This weekend the Sun is conjunct Eris. It’s exact some time Sunday in most time zones. When the Sun makes a conjunction to a planet, we have an opportunity to see how that planet expresses itself [key Sun concept] in both the personal and collective spheres. There will be events in the news and in our personal lives. There will be some overlap. As astrology students, though, we can afford to take a step back and observe with some detachment, if our lives allow.
Readers please note: few professional astrologers demonstrate an active interest in Eris, so far as I can tell. Maybe they all keep it secret and send one another postcards. I am judging mainly from the past few astrology conferences I’ve covered or presented at, where the name was barely mentioned. Punters at the conferences eagerly accepted our materials on Eris, which suggests that there is curiosity and the desire for a conversation. So let’s have that conversation.
We have an opportunity to help create a delineation of Eris that is humane, spiritually grounded and utilitarian. I’m proposing that we take the lead on this discussion and open up the topic now, in days that might seem way ahead of its time.
Wednesday we have the Aries New Moon very close to Eris and also conjunct 1992 QB1, the first planet ever discovered beyond the Pluto/Charon binary system. Remember that name! 1992 QB1. It is obscure but a vitally meaningful discovery for understanding the nature of modern astrology. QB1 was discovered on the Aries Point to the degree in 1992 and has not yet been named; I have proposed Radharani, the supreme goddess of Hindu mythology and the consort of Lord Krishna.
Here’s a series of Planet Waves subscriber editions from the past three+ years that cover the territory of Eris and the reclassification of Pluto. While we’re here, I would like to offer acknowledgment to Mike Brown of Caltech, the leader of the Eris discovery team (and Sedna, Quaoar, Haumea and others) who has a fondness for astrologers. When he wrote this article late one Saturday night, I seem to be the first person he sent it to (I guess as ‘most avid astrologer fan’), with a little note: What do you think? I think Mike is a really smart Gemini who can handle seeming opposites.
Planet Waves Coverage of Eris and the Reclassification of Pluto
The Foggy New Edge of Neptune. This was my first article after the reclassification of Pluto. It describes how astronomers attempted to redefine the edge of the solar system in 19th century terms, reverting back to what was true in 1846 when Neptune was discovered.
Calling Home the Castaway Woman. This is a more recent delineation of Eris, which looks at the archetype of the marginalized woman.
Eris Notebook: Dancing with Discord. This looks at the history of the second wave feminist movement (’70s Women’s Lib) and the conjunction of Chiron and Eris in 1971-72. This is the conjunction that Rachel Maddow has in her chart, as does anyone born during this era.
Pluto in the Age of Eris describes the issue of new planets, and how we need to recast Pluto given the discovery of Eris and many other discoveries beyond Pluto’s orbit.
Finally, here is my delineation of Eris from Small World Stories, the 2008 annual edition of Planet Waves.
Thank you to our subscribers, who make this kind of astrology writing possible on a continual basis.
Patty,
In learning about the direct connection you have to the U.S. Chiron, I recall the many passionate entries you have made in defense of the defenseless people of our country. You really are a true patriot in the best of ways. Your old fashioned and delightful sense of the role of the policeman takes me back to the 40’s when we all loved the men with the badges who kept us safe. How could we have let that simple and straight-forward view slip away from us? I watched Denzel in the movie “An American Gangster” (I hope I got that title right) and thought about how greed and violence had taken away the American naivete’ of feeling protected and valued. I guess we had to finally grow up, and now we all have the responsibility of returning the sanity based on common-sense values we once took for granted. Nothing else will do.
be
Be, my mars is at 12 degrees aries and have moon in cancer. My venus is later in aries, but I still relate. I don’t care much for Sara as a person, and I think she is dangerous. I might be dangerous in a different way, but I love the soldiers and lawmen in this country. I think they go into the job with a vision of creating a safe environment for all of us, and a safe harbor those who have nothing or have lost everything. Sometimes it all goes wrong, but more often it goes right. Leadership matters. Glenn Beck has it all wrong.
Thanks Eric for the clarification on QB1 and the reason for your choice of name for her. I was influenced by your observation of the presence she had on threshold activity in my suggestion. Always something new to learn and absorb here.
Thanks too to Musicman for his kind words. And Jere and Patty, thanks for making the point that we are all part of the same whole.
