“Sail on Silver Girl
Sail on by
Your time has come to shine
All your dreams are on their way
See how they shine”
– Paul Simon

The Moon was new in its home sign Cancer early this morning European time. The luminaries squared Saturn and formed a quintile aspect (72 degrees) to Mars, which both are in Libra. Mars in turn is currently forming a tight T-square with Uranus and Pluto, connecting the Cancer New Moon to the long term aspect of our era, the Uranus-Pluto square.

The Moon in Cancer can be moody and timid. The current aspects can make us prone to explosive behavior. But the Cancer Moon also wants to protect and take care of others.

South Africa’s former president Nelson Mandela celebrated his 94th birthday yesterday. Mandela is an anti-apartheid icon, who spent 27 years in jail for leading the liberation movement against apartheid. He was persistent, he didn’t lose his vision. He has dedicated his life to freedom and democracy. Mandela’s Cancer Sun is in conjunction with asteroid Libera. Libera is an ancient Roman fertility goddess. Her name is the feminine form of Liber, and it means The Free One.

Mandela’s Sun-Libera conjunction opposes his asteroid Astraea in Capricorn. There is saturnine persistence in Astraea’s energy. In Greek mythology Astraea is a personification of justice. During the Golden Age she lived upon the Earth. During the Iron Age the wickedness of humanity drove her away, and she ascended to heaven to become the constellation Virgo, and the scales of justice she carried became the constellation Libra. Astraea didn’t give up easily; she was the last of the immortals to live with humans. According to legend, Astraea will one day come back to Earth.

In the New Moon chart asteroid Astraea is in the same degree with Mars, giving determination and helping to achieve our goals.

The United Nations has declared July 18 as “Nelson Mandela International Day”, not only to honor Mandela’s contribution to world freedom, but to inspire people globally to take action for better world. We all are able to do good for others. Each one of us has the power to make an impact.

Mandela has said: “I have cherished the ideal of a democratic and free society in which all persons live together in harmony and with equal opportunities.”

“We must use time wisely and forever realize that the time is always ripe to do right.”

“As we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same.”

These ideas crystalize in the symbolism of two minor planets, Karma and Varuna, conjunct the New Moon in Cancer.

Varuna is a large classical Kuiper belt object and a potential dwarf planet. The Hindu deity Varuṇa presided over the waters of the heaven and of the ocean and as the guardian of immortality. Quoting astrologer Eric Francis: “The energy of Varuna is that which is too large to comprehend, but which somehow touches us personally.”

Eric’s keywords for Varuna include the great equalizer. He thinks Varuna as something that works on our own level and responds in a direct way to real human needs. “I think of Varuna as a force that we invoke personally; we ask for the help of this seemingly invisible energy, and it responds,” he writes. You can read Eric’s article here:

http://www.planetwaves.net/smallworlds/contents/planets/varuna.html

Karma is a main-belt asteroid discovered in 1953 at Turku by a Finnish astronomer Liisi Oterma. Karma means the law of cause and effect. Our action, and also our lack of action, has consequences. Good deeds create good. Each individual can have a positive effect on others around them, and thus has the ability to transform the world.

New Moon in Gemini — June 19, 2012, 15:02 UT

Summer Solstice — June 20, 2012, 23:09 UT

*)
You’re packing a suitcase for a place none of us has been
A place that has to be believed to be seen
You could have flown away
A singing bird in an open cage
Who will only fly, only fly for freedom
– Bono

Yesterday was the longest day of the year in the northern hemisphere, the Summer Solstice. The Sun ingressed into Cancer on June 20, 11:09 pm UT. A new phase, a new season is about to begin.

A lot has been going on in Gemini lately. Just prior to the solstice we had a New Moon in the late degrees of Gemini, just opposite the Galactic Center. The Solar Eclipse of May four weeks ago fell also in Gemini, in the first degree of the sign. Then, two weeks ago, the rare and spectacular Venus transit occurred in the middle of the sign. Jupiter, the planet of expansion, has just changed signs from Taurus to Gemini.

A reflection of the recent heavenly movement was seen in Oslo during last weekend, when the Burmese opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi accepted the Nobel Peace Prize, which she won 21 years ago, and was finally able to deliver her acceptance speech. She was awarded the Nobel Prize in 1991 for her non-violent struggle for democracy and human rights. She is said to be an outstanding example of the power of the powerless.

