kirsti Melto and Eric Francis

THE FULL MOON at two-plus degrees Taurus invites us to search for our inner child and boldly to express our creativity, even if it seems a little risky. The Full Moon happens right near the Chiron discovery degree, which was three-plus degrees Taurus. This gives us awareness in the midst of the current contradictory celestial influences.

Last time we were talking about ancient dignities and the different kind of rulerships in astrology. For example, if you’re a Libra, your planet, Venus, is said to be the ruler of your sign. But if you’re a Pisces, your sign is also associated with Venus because Venus is exalted in Pisces. Exalted is like being a visiting king in a friendly nation; you are treated with dignity. The Moon is exalted in Taurus.

The Moon in Taurus has the focus on security, material well-being and values. In negative aspect this can lead to greediness and being perpetually stuck or stubborn. The Sabian Symbol for two-plus degrees Taurus is “Steps up to a lawn blooming with clover.” The keyword is “hopefulness”. The symbol is offering spiritual abundance, as the three-leaf of clover can be seen representing the Holy Trinity, or the Triple Goddess.

The Sun is in the depth sign Scorpio, conjunct Mercury, which is busy retrograding in Libra. The exact conjunction occurred on Oct. 23 in the first degree of Scorpio and Mercury retrograded back to Libra on Oct. 24. When a planet is retrograde the energy is turned inward, but the Sun in Scorpio helps the creative ideas provided by Mercury to penetrate the surface (depicted by the sting in the glyph of Scorpio).

Mercury is tightly sextile Pluto, the ruler of Scorpio. Pluto is approaching his third and last conjunction with the Galactic Core, before ingressing to Capricorn for the first time in January 2008. Pluto is right at the Galactic Core aligning with the window to the Source on Oct. 28. At the bright core of our galaxy there is a supermassive black hole and a lot of dark matter. This is a metaphor for subconscious, from which creative impulses arise. The effect is intense. We may perceive it as something which is coming from outside us but which really is within us.

Both Scorpio and Taurus are fixed signs and they represent stability and are prone to resist change. Holding things the way they are isn’t always the best procedure though. Make conscious choices keeping in mind what you want to create. Venus is the ruler of Taurus (where the Moon is now) and Libra (where Mercury is now). The stability of Taurus and Scorpio is challenged by the opposition between Venus and the rebellious Uranus. Asteroid Icarus is exactly conjunct Jupiter in Sagittarius. This conjunction is in the middle of the opposition squaring Venus and Uranus, and square is a dynamic aspect of something happens. According to Sue Tompkins, squares describe where we meet the world and make an impact upon it and where the outer world makes an impact upon us. This T-square pattern asks us to be brave and let our imagination fly.

Asteroid Hephaistos is in exact conjunction with the Moon. In Greek mythology Hephaistos was the god of technology, blacksmiths, craftsmen, artisans, sculptors, metals and metallurgy, and fire. His Roman equivalent was Vulcan, husband of Venus. Alice A. Bailey, in her 1951 book Esoteric Astrology, described Taurus as the foundry of the soul, the hot furnaces and anvils of which are not ruled by Venus, but rather by her consort Vulcan, the divine blacksmith. And it is in Vulcan’s shop that the whole process of greed and desire that has led to the mess that humanity is in, she says, becomes reversed, and where the life of the soul takes form and consciousness.

Asteroid Child in Aquarius Squares the Sun and the Moon

The Full Moon chart is colored with septile aspects. A septile is an aspect which you get when you divide the circle by seven (= 51 degrees 26 minutes). The seven series also includes the bi-septile (the multiple of the septile by two) and the triseptile (the multiple of the septile by three). The suggested orbs are very tight, only one-to-two degrees maximum for the septile and a half degree for the multiples.

In the Full Moon chart Neptune septiles Pluto. This is one of the septiles in a long series of them forming between Neptune and Pluto between the years 2002 and 2012. The Sun forms a biseptile to Varuna, which is the most elevated planet in the chart cast for The Hague, Netherlands, and also the apex planet of a Yod formed by Jupiter, Neptune and Varuna. Venus triseptiles Neptune. There are two chains of accurate septiles which almost run around the chart. The first chain is formed by Saturn, Mercury, Jupiter/Icarus and Chiron. The second chain is formed by Quaoar, Nessus, Bienor, Sedna/Ceres and Mars.

Septiles are mostly described as creative and inspirational aspects and having to do with sacred matters. The study of Kollerstrom and O’Neill shows that septiles are relevant to the process of scientific inspiration and prominent in the moments of a breakthrough of the scientific discoveries that have changed the course of history.

But septiles also have their darker side. They can have a disruptive nature and feel threatening. The septile aspect is said to represent the concept of the shadow. The shadow arises from the depths of the unconscious. It is dark material bursting into light. According to Carl Jung, the shadow is instinctive and irrational, but is not necessarily evil even when it might appear to be so. Its effects can be positive as well as negative. The shadow may operate as our greatest source of strength, the place where important growth can take place, unless we try to push the dark issues away. The shadow may also be a great source of inspiration and creativeness. As astrologer Steven Forrest has put it, “In a nutshell, the Shadow embraces everything that gets you hot.”

By Eric Francis and Kirsti Melto

EQUINOXES and solstices begin the seasons and take us to a new phase of our lives. They are the times when the Sun turns a corner and makes a 90-degree angle to either the equator or one of the tropics (Tropic of Cancer or Tropic of Capricorn). In the case of an equinox, the Sun’s rays are at 90 degrees to the equator, and the length of night and day is equal everywhere on Earth. The word equinox means “equal night.”

