The Sedna Conflict

 Ice floes and melt ponds pick up a glimmer by the light of an Arctic sun

(photo credit NOAA, September 2008)

At 11:47 a.m. (UT/+0 time) on May 21st, dwarf planet Sedna moves from 22 to 23 Taurus. If that doesn’t sound noteworthy to you, remember: Sedna takes 11,400 years to go once around the Sun.

You know, give or take. Such details are still getting nailed down.

Saturn takes 29.45 years to orbit the Sun. Neptune takes 164.7 years - over five times Saturn’s orbital period. Even dwarf planet Eris, which dwarfs the 248 year orbit of fellow dwarf planet Pluto by taking 557 years to go once around the Sun - not even Eris approaches the length of one Sedna ‘year.’
 

It’s not even close.

But then, Sedna’s so far away from us (and the Sun) that it’s tempting to not even think of Sedna as being part of our solar system - except for the fact that it really does orbit the Sun.

And that says a lot about the Sun. It’s impressive what one moderate-size star can do, isn’t it?

 

 The Sun

(photo credit: NASA-JPL)

So let’s think this through for a moment - just on the theoretical plain. Sedna’s orbit isn’t round, but orbits are all 'theoretical' circles. And at some level, all cycles are circles. So let’s take the length of Sedna’s ‘year’ and divide it by 360 - the number of degrees in a circle. That would be…11,400 (years) divided by 360 (degrees in a circle).

The answer: 31.66 - 31.66 years, that is.

As it happens, Sedna just changed degrees in 2011. Before that, it changed degrees in 2010. Keep tracking back through the years and what we find is that Sedna keeps up this changing of degrees every two years or so until we get to around the year 1901. At that point Sedna is at 7 Aries and it starts taking three years to change degrees. Keep going back...back...back some more, and around 1876 (with Sedna at 1 Aries) it starts taking Sedna three or four years to move a single degree...which by 1836 has stretched out to four or five years per degree.

So what's happened to the 31.66 year thing?

The simple answer is that Sedna has a very oblong orbit.

 

 The orbit of dwarf planet Sedna (red) drawn in

perspective to the rest of our solar system

here pictured as a cluster of multi-colored orbits

nested together at the top.

(diagram credit: NASA-JPL)

 

Leave that aside for a moment and let's turn to storybook part of our program. The Sedna myth is an Inuit story about a young girl brought up in a comfortable home. Liking her creature comforts and easy lifestyle, Sedna isn't all that keen on growing up. She doesn’t want to go out on her own. She doesn’t want to take on the responsibilities (emotional and physical) involved in being an adult.

Then - predictably - this all goes bad. (It is a myth, after all! What’s a myth with no peril?)

After much nudging and prodding from mom and dad Inuit, Sedna surveys her picks for husband. And after rejecting all the ‘nice guys,’ she leaves home with a Bird Man who has won her over by telling Sedna everything she wants to hear.

But after he's got her all alone, then the Bird Man spirits Sedna away to his isolated, barren island in the middle of the Arctic sea. He's nothing that he claimed to be. And yes - we could say he's flighty, but that’s not the half of it!

 Though the island in the story of Sedna is made to sound far away from

everything, it may have looked something like Chamisso Island, which here

is being photographed from nearby Puffin Island in Alaska

(photo credit US Fish and Wildlife Service, August 1977)

After much misery and loneliness, finally Sedna’s father shows up. Upset at what's happened to his daughter he kills the Bird Man and sets off for home with Sedna safely on board his boat. But the Bird Man's friends know what's happened. And they're angry - so angry that they 'stir up a storm,’ which threaten Sedna's father's Inuit boat.

Ultimately, Sedna’s father abandons Sedna. He has to, if he's to save himself. This sounds harsh until you remember that Sedna has refused to learn to take care of herself in any way - physically or emotionally. She can't help with the boat. She's so scared she's even making things worse.

Sedna’s father makes his choice. It's not a happy one. Either he can save himself or they can both perish. His answer is to sacrifice Sedna - not that she goes any too easily. And when Sedna clings desperately to the boat, her father cuts her fingers off, throwing them into the ocean.