Suu Kyi was released from house arrest in Burma in November 2010. She remained under the arrest most of the years between 1989 and 2010, being one of the world’s most prominent political prisoners. She was not able to travel to collect her Nobel Prize in 1991. Her current trip to Europe is her first in 24 years.

Suu Kyi is a Gemini, she just had her solar return. She was born with her natal Sun in line with the Galactic Center. Besides her Sun, she has Uranus in Gemini in her birth chart (the time is unknown). The Sun is square Chiron. Suu Kyi is a values leader. Her Venus (values, peace) is strong in her own sign, Taurus (values). Venus is in conjunction with Mars (leadership, courage) and asteroid Nemesis (conscience).

The recent activity in Gemini has touched Suu Kyi’s planets directly. The Lunar Eclipse two weeks ago transited her natal Uranus tightly. Also the Venus transit happened right on her Uranus. The New Moon three days ago fell on her Sun.

In her Oslo speech last Saturday, Suu Kyi said:

“The peace of our world is indivisible. As long as negative forces are getting the better of positive forces anywhere, we are all at risk. It may be questioned whether all negative forces could ever be removed. The simple answer is no. It is in human nature to contain both the positive and the negative. However, it is also within human capability to work to reinforce the positive and to minimize or neutralize the negative. Absolute peace in our world is an unattainable goal. But it is one towards which we must continue to journey, our eyes fixed on it as a traveler in a desert fixes his eyes on the one guiding star that will lead him to salvation. Even if we do not achieve perfect peace on earth, because perfect peace is not of this earth, common endeavors to gain peace will unite individuals and nations in trust and friendship and help to make our human community safer and kinder.”

*) The U2 song “Walk on” is written about and dedicated to Aung San Suu Kyi.

The New Moon in Gemini is also a solar eclipse. The eclipse takes place in the first degree of Gemini, square Neptune in early Pisces.

A solar eclipse can only happen at the time of a New Moon, when the Sun and Moon are in conjunction. If the Sun, Moon and Earth are in line, and they also lie in the same plane, the eclipse can occur. The Moon passes between the Earth and the Sun, obscuring the disc of the Sun either totally or partially. The type of the current eclipse is called an annular solar eclipse, because the Moon covers only the center of the Sun, letting a bright ring burn around the dark Moon.

The Sun and the Moon, the luminaries, are the two most important factors of any astrological chart. The Sun represents the self, the ego, the purpose, and it is concerned with the future. The Moon is our memory, it gathers our past experiences. An eclipse of the Sun by the Moon can thus feel like a halting moment. It can offer a moment to pause and reflect, and then to make a conscious adjustment of the direction one is heading towards.

While the Sun represents one’s individuality, Neptune and Pisces represent the collective. The square aspect between the two planets brings tension between them. Neptune tends to cause confusion. It tends to dissolve anything it touches, and the blurring of one’s boundaries can feel frightening. Bringing the energies of the Sun, Moon and Neptune together, becomes the challenge. Squares can be highly productive aspects though. They make us act and take the challenge.

The eclipsing Moon can actually help you to focus yourself. In case you feel confused or lost, use the image of the burning solar ring around the Moon to put you back on the tracks.

A New Moon is a potent time for new beginnings. The Sabian symbol for the current New Moon at 1+ degrees of Taurus is supporting the idea of a powerful start-up: An electrical storm. Furthermore Mars in Virgo is in direct motion again, after its three months long retrograde period, and forming a favourable trine to the New Moon. Mars helps you to get things done. It is the planet which you use to get what you want. So, you would expect that everything works for you really well at the moment. This is not automatically the case. Let’s take a look at the obstructions.

Mars is conjunct asteroid Psyche, one of the ten most massive main-belt asteroids. Astrologically Psyche represents a vulnerable spot; a sense of a wound which we mistakenly think cannot be healed. Don’t surrender to feelings of powerlessness coming from Neptune opposite and Pluto trine to the Mars-Psyche conjunction. The wound can be healed, though the recovery may take time.

The New Moon is in conjunction with asteroid Tantalus. Tantalus was discovered in 1975 by Charles T. Kowal, who two years later found also Chiron. In mythology Tantalus was a mortal king, who did some bad things against the gods. His eternal punishment in Tartaros was to stand in a water pool beneath a fruit tree. Every time he tried to drink the water, it lowered. Wind blew the branches out his reach whenever he tried to eat. He would always be hungry and thirsty. The word tantalize comes from his name. Asteroid Tantalus indicates times when something that you badly want is just out of your reach.

