Archive for October, 2020

Full Moon in Taurus — October 31, 2020, 14:49 UT

Saturday, October 31st, 2020

All Saints’ Day, Halloween and the Finnish Kekri, now all are celebrated on the same weekend. And above all, a spectacular Full Moon rose in the sky on Oct. 31.

At this time of the year the veils between the worlds are thin. Kekri is the old Finnish pagan harvest festival. Whether the character called Kekri was a god or a ghost, we don’t know for sure. However, the dead relatives and ancestors were invited for dinner, and sauna was prepared for them as well.

The Moon is in Taurus in conjunction with Uranus and 15760 Albion, the first cubewano. The Moon is opposite the Sun in Scorpio, the sign associated with sex, death and transformation. Venus, the ruler of Taurus, is in Libra, which is another sign ruled by Venus, and it is opposing Chiron in Aries. The exact Venus-Chiron opposition takes place the next day, on Nov. 1.

The opposition is an aspect of confrontation, of meeting something or someone face to face. There is potential for conflict, but it also brings awareness. The signs in opposition are complementary to each other. The aspect often works through relationships. Libra is the sign associated with relationships, Taurus with values. Venus as the ruler of these two signs has to do with both associations, as it shows what we appreciate and how we bond with other people.

Howard Sasportas has described the transits of Uranus like this: “Uranus transits can activate our ability to connect with and understand the workings of the universal mind, allowing us to glimpse its intention and direction. When this happens, we may become the channel or agency through which some new idea or trend circulating in the collective psyche can manifest.”

Uranus is the rebellious rule-breaker. Robert Hand writes about Uranus in Taurus: “Uranus in Taurus is difficult because the revolutionary, rebellious and instantaneous quality of Uranus is not suited to the slow and gradual nature of Taurus. Signs such as Gemini allow Uranus to release its energies in a series of small discharges, preventing it from blowing up. But the nature of earth resists the electricity of Uranus such that when the energy is released, it is released in a tremendous explosion.”

15760 Albion, previously known as 1992 QB1, was the first minor planet found beyond Neptune (in 1992) after the discovery of Pluto in 1930. It was the turning point, which opened the door for discoveries of thousands of icy bodies in the outer regions of our solar system. Albion was named from the creation mythology of William Blake, an English poet and visionary. Albion is also the ancient and mythological name of Britain. Blake’s works don’t open up easily. Astrologically Albion can represent the edge, the bridge leading to the unknown, and the archetype of the thresholder.

“In the universe, there are things that are known, and things that are unknown, and in between, there are doors,” has William Blake said. The symbol for Chiron is a key, and keys open doors allowing us to enter into a new space. Chiron brings awareness and builds bridges. Chiron has been described as a maverick, so there is some Uranian flavor in it.

Taurus resists change and Libra seeks balance, but by this Full Moon in Taurus the stability will be shaken, one way or another.

New Moon in Libra — October 16, 2020, 19:31 UT

Thursday, October 15th, 2020

The New Moon in Libra is opposite the retrograding Mars-Eris conjunction in Aries and square to Jupiter, Pluto and Saturn in Capricorn. Two distant minor planets, centaur 10199 Chariklo and plutino 15810 Arawn are also in conjunction with the Capricorn planets. There is an impressive cardinal t-square pattern formed by all these planets.

A t-square is an aspect pattern formed by two planets opposing each other and both of them squared by a third planet. It is a very stressful configuration. The tension is searching release, which can result in impatience and indiscretion. There are more than just three planets involved in the current t-square and the participants add extra weight to the aspects.

The Sun and the Moon in Libra are opposing Mars (action, passion, anger, aggression) and Eris (chaos, discord, provocation) in Aries. Mars is strong in its home sign, but now it is retrograding, which can hinder its normal behavior and cause huge frustration. Also Eris is retrograding. The empty leg of the t-square, which in this case is in Cancer, could act as the discharge point for the tension, but now the heavy Capricorn stellium concentrates the energy strongly on the apex in Capricorn.

