Matching Jupiter and Makemake

Since I’m in a time conservation mode and it’s been a while since I posted here, I am copying the content from my Galactic Times of 30 April. These are available on my website (www.philipsedgwick.com) and you can subscribe to them there at no cost.

We’re done with the last of the Saturn to Uranus oppositions along the Virgo – Pisces corridor – the next such opposition to change signs and lie along the Libra-Aries axis. To avert the likely impending Mercury retrograde questions regarding why I referred to the above axes in what seems reverse zodiacal order, I stated the axes on the basis of the faster moving planet to slower moving planet, in the order of planets stated (as we like to write “respectively”) and in reverse zodiac placement to honor Uranus. Of course, if I had stated them in reverse of my chosen reverse criteria, e-mails would be headed my way about how I don’t know what sign the planets are in… see how it is with the combo of Mercury retrograde and planets in Virgo? It’s so hard to get the details in an order that allows the comprehension of others to align with the order and logic created in your brain.

Anyway, now everybody’s looking forward to/dreading the arrival of Jupiter conjunct Uranus for the first time along the axis of Aries – Libra (using the logic of above). But wait! There’s an important and subtly potent alignment about to occur even before this occurs, and most likely will be ignored. This alignment adds one more feather to the Pisces – Virgo axis as Jupiter comes into the first of three oppositions with the new planet, Makemake (on May 6th). A second opposition with Jupiter retrograde and Makemake direct forms on October 4th and the final stand off appears with Jupiter direct and Makemake retrograde on January 9th, 2011, all along the Pisces – Virgo plane. Given the curious and significant relationship of these planets, it makes sense to get ahead of these oppositions and make preparations for concise use of the pattern.

Curious and significant relationship, eh? What is that? Makemake is the mythic birdman, the most revered deity of the people of Rapa Nui (Easter Island). While this Pacific-based lore seemingly holds no connection to Jupiter (Zeus) of the Roman-Greco mythology, a distinctive orbital factor emerges to link these planets. Jupiter and Makemake both make their closest contact with the Sun (perihelion) in Aries and a single minute apart! Jupiter is nearest the Sun at 15 Aries 21; Makemake comes closest the center of the solar system at 15 Aries 22 – both positions measured per the heliocentric zodiac.

Perihelion is one of two “slingshot points” in a body’s orbit (the other being aphelion). At perihelion, a planet stands at its minimal distance from the Sun, thus receiving solar intensity in greatest measure. As a planet comes to perihelion, it moves faster than at any other part in its orbit. Once past perihelion, a body begins to slow. At the moment of perihelion, the planet is sling shotted back into the depths of space (at aphelion, the planet is sling shotted back toward the Sun). By orbital symbolism, a planet at perihelion absorbs qualities of urgency, time (as related to speed) pressure and enhanced intensity; qualities shared by Jupiter and Makemake at the same degree and amplified by the nature of Aries.

The 1994 movie, Rapa Nui, is one of the better ways to align with the birdman mythology of the Island Culture. This is fairly easy to get in VHS and more difficult in DVD, but worth the search and watching. Some historical assessments of the film claim that the famous Easter Island statues were long in place by the time the birdman propitiation of the egg hunt began. That noted, there are some interesting points made in the film that pertain to both Makemake and Jupiter.

Jupiter refers to religion in traditional terms and the method of sacrifice to honor religions icons. Jupiter personifies over doing, too much, excessive use and over the top. In the movie Rapa Nui, there is a scene where the last trees are cut down to use as rolling logs to put yet another religious stone carving in place. Rapa Nui is an isolated island about 3,500 km west of Santiago, Chile. The indigenous inhabitants before the arrival of European explorers believed they were the only people on Earth. They fished and collected bird eggs for food. The expanse of the island is slightly more than 63 square miles (163.6 square kilometers) and as such, an awareness of limitation must have existed. The physical reality of limited island space and the number of trees was clear. The ocean, however, seemed unlimited and an unfailing supply of food. Knotting all of the above into a Mercury retrograde thought ball, did it make sense to cut down the last of the trees to roll out one more religious rendering? At its latitude, the land is subtropical. How hard is it to find shade with no trees?

Now whether this Hollywood ceremonial image is historically factual, it offers up a Jupiter-Makemake consideration. Should you sacrifice the last of a critical physical resource in the interest of attracting favor from your god? Televangelists tell you the more you give, the more God and Jesus will smile upon you. The ever popular prosperity seminars also indicate that if you can salvage the money to take their expensive seminar, prosperity, though not guaranteed by the seminar’s founder, staff, legal assigns and representatives, is more likely. Even common business logic states that it takes money to make money.

During the Jupiter to Makemake oppositions, the first is the only one in which Saturn watches his next door zodiac neighbor from the same sign. As he observes the resource sacrifices in the interest of securing the birdman’s favor and Jupiter’s abundance blessing, the ringed disciplinarian replies from slightly more than three degrees displacement from Makemake, “Don’t be an idiot! Weren’t you paying attention when I was conjunct him? I tried to tell you that resources are limited. Stay within those means. There might be a rainy day in the future, yes? If you want to be green, stop overpopulating the planet. And what the hell are you doing still buying investment products from Goldman Sachs, diving back into the stock market and real estate flipping investment properties?”