The combination of Mercury and Uranus in Aries refers to originality and speeds up thinking. You are eager to express your views. Yet you may have difficulties in getting your voice heard, as there is asteroid Kassandra conjoining those two. The asteroid is named after a prophetess in the tales of the Trojan War. She had the gift of prophecy, but no one believed her predictions.

The New Moon in Taurus (the conjunction of the Sun and the Moon), the Mars-Psyche conjunction in Virgo, and Pluto in Capricorn form a grand trine in the earth signs. A grand trine represents patterns that hold, but sometimes are difficult to get out of. The earth signs tend to be cautious. In addition, Saturn has been hanging opposite the Sun like an anchor. This aspect is already receding, but you may still feel some of the weight.

The way out of stuck patterns of a grand trine is a planet at the midpoint of two planets, making sextiles to them and opposing a third. This aspect figure is actually called a kite. Asteroid Panacea in Pisces is at the forementioned midpoint, showing a way. Mars at the tail end acts like a power source.

Panacea is a healing asteroid. It represents cures for all kinds of problems and difficulties. It symbolizes the philosopher’s stone, the legendary alchemical substance which would enable the transmutation of lead into gold. In the chart, asteroid Panacea suggests what you believe it takes to find solutions. Chiron conjunct Panacea adds awareness and healing, Neptune suggests that you can find solutions in your unconscious.

Don’t let frustration take over. Let the kite fly!

A new astrological year started on March 20, 2012, when the Sun ingressed into Aries, the first sign of the zodiac. The first new moon of this eventful year is electrified by Uranus in the early degrees of Aries. This is a good moment to restart the blog, especially as Urania, the muse of astrology, is sitting at the midheaven in the chart cast for Kotka, Finland, the place where I am writing.

On Monday evening I watched a documentary film, Scott Walker: 30 Century Man, on television. It was almost a scary experience. Something that welled up from his unconscious obviously went straight into mine. I am old enough to remember the Walker Brothers from the 60’s, but I didn’t know anything about Scott Walker’s later career. He is an eccentric who avoids publicity, and his creative process is unique, like a shaman’s journey.

We all are different and the creative process is different for each of us. The first degree of Aries is called the Aries Point. It is a sensitive point, which connects us with the world, and in the birth chart it can tell something about the native’s relationship to the public. Currently in the astrological sky Uranus and Mercury are at the Aries Point, and the New Moon (a conjunction of the Sun and the Moon) falls there too.

Uranus symbolizes originality, creativity and sudden flashes of genius. It is sometimes called the higher octave of Mercury.

Mercury represents the intellect, the mind, and it tells us something about how we communicate with others. Through our lives we are able to learn. We need to have contact with other people, and we also want to be understood by them. At the moment Mercury is retrograding, which offers an opportunity, for example, to reformulate a message, which in the past didn’t quite catch the listener. It can also expose us to confusion, for Mercury in mythology was a trickster. In Aries honesty is appreciated.

Asteroid Hermes shares the same degree with Uranus. The Sun and Hermes are in parallel, i.e. the Sun and Hermes are in a latitudinal conjunction on the same side of the celestial equator. When two planets are in a latitudinal as well as longitudinal conjunction, like Hermes and the Sun in this case, it is considered a strong condition. Hermes’s presence is emphasizing the importance of thoughtful communication during the next month. Hermes and Mercury are embodiments of the same archetype, as Hermes is the Greek equivalent for the Roman god Mercury.

Throughout the month we’ve been blessed with a conjunction of Venus and Jupiter in Taurus. Traditionally, Jupiter is known as the greater benefic and Venus as the lesser benefic. Venus is in her own sign and thus strong. Beauty and harmony, art and music are highlighted. A grand trine (three planets in easy aspect to each other) formed by Jupiter, Mars and Pluto makes things flow.

In Taurus we can find also asteroid Hephaistos in a tight conjunction with Venus. In Greek mythology Hephaistos was the blacksmith of the gods. His Roman counterpart was Vulcan, husband of Venus. Many skillfully made pieces for the gods were hammered in his hot and smoky workshop. It is the place where the creative idea is put into practice.

***

I would like to express my most sincere thanks to Eric Francis, Len Wallick, Chad Townsend and Anatoly Ryzhenko for their help and support.

The New Moon marks the beginning of a new lunation cycle. The Taurus New Moon takes place soon after Jupiter conjoined Eris in Aries, on April 29th. It was the day of the royal wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton. Also the scene of the most famous tale of the Greek goddess Eris was a wedding party.

