Ixion: Our Conflict of Self

 Ixion being consigned to Tartarus

by Jusepe de Ribera
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When Pluto was “demoted” from planet to dwarf planet status, astrologers shrugged. Why? Because if everything counts, why bother with what any given celestial body is called?

As it turns out, there are not only a few astrological reasons to care about labels as the larger the object, the more energetics it tends to stir up. But beyond that, there's are a few facts an consequences which are both interesting and education about this 'demotion' from the astrological point of view.

Part one: when Pluto is dropped from the list of "true" planets, that puts big blue Neptune in the position of cosmic gatekeeper to that which lies beyond that we know innately (the personal planets: Sun, Moon, Mercury, Venus, Mars), that we can learn about through personal effort and which we all get confronted by facets of eventually (generational symbols Jupiter and Saturn) and all of those things we know can happen but which we don't control...and do have some concept of how to deal with (Uranus and Neptune).

Thus Neptune becomes the gateway to our dreams and ideals, our inspirations, expectations, faith, dread and illusions. Anywhere in life where where what we can know comes up against that we can't be quite certain of is our Neptune quotient. Things Neptunian exist to enchant...and yes, occasionally enfold us in disappointment.

And through such measures we learn...hopefully and eventually...the difference between reality and the image we substitute for reality - and the price to be paid for doing so. That this is such a powerful process in our lives is reflected well in Neptune's 'controlling' effects on objects in space orbiting beyond it in the Kuiper Belt - a process called magnetic resonance.

Kuiper Belt Objects are represented by green dots -

a great belt of objects which orbits beyond the

realm of Neptune.

It's rather an amazing thought...Neptune can be on one side of the solar system and its planetary effects can be controlling objects on the other side of the zodiac. Of those objects, the first one known to us was dwarf planet Pluto, an astrological symbol which embodies our ability to be drawn by inordinate allure even at peril to everything else we know, even if we know the cooler, more 'logical' or sensible choice is best.

It's the allure which undermines us. All things Neptune ask that we accept the reality and enjoy the allure.

Unfortunately with the Plutinos - each of which has it's own process - the allure tends to win.

And when it does, we undermine ourselves. This isn't a mandated 'eventuality' - that much we can draw from the fact that Plutinos are but one form of KBO (Kuiper Belt Object) which orbits in the cold beyond Neptune's milky blue. There are objects orbiting through that same section of space which have failed to be what astrologers would think of as 'drawn in' by Neptune's infamously famous magnetism.

Known as Cubewanos, these objects go about their orbital business without Neptune having any appreciable effect on them, making a Cubewano like Chaos, Varuna or Deucalion the metaphysical marker of independent influences which, though beyond our control, simply get dealt with as they present themselves.

With Plutinos, there's always drama. It may not get shown to others, but it's there - disrupting our clarity, shaking dust from our souls...even sometimes getting us to feel that lump in the back of our throat.

Or more precisely, why that lump is there - if we even know that much. 

As outcome symbol of Pisces, Neptune symbolizes what results from how we deal with the premier Jupiter question posed in Piscean situations.

In its fire sign rulership of Sagittarius, Jupiter is the idea of knowledge. But when we get to the universal vastness of deep-water Jungian emotionalism astrology calls Pisces, there Jupiter represents the question of how well we understand emotions - ours and those of others.

And whether we are even willing to feel those feelings. Or deal with their reality.

Or our lack of reality.
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With retrograde moon Triton in the foreground, Voyager 2 catches the
near-ghostly images of planet Neptune emerging from its shadows.
Or are those shadows ours?
 (photo credit: NASA-JPL, August 1989)

As for the mythological Ixion, one of the important things to know about him is that he is said to have 'descended from' war god Ares (the Roman version of Mars). This tells us that our 'Ixion issues'...whether in life or in our own personal life...are about 'conflicts' which come up at least in part because of where we "come from."

Just on the philosophical face of it, this is a useful (if probably painful) way to view our Ixion quotient. And beyond that...to have Neptune brought in on the astronomical side and Mars/Ares on the mythic places Ixion in a very special realm where the choice to do what we willfully do - is by Neptunian definition somewhat clouded.

Ixion

by Hendrick Gottzius (1558-1617)

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The Ixion story starts with young adult Ixion already enthroned as king of his own realm. His position isn't something he's fought for or earned, it's simply given him because 'fate' (what life hands us) has put him in the position of being the former king's son.

From the start, Ixion is headstrong and prone to acting with what modernists call 'entitlement.' Yes, he's king. But in mythic terms, being 'king' is merely another way of saying 'you've been handed power...what are you going to do with it?'

We all know that saying about power, right? Absolute power corrupts absolutely. So...do you rule your Ixion issues or do they rule you?

And what's the difference, exactly?

The next thing we hear about is when Ixion decides to take a bride. This being ancient times, an appropriate female is located, a negotiated 'bride price' is struck and the young lady is duly delivered to the festivities for wedding and all which comes thereafter.

Then her father shows up. Ixion has now married his daughter and now daddy-in-law would like the king to pay the agreed-on price.

And this is where we find out who Ixion really is. This young king, who we can imagine as filled with that invincibility so many of us feel early on before we find out what the word 'consequence' really means...he announced his intent, got the girl and has had his kingly fun.

But not all in life is all that easy. Wherever we see Ixion in the horoscope, that's where we know we will tend to think things are going to be easy. And maybe they will be...right up until the time that something (or someone) challenges us.

Instead of fulfilling his obligations, Ixion opts for a trap which tumbles his father-in-law into a pit of burning coals - which isn't just about avoiding a debt but also about choosing to break one's oaths while betraying, torturing and killing off something you don't think you necessarily have to deal with.

That's not just entitlement, that's sociopathic narcissism of a rather dramatically type, to which we add the idea of family and blood bonds as the venue in which - or from which we act or react.

Remember...Ixion is descended from the god of war. In the vast and intricate body of Greek mythology this is the first human to shed kindred blood, recalling the story of Cain and Able. 

The Ixion issue is primal - and the conflict is ours. But with Ixion we are rather likely to use our (kingly) powers to try and get someone else to pay the price. Or our price. If we can just willfully do away with the problem, our issue, our conflict, we will.

