New Moon in Taurus — April 23, 2020, 02:26 UT

The New Moon at 3+ degrees of Taurus occurred at the discovery degree of Chiron. The Sabian symbol for this degree is Taurus 4 “The rainbow’s pot of gold.”

The New Moon was in conjunction with Uranus (rebellion) and a part of a grand cross formed by the Sun and Moon in Taurus, Saturn (limitations, tests) in Aquarius, Varuna (the great equalizer) in Leo and Zhulong (a change in a blink of an eye) in Scorpio. Taurus is ruled by Venus (what we appreciate). Venus is in conjunction with asteroid Hygiea (health, hygiene). The symbol of Hygiea in the chart is the caduceus staff.

The aforementioned aspects describe our current situation excellently.

COVID-19 may have started to spread in Wuhan already in October 2019, although officially the earliest traceable patient started experiencing symptoms on Dec. 1, 2019. The World Health Organization (WHO) was informed about the outbreak of pneumonia of unknown origin on Dec. 31, 2019. In January 2020 the virus started to push into our awareness. WHO declared the pandemic on March 11, 2020.

As of autumn we were watching the sign of Capricorn, where Saturn was getting closer to Pluto (the lord of transformation). There was also a solar eclipse in Capricorn on Dec. 26, 2019. The Saturn-Pluto conjunction took place on Jan. 12, 2020, only two days after the lunar eclipse in Cancer. Astrologers were anticipating changes, but it is safe to say that nobody could foresee the thoroughness with which our whole world changed in a short time. There have been other significant aspects, like Chiron square Pholus, and the Eris’s squares; Saturn and Pluto squared Eris in January and Jupiter in March.

Still another long term aspect has been developing in the background, namely Varuna square Zhulong. This square has started to form already around 2018 and will fade away around 2024. The first exact square between those two seems to have been on Jan. 13, 2020. The second will be on April 27, 2020. There are altogether seven exact aspects, of which the last one will be in October 2022. At this point nobody knows the actual duration of the pandemic, but this sequence could fit quite well with it. The virus will hardly disappear anytime soon.

Varuna is a trans-Neptunian object discovered in 2000 and named the next year after one of the oldest of the Vedic deities, the maker and upholder of heaven and earth, who deals with matters of truth, lies and keeping agreements. Varuna was the first trans-Neptunian minor planet to receive a name (after Pluto). Eric Francis’s keywords for this vast energy behind everything are “the great equalizer.” According to Eric, Varuna is “calling us to take both personal and collective responsibility for our world.”

Our vulnerability to the coronavirus can depend on several factors, for example age, occupation, social economic status, or where one lives. That being said, in our lifetime there hasn’t been any other phenomenon, which had put us in more equal position with each other. The virus has not spared royalty, politicians, celebrities, or isolated indigenous people living in the middle of a rainforest.

Zhulong is one of the most recent namings. Zhulong is a scattered disc object discovered in 2014 and named last year after the torch dragon, the Chinese deity who controlled the day and night by opening and closing its eyes. Zhulong seems to tell about the fragility of life, and how everything can change in a blink of an eye.

The Varuna-Zhulong square has been triggered time after time during the past six months. The New Moon in Scorpio on Oct. 28, 2019, was in conjunction with Zhulong and square to Varuna. The New Moon in Sagittarius on Nov. 26, 2019, was opposite Hygiea and trine Varuna. The New Moon in Capricorn on Dec. 26, 2019, was a solar eclipse, and sextile to Zhulong and in quincunx to Varuna. The New Moon in Aquarius on Jan. 24, 2020, was opposite Varuna and square to Zhulong. The New Moon in Pisces on Feb. 23, 2020 was trine to Zhulong and in quincunx to Varuna. The New Moon in Aries on March 24, 2020, was sextile to Hygeia, trine to Varuna and in quincunx to Zhulong. The current New Moon in Taurus on April 23, 2020, was opposite Zhulong and square to Varuna.

The following two examples are to some extent comparable with our current situation.

The Spanish flu in 1918 was one of the deadliest pandemics in history, which infected about a third of the world’s population at the time. On March 4, 1918, U.S. Army cook Albert Gitchell, from Haskell County, reported sick at Fort Riley. He is considered the first recorded victim of the flu. In the chart cast for that day, the Sun, Hygiea and Varuna are in triple conjunction in the same degree in Pisces. Pluto and Zhulong were in exact conjunction in Cancer.

HIV/AIDS has had a large impact on society. AIDS was first clinically reported on June 5, 1981, with five cases in the United States. In the chart the Sun is in conjunction with Varuna in Gemini and sextile Eris in Aries. Hygiea in Gemini is opposite Neptune in Sagittarius and sextile to Zhulong in Leo.

We have a long way to go when it comes to COVID-19 pandemic. Chiron’s pot of gold is not quite within our reach. We need a lot of self-discipline, which only Saturn can offer. Eventually we will get there.

More about Hygiea, Varuna and Zhulong available here:

New Moon in Sagittarius – Nov. 26, 2019, 15:05 UT (Hygiea)

Small World Stories by Eric Francis (Varuna)

New Moon in Scorpio – Oct. 28, 2019, 03:38 UT (Zhulong)

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