Interpretation Insights For Personal Shadow Werk
by @tabootarotreader
Dwarf Planet Eris Tests the Limits of What We Know
We now know Pluto's Twin, Eris, is one of 10 new dwarf planets. What else are we discovering about this mysterious and very far away object orbiting our Sun?
Eris is one of the largest known dwarf planets in our solar system. It's about the same size as Pluto but is three times farther from the Sun ... Eris was discovered on Jan. 5, 2005, from data obtained on Oct. 21, 2003 during a Palomar Observatory survey of the outer solar system by Mike Brown, a professor of planetary astronomy at the California Institute of Technology; Chad Trujillo of the Gemini Observatory; and David Rabinowitz of Yale University.
Significant Dates
Jan 8, 2005: Scientists announce they have discovered a Pluto-sized world billions of miles beyond the orbit of Neptune. They nickname the tiny world Xena after a fictional television character. The discovery reignites a debate about the definition of a planet.
Sep 2005: Scientists announce Xena has a tiny moon, which they nickname Gabriella after Xena's sidekick on a television show about a warrior princess.
Aug 26, 2006: After months of debate about how to classify Eris, the International Astronomical Union votes to change the definition of a planet. The new ruling reclassifies Pluto as a dwarf planet and reduces the number of planets in the solar system to eight. Both Eris and the asteroid Ceres are also classified as dwarf planets.
Sep 14, 2006: The International Astronomical Union (IAU) announces that the dwarf planet known as Xena will be called Eris, after the Greek goddess of discord. Eris's moon is named Dysnomia, the demon goddess of lawlessness and the daughter of Eris. This is fitting since the discovery of Eris led to the demotion of Pluto from planet to dwarf planet amidst continuing debate in the science community and the public.
Via Nasa.gov
What was happening in the world around 2005 when Eris was discovered (according to the Gregorian Calendar)?
There certainly was a lot of Chaos & War during 2005. Hurricane Katrina. Pope Jean Paul II dies. North Korea announced it has Nukes. The London bombings. The Iraq War was in full swing, destroying timeless archaeological artifacts, bombing Iraqi civilians, and planting the seeds for Wikileaks. Anybody with Discernment now knows the Iraq War was a massive propaganda PR campaign about oil and geopolitics. All the fear-mongering about Weapons of Mass Destruction - which were used to validate the invasion of Iraq and topple Saddam Hussein who went on trial in 2005 - has proven to be a lie. There were no WMDs in Iraq. Meanwhile we now know the USA and Britain were the largest weapon sellers to the Middle East at this time. The irrational fear of Terrorism was still clearly gripping the Western World after 9/11 to justify foreign wars abroad. On the flip side: the Human Rights plight for Gay Marriage in America was finally picking up major steam. The very first Youtube video titled "Me at the Zoo" was uploaded to the internet. Also the Kyoto Protocol in response to Climate Change officially went into effect.
What was happening astrologically in 2005?
April 8 â The first solar eclipse of the year was a rare hybrid event, occurring at ascending node in Aries. This was 4.4 days after the Moon reached perigee. Gamma had a value of -0.34733. A hybrid solar eclipse was visible from south Pacific, Panama, Colombia and Venezuela, and was the 51st solar eclipse of Solar Saros 129.
The first lunar eclipse of the year was a penumbral event, occurring at descending node in Virgo. This was 5 days before the Moon reached perigee. Gamma had a value of -1.08851. A penumbral lunar eclipse was visible in eastern Asia, Australia, Pacific and Americas, and was the 23rd lunar eclipse of Lunar Saros 141.
October 3 â The second solar eclipse of 2005 was an annular event, occurring at descending node in Virgo. This was 4.8 days after the Moon reached apogee. Gamma had a value of 0.33058. An annular solar eclipse was visible in Portugal, Spain, Libya, Sudan and Kenya, and was the 43rd solar eclipse of Solar Saros 134.