And if someone else gets hurt in the process...?

Before we continue, let’s remember: every chart has an Ixion. So we all act on, embody and attract Ixion situations. By sign and house placement we can see the areas of life these issues will surface in and what type of person we will attract to trigger our Ixion.

No, we don't want to face Ixion issues - at least not initially. The mythic Ixion was none too keen to own his own moral, ethical and personal failings...and neither are we.

In the story, since the citizens of Ixion’s native land were living a life under the king's law, they couldn't convict Ixion - just as we are sometimes compromised by our own more base or basic instincts.

Still, Ixion's subjects weren't any collective bunch of fools. Now aware that their 'ruling entity' (Ixion) was dangerously willing to harm others, they banded together and as a collective force booted Ixion’s kingly self from the realm, dethroning and exiling him in one - just as our human tendency is often to spot a problem and simply decide to 'get rid of it' without asking where it 'came from' or what reason it had for being in your life.

Unbeknownst to us, the universe is unfolding as it should. Everything happens for a reason. All happens when it should for there is no way for time to manifest incorrectly.

Where and how Ixion appears in any chart pictures where that person (or relationship or company or anything else) will meet up with and be taught lessons about others. As over time Ixion is activated by transit, eclipse or return, again and again we confront our conflicts with/about rules or people or problems which seem to 'rule' us.

Which takes us back to Neptune. One of the qualities found in all Plutinos is the Neptunian image of 'perfect' as we individually define or imagine perfection to be -  whether or not we'd be happy with that ideal if every dream and wish we've ever had came true.

The issue is not the reality. It's our desire to substitute some 'fantasy' for reality in the face of obligations we are all for having the rewards of, but not so keen on earning.

Or even deserving.

This is where Ixion serves to send us wandering. The personal myth is about 'them' - those many which our Ixion will tend to feel rejected by.

Except this is astrology. So 'them' is us. WE have rejected some facet of our Self in the exercising of Ixion preferences. The source of that is likely to be traced astrologically through an examination of aspects, asteroids and the ruler of the sign in which Ixion is positioned plus the ruler of house in which Ixion is placed. But until we understand and are able to get some sort of grasp on how to cope with, own or properly and usefully harness the worldly aspect of our Mars (i.e., that which doesn't apply to us alone), Ixion will return to plague us.

On Ixion's period of exile, limited information survives. So we aren't told if Ixion was repentant and philosophic during this period or self-pitying, whiny, angry, morose and bent on kingly revenge.

With Ixion, much functions out of sight if within our mind.

What we do know is that at some point Zeus (Jupiter) takes pity on Ixion and decides to forgive him. This 'decision' is less likely to be Sagittarian and thoughtful than Pisces and merciful if simply because Ixion is a Pluto - it's 'ruled' by Neptune.

Thus we face a slightly different question: do we really know and can we deal with the reality of our feelings? 

Newly purged of guilt, Ixion arrives in Mount Olympus ready to accept Jupiter's invitation to hang around the eternal palace for a while...an interesting note on Jupiter as a sign of learning.

Then again, in Sagittarius Jupiter's 'expansion' principle works through increased understandings which lead to application where in Pisces, the process is emotional or having to do with anything (or anyone) capable of affecting or triggering our emotionality. Associated with the highest of highs and equally depressed depths of despair Pisces is the sign of elation, denial, guilt, sensuality and rapture...and all those who would either live in such a non-reality - including (if applicable) ourselves. Gurus, famous artists, hermits, addicts, prisoners and saviors are as classic a Piscean guise as devotion, rejection and dishonesty are its tools.

With Pisces, the question is not what you do but why you do it. At any end of the Pisces spectrum acceptance rubs shoulders with our complete inability to cope or respond to needs (our own or those of others) with anything close to perspective.

But that's the issue - and in all likelihood, part of our Ixion dynamic - Pisces isn't about perspective. It's about immersion in the commonality of our oh-so mortal existence. In Sagittarius Jupiter teaches how much we need to know. In Pisces Jupiter teaches that knowing comes at some cost - the first payment of which will be tendered by us, through our emotions as we deal with things we hadn't wanted to deal with as part of our reality.

Ixion energetics come to us from beyond Neptune. We can't know what Ixion is about or how what it triggers is going to operate. The more we think we understand our Ixion the more likely we are to try and 'rule' or 'regulate' our life...and the less control we will likely have.


Ultimately this suggests that we can only rely on - and thus stand or fall - by who we really are in every moment.

Back on Mount Olympus, Jupiter has given Ixion a fresh new start. And what does Ixion do?

Theoretically cleansed of all 'mortal wickedry' (and remorse, had he felt any) Ixion no sooner settles into life on Olympus than he falls in serious lust with Juno, (Jupiter’s) wife - another curious image considering that the astrological Juno is a symbol of self-regulation or self-discipline.

But then...opposites do attract, they say. 

Being chief god of knowledge (and Mount Olympus) Jupiter was no fool. He saw what was going on, and in an unusually metaphysical display of what it takes to grow theoretical (Sagittarian) knowledge when that enters the (Pisces) emotional realm the story actually tells us that Jupiter didn't want to believe that Ixion could be so seriously disrespectful to his host (not to mention the god who just forgave him) as to have designs on said god's wife...a perfect image of Jupiter as the power of knowledge/understanding being willfully deluded by that exact Piscean longing which so often has us wanting everything to 'just be okay' so we not only don't have to figure it out (the Sagittarian approach) but can also avoid having to feel ourselves conflicted by our (Juno)  responsibilities in this world, in our mind and for our life.

Like Pisces, the sign of two fish going in opposite directions forever bound by a golden thread of truth, Ixion inevitably causes us to tug, pull and avoid. We're just not fighting someone else: our Ixion wars are with and against our Self.

As for Jupiter, in spite of his emotional desire not to have been betrayed by his own choice to have mercy (proving that even Olympians have Piscean doubts and Ixion issues), Jupiter designs his own trap...which is a very what you put out comes back to you sort of quality which happens frequently (and unexpectedly) when it comes to Ixion. The thing we (Jupiter) know, or know we know how to do is never the Ixion question. That we're trying to shortcut or cut corners in our own mind about it - and why we would do that?

