Growing Pains ~ 25 June 2008


I have an Aries friend who is mad at me for making her aware of the discordant Plutoid, Eris, especially since she has Eris conjunct her natal Sun. In an e-mail I wrote her that if she excluded or denied Eris from astrological importance, she might as well exclude Pluto. She replied, “Fine. I’ll not use Eris or Pluto... except in charts of people I don’t like.”


Extrasolar (planets in orbits around stars other than our own) planet searchers recently reported the discovery of five super Earths orbiting three other stars. Should astrologers assign importance to stars/fixed stars known to have solar systems? How can we determine which stars with extrasolar planets are more important? Would it be the size of the star? According to the Extra Solar Planets Encyclopedia (www.exoplanet.eu) we now have 303 known planets in orbits around other stars - a phenomenon that we first encountered in 1995 with the discovery of a planet around 51 Peg. Previous to that, however, three planets had been discovered around pulsar PSR 1257+12, but we let this slip through the cracks. Since a pulsar is a dying star and probably cannot sustain life on its planets, who cares?


Other astronomical researchers report that it is but a short time before we determine the star with whom our Sun enjoys a theoretical binary relationship. Back in the late 1970's there was a lot of talk about this. Then the star was nicknamed George, as in George the dragon slayer. In astronomical reality, binary star systems vastly exceed single stars by count. How should astrologers treat Sun signs, if in fact, we are part of a binary star system? How in Creation can they be sure of this anyway? It’s not like they have a post card picture taken from the Sombrero Galaxy, though I did search on eBay to see if there were any available.


Additionally, Japanese astronomers report they search and stand on the verge of discovering yet another planet, planetoids, quasi-planet, Plutoid out in the vast reaches of our solar system. Some speculations suggest that as many as 200 plutoids, previously dwarf planets, might be found as the watchful astronomical eyes reach out into the Öort Cloud, which is in fact, part of our extended solar system.


When the ill-constructed, Mercury in Gemini retrograde to boot, International Astronomical Union’s redefinition of Pluto and Eris came out a few weeks ago, I e-mailed astronomer, Mike Brown. I asked him if he couldn’t find something in the Öort Cloud that was larger, possibly highly inclined and would blow the lid off the new definition. His reply, “working on that one right now...” Hmm.


As Brown and crew scanned the Kuiper Belt, they applied a well designed, systematic, computerized scan of our solar system, seeking bodies of movement consistent with the speed of Trans-Neptunian bodies. They probably have the majority of them with some smaller stragglers coming into our consciousness over the next few years. Kuiper discoveries peaked in 2002 and 2003 with more than 160 Kuiper Belt Objects, discovered in each of those years. Scattered Disk Object discoveries reached its maximum in 2000 with 24 of the elliptical orbit bodies realized. Centaurs came to their pinnacle in 2002 with 14 of the rowdy celestial companions discovered. Now tracking the heavens with Chiron, are 73 centaurs in addition to the leader of that pack. Last year the current tally reports the encounter of eight centaurs, nine Scattered Disk Objects and thirteen TNO’s. So far this year, we have three new centaurs and one each of the SDO’s and TNO’s. Evidently, the best is yet to be reported. Can you feel it?


The question buzzing about in astrologically oriented minds is something like, how can we possibly deal with all this? The new Plutoids - planets but they’re not things - are too small and too many, right? Not necessarily (please read Does Size Matter on my site). What is to come has been potentially promised to be far larger than any known Plutoid or other improperly labeled object - possibly half to two-thirds the size of Earth! Uh-oh.


Pluto currently retrogrades in Sagittarius back in virtual proximity to the Galactic Center. A term that came to my mind years ago regarding the potent core of our galaxy is psycho-technological adjustment. The definition of the word that chagrined my editor at the time is “the ability of one’s psychology, psyche and spirit to adjust to the concepts of technological advancement or development (should the advancement part be in question).” Here we are again dealing with PTA, but this time, coping with astronomical discovery - a parallel track to the shock of invention and innovation. A year and a half ago astronomers encountered a scattered disk object, 2006 SQ372, that slips into the farthest depths of our solar system at 2,010 times the distance of the Earth from the Sun. The orbital period of this solar system object is presently estimated to be 32,433 years. This discovery literally expanded the known breadth of our solar system nearly a hundred times!


An insurance company’s advertisement in this country touts its product by telling us that life comes at us fast. It does and it seems to be increasing in the speed and magnitude with which news, discoveries, innovations and breakthroughs in consciousness come at us. We have little choice but to adjust or risk becoming ostrich-ized should we stick our heads in the frozen sands of the Kuiper Belt and Öort Cloud, ignoring what affects us like it or not. It would appear that these new discoveries seek to unify the people of the planet(s) in cause (not implying the leaders seeking to form a singular Plutocracy) and increase the retreat and return to the personal core of being, seeking more soul solidity than ever before.


During the recent UAC, I enjoyed a fantastic conversation with astrologer, Michael Erlewine, whose brilliant works of the mid-70's grabbed me and projected my astrology onto galactic guided studies. Michael quietly speculated that the more we discover out there, the more the need to return to the core of the soul. Nicely done!


There’s fixing to be a whole lot of new stuff coming our way during the return of Pluto into Sagittarius, or so it is implied. Can we cope? Do we have a choice? Those celestial forces we ignore direct, guide and inspire our consciousness and impact events as they do, regardless of our conscious grasp. As Sedna, the first of these distant solar system wanderers reports, life is better with conscious choice and consideration of all known variables. Yes, that induces some celestial growing pains. Better those than denial, atrophy and discard.