Re the name: 1992 QB1 is the queen of the Cubewanos; the namesake. These are planets in a 3:2 resonance with Neptune, most of them in the range of 300 years orbit. (Hence, not Pluto, which has a 250 year orbit. Planets in that range are called Plutinos.) The name Cubewano was spirited from QB1 and assigned, as a class, to the likes of Varuna, Quaoar and Makemake. These are now called “classical Kuiper objects” and are named for deities of creation or resurrection. In this light, I am proposing Radharani.
BK, I have some of the same astrology – Venus and mercury conjunct the country’s Chiron. I relate to everything you said about Sarah, and when her show begins on TV….. I’ll be watching Todd!! ha!
Re Burning Man, I cannot tell you that RAW wasn’t there…but I’ve done a good bit of research on the origins of Burning Man and I’ve never read or heard his name come up. That said, Burning Man is the perfect Discordian event, a field of potentially fertile chaos.
# bkoehler
In Eris Notebook: Dancing with Discord, you write: “Eris did two things; forced the question of what a planet is or is not and became the embodiment or representation of all those thousands of discoveries THAT NEVER GOT THE ATTENTION OF THE CULTURE, AND WERE (AND REMAIN) BARELY NOTICED BY ASTROLOGY.” I believe Sarah has done that for thousands of people who have fallen through the cracks of our culture and are barely noticed (until now) by government.
Be….for me you have touched on the root issue that has plagued humanity since the beginning of time. “Us and Them”
If there were such a thing as the holistic party…..we would not have anything to argue about, since a holistic position would surely allow one to empathise with anybody and everybody.
Saturn in Aries girl…….as fearless as any Capricorn goat herder. Climb any mountain…… rework the trouble into a best friend.
Why should Mexicans and New Mexicans be partitioned by the Rio Grande and nationalist borders? Mandinka musicians Toumani Diabate from French speaking Senegal and Ebrima(Tata Dinding)Jobarteh from English speaking Gambia are actually brothers!! Nationalism is the real frontier; a tool of the state that oppresses our cultural heritage
The real work needs to be done in embracing the “other side”, where making our enemy our friend is the only way forward. This is more often than not a whole lot of fun anyway, since it is generally agreed that the people closest to you can do you the most damage!
Be…I applaud you. The position you take displays a wisdom that conjoins both Chiron and Eris.
You are a very rare bear!!
PH
One more time, forgive me Dane..
14 Aries: A serpent coiling near a man and a woman.
Keynote: Identification in bipolar relationship with the impersonal rhythm of natural energy.
There’s My Eris. Yes, I do take this whole realm of reality personally.
I can’t imagine it any other way.
..and still.. I Love you all.
Jere (11-24-75) (Good #”s, no?!.) (Hoodoo my ass, You’ll lose.. I’ve already been lower than your low)
Peace and Love,
Jere
B!,.. are you working out progressions on the celeb’s?!?… Dratterpillars. I thought we spoke of this.. wait, we didn’t. 😉
Dane Rudhyar, 25 Cancer: A will-full man is overshadowed by a descent of superior power.
Keynote: The response of spiritual forces to the integration of personality through positive will-full endeavors.
There’s my rising.. It’s applicable to all.
(We’ve got this thing,.. (not cocky, just sure),.. )
Love
J
Ok, only the one site says RAW founded Burning Man…
References to Eris always remind me of Robert Anton Wilson and his mention of Discordianism (Discordia is the other name for Eris) religion. He and author Robert Shea popularized Discordianism (Erisianism). Incidentally, Robert Wilson also founded the Guns and Dope Party and Burning Man.
I have been sick this week with sore throat, headache and sinus infection so I am not up to commenting much. All the PW articles have been wonderful reading as always.
Re the One Ring – I believe from the biographical stuff that fascinated me for a while, Bilbo basically found the One Ring. And Tolkien for his part did not understand all of what it was when Bilbo found it. Remember that The Hobbit doesn’t start as a fantasy novel — it starts as bedtime stories for his kids. And some of the references are totally mundane. (Tom Bombadillo, a brilliant character in LOTR, is a doll in the kids’ room.)
I know that JRRT characterized the Silmarillion as describing a world that was already there; however I have always felt that way about Lord of the Rings.
I will look into this and see what I can discover. I may have just the person to ask.