That's far, far closer to the underlying drives which we see through Ixion. Where we care not enough to assure our own progress, where we think we can get away with something which exists in a given form because that's what works and works best...that is our Ixion nature acting as the 'elitist king' over all that which we want to simply 'do away with' as we go for the rewards we want without paying the cost - whatever that 'cost' may be.

As for Jupiter's ploy, that involves a cloud: an image which evokes the whole Neptunian quality of fogginess and our inability to (Jupiter) know whether what we feel is being revealed to us is a blessed miracle or corrupting mirage.

Out of this cloud, Jupiter creates an image of divine consort Juno. It's a 'cloudy fake' of sorts, but Ixion goes for it, showing himself willing to betray that which has so recently redeemed him...and which is indeed still in the process of trying to support him.

And in doing this deed, in utterly and willingly sullying his own redemption Ixion also ends up fathering a monster. Originally known as Centaurus, this figure has come to us converted into the centaur Nessus, a creature so driven by passion that even once killed the echoes of the poison live on. From jealousy to fear, from bad life lessons to terrible experiences which turn us to a fight against our Self appears to be the origin of Centaurus - a monster born of personal entitlement bent on coveting an illusion.

Unlike the citizens who merely exiled Ixion from their realm (pushing the problem away without fixing it), that which knowledge (Jupiter) knows as fact must be dealt with. That which will damage at will must be confined, and so Ixion is irrevocably affixed to a winged wheel alive with searing fire. Forever suspended, Ixion's fate is to be tortured by the heat of his passions as all which could be and could have been eternally engulf him in the pain of recognition.

Unable to get his bearings as the wheel continues to tumble like some maniacal gyroscope gone berserk, Ixion reminds us that in each of our lives there is something beyond fixing and redemption. To think that not true is to think ourselves not mortal - which is an ultimate Neptunian folly.

Disorientation and a firm hand to 'tie down' our Ixion issues would seem the way to limit them, though that is easier said than done. All of the Plutinos appear to bring their 'burdens' (challenges) to Neptune's gateway, and when we admit them into our lives without a modicum of reality and realism, they wreak havoc.

The Ixion of mythic description will never again have any semblance of (fixed) human bearing. Reduced to an existence beyond option/operative status, Ixion reminds us how ultimately not all is fixable. But if we truly believe everything has its purpose, then though helplessly stripped of all humanity and any ability to choose the idea that Ixion is unceasingly compelled to cry out exhorting us to show gratitude to our benefactors asks that we be thankful towards those who secure us as well as our Self when at long, long last we emerge from our own Neptunian fogs and accept life on reality's terms alone.

Discovered on May 22, 2001 at 5 Sagittarius (a sign Ixion will continue to transit until November 6, 2021) Ixion has an orbital period of 249.95 years. When discovered, Ixion was conjunct Pallas in Jupiter’s sign of Sagittarius, a suggestion that a repeated skewing of perspective (whether creative/destructive) with both objects in opposition to asteroid Medusa.

Part one: considering how Medusa is said to be born of Ixion's 'clouded' copulation with the 'other half' of Jupiter (knowledge), namely his wife Hera. This suggests that Medusa can manifest as things which scare us terribly which are entirely natural, such as the fears first-time parents might experience about whether they'll 'know' how to be parents.

They're not scared of the child, they're scared of their own reaction to having a child. That's a Medusa fear: something you cannot solve without facing it. And Ixion was discovered 'facing off' against Medusa - which is an image of how our life will (or won't) 'repeat' cycles and types of situational dynamics until we understand it isn't 'them,' it's us.

Yes, it's us. Despite Ixion's having 'mated' with a cloud created by the very hand of Jupiter, that eternally knowledgeable Olympian, Medusa is born mortal.

In Ixion we find that which shatters not our dreams, but which tests our sense of invincibility. At it's best, Ixion encourages us to be mortal...it just manifests as situations which tempt the very worse in us in the process.

You know...our most 'mortal' points of conduct. Whether your tests and temptations are mental, spiritual, emotional, financial or physical, those would be described by natal element, house, degree and aspect. How and where life reveals the Ixion games we play with ourselves...that's Ixion by transit, or being transited to over the course of our days and lifetime.

Another thought on Pallas being in Sagittarius as part of Ixion's discovery: the scariest thing of all over time may just be facing our Self. Through Ixion's Plutino association with Neptune, it seems part of life's plan that we need a certain amount of 'not caring' to get along, get through our days and be who we need to be...and it's when we (as they say) begin to believe our own press that we get in trouble - and that would be the press (as in media) or those messages and little voices in our head which constitute our internalized 'press.' The Ixion habit is to defend a limited perspective most of all because of fears which in true Neptunian style may be real...or maybe simply a veil of fear which amounts to nothing - just a fog...a bad dream...a cloud.

Facing our Self when the Neptunian veil is burned away can be shocking. Facing the fact that Neptune has prevented us from knowing what or who we truly are is also difficult.

Either one may come with real world consequences. After all, in the end the Neptune Precept is all about our ability to know real from fantasy - and the proper use of each.

Facts, on the other hand - those are Sagittarian. Whether we choose to learn what the facts are and whether we choose to think things through as part of the process of making choices which work in a global (not simply personal) sense - that's the Sagittarian/Gemini polarity.

This astrologers opinion is that future study may well reveal connections between Jupiter and Ixion in many a life...the synodic cycle between these two points and how that operates in any given chart being the place I'd look first. The reason this sort of relationship would seem so likely is not only Jupiter's importance in the Ixion myth but because Jupiter is considered the astrological ruler of both all that which can be theoretically known or understood (Sagittarius) and as the 'in' door to Pisces, the realm of life experiences and decisions which challenge us at a soul-abyss level where all the pluses and minuses concern how very human we all are...and will always be.

It is between these two Jupiterian functionalities that things get...cloudy.