Literally severed from her family, Sedna sinks into the cold and tumultuous water. And there she is drowned in surging undercurrents of darkest emotions…an ocean of feelings.

But Sedna doesn’t die. Through being overcome and overwhelmed by long denied emotions, her human frailty (i.e., mortal craving) is ripped away, leaving her naked in the deep and transformed into a goddess of endless, eternal emotional fertility and power. Sedna symbolizes the power we cannot find except when stormy times come upon us…when we’re alone. When we’re feeling abandoned by those we so desperately want.

Yet note…this is about what and those we want, not need. Sedna is an adult. She could assume the responsibilities of an adult but prefers being provided for. And because when Sedna is alone when forced to confront the reality of her emotions in the oceanic depths, we know that the ‘fertility’ referred to in this symbol isn’t about having literal children, but about the ‘children’ of our mind, spirit and soul.

Thus we also know that wherever we find Sedna in the natal horoscope, that is where we will encounter our fear of what we are - emotionally - in the depths of our soul and psyche. Yet ‘necessity is the mother of invention’ and nature will out. The dynamic energy of Sedna surfaces in our life ever-so creativity, circling and tugging on us from afar.

When we do not solve our problems, the storm comes upon us, forcing us to ‘reach down’ and find the creative solutions to life’s problems - mostly caused as they are by an unwillingness to own our inner power.

Sedna is, in other words, connected to the sort of independence we think of not as simple ‘adulthood’ but the autonomy which comes from emotional individuation or (if you prefer,) emotional integrity. Those of us who grow up still dependent on others for approval, security or self-worth, our Sedna work isn’t done. Maybe not even half done. And why would that be?

As for the astronomical reason Sedna is clipping along at such a quick rate, that's because Sedna is heading towards the ‘close’ end of its orbit – the perihelion – where it will be closer to the Sun (and Earth) than at any other time. And because the perihelion point will be reached in the year 2075, we can expect variations on difficulties stemming from the need to mature, individuate, assume adult autonomy to continue. We can expect a lot of insecurity resulting from lack of   self-worth.

And there is that other thing. You know, how the rate at which Sedna will be changing degrees is going to continue ever-so-slowly increasing along the way? As that happens, we can expect the ‘pressure’ felt by one and all to increase as well.

Plus we know nothing of how this really works. Half a (11,400-year long) Sedna cycle ago was in the environs of 3,600 BCE. The Egyptians were working on the idea of a calendar and some clever Mesopotamians were trying out the very first forms of organized writing.

That's half a Sedna cycle ago. The last time Sedna was where it is now was back around 9,300 BCE. About that we know very little. We have some fossils and such - but what the people were feeling? What personal dynamics were part of their daily life? About that, we know nothing. So we are in uncharted waters.

Sitting in the depths of the dark Arctic ocean, Sedna populates the sea. Her severed fingers become the seals, walrus, whales and fish which provide food for the Inuit. Sedna had this ability all along - the ability to provide for her people. But she resisted having to try. She wanted to be taken care of. She wanted to be given the finest of everything. Sedna wanted to have nothing out of the ordinary required of her…and yet she had so much to give, once she could find no escape from her feelings.

This seems something to really give some thought to. After all, Sedna the celestial object is so far from our Sun that in some senses, it ‘embraces’ the whole of our solar system, containing it as life contains us. And that Sedna’s lessons are hard…well, that’s not really any mystery, either. We humans aren’t exactly known for shouting ‘oh joy!’ when it comes to painful self-confrontations and giving up what otherwise might come easily to us.

 A Bering Sea walrus contemplates the photographer

(photo credit: NOAA, June 1978)

Because of this, we can probably expect a lot of resistance to people - and society - learning Sedna’s lessons in the years ahead. We can expect a lot which reminds us of Sedna’s sense of entitlement. The Inuit men who were good and honest and willing to work to build didn’t interest her. She wanted the easy way out - and in wanting that easy way out, created a mammoth hardship for herself.

Yet life did out. When we resist, life brings sufficient force or energy to break down whatever barriers prevent us from moving towards our Purpose.

And yes: evidently the hardest part of being human is feeling our feelings! We hold on and hold on until all falls apart, or is ripped from our grasp. Then life changes. And from coping with those changes, in being forced to face all the emotions we tried to avoid in the first place we acquire emotional and personal power.

