"A draft resolution has been presented to the IAU (the International Astronomical Union) to upgrade the class of what have been previous known as “minor planets” to full planet status."  Back in the day I was a wide-eyed, book-devouring, and chart-spinning student of astrology…..

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A draft resolution has been presented to the IAU (the International Astronomical Union) to upgrade the class of what have been previous known as “minor planets” to full planet status, alongside the likes of Jupiter, Saturn, etc.  These include the moon of Pluto, Charon; the asteroid known as Ceres; and the outermost planetoid called “Xena.” 

Back in the day I was a wide-eyed, book-devouring, and chart-spinning astrological fanatic.  I lusted after every celestial tip, trick, and tool from any astrological tradition I could find.  I wanted to know it ALL. 

No to be too proud, but I would say I that there is probably not some hypothetical planet, harmonic aspect, fixed star, or astronomical point technique that I don’t know about.  That is, from the western astrological perspective; I’m now taking my inexorable quest for knowledge over to Vedic astrology now  

But enough about me.  My point is that I am sure that these new “planets” now christened by astronomers out there, have a specific and observable effect on human life from an astrological standpoint.  I’m sure you could draw up a computer program to track these against anyone’s birth chart and you would produce literally amazing results. 

Following all these points, times, and meanings however would become redundant; the messages would start to repeat.  The greater danger of all this mathematical and scientific precision is that you “lose the forest for the trees.” 

“Keep it simple, silly” is my approach.  There is so much relevancy that can be delivered by just looking at the traditional points as to be more than enough for any client.  In fact if you start to load a bunch of concepts and facts upon a client they start to lose sight of what astrology is all about: you and your happiness.  It becomes then an exercise in intellectual ego-aggrandizement; you “impressing” the client with you acumen, and the client losing his “selfhood” in the miasma of facts and figures but feeling somehow “smarter.” 

The three new planets have always been there, however now the accepted authorities on this astronomical have “pronounced” them to be something else, having the same significance of the more familiar nine planets Mercury through Pluto. 

The ancients had a simpler criterion for an object being a planet: you could see them at night.  The modern outer planets are not observable by the naked eye, and therefore to the ancients “out of sight, out of mind.” 

You could say now that humanity’s technological “eye” is now able to see these outer planets with telescopes and therefore they should be used in chart work.  That is debatable however since the classical, traditional approach to chart reading using the Sun through Saturn and its rulership and dasa system reveals more than one can ever need in astrological interpretation. 

If you read my “World Future Directions” articles however, you can see that I do use the outer planets, especially in the astrology of geo-political affairs.  The outer planets seem to symbolize extra-personal, more universal concepts and therefore they are validated in analyzing social and political trends. 

The outer planet work in individual charts though, but I find that their use is subsidiary to the profound and truly powerful eastern dasa (planetary period) system.  I find myself (back to me again) almost an astrologer on a bridge between two worlds.  Maybe something new is around the corner.  Maybe a spiritual avatar like Parashara (the main ancient authority on Vedic astrology) is going to have to reincarnate and re-write the textbooks on astrological interpretation. 

I don’t think that the upgrading of these planetoids now to the level of planets is going to shatter the legitimacy of astrology, much to the chagrin of the more “educated” institutional snobs out there (you know the type).  Stick to the basics however, keep the big perspective with the classical concepts and planets; and keep reading STAR WORLD NEWS. 

CB