However, both Jupiter and Makemake sharing perihelia in Aries, believe in doing it quickly (could apply to their perceived best method of getting rich), exercising personal rights and executing a pioneering spirit. All the while, they serve as poster children for Intensity Junkies Worldwide, Inc., as they savor their physical dousing by solar energy and accompanying eternal, symbolic spring fever. If you watch the Rapa Nui movie and observe the accurately described propitiation ritual for the birdman, it’s easy to conclude that the eager volunteers for the birdman ceremony likely were adrenalin junkies and working off excesses of testosterone, since they were aware they couldn’t overpopulate their island. The birdman ceremony was basically an iron man triathlon geared to bring back a fragile sooty tern egg from another nearby island for inspection by the elders. In the effort to secure a year-long fate as the tribal “birdman,” a participant risked death by falling from a cliff, drowning and the possibility of becoming human sushi for sharks. Makes sense, right?

Saturn’s view of the opposition between Jupiter and Makemake suggests getting in there and doing the real, hard work necessary to create opportunity. In Saturn’s thinking, using available resources to build a prototype of something upon which one intends to build an economic empire makes sense. Saturn certainly understands sacrifice and appreciates religious tradition, but not so much as to compromise physical well-being and survival.

Two recent examples of the Jupiter-Makemake combo appeared. Going back to Earth Day, a tragic oil rig explosion in the Gulf of Mexico followed the approval of legislation allowing offshore oil drilling on the East Coast of the United States. If death of workers and destruction of the environment is the result of securing energy – something that also applies to recent mining tragedies in China and West Virginia – are these means viable or becoming more of a hardship and/or problem than a solution? If a law to uphold immigration enforcement violates civil rights, establishes racial profiling and brings economic sanction upon the people living within the confines of the governmental community invoking such legislation, is it a solution or causing more disruption? If fish farms create toxicity in the waterways that compromises the ecosystem, is this a solution or more of a different problem? Please e-mail your opinions to relevant politicians instead of me; I intended these to be rhetorical for purposes of Jupiter, Saturn and Makemake.

Saturn wants to render grounding to the powerful opposition triptych of Jupiter – Makemake. Says he:

“Instead of waving misspelled and misguided protest signs, come up with viable solutions. If you’re yelling and screaming and bitching and offering no good, you’re part of the problem.”

“Delete the concept that one must sacrifice something evidently irreplaceable in the interest of securing humankind’s existence or the lifestyle chosen by the rich and famous. Think in terms of regeneration, what can be replenished and what cannot.”

“Plant trees. Collect rain water. Preserve resources.”

“Sit with developing solutions long enough to come up with consequence free solutions.”

“Think critically.” This means think in a logical manner that develops thinking and evolves concepts, instead of coming to critical inane judgments. My favorite example, and one I am sure I am repeating: If the outermost planet in the solar system represents real world physical limits, why wasn’t that effect transferred from Saturn to Uranus upon his discovery? Before you claim that it’s a visibility issue and Uranus cannot be seen and Saturn can, recheck the data. Uranus is like Mercury. Both can be seen at select times to a properly directed and observing eye.

Okay, so what if there are no good solutions out there now that are side effect free? Well, we just finished an aspect of change for progress courtesy of Saturn opp Uranus. Anything come out of that? In the last days of June coming up, Jupiter aligns with the most-distant point of the Uranian orbit. If one pulls back from the maddening crowd and contemplates, cannot a hearty, progressive solution be found? Cannot the prodigal native son/daughter return with the culture saving insight? Such ideas are not obscure per Uranus and certainly not when visited with Jupiter calling upon Uranus during the cranky old bastard’s retreat for reflection.

The Jupiter to Makemake opposition cycle persists through January. Shortly thereafter, Jupiter forges ahead into Aries (Jupiter enters Aries on October 9 from the heliocentric view) and comes to his own perihelion and simultaneously the perihelion of Makemake on March 17th of next year. Suggestively, the issue of people inhabiting this planet and what they require (or think they require to live the good life) is up for grabs in a big way between May 6th and next March with surges in insight and awareness available no less than five times in that window. Because of the egg lore, Makemake is symbolically fecund. Jupiter is symbolically wise and abundant. The combination of Jupiter and Makemake offers hope if wisdom and sensibility can be applied and if, to continue the novel theme of this GT, once avoids stepping into the snares of the Catch 22’s created by society.

“Remember,” reminds Saturn. “It’s time to create solutions without problems.” As a final send off, Saturn slowly saunters back close to the degree squaring the Galactic Center, indicating that while not exact this first go round, the Jupiter – Makemake patterns also align with the Galactic Center, and the next two iterations will be even more so. Progressiveness in pensiveness with profound and prudent propitiation.

Dwarf Planet Data Dots

Last night I was blown away watching HBO’s currently running movie, Einstein and Eddington. This movie details the controversial support Einstein’s theory of relativity gained from English astronomer and physicist, Arthur Eddington, underscored by the political volatility of World War I. While I knew the story of how the Theory of Relativity was proved, I had never set up the horoscope for the event, or seen the details of this relationship dramatically embellished.

First, the story. Eddington proposed that if Einstein was correct and that space is warped by gravitationally significant bodies such as our Sun, during a total eclipse, the apparent positions of the stars near the Sun would appear different from a photograph of those same stars taken when the Sun was not in proximity. Eddington pressed the reluctant astronomers of Britain to provide funding for an expedition to a path under the next total solar eclipse.