Kristen has excellently explained one way Sarah Palin has brought the pain of this country to consciousness. You say that Eris represents the fundemental crisis of identity. What other ways do we the people, and especially the people whom Sarah represents, identify our crisis? Have we lost our jobs and therefore our identity? Have we lost our homes? Have rights been taken from us by the government?
In Eris Notebook: Dancing with Discord, you write: “Eris did two things; forced the question of what a planet is or is not and became the embodiment or representation of all those thousands of discoveries THAT NEVER GOT THE ATTENTION OF THE CULTURE, AND WERE (AND REMAIN) BARELY NOTICED BY ASTROLOGY.” I believe Sarah has done that for thousands of people who have fallen through the cracks of our culture and are barely noticed (until now) by government.
Is it not feasible that Sara Palin could gather the personal stories of her would-be constituents, by handing out questionnaire forms or by email or Facebook, after all, they trust her completely. She could distill the information as to which problems need the most attention, what areas of the country have been overlooked, what sorrows could be modified by changes in the law or exercising more oversight in goverment regulations.
I believe Sarah Palin is as capable of assuring the people of improving their lives as she is of inciting them to riot. She can communicate with them (Mercury to Chiron) and feel their pain (Sun to Moon) and she can inspire love of country (Venus to Neptune) just as easily as she can lead a revolt. Identifying and learning the stories of the people who have been neglected and therefore want to hurt back could be very valuable to the people who make decisions for our country. We are living in chaotic times and “a deconstruction of the known order of reality” is too much for individuals to face alone.
The Sabian Symbol for where U.S. natal Chiron is located is: A Pugilist Enters The Ring . . the release and glorification of social aggressiveness. Dane Rudhyer says “The symbol reveals man’s deeply rooted feeling of admiration and envy for whoever can generate OVERWHELMING POWER.”
The Sabian Symbol for where transiting Eris is located is:The Gate To The Garden Of All Fulfilled Desires . . Abundance made possible by human togetherness and cooperation. Rudhyer says of this symbol “Alone, a human being can barely survive in nature’s great life drama; in organized groups men can in due time fulfill their desires.”
Eric: do you know when he got the idea of the One Ring? That little thing has some powerful resonance with both Pluto and atomic power. Anyway It’s all within the time ripples surrounding Pluto’s discovery.
America’s “wound” has a lot to do with the brutal suppression of Mother energy here. I suppose I don’t need to outline what’s happened to our children. We cling to the idea that a Mother must be pure (ie, not actively sexual) because children need a safe space with focussed attention. Since we neglect to provide this as a culture, we put the responsibility on Mother to be “pure.” Not possible, so instead we’ve pushed out the possibilities for really exploring and honoring the mother role (which could be filled by either gender and any caring person); we get the cougar phenomenon in the media and exhausted working parents, hand the kids over to institutional care, and then we pretend the kids are all alright.
We’ve spent a lot of time ascribing Father characteristics and responding to these in our leaders, and Mom’s just been out of the picture. Enter Sarah Palin–someone who closely fulfills what we long for unconsciously, That’s what’s been so utterly brilliant about her arrival: she can get away with so much because she comes so close to what we really need: strength, beauty, open sexuality, courage, concern for family, community, freedom, family up front and visible–it’s all in the package, looking like what a Mother could be, seeming like this could fill the void we experience. That’s how we could have opened the door so far for her — and her very regressive agenda. Brilliant!
“If Sara’s message was not so intolerant and could be used to truly aid these people it could go along way in healing America’s wound.”
BK
How would that script read?
e
It might seem a stretch to link Sarah Palin to the positive side of anything, and yet, there she is with her progressed Mercury at 21 Aries, along with the U.S. Chiron (20 Aries) and transiting Eris. (I’ve no prog chart on her; just counted down 46 dates after her birthdate in my ephemeris). We are all aware that Sarah’s Sun, Mars and Saturn are conjunct the U.S. Sibly Moon, but does everybody know that she has a natal Chiron at 13 Pisces and a natal Pluto at 13 Virgo in opposition? That’s a wound vs. power, or healing vs. fear. Anyway, I do believe Eris is using our Ms. Sarah in a positive way by making us (as a whole) aware of the wounded citizens (Chiron) who worship her because they don’t want to give up the old ways that she espouses.
