Mors-Somnus meaning in astrology

by Benjamin Adamah · Published 09/27/2021 · Updated 05/08/2024

MORS-SOMNUS (formerly called 2007 TY430 with MPC-number 341520) is a binary Plutino, discovered on 14 October 2007 by Scott S. Sheppard and Chadwick A. Trujillo and named after the two children of the Roman night goddess Nox (Greek: Nyx); Mors (Greek: Thanatos), the god of death and Somnus (Greek: Hypnos), the god of sleep. The Mors-Somnus binary system measures possibly 175,2 km in diameter according to the latest calculations. Both objects of estimated about 60 km in diameter each rotate around a Barry Center so they should not regarded as each others Moons, but as one entity.

Waterhouse - Sleep and his half-brother Death-1874 - Plutino Mors-Somnus in horoscope

Waterhouse depicting Mors-Somnus in a painting entitled: “Sleep and his half-brother Death-1874”

Following the Greek tradition, the Roman poet Virgil, in his Aeneid, makes Sleep and Death brothers, and locates their dwellings next to each other, near the entrance of the underworld:

In the first courts and entrances of Hell
Sorrows and vengeful Cares on couches lie :
There sad Old Age abides, Diseases pale,
And Fear, and Hunger, temptress to all crime;
Want, base and vile, and, two dread shapes to see,
Bondage and Death : then Sleep, Death’s next of kin.

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What is a Plutino?

William-Adolphe Bouguereau (1825-1905) La Nuit (1883)

Mors-Somnus is a binary Plutino. Plutinos in astronomy are those objects of the Kuiper belt whose orbits are comparable with those of Pluto-Charon. Their orbits are stabilized by a 3:2 resonance to the orbit of the planet Neptune, i.e. during three Neptune orbits a Plutino orbits the Sun twice. This synchronization avoids close encounters with Neptune, so that only such orbits are stable over a longer period of time in the vicinity of this outermost giant planet.

Besides the Twotinos, the Plutinos form the largest group of resonant Kuiper belt objects. Quite a few Plutinos show a diameter of 250 km or more. These larger objects also include Plutinos that do not yet have an MPC number assigned to them, including 2017 OF69 (approx. 533 km), 2002 XV93 (549 km), 2014 JP80 & 2014 JR80 (240 ~ 670 km).

(134340) Pluto-Charon 2390 km Pluto + Charon 1208 km
(90482) Orcus-Vanth 946 km Orcus + Vanth 442 km
(28978) Ixion 759 km
(208996) 2003 AZ84 727 km with moon 77 km
(455502) 2003 UZ413 600 km
(84922) 2003 VS2 523 km
(38628) Huya 458 km
(469372) 2001 QF298 408 km
(47171) Lempo 393 km
(119951) 2002 KX14 390 km
(15789) 1993 SC 328 km
(469987) 2006 HJ123 283 km
(307463) 2002 VU130 253 km
(15810) Arawn 251 km
(55638) 2002 VE95 250 km
(139775) 2001 QG298 135 km with moon: S/2004 (2001 QG298) 1, 135 km

The first Plutino, (385185) 1993 RO, was discovered on September 16, 1993 – 63 years after Pluto. At present, the number of larger Plutinos (over 100 km in diameter) is estimated to be over 1400 (David Jewitt) and so far 132 Plutinos have been discovered. These should not be confused with Plutoids. A Plutoid is a term that explicitly refers to an ice dwarf planet and only Pluto, Eris, Haumea, and Makemake are recognized as Plutoids.

Like all Plutinos Mors-Somnus picks certain features out of Godfather Pluto-Charon’s gamma and accentuates them. As the name suggest this Plutino indeed seems to lay its focus on the exploration of the unconscious and sometimes darker aspects and realms of the human soul.

Mors-Sumnus in astrology

Mors-Somnus in astrology: Sigmund Freud expressed the psychological research aspect of the Plutino.

The characteristics from an astrological point of view are: a strongly increased and compelling contact with the subconscious (the underworld is the kingdom of death and sleep); increased awareness of death; increased metaphysical, psychological insight into life-death synergy and contrasts; sleep issues; profound, painful or life-threatening Orcus/Pluto-like pressure or drive towards confrontations which are transforming or terminating; searching for and finding new sense of life; ‘Persephone-like’ revitalization phases; acceptance of Thanatos/telos issues; strange dark dreams; hypnotic states; psychoanalysis; the sudden intense awakening of old forgotten or repressed memories; innate remote viewing abilities; finding a form of richness (in positive aspect with Venus or Jupiter); brooding for a very long time on sexual wishes or fantasies, especially anal ones, and eventually executing them; a problematic love life or relationship; a relationship with an older partner.

Other characteristics: a great drive for power based on negative motivation; obsessions; physical collapse, coma, death; the death of acquaintances or relatives depending on home position and aspecting; suicide; sleeping problems.

Mors-Somnus in the charts of Siegmund Freud & Joseph McCarthy

Joseph McCarthy astrological meaning of Mors-Somnus

Joseph McCarthy expressed the darkest part Mors-Somnus alter ego

Siegmund Freud had Mors-Somnus in Libra in the 6th house conjunct Mars/Hilda; square Bacchus and opposition ISON. Communist-hunter Joseph McCarthy had Mors-Somnus in 23 Scorpio, just below cusp 8 in 7, conjunct 1996TO66 (loss, the ugly, disappearance) and Bienor (gaining great fame); sextile Toro (making explicit and concrete or being violent). In Freud’s life we see the deepening of knowledge about the human psyche, while in curriculum vitae of McCarthy the dark obsessive side of Mors-Somnus floats to the surface, to eventually become his public downfall.

In forensic astrology Mors Somnus denotes: the engulfing or sucking aspect of darkness, night, sleep, death; dark (technical) (super-) powers (Pluto conjunct Machiavelli/Hilda in the discovery chart); the orgiastic discharge; electrical equipment to do research into the afterlife; zero-point energy applications; suddenly fast-growing and massive phases of nationalism becoming a pestilence; women’s rights issues, Earth right issues. The orbital period of Mors-Somnus is 245 years and 333 days.

At the asteroid-astrology portal serennu you can examine the position of Mors-Somnus in your own chart or do research in other charts. You can also use astro.com (look for extended chart selection and use the MPC-number 341520)

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