Fortunately, World War I ended prior to the eclipse and the expedition headed to Pretoria, West (South) Africa to take photographs during the totality of the solar eclipse. It was a rainy morning on May 29, 1919, casting doubt on the success of the objective of the day. Moments prior to the actual eclipse, the clouds parted! Photos were taken and examined in a public venue back in England. Einstein was correct!! His Theory of Relativity was right, meaning Newton was wrong, or at least limited in his understanding of far-reaching gravitational concepts.

The chart is an interesting one. In the search for meaning of dwarf planets, especially in these early days of understanding them, any such historical event might offer an insight. At the time of this eclipse’s totality (15:11:34 local time) the midheaven stood at 20 Cancer 24. Adjacent to the MC was the undiscovered Hawaiian creation goddess, Haumea at 20 Cancer 52! Further, in that year, the heliocentric position of Haumea traveled over the North Node of another yet undiscovered dwarf planet, Pluto.

How this is to be interpreted, I really don’t know. But relativity reshaped our view of the Universe and shattered “laws” of physics as previously understood. Indeed a new reality had been created and all the while under the watchful eye of this creatively inspired planet.

Shifting gears, last Sunday at 9:45 P.M. EST, Washington, DC, Health Care became law in the United States (based upon the moment the 216th or majority vote was cast). Regardless of one’s political position on the issue, two dwarf planets appeared to be major players.

The night before I attending a lovely dinner party here in Tucson where prominent financial astrologers and a notable Vedic astrologer and three “standard” astrologers compared notes on the impending vote. We all observed that it would be close, no matter what, and with both sides rendering blistering final arguments with the Sun in Aries opposing Saturn in Libra, both those positions exalted. What really seemed to do the trick, though, was the conjunction of Ceres and Pluto in Capricorn, both squaring Sun and Saturn. Both Pluto and Ceres maintain an underworld, undercurrent, subterranean agenda thing based upon mythology. Pluto as associated with Scorpio carries the theme of other people’s money and refers to insurance. Ceres, as I see her, speaks for those who have no voice or cannot or do not know how to speak for themselves… such as children and their place within the health care system, the economically disadvantaged and those in the forsaken category of pre-existing condition. Ceres and Pluto took a stand against the “sensibilities” and cost factors of Saturn and blazed a new trail for health care in the United States. Again, you don’t have to like the outcome of the vote and the law to appreciate the astrology… and within the astrology, the importance of dwarf planets.

Virgo: Critiques, Critics and Criticism

With the Sun, Venus, Jupiter and Uranus in Pisces, polarizing the sign of Virgo through an opposition, recently I had an opportunity to view a first hand, live action presentation of this polarity in real life. There were no classical planets in Virgo, though we all anticipate Saturn’s impending return for his last hurrah between the corn rows of Virgin fields during this orbital sweep. However, within a reasonable orb, Logos, Makemake and Typhon – two trans-Neptunian bodies and one Kuiper Belt stationed dwarf planet, stood conjunct for all intents and purposes. Let us not forget the other underworld maybe dwarf planet, Orcus, also in Virgo. What a time to honor the creative spirit! Or pick it apart.

While attending the Independent Short Film, Music and Arts Festival in Long Beach, California, it was all there. The planets described above as artists, musicians, directors, actors and screenwriters (of which I was one – an award winning one) displayed the fruits of their fecundity. Also attending were members of the press, critics and those presuming their station was to offer less than hospitable commentary on the artistry presented.

In the world of film, a critic is one who assesses a movie for character development, a beginning, a middle and an end to the story, dramatic elements, amazing turns in the story and such. They do this objectively based upon movie “rules.” Things like: there are three acts, characters should face a conflict and overcome it (comedy) or fail in surmounting it (tragedy) and characters must generate support – empathy or sympathy from the audience. A writer knows that when submitting a script, these rules of perfection – rather like Virgo standards – will be considered in assessing the quality of one’s writing. Fair enough.

However, things heard at the festival included: I didn’t like the main character’s hair, the main character was not sympathetic, the movie sucked, it had no ending and what the hell was that about? Some of those comments agree with critical review standards. Some of those comments simply express criticism thrown at those daring to explore and express their creative spirit. Years ago I had a screenplay that placed as a quarter finalist in the esteemed, Academy-sponsored Nicholl Fellowship. This script later went to a cable network where a reviewer wrote “coverage” for the project. Coverage is a review that recommends or rejects a project for production. Many studio coverage writers are aspiring screenwriters, working a job at a studio for an industry foothold. Anyway, this script, which placed well in a major competition received coverage as the work of a hack. So which was it? A good, solid script or something that offended someone who read it or a true work of crap?

There are other Virgo-like details and rules. It is true that if you write your script in a fancy, fluffy font, it will not get read. Use Courier font only please. Like it or lump it; that’s the rule. According to one school of thought, the script name should be penned on the side of the script so it can be picked from a stack. Or is it true, as I was told this past weekend, “never do that; that means you don’t expect the script to be read”? Scripts are printed on three-hole punched paper. Brass brads are used to hold the script together. Three brads hold a script together better, which is good if there are rough readers in the world. Though, perhaps it is true that the current trend is to use only two brads, as was so emphatically touted by a self-proclaimed authority (with three planets, including Saturn in Virgo).