These people are fearful due to generation of suspicion and a lack of understanding and access to truth. The U.S. Juno who represents equality and who champions the disenfranchised from the U.S 10th house and opposite Chiron could be increasing this fear by seemingly promoting advantages to foreigners/aliens and black Americans.
Sarah’s natal Uranus (8 Virgo)is also opposite the U.S. Ceres at 8 Pisces in the third house of the U.S. chart. This translates into propaganda which translates into being fed a pile of shit to certain Americans. But it could be different. If Sara’s message was not so intolerent and could be used to truly aid these people it could go along way in healing America’s wound.
Sarah also has her progressed Venus at 22 Taurus trine the U.S. Neptune 22 Virgo. This is her time to increase the spirit of the country or to drug it with illusion. Either or. Her progressed Saturn has reached 0 Pisces, where transiting Chiron has just arrived. Some will have their consciousness raised, some will be wounded, some will be healed by this lady.
As U.S. progressed Venus approaches the U.S. Chiron, along with Eris’s help, this beautiful woman could perform magic of the positive healing kind. With her own pain so in charge of her words it doesn’t seem likely. Not now at least. But it could be!
Radha as a name for 1992 QB1 seems very fitting, but if she’s gone this long without a name because the astronomers who decide these things don’t like it, what about Cardea? She’s a Roman goddess of thresholds and thus, a Patroness of changes-of-state. Ovid said of Cardea” her power is to open what is shut; to shut what is open.”
Cardea is associated with the Hawthorn tree which was guardian and protector of the entrances to the “otherworld”. On Celtic New Years Day (Sanhain), it was custom to create a charm ball from Hawthorn twigs and foliage and to burn the previous years charm ball so all your old troubles would be consumed by the fire.
Hawthorn people (born in May) are said to bring out the worst in their friends as a way of helping them to root out bad habits and attitudes!~
LOTR “was written in stages between 1937 and 1949, much of it during World War II.[1] Although generally known to readers as a trilogy, the work was initially intended by Tolkien to be one volume of a two-volume set along with The Silmarillion; however, the publisher decided to omit the second volume and instead published The Lord of the Rings in 1954-55.” This Wiki consistent with what I have read in criticism. In the 30s he was writing The Hobbit and The Silmarillion. Some of Lost Tales dates to that era as well. In other words, elf and hobbit characters were being formulated. LOTR is written during the war.
The Lord Of The Rings also came out around the time Pluto was discovered. Grok this: Pluto/Charon as Frodo and Sam, the little hobbits who knock down the Man. Neptune perceived as the bottom line is an attempt to retreat (as you say) to 1846 when Marx first began to critique culture from the perspective of the serf, the worker instead of the owner who really doesn’t do anything but exploit the workers using lies and tricks to maintain their (perceived) power. Neptune as the bottom line is the smoke and mirrors of Wall St. and the Fed pretending to be real while the input from everyone who works behind the scenes (Pluto and all his puppies) is largely ignored by the pinnacle of the pyramid of monetary wealth that gives us trickle down economics. So everyone knows Pluto is there, the box has been opened. Ok, Pluto still has a blog but he’s not to be confused with the actual ruling class reflected in the sky as the gas giants. Little people don’t matter. Only profit counts. Dwarf planet is an insult to keep upstarts like Ghandi from taking themselves seriously enough to stand up to the Man. The sky reflected in our minds as we project our desires on the sky.
Interesting that this coincides with the announced retirement of Justice Stevens that has pushed Elena Kagan into the spotlight as probable candidate. She wouldn’t be my pick and will probably turn off Obama’s base, but she might sail through without much fuss, as she’s already been vetted by Congress as Solicitor General. Although the L&G’s claim her as their own, I can’t find any mention of her coming out; a few articles speculate about her sexuality.
Yesterday on his radio show, Glenn Beck suggested that Obama would pick a “gay-handicapped-black woman who’s an immigrant.” Went on to say, “She could be the devil, she could say I hate America, I want to destroy America and that way they’ll only be able to say, ‘Oh, Why do you hate gay immigrant black, gay, handicapped women.’ Because that’s what this has to be… They must energize their base. And Their base is getting smaller and smaller. Their base is becoming unions, thugs, MoveOn.org, Huffington Post–that’s their base. ”
Witch hunt 21st century style? Glenn a pudgy Torquemada? Or just a whisper from the past and delusions of a threatened patriarchy?