Archive for May, 2019

Full Moon in Scorpio — May 18, 2019, 21:11 UT

Saturday, May 18th, 2019

The Full Moon on May 18, 2019, is at 27+ degrees of Scorpio. The Sun in Taurus is in strict conjunction with Sedna, one of the most distant icy bodies in our solar system, named after the Inuit goddess of the Arctic Ocean. Sedna represents the utmost edge, both in the solar system as well as in our consciousness.

Sedna’s orbit is exceptionally long and elongated, taking approximately 11,400 years to complete. Sedna never comes inside Neptune’s orbit, not even when it is nearest to the Sun in its orbit, which happens next time in 2076. Sedna is possibly the first known member of the inner Oort cloud. In the astrological chart it moves so slowly that it works almost like a fixed star.

Sedna was discovered in 2003. It has given its name to a group of distant bodies, the sednoids, of which only three including Sedna are discovered so far, but scientists suspect that there are a lot more of them. The sednoids belong to the category of ETNOs (the extreme trans-Neptunian objects), whose orbits could have been disrupted by an as-yet-unknown planet beyond the Kuiper belt, the hypothesized Planet Nine, a body at least ten times more massive than the Earth.

In astrology we observe planetary cycles and when we try to define the nature of a certain transit, we find it helpful to study events in history. We don’t know much about the life 11,000 years ago, when Sedna last time was this close to the Sun and Earth. The climate was warming up, as the Earth was coming out of the ice age. People were hunter-gatherers. The last woolly mammoths were dying in extinction. Why this happened is not quite clear, but a climate change alone was probably not the reason, because mammoths had survived similar changes previously. Advanced hunting might have had something to do with their extinction.

Amazingly some concrete things have stood the test of the millennia up till our time. Göbekli Tepe, located in southeastern Turkey, is one of the most important archaeological discoveries ever. It was built around the same time that the last ice age ended. It is presumed to be a ceremonial site, perhaps for shamanic practices. There are various temples and massive stone pillars at the site. Hundreds of people and massive efforts have been needed to erect the structures. The site proves that at least some humans created permanent settlements long before farming practices started. For unknown reasons the site was then abandoned.

One of the world’s oldest art pieces is a wooden sculpture found in Siberia near Yekaterinburg. The radiocarbon dating has showed that the Shigir Idol is approximately 11,500 years old, carved from a trunk shortly after the end of the ice age. It is about five meters tall and its decoration resembles that of some stone sculptures found at Göbekli Tepe. Scholars think it is possible that the culture which emerged after the ice age and which created big symbolical artifacts, possibly having to do with religious rituals, did not originate in one place, but in several centers in different parts of the world.

The world’s oldest living tree is a 9,550 year-old Norway spruce growing in Sweden. The discovery of this spruce in 2004 coincides with Sedna emerging into our awareness. The tree has survived by pushing out another trunk as soon as the old one has died. It is rebirthing itself.

Astrologically Sedna has been associated with the climate change. We are damaging our planet and civilization dramatically. It is estimated that a million species are at risk, and one third of world’s nature will be destroyed by 2050. The extinction of plants and animals threatens also us humans. We Finns are at the forefront of destroying the planet. This year’s overshoot day of the Finns – the point at which consumption exceeds the capacity of nature to regenerate – was on April 5, a week earlier than last year. If people all over the world were consuming like us, we would need almost four Earths to sustain it. Immediate actions for better are required from each and every one of us.

In mythology Sedna was a beautiful Inuit girl, who became betrayed first by a suitor in disguise and then by her own father. Through a powerful transformation she became the mighty goddess of icy waters. She wants to be heard. If she is happy, she allows the humans to eat from the bounty of the sea. If she is not respected, she sends storms and starvation. The myth gives us hope.

In spite of the dreadful state of our planet, there is still hope. Our youngsters have taken the lead in the combat against time. Greta Thunberg, a Swedish schoolgirl, has initiated the School strike for climate, an international movement of students, who are not attending classes and instead are protesting for immediate action to prevent further global warming. Greta Thunberg was born in 2003, the same year when Sedna was discovered.

New Moon in Taurus — May 04, 2019, 22:45 UT

Saturday, May 4th, 2019

The New Moon occurs in the mid degrees of Taurus. This is a time of Beltane, an old pagan holiday to celebrate life and renewal. Beltane means roughly “bright fire”. In the celebrations bonfires were lit in order to improve the fertility of the cattle and for the protection.

The New Moon at 14+ degrees of Taurus is in a tight aspect to two interesting trans-Neptunian objects. Opposite the New Moon in Scorpio is 471143 Dziewanna, named after the old Slavic goddess of spring and wild nature. In conjunction with the New Moon in Taurus is 47171 Lempo, named after the ancient god of love and fertility in Finnish mythology.

Lempo is a plutino discovered in 1999 and named in 2017. Astronomically Lempo is a fascinating multiple system. It is a triple plutino consisting of three bodies, having diameters approximately within 100 – 300 km. The two inner components form a binary. The third component is circulating the central pair. In this respect Lempo resembles the Pluto system, where four small moons are orbiting the central binary of Pluto and Charon. The biggest component is named as Lempo and the two smaller ones as Paha and Hiisi. The orbital period of Lempo is about 245.5 years. It was at its perihelion (the point in the orbit where it is nearest to the Sun) in July 2015.

In the Finnish folklore and mythology Lempo is a sort of fiend, who brought down Väinämöinen, the wise old seer and the central character in Kalevala, the national epic of the Finns. According to the naming rules of the IAU, plutinos are named after mythological creatures associated with the underworld. However, originally, before the Christianization, Lempo was the goddess of love and fertility. According to the myth, a glowing fireball shot from the sky and hit the ground. She was the sacred Fire Woman, who gave bread, iron and love to humankind, and also escorted the deceased to the Otherworld.

