Goddess Power
August 18, 2006
http://cainer.com/ericfrancis/aug18.html
Dear Friends, Far and Near:
THIS week's turn of events at the International Astronomical
Union (IAU) conference in Prague is original if nothing else -- based on news
reports Wednesday, it would appear that Pluto, Ceres, Xena (technically known
as 2003 UB313) and Pluto's moon Charon (not to be confused with Chiron, which
does not factor into this discussion), will next week be accepted into a new
class of "dwarf planets." This development has plenty of implications
for astrology, and it will be very interesting to see what astrologers, most of
whom ignore asteroids, say or do in response to this news.
We now have new term for minor planets (the dwarf planets),
though the IAU says that this is a descriptive term and not an actual
classification. Everyone is on notice that this class of planets may soon grow
to include other members, many of which have already been discovered and named.
Many of these will be counted in a new sub-class of minor planets, the
"plutons."
To sum up, Pluto, Charon, Ceres and Xena are indeed being
considered official, scientifically sanctioned planets, albeit it described as
dwarf planets. As of next week the solar system, as taught to little kids in
school, will have 12 members. Of course, this is still something of a cosmic
joke, since as of April there were 320,000 known bodies orbiting our Sun.
What is not a joke is that three new planets have been
designated, directly or indirectly, for female figures. One is the goddess
Ceres, whose domain includes food and nourishment, and who is something of the
patron saint of mothers. A second -- as will be discussed later in this article
-- is the former moon of Pluto, Charon, who has been described eloquently by
one astrologer as representing Minerva, the goddess of Wisdom and storytelling.
In one respect, Charon, as Minerva, is the feminine aspect of Pluto.
The third, though an unofficial name, is Xena (the
discoverers have yet to announce their proposed official name, but Xena appears
to be the one that will stick). Xena derives from the name of a character on an
American TV series played by Lucy Lawless. The series is based on a mixture of
Egyptian, Greek and Roman mythology, and ran from 1995 to 2001. She was an
irreverent, overtly sexual, reformed warlord. Xena was bisexual -- sexually
involved with several men in her army, but loyal to one woman, Gabrielle. Her
Wikipedia entry, depicting this far-out goddess figure who could show up
anywhere, at anytime, and who could draw the blood of gods, is worth reading.
Astrology Secrets Revealed reader Sherry writes, "I
find it very interesting that at a time when I feel our world really needs
strong female warrior energy, Xena comes to the rescue. I'm thrilled to have
the girls included as planets. It's another subtle shift in perception that
strengthens the Divine Feminine."
So, this is a big day for Goddess energy. It's interesting
that this all occurs in the mids of the Saturn-Neptune opposition -- an image
of the dissolving of the old order (Saturn) by something new (
Let's look at the current revelations, as I currently understand
them. Remember, this is a developing story. Thanks to Melanie Andrews, Paloma
Todd and Kirsi Melto for their assistance and research.
1. Scientists appear ready to make a decision over an issue
that has divided the astronomical community, and plagued Scorpios, for some
years: is Pluto really a planet? Beginning in 1992 with the discovery of 1992
QB1, we have come to know that Pluto is a member of the previously-theorized
Kuiper Belt. QB1 proved that the Kuiper Belt existed (note, QB1 was discovered
when it was exactly occupying the Aries Point, the first degree of Aries). To
some scientists, these objects (including Pluto) seemed too small to be
planets, but were not really asteroids either. The proposal seems to reach a
compromise, neither demoting Pluto to a "non-planet," nor counting it
among the "classical planets."
2. Ceres is being upgraded from an asteroid. Once thought of
as a planet, it was relegated to the asteroid belt when astronomers discovered
that such existed in the first decade of the 1800s. It, too, will now be
considered a dwarf planet.
3. One far-flung thing, 2003 UB 313, unofficially called
Xena (pronounced "zena" or "zahnna" depending on who you
ask), will be included among the dwarf planets, because it's bigger than Pluto,
round and meets certain other requirements. Most have not heard of Xena, so
here are the basics. It orbits the Sun every 558 years and nine months. Its
orbit crosses the orbit of Pluto, so at times, it appears to move faster than
Pluto through the zodiac (Pluto orbits the Sun once very 248 years).