When the Sun enters Libra, it is crossing one of the Cardinal Points (which are the first degrees of Aries, Cancer, Libra and Capricorn). The cardinal points are highly sensitive points, bringing the message “personal is politicalâ€? with events that tend to connect us to the larger events and movements in society around us. They are also natural turning point sin our lives. In the Northern tradition the cardinal points are represented by guardian dwarves called Nordri, Ostri, Sudri and Vestri, who held up the four “corners” of the cosmos.

Libra in particular is a point of rebalancing. Its image is of the scales of justice; its tarot card is Justice or Adjustment. Libra reminds us that one of the highest personal virtues we can attain, or at least strive for consciously, is fairness. A little fairness goes a long way. As with any cardinal sign, Libra is one that needs to take initiative. Aries is a potent sign of getting things going, but it tends to lack confidence. Half of the astrological cycle has passed by now, and Libra is the place where we find our confidence and the ability to make decisions.

The ascendant of the Libra equinox chart above, cast for The Hague, Netherlands (per Planet Waves tradition of casting global charts for that city), is in Scorpio, a sign ruled by Mars and Pluto. Mars and Pluto happen to be in an aspect at the time of the equinox — an opposition, which happens for a few days once every two years. Here, we have the two aspects of Scorpio — desire and the evolutionary impulse — facing off. We tend to think of them as being different. We tend to think of desire as being the thing that rules our lives, or that is the root of all suffering; of evolution as good and desire as something we need to get under control. Could it be that these two aspects of Scorpio contain one another? We can give desire the job of leading us to freedom as well as to anything else.

The Sun is squaring Pluto in this chart (it was exact earlier in the week, so this is called a separating square), which for its part is conjunct the Galactic Core. The Sun, Mars and Pluto form a T square. What is interesting and not revealed in conventional charts is that currently, on the Gemini side of this aspect, Mars is conjunct a centaur (Chiron-like planet) called Cyllarus. This has a panicky feeling, as if that sharp arrow depicted by Mars could come flying at random out of anywhere.

But this is taking place in Gemini. There is another side to the story that we might be missing entirely: “fate,” as we call it, does not always strike us down; just as often it lifts us up or redirects our path. It’s just that we tend to miss this second kind of cosmic move and get more caught up in the first. The arrow of Mars could be that of desire, it could be that of being chosen for a purpose, and it could be a sign that it’s time for a significant transformation of your life.

If you “trans-form,” make sure you remember to “trans-substance” too: form is not enough. A change in form needs to reveal something on the inside, something that may have been hidden by the old form. That something is the content of who you are, your ideas, your feelings, your sense of reality. Most of us walk around with a split personality; we are one person to the world, and someone else to ourselves.

The Moon in Aquarius makes a sesqisquare (135-degree) aspect to the Sun, and a semisquare to the Aries Point — both of which could be considered trigger aspects. The Aquarius Moon is genuinely friendly but prone to spending too much time in its own head. The humanitarian ideals of this Moon need to be expressed tangibly and in ways that are both idealistic and able to be documented.

The Moon is in conjunction with Neptune and Chiron, standing nearly exactly between the two. The Moon, positioned like that, suggests we are trying to decide whether we want to wake up or go back to sleep. The ongoing development of the Neptune-Chiron conjunction in Aquarius represents a slow coming to terms with the fog that has enveloped the Western world: the fog of war, of technology, of mood-altering drugs, of the distorted collective values we hold. Chiron acts like a focusing lens when put into aspect with Neptune, and though this conjunction will not be exact until Feb. 17, 2010, we are seeing the beginnings of it now.

The Moon closely sextiles Jupiter. This is what I would call a healthy relationship to luck, to potential, and to the need to expand. The sextile says, expand incrementally rather than wildly. Use leverage rather than effort.

The Sun in Libra and Venus in Leo are in mutual reception. (Note, there is an old rule that says that they can’t be in mutual reception unless they are in an exact aspect, which they are not, but we still take this as a mutual reception, in spirit if not in form.) When two planets are occupying one another’s signs, the planets in question can in a way switch places or roles; they are bound with a kind of shared role or obligation. Venus opposes Neptune tightly. In any situation where love seems fogged over by idealism or an unrealistic perspective, there is a second perspective offered, and that begins with focusing on oneself and then oneself in relation to others.

Venus opposite Neptune, for its part, calls for either surrendering to what may seem like an improbable possibility, or striving for clarity and awareness at every turn of events. The two do not have to contradict. Of note, Sedna is forming a T square to Venus and Neptune, suggesting that we remember to keep our hearts open even when we are in love.

Jupiter in Sagittarius is closely conjunct the Great Attractor, a point in the sky that brings out polarities, heightens awareness and gets us to look at our real opinions. Both Jupiter and the Great Attractor tend to have a magnifying effect on things they touch. Note that in Sagittarius we are also in the warm-up of several major events, including Jupiter square Uranus and Jupiter conjunct Pluto. Jupiter contacting outer planets can bring great leaps forward in wisdom and technology, though these days you would have to open your eyes to see it.

This is a strong chart and there is one more factor emphasizing the strength of it. The Sun opposes the Centaur planet Bienor at the Aries Point. Bienor completes the T square formed by the Sun, Mars and Pluto as a Grand Cross. Bienor is a small Uranus-crosser discovered in 2000. There is not much told about Centaur Bienor in mythology. The name Bienor means “Strong One” and from Ovid’s Metamorphoses we also know that Bienor was tall. Bienor attended the Lapith king Pirithous’ wedding with other Centaurs. Centaurs and the Lapiths started to fight and Ovid describes how Pirithous’ friend Theseus leaps upon the back of Bienor, and how Bienor gets killed by Theseus.

The death of a Centaur symbolizes transformation and healing and offers us a possibility to move to another level of awareness. In this case, we have a fitting metaphor for the idea of transforming that human quality known as strength. In short, do we put our strength to work for us, or against us? Always a good question to ask.