I have found a great deal of information about the enigmatic Lempo from Lemmon arvoitus by Juha Kuisma, published by the residents’ association of Lempäälä in 2002. The author is a resident of Lempäälä municipality in Finland, situated in the region where supposedly once lived worshippers of Lempo. Juha Kuisma has studied Lempo and the origins of the name of Lempäälä thoroughly. You can read more about Lempo here Full Moon in Scorpio — April 30, 2018, 00:58 UT.

The following persons have a prominent Lempo in their astrological natal charts. (The Rodden rating AA or A means that the time is known and the data is accurate.) No doubt these people have gained a great deal from the creative sparks of Lempo.

Alexander Wilson (Oct. 24, 1893 – Apr. 4, 1963) was an English writer, spy and MI6 officer. He was an undiscovered bigamist, and lied to many people who discovered some of his secrets only after he died. His family’s story was dramatized in the 2018 BBC miniseries Mrs Wilson. His Sun is in conjunction with Lempo in Scorpio.

Billie Holiday (Apr. 7, 1915 – July 17, 1959), “Lady Day”, was an influential American jazz singer with a career spanning nearly thirty years. She was known for her vocal delivery and improvisational skills. Her Lempo is conjunct MC in Scorpio and square to the lunar nodes (Rodden rating AA).

Indira Gandhi (Nov. 19, 1917 – Oct. 31, 1984) was the first and, to date, the only female Prime Minister of India. She was the daughter of Jawaharlal Nehru, the first prime minister of India. She was named “Woman of the Millennium” in an online poll organized by the BBC in 1999. – Her Sun is conjunct Lempo in Scorpio and her Dziewanna at her Leo ascendant (Rodden rating A).

Toots Thielemans (Apr. 29, 1922 – Aug. 22, 2016) was a Belgian jazz musician. He was known for his harmonica playing. He often performed and recorded with Quincy Jones, who once called him “one of the greatest musicians of our time.” In 2009 he was designated a Jazz Master by The National Endowment for the Arts, the highest honor for a jazz musician in the United States. He has Lempo conjunct the ascendant in Sagittarius, Saturn in Libra in sextile to Lempo (Rodden rating AA).

Veikko Hursti (Nov. 25, 1924 – May 10, 2005) was a well-known Finnish philanthropist. He is most famous for his work in helping the poor and the homeless. He became nationally known for hosting a yearly Christmas party for the poor. Hursti has a Sun-Lempo conjunction in Sagittarius.

Mauri Antero Numminen (born March 12, 1940) is a Finnish artist and cultural personality, who lives nowadays in Lempäälä. Sometimes the lyrics of his songs have been taken from a book, a law or some other official document, like a sex guide, or a municipal report of Lempäälä. His Pisces Sun squares Lempo in Sagittarius; Lempo is in sextile to the north lunar node.

Dionne Warwick (born Dec. 12, 1940) is an American singer and actress, who ranks among the 41 biggest hit makers of the entire rock era, based on the Billboard Hot 100 Pop Singles Charts. She became a United Nations Global Ambassador for the Food and Agriculture Organization and a United States Ambassador of Health. Her Sun is conjunct Lempo in Sagittarius.

Jimi Hendrix (Nov. 27, 1942 – Sept. 18, 1970), an American rock guitarist, is widely regarded as one of the most influential electric guitarists in the history of popular music. The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame describes him as “arguably the greatest instrumentalist in the history of rock music”. His Lempo is conjunct the ascendant in Sagittarius and Dziewanna in the first degree of Virgo in conjunction with the north node and Chiron in Leo (Rodden rating AA).

Sissy Spacek (born Dec. 25, 1949) is an American actress and singer. She is the recipient of various accolades in the fields of cinema and music. She has a Sun-Lempo conjunction in Capricorn opposite Uranus in Cancer.

Jeff Bezos (born Jan. 12, 1964), the richest man in modern history, is the founder, chairman, CEO, and president of Amazon. His Sun is in conjunction with Lempo and Salacia in Capricorn.

Shakira (born Feb. 2, 1977) is a Colombian singer, songwriter and dancer. She is one of the world’s best-selling music artists. She is a goodwill ambassador for UNICEF. Her Sun is in conjunction with Lempo and Mors-Somnus in Aquarius, Uranus in Scorpio is squaring Lempo, and Saturn in Leo is opposing the triple-conjunction.

Rihanna (born Feb. 20, 1988) is a Barbadian singer, businesswoman and actress, and one of the best-selling music artists worldwide. She is known for embracing versatile musical styles and reinventing her image throughout her career. Her Sun is conjunct Lempo in Pisces.

Mikael Granlund (born 26 February 1992) is a Finnish professional ice hockey centre currently playing for the Nashville Predators of the National Hockey League (NHL). Granlund made his debut with the senior Finnish national team for the 2011 IIHF World Championship. He scored a lacrosse style highlight reel goal in the semifinal game against Russia, helping Finland win gold, and thus gained cult status in Finland. His Sun is in conjunction with Lempo in Pisces, and Jupiter in Virgo opposes the conjunction.

Justin Bieber (born March 1, 1994) is a Canadian singer-songwriter. Bieber has won numerous awards throughout his career. In 2016, Bieber became the first artist to surpass 10 billion total video views on Vevo. His Sun is conjunct Lempo in Pisces and Jupiter in Scorpio trines Lempo.