October 17 â The final eclipse of 2005 was a partial lunar eclipse event, occurring at ascending node in Aries. This was 2.9 days after the Moon reached perigee. Gamma had a value of 0.97960. A partial lunar eclipse was visible in Asia, Australia, Pacific and North America, and was the 10th lunar eclipse of Lunar Saros 146.
Pluto was transiting through Sagittarius & then Scorpio (the sign that it rules) throughout 2005
Pluto in Western Hellenistic Astrology is the ruling Planet of Scorpio, so how interesting that its Twin Eris was discovered in 2005.
In Vedic Astrology the Scorpio Archetype relates to the core impulse or desire to penetrate the unknown in pursuit of knowledge, awaken the Kundalini Serpent Fire, and integrate the Hidden Shadow. Plus Pluto in Sagittarius also certainly resonates with themes of aspiration for new understandings and finding golden nuggets of hidden truths! I find this transit very fitting for the discovery of an icy, Pluto-sized Planet which came to be dubbed Pluto's Twin:
Eris most likely has a rocky surface similar to Pluto. Scientists think surface temperatures vary from about -359 degrees Fahrenheit (-217 degrees Celsius) to -405 degrees Fahrenheit (-243 degrees Celsius). Dwarf planet Eris is a member of a group of objects that orbit in a disc-like zone beyond the orbit of Neptune called the Kuiper Belt. This distant realm is populated with thousands of miniature icy worlds, which formed early in the history of our solar system about 4.5 billion years ago. These icy, rocky bodies are called Kuiper Belt objects, trans-neptunian objects, or plutoids. Eris takes 557 Earth years to make one trip around the Sun. The plane of Eris' orbit is well out of the plane of the solar system's planets and extends far beyond the Kuiper Belt, a zone of icy debris beyond the orbit of Neptune. As Eris orbits the Sun, it completes one rotation every 25.9 hours, making its day length similar to ours.
What does the Greek Goddess Eris symbolize in Western Hellenistic Astrology?
Named after the Greek goddess of strife and discord, Eris' position in your birth chart indicates how and where in life you express your rebellious side ... To be sure, if you only have a passing interest in astrology, you might want to skip out on learning about this celestial body, since it's not a major one. But, if you want to explore the edgier parts of your psyche â and believe that astrology is best way to do that â Eris is an excellent place to start ... As you may have guessed by now, learning about your Eris sign might not reveal the most flattering aspects of your personality, but it's still valuable to anyone who trusts astrology to show them the full picture. And, if you really hate what your Eris placement has to say about who you are, don't panic â there are plenty of other planets, asteroids, and points that, taken together, give a more holistic picture of how you shine.
It is very interesting that the animated movie Sinbad (which re-introduced the Archetype Eris to millions of young minds) was released in 2003, the same year NASA Scientists received the data leading to Planet Eris' discovery #interconnectivity
Like its Twin Pluto - Eris may trigger even deeper levels of Shadow Werk.
This energy when I intuitively feel into it seems like the Shaman's dark night of the soul: that utter terror of realizing the depths of the darkness, and how easy it is to drown without a lighthouse to tether the Soul in the void. There are levels to integrating the Shadow, just like an onion. The deeper you go, you may realize there are constantly unfolding layers when integrating the repressed parts of your Psyche. Eris teaches us there's so much more we can become more conscious of - clearly - in the Cosmos. Just when you think you have the Universe all figured out, updated the school textbooks, boom! An inconvenient Mystery is then brought to our conscious awareness, testing our perceptions of everything we think we know. I feel intuitively Eris is related to: the Alchemical Mysteries of Resurrection, Transfiguration, The Homunculus, The Egyptian Ba & Ka, Shadow Twins, The Death Marriage, The Embalming Rituals of Anointment & Deification, Hathor (Eris) & Anubis (Pluto) whom mummified Osiris, the Subtle Body as an Interface to the Collective Unconscious, & The Shadow Realm of Dark Matter
What do we not fully understand about the Shadow Realms where our Shadow Self vibrates?