Mercury Retrograde Warm-up

Mercury’s pre-retrograde echo phase begins on Sept. 21 at 23+ degrees Libra. Mercury makes its retrograde station on Oct. 12 at 9+ degrees Scorpio and starts going backwards until it reaches 23+ degrees Libra again on Nov. 1, then stations direct.

This retrograde takes us from a water sign to an air sign. Mercury is not often retrograde in water signs, though it has been recently. Most people I’ve heard from have found them to be particularly challenging, but I think many of the challenges involve learning to be clear about what we feel, and connecting that clarity to words. In truth, how often do you say what you feel? And how much trouble and disappointment does it cause you that you don’t? Mercury in Libra sextiles Pluto and trines Mars. This says that you can speak and you won’t drop dead or cause the economy to collapse if you do.

Under a Mercury echo or retrograde, make your commitments consciously and carefully. Be mindful of who you are and how you bring yourself into your interactions. Ask questions, but listen to the questions that other people ask — this will often give you more information than interviewing someone.

Aries Full Moon

Full Moon in Aries – Sept. 26, 2007, 19:45 UT

The Libra equinox is followed within a couple of days’ time by a Full Moon in Aries. The Moon at 3+ degrees Aries is conjunct the Aries Point and the Centaur planet Bienor. The outer planets are pretty much occupying the same placements as they were at the time of the equinox. The Grand Cross formed by the Sun, Mars, Bienor and Pluto is still valid. The Moon makes an exact trine to the Centaur planet Pholus at 3+ degrees Sagittarius. Mercury sextiles Pluto and Venus trines Eris, the exact aspects taking place during the two days between the equinox and the Full Moon.

In the Full Moon chart, Mercury and Mars have both proceeded into the demanding last degree of a sign. Mercury is in Libra about to enter Scorpio, which takes place on the day following the Full Moon. Mars enters Cancer on Sept. 28, only a couple of minutes before the midnight UT.

This could bring big news, as activity in the cardinal signs often offers, though the revelation is that the most important strength we can possess is emotional strength.

By Eric Francis and Kirsti Melto

Full Moon in Pisces — Tuesday, Aug. 28, 2007, 10:35 UT

THE AUGUST FULL MOON is a total lunar eclipse on the North Node and falls at 4+ degrees of the sensitive water sign Pisces — the last sign of the zodiac. This will be followed on Sep. 11 by a partial eclipse of the Sun in Virgo. There remains one more eclipse along the Virgo/Pisces axis — a total lunar eclipse on Feb. 20, very close in degrees to Monday’s. From this point on, the eclipses move to the Leo/Aquarius axis for about the next 18 months.

One dominant theme of this eclipse is about family relationships: the model we inherit from our parents, and which goes back about three generations. This is a theme of the minor planet Pholus (a centaur planet, much like Chiron), which is prominent in this chart.

Pholus speaks of an emotional release; a release from those models, and into a new reality — sometimes with breathtaking speed. It is the Centaur or rapid transformations. Its keynote is, “Small cause, big effect.” Other planets and asteroids only emphasize the same theme. But the D-words associated with Neptune — denial and drugs — come in as strong themes as well. The chart cautions us not to take the wrong path, as there are two major options and a branching of the road indicated. You could say that one branch goes toward the past, and the other goes toward a future that is different from the past.

Whether visible in your area or not, eclipses are usually experienced as high-intensity events that seem to draw us through a vortex.

They come with a surge of energy that we can either ride like a sailboat in a good wind, or get shocked by, sometimes both. The key to eclipses is to work with a high level of awareness, pay attention and make your choices as consciously as possible. In the season of eclipses, get ready to shift gears, to go to a new level or to have some other kind of break in continuity. Time seems to accelerate; events arrive with more significance; the impact of our choices is magnified.

If you take conscious steps, you will be directed more closely onto your true life path. Notably, this eclipse falls with a few days of a sign-change by Saturn (about to enter Virgo on Sept. 2). So there is a great deal of emphasis on the Virgo/Pisces axis at the moment.

Pisces is traditionally considered the realm of dreams and fantasies, but more holistically, it is the realm of the imagination. Pisces at its best knows no limits. Everyone has Pisces in their chart, as well as its associated planets, Jupiter and Neptune, so everyone is affected by this eclipse somewhere, somehow. It is also true that eclipses are among the most collective of astrological events — they affect people in large groups, and also reach us profoundly on an individual level.

The Moon disappearing for a few moments in this sign is like a veil being pulled back, or a doorway opening, that leads to another realm of possibilities. Too often, we look around us and we see the past. We expect people to act like they acted in the past, and we expect them, moreover, to fill the roles established by our family of origin. This eclipse reminds us that something else is possible.

The Realm of Imagination

Because it is associated with the imagination, it is also the sign associated with deception, denial and altered-state experiences of any kind. Many things hinge on the Pisces factor, particularly on how vigilant we are about this odd human psychological thing called denial — pretending that something is not so or does not exist.

A crucial Pisces factor is also about the influence of drink and drugs in families, and how this impacted the ability of you and the people around you to tell the truth about how you feel, or to have that truth be heard.

This eclipse could be a moment of total transparency, when you see through the veils of the world, discover the truth about yourself or someone else, and open a portal to much greater possibilities than you ever thought possible. The only way to do that is to live your truth boldly, and to step away from the things you were told about yourself when you were younger that are not true.

Pisces, symbolized by a fish, is the symbol of the Age of Pisces, that is, the 2000-year historic era that is in theory associated with Jesus and his teachings; one symbol of Christianity is the fish, and at its best, Christianity is the religion of unconditional love, arriving with the Piscean theme, “We are all one.”