But personal power over what? According to the myth, Sedna acquires the ability to ‘populate the seas and feed her people,’ which in Inuit terms would roughly denote the ability to survive and the insuring of a future for our children.

If this all sounds like people you know, or like the world in current times, we could guess that’s because of two factors. One would indeed be a reflection of Sedna’s picking up its pace. But there's another part here...the reference to Sedna's love of 'creature comforts' which would seem to be very applicable in a world society which is so into materialism (and blatant materialism at that!) of late.

Some part of that must be intrinsically Sedna. But considering that Sedna is currently transiting the sign of Taurus - it all makes additional sense. Taurus, after all, is a sign which aims for 'satisfaction and security' with one's life. But the trick is that the Taurean challenges in our lives are very, very seldom satisfied by money and 'things,' even if that's the most common way people try to satisfy this desire.

At it's heart, Taurus is about self-worth and knowing you've lived your life well...not that you've lived a well heeled life. It's about knowing you've used your talents to earn your way, earning respect, love and support from others with each passing year. Often stubborn, often reluctant in an endearingly hesitant (read:  emotionally vulnerable) way, wherever we see Taurus in the chart we know we will be tempted to 'bluff' having control (or insist on having it even if we don't know what to do with it)...which ultimately results in damage to the native self-worth.

So with Sedna in Taurus? Money, stuff and the worship of materialism would seem to be right on target.

That Sedna initially accepts the Bird Man - someone not living a totally ‘human’ life - is much like people who like Sedna, want to ride (rise) above their own emotional ocean deeps. Inhumanity to mankind is one thing; to live with half our psyche? That just may qualify as inhumanity to Self! And it's certainly the very definition of being incomplete as a human being. Humans are emotional beings. By definition we cannot therefore feel complete (i.e., satisfied and secure - those Taurus aims) without our full range of emotions.

And without that? Without that, we are likely to feel dissatisfied, unfulfilled, unsupported - even under-nourished way deep down inside. So considering that any astrological symbol in our chart can only be about us (others have their own charts and therefore their own Sedna issues), with Sedna in Taurus, we can see how at one end of the spectrum we could be seeing so much materialism and how at the other we could have so many people feeling abandoned, emotionally isolated and lacking a sense of fulfillment.

We will all tend to think it's about 'them'...but it isn't. It's about us. And of course there will be the many who will simply be driven to attract those who embody everything they won't feel.

Ah, the ‘magic’ of projection! Its patterns are unmistakable. Yet we so resist thinking they’re about us.

As for Sedna’s father trying to rescue her, once we’re grown, can our parents really ‘rescue’ us? That answer is no if only because as with Sedna, the ‘who’ we are really wanting to be rescued from is our Self - that feeling Self we are (strangely enough) scared of. So our dislikes, our trepidations at the idea of having to feel our feelings, those are things our parents can’t help us with.

And if we continue to make choices and choose to associate with people who do trigger our Sedna ‘fear of Self,’ then that’s a rather solid sign that we do have what we might call a “Sedna conflict.”

A well-trained astrologer can help you define how this feeling/lack of feeling works. They can define the parameters astrologically. They can like as not tell you where your mortal life has created the circumstances which shape your ‘reactive Sedna nature.’ But in the end, each of us must plumb our naked, deep water depths. No one can do this for us. And if we won’t make the journey, no one can save us from the denial of responsibility for our own life.

Moving from the personal to the thematic, Sedna’s transiting through the signs - even its increasing rate of movement through degrees is fascinating symbol of historical and societal patterns. The early 1800s were a time of ‘emotional protocol.’ Manners and mannerisms ‘ruled’ - which when looked at through Sedna being in Pisces at the time, is an interesting comment on Sedna’s societal reflection as a ‘rejection’ of - or reactive opposition to - Sedna symbolism. If Pisces is all about facing our emotions and the ‘collective’ experience of human commonalities, it shouldn’t be surprising that the early 1800s was rife with a world in which people aspired to be so prim, proper and ‘well respected.’

