The first New Moon of the year occurs at 11+ degrees Aries, in the sign of new beginnings. The Sun and the Moon are lined up in Aries with Mercury and several interesting minor planets. Mercury is the planet of mental activity, traveling and communication, both in spoken and written form. Mercury is in exact opposition to Logos in Libra, a trans-Neptunian binary, which has affinity with Mercury. Let’s take a look at the Aries planets first, and then study Logos further.

At the Aries Point sits Manwë, a trans-Neptunian contact binary with the orbital period of almost 290 years. The secondary is named as Thorondor. Manwë may be a multiobject system shaped like a barbell, likely surrounded by rapidly orbiting moonlets besides Thorondor. According to the official naming citation, “In J. R. R. Tolkien’s mythology, Manwë is foremost among the deities who rule the world. Manwë takes special responsibility for the air and winds. He resides in the Undying Lands across the western ocean from Middle Earth. For intelligence of events in Middle Earth, Manwë relies on the kingdom of eagles led by Thorondor.”

Manwë is currently starting a new cycle and changing signs from Pisces to Aries. Planets operate in a different mode in each of the signs. Manwë was discovered in Pisces in 2003. It entered Aries for the first time in May 2021. The second ingress took place about a week ago. In October 2022 Manwë starts retrograding back to Pisces again, and then in January 2023 ingresses to Aries for the third and last time. It gets no further than the second degree of Aries until in April 2023.

At 11+ Aries, in exact conjunction with the Sun and the Moon, is Leleākūhonua, an extreme trans-Neptunian object (ETNO). The name compares its orbit to the flight of migratory birds and evokes a yearning to be near Earth. The Sun and the Moon as well as Leleākūhonua are right between Mercury and Chiron.

Chiron was the first centaur discovered (in 1977), and the first member of a new class of bodies orbiting between the Main asteroid belt and the Kuiper belt. The discoverer, Charles Kowal, called it a maverick. Officially it became named after the wisest of all the centaurs, Chiron. In astrology it is commonly described as the wounded healer.

Pallas at 17+ Aries is the third-largest asteroid, named after Pallas Athena, the protectress of the city of Athens, and also the protectress of heroes. The goddess Athena is associated with wisdom, handicraft, politics, and warfare. She is an excellent strategist and diplomat. In art Athena can be a symbol of freedom and democracy. Astrologically, Pallas represents creative intelligence.

At 24+ Aries is Eris, the most massive and second-largest known dwarf planet, which orbits the Sun in the scattered disc, beyond Neptune. Eris is named after the Greek goddess of strife and discord.

The astrological symbolism of each planet and minor body is multifaceted and cannot be described just in a few words, but it is quite easy to associate much of the aforementioned symbolism with the horrific war in Europe and with its consequences.

Opposite the Aries cluster at 9+ Libra, and most tightly opposite the New Moon and Mercury, is a binary trans-Neptunian Logos-Zoe with orbital period of about 307 years. In the Gnostic tradition, Logos and Zoe are a paired emanation of the deity, and part of its creation myth. Logos is the divine ordering principle of the cosmos, personified as Christ.

Logos is also a term in philosophy. The term has been used in different ways. It is often translated as some variation of logic or reasoning, but it originally referred to the actual content of a speech and how it was organized. According to the Greek philosopher Aristotle (384–322 BC), a speaker can use three basic kinds of appeals to persuade his audience: ethos (an appeal to the speaker’s character), pathos (an appeal to the audience’s emotion), and logos (an appeal to logical reasoning). You may have encountered the term logos recently in the media, when the press praised Arnold Schwarzenegger’s speech to the Russian people.

I love the Russian people. That is why I have to tell you the truth. Please watch and share. pic.twitter.com/6gyVRhgpFV

— Arnold (@Schwarzenegger) March 17, 2022

Actor and former Governor of California, Arnold Schwarzenegger has Mars conjunct Logos in Gemini in his birth chart. The sign of Gemini is ruled by Mercury, and Arnold’s Mercury is rising at his ascendant. In addition, his Mercury is trine his Jupiter in Scorpio. It is no wonder that he is a gifted speaker. His asteroid Pallas is in Pisces, and Pallas, Mercury and Jupiter form a grand trine in the water element, probably the most emphatic of the elements. According to Demetra George, Pallas in Pisces brings out the poetic, inspirational, and illusory qualities in artistic expression, and also creative skill in the media of film and photography. Politically it can be a proponent of nonviolent resistance, she says.

Arnold Schwarzenegger published his speech on Twitter on March 17, 2022. The Sun at 27+ Pisces was at Arnold’s Midheaven. The transiting Sun at your Midheaven is certainly the transit when you get public attention! The transiting Mercury and Jupiter in Pisces were sandwiching Arnold’s natal Pallas at 14+ Pisces and his solar arc directed Moon at 15+ Pisces. His solar arc directed Mercury was at the first degree of Libra, one of the cardinal signs (which are Aries, Cancer, Libra and Capricorn). The first degrees of the cardinal signs are related to the Aries point, which joins individuals with the collective.

Ukraine officially declared itself independent on Aug. 24, 1991. The referendum confirming independence and the first presidential elections took place on Dec. 1, 1991. In The Book of World Horoscopes Nicholas Campion gives the time for the announcement of the result as 6:00 pm GMT. The current New Moon in Aries squares Ukraine’s Uranus in Capricorn in both charts. In the first chart Pallas is at 10+ Libra, opposed by the transiting New Moon. The transiting Logos is in conjunction with it. The New Moon is right at the Midheaven of the latter Ukraine chart. The Moon of the latter chart is at 17+ Libra opposite Eris at 16+ Aries. Pallas of the New Moon is now transiting this opposition tightly. The current new Moon is square the lunar node axis of Ukraine at 11+ Cancer and Capricorn.

