During the past weeks you probably have heard about the Barbault Basket, the rare astrological alignment consisting of the slow-moving outer planets Jupiter (growth and optimism), Uranus (liberation and sudden breakthroughs), Neptune (idealism and sensitivity), and Pluto (transformation). The planets in the pattern form a chain of three sextiles, and Jupiter in Leo and Pluto in Aquarius are opposing each other. Now the Full Moon – the opposition of the Sun and the Moon – aligns tightly with the Jupiter-Pluto opposition and activates the planets.

The basket configuration described above is also called a cradle pattern, where four planets are linked together by one opposition, two trines, and three sextiles. The tension of the opposition is balanced by the softer aspects. Astrologer Howard Sasportas (1948 – 1992) called Uranus, Neptune and Pluto as ”the gods of change”. Each planet works on its own distinctive way. He wrote: ”But no matter what specific kinds of conflicts, traumas, paradoxes or dilemmas they bring, these planets all have one thing in common: they don’t want to leave us the same way they found us.”

Perhaps this finally is a turning point in the war that has gone on for far too long in Europe. Ukraine’s position is now stronger than ever since the war began. Relations between president Zelensky and Trump have improved. They met yesterday before senator Lindsay Grayham’s funeral, and according to Zelensky they had a good meeting, where they also talked about restarting peace talks.

The Full Moon and Pluto are transiting in conjunction with president Zelensky’s Sun-Venus conjunction in Aquarius. The current Sun-Jupiter conjunction has just passed over Ukraine’s Chiron in early Leo. The trans-Neptunian peace planet Praamzius is now at 26+ degrees of Leo. It is transiting Ukraine’s triple conjunction of Jupiter, Mercury, and Venus in Leo.

The slow-moving outer planets of change do not only bring conflict and trauma, but also offer potential for growth and development.

This is an intense New Moon. The Moon is in its home sign Cancer. When a planet is in the sign that it rules, it is in a strong position and able to operate powerfully. The Sun and the Moon in Cancer are in cojunction with Mercury retrograde and centaur Eurytus. In Capricorn opposite the New Moon is cubewano Máni.

Máni is one of the large bodies named last year. It is named from Norse mythology after the personification of the Moon. Máni controls the course of the Moon and rules over the New Moon and the Full Moon. The astronomical cubewano Máni has some extreme features in its physical properties. There is a mountain peak among the tallest known and a crater among the deepest known for bodies of the Solar System.

A New Moon is always a conjunction of the Sun and the Moon. At the time of the Full Moon, the Sun and Moon are opposing each other. Now that the Moon is conjunct the Sun and Máni is opposite the Sun, it evokes the image as if both were happening simultaneously.

Centaur Eurytus reminds us of the Centauromachy, the famous battle between the centaurs and the Lapiths in Greek mythology. The battle is said to represent the struggle between civilization and barbarism. The centaurs were guests at the wedding of Pirithous and Hippodamia. Eurytus was the fiercest of the centaurs, and he tried to abduct the bride. All the other centaurs were up in a moment and tried to seize the other women. The centaurs were beaten, many of them were killed, and the rest were driven off by the Lapiths. One person’s toxic behaviour led to serious consequences when the crowd reacted.

The Moon rules the masses and crowds, things of public nature, and collective reactions, and the fast moving Moon can act as a trigger. Keep your calm!