Prim, proper, well respected, well mannered…that’s a list which sounds rather Virgoan, doesn’t it? Not necessarily Virgo at its best, but Virgoan in theme. And isn’t Virgo is the polarity sign to Pisces - the sign Sedna was in at the time?

Astrologically, that is the very image of reactive response. If the celestial object is in sign ‘x’ and we ‘polarize’ to qualities most associated with the oppositional sign, considering the natal chart is ‘us’ (at either a collective or individual level), that’s literally ‘doing the opposite thing.’

And yet, nature - creation - will ‘out’ us in the end. Taking the United States as an example (obviously being an American I know its history best), Sedna’s passage culminated in a thoroughly bloody event known as the Civil War. The Civil War, known greatly for the emancipation of the slaves, was also a war about economics and - in essence - economic freedom.

Couched as a debate between states and Federal rights, the overarching question was ‘are we a free people or are we going to have our lives being run by someone else?’ The Civil War forced people to feel their feelings at an individual and collective level. Even though feelings ran deadly high on both sides, individual diaries (there are many left for us to read) clearly indicate that many people saw the futility in fighting, killing and dying over political definitions when it’s obvious that any human being wants to have a life where they can be free to live in dignity and peace.

 Escaped slaves (then known as 'contrabands') at the Headquarters of General Lafayette (photo credit Mathew B Brady, c 1862 - courtesy of the Randolph Linsly Simplson African-American collection, Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Yale University) Text from below the photo reads: 'Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1862, by Barnard & Gibson, in the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the District of Columbia.'

Every country has its national Sedna. And we should not be surprised if that nation goes on struggling with its Sedna issues, despite something as terrible as the Civil War.

Sedna moved into Aries in 1864, as the tide of America’s Civil War finally turned. From 1864 until May 1966 (when Sedna moved on into Taurus), Sedna-in-Aries energy bounced back and forth in very Aries-as-Self sort of ways. On one side the world saw an amazing rise of the industrial age and the dawning of modern society. Sedna in Aries would ‘shield’ its ‘Self’ rejection by living behind a Libra mask and indeed, the world ‘did for others’ and through that, put all sorts of Aries physical strength and human prowess to work through building, inventing and crafting.

Of course, there was a Sedna down side, too. A handful of terrible wars (including WWI, WWII and various genocides) and much ingenuity being put into perfecting how to kill, maim and torture people was a magnificent example of just how willing humans are to ignore their humanity. And while some were doing the deadly deeds, others were standing by in denial.

Sedna in Aries: to borrow from Charles Dickens, it was truly the best of times…and the worst of times.

And about that May 1966 date. I’d like to clarify. All celestial objects – with the exception of the Sun and Moon – have retrograde cycles. Sedna is no exception. So let us be clear: Sedna started moving into Taurus in May of 1966, but didn’t commit to its passage of Taurus until February of 1968.

(Yes, that is a note for you of the ‘stickler’ sort!)

Since then, (whichever ‘then’ you want to cite) Sedna has been in Taurus…which is where the theoretical metaphysics comes in and makes things rather more interesting. Remember that little equation we started out with? That 11,400 (years) divided by 360 (degrees) equals 31.66 (years on the average) thing?

The ‘goal’ of Sedna in Taurus would be individuality based on personal autonomy which reflects self-worth.’ But as with Sedna’s passage through other signs, this Sedna period will ‘mask’ itself - try to ride above the level of inner conflicts - through the oppositional sign: Scorpio.

The mid-1960s was the heart of the ‘sexual revolution,’ replete with all the pluses and minuses, medical and otherwise. Even though ‘sex sells’ has been an eternal thing, in every year since the 1960s, most cultures have seen an influx or increase of sexual liberation. Of course there are those who walk the road of Scorpio sexual repression too - ultra conservatives, religious and otherwise, would fit in this group.

We have also seen an evolution and revolution in social economics and the debt/credit system (all Scorpionic manifestations) and a materialism which in the past decade has moved from simple having it/enjoying it to a distinct ‘keeping up with the (insert name)’s’ sort of competitive materialism which, along with the rise in body modification and enormous emphasis on looks amounts to an attempt to build self worth on the basis of what others think of you on the surface - physically or in terms of your lifestyle.

