Fomalhaut

Known as one of the four royal fixed stars, Fomalhaut is the brightest star in the Piscis Austrini constellation, and the 17th brightest star in the night sky. Together with Aldebaran, Antares and Regulus, they form the group of 4 fixed stars that guard the Heavens. It is an important star for sailors, just like Sirius for the Berbers.

Fomalhaut, originally from the Arabic word Fum-al-Hut, literally means «Mouth of the Fish». The star is believed to embrace the most authentic, the light and the shadow of the sign of Pisces. It is a royal star symbolizing the spiritual teacher. It is associated with Archangel Gabriel, Watcher of the South and the archangel of communications, strength and new beginnings who embody the Christic energy. Fomalhaut played an important role in the virginal birth of Jesus, marking the beginning of the Age of Pisces, though no one is certain about the exact beginning of it. As of 2023, Fomalhaut is located at 4°12 of Pisces. Here is the Sabian symbol for Pisces 4:

Heavy traffic on a narrow isthmus: This is a symbol of the ultimate illimitability of human relationships, dramatized here in the more personal and ever-ramifying environment of everyday affairs. There are no potentialities of common self-interest that man cannot shape for the convenience and encouragement of a whole selfhood and a well-integrated community, but a high discipline is always necessary for both the individual and the group in each particular development of immediate reality. The keyword is CONVERGENCE.

As the last sign of the zodiac and a water sign at it, Pisces marks the end of the winter when nature wakes up gently and prepares for the blooming spring. The glyph of Pisces represents two fishes swimming in opposite directions, symbolizing Pisces’ hiddenmost need to integrate the material and the spiritual worlds and dream the perfect world into being.

On this day of Thanksgiving, when people get together in family and enjoy quality time and good food while being grateful for all the blessings they have got, I would like to make a tribute to the royal star Fomalhaut and an animated movie carrying its energy so beautifully - Coco.

This is a movie about family love and traditions, life and death and the value of faith.

The modern medicine has successfully ingrained the fear of death in most people, and the Newtonian ideology has reduced man from a spiritual being to a physical being with an expiration date. While the practice of honouring and longing to meet the ancestors is still quite notable in many parts of the world, it is considered mere superstition in most industrialised countries possessing political and economic dominance of the global arena.

As «history is written by the victors», we may well say traditions are created by the wealthy. The movie Coco is a fresh breeze of air showing us a very beautiful tradition of the Mexicans that is unfortunately looked down to by pragmatic people who consider the spiritual realm a product of the human psyche and imagination. El día de los muertos - the Day of the Dead, celebrated on November 1, All Saints' Day, is the continuation of a pre-Hispanic Aztec tradition in a new country founded by the Spanish where Christianity was forced upon the locals.

The movie starts by the story of the little Miguel Rivera who loves music more than anything else despite his family strong objection, and somehow he has found a way to secretly indulge in this passion. He knows he is different but can’t really say what it is:

I am not like the rest of my family. There’s something that makes me different.

The plot thickens and we see the parallel story of Hector, a deceased musician who has walked the Netherworld for a hundred years and he has a slim chance to walk the bridge of Marigold flowers into the beautiful world of the Afterlife only if his memory is restored in the living world, his named recalled and memories told by his descendants.

Hector was a songwriter and associate to the charismatic, handsome Ernesto de la Cruz, but he didn’t care about fame and only wrote and played because he loved it. He bid farewell to his wife Imelda and young daughter Coco to go on a tour and disappeared from their lives forever. His family was left only with many of his poems and letters, but Imelda was strong, and she decided to build a family business and put a generational curse against music. Hector was banished from his family’s ofrenda, a fierce declaration to reject their bonds with music and anyone who treasures their personal needs over family traditions and values.

The movie’s theme song, Remember me, is such a magnificent theme for Fomalhaut as this royal star is also a mark of posthumous recognition and fame if well-aspected in the birth chart. The song happens to be amongst Ernesto de la Cruz’ most popular songs, but it hits differently when sung by Hector. While Ernesto sings about the finite nature of life and his yearning to be remembered and adored for as long as possible, Hector wrote this song for his daughter as a sweet lullaby inspired by his profound fatherly love. Ernesto’s version makes you want to sing along and dance, but Hector’s version touches your heart and the lingering melody and lyrics remind you of fond, distant memories with your parents.

As the story unfolds, it brings out the complex nature of human psyche. Imelda holds a grudge and put a curse on her husband even in the afterlife, but shows no hesitance in giving him a helping hand when needed:

I can’t forgive you. But I will help you.

It is Miguel’s unconditional love for his family and his courage to go against family traditions and faith that don’t resonate with him at a soul level that make miracles. His relentless spirit guides Mama Coco out of her long-term forgetfulness and removes a painful generational curse that no longer has any meaning. His pure of heart and desire to pave his own path with authenticity.

If Miguel was a true living person, he may well have Fomalhaut in conjunction with either MidHeaven, Part of fortune, or the North node in the natal chart. This is a pattern I have noticed in clients who came here as the «black sheep of the family» to fulfil the mission of honouring their ancestors and healing their lineage. When Fomalhaut is strong in one’s birth chart, one can be born into hostile family dynamics and grow up in an inhospitable environment that challenges their sense of self-worth and their bonds to their families. As the reality of duality mutable signs usually have, Pisces offers 2 choices: either being so compliant, so malleable to the point of being a pushover, or learn the way of water, strong and resilient to all obstacles, paving its path quietly but not without a tremendous strength.

People with strong Fomalhaut energy in their birth charts are resilient and graceful warriors. They are old souls who have seen love and war, life and death more than most. They seem to have this innate, deep understanding of life even at a young age that make them resistant to manipulation and power play. However, family is their Achilles’ heel and they should take some time and courage to acknowledge it.

I think Fomalhaut’s energy and themes will be quite powerful until early 2026, as Saturn is currently in Pisces. It entered Pisces on March 7, 2023 and will stay there until May 24, 2025, and after a period of retrograde will pass through the sign of Pisces on February 13, 2026. Since the beginning of this year, Saturn has been giving us the taste of Pisces before delivering the final tests worthy of his reputation. It will be in exact conjunction with the fixed star Fomalhaut on January 11, 2024, so we have roughly 2 months ahead of us to prepare for some significant Saturn in Pisces lessons that can be successfully completed if we call in great wisdom from Fomalhaut.

If you are someone with Fomalhaut prominent in the birth chart, or if you feel and resonate with the Pisces undercurrent, you may feel a great desire to be different, desire to do something new but not quite sure of what it is. Fomalhaut is all about traditions, faith and selfless love in all shapes and forms, not only romantic love. Take your time to contemplate and sort out what traditions and faith you should protect, and what should be left in the past. Are there any repeating patterns or family dynamics that you feel no longer in alignment with your best and highest good? Now is the time to discard them all, let go of old grudges and build your own faith and traditions that can proudly be transpired into future generations for a long time to come.

Fun facts: The character Mama Coco is based upon a true person, Maria de la Salud, known as Mama Coco in Mechoacan in Mexico, who was a craftswoman living up to 109 years old and just passed away last year. Isn’t it ironic that that one of the movie’s plot points is about recognition and yet she didn’t get as much recognition as the character that is based off her?