Saturn Tests NASA, Xena, and Other Strange Objects, Lucy Lawless as Xena

August 1, 2005

Saturn Tests NASA

Two minutes after Discovery lifted off, a piece of foam broke off from the external fuel tank – the very same problem that turned the Columbia's 2003 flight into a tragic disaster. An army of NASA engineers, technicians and contractors have been working for the last two years to fix the problem, but this latest failure has put the entire space shuttle program into question.

NASA's horoscope (July 29, 1958; noon, Washington D.C.) reveals the underlying tensions that the aerospace agency is currently experiencing. NASA's Leo Sun squares Mars on the one hand, reflecting the competitive nature of the space race that began after the Soviet Union's successful Sputnik launch. On the other side, the Sun squares Neptune, offering a vision for the future, but also the potential for major miscalculations.

This chart works quite well in practice: Challenger exploded on January 28, 1986 (11:38 am; Cape Canaveral) as transiting Uranus was conjunct NASA's Saturn while forming an exact tri-octile (135º aspect) to the Sun (orb 0º03'). Similarly, Columbia exploded on February 1, 2003 (8:00 am over Dallas, TX) as transiting Pluto was conjunct NASA's Saturn, and likewise forming a hard aspect to NASA's Sun.*

Since NASA's Sun is conjunct the U.S. North Node, the point associated with fate and destiny, NASA itself becomes a leader for America's evolutionary growth. At the moment, transiting Saturn is nearing a conjunction with NASA's Sun, which becomes exact on September 2. This passage tests the viability of NASA's current management team, as well as their future plans. Saturn doesn't finish re-shaping NASA until May 2006, by which time a leaner, more focused agency should emerge.

Xena, and Other Strange Objects

Last Friday astronomers from California announced the discovery of a trans-Neptunian object, technically referred to as 2003 UB313, but informally known as Xena, after TV's Greek warrior princess. Xena's 560-year elliptical orbit is tilted 44 degrees from the ecliptic, which is why it has eluded astronomers for so long. Is it our solar system's tenth planet?

While Xena's discovery has thrown the astronomical community into a brouhaha over the definition of a planet, astrologers might likewise feel confused. Unlike the recently discovered Sedna, which is much smaller than Pluto and has a 10,500-year orbital path, Xena is actually larger than Pluto, and at times, is closer to the Sun than Pluto. Either Xena is the tenth planet, or Pluto is not a planet.

Many astronomers would prefer to call Pluto, Xena, Sedna, and a host of other icy objects past Neptune "minor planets". However, astrologers would certainly not dismiss Pluto as a minor planet, having tracked its powerful influences for 75 years now. Many astrologers are getting good mileage by using Chiron in their charts, but this object is only one of many so-called Centaurs, with other named Centaurs being Pholus and Nessus.

Even fewer astrologers are using asteroids. One of the main complaints is that there are some 100,000 asteroids, though the first four discovered are becoming recognized as representing important archetypal patterns. The theory here is that the primary objects within a class should go into the horoscopes. Those who use Pluto and Chiron can then see the logic of using Ceres, Juno, Pallas, and Vesta.

Lucy Lawless as Xena

Astronomers first photographed 2003 UB313 in October 2003, but it wasn't recognized as a planet until January 8, 2005. Although it will eventually be re-named, referring to the new planet as "Xena" seems quite appropriate, since according to NewsScope correspondent Neville Lang,** its tropical location was 21º Aries when first sighted. Xena moves very slowly, and will remain in Aries – the sign of the warrior – for many more years.

Not coincidentally, Lucy Lawless, who starred as Xena, Warrior Princess, was born during the New Moon in Aries (March 29, 1968; Auckland, NZ; time unknown). With Saturn and her North Node also in Aries, Lawless in both her personal and cinematic roles has epitomized the strong woman, capable of doing anything a man can do.

Yet she has a sensitive and caring side that competes with her more Amazonian side. This can be seen astrologically with her Mercury-Venus conjunction in sensitive Pisces. Mercury-Venus here is highly idealistic, artistic, and intuitive. With Mars, her fighting planet, in opposition to Ceres, her inner caretaker, the astrologer has another image of her inner struggle in expressing traditional gender roles.

When Xena's discovery was announced last Thursday, transiting Chiron, Saturn, and Mars were all hitting Lucy Lawless's Mars. She more than anyone knows the essence of Xena, which she once described as "a woman as strong as any man or woman has ever been, who lives by her wits, but is also a fighter. She's a very human hero, who knows all about the darker side of human nature since she must battle it within herself every day."

* Note that in both cases NASA's Uranus – associated with explosions – was also activated. The transiting Sun-Venus conjunction opposed NASA's Uranus during the Challenger event, while the New Moon in Aquarius also opposed the NASA Uranus during the Columbia event.

** Australian astrologer and software designer Neville Lang provides this link for more details: http://www.austskyandtel.com.au/news20050730_LargeKBO.htm

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by WolfStar

August 1, 2005