Effectively, the terms presented in the above paragraph mean nothing to the quality of the script. That’s just it with the Virgo-Pisces axis. Fretting over nonsense can get in the way of appreciating art and the creative spirit in general. Creative folks realize that Saturn underscores all creativity. Without dedicated work, persistence and determination, no creative effort comes to fruition. Creative folks also learn very quickly those unfamiliar with applying creative spirit tend to rip it apart. Everyone’s a critic. Everyone thinks they can write because they use sentences in everyday life. According to Craigslist, there are a heap of folks out there who think their life is the most amazing story ever and should be turned into a block buster novel or script. A ton of people think they understand what makes a story interesting. Woe be unto you if you land next to one of these folks at your employer’s birthday party. You have to listen, smile and nod your head in agreement; you never know the story teller’s relationship to the boss.

Good writers know structure (and they also can be overheard whispering, “If critics had talent, they’d write too – their version of a critical response when feeling rejected and downtrodden). They track an inspiration into tried and true formulas of story success which pleases Pisces, Virgo and Saturn. Fair criticism of any art form is fine. But criticism for the sake of criticism or nonsensical nit picking does not make one an afficionado; it makes one an annoying pain in the ass. Is this why there have been recent accusations that some judges on American Idol are not qualified? Perhaps. Is it fair for an Idol contestant to have endured the wrath of Simon Cowell? Is such negativity really good television? Or are people simply identifying with their inner critic, relieved that it has some place to go other than hammering on one’s own personal lifelong issues?

The Pisces energy runs thick for a spell. If you are a creative sort, dive into it, oblivious to the bellows of those protesting that it’s unfair for you to do what you do. Use the Virgo planets as your templates. Use them to support your drive and determination. Let them guide you in turning a deaf ear to nay sayers much like one would do with a dive under water.

Predicting El Nino and More

On the heels of an accurate Super Bowl prediction, I’m in the mood to discuss another prediction that any astrologer can conduct with a high degree of confidence: El Niño. More than two years ago I noted in my Galactic Times e-mail newsletters (they’re free and available through my website – visit the about information for the link) that 2010 would be an El Niño year. How?

Back in 1947 a researcher for RCA, John Nelson, camped out atop a Manhattan skyscraper working to correlate short wave radio propogation disturbances with planetary relationships with the Sun from the heliocentric (Sun-centered) point of view. Nelson discovered that any planet making direct alignment (by an angle of 0 90 180 and 270) to the perihelion or node of any other planet increases the potential for solar volatility. Most notable in the revelation: volatility ran highest commonly when planets made aspects to the perihelion of Mars.

It’s easy to understand how Nelson became a patron saint for astrologers familiar with his work.

When the perihelion of Mars is impacted by a planet, the likelihood of solar activity increases. Solar eruptions shower the Earth with supercharged blasts of energy, affecting the atmosphere and assuming influence over prevailing weather patterns (not to mention making most humans more than a bit out of sorts during these blasts). During the third week of January, Jupiter – noted for his amplification of everything he touches – aligned with the perihelion of Mars (6 Pisces 14). If you ask anyone in the southwestern United States if the winter weather has been above average, when they take a moment digging out from under the mud, they’ll confirm a positive response to your question. These storms then marched across the central plains and dropped heavy snowfalls on the eastern seaboard of the United States.

This is a global pattern. Back in January online news wires carried amazing photographs of an unusually snowbound Europe and cold in Bangladesh. As well, a strong cyclone hit French Polynesia.

The return of sunspots perfectly and predictably aligns with this cycle. The last time Jupiter crossed the perihelion of Mars, we endured anomalistic weather on earth… as we did when Uranus, earlier in Pisces aligned with this point. Anytime Mars makes contact to his perihelion/aphelion axis, a short burst of intensified weather appears across the planet. Looking ahead to the short term, as March draws to a close, Mars crosses his aphelion, making an opposition to the perihelion. It would be reasonable to anticipate stronger than normal storms, riding the larger El Niño pattern at that time and probable anywhere on the planet.

A key point in presenting this information is to offset some of the building solar cycle hysteria already mounting on the Internet. Jupiter to the perihelion of Mars, naturally and organically, would be expected to heat up the solar cycle despite the recent, nearly anomalistic solar sunspot low era. Many have contended the peak of the next solar cycle due in 2011 will run late. Given that since these cycles have been observed the period consistently runs 11.08 years, there is no reason to expect that this time it will be twelve years… although that would make the peak of the next cycle coincident with the Mayan Calendar debacle. (The solar cycles operate on the 11.08 year short count and a 178.55 year longer count)

However, that is not at all likely. The long-standing cycles of the Sun likely will not yield to the persuasive fear-based wave riding that calendric cycle. It is true that the 2000 solar maximum contained a double peak. It is true that at that time scientists predicted a very strong 2011 maximum. But hysterical sorts latched onto the lingering solar maximum of 2000 and began auguring all sorts of mayhem for this next cycle, and insisted that it will run a year late, just to bolster silly End of the World (EOTW) agendas.

It is true that astronauts in space need to be very concerned about the solar outbursts. It is true that communication satellites might go on the fritz. It is true portions of the power grid could take a hit. Those who depend upon texting and satellite dependant Internet that supports social networking might think it’s the end of their social world, but the Sun, supported by the patterns of the planets is doing his cyclical thing.

