Mercury Retrograde Defeats Pluto's Moons

Back in February of this year, I posted about how the naming of two newly discovered moons orbiting Pluto were put up for public vote by the lead of the discovery team, Mark Showalter. Styx and Cerberus made the most sense, as they are a direct link to the Pluto/Underworld mythology. They led the voting by wide margins at the time.

And then William Shatner, Captain Kirk himself, skewed the voting with a Twitter campaign, and suddenly the winners were Vulcan and Styx. (Vulcan, as everyone knows, is Spock's home planet.) Showalter submitted the two names to the IAU (International Astronomical Union) for consideration. (The IAU is the official governing body that votes to approve or disapprove an object's name).

So Mercury retrograde rolls around, and the IAU takes up the vote on July 2, 2013. Vulcan was tossed out (similar to how Pluto itself was ejected from planetary status) in favor of Cerberus. From the NY Times:

The favorite name turned out to be Vulcan, which is both the Greek god of fire and, perhaps more significantly, the home planet of Mr. Spock, the “Star Trek” character played by Leonard Nimoy. Dr. Showalter submitted the names Vulcan and Cerberus — which was later changed to the Greek spelling Kerberos to avoid confusion with an asteroid — to the Working Group for Planetary Nomenclature and the Committee on Small Body Nomenclature of International Astronomical Union. 

The astronomical union rejected Vulcan because it had already been used as the name for a hypothetical planet between Mercury and the Sun, and it had no connection to the mythological underworld. Instead the moon-namers chose Kerberos and the next runner-up, Styx. 

It was not the first time that citizens with stars in their eyes had been disappointed by the astronomical union, which has a tangled history with Pluto. It was the union that, back in 2006, tossed Pluto out of the club of planets, after years of debate that reached into classrooms and planetariums.

So justice is served after all, thanks to Mercury retrograde. Relevant from the IAU press release:

The IAU acts as the arbiter of the naming process of celestial bodies, and is advised and supported by astronomers active in different fields. On discovery, astronomical objects receive unambiguous and official catalogue designations. When common names are assigned, the IAU rules ensure that the names work across different languages and cultures in order to support collaborative worldwide research and avoid confusion.

After the discovery, the leader of the research team, Mark Showalter (SETI Institute), decided to call for a public vote to suggest names for the two objects. To be consistent with the names of the other Pluto satellites, the names had to be picked from classical mythology, in particular with reference to the underworld — the realm where the souls of the deceased go in the afterlife. The contest concluded with the proposed names Vulcan, Cerberus and Styx ranking first, second and third respectively. Showalter submitted Vulcan and Cerberus to the IAU where the Working Group for Planetary System Nomenclature (WGPSN) and the Committee on Small Body Nomenclature (WGSBN) discussed the names for approval.

However, the name Vulcan had already been used for a hypothetical planet between Mercury and the Sun. Although this planet was found not to exist, the term “vulcanoid” remains attached to any asteroid existing inside the orbit of Mercury, and the name Vulcan could not be accepted for one of Pluto’s satellites (also, Vulcan does not fit into the underworld mythological scheme). Instead the third most popular name was chosen — Styx, the name of the goddess who ruled over the underworld river, also called the Styx.

After a final deliberation, the IAU Working Group for Planetary System Nomenclature and the IAU Committee on Small Body Nomenclature, in charge of naming dwarf planets and their systems, agreed to change Cerberus to Kerberos — the Greek spelling of the word, to avoid confusion with an asteroid called 1865 Cerberus. According to mythology, Cerberus — or Kerberos in Greek — was a many-headed dog that guarded the entrance to the underworld.

The IAU wholeheartedly welcomes the public’s interest in recent discoveries, and continues to stress the importance of having a unified naming procedure following certain rules, such as involving the IAU as early as possible, and making the process open and free to all. Read more about the naming of astronomical objects here. The process of possibly giving public names to exoplanets (see iau1301), and more generally to yet-to-be discovered Solar System planets and to planetary satellites, is currently under review by the new IAU Executive Committee Task Group Public Naming of Planets and Planetary Satellites.

