Archive for March, 2017

New Moon in Aries — March 28, 2017, 2:57 UT

Wednesday, March 29th, 2017

The first New Moon of the year occurred on March 28 at 7+ degrees of Aries. The sign of Aries has been the scene of many interesting astrological developments lately, including the Uranus-Eris conjunction on March 17 at 22+ degrees of Aries. Among the most interesting events is the sign ingress of 120347 Salacia.

On March 1, Salacia left Neptune’s world and entered Aries. Salacia at the Aries Point is a rare event, because Salacia’s orbital period around the Sun lasts about 270 years, a bit longer than that of Pluto. Salacia spent over 23 years in Pisces, and it will spend the next 25 years or so in Aries.

120347 Salacia is one of the largest trans-Neptunian objects. Its dark surface is unusual among the objects in its size range, and that is why it was at first considered much smaller than what it actually is. Salacia is almost certainly a dwarf planet, and on Mike Brown’s dwarf planet list it is ranked as the tenth largest object. The misunderstanding of the size presumably has had an effect on the diminutive attention payed on Salacia in astrology.

120347 Salacia is named after the Roman goddess of salt water and the consort of Neptune. According to the myth, Neptune wanted to marry the beautiful nymph Salacia. She wanted to preserve her virginity – perhaps also her independence – so she fled as far as she could and hid from him in the Atlantic Ocean. Neptune sent a dolphin to look for her and persuade her to come back and marry him. Salacia agreed, and so she became the goddess of the sea. She was depicted with dolphins and seals, and other sea creatures.

Salacia was a bit overlooked goddess in mythology, too. She was diminished to represent an aspect of Neptune, the violent and gushing waters. Her Greek equivalent was Amphitrite, the wife of Poseidon. Only in one occasion – but in a significant one – she appears as a real goddess, namely at the birth of the Sun god Apollo, one of the most important deities in Greek and Roman mythology.

The Vernal Equinox was on March 20, when the new astrological year began. The Sun entered Aries and conjoined 120347 Salacia, already there occupying the first degree of the sign. Salacia’s sign ingress had taken place on March 1. More than suitably the Sabian Symbol of the Aries 1 by Dr. Marc Edmund Jones is “A woman rises out of water, a seal rises and embraces her.” Do you recognize Salacia?

Since Salacia was seen as one aspect of Neptune, I think she was quite comfortable in the water sign of Pisces, which is ruled by Neptune. Perhaps Salacia in Aries will reflect the part of the myth, in which she showed her independence and bravely fled to an unfamiliar territory.

In the New Moon chart the retrograding Venus and asteroid Pallas are in conjunction with Salacia, and the Sun and the Moon are also with a wider orb. Venus has already once passed over Salacia, still in Pisces at the time. Venus will be retrograding over the Aries Point and Salacia again on April 1. Venus retrograde ends on April 15, and the third conjunction of Venus and Salacia happens on May 1.

The current astrology highlights Salacia. Let’s pay attention and take notes!

Full Moon in Virgo — March 12, 2017, 14:54 UT

Wednesday, March 15th, 2017

The Full Moon last Sunday was at 22+ degrees of Virgo. The Sun in the opposing sign was in conjunction with the trans-Neptunian object Manwë at 23+ degrees of Pisces.

Every birth chart is unique, as are also we individuals. The planets in the chart in specific combinations and placements can manifest themselves in many different ways in the lives of different people. The genes we inherit from our parents; our upbringing; the circumstances of our lives; and the choices we make; they all shape us the persons who we are.

Sometimes when I look at someone’s chart, a new object reveals its meaning in that particular chart very clearly. This was the case when I saw the Sun-Manwë conjunction in Aleister Crowley’s birth chart. Manwë seems to have been the underlying and unconscious influence motivating him in almost everything he did.

Aleister Crowley (1875 – 1947) was an English occultist, magician, poet, painter, writer, and mountaineer. He is a controversial figure, whose name is familiar to those who have interest in Tarot. He has had influence in esoteric traditions and in popular culture. He founded the religion of Thelema, and considered himself as a prophet. He was accused of being a satanist. He saw himself as a solar myth.

In 1903 Aleister Crowley married Rose Edith Kelly, and next year on their honeymoon they arrived in Cairo, Egypt. The events in Cairo turned out to be pivotal for Crowley. Rose told Crowley that the Egyptian god Horus wanted to communicate with him. Horus was a sky god and a solar deity, usually depicted as a man with a falcon head. Rose channeled the messages, which Crowley wrote down, and the writings became “The Book of the Law”, which became the cornerstone of Crowley’s religion.

Some documents suggest that during the Second World War Crowley was working as a secret agent of British Intelligence, and perhaps remained a spy throughout his life.

385446 Manwë is a binary trans-Neptunian object discovered in 2003 and named in 2014. The satellite is named Thorondor. The names come from J.R.R. Tolkien’s fictional mythology.

In Tolkien’s mythology Manwë was a kind and wise King of the Valar and a Jupiter-like deity. He was the lord of air, wind and clouds. Birds, especially eagles, were his servants. They flew back and forth and brought to his knowledge everything that was going on in the world. Manwë loved poetry and music with words. He dressed in blue robe and carried a sapphire scepter. He lived on the highest mountain of the world, Mount Taniquetil.

Thorondor was the lord of eagles, the “mightiest of all birds that have ever been”, in Tolkien’s writing.

It is almost impossible to talk about Manwë without mentioning Varda, the queen of the stars. Manwë and Varda complemented each other. If Varda is beside Manwë, he “sees further than all other eyes, through mist, and through darkness, and over the leagues of the sea. And if Manwë is with her, Varda hears more clearly than all other ears the sound of voices that cry from east to west, from the hills and the valleys,” wrote Tolkien. There is also a trans-Neptunian object 174567 Varda, which was discovered in 2003 and named in 2014, just as 385446 Manwë was.

Aleister Crowley’s birth data has the Rodden Rating of C (meaning “caution”). In this chart 174567 Varda is at Crowley’s ascendant. His Sun-Manwë conjunction forms a quintile aspect to Varda. The quintile aspect is said to be an aspect of creativity. Astrologer Sue Tompkins has noted: “It describes the kind of art form we are drawn to (using the word ‘art’ in the widest sense) and with which we may become skilled. It is often an area we become obsessed and fixated about and we impose that fixation upon the world at large.”

How did Aleister Crowley implement his Manwë archetype? He was the chief of his religious movement Thelema, he established the foundation of his work together with his wife, as a mountaineer he reached high mountains, he wrote poetry, and he wore – at least occasionally — a ceremonial robe. If you think of him as a prophet, or as a secret agent as well, you can almost hear the wings of the mighty eagles, when they fly gathering information on higher plane or in the distant corners of the empire.

The Sun conjoined 385446 Manwë on Monday, and today it makes contact with Chiron. The astrological year is ending with a window of opportunity for special wisdom and healing.