Pisces is often depicted with two fish swimming in opposite directions, attached to one another. The zodiac ends with an image that polar opposites are inseparable. Like many signs, it is dualistic in nature, but in this form the dualism suggests the inseparable nature of seeming opposites.

Yet an eclipse in Pisces, particularly in aspect to Pholus, is the release from something, and into something else; it is a transition within the sphere of what we think is possible, and what we will admit is possible — one of the key factors that either limits humans, or sets them free from their limits.

Mutable Grand Cross

The Sun-Moon opposition (which always occurs at a Full Moon or lunar eclipse) forms a mutable Grand Cross with the centaur planet Pholus at 3+ degrees Sagittarius and the main belt asteroid Dionysus at 5+ degrees Gemini. Both of these small worlds possess similar themes, of emotional or psychic release, altered states or rapid transformation. Both Dionysus and Pholus are (astrologically) cousins of Neptune, though they also have an energetic intensity that is similar to Pluto and Chiron.

According to Greek mythology, the centaur (half man, half horse) Pholus had in his possession a jar of wine, which was a gift from Dionysus and common property of all the Centaurs. Pholus had kept the wine safe for three generations. Then Heracles, the great hero, visited Pholus one day and asked for some wine. Pholus, who was supposed to guard the wine, yielded to the pressure of this famous warrior in his presence and opened the jar. Other centaurs in the neighborhood became intoxicated with the smell. The result of it was a huge riot and chaos.

Pholus points to multigenerational issues. It tells us what we have taken on from our grandparents and great grandparents, including matters involving addiction and sacrifice.

Pholus has a way of making fast or even instantaneous transitions and healing processes whereas Chiron tends to makes slow ones. It’s as if Pholus says: “Three generations? That’s enough! You figured it out! Now you’re free!”

Free from what? Pholus squares the Sun and Moon of the eclipse, suggesting we can free ourselves of both the Mother and Father complexes — how we drag our parents around inside us for most of our lives.

Pholus recently stationed direct at 3+ degrees Sagittarius on Aug. 15 after a retrogradation period of five months, so it is slow and powerful in the visionary sign Sagittarius.

Dionysus, opposite Pholus in the chart, is the ancient Greek god of wine, fertility and ecstasy. He was depicted as a young and attractive man, wearing a crown made of vine leaves and grapes and holding a staff. He was also known as the Liberator. He traveled from land to land, taught people the art of making wine and spread drunken ecstasy everywhere he went. He was followed by singing, noisy and wild revelers, many of them women. Peak experiences and pushing things past the limits are attributes of Dionysus and in spite of the strong Neptunian association he can be rather associated with Pluto.

Remember that Dionysus is also associated with Pluto, the god of progress and evolution. It was Richard Tarnas who first referenced this association, most recently in his book Cosmos & Psyche. He references the intense ecstatic experiences of the 1960s, when Uranus and Pluto were in a conjunction. If you want a modern image of Dionysus, he said recently, think of Mick Jagger — pushing everything and everyone to the edge.

Jagger and many of his Sixties counterculture leaders were the cause of much dissent in families and helped symbolize the “generation gap” that characterized that era of history so clearly.

Also of Note: Other Asteroids

Asteroid Pandora in Virgo squares Pluto on the Galactic Core. The energy of Pandora resembles that of Pholus: a sudden release; the opening of something (a box, rather than a jar); and the irrevocable changes associated with that opening.

Pluto is sextiled (60 degree aspect, of balance and harmony) by four objects in conjunction in Libra, namely centaur Chariklo, and the asteroids Juno, Bacchus and Hidalgo. This quadruple conjunction partly repeats the same kind of energies that the members of the grand cross pattern in this chart represent. Roman Bacchus is equivalent to Greek Dionysus, with themes connected to Neptune.

Hidalgo is a complex asteroid dealing with themes of rebelling against hypocrisy. Hidalgo speaks to the perplexing hypocrisies presented to us by culture, the ones we have to swallow every day and are often humiliated in so doing. Hidalgo is about our response to absurd social hypocrisies, whether or not we revolt against them, and how we do it. This is a major factor in many families, where the “culture” of the families makes certain behaviors and ideas automatically unacceptable, inviting younger people to rebel against them by one means or another.

Chariklo is a centaur planet discovered in 1997. The orbit of Chariklo crosses that of Uranus, making her a highly charged factor for rebellion, like her mythical husband Chiron. Astrologically she is about compassion and emotional connection.

Juno is the third asteroid ever discovered (1804). In Roman mythology she is the wife of Jupiter and the queen of the gods. She could also throw lightning bolts like Jupiter, and was known for her jealousy (not just of Jupiter and his many love affairs, but in many other instances). Astrologically, Juno represents the institution of marriage, partnership dynamics, fidelity and jealousy.

The theme of Juno, so dominant in so many families, where parents are jealous of one another, and often of their own children, is a meaningful point to meditate on. Does jealousy really serve us? What is its purpose, and what is its origin? Is it worth the fuss, and does it persist in the world because we are so attached to it?

Chariklo and Hidalgo, sharing space in Libra with Juno, offer other perspectives: keep a balanced mind; meet jealousy with compassion; and perhaps consider some innovative way to rebel against this oppressive mental phenomenon by raising awareness if you are in pain. We can do better than we have in the past — and there is another way.

THE FULL MOON is in close conjunction with asteroid Child at 6+ degrees Aquarius. According to Martha Lang-Wescott, asteroid Child relates to “one’s own experience as a child and to attitudes toward and events with children; childish reactions (ranging from innocence to immaturity).”

The Moon and asteroid Child are in conjunction with Nessus and Chiron, two of the earliest discovered centaur planets, Chiron being the first, and Nessus the third. Chiron and Nessus have long been in ongoing conjunction, “the era-defining conjunction,” as Eric Francis has described it.