It’s all alienation - a mask we wear for others in order to try not to see the insecure state of our Self and self-worth. In the end, we cannot take our value from what others think of us. When the door closes and we all lay down and close our eyes at night, we know who we are. And if someone has admired us for the results of our plastic surgery or the label inside our shoes, if someone thinks we ‘have it made’ because of where we live, how we live or what we drive…when we lay in bed at night we realize how much they don’t know.

And that is the sound of our Sedna, calling to us from our emotional depths.

 Inuit Art...a serpentine mask

(photo credit Ansgar Walk, February 2005)

Sedna in Taurus – in many ways – would seem to be Sedna in its sign of rulership. As yet, astrologers haven’t gone through assigning sign dignities to the many new points discovered in the past 10-15 years. But when it comes down to tackling this task, don’t surprised if Sedna ends up being ‘in rulership’ in Taurus and ‘in detriment’ in Scorpio – Taurus’ polarity sign.

This is a commentary on Sedna. Sedna isn’t supposed to spell ‘happy days’ for us as humans. Sedna is a testing point to see how human we can be and become.

Back when Sedna entered Taurus (in May 1966), Pluto (marker of generations) was at 15 Virgo, conjunct Uranus and Pandora - and in opposition to Kallisto at 15 Pisces. This tells us that Sedna’s passage through Taurus was always going to be an innovative, plainly transformative, and unpredictable - even volatile time.

Which it certainly has been.

 

Pluto-Uranus-Pandora is also a very good symbolic image for the rise of technology, computers and the internet, replete with all their good and startling ability to show up the chinks in the human mind and behavior.

 

LINK TO ARTICLE ON PANDORA

Pandora is an as-yet little studied point. But the basics of the Pandora story are an eloquent commentary on our time: it’s full of surprises, opportunities, hassles and when, despite all, we still have a deep and abiding hope.

That hope may in the end be our guiding light to finding our Sedna. For those born under Sedna in Aries (prior to May 1966) the emphasis is on your self-worth as it relates to whatever you hold to be your values. For those born with Sedna in Taurus, the emphasis is on self-worth based on what you do with your life.

Sedna will leave Taurus and move on into Gemini as of June 16, 2023. And in case that rings a bell (as it did with me) that may be because Pluto will leave Capricorn and enter Aquarius on March 23, 2023 - even though Pluto will not commit to its transit of Aquarius until January 21, 2024...which for those who watch the news should ring a bell since 2024 is the 'end' date cited in the just-announced 'support' agreement between the U.S. and Afghanistan.

Such things are pointers. And when they happen this far in advance they're a good indicator of many other things which will happen. In many ways, by many means, we can all expect a massive ‘turning of the emotional tide’ during in this 2023-2024 period. It will affect social collectives and individuals alike, moving us all into an era where slogans, ideas and dogmatic debates are likely to replace, or at least modify today's focus on money and sex and/or sexuality. Just as Sedna in Taurus has had many avoiding what it takes to find and maintain the integrity of self worth, so Sedna in Gemini will, in ways we probably can't see clearly from here, have many speaking without necessarily knowing, competing on a Sagittarian playing field which may well prize noise over knowledge and theory over priority. The 'anybody can say anything' we see today is likely to be  not just escalated, but embraced with fervency as a way to get around one's own lack of willingness to learn the real facts or develop intellectually.

One wonders how this will come about. And what will confront us so inordinately that before Sedna in Gemini takes hold we will finally be forced to recognize our missing Sedna in Taurus self worth.

Meanwhile, here we are in 2012 with Sedna, moving from 22 Taurus to 23 Taurus. Twenty-two Taurus is a degree all about the workings of destiny. When used as a lens for Sedna, it truly tests our ability to earn respect (and support our self worth and efforts to have a satisfying life) but being able and/or willing to take our satisfaction simply from the job well done…with the obvious glitch being Sedna’s ability to evoke the Taurean love of materialism. Liking nice things is fine. Needing them to validate your worth? That's rather Sedna.

23 Taurus itself pits our ability to balance self-confidence against arrogance. Considering that, these next few years are going to evoke, test, tumble and/or reward us - in great measure - depending on how ‘blind’ we are to our own weakness of self-worth.