Certainly I’ll write more about these patterns as the next Solar Max maximizes. If you want to be up to date on the latest solar blasts check out www.spaceweather.com. If you want to know more about other heliocentric astrological patterns and other groovy astrological stuff most astrologers won’t consider, subscribe to my e-zine the Galactic Times at  www.philipsedgwick.com.

Meanwhile, El Niño is part of a predicable pattern. So are sunspots, Solar Maximum and the freak out silliness cycle of people, who have not performed celestial due diligence.

I am reminded of a staggering first line in a great novel. This line is so great it overshadows, “Call me Ishmael” and “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to heaven, we were all going direct the other way – in short, the period was so far like the present period, that some of its noisiest authorities insisted on its being received, for good or for evil, in the superlative degree of comparison only.”

Consider the digestible nugget written into the first sentence of The Path of Minor Planets by Andrew Sean Greer:

“The sky always kept its word.”

Another Pesky Planet Pops Up

First, let’s back track a bit. The object recently discussed in A Planet of a Planet, 2009 YE7, evidently underwent great scrutiny as its orbital parameters, particularly absolute magnitude, now stands revised. As Mike Brown suggested based upon his observations of brightness, this body, while in the top fifty of size in the Kuiper Belt, no longer ranks in the top ten. While remaining notable by size and singular by origin – being one of the offspring of Haumea, this object may or may not claim dwarf planet status. That seems to depend upon who calls the defining shot. In my book, this is going to be an object to include. Though I’ve found no official confirmation of Mike Brown’s speculation about this body’s origin, recent changes seem to the data seem to suggest his theory is correct.

So, if you’re thinking we dodged another dwarf planet bullet, you’re incorrect. While I carefully watched daily posting for 2009 YE7, another dwarf planet slipped by my radar.

The Kuiper Body formerly known as 2007 UK126 received orbital refinement and an official small solar system body number: 229762. This highly inclined, moderately eccentric object stands out as a Scattered Disk Object. It ranges out to 108.5 Astronomical Units in space when most separated from the Sun, more than twice as far as Pluto’s most-distant retreat from the Sun. It possesses an orbital period of 630.47 years, now passing by the 27th degree of Taurus.

Evidently people have been missing the messages of Sedna’s north node in Leo and perihelion in Cancer. So we find this body reiterating those themes, and like Sedna, now travels through Taurus. While in different heliocentric degrees of those signs, 229762’s node is 11 Leo 04 (heliocentric) and the perihelion is 27 Cancer 16 (again heliocentric). The urgency of self preservation and acquisition of primal life needs precedes a necessary unfoldment of the self that extricates itself from ego as to support soulful development.

Yesterday a client mentioned that it’s too much “all about me” out there. From the material bonus demands of bank executives who think quite highly of the skill they applied to damn near crash the world economy to the “look at me, be my friend” pleas of users of social networking sites, my client’s observation seems to be true.

The consciousness behind naming bodies more distant than Pluto encourages selecting a name that implies resurrection, recreation or creation. These bodies suggest what one can pursue as a lodestone cause and act as a lighthouse of consciousness development as they urge human evolution toward enlightenment. Does this mean that people can miss the message of these planets? Sure. Any person at any time can choose to explore less than ideal manifestations of a body. Still, the guideposts are there, offering support for those who chose to engage them.

Hmm. Here’s a question: Is life more convoluted and difficult to untangle for those choosing to ignore the new planetary discoveries? Obviously that rhetorical shall require a few years to define as fact or fiction. No matter. I want to cast my vote in the never to be posted opinion poll that is exactly what happens.

Planets are pesky only when ignored or applied in a non-evolving manner. Sure all transits provide their surprise package of challenges. But if one works with the ongoing and expanding awareness of the solar system’s contents, later when the impact of these bodies becomes accepted by status quo delineation, one may avoid the feeling of being overwhelmed by the shower of goodies from the great planetary piñata in the sky.

A Planet of a Planet?

When Mike Brown, co-discoverer of Eris, Haumea and Makemake spoke in Arizona a year ago last November, he displayed a graphic of the sky search completed by his team. He announced that they had now equaled the sky area searched by Clyde Tombaugh in his decades of diligent sky scanning. What was obvious were the “holes” in the search. Given the northern hemisphere location of the observing telescopes much of the southern skies could not be seen. Given the length of orbital periods of Kuiper Belt Objects, if an object holds a southern disposition by position, it could be decades before it would be detected. So, one of his original sky search partners, David Rabinowitz, headed for the mountain tops of Chile to fill in some of the celestial canopy not yet examined for Kuiper Belt bodies. Given the vastness of the remaining sky to be examined, there’s potentially a lot of yet unknown Kuiper Belt Objects – as well as stuff out near Sedna – to be found.

Mike Brown weighed in on 2009 YE7 last week. First, he noted the high inclination of the body and stated that even early in working to refine a body’s orbit, inclination is one of the more easily determined attributes (which is why the early nodal position typically remains reliable). The inclination of this body at 29 degrees is high as compared with the “norm” of bodies orbiting the Sun. And 29 degrees is very close to the 28.2 degree inclination of Haumea, once subject to a violent collision which scattered body parts in the Kuiper Belt. What’s more, the absolute magnitude of YE7 is close to that of Haumea.