So why exactly is this relevant to astrologers? Because it's not a coincidence how the bodies are named, and it underscores the subsequent symbolism for astrological interpretation based on those naming conventions. A new discovery and new symbolism expands the vocabulary of astrological interpretation, giving a wider descriptive pool to draw from than just the seven traditional bodies. It also makes the symbolism and interpretation easier to understand, without having to resort to unscientific gimmicks to give the bodies their symbolic qualities (e.g. nocturnal/diurnal, masculine/feminine, terms, faces, etc.). Following the logic of astronomers makes for better, simpler, and more streamlined astrology, because the myths are the same for everyone, regardless of methodology or nationality.
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Also related: http://www.npr.org/2013/07/03/198318611/why-you-cant-name-new-moons-and-planets-anything-you-want and http://www.uwingu.com/

Mercury Retrograde: Use It to Your Advantage

In both horary and natal astrology, there are two foolproof ways to use a Mercury retrograde period to your (or your querent's) advantage:

1. Take your time.
2. Let delays work in your favor.

Why is this so hard and the retrograde periods so agonizingly annoying? 1) Things tend to fall apart when Mercury is retrograde, often provoking a crisis (or several simultaneously), and 99% of the time, a knee-jerk response to the crisis; and 2) Because we're used to operating in a world of instantaneous results. Waiting and patience, especially in the West, are lost virtues. Hence the struggle. 

This particular retrograde period (6/27-7/21) has plenty of financial difficulty built in courtesy of the   loose and not-so-partile T-square being formed with Mercury in Cancer triggering the Uranus-Pluto square. The outlet leg bearing the brunt of the stress is wherever you have Libra in your chart, doubly so if you have a planet or sensitive point there.

There's a surprise and not-so-benevolent twist at the end of this Merc retro cycle, as Uranus, too, goes retrograde within one degree of a partile square with Mercury while Mercury is stationing direct. The Moon joins in to oppose Mercury at its station, putting an exclamation point on the T-square. It will be a bitter pill to swallow, for sure, and feel genuinely oppressive as your plans lose out to circumstances beyond your control.

Also, keep in mind throughout the year that the solar ingresses into the cardinal signs will exacerbate the Uranus-Pluto square, both in horary and natal charts. The pressure just keeps on building...

Horary: The Astrology of "What happens next?"

One of the fundamentals of chart interpretation (horary or otherwise) is to always have this question in the back of your mind: "What happens next?"

An astrologer has to be able to do more than elaborate on the problem, because by the time the querent gets to you, the problem or issue is already clear. Hence the horary question, such as "Should I get a divorce?" (problem: marital trouble), or "Will I sell the house?" (problem: needing to relocate).

What the querent needs is solutions, not further description of what's already known. They want to know the outcome, not the history they already have a grip on. You'd be surprised how many horary astrologers pump the querent for "background info" in the name of "understanding the question clearly." Anyone in a bar can do that; you don't need astrology for 20/20 hindsight.

The astrologer is an unbiased set of eyes looking at the issue from a detached perspective, and using the symbolism of the chart to find the most likely solutions or outcome. Always asking "What happens next?" keeps you focused on what astrology is all about: prediction. And prediction is a means by which the querent can move forward based on the most likely outcome.

Contrary to popular belief, and despite many querents' expectations of it, horary astrology is NOT about counseling or advice. Why? Because until the astrologer has his or her OWN life in perfect order, s/he has no business doing so, because you end up with the blind selling each other lamps, essentially. And counseling is best left to trained and qualified people, such as psychologists. There's a reason they go to accredited schools and have to pass board exams to practice.

Sometimes querents will have no control over the situation (think outer planets/outer solar system) and will have to live with the result. Planets such as Neptune won't help a querent in a chart regardless of rulerships or positive aspects, because Neptune only gives you the belief that you can, or the doubt that you can't, achieve the objective of a horary chart. Symbolically, it will never lift a finger to help you, like Venus or Jupiter will do.

So keep your eye on the target of unfolding upcoming events to the querent, both by aspects and transits/progressions, to focus on the likeliest outcomes. This will be outlined further in-depth in an upcoming series I'll do about Horary 101, 102, etc., so you can stay focused on what's important in a chart, rather than drown in rules or irrelevant trivia.

Eclipses in Natal & Horary Astrology: The Harbinger & the Hammer

Eclipses make powerful statements in astrology charts: by transit in natal charts, and affecting the event or situation in horary. Again, it's that darn "personal" luminary, the Moon, causing most of the ruckus.

