Archive for September, 2008

The Haumean New Moon — Sept. 29, 2008, 08:12 UT

Sunday, September 28th, 2008

By Kirsti Melto and Eric Francis

At the Libra New Moon the overall emphasis of the sky remains in the sign of balance and justice, as the world seems to need these things more than ever. While Venus has changed signs and moved into Scorpio, it’s forming an exact semisextile aspect (30 degrees) to the lunation in Libra. Mercury and Mars are still in Libra with the Sun and Moon. Mercury is now retrograde (through Oct. 15). The newest member of the dwarf planet category, Haumea, is in Libra, too. Haumea is in wide conjunction with the New Moon.

Venus and Mars are in mutual reception, each occupying one another’s signs. Traditional astrology cautions that both are weakly placed in their signs; Venus is in its detriment in Scorpio, and Mars is in its detriment in Libra. This is a fitting image of the locked-in pessimism associated with the global economic crisis currently unfolding.

On Sept. 17, 2008, a trans-Neptunian minor planet previously known as 2003 EL61 was classified as the fifth dwarf planet in our solar system and named Haumea, after the goddess of childbirth and fertility in Hawaiian mythology.

The four recognized known dwarf planets are Ceres, Pluto, Eris and Makemake.

The discussion about the planet definition and about Pluto’s status continues. The official definitions can be obscure, so let’s briefly recall the astronomical facts.

In August 2006 the International Astronomical Union (IAU), which approves names and categories of celestial bodies, gathered in Prague and approved the first-ever definition of a planet. As a result, Pluto’s designation was changed from planet to a new category, dwarf planet. The first members of this category were Ceres, Pluto and Eris. At the time, Eris had not yet received a proper name and was known as 2003 UB313. That left eight “official” planets in our solar system: Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn (the classical planets of antiquity), plus Uranus and Neptune (two of the modern planets).

The Prague meeting recognized the dwarf planet Pluto as an important prototype of a new class of trans-Neptunian objects. The the IAU would set up a process to name them.

In June 2008 the IAU chose the name “plutoid” as name for Solar System objects like Pluto, i.e. dwarf planets that orbit beyond Neptune. Only the brightest of the dwarf planets fit in this category though. The two known and named plutoids at the time were Pluto and Eris. The two other objects discovered by this point that qualified as a plutoid were 2003 EL61 (which became Haumea) and 2005 FY9 (which became Makemake). The dwarf planet Ceres, located in the main asteroid belt, is the only object of its kind, so a separate category of Ceres-like dwarf planets was not proposed. Ceres is unusual because it accounts for one-third of the mass of the entire inner asteroid belt.

In July 2008 the IAU gave the name Makemake to the object formerly known as 2005 FY9 and officially made it the newest member of the plutoid family and also classified it as the fourth dwarf planet in our Solar System.

On September 17, 2008, the IAU announced that the object previously known as 2003 EL61 was classified as the fifth dwarf planet and named Haumea. The two moons of Haumea were named Hi’iaka and Namaka.

Haumea is one of the three bright objects whose existence was announced in July 2005. The two other bodies were Eris and Makemake. Mike Brown’s team — the discoverers of Haumea — nicknamed it “Santa,â€? because they were observing it around Christmas in 2004.

Haumea was discovered on December 28, 2004 — two days after the Asian tsunami. In the discovery chart of Haumea it is located in a tight conjunction with asteroid 8543 Tsunemi. Of course, the name Tsunemi originally has nothing to do with tsunamis. The JPL Small-Body Database tells me that asteroid Tsunemi was named after Hiroshi Tsunemi from Osaka University, a scientist who has worked in X-ray astronomy.

Astrologer Jacob Schwartz has noticed that sometimes the names of asteroids work very well, although they are chosen seemingly whimsically to honor colleagues, family members, familiar places, etc. “The sounds of names ascribed by these astronomers carry a cycle of meaning relating to events and experiences far beyond the meaning intended by the scientists who named them,” he writes.