Brown concluded that YE7 is likely a shrapnel remnant of the collision Haumea endured way back when. This means this body, like the ice chunks in Haumea’s orbit and her two moons, Hi’iaka and Namaka, is one of her offspring. As well, given a similar surface to Haumea, the object would not be as large as one might initially conclude from the measure of absolute magnitude. Brown issued a relatively simple test for astronomers down under with a view of the newly encountered body to confirm his speculation. To date, I have heard of no such confirmation and no doubt this will be confirmed soon.

Should Brown’s suspicion be confirmed, astrologers have an exciting new condition to consider: a planetary body that is not a satellite of another body born of another planet. It’s true that Triton was once a planet unto itself and ultimately the gravity of Uranus grabbed the planet, diminishing it to satellite status. But the YE7 issue is a whole new ball game.

Suggestively, the body would take the name of a Hawaiian deity or at least one of a Pacific Rim culture. I’m going to submit my vote for a Maori name. They were, in fact, blessed with superlative eyes (such that they could see moons of Jupiter with the naked eye) and developed a sophisticated understanding of the heavens. And the Maori departed Hawaii back in ancient days heading for new lands and settled in what we now call New Zealand.

I hope Mike Brown is right. And I hope that like astronomers, astrologers will grasp the amazing singularity of Haumea (and Eris) and expand astrology to remain inclusive of the facts of the heavens instead of persistence in ignoring what is known.

A planet of a planet! Imagine!

A New Planet(s)?

This past week a new entry appeared on the Minor Planet Center’s (MPC) public posting of Trans-Neptunian Objects (TNO): 2009 YE7. It’s not the only new discovery revealed from the batch of 2009 discoveries. To date in 2009, astronomers have released information of the discovery of eight Scattered Disk Objects (SDO) of which four fit the centaur criteria, making them cousins of Chiron. Five “standard” Trans-Neptunian Objects, including the aforementioned 2009 YE7 top the TNO discovery list. Notable about 2009 YE7 is the body’s absolute magnitude. This brightness factor is part of what astronomers use to reckon an object’s size. According to the rules of thumb – around which there are possible special circumstances – this new body weighs in somewhat smaller than Orcus and minimally smaller than Quaoar – both of which are assumed to be dwarf planets by many in astronomical circles according to the ultra-ill definition of planet criteria. A few astrologers now apply Orcus with gusto and consideration of the “other Pluto” as a planet. As well, 2009 YE7 appears to be larger than Varuna and Ixion – both of which appear to be likely dwarf planets.

It gets worse. Two bodies recently received orbital refinement: 2003 AZ84, now minor solar system body 208996 and 2005 UQ513, now 202421. Both these Trans-Neptunian Objects seemingly fall into the same size category of Varuna and Ixion and are likely smaller than 2009 YE7.

This means astrologers not only have existing delineations challenged by that thing that’s not really named, Snow White, as a most definite dwarf planet in the category of Pluto, Charon, Eris, Makemake, Haumea and Sedna, but 2009 YE7 in the realm of Orcus and Quaoar, who are most definitely probably planets. How’s an astrologer going to keep up if the Kuiper Belt continues to introduce significant bodies that a properly delineating astrologer cannot afford to ignore? I’m working on a model for this… it’s not quite there yet, but it’s close (and you’ll have to tune into to my Galactic Times, published through my official website – visit about me on this blog and you can get there from here).

Meanwhile, most astrologers do not include the full package of “no doubters” in the dwarf planet smorgasbord: Pluto, Charon, Eris, Makemake, Haumea and Sedna, let alone the most likely ones – Orcus and Quaoar. They certainly fail to include the “probably planets” 2009 YE7 – which just came to collective attention – or Varuna or Ixion.

Back to this new body. The orbital data is rough as of yet and it is risky to form definitive conclusions about it until the body receives a minor solar system body number, indicating astronomers believe they have the orbital elements pegged. What we do know is that it now travels through 25 Taurus 35 (as of January 1, 2010) and its north node crosses the ecliptic at 18 Leo 48. Significantly, another Kuiper Belt Object appears with one of its two ecliptically measured orbital factors in a sign that promotes self discovery, confidence, certainty in the soul, creative aspiration and all the benefits and merits of a conscious existence. Evidently, the Kuiper Belt seeks to reaffirm previously diminished personality traits in the interest of shoring up souls and spirits weakened by participation in the relatively rough existence of life on Earth. If the current orbital data is more or less spot on, 2009 YE9 will be determined to come closest to the Sun while in the sign of Scorpio as does Pluto.

No doubt the Pluto in Leo generation folks will come to embrace this body more than other recent Pluto generations. Accused of being the most solipsism rich of all Pluto signs, those of the Leo generation of this underworld body love to ponder the meaning of one’s existence and the splash one can make on the planet. The multitude of new found dwarf planets with orbital elements in Aries and Leo seem to agree. Figure out who you are, what you’ve got and get on with giving to the world in a good way. Of course the Pluto in Cancer generation wonders what went wrong with the idea of devotion to family, culture, heritage and country. The Pluto in Virgo generation stands amazed at the lack of modesty – false or otherwise – displayed by those full of themselves sporting Pluto in Leo. Pluto in Libra folks travel in packs and create cooperative ventures as to not stand out too much or draw attention to personal individuality. Pluto in Scorpio wants to give everyone what they’ve got whether others want it or agree with it or not. Pluto in Sag folks, the earliest ones of this generation now reaching into adulthood seeking their place, have it figured out or so it seems to them. Yes, each Pluto generation carries its ego-healing bear to cross.