That switch from Jupiter in fiery Sagittarius to Jupiter in the unbounded realm of watery Pisces where 'knowledge + emotional experience = wisdom' is a life lesson plan seemingly designed to confront us with the difference between what could be and what should be.

And that's our Ixion. Ixion asks whether we respect our Self - and whether we perhaps 'respect' our Self a little too much, holding ourselves above others on a pedestal the forces of Neptunian ego denial will surely wash away at some point.

Ixion is not what we can or cannot do...or even should or should not do - it's what we should or shouldn't do in any given moment. In other words, it's not the 'thing' - it's the quality of clear-minded humility we either do or don't bring to our decision, whatever it may be.

As for Ixion's fellow Plutino Pluto, Pluto came to its perihelion (its closest approach to the Sun) in 1989 with Neptune was at 9 Capricorn. Many of today's national, economic and systemic issues trace back to power issues of that day which were taken to be good in the moment...but which now, decades later, appear to be nothing more than kings grabbing what they want, regardless of consequences. Ixion's perihelion won't  occur until 2070.

But when it gets there, Neptune will be at 9 Cancer - in direct opposition to its Pluto/perihelion point. So some piper is likely to need paying about then. If we grapple with matters honestly...factually...realistically, all can be contained. If, however, we insist on 'clouding the issue' or self-serving choices we are likely to create some terrible monster - one which will be all the more terrible for not being anything we can really fight against.

Whatever its position and whether active by transit or placement in a return chart, Ixion appears to be as active as we are aware. That makes grappling with Ixion challenging - even frightening at times.

But what's our option - denial?

Ixion is a point which ends up saying much about whether we are willing to choose to be conscious. Those who reject its premises often succeed in a worldly sense, but at what cost to their - and our - humanity?
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Eris Discordant: Mastering Our Own Weakest Moments

 Hubble captures us a glipse of distant dwarf planet
Eris (center) and Eris' moon Dysnomia (left)

(photo credit: NASA, JPL, Caltech)

 

Discovered January 5, 2005, dwarf planet Eris is just one of thousands of KBOs (Kuiper Belt Objects), all of which are collectively also known as TNOs - Trans Neptunian Objects - for the simple reason that the Kuiper Belt lies beyond Neptune.

Of all such objects, Pluto is probably the best known - though it certainly isn't the biggest.

Which is....(as one might  say in fairy tales)...the largest of them all?

Why, Eris, of course. Dwarf planet Eris. The reason Pluto seems so familiar (and certainly more familiar to us than Eris) is simply about time: Pluto was discovered in 1930 and Eris was only discovered in 2005 by the team of Craig Trujillo, David Rabinowitz and Michael Brown of Caltech.

We've had a lot more time to get used to Pluto - not to mention the fact that when Pluto was originally discovered it was given 'full planetary status,' an honor which got everyone's attention.

Like Pluto, Eris is an object which in orbiting beyond Neptune, astrologically refers to something we don't deal with or encounter all that often. But that's pretty much where the metaphysical likeness ends. For one, Pluto's orbit crosses inside that of Neptune every now and again, marking Pluto as part of our ongoing life - something we may not control but which we at least have a decent concept of. We may not love everything Plutonic as such events and periods are generally potently transformative and emotional.

But at least Pluto's effects tend to feel 'normal' in the sense that they're part of human life whether we like them or not...which isn't true when it comes to dwarf planet Eris.

Known as Discordia to the Romans, Eris symbolizes energy which exists seemingly simply to disrupt ongoing patterns, thereby getting us to see things we never before suspected. Yes, Uranus symbolizes change in all it's newness and discovery modes. But Uranian 'breakthroughs' and the 'breaking out' of the old patterns Uranus is associated with are something we comprehend.

We don't control it, but we comprehend the driving forces behind Uranian outbursts and disruptions.

Not so with Eris. Eris is literally beyond all that, apart from that and emblematic of all which strikes us, seizing us in some compelling notion which is foreign to our daily life.

Or at least it feels that way. Arising from the unknown and the deep, dark, unbidden sectors of our psyche, Eris Effects test our ability to deal with the unknown. Or the  uncontrolled facets of our world. Or the untamed and  unpredictable parts of our psyche.

That which Eris tends to trigger or provoke in us doesn't tend to be so very gentle. And yet...if E=mc2 is true, everything is contiguous - and that would mean that the metaphysics of unbeknownst to us, the universe is unfolding as it should includes that which isn't gentle, which may be shocking, astonishing, alarming or even truly despicable is really meant to be there.

Meaning, it all could have a positive use.

Yet let's be real here...the Greeks didn't think of Eris as all that pleasant. Discordia isn't comfortable and sometimes living through a period when Discord (Eris) seems to rule our life can be incredibly awful...which is probably why the most well-known of all the Eris tales is of the 'you're damned if you do and damned if you don't' sort.

It starts with a wedding - a joining which is reality is between people and which metaphysically is between influences. Or ideas. Or efforts. Or needs. 

But someone forgetting to invite Eris to this wedding - which in human terms is rather like our trying to take a next step in life or create something new without making any changes.

That doesn't tend to work. In fact, it often backfires. As for the unforgivably lax entity in the story was...that, we don't know - though we could hope it was at least one of the immortals instead of some poor human schlub who could (in classic Greek style) simply get turned into a self-poisoning toad with a fondness for toadies by the irate Discordia.

Of course...having any error committed by an immortal could be a sign of worse. Greeks never thought of their gods as infallible in the monotheistic sense - their gods had all the same foibles and petty problems as humans, (which may be more realistic than what came after, especially if one wants to say mankind was created in the image of mankind's Maker). That the idea of divinity equals infallibility has grown more emphatic over the past several thousand years makes astrological sense as we've been in the Age of Pisces - with the two fish of Pisces being headed in opposite directions being the image of all sorts of dichotomies: rich versus poor, male versus female, the divine versus the mortal.

And now we're moving into the Aquarian Age, an age which acknowledges none of that.

As for who left Eris off the guest list, considering that eternity is a really long time to suffer Olympian grudges, maybe we should hope the offense was committed by a human who could simply die and forget - which according to the Greeks is what we do.

