Tuesday,
August 29, 2006
More
Views on Pluto
For
some great perspective on our evolving understanding of Pluto,
see Susan Custer's blog at http://theastrologypage.blogspot.com/
A reader, RobLeo@aol.com,
sent the following and gave me permission to post it. I hope
you find it as beautiful and moving as I did. You have to
read it all the way through to get the full impact.
The
Death of Pluto
Adapted by R. Croog (by substituting Pluto for Tammuz) from
the poem by Saul Tchernichowsky, “The Death of Tammuz”,
Hebrew, translated by L. V. Snowman, published in “A
Treasury of Jewish Poetry from Biblical Times to the Present”,
edited by Nathan and Marynn Ausubel
“Pluto is dead,” Mike Brown of the California
Institute of Technology, discoverer of 2003 UB313 (“Xena”),
told reporters in a teleconference, August 25, 2006.
“And behold, there sat the women, weeping….”
Ezekiel 8:14
Go, daughters of Zion
And
weep you for Pluto,
For
Pluto, the beautiful Pluto is dead;
And
days dark with cloud and eclipse of the soul,
Autumn
days endless the days are ahead.
Let us rise with the sun
In
the spring of the morning,
To
the forest where lingers the darkness of night,
To
the forest where visions and secrets are hidden,
To
the altar of Pluto—high place of the light.
What dance shall we dance
Around
the high altar?
What
dance shall we dance for Pluto this day?
To
the left, to the right, and sevenfold seven,
We
shall bow to him, calling “return to our play.”
To the left, to the right,
And
seven by seven,
But
hand in hand straightly, and footing it slow;
Pluto
wherever he be we shall seek him,
The
lads and the maidens apart they will go.
We have sought on the roads
And
the highways for Pluto,
Where
the crossroads lie bathed in the light of the sun,
Sweet
to the heart in their warmth and their peace
The
sparrows fly there and the larks carillon.
We have sought Pluto
In
thickets where leaves fall,
In
mazes of holly and forests of pine;
Peradventure
he sleeps among incense of spices,
In
the circle of toadstools, the faery shrine.
We have sought Pluto
But
vain ‘twas to find him,
We
clambered the hills and came down through the dell,
We
followed the traces of all mystic wonders—
The
abode of the gods and wherever they dwell;
In the grove, in the hedges,
By
trees that are altar fuel,
The
woodland recesses—all fodder for fire,
But
only the sparrows cried in their hunger
About
the high place—ruins trodden in mire.
No trace of the fairies
Was
found in the meadows,
With
the whispering brook their laughter ceased, too,
Calves
graze in the meadows and there the lambs frolic
Round
the springs and the wells with fall of the dew.
O, daughters of Zion,
Go
mourn in beholding
How
the world on its course dull and troublous is sped,
The
distress of a world whose spirit is darkened,
For
Pluto, the beautiful Pluto is dead.
RobLeo's Comment:
I am inspired by S.T.'s poem and its themes which are symbolic
of Pluto: death, youth, hidden and mysterious places, occult
energy and return to the Earth, decay and regeneration in
nature, and a playful sense of foreboding. It is a propos
of Pluto’s recent demotion from planetary status, and
the comments of Mike Brown. It has been suggested among astrologers,
now that Pluto has now been banished from the official and
conscious roster, he will emerge in unexpected ways to claim
a place. Pluto the Greek god emerged from the underworld to
capture the beautiful goddess who was to be his wife. Their
relationship gave rise to the cycle of the seasons.
Note by RobLeo:
I've read that Saul Tchernichowsky’s poem reflected
his desire to have Judaism return to an organic culture closer
to the biblical era than contemporary rabbinical ways; hence
the pagan allusions. The book of Ezekiel mentions women “weeping
for Tammuz” as an example of their straying from the
faith. Tammuz was a Babylonian god, known to the Greeks as
Adonis, lover of Aphrodite. The death of Tammuz/Adonis was
an annual holiday of mourning in late Summer, a sign of the
Fall days to come.