All of these generations (except the very early portion of Pluto in Cancer) share Eris in Aries. This commonality inspires each and every person to find their optimal, personal niche and remain true to it. No matter what sign they traveled in a person’s nativity, Haumea, Makemake and Sedna sport agendas of personal development, the awakening of the soul and the fulfillment of one’s dharma.

Why not embrace these new planets? They impact your horoscope and support transformational effects that appear along the path of life. They ask the questions: What does one do after “seeing the light,” transforming about the restrictions of the mundane and diving deep into the underworld returning to the surface for the first breath of air as an awakened being?

Simple. Awaken to the skill sets now available upline in the heavens above courtesy of the new planets.

Looking up to Jupiter and Chiron

This past Monday Jupiter and Chiron formed an exact alignment along the plane of the ecliptic. Given that Jupiter astrologically represents the teacher, learning and the quest for knowledge, and Chiron refers to the one-to-one learning process of mentoring, the lecture by the comet discovery guy, David Levy at the University of Arizona’s Steward Observatory lecture hall topped the “must do” list. Of course, I attended.

As Dr. Thomas Fleming, head of the fabulous astronomical outreach program conducted by the University of Arizona, introduced David Levy there was a notable hole in his educational background in the field of astronomy. When Levy began his presentation, he told the students present that he was not going to recommend all the physics and math studies a brain can absorb. Levy, himself, has never taken a single course in astronomy! He did mention that those who want to study the heavens should voraciously read, especially in the arts. At the start of his presentation, Levy posed a most curious question. He asked how many of us in attendance actually bothered to look up at the sky this year. A majority of hands rose, but not all.

Immediately, I flashed back to earlier days in my astrological career when J. C. Eaglesmith, a Native American in attendance at the same cosmic conference as myself, chastised the astrologers for not being outside to look up at the sky each and every night. His point was noted by not only myself, but others, including Steven Forrest, one of the few other astrologers pondering the recently discovered dwarf planets and galactic effects.

But back to Levy’s presentation. He told the story of how he decided at summer camp one night that he decided he wanted to discover a comet – an amazing declaration for a teen age boy. Later in life, he headed to Arizona to do exactly that, precisely what he did. He holds one of the top spots for number of comets discovered and is most famous for his co-discovery with the Shoemaker team for locating Shoemaker-Levy 9, the comet parade that collided with Jupiter in 1994. So a non educated man, astronomically that is, came to Arizona to observe the sky and achieved notoriety for amazing solar system (and beyond) discoveries.

Hmm. Sounds familiar. Where have we heard that story before? Ah yes. Kansas farm boy, Clyde Tombaugh purchased a one way train ticket to Arizona to document the sky at Lowell Observatory in search of Planet X – the unknown planet. As we all know, Tombaugh succeeded in finding that planet, now demoted to dwarf planet status, and still one of astrologers’ all time favorites, Pluto. Oh by the way, David Levy knew Tombaugh quite well and even wrote a biography of the fascinating man.

I’ve been thinking about all of this since hearing Levy’s delightful presentation and mixing it with my understanding of Jupiter and Chiron, which now head toward the inspiration source of Neptune. These days in astrology there’s a big movement for academia in astrology, degrees and certification. I must admit I fail to see the point. Astrology will not be accepted by the mainstream consensus that contends astrologers are superstitious fools no matter what letters antecede an astrologer’s name. The effort to establish an organization as the elite astrological academic authority has caused extreme political conflict, personal attacks and still we’re no better off for it all.

When I started my study of astrology I was in the U. S. Navy and for much of the time of my initial studies, confined with more than two hundred sailors in a closed environment in a war zone often engaged in combat. Of these sailors, more than twenty were in my charge at various times. I had the luxury of a human lab of astrological study enduring the most extreme circumstances. I read everything I could, studied the charts of my ship and my shipmates and learned astrology in a crash course I wouldn’t want to repeat, despite the learning achieved.

My point is not that astrological courses and learning from competent astrology teachers should not be engaged. Anything but that is the point. How amazing is it that the Internet brings teachers and previously unavailable historic astrological writings to your computer screen at nearly the speed of light. My point is that modern astrology will benefit from those who also apply the messages of Jupiter and Chiron. One does not need to have a degree to be a fabulous astrologer. One, however, must read, study and think for oneself.

I must admit I rarely write for forums anymore. While well-intended, most posts were “all about me” oriented by people who have made no effort to research information and further are not inclined to think much about what they do receive. Given that some truly great information gets posted, it often is overwhelmed by contradicting inaccurate information and the hostility that permeate blogs when people can render their opinions with complete anonymousness.

It’s Jupiter-Chiron time and soon, Jupiter, Chiron, Neptune time. It’s time to get back to the awe of looking at the heavens to (re)discover the essence of the art form and scientific discipline of astrology. It’s time to mentor and be mentored. It’s time to contemplate and conclude and then test those conclusions in the human lab on Earth.

The essence above demands insight, inspiration and illumination by all below. No matter what one’s education or background, anyone can respond if only they look up.

