Full Moon in Virgo — March 12, 2017, 14:54 UT

The Full Moon last Sunday was at 22+ degrees of Virgo. The Sun in the opposing sign was in conjunction with the trans-Neptunian object Manwë at 23+ degrees of Pisces.

Every birth chart is unique, as are also we individuals. The planets in the chart in specific combinations and placements can manifest themselves in many different ways in the lives of different people. The genes we inherit from our parents; our upbringing; the circumstances of our lives; and the choices we make; they all shape us the persons who we are.

Sometimes when I look at someone’s chart, a new object reveals its meaning in that particular chart very clearly. This was the case when I saw the Sun-Manwë conjunction in Aleister Crowley’s birth chart. Manwë seems to have been the underlying and unconscious influence motivating him in almost everything he did.

Aleister Crowley (1875 – 1947) was an English occultist, magician, poet, painter, writer, and mountaineer. He is a controversial figure, whose name is familiar to those who have interest in Tarot. He has had influence in esoteric traditions and in popular culture. He founded the religion of Thelema, and considered himself as a prophet. He was accused of being a satanist. He saw himself as a solar myth.

In 1903 Aleister Crowley married Rose Edith Kelly, and next year on their honeymoon they arrived in Cairo, Egypt. The events in Cairo turned out to be pivotal for Crowley. Rose told Crowley that the Egyptian god Horus wanted to communicate with him. Horus was a sky god and a solar deity, usually depicted as a man with a falcon head. Rose channeled the messages, which Crowley wrote down, and the writings became “The Book of the Law”, which became the cornerstone of Crowley’s religion.

Some documents suggest that during the Second World War Crowley was working as a secret agent of British Intelligence, and perhaps remained a spy throughout his life.

385446 Manwë is a binary trans-Neptunian object discovered in 2003 and named in 2014. The satellite is named Thorondor. The names come from J.R.R. Tolkien’s fictional mythology.

In Tolkien’s mythology Manwë was a kind and wise King of the Valar and a Jupiter-like deity. He was the lord of air, wind and clouds. Birds, especially eagles, were his servants. They flew back and forth and brought to his knowledge everything that was going on in the world. Manwë loved poetry and music with words. He dressed in blue robe and carried a sapphire scepter. He lived on the highest mountain of the world, Mount Taniquetil.

Thorondor was the lord of eagles, the “mightiest of all birds that have ever been”, in Tolkien’s writing.

It is almost impossible to talk about Manwë without mentioning Varda, the queen of the stars. Manwë and Varda complemented each other. If Varda is beside Manwë, he “sees further than all other eyes, through mist, and through darkness, and over the leagues of the sea. And if Manwë is with her, Varda hears more clearly than all other ears the sound of voices that cry from east to west, from the hills and the valleys,” wrote Tolkien. There is also a trans-Neptunian object 174567 Varda, which was discovered in 2003 and named in 2014, just as 385446 Manwë was.

Aleister Crowley’s birth data has the Rodden Rating of C (meaning “caution”). In this chart 174567 Varda is at Crowley’s ascendant. His Sun-Manwë conjunction forms a quintile aspect to Varda. The quintile aspect is said to be an aspect of creativity. Astrologer Sue Tompkins has noted: “It describes the kind of art form we are drawn to (using the word ‘art’ in the widest sense) and with which we may become skilled. It is often an area we become obsessed and fixated about and we impose that fixation upon the world at large.”

How did Aleister Crowley implement his Manwë archetype? He was the chief of his religious movement Thelema, he established the foundation of his work together with his wife, as a mountaineer he reached high mountains, he wrote poetry, and he wore – at least occasionally — a ceremonial robe. If you think of him as a prophet, or as a secret agent as well, you can almost hear the wings of the mighty eagles, when they fly gathering information on higher plane or in the distant corners of the empire.

The Sun conjoined 385446 Manwë on Monday, and today it makes contact with Chiron. The astrological year is ending with a window of opportunity for special wisdom and healing.

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