The imminent full moon occurs at 11h30 GMT on 3 July 2023. From an astronomical point of view, it occurs with the moon in the constellation of Sagittarius, although western astrologers will label this point as early Capricorn, due to the precession of the equinoxes, which has pushed the actual real time position in the zodiac out of synch by 23 degrees. So western astrology is off by 23 degrees since the zodiac shifts by one degree every 72 years.
Vedic astrology or Jyotish keeps to the literal position when plotting the planets in the constellations of the zodiac circle. However, the western system is pegged to the positions as they were labelled around 2000 years ago. Since then the shift of 23 degrees has occurred and western astrology has not taken that into consideration.
Therefore, as an observer of the cycles of nature, I prefer to avoid plotting the planetary positions by sign, and rather prefer the more accurate method of plotting their positions literally where they stand in the heavens, based on the backdrop of the fixed stars or constellations. Thus, instead of saying that the imminent full moon will occur at 11 degrees Capricorn, it is actually in the constellation of Sagittarius.
Now another thing that has been neglected by western astrology is the fixed stars themselves. These were prominent in the observations, calculations and interpretations of all Medieval or old Arabic astrologers, as well as ancient classical Greek star gazers, like Ptolemy. Modern astrology knows little about this, unless you really dig deeply into the subject.
For example, this full moon is conjunct the fixed star named Sigma Sagittarii. The old Arabic name for it is Nunki. This star is found in the vane of the arrow of the archer in the Sagittarius constellation. The old name used by the Arabs actually originates from a Euphratean text called the Tablet of the Thirty Stars, where Nunki meant “Star of the Proclamation of the Sea”, the Sea being a name for that quadrant of the heavens occupied by the constellations Aquarius, Capricorn, and Pisces. Greek astrologers from pre-Christian times called this section of the heavens The Water. Thus the Latin name is Pelagus, or “sea”.
This star called Pelagus, Nunki or Sigma Sagittarii, is one of the brightest in the Sagittarius constellation. You might be fascinated to know - especially if you are familiar with NFTs (non-fungible tokens minted on the blockchain as digital assets, usually artworks or game items) that the Latin name for this star Pelagus, actually means Open Sea. Yes that’s correct, the biggest NFT platform in all of blockchain (www.opensea.io), is named after this fixed star Pelagus/Nunki, based on the name of this part of the heavens called The Sea.
I might be speculating or my sources may be wrong, but this star Nunki gets its name from the ancient Babylonian and means “star of the sea”. Curiously this is also the name for the holy mother Mary, mother of Christ. In Latin she is called Stella Maris, which means star of the sea. According to ChatGPT “This association with the sea is due to its proximity to the ecliptic, the apparent path of the Sun across the sky, which is often referred to as the celestial equivalent of the sea.”
Apparently Mary mother of Christ, the feminine deity so devoutly worshipped by Catholics for centuries, gets her name from the Babylonian goddess Ea, who was the goddess of the primeval waters, as well as the patron deity of wisdom and knowledge. Did the church simply graft the legend of Mary onto an older goddess, called Ea, and give her the same name – “star of the sea”? Perhaps the Christ myth is also taken from an older religion, simply transformed by the new political rulers of the day back then, who controlled the masses via religious myth and legend. Ea seems to be a combination of Mary and Sophia the Greek goddess of wisdom.
Although the Latin word pelagus does mean Open Sea, from the Greek word pelagos, not all sources know of this name for the star Nunki or Sigma Sagittarii. Still, the star is definitely connected to the Babylonian goddess Ea. So the more I find out, the more curious this myth of the open sea and star of the sea appears to me. More research is needed to clarify the connections between the star Nunki and the goddess Ea, and the name for Nunki (star of the sea) plus the name pelagus (open sea).
Now the full moon of 3 July 2023 is conjunct (to within an orb of one degree) this fixed star called Pelagus by some or Nunki, situated at 12 degrees Capricorn in western astrology, or (if you subtract 23 degrees to get the actual position) 19 degrees Sagittarius. I wonder if it will correlate with some action at the NFT website of the same name? Should we go and buy some blue chip NFTs, like BAYC or CryptoKitties? It’s up to you.
One way or the other the sea, and those who sail upon her waves, are symbolically connected or affected by this full moon. Interest in long distance travel is hinted at by ancient astrologers, based on the full moon’s conjunction with the star Pelagus . Other effects include oratory or writing on matters pertaining to religion, business, foreign affairs. It portends a favorable time for those in shipping or maritime affairs, and dare I add maybe even OpenSea. The coincidence of the name is not to be whimsically dismissed but is worthy of further investigation to find out whether the connection with this star and the NFT website of the same name is a conscious one in the minds of the originators and developers of the site.
There are numerous of these fixed stars in the constellations of the zodiac and they are said to be activated in their influence upon us when the planets and particularly for the few hours when the sun or moon align with them in conjunction, within an orb of one or two degrees of exact. Let’s see what occurs at OpenSea on this full moon. And perhaps in USA, since this is one day before their birthday anniversary. Correlation does not imply causation obviously, but any meaningful coincidences do appear to show some sort of synchronicity if and when they occur. Life is all about patterns and cycles, particularly those of the solar system in which we float.
Reference: www.astrologyking.com/nunki-star/
Images: pixabay