Remember…this is not about what you want to think about yourself or what you want for yourself. It’s how you do feel about yourself and what that native unity with your deepest emotional (watery) spirit allows you to create and contribute to the lasting benefit of those around you and your world. 

That said, finally we get back to the 31.66 year thing - which is really metaphysics rather at its most esoteric. Thirty-one (plus) years ago was the latter part of 1980. And what was happening back then? Back then, Pluto was just moving over the very degrees (and fixed stars Arcturus and Polaris) Saturn is retrograding back towards and indeed will take a station atop in late June, 2012…in opposition to Eris.

This is all about being a leader in your own life and being/becoming willing to do what it takes to raise yourself to whatever your highest standards and qualities are. Saturn’s opposition to Eris from Libra (Saturn) to Aries (Eris) is a plain picture which can be roundly encapsulated as try, or suffer the consequences of not trying with a real emphasis on paying attention to problem areas in your life. Wherever you are having difficulties, they are not about ‘them’ they are about you and like as not, given the planetary picture these symbols set up with Sedna, what you are doing (or not doing), inclusive of the prioritization good or bad you currently have in place in your head…that’s all about your issues with self-worth.

Cycles are cycles. They come to us in waves and overlapping patterns. Back in 1980 the world experienced a solar eclipse at 18 Leo and that coincided with the great rise of wide-scale credit. Page forward to 2008 and we have another Leo solar eclipse - this one at 9 Leo. And that times out the crumbling of world economies.

Eighteen degrees of any sign is an emotional degree. 18 Leo speaks to what ‘feels good’ and indeed, people on both sides of the credit/debt line did exactly what felt good to them between 1980 and 2008. Then along came the 9 Leo eclipse. 9 Leo is a first decan degree.

Again, the decanate (or decan) rules: all degrees between 0 and 9 manifest physically. All second decanate degrees (those between 10 and 19) are where any sign manifests emotionally. All third decan degrees (degrees from 20 to 29) are where those around us or the world reacts or creates situations we have to respond to.

We wanted to feel good about ourselves. We thought ‘stuff’ and money could ‘fix’ our inner lacks. Apparently it can’t. At the metaphysical level, the Sedna connection to the world-wide recession would seem to be all about that. Sedna finished crossing 15 Leo in the year 2000, making everything which happened after that the ‘trigger’ for the economic lesson which finally manifested with Sedna at 21 Taurus.

 

Why do we care about 15 Leo? We care about 15 Leo because it is one of four zodiacal ‘cross-quarter’ points.

 A diagram of the zodiac's four cross-quarter

points (in red)

These points - all of which occur in fixed signs - represent where we need to move (and yes, probably with some reluctance or trepidation) from the learning phase embodied by each zodiac quadrant into the application phase where we experience possible consequences.

And that stirs up all sorts of insecurities - said insecurities probably being the hinge upon which our fated Sedna conflict pivot.

Note here: that we are fated to face our Sedna problem is one thing. But to those who say there is no such thing as Free Will please remember: it's up to you whether you tackle your challenges or not. And that choice - to try or not try - either way, that constitutes Free Will.

So it is with all things, throughout life.  

The good news here is that Leo is a second quadrant sign and the second quadrant has a ‘localized’ quality. It’s not ‘just me’ - it’s ‘me and my family’ or ‘me and my friends and school mates.’ But it’s plainly not worldly. So the ‘up’ side is that though the economic recession was a global factor, it was localized by country.

On the other hand, that does allow for a lot of finger pointing and not tending to one’s own national issues because ‘they’ are so much worse off, right? Dealing with the difficulties and truths-behind-the-mask in your own back yard (or personal life) is so much more difficult, more scary, more insecurity provoking than pointing out someone else's flaws...particularly if you can feel better off by comparison.

The recession occurring with Sedna at 21 Taurus gives us a degree for which the Sabian Symbol is ‘a carrier pigeon fulfilling its mission.’

That was Sedna - the metaphysical Sedna 'speaking' to us through manifesting as a component in the time/space machinery which is Existence.

And Sedna is still out there, trying to evoke in us the understanding that to feel complete, we have to be willing to own our own feelings.

Have we gotten the message?