Views
of Pluto
Astrodienst’s
Dieter Koch puts the new Pluto definition in perspective: http://www.astro.com/astrology/in_pluto_e.htm
Eric Francis presents an impassioned commentary on the deeper meaning
of Pluto’s “re-definition”: http://www.planetwavesweekly.com/resources/pluto_astrology.html
Astrologer Lynn Hayes quotes from other astrologers with some strong
astrological views of the Pluto situation: http://astrodynamics.blogspot.com/2006/08/political-implications-of-plutos.html
There is, all these postings, an undercurrent of intense emotion,
a fitting response to anything concerning Pluto. One of the consensus opinions
that comes across in virtually every astrological view of Pluto’s
re-definition that I’ve read is that Pluto has shown itself
to be a powerful point in any horoscope, natally and by transit,
and that won’t change. Astrologically, Pluto has proven that
it resonates powerfully in the individual psyche and in the world.
Friday,
August 25, 2006
Pluto--What
Now?
I
am going to keep this kind of short. I am working on an article
about Pluto which will be published online by Llewellyn (www.llewellyn.com)
right around Labor Day. This article will cover in greater detail
the implications for astrology of the so-called “death of
Pluto.”
The
debate over Pluto's definition does not appear to be over. A
new BBC article, "Pluto Vote 'Hijacked' in Revolt," explains
a scientific revolt against the new definition of Pluto and the
planets.
Eight
years ago, I was researching an article I wrote for The
Mountain Astrologer on a then-recently discovered Kuiper Belt
object, the romantically named 1996 TL66. While doing this research,
I discovered that Pluto was already being questioned as a planet
by many astronomers. The power of telescopes in 1998 to peer into
the Kuiper Belt was revealing Pluto to be one—albeit a larger
one—of many scattered objects orbiting the Sun from beyond
Neptune. The recent decision
of the IAU to demote Pluto from planet to “dwarf planet”
was not a spur-of-the-moment decision, but one which had been
building momentum for years.
Astrology
and astronomy cannot be separated. Pluto’s redefinition
is a direct result of powerful instruments which have enabled
astronomers and astrophysicists to peer deep into space and see
what used to be invisible. Whatever the outcome of the debate
over Pluto's status as a planet, our solar system is not the same
as it was once thought to be.
Here’s
the crucial point for astrologers (at least those who use Pluto
in their astrology) in the whole IAU decision: Astronomy is incredibly
vibrant and exciting. IAU Resolution 6A passed--at least for the
moment. It was one of several separate planet definitions. Here
is its exact wording:
“The
IAU further resolves: Pluto is a dwarf planet by the above definition
and is recognized
as the prototype of a new category of trans-Neptunian objects.”
I
added the bold italics because...that’s exciting!
Tuesday,
August 22, 2006
Astrology
is O
Mandala
is the Sanskrit word for circle and for Carl Jung, it represented
wholeness and completeness. The zodiac is a type of mandala, in
which all twelve signs complete a 360° circle. Jung felt that
the circle intrudes into consciousness, manifesting in the world
as a symbol of our yearning for perfection and for union with
the higher Self. Jung wrote a whole book on flying saucers, for
example--their symbolic meaning as mandalas, and their appearance
as indicators of humanity’s projection of the Self. I have
been struck recently by how many circles I am seeing. Examples:
· Oprah Winfrey’s magazine is called, simply, O.
· A long-running
Las Vegas stage show is called O
(from H2O and its resonant purity—the show is performed
in water).
· Organic products at Vons supermarket are branded O. I took the
accompanying picture of the brand on an egg carton. Some might
argue, “That’s just a marketing ploy.” But brand
marketing, too, comes out of the collective unconscious, and advertisers
are not blind to the consumer’s need to feel connected.
· Thomas
Friedman’s The World is Flat pictures a flat O
world on the cover.
These examples are indications of collective projections of the
whole Self, and this is one reason why astrology—with its
circle as the central symbol—is attractive to so many in
today’s fragmented world. Astrology is wholeness. It is
O.
New
Planet--or Not?
So
much is going on with the boundaries of our solar system!
Although the media has reported the addition of three planets
as a fait accompli, there are a number of astronomers who do
not like the idea and a vote at the IAU has yet to be taken.
The vote will happen this week, Thursday, August 24. For a dissenting
view see CalTech
astonomer Mike Brown’s homepage.