Eric has written:

The centaurs (Chiron-like bodies, including Pholus, Nessus, Asbolus, Chariklo, and Hylonome) talk about transformation processes, healing processes, as well as psychological tools we use to get through life…Nessus talks about abuse patterns in the family of origin, and how they manifest psychologically in adults.

He has also noted that Nessus is “a planet that addresses abuse legacies. Sexual abuse takes many forms, and one of them is repression. It does not need to be a perpetrated sexual act; it can be of course, but it can be a psychological climate that instills pain, struggle, guilt and any other form of psychic difficulty.”

The Moon is septile cubewano Quaoar. Eric’s delineation:

Quaoar’s placement gives an intimate portrait of the dance of the family’s emotional process and its impact on us. Quaoar speaks to the rhythms and choreography into which we were born, as these manifest within the family pattern going back generations. It points to how we dance to the music of our own creation more or less unconsciously, and suggests that we have a conscious relationship with our personal creation mythology.

The Moon forms a quincunx to Typhon, the first known binary centaur. The primary was discovered in 2002 and the binary companion was discovered in 2006. The original definition of centaurs includes only those objects with semimajor axes between the orbits of Jupiter and Neptune, and Typhon doesn’t fit that criterion. Some astronomers use a broader definition of “centaur” that also includes Typhon. According to astrologer Juan Revilla’s unofficial designation Typhon is a quasi-centaur (their semimajor axis is outside the orbit of Neptune but inside the orbit of Pluto and their perihelion distance is close to Uranus). Typhon in the Full Moon chart is at the South Node of the Moon.

The Sun in Leo is quintile Mars in Taurus and trine Jupiter in Sagittarius.

Mercury and Varuna are in conjunction in Cancer. Mercury forms a semisextile to asteroid Iris (the female counterpart of Mercury) in Leo, a novile to Chaos in Gemini, a sextile to Sedna in Taurus and a sextile to Logos and to asteroid Pandora in Virgo. Mercury is square Juno in Libra and trine Uranus and Pallas in Aquarius.

Venus in Virgo stations retrograde on July 27 and will be retrograding back over the Sphinx Point — the region where the signs of Leo and Virgo meet — and approaching again plutino Orcus at the late degrees of Leo. Venus is currently conjunct Typhon and asteroid Atlantis. Venus sextiles Deucalion and Huya in Scorpio, squares Pholus and Vesta in Sagittarius, biseptiles Sedna in Taurus, trines Asbolus in Taurus, forms a quincunx to Bienor in Aries and opposes Teharonhiawako in Pisces.

Mars is in conjunction with Sedna, semisextile to Cyllarus in Gemini, septile to Bienor in Aries and square Saturn and Orcus in Leo. Mars forms a biseptile to Typhon in Virgo and opposes asteroids Toro and Hopi in Scorpio.

Jupiter conjuncts Ixion, sextiles Nessus, squares Typhon and trines Elatus. Asteroid Eros semisextiles Nessus.

Saturn conjuncts Orcus, sextiles Cyllarus in Gemini and Chariklo in Libra, trines Pluto at the Galactic Core, forms a quincunx to Pelion in Pisces and an opposition to Neptune in Aquarius. Chariklo sextiles Orcus. Hylonome squares Orcus.

Pallas-Uranus conjunction squares Quaoar, trines Varuna and opposes Logos and 2005 FY9. Asteroids Pandora, Icarus and Psyche in Virgo oppose Pallas and Uranus. Ceres in Taurus sextiles Pallas and Uranus.

Neptune sextiles Eris and squares Sedna. Cyllarus in Gemini and Echeclus in Libra are trine Neptune. Echeclus opposes Eris and 1992 QB1.

Pluto is biquintile Sedna and is receiving the following aspects: a sextile from Chariklo, a square from Pelion, a trine from Orcus and an opposition from Cyllarus.

Chiron biquintiles Logos and sextiles Ixion and Quaoar in Sagittarius. Asteroid Arachne at 13+ degrees of Leo opposes Chiron tightly. Ceres squares Chiron. Varuna sextiles Logos.

Asteroid Amor, the asteroid related to unconditional love, is retrograding at the Aries Point. She will ingress back to Pisces the next day after the Full Moon.

The Full Moon is square asteroid Nemesis at 6+ degrees Scorpio. Demetra George has written a lot about the female shadow and the goddesses of the Dark Moon, who were queens of the underworld, which symbolizes the unconscious. We are not under the Dark Moon phase right now; nevertheless, I would like to mention a few things about Nemesis.

In mythology Nemesis was the goddess of rightful indignation. She was daughter of Nyx, Queen of Night, as was Eris. Nemesis is said to have directed human affairs in such a way as to maintain equilibrium and she made sure that humans respected the natural laws. The position of the asteroid in the birth chart is said to symbolize our conscience and guide us towards right action. If we don’t pay attention to her, then we suffer the consequences.

I made a connection in my mind to rune Gebo/Gyfu, the x-rune, which has a meaning of a gift (also a negative gift). Concepts like balance, equilibrium, exchange, honoring of contracts, agreements and “a price to pay” accompany it. For the Northern people a gift always called for another in return; accepting a gift put the recipient under an obligation to the giver. I think that the archetype of Nemesis actually has a lot of similarity with the ideas of this rune. Rune Gebo/Gyfu is sacred to Norse goddess Gefion, the bountiful giver. There is an asteroid number 1272 named after Gefion, so I checked its position in the Full Moon chart. Asteroid Gefion is conjunct the Sun at 5+ degrees Leo!

THE SECOND Full Moon in June occurs at 8+ degrees Capricorn and opposes a conjunction formed by the Sun, the retrograding Mercury and two main belt asteroids, Astraea and Photographica. This cluster in Cancer sextiles a Mars-Ceres conjunction in Taurus and a conjunction of two asteroids, Pandora and Sphinx, at the South Node of the Moon in Virgo.