Xena was discovered when it was at about 20 degrees of
Aries. Its current position, some three years later, is a little more than 21
degrees of Aries. Last year, Xena was confirmed to have a satellite. Including
Xena means that many other bits on the distant edge may qualify as dwarf
planets. Press reports are saying that others will be included when their
orbits are confirmed, but this is a little odd since by the time objects are
officially named and given catalog numbers (such as Quaoar and Varuna), their
orbits are known and accepted as documented.
4. A satellite of a planet -- Pluto's first moon Charon --
will be granted status of a dwarf planet. This is despite the fact that the
rule for being a minor planet includes the statement that it does not orbit
another planet. The astronomers seem to be making a rule and breaking it in the
same gesture, and frankly I'm a bit confused. The implication seems to be that
they are considering Charon not a moon of Pluto but rather a part of a binary
planet system.
In an interview this week, Michael E. Brown, discoverer of
Xena and many other objects -- up to eight of which may someday be included as
dwarf planets -- raised the point that if Charon is included, the Earth's Moon,
too, should be considered a planet.
Brown has come up with the term "cultural planet"
to classify objects like Pluto, which may have some kind of technical dual
status in the solar system, but which are understood by the culture to be
planets.
"(1) Draw the line at Pluto and say there are no more
planets; or (2) Draw the line at Pluto and say only things bigger are planets.
Both would be culturally acceptable, but to me only the second makes sense for
what I think we mean when we say the word planet. In addition, the second
continues to allow the possibility that exploration will find a few more
planets, which is a much more exciting prospect than that suggested by the
first possibility. We don't think the number of planets found by the current generation
of researchers will be large. Maybe one or two more. But we think that letting
future generations still have a shot at planet-finding is nice."
There were a number of possible criteria for which to make
the determination between planet and something else. These included roundness,
roundness plus gravity making them round, historically being considered a
planet, and those which have been historically considered a planet plus those
new ones which meet certain criteria. Every definition has problems from a
scientific standpoint, as underscored by including what has been considered a
satellite as a planet when the definition says that it shall not orbit another
planet.
Implications for Astrology
Let's set the official astronomy aside for a moment and
consider the implications on astrology. As astrologers, we don't need to listen
to what scientists say about what is and is not a planet. We have our own ways
of doing things, and all astrologers approach the subject differently. However,
what scientists say does indeed have an impact on culture, and astrologers (as
strange of a lot as we are) are surely part of the culture.
It's worth mentioning that it took Pluto a very long time to
be recognized by astrology -- this despite many profound historical events that
surrounded the discovery in 1930, so obviously in tune with the theme of the
god of the underworld. As late as the mid-1970s, Pluto was not included in the
main planetary tables of Raphael's Ephemeris. It took nearly 45 years to be
included! Till then, it was stuck in a little table in the back of the book.
Pluto is mentioned many times by Aleister Crowley in the
Book of Thoth, a book about his tarot deck written in the 1940s. This book is
actually a good source of information on Pluto. But it was not until 1973 that
a small book was issued on this planet, by Isabel Hickey, titled Pluto or
Minerva: The Choice is Yours. A major book did not appear until around 1985,
when Jeff Green published Pluto: Evolutionary Journey of the Soul and pretty
much assigned Pluto the meaning that it has today in poplar astrology,
something associated with spiritual evolution.
This week's developments will compel astrologers to deal
with the following facts, at minimum:
1. Ceres, something previously thought of as an asteroid and
ignored by almost all astrologers, will be in the same class as what is widely
considered to be the most powerful planet: Pluto. This is going to be a stretch
for a lot of people. Whether Pluto is called a dwarf planet or not, it is
considered a planet on a cultural level. At the same time, the door is being
opened to considering the value of the other "major asteroids," Pallas,
Juno and Vesta.
2. Pluto and Xena are being put on the same plane of reality
-- which will pretty much start a Xena movement, as we now must accept the fact
that this is a planet as well.