During the following two days Mars passed over Eris and Jupiter. Suddenly the images of the newly wed couple kissing on a balcony changed to pictures of Osama Bin Laden and people celebrating his death.

Conjunct the New Moon is a strange little asteroid, Phaethon. Phaethon is showing mixed cometary and asteroidal features and its unusual orbit goes closer to the Sun than that of any other numbered asteroid. This is why it was named after the son of the Greek sun god Helios. The name Phaethon means the “shining.” Astrologically Phaethon can bring a feeling of being a bit out of control.

At the Aries Point, the sensitive point where public and personal affairs intersect, we find asteroid Karma. We may feel that as individuals we don’t usually have much influence on the affairs of the world. With our personal choices we create our personal karma though. At the Aries Point we can make an impact on the world.

In conjunction with Karma are two helpful asteroids, Urania and Circe. Urania is the heavenly muse of astrologers and astronomers. Urania gives ability to put things in perspective. Asteroid Circe is named after a minor goddess of magic, the daughter of Helios. Circe has a desire to help. “Its position indicates who, how and, most importantly, WHY you aid others,�? writes Martha Lang-Wescott.

The three asteroids at the Aries Point make a novile aspect (40 degrees) to the Luminaries and Phaethon. The novile is a minor aspect with a similar quality to the trine, though more subtle. It could act as a harmonic link between subtle spiritual dimensions and the ordinary realms of human activity.

References:

Treehouse Mountain by Martha Lang-Wescott

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

Frances Sakoian and Louis Acker, Minor Aspects, 1978

The Scorpio New Moon coincides with Kekri, the ancient harvest and new year’s festival of the Finns. Kekri has its origins in pagan times, as has Samhain, the Celtic cross-quarter celebration. In the old days the date of the Kekri feast was not fixed, but slightly varying yearly depending on the circumstances. Nowadays it is held on the first Saturday of November.

The pagan holidays were based on the tropical year, i.e. the apparent annual motion of the Sun around the Earth. Solstices and equinoxes are called the quarter days, marking the change of the seasons and the Sun’s ingress into one of the cardinal signs: Aries, Cancer, Libra or Capricorn. A cross-quarter day falls halfway between a solstice and an equinox, when the Sun is at 15 degrees of a fixed sign, either in Taurus, Leo, Scorpio or Aquarius. Now the Sun is in the middle degrees of Scorpio.

In the pre-Christian agricultural society Kekri was the most important festival of the year. It marked the end of the harvest and also the turn of the year. It was a communal celebration including abundant eating and drinking. People were looking for omens, and the spirits of the dead were said to wander in this world. The dead relatives were acknowledged as living members of the family, with whom the abundance of the harvest was shared. The spirits were invited to bathe in the sauna, too.

Aptly the New Moon in the mid-degrees of Scorpio occurred in conjunction with asteroid Vesta. Vesta is associated with the element of fire, and bonfires played a large part in Kekri festivities. The Romans regarded Vesta as the goddess of the sacred flame and the guardian of the home. A hearth was the centre of the household. At the end of the harvest season the outdoors work was finished and people moved working inside the house. Astrologically Vesta is often seen as the ruler of the sign Virgo, but there is also a correspondence between Vesta and Scorpio.

A common belief has been that there was a Karelian god named Kekri which protected cattle, but this is a misconception. Later studies show that Kekri was a ghost, a spook, or an elf.

Kekri and other pagan harvest festivals in different cultures became linked with the Christian holidays dedicated to saints and the dead and celebrated in the beginning of November. In contemporary Finland we light candles and visit the graves of deceased relatives. Some of the traditions associated with Kekri have devolved on the modern Christmas and New Year’s celebrations. Also Halloween and many of its symbols, like lanterns and skeletons, originate from the ancient celebrations.

Huya, a trans-Neptunian object and a dwarf planet candidate, is in conjunction with the Sun, the Moon and Vesta at 15 degrees of Scorpio. Huya will come to perihelion (the point in an orbit that is closest to the Sun) in 2015 and is currently inside the orbit of Neptune. Huya was discovered about ten years ago by Venezuelan astronomers and named after the god of rain and hunt of the Wayuu who live on the arid La Guajira Peninsula between Colombia and Venezuela.

The Wayuu believe that the life cycle doesn’t end with death, but that a relationship with one’s bones continues. A few years after the first burial, a woman gathers the bones of the deceased and cleans them. Then the remains are buried again. The second burial has been an important tradition. Long-dead Wayuu are believed to return on the Earth in the form of rain, which assures the rejuvenation of vegetation and life.