Whilst doing personal Shadow Werk with Sacred Mushroom Medicine in Mt Shasta, I intuitively perceived the Shadow Self as being very "Gemini" in nature. It kept splitting into two, and these Shadow Twins felt energetically identical & conjoined, yet paradoxically each with their own consciousness. This theme of duality was brought to my conscious awareness very strongly during my communion with Sacred Mt Shasta. I perceived that within the human Duality of Light / Shadow, the Shadow also has an innate duality: kind of like the Russian Dolls.
I intuit this is all related to Jung's importance given to the number 4. It feels like there are deeper levels to duality we don't really understand given the bi-partisan nature of our two-lobed brains, two eyes, two ears, etc. With that being said, maybe we need to get more creative with our thinking about the Mysteries. Maybe integrating the Light & Shadow within our psyches isn't about integrating just two energies, but in fact four energies. I.e. Integration in Self may involve balancing both the Divine Feminine & Divine Masculine (Light) with the Dark Feminine & Dark Masculine (Shadow). How interesting!
I feel the Shadow Realm is full of Dark Matter - so what is Dark Matter and where did it come from?
In my Neptune in Pisces blog, we discuss the Fantasy series "His Dark Materials" by Phillip Pullman. Pullman channeled much information about the Esoteric Mysteries, and there is so much Soul candy beautifully interwoven in his Universes. The central mystery driving the plot is that of Dust AKA Dark Matter. Pullman's "Dust" is the substance which interconnects all the different dimensions together, and as children age, they begin to attract Dust. Here is a brief summary by His Dark Materials Fandom:
Dust was produced by sentient beings by creative, interesting and introspective acts. Objects made by sentient species also attracted Dust. Dust could also be lost forever if it fell outside of the worlds, most particularly through the small gaps into the void made by windows.
Mulefa were able to see Dust with the naked eye, and as such they were able to identify other sentient and intelligent creatures. Humans were unable to see Dust with their own eyes, but could use technology such as the amber spyglass or a special emulsion used to develop photograms to view it. Humans developed ways of communicating with Dust, such as the alethiometer, the Cave and the I Ching.
The name Dust was chosen in Lyra's world based on an interpretation of the end of the third chapter of Genesis in the Bible, where God curses Adam and Eve for eating the fruit of the tree.The witch Serafina Pekkala would float on her cloud-pine at night and listen to the whispering that was made up of silence, and later realised she was listening to the Dust.
Dr. Mary Malone - one my favorite characters in His Dark Materials - is a British Physicist and former nun from our world studying Dark Matter. Mary has discovered these mysterious Shadow Particles exhibit a form of Consciousness. Then she meets the series' Heroine Lyra whom participates in an experiment in Mary's lab. The Angels suddenly take over the technology and tell Mary to "play the role of the Serpent", leading her on a quest to a different dimension to learn more about the true nature of Dust/Dark Matter. Using the sacred Chinese Oracle the I Ching as her guide, Mary enters a different timeline where she encounters the magnificent Mulefa.
The Mulefa are elephant-like beings who have become sentient and can perceive Dust with the naked eye. One female Mulefa attempts to help Mary "See" Dust as they learn to communicate with each other. It is interesting that Pullman concocted a whole new language for the Mulefa which sounds like a proto-Mandarin. By the final act, the Mulefa teach Mary to see Dust with the help of the Amber Spyglass. The Angels ultimately reveal that what happens to Dust in one dimension affects what happens to another dimension. Interconnectivity is the relevant theme here that I feel certainly is being invoked by the Twin theme of Pluto & Eris.
In Ancient Egyptian Lore the Ka is the "Body Double" or Shadow Twin, while the Ba is the immortal Soul or your "Imaginary Friend".