(See
also a related news article reporting his unhappiness with the
proposed re-definition of planets).He
is the discoverer of one of the new solar system objects that
is under consideration as a planet, 2003 UB313 (Xena). Here’s
what he writes:
“Who is affected, then? I would argue that it is the public,
it is our culture, that would be affected, and, in fact, this
is why this is the one astronomical argument, out of the many
many many that are out there, that anyone actually seems to
care about. In light of this realization, perhaps it makes sense
to have a cultural definition of the word planet, rather than
a scientific definition.“By ‘cultural definition’
what I mean is ‘what people mean when they say the word
planet.’ As far as I can tell, most non-astronomers are
content to keep Pluto as a planet, and, when you discover something
new in the outer solar system, the first question they ask is
‘Is it bigger than Pluto?’ When you admit that,
well, no, it is 1/2 the size of Pluto (2002 discovery of Quaoar)
or maybe 3/4 the size of Pluto (2004 discovery of Sedna) they
look a little disappointed and say ‘well, ok, so I guess
it's not a planet, hu’?" But when you say ‘YES!
It IS bigger than Pluto’ (2005 discovery of 2003 UB313)
they say ‘Hurrah! The 10th planet has been found!’
Or something like that. To me that clearly shows that culture
believes that Pluto should remain a planet and that only objects
larger than Pluto should be called planets.”
This
is from an L.A. Times article headlined, “Debate
Revolves Around Pluto’s Status as Planet”:
“Fans of Pluto, beware. The diminutive world on the outer
edges of the solar system may yet have its membership in the
planetary club revoked. It looked as if Pluto had been saved
when the International Astronomical Union put forth a new planetary
definition last week that set the bar so low even Pluto could
clear it: The requirements said a planet must be round and orbit
the sun. When it was unveiled, IAU leaders predicted swift approval
this week by the 3,000 astronomers gathered for a conference
in the Czech Republic. Instead, the proposal has aroused heated
discussions in the bars and restaurants of old Prague. One group
of dissenters is floating a proposal that would demote Pluto
to ‘dwarf planet’ status, leaving just eight planets
in the solar system.”
This may of course have a lot to do with the media’s obsession
with conflict, creating one where there is only mild disagreement.
Newspapers are looking at how this may affect astrology. From
these articles, one can see the huge range of astrology, and
that there is an amazing elasticity in the celestial arts. See
this
article, “Where’s Your Sign?”
or another titled “Redefining
the Stars, One Planet at a Time”
(scroll to the end of the article for astrologers’ comments)
or another, “Astrologers Unfazed
if Solar System Grows by 3 Planets.”
Finally, astrologer
Susan Custer write in her excellent blog,
“Years ago, the spiritual, intuitive astrologer, Isabelle
Hickey wrote about two sides of Pluto. She called one of them
Minerva, the highest side of Pluto. Now we are being told that
Pluto is part of a Binary system with Charon, proving that she
was right. Pluto is part of two.”
The proposed redefinition of Pluto would make it a “double
planet” with its moon Charon. The center of gravity is
midway between Charon and Pluto, unlike earth’s Moon which
has its own gravity. It does seem to me that if Pluto is re-defined
as a “double planet” with Charon (who ferried the
dead across the river Styx), it will only increase the symbolic
magnitude of Pluto in astrology.
A
Planet by Any Other Name...
The
IAU has startled the world with a proposed redefinition of planets
that would allow for the inclusion of the newly discovered (and
yet to be officially named) UB313 as a planet. The new definition
needs to be approved by the whole IAU on August 24. If approved—which
seems likely— it will be exciting news. The new IAU definition
makes Pluto a “double planet” (with Charon, previously
thought of as Pluto’s moon) and elevates Ceres from asteroid
to planet. These newly classified planets would be part of a
new category of planets called "plutons."
Why should astrologers care? After all, we are not astronomers.
We use the planets and luminaries in completely different ways
than do astronomers. Pluto does not have the mystical zodiac
resonance for an astronomer that it does for an astrologer.
Is this just all semantic wordplay? Some might even say, “Calling
Ceres a pluton planet does not make it a planet just as calling
a rose a vegetable does not make it so.”
That analogy may be true, except for one uncomfortable fact.
The muscle of modern telescopes is giving us more discoveries
than we know what to with. Our traditional solar system doesn’t
exist anymore because the tools that we use to look at the universe
are so powerful. Astrologers have always used astronomical vision
to support symbolic interpretation. Mercury’s orbit is
quick, Mars is the “red planet,” Uranus has an oddball
shape, etc.
