A Hades of a Note ~ November 29, 2004

It’s been widely propagated that the road to hell is paved with good intentions. Evidently, there’s another path just opened by astronomers. Last week (and I’m not exactly sure of the day), astronomers named the numbered minor planet, 90482, Orcus. The orbital period of this body is 248.01 years, which is very close to that of Pluto. By naming protocol, any object maintaining a 3:2 orbital ration between Neptune and itself - a Plutino - must take the name of an underworld deity. Orcus runs about 900 km in diameter. While not as large as Pluto, he is one of the largest Trans-Neptunian Objects.

So now we have Orcus, the Roman equivalent of Pluto. While some references use Hades somewhat interchangeably with Orcus, these are distinctive astronomical/astrological bodies that should not be confused. Most notably, Orcus (killer by some translation) prevails as the deity that hears the words spoken in oaths. His charge demands he punish those who break oaths. Last weekend a news story posted on the Internet about a soldier just released from jail for desertion. When stationed in Korea he allegedly took off to North Korea to avoid being shipped off for service in Vietnam. The point is: upon enlistment an oath of faithfulness to the United States and service to it is proclaimed. His release, after serving his punishments - a long involved story - coincided with the naming of the body that disciplines for oath breaking. Interesting.

The heliocentric node of Orcus is 28 Sagittarius 32, aligned with the Galactic Center. It would seem that those who proclaim the knowledge of this potent point and fail to apply it might come under the scrutinizing eye of Orcus. The closest contact to the Sun (perihelion) falls at 11 Pisces 52. Both Sag and Pisces hold in common the association with Jupiter sometimes known for the “do as I say, not as I do” phenomenon. This bodes trouble given the monitoring of Orcus. Seems like the other superhighway to hell is concretized with broken promises. However, Pisces can also symbolize penance. Retribution, forgiveness and healing of verbal transgressions might also apply here. It’s a little early to have full comprehension of all of the realm of Orcus.

Presently, Orcus passes through late Leo (26 Leo 58, retrograde as of December 1^st). It would appear that boastful promises made that cannot be upheld gain the gaze of Orcus. Whether a promised Christmas gift, an oath to an organization or country, or spoken vow of one’s spirituality, let us hope that the spoken word becomes upheld. Maybe right now, Orcus serves as the slayer of false pride. While in his present position, he is near the royal star, Regulus. Perhaps it is also true that those that maintain their oaths are subject to the royal treatment, and in a good way.

Given that Mercury retrograde is less than twenty-four hours away from starting, perhaps it is advisable to pay extra attention to promises made during the emotionally supercharged holiday season. After all, Mercury turns tail in an easy trine to Orcus’s present position. And making oaths of rendering that can be kept certainly seem to bring their own reward.

For those of you having purchased the Galactic Trilogy CD, the update involving Orcus currently undergoes editing. It will be out to you via e-mail this week (Oh my, was that an oath!?). For those not owning this CD, oh my again. What a holiday gift this would be.

Until next time, may your words and proclamations be fluid and sanctioned by the trine of Mercury to Orcus - smooth and never oafish.