Archive for July, 2010

Full Moon in Aquarius — July 26, 2010, 01:37 UT

Tuesday, July 27th, 2010

During the Full Moon, the Sun and the Moon are opposite each other, face to face. The Moon is fully lit by the Sun, and in the reflected light we are able to see things clearly. Ideas which originated on the previous New Moon have matured, and now they can be carried out.

Oppositions have much to do with relationships. The aspect brings us awareness, but there is also a challenge involved how to integrate the confronting energies. An opposition calls for compromise.

The Cancer New Moon two weeks ago was also a powerful solar eclipse. The Moon was in conjunction with Juno, drawing our attention to relationship issues. Relationship concerns are still in focus, indicated by asteroid Cupido in conjunction with the Full Moon. Now we are able to look at things more objectively though. The Moon in Aquarius is sociable, but it tends to be emotionally detached, cool and rational.

In Roman mythology, Cupid was the god of erotic love and beauty. He was the equivalent of the Greek Eros. The story of Cupid and Psyche can be understood as describing the process of psychological integration. The Moon and asteroid Cupido are trine to asteroid Psyche in Gemini. Astrologically Psyche represents a psychological wound from which one hasn’t recovered.

The healing planet Chiron has re-entered Aquarius due to its current retrograde motion. According to Martha Lang-Wescott, retrograding Chiron implies a struggle between living up to parental / societal / conventional expectations and values, or seeking to live the life what feels right.

The ruling planets of Aquarius, Saturn (ancient) and Uranus (modern) are opposing each other tightly. Saturn changed signs about a week ago and is now in its exaltation in Libra, the sign concerned with relationships. Both planets are forming soft, harmonious aspects to the Moon.

In close conjunction with Saturn we find asteroid Panacea, another minor planet associated with healing. A panacea means a remedy for all diseases, evils, or difficulties. It was sought by the alchemists as an elixir of life and 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. She represents cures for all kinds of problems, not just those related to health.

Is it realistic to assume that we can find a cure for everything? Maybe not, but at least the conjunction with Saturn is a reliable, responsible factor. This is an appropriate time for aiming at solutions.

References:

Treehouse Mountain, Astrological Keywords: Asteroids

Wikipedia, Cupid and Psyche

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

Wikipedia, Panacea

Wikipedia, Panacea (medicine)

New Moon in Cancer / Total Solar Eclipse — July 11, 2010, 19:40

Monday, July 12th, 2010

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