In this New Moon chart Haumea is together with asteroid 916 America at 14+ Libra. The focus of the whole world at the moment is on the economic crisis and the presidential election in the USA. Note that 14+ Libra was the ascendant of the chart of the Sept. 11 false flag attacks. The planet Mercury was rising at the time, also located precisely in that degree.

Haumea is named after the goddess of childbirth and fertility in Hawaiian mythology. The Sabian Symbol for the discovery degree for 12+ Libra is beautiful and aptly speaks about children: Libra 13. Children blowing soap bubbles.

“This is a symbol of man’s reassurance through the presence of the beautiful and the good in every least promising form of human relationship,” Marc Edmund Jones writes in his book of Sabian symbols. “People are disposed kindly toward their fellows, but there is no growth in the mere rhythm of everyday routine, and human individuality knows it must be up and at the business of selfhood whether constructively or otherwise. Implicit in the symbolism is the challenge to rise above childish things while yet clinging to childlike ways. The keyword is enchantment. When positive, the degree is a consistent simplicity of character which enables anyone to maintain his touch with a transcendental magic of being, and when negative, a constant and idle daydreaming.”

Haumea is one of the strangest objects in the Solar System. It is the third largest Kuiper Belt object after Eris and Pluto. In the very distant past another object probably slammed into Haumea at high speed, and this giant impact led to all of its odd properties.

Haumea 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 Haumea 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.

Haumea has two tiny moons. In mythology Hi’iaka and Namaka are two of Haumea’s children. Hi’iaka was born from the mouth of Haumea and carried by her sister Pele in egg form from their distant home to Hawaii. She danced the first Hula on the shores of Puna and is the patron goddess of the island of Hawaii and of hula dancers. Namaka is a water spirit, who was born from the body of Haumea. When Pele sends her burning lava into the sea, Namaka cools the lava to become new land.

Haumea’s many children sprang from different parts of her body. She takes many different forms and has experienced many different rebirths. the Kuiper Belt object Haumea is followed in its orbit around the Sun by a swarm of icy bodies that were originally ejected from the surface of Haumea during the giant impact. According to Mike Brown the goal is to name also these members of the family specifically after other mythical children of Haumea.

The goddess Haumea represents the element stone. Observations of the dwarf planet Haumea hint that, unusually, it is almost entirely composed of rock. Most things out in the Kuiper Belt (the band of space that Pluto occupies) are about equal portions of rock and of ice, but, apparently, Haumea has only a thin icy outer shell and the interior is rock.

Haumea is on an unstable orbit and possibly becomes a comet one day in the future, in perhaps a billion years. According to its discoverer, 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.

Astrologers never demoted Pluto. Many of them are now working to establish also the astrological meaning of Haumea. This is a long process. Eric Francis has summed up the process of understanding a new planet excellently in his answer to a curious reader a couple of years ago: How Can Astrologers Already Interpret Xena’s Meaning?

References:

News Release – IAU0603: IAU 2006 General Assembly: Result of the IAU Resolution votes

News Release – IAU0804: Plutoid chosen as name for Solar System objects like Pluto

News Release – IAU0806: Fourth dwarf planet named Makemake

News Release – IAU0807: IAU names fifth dwarf planet Haumea

Mike Brown’s Planets

Haumea

The Significance of Asteroids by Jacob Schwartz

The Sabian Symbols in Astrology by Dr. Marc Edmund Jones, Aurora Press, 1993

How Can Astrologers Already Interpret Xena’s Meaning? by Eric Francis

Libra Equinox – September 22, 2008, 15:44 UT

Friday, September 19th, 2008

Libra Equinox – September 22, 2008, 15:44 UT
Mercury Stations Retrograde – September 24, 2008, 07:17 UT

On the two days of the Equinoxes each year, the length of night and day is equal everywhere on Earth. The word Equinox means “equal night”. This year the Autumnal Equinox, or the Libra Equinox, occurs on September 22. Then days are getting shorter towards the winter here in the Northern Hemisphere.