3. Pluto, a dwarf planet, is considered to have rulership of
an astrological sign. This will raise the obvious questions of what signs Ceres
and Xena are associated with. Xena is a recent discovery, but astrologers who
work with asteroids have been speculating for years about what sign Ceres is
associated with. There is no definite answer, but Virgo seems to be one
intuitive choice.
4. Something previously thought of as a satellite, Charon,
is now a planet. It is particularly compelling that it's a satellite of Pluto.
The suggestion here is that a planet (Pluto) previously thought of as one thing
(whatever people think it means) is now a complex system of thought with at
least two major interpretations.
Charon shows up in the same place in astrological charts as
does Pluto, making it the first binary planet to be considered by astrology. It
will not have a different position from one's natal or transiting Pluto. So it
will have the same sign placement and all the same aspects. But now we are
being asked to acknowledge that there are two things occupying that same place,
where previously we thought of it as one. (Many have asked what implication the
moons of Saturn, for example, have on astrology, and this is the first time we
are really being asked to consider a question like this.)
In 1973, the American astrologer Isabel Hickey (1903-1980)
suggested that, based on her own research, there were two decidedly different
dimensions to Pluto. One is what you might think of as the dark side, the lord
of the underworld, and the other, the wisdom aspect of Pluto. She called this
wisdom aspect Minerva. According to Wikipedia, Minerva was one name proposed
for newly discovered Pluto by The New York Times.
Note: At the time Hickey came up with her idea that there
are two aspects to Pluto, Pluto's first moon had not been discovered. It was
discovered in 1978, two years before Hickey died. Now that this
"moon" has been determined to be a planet in its own right, we surely
have reason to reconsider our established ideas surrounding Pluto.
In her 1973 pamphlet, she wrote what is perhaps the first
tangible delineation of Pluto in the English language: "The energy in us
which is unknown on the surface but which works in the depths of our being. It
rules the underworld in us as well as the highest part of us. In its lowest
aspect it can be working silently within and unknown under the surface and then
erupt with violence."
But she said there was a distinctly different side as well.
"The highest aspect of Pluto (Minerva, goddess of wisdom), works in a
different fashion. It changes the individual from within and comes
imperceptibly like the dawn of a new day. It changes the individual so he is
never again in the same state of consciousness. Purged of the dross, he is
refined and regenerated."
More recently, Richard Tarnas, in his book Cosmos and
Psyche, has suggested that the alternate dimension of Pluto is about Bacchus,
the god of wine, revelry and divine madness. Tarnas notes that in historical
eras where Pluto is prominent, we see either the emancipation of the Bacchus
archetype in sexual revolution, experimentation with drugs, or some form of
widespread celebration of life (such as when in aspect to Uranus); or the
suppression of these things (such as when in aspect to Saturn).
Charon, the official name of what was long considered
Pluto's first moon, is named for the mythological ferryman who took souls
across the River Styx. So we get an image of the "soul being transported
to another dimension," which is certainly in harmony with these ideas. He
seems to be the one who guides the vehicle of transformation.
From Wikipedia: "In Greek mythology, Charon (Greek,
fierce brightness) was the ferryman of Hades. (Etruscan equivalent: Charun) He
took the newly dead from one side of the river Acheron to the other if they had
an obolus (coin) to pay for the ride. Corpses in ancient
Charon is not the only thing in the neighborhood associated
with money -- the word "plutocracy" means government by the wealthy,
which happens to be our current situation. The money aspect of Pluto is rarely
mentioned, though it has an obvious connection to Scorpio, the sign which rules
dowry and inheritance.
All in all, these developments provide us with a lot to
think about. I'll keep you posted as news develops. And I'll be back next week
with more of your questions and answers. Right now I need to get busy
developing this news for Planet Waves Weekly, which is looking deeper into the
minor planet themes of the convention of astronomers in
Daily updates continue at PlanetWaves.net.
Catch you soon!
Yours & truly,
PS, we have previously covered the minor planet issue in
Astrology Secrets Revealed at this link. There are some excellent quotes from
Mike Brown, who has discovered a lot of these planets.
 |
|||||
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |