Archive for October, 2018

Full Moon in Taurus — October 24, 2018, 16:45 UT

Wednesday, October 24th, 2018

The chart of this Full Moon is interesting. The Moon at 1+ degrees of Taurus is in conjunction with Uranus, the planet of disruption and change.

The Full Moon is always an opposition of the Sun and the Moon. Now the Sun in Scorpio is in conjunction with Venus, the ruler of the Taurus sign. Venus is retrograding, and it is only two days from the inferior conjunction to the Sun. Inferior conjunction is the moment when Venus is directly between, and in line with, the Earth and the Sun. It is a beginning of a new Venus cycle, the same way as the New Moon starts a new lunar cycle.

The Sun and the Moon are exactly squaring the lunar nodes, the points where the yearly path of the Sun and the monthly path of the Moon intersect as seen from Earth. The nodes are always opposite each other, forming an axis. The North node is associated with the future and the South node with the past, and thus the meaning of the axis is often seen as karmic. The points which square the nodes are balancing points. The North node is now in Leo, the sign ruled by the Sun, and the South node is in Aquarius, ruled by Uranus.

Taurus and its ruling planet Venus are associated with values. Taurus, Leo, Scorpio and Aquarius are fixed signs, and they resist change, they want to maintain. Uranus wants to break down, and the new phase of Venus and its retrograde movement want to re-evaluate and start something new.

Anne Massey writes in Venus: Her Cycles, Symbols & Myths: “We need to remember that the New Venus takes place while Venus is retrograde, which is not an ideal time to launch new action. This tends to be the time when we make new choices based on our changed values.”

38083 Rhadamanthus in the last degree of Libra is in conjunction with the Sun and Venus in Scorpio. 38083 Rhadamanthus is a trans-Neptunian minor planet named after a wise king of Crete, who later became one of the judges of the dead, because he had such a great sense of justice. He was also said to be a tutor to Heracles. The composition of the chart is contradictory, but the wisdom of Rhadamanthus is guiding us.

New Moon in Libra — October 09, 2018, 03:47 UT

Tuesday, October 9th, 2018

Venus stationed retrograde on Oct. 5, 2018, in Scorpio. A few days later, on Oct. 9, 2018, the New Moon occurs in Libra, the sign which is ruled by Venus. Every New Moon – the conjunction of the Sun and the Moon – starts a new lunation cycle. We begin this lunation in awareness of a new planetary energy, 471143 Dziewanna.

471143 Dziewanna is currently at 11+ degrees of Scorpio, and Venus turned retrograde at 10+ degrees of Scorpio, only one degree apart from it. The New Moon was in conjunction with asteroid 1 Ceres, the first asteroid to be discovered, today classified as a dwarf planet.

1 Ceres is named after the Roman goddess of grain and agriculture. She is Earth Mother. Ceres had a daughter, Proserpina, whom she loved dearly. One day Pluto abducted young Proserpina and made her the queen of the Underworld. Ceres desperately searched her daughter everywhere, but she couldn’t find her. In her grief and anger Ceres stopped the growth of fruits and vegetables. Every year Proserpina has to spend six months with Pluto, the other six months she is allowed to live with her mother. When Proserpina returns, Ceres allows plants grow and flowers bloom again. The myth describes the change of the seasons, and eternal cycle of renewal.

471143 Dziewanna is a newly named scattered disc object. It is very likely a dwarf planet and it is coming to its perihelion in 2038 (the point in its orbit where it is nearest to the Sun). It was discovered in 2010 by astronomers Andrzej Udalski, Scott Sheppard, Marcin Kubiak and Chad Trujillo during the Polish OGLE project of Warsaw University. According to the official naming citation, “Dziewanna is a Slavic Goddess of the wild nature, forests and the hunt. Gold-haired, young and beautiful, she brings the spring and revitalizes the Earth. Wild yellow mullein flowers (Polish: dziewanna) are her symbol. Dried, they served as torches during her celebrations.”


Dziewanna plants in my garden.
Photo: Copyright © Kirsti Melto.

Like Ceres, also Dziewanna is the goddess of agriculture. She is also the goddess of the Moon and often depicted with wolves. Goddess Dziewanna has much in common with the Roman goddess Diana, the goddess of the hunt, wild animals and the Moon. Like her Roman equivalent, Dziewanna is a maiden goddess. However, according to the site of the Lake Area Goddesses, “Dziewanna is married; married and free of the control of a man at the same time.” Quoting the site, “She is a true virgin, whole unto herself.” An appearance of a new planet expands our consciousness and opens up new possibilities for us. At this moment of time the energy of Dziewanna is welcomed.

Andrzej Udalski, the discoverer of 471143 Dziewanna, said in an interview: “I hope that putting Dziewanna in the sky will encourage researchers of Polish and Slavic traditions and cultures to learn more about this mysterious goddess.” He adds: “Fantasizing even more – it might also encourage scientists, engineers or technical university students to design an extremely ambitious space project. (…) It would be very interesting to see the true face of our Dziewanna and learn its secrets.” As an astrologer I am happy to join this endeavor.