References:

Helsingin Sanomat, Kekri – ancient celebration to mark end of harvest season

Wikipedia, Cross-quarter day

Herranen & Kaartinen, Kauan eläköön suomalainen kekri!

Salakirjat, Mikä on kekri?

Demetra George & Douglas Bloch, Asteroid Goddesses, Ibis Press, 2003

Wikipedia, 38628 Huya

Wikipedia, Wayuu

Guajiro – Religion and Expressive Culture

The Virgo New Moon forms no major aspects to the main planets. There aren’t any notable minor planets conjunct the Moon either. So Venus gets my attention today for the following reasons.

Venus occupies the last degree of Libra and is just about to enter Scorpio. The New Moon occurs only a few hours before the Scorpio ingress. A sign ingress of a planet per se is always meaningful, because it marks the beginning of a new phase.

Venus has started to slow down for her retrograde station, which takes place on Oct. 8, 2010. The echo phase started just recently. Retrograde planets tend to be inwardly oriented. When Venus is stationing retrograde, she is closest to the Earth – big and bright. Venus approaches the Earth as an evening star and departs as a morning star. The direct station occurs on Nov. 11, 2010. So called New Venus – the beginning of a new Venus cycle — takes place exactly halfway between the stations.

Venus signifies our values, what we enjoy, the things we appreciate, and how we express love. Venus is associated with friendships, artistry and poetry. In exact conjunction with Venus is a Main-belt asteroid 4572 Brage. Asteroid Brage was discovered on Sept. 8, 1986 (24 years ago to the day) and named after Bragi, the Norse god of poetry. Runes were said to have been carved on Bragi’s tongue.

I wish to express my sincere gratitude to Chad Townsend, my proof-reader in Tucson, Arizona. He is a Virgo friend, who assists me with Lunations blog. I am a Finn; the English language is not my native language, so I truly appreciate Chad’s grammatical corrections. During the years he has provided inspiration by sending me interesting web links, poetry and lyrics. Thank you, Chad!

References:

Anne Massey, Venus: Her Cycles, Symbols & Myths, Llewellyn Publications, 2006

Wikipedia, Bragi

The New Moon starts the monthly lunation cycle. At the time of the exact conjunction of the Sun and the Moon, the Moon is invisible from the Earth. The conjunction occurs in the middle of the Dark Moon period, which lasts about 3 days.

The dark phase of the lunar cycle is personified by various dark goddesses, which symbolize the feminine shadow. Two of these goddesses, Nyx, the queen of night, and Nemesis, one of her daughters, were present at the Leo New Moon: asteroids 3908 Nyx and128 Nemesis were in conjunction with the luminaries. They are still in focus, closely conjunct the Sun.

Asteroid 128 Nemesis is a very large and dark main belt asteroid, discovered in 1872. Asteroid 3908 Nyx was discovered in 1980. It is 1-2 km in diameter and it may be a fragment of the asteroid Vesta.

In all astrological cycles, there is the last, dark phase preceding the beginning of a new cycle, new growth. The dark period is for healing and renewal, and we all have many of these periods during our lifetime. These are times when we may experience a loss, an ending of a relationship, or some other kind of change in our personal lives. We tend to fear the unknown, but still we have to let go of the old in order to start something new.

A threefold lunar cycle consists of three phases: the waxing New Moon, the Full Moon and the waning Dark Moon. These phases symbolize the three stages of womanhood: maiden, mother and crone (the wise woman). The dark phase before the New Moon represents the crone.

The Dark Moon also represents the Jungian shadow, the rejected part of the psyche. We all have a shadow, which we tend to project into other people, and the more these projections are unrecognized, the blacker and denser the shadow grows. The shadow is the messenger of our unconscious mind.

The underworld of the ancients is a metaphor for the unconscious. The dark goddesses were all queens of the underworld. If we acknowledge our inner dark goddesses and are able to develop a compassionate relationship with our shadow, the healing and renewal can occur.

Nyx, Mother Night, was a figure of exceptional power and beauty. She was one of the Greek primordial gods. This group of gods represents various elements of nature, and they were born of Chaos. Nyx took on an even more important role in several poems attributed to Orpheus. In them, Nyx, rather than Chaos, was the first principle.