This new definition of planets—which is a result of new
knowledge—is a manifestation of the Saturn-Neptune opposition.
The structure (Saturn) of our once-solid solar system is dissolving
(Neptune) before our eyes—just as so much else in our
world seems to be evanescing.
Read
Susan Custer’s newly posted blog for some great insight
into how we might start to make symbolic connections between
earthly events and the “new” solar system.
This
is from The Planetary Society:
“Equally surprising is the rise of Charon to planetary
status. Since it is most commonly known as Pluto's moon, designating
Charon as a planet seems to violate the second term of the Committee's
definition. Charon, however, is not a normal moon: for all other
moons in the solar system, the center of gravity of their "moon-planet"
system resides within the body of the planet itself. Charon,
in contrast, is close enough in mass to its planet, Pluto, that
the center of gravity of the Pluto-Charon system is located
in the empty space between them. This, according to the committee
makes Pluto-Charon a ‘double planet,’ and since
Charon, like Pluto, is round and orbits the Sun, it too must
be considered a planet.”
What are astrologers to do with this? I ask that not as a helpless
bystander struck dumb by science, but as a question not unlike
what many others are expressing—just substitute “teachers”
or “textbooks” for astrologers in that question.
I think that one impact on astrology will be greater use of
traditional astrology, which stopped with Saturn. I personally
find this to be very useful and have begun over the past several
years to use traditional rulerships (Saturn rules Aquarius,
Mars rules Scorpio, etc.) a lot more and find them to be quite
effective. Vedic astrology does not really mess with the outer
planets at all.
We need to think of the implications of an expanding solar system
and what that means in symbolic terms, to think hard about this
and not dismiss it as semantic trickery. I will try to write
more about this in the coming days. The fact that UB313 will
probably be classified as a planet is truly exciting.
Defining
a Planet
We
are about to get the definition of a planet from the International
Astronomical Union. This will have far-reaching implications
for astrology and will decide the fate of the "10th planet,"
2003 UB313.
The purpose of the
International Astronomical Union,
is to “promote and safeguard the science of astronomy
in all its aspects through international cooperation. Its individual
members are professional astronomers from all over the world.”
The IAU has stated that it will publish the definition of a
planet in early September, 2006. However, the decision will
be publicly announced on August 25, 2006. The definition
of a planet therefore will take place right at the time of the
exact Saturn-Neptune opposition.
This definition of a planet will be crucially important because
of the status of the “10th planet” UB313 (nicknamed
Xena). Is it a planet? Pluto’s planet status has also
been called into question because UB313 is a little larger than
Pluto, so if UB313’s not a planet, then supposedly neither
is Pluto. You
can read an overview of the situation in a current news story,
"Astronomers Struggle to Define 'Planet'." In
addition, I've
written about UB313 on my website,
and Zane Stein has done his usual masterful job at presenting
thorough info. on new celestial objects at http://www.zanestein.com/Trans-pluto.htm#UB313
The
26th IAU General Assembly is
about to convene in Prague. It is this assembly which will determine
the status of Pluto and UB313. On Wednesday, Aug. 16, the assembly
will
announce at a press conference
the “Definition of a Planet process.” I think that
means they will announce the route the conference will follow
to arrive at a definition of a planet.
On Friday, August 25, the IAU will announce the “Status
of the Definition of a Planet decision after the General Assembly.”
Starting Wednesday, Aug. 14, you can read news from the IAU
Assembly at http://www.iau2006.org/
I will be following the news myself and posting about it here.
 
Saturday,
August 12, 2006
The
Pluto in Sagittarius Market...er, I mean Generation
I
suppose this is somewhat of a contrarian blog entry because it
is not
about the recent airplane terror plot nor is it about the Saturn-Neptune
opposition.
I
just got back from a short trip to California’s
Orange Coast—the coastal enclave
of Orange
County. We
visited a mall called Fashion Island.
It’s not an island except in the sense of being a concentration
of consumer desires.
When
I was young—I know that was quite some time ago, but still—my
parents shopped for clothes for my sisters and me at Sears and
J.C. Penney. Those were the basic options.
