The Zodiac of Eris
Written on February 11, 2008 by Catherine
Thanks Bernadette for your recent article in the Visual Astrology newsletter regarding Pluto’s pathway through the constellations. It motivated me to look at Eris’ pathway through its own zodiac which I did through using Riyal 3.1, the JPL Small-Body Database Browser and a list of constellations.
As you can see from the diagram, Eris’ inclination (the blue line) across the ecliptic (the horizontal yellow line) is quite steep: 44 degrees compared to Pluto which is 17. As a result, its pathway goes through some very different constellations. I’ve made a list of those constellations plus a rough estimate of the year it entered them (from Riyal). I havent done the correlation to historical events so I don’t know if there is anything significant here. Maybe you can tell at a glance.
Aries - 1507
Perseus (the Hero) - 1568
Camelopardalis (the Giraffe) - 1616
Ursa Major (the Greater Bear) - 1650
Canes Venatici (the Hunting Dogs) - 1679
Coma Berenices (Berenice’s Hair) - 1686
Virgo - 1697
Libra - 1717
Hydra (the Water Serpent) - 1723
Centaurus (the Centaur) - 1727
Lupus (the Wolf) - 1730
Norma (the Carpenter’s Square) - 1742
Ara (the Altar) - 1751
Pavo (the Peacock) - 1763
Indus (the American Indian) - 1800
Tucana (the Toucan) - 1810
Grus (the Crane) - 1820
Phoenix (the Phoenix) - 1840
Sculptor (the Sculptor’s Workshop) - 1877
Cetus (the Sea Monster) - 1930
Pisces - 2036
Aries - 2065
Eris will spend nearly 100 years in the constellation Cetus, the most of any of its signs. Whether it makes any alignments with stars, I do not know. And this is why I’m urging that Starlight software gives the option to include bodies like Eris for us to study. If Pluto, which is not visible, nor technically a planet any more in astronomers’ eyes, can be included, then why not Eris, Sedna and others? I think it will only enlighten our understanding of astrology more.
Catherine
If you enjoyed this post Subscribe to our feed
That’s interesting that Eris should have entered Cetus in 1930, because that decade saw a rise of collective consciousness in its destructive form. This fits not just with the nature of Cetus, but with the sign of Eris at the time, which was at the beginning of Aries, a warlike sign, as well as with the nature of Eris herself, who was a troublemaker.
Eris threw an apple into a wedding feast to cause mischief, which ultimately resulted in the Trojan war. Small causes leading to big results. Pluto also has this characteristic, and he was discovered as Eris entered Cetus. Nuclear energy is also like this - a tiny part of the atom containing immense power - and the nuclear era also began soon after.
Cetus isn’t really a place you want Eris, because her capacity for mischief making increases tenfold. It’s probably her favourite constellation! And she’s still in Aries.