A "sacrifice" of the body in the sense of its deification is also to be found in the Egyptian mummification ritual. In the Cairo museum and in the Louvre, there are two versions of old, unfortunately damaged, and in places not quite legible, instructions on how the dead should be dissected and embalmed. Every part of the body is to be anointed at the same time with special oils and plant extracts. These oils and plant extracts are, however, âsecretionsâ of the gods ⌠This text informs us that in the Egyptian view the mummy is transformed into a âtransfigured oneâ. This is a chemical process of deification. The body of the deceased becomes, at the same time, a multitude of gods. However, in the image of the sun god it is also a unity of all gods.
In psychological language, the dead body is transformed into an image of the collective unconscious and, in its aspect of oneness, into the Self. From the Egyptian point of view, the ka (shadow, double) and the ba (spiritual individuality) of the dead man are later united with this transfigured body, and together they become an inseparable unity. The resurrection thus is a unification of the individual self with the collective self; at the same time it is also an incorporation of both of them into the body in transfigured form âŚ
During mummification the organs of the body were assigned to specific gods, that is, psychologically different archetypes of the collective unconscious. The later seem to be projected, as it were, onto the body or to be incarnated in it. Body-consciousness seems to dissolve at the approach of death, like the dead in the mummification ritual who are first dissolved in the primal waters of Nun. During the ritual for the dead, however, a further step is taken. The deified (transfigured) body is reassembled into a new unity-newly united with the sun god Re (Ra) and with other soul parts âŚ
Consciousness would correspond in Egypt to mentor, the voice of instruction, the ba soul, which, for example, appears in the famous Egyptian text, âThe Dialogue of a World-Weary Man with His Baâ as an instructing spirit ⌠The homunculus appears here as the guiding spirit (spiritus rector) of a transformation process within man, a process which is also called mummification (taricheia). This transformation is a spiritualization and also - as we know from the Egyptian sources - a deification of the body.
The Zosimos text suggests repeatedly, however, that the guardian spirit of the embalming (the ba) represents at the same time that which is itself being transformed; it is bodily matter and at the same time that which sublimates it into spirit, a kind of quintessence of the life of the material body. The production or liberation of such quintessence of the life of the body remained the principle effort of alchemists over the centuries.
via "On Dreams & Death", 1984, by Marie-Louise Von Franz, pg. 92-103
How is Eris energy applicable for Students of Astrology?
Henry Seltzer's research, documented in his recently published book, The Tenth Planet, with dozens of examples, has revealed Eris to be a major factor in modern Western astrology, perhaps as much so as Pluto. It is interesting to note that Eris is the same approximate size, and the same astronomical category, now, as Pluto, and is located in the same section of the solar system, known as the Kuiper Belt. Much farther out, Eris takes about 560 years to circle the Sun.
Henry initially conjectured that Eris would prove to be significant in charts, and somewhat to his surprise, was able to demonstrate that this is indeed the case, and that Eris is in actuality a vital symbol for these fractious times, when it has become increasingly important that each person be willing to take a stand for that which they most sincerely value, that comes only from deep inside themselves. He characterizes Eris as a Feminine Warrior archetype in pursuit of soul intention. The Eris archetype points to where one's soul purpose lies, and is featured when people make a powerful stand for what they believe, even if sometimes violence is involved.
In this fast moving time of heightened transformation, Eris offers us tremendous insight into where breakthroughs are happening, on an individual, national and planetary basis.
via astrograph.com
Bringing it back to hard astronomy: in which sign is Eris currently transiting through?