Nyx was was the black-winged goddess of the night. According to the myth, she laid a silver egg out of which the world is born, in the lap of the infinite deeps of darkness. In her triple aspect, Nyx displayed herself as Night, Order and Justice. The Fates, the Furies, the Hesperides, Nemesis, and sometimes Hekate were said to be her daughters. The task of the daughters was to ensure that the natural laws of the universe were carried out and maintained.

Nemesis, the daugher of Nyx, was the goddess of retribution. She was depicted with a wheel of fortune in one hand and an apple bough in the other. Nemesis symbolizes our conscience and guides us towards right action. When we pay honor to this goddess, then she resides within us as a wise, kindly influence. If we don’t pay attention to her, then we have to deal with the consequences.

Quoting Demetra George: “Nyx, Goddess of Night, teaches us that we are, at our most fundamental level, all part of the same whole. Her daughter Nemesis then guides us toward respecting others as extensions of ourselves through right action with the natural laws of an orderly universe.�?

References:

Demetra George, Mysteries of the Dark Moon, HarperCollins Publishers, 1992

Demetra George, Finding our Way Through the Dark, ACS Publications, 1995

Wikipedia, Triple Goddess (Neopaganism)

Wikipedia, Protogenoi

The New Moon in Cancer is a total solar eclipse, the second of the eclipses of this season. Two weeks ago we experienced a lunar eclipse conjunct Pluto. The intense cross alignment formed by the slow-moving planets Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Pluto, gives extraordinary potentiality to these two eclipses.

The Moon in Cancer has a tendency to play safe. The eclipse takes place at the South node of the Moon. The South node represents the past, the familiar territory of life, and the things which we may want to cling to. This creates some amount of resistance to change. Nonetheless, the current sky urges to try something new.

Eclipses are powerful transition points which offer us a chance to move stuck energy and take a new approach in life. The sextile between the New Moon and Mars helps the start-up. The eclipse falls in conjunction with Juno and Varuna indicating a revaluation of our relationships. Profound honesty is required for a functional outcome.

In mythology, Juno was the patroness of marriage. She was the loyal and jealous wife of Jupiter and the mother of Mars. Asteroid Juno represents committed and meaningful relationships. It can symbolize the rewards and fulfilment that they offer, but it can be an indicator of possessiveness, jealousy and power struggles as well.

Varuna, a potential dwarf planet in the Kuiper belt, was discovered nearly ten years ago. The object was named after an important Hindu god, who was believed to be present at every gathering and know all thoughts of all humans. As a sky god Varuna could be associated with Uranus. As the god of oceans and rivers he can be identified with Neptune. Varuna judged the actions of humans and punished those who did not keep their word. He was riding a sea monster Makara and catching the liars with his noose. In other words, Varuna loves truth. In the eclipse chart he encourages us to look at ourselves and our relationships honestly and act righteously.

The Venus-Neptune opposition shows proneness for romantic idealism. The energy of Neptune can be delusory. It can blur the reality and give illusions about love. Chiron in conjunction with Neptune helps in facing the truth. Chiron works through raising awareness.

Each eclipse belongs to a larger pattern and is a member of a particular eclipse family, which has certain characteristics. These series of eclipses are called the Saros series. They were first discovered by the ancient Babylonians. Each Saros series will run for well over a thousand years and produce a solar eclipse every 18 years when the Sun, Moon, Earth and nodes of the Moon have returned to the same positions relative to each other.

Each Saros series has a beginning, a middle and an end. The series starts as a tiny partial eclipse at either the North or South Pole and will finish at the opposite Pole to where the series started. At any given time, there are about 42 Saros series active, half running from North Pole to South Pole and the other half running from South Pole to North Pole, all at different stages of their lives. As one series finishes another will be starting, and taking its place. There is an overlapping period when the two series are both producing eclipses within a month of each other. This will be the case next year, when we will experience two solar eclipses during the summer season.

We can study the characteristics of a particular Saros series by delineating its birth chart. Also, we can look back and find similarities between events that have occurred 18 years apart at the time of the eclipses. The current Cancer solar eclipse is a member of a Saros series number 12 South. The first eclipse in this series in 1541 occurred in Libra, the sign concerned with relationships and justice. Based on the aspects and planetary patterns of the chart, Bernadette Brady suggests that a long-term worry “at first seem worse and then clear, with successful outcomes.�?

References:

Wikipedia, Juno (mythology)

Encyclopedia Mythica, Varuna

Wikipedia, Saros cycle

Mary Dowton and Steve Cahill, The Astrologer’s Textbook Of Astronomy, 2002

Bernadette Brady, The Eagle and the Lark, Samuel Weiser, 1999