When
my daughter was younger (she’s 18 now), it was rare
to find a store which catered exclusively to clothing for young
girls or babies. I suppose that having a daughter of my own has
made me more sensitive to changes in the marketing of girls’
fashions.
The
Fashion Island
mall seemed to have more stores for girls’ clothing than
for adults. I’ve written before
about the Pluto in Sagittarius generation’s (born
approx. 1996-the present) princess craze for girls. Sagittarius
is the sign of royalty (Elvis Presley—the King—had
Sag. rising). Pluto’s generational effects are widespread
and all-encompassing.
I
took a couple of pictures of one store, called Girl Mania. Other
mall stores for girls’ clothing included Fitigues, Grasshoppers,
Pampolina, Limited Too, Quicksilver Youth, The Children’s
Place, and This Little Piggy Wears Cotton. Not to mention Claire’s
Accessories.
Notice
the sparkly Sag. crown on the shirt in the window display.
Granted,
this mall was in a rich area, but Abercrombie and Fitch, American
Eagle, and Pac Sun—girls’ clothiers all—can
be found just about everywhere else.
This
is just another indication of the glittery power of the Pluto
in Sag. generation—and the marketers who cater to them.
Tuesday,
August 08, 2006
Surveillance
360° 24/7
I
have begun reading a very interesting book titled The
Soft Cage: Surveillance in America from Slave Passes to the
War on Terror. The author,
Christian Parenti, begins with the following quote from Alexis
de Tocqueville:
“Everywhere the state acquires more and more direct control
over the humblest members of the community and more exclusive
power of governing each of them in his smallest concerns. This
gradual weakening of the individual in relation to society at
large may be traced to a thousand things.” (I thought
immediately of the government's attempts to legislate control
of homeless people in urban areas).
De Tocqueville was the Frenchman who traveled in the United
States in the early 19th Century, and then wrote his observations
in the classic Democracy
in America. I think it
would be interesting to read his book with a horoscope for the
United States right next to the book, then do a point by point
comparison between his observations and the U.S. chart. Maybe
that’s a better way to find the “correct”
U.S. chart than using event timing arguments. The national character
is in the horoscope and de Tocqueville recorded the American
character much more objectively than could one of its own citizens.
Perhaps in de Tocqueville’s book one might discern the
rising sign. Well, that’s for another time.
If--big if--one uses the U.S.
Sibly chart, the ruler of Pluto-in-Capricorn
(Pluto being a planet of power in the sign of control/management)
is Saturn, which is in the U.S. 10th house of the government.
Plus which, Saturn's in Libra where it is said to be exalted.
Exalted does not necessarily mean good--it can just mean that's
where the planet is freer to exercise its power.
I mainly set out in this blog to say what an outstanding and
relevant book The Soft Cage is. As we move closer to,
and into, Pluto in Capricorn, surveillance will become more
prevalent--if that's even conceivable. Capricorn is the sign
associated with degrees of vigilance. My new book, Cosmic
Trends, has a whole section
on what we can expect with Pluto in Capricorn, and this is one
element we’ll be seeing—surveillance is a real “growth
industry.”
Sunday,
August 6, 2006
The
Astrology of Flip-Flops
The
20-year Jupiter-Saturn conjunction is most often equated with
geo-political events. However, astrologer Stephen Arroyo pointed
out, in New
Insights in Modern Astrology (which
has a great chapter on the Jupiter-Saturn conjunction), that in
1920 the Jupiter-Saturn conjunction in Virgo produced a number
of tight, mercurial fashions.
The
2000 Jupiter-Saturn
conjunction was in Taurus. I’ve
commented recently that its Venus rulership has given a more sensual
cast to many cultural trends. Taurus is a very relaxed, casual
sign. There is no better significator (okay, well, maybe there
are) of this than flip-flops. You
can check out this website, one of many—just
scroll down for a bunch of thumbnail pix of flip-flops. I have
also started to see flip-flops displayed as decoration on all
sorts of merchandise (I took this picture of a placemat with two
pairs of yellow flip-flops in the corner). It’s becoming
a symbol of laid-back, margaritaville-type relaxation—perfect
for the Taurean times in which we live.
Friday,
August 4, 2006
The
Saturn-Neptune Opposition
The
Saturn-Neptune opposition—which will be exact later this
month—functions a bit like Capricorn, which is where Pluto’s
headed. I know that sounds like a real stretch, but here’s
why I think Saturn-Neptune has a lot in common with Capricorn.