Back at the wedding, despite the lack of invitation, Eris shows up - which yes, is properly Discordant and a sign that we can't exclude Discord. Discord (Eris) will become evident wherever Discord (Eris) sees fit - as will the facts or issues which the astrological Eris raises.

They come without warning. They're nothing we were anticipating. Here we were having this nice little marriage of thoughts or feelings in our cozy little world...and then a note of (Eris) Discord shows up.

And lest we miss this subtext: nothing tempts Discord like a lack of options.
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 Thetis and Zeus by A. Loshenko

As for the marriage the wedding is all about, that was between Peleus (a mortal) and Thetis, an immortal water goddess mostly known as the mother of Achilles, he of  shining helm and deadly skills. So yes, this story of Eris is the mythic version (or at least one of them) about how mankind arrived at the ten-year Trojan War, war being about as discordant as it gets.

Not to mention one literally seeded by a questionable marriage. Though well known as a hero, groom Peleus was known for anger, jealousy and a taste for committing murder.

So why was Thetis marrying him?

As the daughter of a primordial sea god, Thetis' presence here says much about the 'marriages' between that which is born of 'deep' (primordial) emotions (many of which we aren't even generally aren't aware of) and our very mortal nature.

Into all this comes Eris, who shows up not quite empty handed. And what does Eris bring as a token of her discordant regard with respect to this occasion?

An apple.

Specifically, one labeled "for the fairest."

 The simple apple...throughout history, accused of being an endless
source of trouble even though it's also been proven to be a healthy

source of fiber and much nutritious goodness. That contradiction

is very similar to the energies of Eris as Eris tends to manifest through
trying circumstances which ultimately lead us to unsuspected truths
about life - and about the life we're leading.

(photo by Abhijit Tembhekar) 

However...Eris doesn't give the apple to the bride. And here we can give Thetis some credit, as evidently she knew not to pull the bridezilla thing and insist on being the fairest just because it was her wedding.

Maybe she had a premonition of Cinderella problems yet to come?

Maybe. But perhaps Thetis just knew Eris (Olympians do get around) and figured any apple being handed out by Discordia had to be the proverbial bad apple.

The parallel here to the Adam and Eve story being obvious, it's probably sensible to consider that the biblical image of an apple was as the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge, lending to this story the aura of what it costs when we choose to learn too much about things one perhaps just better off not knowing.

Or is that the cost of refusing to know? With Eris, as with all astrological points, the sword can cut both ways. A knife can kill, yes. But in the hands of a surgeon, a knife can cure.

It's all about how you use something - and that's what knowledge is for.

So Eris walks right past bride Thetis (who probably took a moment to thank her Olympian stars) and in her finest and most mythic Greek mythic fashion declared the open question:

Who is the fairest? Who should get Discord's apple?

Standing before Eris was a trio of goddesses, each of which might deserve this truly fruitful gift. The first was Venus (Aphrodite)...and if 'the fairest' was a reference to the treasure which is physical existence, physical beauty, physicality and all things tangible (the astrological earth signs), then the apple should go to Venus.

But maybe the 'fairest' - the most beautiful thing we can ever have in life is the nurturance and guidance of our parents and family, the emotional security which grows in us the ability to build a quality life? That being the drive of astrological water signs, if that's the thing to be most valued then the apple should go to the second goddess present: Juno (Hera), consort of Zeus/Jupiter and goddess of all which humanely provides protection for our needs most human.

Or maybe 'fairest' was a reference to a balanced mind and the ability to be fair? Reflective of astrology's air sign principle, if this is the quality to be treasured and prioritized, then Eris' apple should be given to Athena, goddess of dispassionate wisdom, impartial justice and clear-seeing logic.

But is this just a matter of essence - that which we refer to in astrology as 'elemental'? Maybe we should think of this choice as one between quadruplicities - the zodiac broken down in three stages representing the orientation of our efforts?

The first four signs (Aries, Taurus, Gemini, Cancer) are all about the Self. Is life about what our Venus potential and what the Self we are is, does and has?

Or is life about who whether or not we are able to embrace who we are in the many Leo-Virgo-Libra-Scorpio interactions which embody the Juno/Hera 'give and take' principle required in building a life which is functional and supportive?

Or maybe our life isn't 'about' our individuality, but how what our individual self can contribute to the whole? If so, then 'the fairest' perspective of all would like as not be that of the last zodiac four signs (Sagittarius, Capricorn, Aquarius, Pisces), all of which require us to work from the greater global (Pallas Athena) perspective?

And more to the point, who did Eris give her apple to?

Answer: none of the above.

Instead of put her apple in the hands of a goddess, Eris instead places her token of Discord in the hand of a human being - the mythic way of saying that to be human involves dealing with D/discord.

Oh yes...and because she puts the apple in 'human hands' that's both a reference to what is within our 'grasp' and all things Gemini - our mentality, our thinking, what we say (or don't say)...the daily doings, our choices and so on.

So now the apple of Discord is in human hands.  What could go wrong?

Plenty. After all, the human Eris places her "fairest fruit" into the hands of is none other than Paris of Troy, younger sibling to Hector and a prince with a bit of an inferiority problem (okay, more than a bit).

 Paris by Anthonis van Dyck (c.1628)

Through this choice we see how Eris (and discord) functions not through our defined strengths but through whatever we are confused about and wherever we are under-developed in life.

And if you know the rest of Paris' story - how his choices brought down everything he thought he had believed in, that tells the rest of the story. Eris is discordant in that its energetics forces us to release old notions and ways of doing things in favor of essential preservation of what it means to be human. It's manifestations either send us scrambling for information or put us in a position to proceed on Neptunian faith.

Maybe more importantly, we can either be the object of discord or the one who embodies Eris. Wherever we find Eris in the natal chart we know there is both a sense of weakness, a huge potential for learning and with that, the challenge to deal with others through...and in terms of what we learn.

In other words, we can be Discordia and through that create a new status quo by disrupting that which is too narrow or self-serving...or we can live a life discordant and be periodically displaced as a means by which we learn.

