©2007 Lisa Dale Miller
astrowisdom.com
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On August 24, 2006 the word "planet" was for the first time given a scientific definition by the International Astronomical Union (IAU) based upon the following criteria. A planet is a body which:

1. Is in orbit around a star or stellar remnants;
2. Has sufficient mass for its self-gravity to overcome rigid body forces so that it assumes a hydrostatic equilibrium. This means it maintains a nearly round shape;
3. Is not massive enough to initiate thermonuclear fusion of hydrogen isotopes in its core;
4. And has cleared the neighborhood around its orbit over time by gravitationally interacting with smaller bodies nearby. Due to accretion, a planet does not then share its orbital region with other bodies of significant size, except for its own satellites, or other bodies governed by its own gravitational influence.

Because Pluto has not cleared the neighborhood of its orbit (which includes Kuiper-belt objects) it no longer meets the criteria for a planet. Subsequently, the IAU downgraded Pluto's status to that of a "Dwarf Planet," along with two other bodies; Ceres and the as yet unnamed 2003 UB313, nicknamed "Xena." I eagerly await the official naming of 2003 UB313. Currently there are twelve other bodies also being considered for Dwarf Planet status. Among these named bodies (important for astrologers) are: Orcus, Sedna, Quaoar, Ixion, Charon, and Varuna.

After the IAU vote was announced, Caltech astronomer Michael Brown (co-discoverer of Sedna, Quaoar, Orcus and most recently 2003 UB313, which because of its large size reignited the Is Pluto really a planet? controversy) said, "I'm of course disappointed that Xena will not be the tenth planet, but I definitely support the IAU in this difficult and courageous decision. It is scientifically the right thing to do, and is a great step forward in astronomy. Pluto would never be considered a planet if it were discovered today, and I think the fact that we've now found one Kuiper-belt object bigger than Pluto underscores its shaky status."

I wholeheartedly agree with Michael Brown and here's why Pluto's demotion makes astronomical sense. Pluto was discovered in 1930, when telescopes operated at much less powerful magnifications. Pluto was so far away and so small that astronomers of the day had no way to know its composition or characteristics. And with little reason to think there might be many other similar bodies in the outer reaches of the solar system, calling it the ninth planet seemed scientifically appropriate.

So what does this mean for astrologers? Though astronomers may poo-poo any relationship with us, astrologers are inextricably linked to astronomers by their power to name. Invariably, I trust that astronomers are as much connected with the Anima Mundi or Soul of the World as any astrologer. Outwardly astrologers and astronomers may appear to have differing objectives, methods, and means, but when it comes to naming, I believe the intelligence of the universe or psyche of the cosmos, speaks in one voice guiding astronomers to name the deeper cosmic significance of any planetary body which becomes visible to the human psyche—and to do so even though they might be convinced that a planetary name is based solely upon IAU naming conventions and the discoverer's individual preference.

So the IAU deemed Pluto a dwarf planet. How does this impact Pluto's astrological significance and status? Since I am an astrologer who considers Chiron and the Nodes of the Moon to be equally astrologically significant as any of the other eight planets (now that was weird to write!) I will continue to consider the placement and aspects of Pluto as having equally important astrological significance. And continue to consider it the ruler of Scorpio, even though there is now talk of going back to using the classical rulers.

As many of you know, my depth approach to astrology has much in common with the principles of depth psychology, which includes psychodynamic, Jungian, humanistic, Gestalt, object relations, and ego psychologies. Many of these disciplines accept the notion of an interconnection and interdependence between the inner workings of the human psyche and the outer workings of the world psyche. Jungian psychology posits the possibility that the human mind is a receptacle for a collective unconscious shared by all other human minds throughout the history of our species. And more recently, eco-psychology has extended the collective unconscious to include the psychic landscapes of our animal, plant, terrestrial, and celestial brothers and sisters.

These days, those of us who work within these disciplines are rejecting a solely mechanized vision of the cosmos in favor of a "re-enchantment of the world." A good example of a mechanized worldview would be an astronomer who rejects the idea that a planet name represents a particular energetic effect of that planet upon the human psyche. Ascribed planetary meaning is deeply etched into the human psyche going back at least 5000 years. This knowledge is ingrained in the human collective unconscious.

Astrology is a profoundly beautiful modality for re-enchanting our human relationship with Gaia and the greater cosmos. From a depth psychological perspective, it matters not how a planet could influence human thought, feeling and action, but more how planetary relationships made real in a natal chart become accurate descriptors of archetypal processes which do find their expression in thought, feeling and action. This process of knowing ourselves better through clear-seeing of the natal chart, affords each of us an opportunity to gain knowledge of our rightful place in the cosmos, thereby enlivening a more soulful relationship with the Anima Mundi.

With that said, I would like to reflect upon the IAU's decision from a depth astrological perspective. In depth psychology, particularly in Gestalt psychology, we speak about disowned parts of self. A disowned part of the self is something that may conflict with how one perceives the self. Often our disowned parts are shadow or negative characteristics of self; the awful truths about our motivations, actions, and beliefs that are too painful to acknowledge. Unfortunately, each of us has the capacity to feel and act upon negative emotions and thoughts. But often we prefer to disregard the existence of these attributes in ourselves, or our kin, or our nation. We instead choose to see the negative only in others—especially our enemies or adversaries. In psychology we call this process projective identification: seeing what we hate in others, while avoiding or even refusing to acknowledge that hateful thing in ourselves. It can be much easier to believe that all badness resides outside of us and all goodness rests within the self. This kind of psychological splitting is the foundation upon which a narcissistic worldview is built. And I believe resides at the core of most of the world's current problems.