Astraea was the fifth asteroid discovered. After its discovery in 1845, thousands of other asteroids were found, and the four original ones (including Vesta, the fourth to be discovered), which were regarded as planets at the time, were demoted to the asteroid class. Ceres, the only asteroid known to be round, belongs now to a new “dwarf planet” class, defined by astronomers last summer. Please see what Eric Francis wrote last July when the New Moon occurred square Astraea and Mercury was retrograding in Cancer, as it is now: Eric’s blog.

The asteroid Photographica deals with visual imagery, often literally with all things photographic.

The Full Moon is quincunx cubewano Chaos in Gemini and centaur planet Elatus in Leo. The Moon is trining a Mars-Ceres conjunction in Taurus and a Pandora-Sphinx conjunction in Virgo. The Moon sextiles the North Node and forms a novile to centaur planet Hylonome in Scorpio.

The Sun is semisextile to Chaos and Elatus and semisquare a triple conjunction of Venus, asteroid Atlantis and Saturn. Asteroid Atlantis carries a theme of abuse of information and abuse of technological power. The triple conjunction of Venus, Atlantis and Saturn squares Sedna in Taurus, trines Eris-1992 QB1 conjunction in Aries and opposes Neptune in Aquarius. The Sun = Elatus/Chaos.

The Sun is biquintile to Chiron. Venus quintiles Chaos, Mars quintiles Neptune. Quintiles are 72-degree aspects that are based on dividing the astrological wheel in five, originally proposed by the astronomer Kepler. Eric has written:

“They are considered ‘minor’ aspects by most astrologers but are by no means so. They were developed not by the ancients, but rather by a distinctly modern guy named Kepler, who lived in Germany a few centuries ago. …Rick Levine, a true Keplerphile, once told me that quintiles are more like Mozart and less like Beethoven. In other words, they are not about technical perfection; they are about going with the flow. Rick has also described them as the soul of the chart. …”

The Sun is trine the North Node. Chaos squares the lunar nodes. Eric has delineated Chaos in his article “Chiron and the Worlds Beyond Neptune” as follows:

“Chaos was the supreme Greek creation deity — the forebear of the primary gods including Gaia (Earth) and Eros (the love that softens hearts). A cubewano discovered in 1998 with an orbit of just over 311 years, its theme is potential made manifest and the hidden order of reality. Its presence reminds us that the cosmos or creator is the source of all life and existence, and is our ultimate destination beyond the end of time. We return whence we came; we are infinitely connected with our own origins. In the psyche it’s the process of giving names to the unnameable so we can enter into relationship, and becoming a vehicle of creative expression so we can become like our source. Chaos is a personal access point to the fertile void, the space-out-of-mind that is the richest creative source available. To those attempting the uncreative use of power as a control method, Chaos can bring the condition for which it’s known in modern usage.”

Mercury semisquares the triple conjunction of Venus, Atlantis and Saturn in Leo and Sedna in Taurus. Mercury = Venus/Sedna.

Mars semisquares Uranus and Pallas in Pisces. Pallas-Uranus conjunction sextiles Sedna.

Jupiter is in conjunction with plutino Ixion and trines Elatus.

Neptune sextiles Eris-1992 QB1 conjunction and squares Sedna.

Asteroid Lilith is conjunct Pluto and semisextiles Hylonome. Asteroid Apollo in Taurus opposes Hylonome.

Asteroid Eros in Capricorn sextiles Pallas-Uranus conjunction and squares Eris-1992 QB1 conjunction.

Eris = 21+ Aries

THE FULL MOON takes place at 10+ degrees Sagittarius. Sabian Symbol for Sagittarius 11 by Marc Edmund Jones: “The lamp of physical enlightenment at the left temple. This is a symbol of the enlarged understanding which comes from an inner and spiritual outreaching, and of the rewards following on a ceaseless experiment with one or another mode of self-expression. Here is self-orientation through a continual balancing of consequences and meanings in everyday activity and relationship. The world is seen as a laboratory for the soul, able to provide each individual with the reality he seeks for himself. The keyword is reconciliation.”

The Full Moon is in conjunction with Vesta and Jupiter, and the Moon squares the lunar nodes. The lunar nodes are the points where the apparent yearly path of the Sun and the monthly path of the Moon intersect as seen from Earth. Although eclipses can only take place when the Sun and Moon are at or near the nodes, there is a feeling of an eclipse with this Full Moon because of the tight square to the nodes.

The lunar nodes are the meeting point of the Sun, Moon and Earth. Melanie Reinhart writes on her website in the article Dragon’s Head and Dragon’s Tail: “The cosmic Father Sun and Mother Moon unite in the Divine Child incarnate, and thus the Nodes also represent where the opposites within us will demand balance, integration and fruition. Significantly, eclipses occur only along this axis, happening twice each year when the Sun, Moon and Earth are in precise alignment. Endings and beginnings are evoked as energies balance and rebalance.” She calls the points which square the nodes the “balance points.” In other words, anything that occupies the T-square points to the Nodes can facilitate balance.

Asteroid 69230 Hermes is conjunct the North Node. Asteroid Hermes was discovered in 1937, but then “lost” already before it received a number. Nevertheless, it was named after the Greek god Hermes and became the only unnumbered but named asteroid. In 2003 Hermes was rediscovered, and its orbit is well known today. Mythological Hermes is the Greek equivalent for Roman Mercury. He is the son of Zeus/Jupiter. He is a messenger from the gods to humans; likewise is his female counterpart, Iris.