It's a choice. Our choice.
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.
Astrologically there are a few other useful things to know about this particular Plutino, starting with the concept that dwarf planet Eris' 557 year orbit interfaces with two cycles in particular: that of Earth's lunar nodes and (on a close-to-exact basis) our Moon's anomalistic month -  that being the length of time it takes for Earth's moon to move from one month's closest approach to Earth (its perigee) to the next.

And why would we care about such things?

As pertains to the lunar nodes, the nodes represent 'intersections' and the process of intersecting. As nodal functions become active, our lives invariably manifest as matters having to do with how we interface with or approach others (and society) on a personal or business basis.

That intersecting changes our status quo. We may think it useful or not useful - that's not the question. Where the nodes are considered, there's a far distant Eris echo which changes relationships and how or why we relate to any person, place or thing.

Eris doesn't have to be catastrophic. When transited in our personal chart yes, changes tend to take a bit more effort or adjustment. But otherwise, at some level Eris represents all that which is unexpected, and to the extent that we react, Eris thus becomes a tool by which we experience our very weakest moments, whatever they may mean.  

This same thought applies to the anomalistic lunar month with one major difference: the perigee point - a point which has a different name in astrology.

Astrologers call it Black Moon Lilith. There are two forms of Lilith: Lilith the asteroid and Lilith the 'Black Moon.' Considering the Moon is our 'feeling light' and symbol of spiritual or personal enlightenment, the Black Moon is all we feel rejected by and everything about us which is rejected - especially by our Self.

That 'rejection' is the issue. Either form of Lilith tends to manifest in some sort of denial, so the variable harmonic which numerically fluxes in and out of focus with Eris can represent our desire to 'break away' from Self or our reality. Or it could represent discordant sorts of insights which lead us to discover that which we have denied...or maybe that moment when we 'discover' we're no longer willing/able to accept denial from people we know or society as a whole.

Eris is the disruptive part of change. Where Mars symbolizes volition, motivation or the act of initiation and Uranus represents the force which powers through limitations, Eris is the snap - the moment of disruption when it 'hits' us that what was is no longer true, and our world, our life, our consciousness is altered, and how we deal with that is written in our charts.

And yes, our hearts as well.
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 Le Jugement de Paris (The Judgment of Paris)
by Carel van Savoyen

Currently transiting the third decanate of Aries (i.e., the last ten degrees of the sign, degrees 20-29) Eris is activating everything and about our interactions with the greater society and our need to understand who we are as an individual so we can do just that with a modicum (one hopes) of grace. Along the way we will be exposed to - and like as not appear to others as disruptive, elitist, an outsider, entirely exalted and utterly destitute...all at the same time.

This is a period of willfulness, one when we can either contribute or be selfish. It's a time when the world will critique or deny us totally in one minute then shower us with riches in a next. Whatever promotes our understanding of who we are and aren't individually and collectively, that's where the energy goes.

And this is where we're going to be until the year 2045.

Wherever Eris is in your chart marks an arena of great individual latitude which in affecting you will affect others and thus we are connected - even if through disconnection - to each other either symbiotically or as allies. Through those chart precepts we work to integrate our Self with our society, world and compatriots both in terms of what we share...and despite society's fractured factions.

The choice to do all that is ours...until it isn't ours, that is.

Eris has been gaining something of a reputation as a 'malefic' - a negative astrological influence. But that's not all Eris seems to be. Discordia is opportunity cloaked in challenge, a process which shows us what isn't true while revealing possibilities beyond our ego's eye.

We just haven't gotten there...yet.

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.. 

Originally published May 2009 by Daykeeper Journal. Revised and updated January 2014 (B.Hart) - all rights reserved.

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Our Personal Stars (Me and My Regulus)

 This is a picture taken in 1970 from the window of my dorm room at

Swiss boarding school. The lake is Lake Geneva (aka Lac
Leman) and the rainbow ends in the town of Evian (yes, the

one from whence comes the water) at the foot of the French Alps.

From time to time people ask me if I spend a lot of time working with my own chart. You must know everything in advance…is one comment I hear now and again. Then there’s my (least) favorite: how come if you’re such a hot-shot astrologer your life isn’t perfect?

That’s a bit like asking a meteorologist why predicting the hurricane doesn’t keep them dry (and keep their hair from getting mussed up) when they walk out in one.

Knowledge is power. But as the old saying goes, you can’t fool Mother Nature! There are simply passages we all have to go through which aren’t so fun.

When we’re little, parents soothe us and say ‘don’t worry honey, they’re just growing pains.’ When we get big, we’re supposed to just suck it up.

Quite honestly, I’m not so good at sucking it up. For me, being an astrologer is in fact sort of boggling: I know the metaphysical concept but it still hurts. It’s still frustrating. Life is still a bit of a bitch.

(Okay, let’s be real…sometimes more than a bit!)

We all have our ways of coping with such things. Me, I’m a cry-er. My friends know that I have a few basic mottos, one of which is ‘when in doubt, cry.’ My natal chart has six (out of ten) ‘standard’ planets in water and a Saturn-conjunct-Moon skating personally thin ice in Scorpio. So crying works for me. I get it out, I express myself (sometimes loudly) and what happens after that happens.

Fortunately I’m drip dry and color fast. (Unfortunately I’m not wrinkle free, but that’s a different and sort of Saturn-Venus issue.)

Anyway…the point of this blog post is really that I did find myself thinking about my natal chart the other night. And suddenly it hit me.

What hit me? My Regulus factor hit me.

Before we go any further, here’s a clip from my chart:

Of note in this snippet is the idea that my Regulus is at 29 Leo, exactly conjunct Kleopatra, one degree off Pallas at 28 Leo…and one degree off Deucalion at 0 Regulus.

29 Leo is a degree which is about ‘the order of things’ in life. Obviously as twenty-nine degrees of any sign it has an urgent (some would say compulsive quality). In Leo, it points to the Self in the sense of what we think of our Self and what we do with that Self.

Kleopatra was a very smart woman. With all due respect to Elizabeth Taylor (who starred in the film), evidently the Kleopatra of ancient Egypt was not stunningly beautiful, but boy – she was smart! She was known to speak many languages and her capacity to ‘enchant’ men came through her mind.