Mostly,
we think of Capricorn as the mountain goat. But Capricorn is also
the goatfish. Take
a look here at Deborah Houlding’s article on Capricorn.
Astrologer Steven Forrest, in The
Inner Sky, also speaks of
Capricorn as the goatfish. The
Penguin Dictionary of Symbols
says, “The sign is depicted as either a fabulous animal,
half-goat, half-dolphin, or as a goat…The symbolic representation
of the goat’s body and fish’s tail betrays the ambivalent
nature of the Capricornian, exposed to two tendencies, the heights
and the depths, the mountains or the seas of life.”
The
opposition of Saturn and Neptune expresses a similar split. On
one side is Saturn, the planetary ruler of Capricorn and symbol
of structure and boundaries. On the other side is Neptune, ruler
of Pisces and the oceanic depths. No wonder our world seems so
confused, ambivalent, and disconnected right now. Not only nations,
but individual psyches, are groping in the misty mountains, arms
flailing and trying to find a lost path.
The
Saturn-Neptune opposition, in mid-degrees of the fixed signs Leo
and Aquarius, is awakening a sense of individual or national pride
and identity which has great difficulty finding expression in
a shifting world. The globe is changing so rapidly that nations
(and individuals) are having a hard time maintaining their bearings.
We are ships, rigged and ready on an open sea, but without a compass
and without a sky (unless you are into astrology). Or we are standing
on the ocean shore, feeling the waves foam and bubble about our
feet, dragging the wet sand out from where we stand.
Wednesday,
August 02, 2006
Mel
Gibson, Ken Lay, and Saturn-Neptune
Saturn
will be opposing Neptune this month. We are feeling the effects.
These two planets are moving through the sky in a 36-year cyclic
dance. The last opposition was in 1971, when the Pentagon Papers
were released to newspapers (the last conjunction took
place in 1989, during the fall of the Berlin Wall).
Wikipedia,
on the Pentagon Papers: “The Papers revealed, among other
things, that the government had deliberately expanded its role in
the [Vietnam] war…well before the American public was told
that such actions were necessary. All of this had happened while
president Lyndon Johnson had been promising not to expand the war.
The document increased the credibility gap for the U.S. government,
and was seen as hurting the efforts by the Nixon administration
to fight the war….
“When the Times began publishing its series, President
Nixon became incensed. His words to National Security Advisor Henry
Kissinger that day included ‘people have gotta be put to the
torch for this sort of thing...’ and ‘let's get the
son-of-a-bitch in jail.’ After failing to get the Times to
voluntarily stop publishing, Attorney General John Mitchell and
President Nixon requested and obtained a federal court injunction
that the Times cease the publication of excerpts. The Times appealed
the injunction…”
The Supreme Court eventually ruled in favor of a free press.
Mel
Gibson’s recent drunken tirade
took place concurrent with a larger Middle East conflict. When he
was pulled over by a Malibu sheriff’s deputy, Gibson proceeded
to vilify one of the world’s great religions. It then appears
that the local sheriff’s office downplayed the arrest and
even gave Gibson a lift home. (At the time of his arrest, Saturn
was exactly opposing Gibson’s 8th house Venus in Aquarius.
Throw inebriated Neptune into the mix, and you’ve got an image
problem that even a Hollywood agent can’t easily fix).
This is really a metaphor for the Saturn-Neptune opposition, where
we can see the same scenario played out in larger events in the
world. Mel Gibson is Saturn-Neptune writ small.
Saturn-Neptune’s both a truth serum and a paper shredder.
The world’s swallowing it and true feelings, lacking past
constraints, are no longer being stuffed. The masks are coming off.
But then it’s as if someone is trying to digitally alter photos
of the faces underneath. The Saturn-Neptune opposition gives form
to the formless, but it can also dissolve and hide. It’s an
illusive “now you see it, now you don’t” configuration.
Convicted Enron CEO Ken Lay’s sudden death is another Saturn-Neptune
example. Whether
or not he really is dead—or how he died—is
not the real issue. The fact that the discussion is happening at
all is testimony to the power of Saturn-Neptune. Truth becomes both
elusive and illusive.
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