The old rule of thumb (by Debbie Kempton-Smith, I think) is "three days before, and three days after" eclipses, describing when the situations are at their most intense and pronounced, so to try do actually do anything about what arises usually only creates a bigger, reactive mess. So in other words, it's about waiting through the applying and separating orb. And as most astrologers know, events usually happen BEFORE partile, not on exact partile.

The characteristics of eclipses are as follows:

• the issues that arise are usually unforeseen,
• they are crisis-oriented; things rarely go smoothly and pleasant during an eclipse, because that's not its purpose,
• creates an intense and anxiety-producing "malfunction" that will force change to be made to the situation,
• can bring projects and plans to a screeching halt to deal with underlying issues,
• does not resolve quickly; the emotional anxiety passes within a few days, but then you are left with...
• ...rubble. It takes time to dig out from the mess and figure out what to do next
• they are usually reactivated as "reminders" or "progress reports" of the issue during transits to the eclipse point, particularly squares and oppositions.

The solar eclipse on the 9th of May at 19 degrees Taurus on the South Node was a doozy. (For the traditional astrologers brave enough to read this site, it opposed the fixed star Serpentis; and Venus, its dispositor, had just passed up Algol for the Pleiades.) Anytime an eclipse affects the Nodes, it is especially powerful and intense. For example, one querent's natal chart had the solar eclipse in his 2nd house of money, and what seemed like a simple project bid award quickly ran into cost overruns with the contractor, and escalated into a major dispute with the escrow holder (8th house/North Node outlet). It will probably be revisited, reworked, or resolved when the Sun and other planets transit Saturn at the North Node in Scorpio later in the year. So I told him to hunker down for the long haul.

The 24th of May brought the lunar eclipse at 4 degrees Sagittarius (non-Nodal). For another querent, it happened in her 9th house of legal matters. In the days leading up to the culmination of the eclipse, a false and defamatory (Gemini/Sadge) article was published about her and her business, and she was forced to seek legal advice. The day of the eclipse, an attorney advised her that it wouldn't be worth it to move forward, because those kinds of cases are hard to prove--she'd have to live with it.

Sometimes other planets can mitigate and provide a way out of the mess eclipses create. Venus was still in rulership in Taurus for the solar eclipse, and Venus and Jupiter (eclipse dispositor) were conjunct (within 5 degrees) for the lunar eclipse. In the first case above, the unhappy contractor agreed to continue the work in good faith until resolution could be reached with the escrow company. In the second case above, the apparently sage legal advice was given for free by the attorney, and saved the querent a small fortune in litigation fees against a very large corporation.

So look for the unresolved, recurring patterns eclipses use as a monkey wrench in the best-laid plans when interpreting eclipses in charts.

An Unfortunate Example of The Saturn in Scorpio-Pluto in Capricorn Mutual Reception During the Uranus-Pluto Square

The Wall Street Journal recently published an article that perfectly reflects the current planetary transits, particularly the Saturn-Pluto mutual reception in Capricorn during the Uranus-Pluto square. Greed always rises to the top when it comes to solutions to crises (see: Iraq War), and in the aftermath of the Newtown, CT massacre, it's no different:

"Ian Sobieski, founder and managing director of Band of Angels in Menlo Park, Calif., said he hopes to support firms such as Mountain View, Calif.-based ShotSpotter Inc., whose technology helps police pinpoint where shots are fired to respond faster to crimes. 'There is money to be made,' said Mr. Sobieski, whose firm invested in ShotSpotter. 'Gun violence is expensive to society, and there is a big potential market for solutions.'"

Got that? There's money to be made off of other people's pain and suffering, particularly via the country's completely out-of-whack gun policies.  I'm sure the irony is lost on both WSJ readers, and Mr. Sobieski. Remember, with Saturn in Scorpio and Pluto in Capricorn, it's profits over people every time.

To add to the irony, it turns out the only person addressing the issue seriously and rationally is a comedian: Jon Stewart. See:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/01/17/jon-stewart-nra-limiting-atf-law-enforcement_n_2495301.html
http://www.businessinsider.com/jon-stewart-nra-atf-gun-control-obama-2013-1
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/01/09/jon-stewart-calls-out-gun-control-opponents_n_2439275.html