She had a penchant for knowing what guests (male or female) liked or were interested in and aimed to make sure to surprise each person in little ways sure to delight.

Hers was a means of enchanting many…through connecting with them on a very individual and human level.

The asteroid Kleopatra is a main belt asteroid which as asteroids go, has a pretty ‘standard’ sort of orbital cycle length (4.68 years) and which runs pretty much to the center of the asteroid pack. We would thus have to think that Kleopatra is about understanding the main thrust of any situation, any question or any idea…drawing an even greater understanding through seeing the individual and how they do or don’t sync up with said ‘core’ concept.

Meanwhile, Pallas (aka Pallas Athena) is ‘dispassionate intellectual knowledge.’

While there are those who would probably like to say 

that the helmet worn by Athena is all about her being

 either very 'hard headed' or 'soft skulled,' the Greek

 representation is far more likely a reference to the type of 

logical, unemotional thought process which in being associated

with Athena comes from her having sprung - full grown - from

the brow of Jupiter/Zeus...In other words, Athena is that which is 'born' of

our 'mastery of understanding,' which makes our 'Athena capacity' 

all about our ability to resist emotional urgings in the finding

of our truth - and hence, what we utilize as a basis for

 proceeding through life and making something OF our lives.

All of this in a chart with six planets in water? No wonder so many people say ‘go figure’ when I go directly from being Athena-like to a delicate…almost fragile and childlike imp. On the other, this is probably a part of the core description which manifests as my being a writer…and hence, able to write about astrology with what we might call dispassionate feeling for the subject – and for its application in people’s lives.

Then we go back to that 29 Leo thing. 29 Leo is a degree which is highly concerned with relationship. Yet it also carries a message of duality. For many this will be expressed as the personal life (marriage and family) against the professional life, though there is an opinion voiced that this degree – in particular – specifies two marriages.

Yes, I’ve been married, though I’m not married currently.

And lest you think otherwise, I recognize that this Pallas-Kleopatra-Regulus complex can amount to showy brilliance. Or someone who is a show-off (whether they're brilliant or not). Remembering that the story of Kleopatra ends in her killing herself over love lost, there's a definite 'I'm to smart for my own good' sort of theme which may indicate something close to an 'unregulated' form of mental capacity.

Do I own any of that? Absolutely. I'm not sure if I am a classic sort of 'show off' but I've definitely gotten myself into pickles with others.

And even with myself. There is a point at which a busy brain becomes not a gift but a burden. I'm the first one to hold up my hand in that department. I understand how I became this way...I had a pretty variable childhood which kept me on my toes trying to avoid errant adults. (Hint: we call that "abuse.") I also had a parent that I wanted to please very much who made getting good grades the apparent price for love.

Until I got there. I was all set to graduate first in my class when that demand proved to be all talk and no love.

It was Kleopatra time.

I've also been too smart for various men who simply wanted a woman to be a 'yes' girl. I've actually been close to one man (as a friend) who wanted me to listen to him...but then didn't want me to remember what he said.

Like I said, Kleopatra time. There's a whole bunch of ways that life can be a pain in the asp.  

Then we get to Deucalion. The Greek Deucalion story is one you’d rather easily liken to that of the Biblical Noah. But there’s a difference. Being Greek myth and therefore about the us-versus-us trials we experience through the choices and challenges of life (rather than about mortal relationship with Divinity), the Deucalion story amounts to a question of how to find the moral path and whether we will find a moral and ethical path through life.

Then we bring in the KBO part. Since Deucalion is a Kuiper Belt Object and all KBOs orbit beyond the Neptunian gateway of ‘real/unreal’ (aka ‘known-versus-unknown’) this makes Deucalion a point which when active or activated indicates circumstances which evoke or provoke situations which test what we know…and our ability to learn.

Most of the time when we talk about KBOs we talk about either dwarf planets like Sedna and Eris or Plutinos like Pluto, Ixion or Orcus. (There are five or six Plutinos out there with no names on them, too I can’t wait for the international congress on such to name them!)

But Deucalion is a whole other kind of KBO. Known as a ‘Cubewano’ (a delightful sort of name which makes me think of an exotic sandwich) Deucalion may orbit beyond Neptune, but unlike Pluto, Ixion, Orcus and Huya, Deucalion is not subject to Neptune’s rather vast magnetic resonance control. Those Plutino orbits are governed by Neptune.

Therefore we know that the metaphysical effects of said objects (yes, including Pluto) is an affect which has a very distinct Neptune quality. Hence the transformative – delight or agonizing – effects we associate with Pluto, for instance.

But Deucalion? With Deucalion, none of that applies. So though we may be provoked or issues may be evoked by Deucalion transits or transits to Deucalion in our chart, they are not involve the sort of ‘emotional awareness / awareness of our emotionality’ that anything Neptunian or tied to Neptune does.

In other words, Deucalion is a thought provoking point, not an emotion provoking point.

So anyway…there my Deucalion is at 0 Virgo: a combination which tells us that despite all my watery emotionalism, I have a pragmatic and rational basis for deciding right from wrong.

Considering Deucalion is going to be in Virgo for a lot of people (it didn’t move into Libra until September 15, 1979) and how not all of them are pragmatic, rational, moral or ethical (alas), what makes the difference for me?

Three things: Pallas (which is an uber-logic point), Kleopatra being so closely conjunct Pallas…and Regulus, that famous not-so-fixed fixed star which promises success providing we do NOT allow ourselves the luxury of vengeance or revenge.

Okay…now we have to stage pretty well set for the GRAND REALIZATION I had while washing the dishes.

 A reverse-view shot of the Pantages Theater in Hollywood,

 California, one of the true architectural art-deco masterpieces

 around...not to mention a wonderful place to enjoy a theatrical

 performance. (photo credit: Christian Dionne, August 2009)

(True to six planets in water, I tend to realize most things when doing things like washing dishes, taking a shower or walking in the rain, of which there is far too little here in Southern California.)

And what was that realization? It was all about Regulus having moved from 29 Leo into 0 Virgo as of November 2011.

November 2011 was when havoc broke out in my life. (Again.) But it’s where it broke out and how it broke out and my instincts about it having broken out which got me where my Regulus-conjunct-Deucalion lives.

