Autumnal Equinox – Sept. 23, 2022, 01:04 UT

The Sun entered Libra a couple of days ago on September 23. In the Northern Hemisphere, the autumnal equinox marks the beginning of autumn. Yesterday evening the Moon conjoined with the Sun in early Libra. The New Moon occured in the same degree with centaur Rhiphonos, and opposite Jupiter and the trans-Neptunian Manwë at the Aries Point.

At the New Moon a new cycle is beginning and new possibilities are emerging, especially now that Jupiter, the planet of growth and expansion is oppsite the luminaries in Aries. Rhiphonos in conjunction with the New Moon is emphasizing the theme of growth. Moreover, the trans-Neptunian Chaos is in early Cancer. Aries, Cancer, Libra and Capricorn are the cardinal signs of the zodiac, and they all are associated with beginnings and change.

Manwë shares some common ground with Jupiter. Chaos is named after the void state of the universe in the Greek creation myth, the nothingness preceding creation. Gaia, the personification of the Earth, was one of the first beings born out of Chaos. Only later did the meaning of the word chaos change to mean disorder.

Centaur Rhiphonos was prominent about six months ago as well, at the time of the vernal equinox and the Full Moon in Virgo. Russia had invaded Ukraine a few weeks before. I then described Rhiphonos and some transits to the charts of President Zelenskyi, Ukraine, and the European Union. The Full Moon in Virgo was in conjunction with Rhiphonos of the European Union at 26+ Virgo, and now Venus and Mercury are tightly in conjunction with it, and the Libra New Moon is not far away either. The solar arc directed Moon of President Zelenskyi is still at 2+ degrees of Libra, in the same degree with the current New Moon and the transiting Rhiphonos.

The European Union was formally established in 1993, but I like to use the chart of the Schuman Declaration as the birthchart of the EU (May 9, 1950, at 18:00 CET -1:00, Paris, France). In this chart the 7th house Sun in Taurus is in exact conjunction with the trans-Neptunian Praamzius, named after an old European god, the god of the sky, peace and friendship in Lithuanian mythology. The core principles of the Schuman Declaration were peace and solidarity. The Europe Day held on May 9 every year (the anniversary of the declaration) celebrates peace and unity in Europe. This peace was brutally broken by Russia seven months ago.

In August and September Ukraine launched counteroffensives, which have been successful and caused great humiliation for Putin. Last Wednesday Russia announced a partial mobilization of its reservists, threatened to deploy nuclear weapons in the war, and claimed to be at war with the collective West.

The transiting Uranus is now at 18+ degrees of Taurus. It is in exact conjunction with the Sun and Praamzius of the European Union, opposing President Zelenskyi’s radix Uranus in Scorpio, squaring his Moon in Leo, conjoining Putin’s Jupiter in Taurus, and exactly squaring Putin’s nodes of the Moon in Leo and Aquarius.

What will winter bring to us? Uranus can be unpredictable. Inflation soars and the cost of energy has already risen sharply. In Finland we are even expecting to have two hour power cuts every now and then during the coldest winter months because of the shortage of electricity. However, our problems are nothing compared to those of the Ukrainians; the war is not expected to end anytime soon.

”Europe will not be made all at once, or according to a single plan. It will be built through concrete achievements which first create a de facto solidarity.” – Foreign minister of France Robert Schuman on May 9, 1950.

The Full Moon occurs in Pisces in conjunction with centaur Nessus. Mercury in Libra is stationary; it began its retrograde phase earlier the same day. The Moon is sextile to Uranus at the North node of the Moon in Taurus.

In mythology Mercury was the messenger of the gods, who traveled between the worlds of the mortals and the gods. The planet Mercury symbolizes mental processes and communication, whether verbal or written. Mercury retrograde can bring unconscious material and unfinished business from the past to the surface.

Nessus was the third centaur discovered (in 1993) and the first celestial body in modern times named at the suggestion of astrologers (in 1997). The orbit of Nessus crosses the orbits of Uranus and Neptune and even that of Pluto. The themes of Nessus, such as the abuse of power, revenge, being oppressed, and patterns of helplessness, can stretch beyond a person’s own lifetime, through generations. Astrologically Nessus helps in recognizing the patterns and reach the point where there is no more need to ”pass the buck”.

The Finnish author Kira Poutanen ponders the theme of transgenerational trauma in her latest novel Surun kartta, ”The map of sorrow” (WSOY 2021). The main character of the novel is a woman who goes through a difficult childbirth, in which her body rouses memories that possibly belong to somebody else. Can memories really transfer from one generation to another without words?

The transgenerational trauma is a concept that has been studied in psychology and even in genetics in recent years. Research suggests that trauma can leave a chemical mark on one’s genes, which can then be passed down to future generations. For example, wars, famines and genocides are thought to leave a mark on the descendants of those who suffered them. Trauma doesn’t cause a genetic mutation, but it can alter the mechanism by which the gene is expressed. That which is not talked about or dealt with becomes a burden of the next generation. Healing the effects of trauma either in therapy or otherwise can help release undesirable patterns and stop passing them to one’s offspring.

In Kira Poutanen’s chart (born March 30, 1974) centaur Nessus is at her North node of the Moon in Gemini, trine the Venus-Ceres conjunction in Aquarius, and quintile (72°) her Sun in Aries. The quintile is often called the aspect of creativity. The novel Surun kartta was published on Oct. 5, 2021, when the transiting Nessus at 12+ Pisces was exactly conjunct Kira Poutanen’s radix Mercury in Pisces. The transiting Chiron in Aries was in conjunction with Poutanen’s Sun, and the transiting Jupiter in Aquarius was trining her radix Nessus in Gemini.