The building energy that the t-square produces is not just a stress factor, but a possibility for successful work if it is handled constructively. Fortunately the New Moon in Libra is concerned of balance and justice. Moreover, the “graceful spinner” Chariklo is in the mix. Chariklo provides support.

The presence of Arawn offers an excellent moment for some serious soul searching. Van Morrison has the Sun-Arawn conjunction in his natal chart, and his works often tell about the spiritual search and healing. In an old interview, when it was a question about the identity crisis he had went through, he said: “…what they call in psychology an identity crisis… What it is as a matter of fact, it’s called growth… The whole point is, dig yourself.” Arawn may have a lot to do with being real, or showing our original essence.

15810 Arawn was discovered in 1994 and named in 2017 from Welsh mythology. Arawn was the ruler of the Celtic otherworld, Annwfn, meaning “the in-world”, derived from an (“in, inside”) and dwfn (“world”). Annwfn was like a paradise, a world of eternal youth where disease was absent and food was ever-abundant.

Jupiter is a planet of faith and self-confidence. It likes to explore and is interested in the search for meaning. Jupiter is now tightly conjunct Arawn. Mercury has just turned retrograde in Scorpio, which for its part is encouraging us to seek within.

Full Moon in Aries — October 01, 2020, 21:05 UT

Thursday, October 1st, 2020

The Full Moon in Aries is in conjunction with centaur Chiron and sednoid Leleākūhonua. Chiron was the first centaur to be discovered, and at the time of its discovery in 1977, it was the most distant known minor planet. Today it is classified as both a minor planet and a comet. Astrologically Chiron raises awareness and offers the means for holistic healing.

Mars and Eris are retrograding in Aries in exact conjunction with each other. In Greek mythology Eris is the goddess of strife and discord, and the sister of the god of war Ares, the equivalent for the Roman god Mars. The Mars-Eris conjunction is the midpoint of Uranus and the Moon. The midpoint combines the reactive and shaky energies of Uranus and the Full Moon and squares Saturn in Capricorn. We already saw this aspect figure in action in the presidential debate between Trump and Biden the other night.

541132 Leleākūhonua was the third sednoid to be discovered (in 2015) and belongs also to the group of extreme trans-Neptunian objects (ETNO). Members of these distant groups orbit the Sun in the outermost region of the Solar System in long and elongated orbits. There are only three known sednoids so far, but it is suspected that there are many more. All the known ones have perihelia greater than 64 AU. These objects lie outside an apparently nearly empty gap in the Solar System. ETNOs may be influenced by gravitational interactions with a hypothetical Planet Nine, ten times more massive than the Earth and with a diameter two to four times the Earth, and which may be shepherding the orbits of the most distant objects.

Ten years ago astronomer Mike Brown, co-discoverer of Sedna (in 2003), wrote in his blog that he knew that Sedna in its strange orbit was telling us something profound about our solar system, and that to learn more, they would have to find more things like Sedna. The search for those distant icy bodies and for Planet Nine continues.

Mike Brown also wrote: “Sedna could have gotten too close to this Planet X and been given a kick which would have flung it out into a far corner of our solar system. But, like always, nothing can kick you into a far corner and make you stay there. You always come back to the spot where you were kicked.” The name of Leleākūhonua compares the object’s orbit to the flight of migratory birds and evokes a yearning to be near Earth. The name comes from the Hawaiian creation chant, the Kumulipo.

The orbital period of Leleākūhonua is around 32,000 years. At the moment Leleākūhonua is approaching the Sun and will come to perihelion in 2078. The Earth is our only home. It has lost more than two-thirds of its wildlife populations in the last 50 years – only in one Chiron’s round around the Sun. This catastrophic decline caused by the human activity has to be stopped! Leleākūhonua came to show us that the damage is happening too fast and our efforts for saving our planet are too slow. We have to change our ways urgently.