In its most negative expression, Pluto represents the shadow parts of self; the dark, violent, possessive, secretive, ugly, controlling, abusive, and manipulative aspects of the human psyche. In its most positive expression, Pluto is the revealer of truth and ultimately a transformer—ruthlessly stripping the self of its own lies and deceits. Change is a decidedly Plutonian process. Change happens when we can recognize the shadow parts of self and reintegrate these disowned parts of the self back into our identity. This process of unification leads to building the necessary strength to proceed along a path of personal growth. Hence, Pluto's reputation for putting us through the fire, stripping us to the bone, calling up our strength to rise like a phoenix reborn, and readying us for growth and transformation. Pluto's positive side requires a clear, focused mind committed to an active engagement with fearless truth-seeking. Its shadow side is intrinsic to the human condition and easily fallen into by a weak mind.

These days it is easy to see the Plutonic disowned, shadow aspects of human nature at work in religious groups, governments, and national psyches all over the world. Polarized thinking lies at the heart of the ethnic, religious, and political divisiveness that feeds fear, hatred, and violence all over the globe. Where there is no self-reflection, there can be no peace or reconciliation. Consider how hard it appears to be for any religion, nation, or extreme militant organization to be truly self-reflective about its actions. More often than not questions are met with a total resistance to truth-telling. In America our leaders seem to be pathologically averse to self-reflection reacting as though admittance of a mistake is akin to complete dissolution of self. Self-reflection is impossible without the moral courage to face one's shadow side—and we need Pluto's promise of death and rebirth to accomplish this difficult task.

But where is the power of Pluto now? Dwarfed is the revealer; rendered powerless by the immense narcissistic needs of religions, nations, and extreme militant organizations to view themselves as heroes and deny the disowned parts of their dark selves. The power to expose and enlighten has dimmed in this world. So once again the astronomical community has put its finger on the pulse of the cosmos through categorization and naming. The dwarfing of Pluto is in fact a perfect metaphor for a world in denial of its own destructive nature.

And Pluto is not the only energetic planetary representative of the dark side to be swept under the proverbial rug. Under the guidelines of the IAU's naming conventions, objects with a similar size and orbit to that of Pluto are named after underworld deities. Many of the objects which will be classified as dwarf planets carry names which represent the underworld like Orcus, Sedna, Quaoar, Ixion, and Charon.

Quaoar was named for a creation deity of the Native American Tongva people. Quaoar was so sorrowed by the emptiness of existence that he feverishly danced, whirled, and twirled all about to create matter. This myth is a perfect metaphor for our manic need to constantly create and do in order to avoid being with the truth of nothingness. Dwarfed is our ability to be with emptiness.

Ixion was a devilish king of Thessaly who never paid the bride price to his father-in-law. In response his father-in-law stole some of Ixion's horses. Ixion then concealed his resentment and invited his father-in-law to a feast. When he arrived, Ixion pushed him into a bed of burning coals and wood, so offending the neighboring princes that they refused to perform the rituals which would cleanse Ixion of his guilt. Dwarfed is the ability to name the treacherous among us and bring them to justice.

Charon was the ferryman of Hades, the Greek underworld. He ferried the newly dead from one side of the river Acheron to the other if they had an coin to pay for the ride. Everyday, we read of more innocent people being killed by suicide bombers all over the globe. Numb we have become to the masses who daily die and find themselves on the shores of the river Acheron, waiting to be ferried to the other side. Dwarfed is our outrage.

And then there is Sedna, now deemed a scattered disc object residing in a distant region of our solar system, thinly populated by icy planetoids. The first time I read the myth of the Inuit Goddess Sedna back in 2004, I was chilled to the bone. Michael Brown suggested this name because his newly found planetary body was the furthest and coldest of all. Sedna's myth is a horrific tale of narcissism, trickery, total lack of empathy, isolation, familial violence, misogyny, and unending intense physical and emotional pain. No one in this story acts compassionately. By the end of this dark tale Sedna, a girl who thought she was too good to be married to a common man, finds herself swindled, angry, alone, handless, and destined to live forever at the bottom of the dark, cold Alaskan waters. Her story is a perfect metaphor for how cruel and inhumane our world has become. Sedna now joins the list of planetary bodies slated for "dwarf" status. No longer will we hear her call to awaken to the destructiveness of our obsession with self-cherishing and its relationship to man's inhumanity to humanity.

As for Ceres, the Greek Great Mother goddess of grain, source of all nurturance, She who represents all that is good and loving in human relationship—her dwarfing was a foregone conclusion after 3500 years of patriarchal diminution of the value and status of women in this world.

So I hail the courage of the astronomical community to call a spade a spade. Clearly, we must look in the face of our resistance to recognizing the shadow side of the human psyche and own up to the damage created by our attachment to self-delusion.

©2007 Lisa Dale Miller
astrowisdom.com
All rights reserved
PERMISSION MUST BE GRANTED BY THE AUTHOR FOR USE ON WEB SITES AND FOR OUTSIDE PUBLISHING