The Sun enters Libra in the midst of the so-called Mercury storm. Mercury goes retrograde three times each year. Mercury makes its current retrograde station on September 24, two days after the Equinox. The echo phase started on September 4. Echo phase means the phase when Mercury is moving in direct motion through the degrees where it’s about to be retrograde, or was just retrograde. During the few days that surround each exact station, Mercury is moving very slowly, less than one degree per day. This slow period is called the Mercury storm.

In spite of the slow motion of Mercury during the storm phase, it is a period when you need to be particularly aware and careful, as a very rapid shift of energy is taking place. Usually the retrogradation is described as a time when technical devices stop working, communication fails, traveling gets delayed etc.

It is also a time when we tend to be more introspective than usual. Eric Francis has noted that Mercury retrograde works a little like Chiron, revealing the weaknesses in a system in a way that helps us fix them. It can put stress on relationships, and this is especially true now that Mercury is in Libra, the sign of relationships.

In the Equinox chart the Sun squares Pluto. All the so-called personal planets except the Moon, i.e. the Sun, Mercury, Venus and Mars, are in Libra. This is beneficial, as planets in Libra tend to operate tactfully, in balanced and harmonious way, and several factors in the chart are indicating an emotionally unstable period.

Mercury in its storm phase is in an accurate conjunction with Mars. It can be difficult for Mars in Libra to act initiatively or express anger. Yet the Mercury-Mars conjunction is tightly opposite Eris, named after the goddess of discord, the planet that led to the demotion of Pluto and caused disagreement among astronomers. An opposition is the aspect of confrontation.

In the chart there are several quincunx aspects (an aspect of 150 degrees) related to Centaur planets and trans-Neptunian planets. Quincunxes are irritating aspects that require adjustment. Astrologer Sue Tompkins has described them like “finding, as you are running, that you have a stone in your shoe.�

A Yod pattern is formed when there are two planets sextile to each other, and each of them is forming a quincunx to a third planet. There are two interesting Yods in the chart.

The Mercury-Mars conjunction, showing possibly impatient and sharp communication, is the apex of the first Yod, forming quincunxes to Uranus in Pisces and Sedna in Taurus. Uranus is sextile to Sedna.

The other Yod is formed by Apollo-Okyrhoe-Logos conjunction in Virgo, Neptune in Aquarius and Eris in Aries. The triple conjunction is the focal point of this Yod. Neptune is the planet associated with deception and denial. Cubewano Logos is associated with logic, science and technology. According to Eric, Logos represents the “higher octave� of Mercury. Mercury is the planet of communication, and nowadays a big part of our communication takes place via technical device.

Martha Lang-Wescott proposes that asteroid Apollo may symbolize provocation or going against the odds. It can be very useful allowing one to tackle situations where the odds of success are small.

Centaur planet Okyrhoe is named after the nymph daughter of Chiron and Chariklo. She was a prophetess who was transformed into a mare for revealing the secrets of the gods. From the Theoi Project site I learned that in mythology actually there were four other nymphs named as Okyrhoe. One of them was loved by the god Hermes. Two other Okyrhoes appear in connection with either the sun god Apollo, or with Helios, who later became identified with Apollo.

The Moon of the Equinox chart is in Cancer, the sign that the Moon rules. The Cancer Moon is protective and nurturing, but can sometimes be over-sensitive and emotionally fluctuate. Also Venus in Libra is in its own sign, strong and sociable. Jupiter and Saturn are still in solid trine to each other.

By the time of the Mercury station on September 24, Venus has changed signs into Scorpio and the Moon in the late degrees of Cancer in quincunx to Pluto, the ruler of Scorpio.

References:

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

Eric Francis, Mercury is Always Retrograde, ASR

Eric Francis, Mixed Signals, Bright Ideas: Mercury Retrograde in Gemini, PWAN

Planet Wiki, Eris

Sue Tompkins, The Contemporary Astrologer’s Handbook, 2006, Flare Publications

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

Treehouse Mountain

Theoi Project

Full Moon in Pisces — September 15, 2008, 09:13 UT

Friday, September 12th, 2008

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

References:

Planet Wiki, Logos

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

Notes from the Technosphere