Eris has been in Aries since 1925, by the way. It will not touch the Taurus cusp until June 2044. Eris is not only really slow, but it is also at the slowest part of its orbit, close to aphelion. (We have a rare opportunity here to think of Pluto as fast-moving.) Eris is slightly smaller, but slightly more massive, than Pluto. It is also much further out in space. It takes 559 years to orbit the Sun a single time, compared to Plutoâs 248 years ... Many of you are probably only dimly aware of Eris. It still has not gotten the press it deserves in the astrological community. Let me be the first to admit that I have not integrated it properly into my own teaching and counseling myself yet. Thatâs a big mistake, as I believe we will see clearly in the light of Erisâs unmistakable fingerprints in the current viral situation ... Aries â where Eris lies â is a self-oriented sign. It is about our right to behave autonomously, to set boundaries and to defend them. It is characterized by a high degree of autonomy. (One can also see that quality very clearly in the natural resonance between Aries, the first sign of the zodiac, and the first house.)
via Pluto, Eris, And The Evolutionary Meaning Of COVID-19 by STEVEN FORREST ¡ MARCH 21, 2020
So what more can we learn about Eris transits from Historical Astrology?
... everyone born between 1922 and 2044 has Eris in Aries, the sign of war and beginnings. So itâs really only when Eris receives a transit from one of the other planets that we can begin to understand her ...
Welp, I guess we had an apple of discord thrown at our party! Hello, COVID.But before jumping to any hasty conclusions, I looked back at the previous Pluto-Eris squares. This is a rare event, as you can imagine. But I did find some startling â and some encouraging â things ...
Letâs take a punt and suggest that Eris may well be a disruptive energy that when combined with Pluto becomes transformative and possibly destructive. After all, she wasnât invited to that party because everyone agreed sheâd be a downer.
The Eris-Pluto effect may actually be invisible to us, of course, because we are in the midst of it. It could be something that weâll only identify afterwards. After all, who knew about a Spanish guy called Pablo painting in an attic in Paris in 1907 â a few people but not many. She is in the sign of beginnings, initiation, youth and spring, Aries. Last time she was here, Greek scholars fled Constantinople bringing their humanistic knowledge and lighting a fire. The Renaissance burned across Europe. But also Constantinople itself was reborn as Istanbul, the minareted capital of a new Empire, where arts and ideas also flourished. Eris and Pluto clash when they square, but they also influence each other directly. This is also a dynamic aspect not static. Things happen.
We know we are in a moment when history changes direction. This is a beginning, but maybe it connects directly with the birth of modernism and Satyagraha back in 1907, in the same way that the Early Renaissance of the 1430s connected to the High Renaissance of Michelangelo.
So our Pluto-Eris squares pair with those at the start of the 20th century. The next square is not until 2276. There is a sextile in 2042 when both will be at 29°, which should be interesting. Then it is the conjunction â and that wonât be until 2115.
Pluto is a planet that we associate with rebirth. Renaissance means rebirth. Can we look back on the 20th century, starting in 1907, up until our time, and call this the Modernist Renaissance, a cultural awakening, which only now is peaking?
Eris throws her apple into the that party and thousands of works of art ensue. We need disruption to change our point of view. And that is what both the Ghent Altarpiece and the Desmoiselles did. People were never able to look at art, or the world in the same way again. That is what Satyagraha and the Suffragettes did too. With Pluto, she is not some dark, vindictive warrior, but a disruptor, a truth-force.
via Astrology of Eris: Cultural Disruptor, Truth-Force, October 5th 2021, oxfordastrologer.com
In the Crowley-Thoth Tarot, Eris in Aries can be symbolized by: The Emperor, The Death, & The Universe (AKA The World) + the Hidden Supporting Energies of the Queen of Wands, The Lovers, & The Devil interplaying with this trine.
The Devil in this aspect represents Pluto in the 11th House (House of Friendship), invoking its benefic aspects of: the perception of true Self or Lucifer as the bringer of light in fateful entanglements ("Crowley Tarot Handbook", pg. 89, by Akron & Hajo Banzhaf). This certainly resonates with Eris energy as truth serum. The Devil is the Shadow of the Lovers (as representative of the Gemini Archetype of duality). They are very similar images in the Rider Waite Tarot deck symbolizing - in my humble opinion - the inherent duality of the Human experience we label "Love" AKA Entanglement.