President Zelenskyi’s chart also receives transits of the New Moon, especially his lunar nodes at 9+ Libra and Aries. I hope that these are good signs for the diplomatic process and the peace talks.

Vernal Equinox – March 20, 2022. 15:33 UT

The Full Moon at 27+ degrees Virgo is in conjunction with retrograding centaur Rhiphonos at 29+ Virgo. The Sun in Pisces is opposing them. The Moon enters Libra about four hours later and the Sun enters the first degree of Aries two days later, on March 20, 2022. The Sun’s ingress into Aries is the Vernal Equinox, which starts the astrological year.

The orbital period of centaur planet Rhiphonos is 35.5 years. In Greek mythology Rhiphonos was one of the twelve Dionysian Centaurs who drew the chariot of the infant Dionysus. Zeus had set them to guard his son Dionysus against Hera’s anger. Later Rhiphonos was one of the commanders of the centaurs who accompanied the adult Dionysus on his travels. My impression of the astrological Rhiphonos is that it indicates a growth story.

The European Union was established on May 9, 1950, by the Schuman Declaration. The declaration has several aims, among them to make war between member states impossible and to encourage world peace. In the chart of the European Union the Sun in Taurus is in exact conjunction with Praamzius, a trans-Neptunian body named after the god of the sky, peace and friendship in Lithuanian mythology, and one of the few Kuiper belt objects named after a European deity. The EU’s centaur Rhiphonos is at 26+ Virgo and Praamzius of the USA is at 29+ Virgo. Thus this Full Moon is also tightly in conjunction with Rhiphonos of the EU and Praamzius of the USA.

The Act of Declaration of Independence of Ukraine was adopted on Aug. 24, 1991, when another centaur planet was in the early degrees of Libra, namely centaur Thereus at 2+ Libra. The orbital period of Thereus is 34.7 years, close to that of Rhiphonos. According to Wikipedia, Thereus was named for the phrase thēreios bia ‘beastly strength’, used to describe centaurs in Greek mythology. The official naming citation notes that the centaur Thereus was a hunter who captured bears and carried them home angry and alive.

When Russia began the invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24, 2022, Rhiphonos was retrograding at 1+ degrees of Libra. Ukraine has shown the world enormous strength. When the invasion started, the Sun at 5+ Pisces was opposite retrograding Thereus at 6+ Virgo.

President Volodymyr Zelenskyi’s (born Jan. 25, 1978) natal Thereus rises at his Gemini ascendant and his natal Rhiphonos is in Cancer. Solar arc direction is one of the astrological techniques, by which the positions of natal planets are progressed to some specific moment. When Zelenskyi’s natal planets are directed to Feb. 24, 2022 (the beginning of the invasion of Ukraine), his solar arc directed Moon is at 2+ Libra conjunct Thereus of Ukraine (2+ Libra) and conjunct the transiting Rhiphonos at the time of the invasion (1+ Libra). His solar arc directed Rhiphonos at 4+ Virgo is conjunct Thereus of the invasion at 6+ Virgo.

President Zelenskyi was inaugurated in 2019. He is a former comedy actor and television personality. In a few weeks Volodymyr Zelenskyi grew from a comedian to the courageous head of state who replied: “I need ammunition, not a ride!”

At the time of the New Moon in Pisces there are three noteworthy conjunctions in the last three signs of the zodiac. Venus, Mars, Pluto and asteroid Vesta are in a tight quadruple conjunction in Capricorn. Both Venus and Mars make their exact conjunctions with Pluto the next day. Mercury and Saturn are in conjunction in Aquarius. Their exact conjunction takes place only an hour before the New Moon. The Sun, the Moon, Jupiter and centaur Nessus form a quadruple conjunction in Pisces. The New Moon is always a conjunction of the Sun and the Moon. The Moon conjoins Jupiter and Nessus four hours after the New Moon. This New Moon is colored with centaur Nessus and magnified with Jupiter.

The world changed in a day when Russia attacked Ukraine last Thursday. “The mask has now fallen and only the cold face of war is visible,” said President Sauli Niinistö. Putin attacked not just Ukraine, but also the core values of Europe. It was the end of innocence for Europe. We have hardly ever seen a consistent Europe as we see today. The buck stops here!

The discovery of Nessus in 1993 was the third discovery of a centaur after Chiron (1977) and Pholus (1992). The naming of Nessus was historical, because it was the first celestial body in modern times named by astrologers. Several astrologers in different countries had separately studied the object and had come to the conclusion that it should be named Nessus. In 1997 the name was officially accepted by the International Astronomical Union.

Nessus addresses issues such as the abuse of power, being oppressed, and patterns of helplessness. Its themes can stretch over more than one generation. Nessus helps to release those patterns, so that the healing can take place and integrity can be developed. Otherwise the ill can go on and on through generations. According to Melanie Reinhart, one of the pioneers of centaurean astrology, “Nessus activations correspond with times when things really do end, finish and transcend to another level, when release occurs and when the turning point is reached. This sometimes happens through an intensification of suffering. The end of falsely hopeful innocence, and the opening of a deeper wisdom, is signaled by Nessus transits.”

Among the most important keywords for Nessus is the phrase “The buck stops here,” which is a metaphor for not passing one’s responsibility on to anybody else.

Europe is praying for peace. Our thoughts are with the suffering people of Ukraine and their courageous President Zelenskyi.