No 2012 Wrap Party This Week

Last week the Hollywood special effects poster child film, 2012, went into wide distribution. As expected, the sensationalism of the effects drew throngs of viewers. The film captured $65 million or $160 million (depending upon how you assess box office scores) from the pockets of the public, dramatically gaining on reclaiming its estimated cost of $260 million. I’m not going to see the film, but I have poured over the reviews. Even without the reviews I could find and clearly see the unfortunate effects. Yep, the fanning of fires about the end of the world on astrological forums stoked new fervor in Mayan/disaster postings. No doubt the topic is receiving its due from water cooler conversations in work places by those witnessing the celluloid spectacle. Evidently P. T. Barnum and H. G. Wells have reincarnated and are alive and well either in Hollywood or at the helm of the largest fear-based blog sites.

This is all a complete waste of words, energy and life.

Okay, so let’s pour some much needed water on the rekindled end of the world (eotw) flames. How do I know there will be no end of the world? Well, the world might end someday either by human abuses of the planet’s resources or collision from an asteroid (and NOT Planet X, Niburu… there’s no such thing), and if that were to coincide with the completion of the Mayan Calendar I would be greatly chagrined. I am working with the assumption that any asteroid collision that may occur in the future shall not correlate with the Mayan Calendar’s turn over. Furthermore, scientists feverishly work to find ways of preventing such a collision, of which we would likely have enough of a heads up to get Bruce and Billy Bob back in space.

Here’s where I’m putting my faith. When Y2K rolled around I wrote a column for the Science Fiction Channel’s website where I could rant on about the fact that Y2K was the equivalent of a hoax. How did I know? Having two computers with identical software and files, one day I boldly reset the clock in one of those computers to January 2, 2000. No crash.

Last week I was cranking out data for the newly refined orbit of yet another dwarf planet, 225088 (colloquially called Snow White). As I was formatting the data into tidy columns, I noticed that the data did not fade from the pages once I passed December whatever it is in 2012. So again, I reset my computer’s clock past the fateful date. It still worked.

Ridiculous? Not nearly as ridiculous as the fear-mongering surrounding 2012. You know, evidently P. T. Barnum never said, “there’s a sucker born every minute,” but he surely applied the statement. When I was a child, neighborhood kids used to report during “scary time” that giants lived in the Earth and at will, could pop up through the ground and eat us all – a plot point somewhat applied to the 2005 remake of War of the Worlds. They also said that if you chewed off your fingernails when worrying about such things, the sharp nail points would go to your heart and stab you dead.

When visiting relatives in Cooperstown, New York as a child, I went to the fabulous Farmer’s Museum. There they had a stone fabricated to look like a petrified giant, which one day was miraculously unearthed in upstate New York. It was a ruse directed by the brilliant P. T. Barnum. The terror there must have been. Even in nineteen sixty something while staring at this impressive hoax, it shot shivers up my spine. What if the hoax was: this hoax was real?

The bottom line is: people commonly await the uncertainty of the future with great angst. So maybe if absurd predictions are attached to a given date, and we make it through that given date there is hope for humanity?

So, I’ll restate my contention. When the Mayan Calendar expires, the cycle simply starts again. Throw another shrimp on the barbie, bellow out another stanza of Auld Lang Syne and have a beverage indigenous to the plants where the Maya once flourished. If I’m wrong, meet me in the afterlife and I’ll spring for a beverage of your choice. I’ll be cash laden up there, because I’m planning on taking it all with me.

For now, take a breath. Forget about 2012. There are still two years of life that require your attention and the application of the celestial movements between now and then. Wouldn’t it suck to lose two years of your life to fretful, meaningless worry?

If you found this useful and would like to find out more about those planetary movements between now and 2012, please visit the “about” link and use the hyperlink to visit my website directly.

Dwarf Planet 2007 OR10 is now Minor Planet 225088

According to information posted by the Minor Planet Center today, the dwarf planet candidate 2007 OR10 now has a refined orbit as of today thus becoming minor solar system body 225088! This is a body that discoverer Mike Brown refers to as Snow White (and the seven dwarf planets??).

Here’s where she is now.

October 26 – 0 Pisces 14 Retrograde
November 5 – 0 Pisces 12
November 15 – 0 Pisces 11
November 25 – 0 Pisces 11 Direct
December 5 – 0 Pisces 13
December 15 – 0 Pisces 15
December 25 – 0 Pisces 19
January 4 – 0 Pisces 24
January 14 – 0 Pisces 30

She (based only on the fact that Mike Brown refers to the body as Snow White) has a fairly extreme inclination – in between that of Pluto and Eris – 30.67 degrees. With an eccentricity of 0.4999 her orbit ranges a leisurely 552.67 years reasonably close to the orbital period of Eris. She is closest to the Sun at 4 Libra 17 (a heliocentric measurement) – very near the Super Galactic Center. The ascending heliocentric node is 6 Pisces 52.

Keywords based upon node and perihelion to follow. And soon I’ll be generating ephemerides (monthly from 1700- 2100, daily 1900 – 2100).

Mike Brown (discoverer) informed me by e-mail today that they’ve not even thought about a name. So it likely will be quite a while before we get a name.

Stay tuned. There is a lot more to come. Soon keywords and other observations will be posted on my website (visit the about me feature for a direct link to my site).

11/16/2009 Note: More accurate position data is available in ephermerides I have generated.  There is a daily ephemeris for 225088 from 1900 – 2100 and a monthly for 1700 – 2100. Please use the “about” link for direction to my website and more information.