The Sun-Moon opposition and the nodal axis form a Mutable Grand Cross. Using traditional sign rulers, the Moon in Sagittarius and the North Node in Pisces are both in signs ruled by Jupiter. The Sun in Gemini and the South Node in Virgo are both in signs ruled by Mercury. Let’s have a closer look at these two ruling planets.

Jupiter at 15+ degrees Sagittarius is strong in its own sign, and is not only conjunct this Full Moon, but also closely conjunct the Great Attractor at 14+ Sagittarius. I quote Eric Francis: “Anything involving the Great Attractor tends to have a polarizing effect, where two sides of a situation are seen; where people tend to choose sides; and where dualism is strongly emphasized. This is a distinct characteristic of the mutable signs, beginning with Gemini and with the dualistic property being just as strong in Virgo, Sagittarius and Pisces. The mutables are signs where you can pretty much count on an ‘equal and opposite reaction’ at any time.”

Mercury’s echo phase has just begun. Mercury opposes asteroid 1181 Lilith and Pluto. Astrologically asteroid Lilith has an affinity with planet Pluto. Pluto on the Galactic Core is the most elevated planet in the chart cast for The Hague, Netherlands. According to Eric Francis, asteroid Lilith represents “the original woman inside the woman. It is her deeper idea of herself and, in the chart of a man, his deeper idea of what a woman is, and how he relates to her.”

In this chart cast for The Hague the nodal axis falls in the 6th house-12th house polarity. In The Node Book Zipporah Pottenger Dobyns says about nodes placed either in Virgo-Pisces or 6th house-12th house polarity: “This polarity brings into confrontation the Virgo passion for taking the world apart in order to make it run more efficiently and the Pisces search for union with the whole and the inner peace found through this sense of connectedness of life. When successfully integrated, this nodal axis represents a deep dedication to the well-being of humanity.”

The Full Moon forms a sesquisquare aspect to Venus, the ruling planet of Libra, the sign associated with balance and harmonization. Venus forms an interesting stellium with three main belt asteroids, all of which have affinities with planets Mercury and Pluto: 42 Isis, 7 Iris and 407 Arachne. All three can also be associated with assembling or connecting things.

The Moon sesquisquares asteroid Isis and forms a biquintile to asteroid 1923 Osiris. The Sun semisquares Venus and Isis. Venus semisquares the South Node. Venus = Sun/South Node. Osiris is trining the North Node.

In Egyptian mythology Osiris was the husband of Isis. Set was his envious younger brother, who killed and dismembered Osiris’ body into 14 pieces and scattered them throughout the land. Isis gathered up all the parts of the body and reassembled the corpse, less the phallus, which was eaten by a fish. The gods were impressed by the devotion of Isis and restored Osiris to life as the god of the underworld. We can associate this myth with the lunar cycle, in which the Moon appears to be destroyed by darkness, and is then brought back to life again. It has also been said that Osiris’ body was dismembered into 13 parts, and each part represents one of the 13 Full Moons seen each year.

Among Martha Lang-Wescott’s keywords for asteroid Isis are sibling relationships; fragmentation; sense of needing to “get or put it together”; desire to make things whole. Isis collects the ingredients, she integrates and “makes sense of” things that may not seem to be related. Isis can cause one to look for “missing links” or that one more thing that will have “everything” fall into place.

The Sun in this chart forms a novile to Iris and to Arachne. Iris and Arachne are forming a septile to the South Node.

In Greek mythology Iris is the personification of the rainbow, the connection between heaven and earth, gods and mortals.

Arachne was a vain maiden who was a skilled weaver. She wove beautiful fabrics and claimed that her skill was greater than that of Athena, the goddess of weaving. Athena was angered and she warned Arachne not to offend the gods. They arranged a weaving contest. Arachne’s work was flawless, but she wove pictures, each one of which was an insult to the gods. Athena lost her temper; Arachne ran off and tried to hang herself. Athena took pity on Arachne, loosened the rope, which became a cobweb, and Arachne herself changed into a spider. She is now condemned to weave and spin forever.

According to Eric Francis, “Arachne deals with the conspiracies, interconnections, and networks that make up our lives, particularly our ‘love lives’ — though for this planet, any web will do. It offers some clues into the web of intrigue we are living.”

AT THE MOMENT of any Full Moon, the Sun and the Moon, a pair of masculine and feminine, or yang and yin symbols in the chart, are opposite each other, face to face. On this Full Moon they are in signs which are ruled by another pair of masculine and feminine symbols, Mars and Venus, our inner polar opposites. The Sun in Taurus is ruled by Venus, and the Moon in Scorpio is ruled by Mars, the traditional ruler of Scorpio.

The Sun is conjunct two planets: Mercury, the androgynous messenger god, and centaur planet Thereus. In mythology Thereus was a centaur who used to catch bears and carry them into the home cave angry and alive. Another centaur planet, Nessus, forms a T-square with the Sun-Moon opposition. The Sun septiles Mars.

Mercury in Taurus and Venus in Gemini are in mutual reception. When two planets are occupying one another’s signs, the situation is called mutual reception and the planets in question can switch places.

Two main belt asteroids representing the same mythological figure, the same energy, Bacchus and Dionysus, are in tight conjunction with Venus and Mars, respectively. Venus and Mars are in square aspect to each other. A square is a tense aspect showing frustration and demanding action.

In Greek mythology, Dionysus was the god of wine, fertility and ecstasy, equivalent to the Roman Bacchus. He was androgynous, usually depicted as a young, attractive and feminine man, wearing a crown made of vine leaves and grapes and holding a staff. He was also known as the Liberator. He traveled from land to land, taught people the art of making wine and spread drunken ecstasy everywhere he went. He was followed by singing, noisy, unruly revellers, many of them women. Festivals held in his honor were called Bacchanalia.