The two people in the Lovers card are perhaps in the "Honeymoon" phase, while the two people in the Devil card are about to hit that 7 year itch. The chains of the Devil are loose, implying that bondage is a human choice: the Devil has not enslaved the Lovers, they choose to remain attached to the other even though the original Love has lost its initial spark. The magnetic attraction/repulsion of the Devil is a polarity to the electric spark of the Lovers. In order to reach electromagnetic equilibrium, the Lovers must embrace the period of Separation which the Devil invites them into in order to release the superficial chains of bondage and recharge their respective energies.
I have already written extensively as well about the Karmic Connection between the potential two Lovers in this situation-ship - an Emperor and Queen of Wands (both strong Aries energy) - in my Jupiter in Aries blog. Please read if you feel you are dealing with an Emperor character in your personal story. Like certainly attracts like in this Karmic Connection, and the Queen of Wands reflects the Emperor's Shadow and vice versa. The World card is invoking a strong energy of completion between their Soul Contract. The Queen of Wands certainly resonates with Eris in Aries energy!
In a nutshell: the Queen of Wands is no Fool whom knows they are the Emperor's "Secret Empress" - a side piece in the Harem of Harlots - and not the Emperor's public Empress.
The Queen on their throne of flames symbolizes the connection of feelings that go into the depths. They are the mature form of the Princess (AKA Page of Wands), letting the "fire of the snake" (cf. "Kundalini" pg. 86) rise on the spiritual level. From out of the "fire of amorousness" they draw the "flames of emotional fusion" but on the vulgar level of experience they cause a "sexual conflagaration" (i.e. a wildfire which destroys all living matter in its path).
However, in contrast to the energy that develops externally (Prince AKA Knight of Wands), we are dealing with an inner journey here ... a journey of discovery into the inner regions of the Soul, of which the external world is only a reproduction. The firsthand perception that love is the connection to the divine, and sexuality is an expression of the creative will within us, lets us enter into a condition of rapture bursting all of the limits of our imagination. In the fire of enlightenment, "when the soul loses itself in a wonderful ecstasy" (Master Eckhart Tolle), we experience ourselves as one with the one and only original power. "All you need is love," is how the Beatles described it in 1967. The mother of love is who we encounter in Aphrodite.
The Goddess of Love (mother of the instincts) represents the will (fire) to assert oneself in the material world, and also possess the visions (watery area of fire in the Tao) with which they can see through the camouflage of matter. It is thereby their task to combine the two subjective elements of fire and water and to develop that which leads to their very own personal image of the world ⌠Just as the contradiction applies to the King of Wands in that they want an âequal partnerâ who submits to their wishes, the Queen of Wands seeks a âsuperiorâ hero who submits to their concepts.
via "The Crowley Tarot Handbook", pg. 138, by Akron & Hajo Banzhaf
In Conclusion: Eris is very mysterious energy we are all getting acquainted with in Astrology.
I find it very intriguing that the Mars Rovers Spirit & Opportunity were launched in 2003, the same year NASA Scientists received the data from the depths which led to the discovery of Pluto's Twin Eris. Mars is the ruling planet of Aries energy, after all #interconnectivity Ultimately I feel Eris in Aries energy certainly is connected with the enterprising & rebellious spirit of discovery within all of us to push the limits of human knowledge, live on the edge, and reach for the beyond. Evolution is a constant process, for change is the only constant in the Universe. Eris teaches us there is so, so much that we are currently unaware of in the Collective Unconscious! Just imagine what lies beyond the Kuiper Belt? Just imagine what a voyage to Eris would entail? Curiosity is perhaps behind the desire to explore the most vast depths of our Solar System, which we now understand is full of hidden secrets to be discovered. The Cosmos always reminds us of the ever-present Mystery within Life & Death itself. Eris is one of the most intriguing Mysteries in the 21st century study of Astrology, and I look forward to getting to know this edgy energy.
đ
Peace & Blessings,
Treille Bon
AKA Flower Prince
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