My problem erupted in the area of my health care – which is very obviously Virgo. And when those problems broke out, they were not only 'about' my health (which is bad enough) but right up the Virgo alley in that they had to do with the moral and ethical standards with which I was treated.

This proves that whoever we are, however strong or weak we are, how life will find a way to test our weak spots. If I'm going to be offended with people, the easiest way to get to me is to lie to me. Or to do something which is immoral, unethical or downright shoddy in nature.

Those are all Virgo qualities. And they get me.

One person in particular really offended me. And when it came right down to it, the humanity of the situation is what lastingly affects me. Yes, there was an obvious lack of quality, a compromise of ethics, standards and priorities.

But I'm a six planets in water person. So the fact that I didn't even get apologized to? That fries my catfish!

(I’m a Pisces, I can say that.)

I've heard all the excuses and "explanations" ...they don't hold a cup of dirty water with me.

But since all this fracas came to a head when a manuscript draft I had written about PTSD got in the mix...? That to me is the metaphysical clue.

Why? Because in that manuscript I had vented some rather snarly (read: snarky) opinions about the medical community. By implication, since that vitriol was - on my part - in part a reaction to ill-treatment, that constitutes revenge.

As it happens (and since it's of metaphysical interest here) the primary person I was offended with has  Deucalion in Virgo at a degree known for effects to the physical body - which fits the medical/health care surroundings. The degree is 20 Virgo, and anyone with  Deucalion at 20 Virgo is going to confront the need to 'find the moral path' between being overly defensive and dealing with things openly and honestly.

So the real question is...who went over to the dark side of their Deucalion first? Whoever did threw the cause-effect out of balance.

Deucalion is tough. It's far tougher than we would tend to think it would be, seeing as it's not connected to Neptune.

To that I'd say one thing: Eris isn't connected to Neptune and when dwarf planet Eris (i.e., Eris Discord) effects surface, we are by definition unsettled.

But yes, with Eris we have a chance to be renewed. And to expand into new 'territory' in our life.

Deucalion is trickier, as Deucalion is all about what happens when we hold ourselves to standards and when we fail standards. In Virgo (August 1953 - September 1979), Deucalion has to do with what we do and how we do it. Being that Virgo is an earth(y) sign, there's a tangible difference between the good we can do and the neglect of standards which in the end undermines us.

Getting back to the reason for this blog, which is about how my life changed when Regulus moved from 29 Leo into 0 Virgo, conjuncting my Deucalion.

The question of what to do about the medical hassle has gotten plenty of votes from friends and professionals alike. There have been many votes for "sue." But then...I do live in America. You ain’t nobody if you haven’t got a lawsuit in progress in the US!

But every time I get to that contemplation, I’ve rebelled against the quality of vengeance therein. And it wasn’t until I thought about Regulus conjuncting my Deucalion that I realized why that question would be/become so important to me.

And why - on the metaphysical plain - the situation had arisen when Regulus did conjunct my Deucalion.

But given how metaphysics works, I knew that realization should also give me a path forward. Yes, Regulus conjuncting Deucalion is bound to stir up such situations like my medical hassle. And because Regulus is going to be lingering at 0 Virgo for quite some time, I can expect periodic episodes which echo same.

(Oh joy, oh rapture...NOT!)

But how I respond? That's on me.That’s about MY Deucalion, MY Regulus and whether MY Kleopatra will cause me to reach for the basket with the asp...or whether I will just be...well, brilliant.

Let's remember...Kleopatra didn't get in trouble until she fell in love. (Or lust, depending on how you see the story.) That's a clarified metaphysical instruction to keep my logical Pallas wits on tap - even when my heartstrings feel the tug.

 Cleopatra by John William Waterhouse (1888)

2012 has given me a lot of new, a lot of perspective on the old and huge support from people I never dreamed existed before. But it’s also been one of the most painful years of my life. Yet I accept that growth isn’t always easy. Sometimes, in fact, growth is agonizing.

But when my realization dawned, when I recognized the symbolism of this metaphysical Regulus-Deucalion shift, something in me changed. 

And that’s what my life is about – and therefore, by implication, yours is too.

Hence, why I share. Since that day, the ‘tension of engagement’ between myself and those who I might have had trouble with has begun to drop away. That people close to me have begun looking at their own lives in a more constructive, self-determinative way suggests that our energies are so interlocked that any one of us can affect the next.

It’s not about ‘thinking good thoughts’ as some say. Denial is not a cure. Denial compounds tension just as vulnerability and willingness to try spreads the ability to build anew.

We each inspire others when we allow ourselves to be honest enough to inspire ourselves.

I have no idea if the medical community is even capable of issuing an apology. Maybe not. But if so, I would tend to think that part of the humanity has gone out of medicine.

And that's not a good thing.

Deucalion being transited by Regulus at 0 Virgo in my chart says I value manners and the manner in which things get done. Protocol and a willingness to do one’s best in meeting the proper standards is going to mean something to me probably until Regulus moves on to 1 Virgo in November 2083…by which time I expect to be watching from the other side. (Don’t put it past me!)

Understanding how these subtle shifts represent a ‘moving on’ in life is important. Maybe Regulus’ shift into Virgo didn’t mean as much to you. But maybe it did. Maybe your Sun is at 0 Virgo. Or your Moon. Or Psyche. Or Athena. Or Byblis. Or…

Or maybe you just have a free-floating feeling that more is being asked of you…in which case the question really becomes whether you will hold to your more selfish or better self. Regulus as a symbol of ‘success when revenge is avoided’ is a brilliant (star-like) crystallization of the idea that our harder, harsher, more selfish and bitterly vicious natures are never a plus. Whether you don’t want to decide or you don’t want to act, whether you don’t want to be bothered or you can’t be bothered to think, in the end it’s your relationship with your Self which is undermined or through awareness, enhanced.

I can’t fix that for you…but you can. And because you can, because you may need an example to use as a crowbar to help you pry your own situation apart, that's why I've told you this story.

And I wish you well with your efforts...as I wish you well - in every regard - with your life.