Wildness, divine inspiration, excess, peak experiences, pushing things past the limits, altered states, intoxication, alcohol, drugs, escapism and victimization are all attributes that can be associated with Bacchus/Dionysus. The archetype has lot in common with Neptune.

Venus and Bacchus are opposing Jupiter and Pluto, and trining Neptune. Venus-Bacchus conjunction in Gemini, Mars-Dionysus conjunction in Pisces, and Jupiter in Sagittarius form a T-square. Mars and Uranus are in parallel conjunction. Saturn is opposite Chiron and Neptune. Retrograding Vesta at the Great Attractor squares the lunar nodes.

Centaur planet Pholus in Sagittarius and cubewano Chaos in Gemini form a long ongoing opposition between the years 2007 and 2012. A T-square formed by asteroid Psyche, Pholus and Chaos has been active already several weeks now and is still valid.

There is a connection between Pholus and Dionysus in mythology. Pholus was the son of Silenus, who was a drinker and Dionysus’s tutor. Pholus had in his possession a jar of wine, which was a gift from Dionysus and common property of all the centaurs. Hercules visited his friend Pholus and asked for wine. Pholus, who was supposed to guard the wine, opened the jar, and other centaurs in the neighborhood became intoxicated with the smell. The result was a huge riot and chaos, and many of the centaurs were wounded (including Chiron) or lost their lives.

Melanie Reinhart mentions in Saturn, Chiron and the Centaurs: To the Edge and Beyond that apparently, when centaur planet Pholus was first discovered, it was almost called “Chaos” by the International Astronomical Union. (Pholus was discovered in 1992 and Chaos in 1998.) She writes: “So the Saturn-Neptune dilemma is characteristic of the energy of Pholus: the conflict between order and chaos, between duty and release, between control and ecstasy.”

There is a lot of Neptunian haze floating around in the chart. Asteroid Achilles is in exact conjunction to the minute with Neptune himself.

The FULL MOON at 12+ Libra is in conjunction with cubewano 2003 EL61 (at 13+ Libra) and plutino Rhadamanthus (at 14+ Libra).

In July 2005 the existence of three big and bright new objects was announced. One of them was Eris and another one was 2003 EL61. Mike Brown’s team — the discoverer of Eris and many of the recently found new planets — nicknamed EL61 “Santa,” because they were observing it around Christmastime in 2004. Officially it is still without a name.

EL61 is the third brightest Kuiper Belt Object and its size is about 3/4 of the size of Pluto. It is one of the strangest objects in our solar system. Mike Brown tells on his website that in the very distant past another object slammed into EL61 at high speed, and this giant impact led to all of the odd properties of EL61.

EL61 is the fastest rotating body and also the most bizarrely shaped body of its size class. The rotation period is only about four hours. The shape of EL61 is therefore stretched out and resembles an American football. The rotation time is near the point where body of this size starts to break down.

EL61 has two tiny moons and it is followed in its orbit around the Sun by a swarm of icy bodies that were originally ejected from the surface of EL61 during the giant impact.

EL61 is on an unstable orbit and possibly becomes a comet one day in the future, in perhaps 1 billion years. According to Mike Brown, it will probably be 10,000 times brighter than the spectacular comet Hale-Bopp, making it something like the brightness of the full moon and easily visible in the daytime sky.

Now back to the Libra Full Moon aspects. The Moon, 2003 EL61, and Rhadamanthus are sextile to Vesta and Ixion on the Great Attractor and form a trine aspect to Chiron-Nessus conjunction in Aquarius. The Moon semisquares plutino Orcus in Leo and sesquisquares Mars in Aquarius.

The Sun is trineing Vesta and Ixion on the Great Attractor. The Sun semisquares Mars and forms an accurate septile to Neptune.

Mercury and Uranus are on the North Node. They both are square to Jupiter and Quaoar in Sagittarius. Mercury makes a quincunx to Saturn in Leo and a sextile to Venus-Sedna conjunction in Taurus. Venus-Sedna conjunction squares both Saturn and Neptune and forms thus a T-square with the Saturn-Neptune opposition.

Mars at 27+ Aquarius opposes Orcus tightly, makes a trine to asteroid Arachne in Gemini, and sextiles retrograding Pluto on the Galactic Core. Pluto opposes Arachne. Mercury has passed its echo phase less than a week before, and now Mars has started to follow Mercury’s footprints through the same degrees which Mercury went through during its retrogradation. Mars reached 25+ Aquarius — the point where Mercury stationed direct — on March 31, the same day on which Pluto stationed retrograde. Two days after the April New Moon Mars will have made its way through those degrees.

Asteroid Sphinx in Leo has stationed direct at the moment of the Full Moon. Sphinx is conjunct Saturn, sesquisquare the Aries Point, and quincunx Uranus and the North Node.

Chiron semisquares the Aries Point and Pluto on the Galactic Core. Chiron sextiles Vesta, Ixion and the Great Attractor. Chiron = Pluto/Aries Point. Vesta = Moon/Chiron.

Neptune septiles Pluto. Neptune = Sun/Pluto. Jupiter in Sagittarius sextiles Neptune, which in turn sextiles the triple conjunction of Asbolus, Eris, and 1992 QB1 in Aries. Asbolus, Eris, and 1992 QB1 are in triple conjunction within one degree.

Nessus = 10 Aquarius 30
Ixion = 13 Sagittarius 24 r
2003 EL61 = 13 Libra 31 r
Rhadamanthus = 14 Libra 02 r
Sphinx = 16 Leo 05 SD
Urania = 16 Aquarius 16
Quaoar = 17 Sagittarius 39 r
Sedna = 19 Taurus 31
1992 QB1 = 20 Aries 26
Eris = 20 Aries 47
Asbolus = 21 Aries 07
Orcus = 27 Leo 13 r
Arachne = 28 Gemini 42