Dark Pluto Rising

The decision of the International Astronomical Union to declassify Pluto as a planet does not mean so much to astrological practice. Pluto will always remain in an astrologer's chart, no matter how it is classified. It does however reveal something about how humankind's consciousness is evolving at this stage in our collective history.

In astrology, a heavenly body doesn't even have to be a planet to be important. Astrologers use asteroids, the moon, stars, the galactic center and even hypothetical points and hypothetical objects. There is even a branch of astrology that uses black holes, quasars and other objects in what is called Deep-Space Astrology.

Pluto in Astrology

Pluto is the planet of power and power issues. Pluto is associated with Hades, which in Mythology is the ruler the underworld. Pluto works behinds the scenes, within our psyche affecting us on the subconscious level.

It isn't surprising that Pluto now becomes a subject of heated debate and controversy. Its size has always made it a suspect for demotion. If only astronomers will embrace astronomy, which was once its sister science, Pluto's size will pose no problem for in astrological prognostications Pluto is no doubt a very powerful planet. Pluto is the planet of death and transformation - an important function indeed. 

However, what sealed that fate of Pluto is not its size but its orbit. Like a thief in the night, Pluto the astrological symbol of death entered the orbit of Neptune in the late 70's. Neptune is the planet associated with spirituality and world beyond. According to the new astronomical definition of a planet - it must be able to remove any object on its path. Pluto did not qualify as a planet because of this.           

Just a week after that fateful decision on August 24, a group of 300 professional astronomers launched a campaign to restore Pluto, now labeled as 'dwarf planet' into its former stature as a full-pledge planet.

To know more about this read www.ipetitions.com/petitions/planetprotest.

It turned out that there was indeed a power play. According to Alan Stearn, an astronomer from NASA, only 428 of 10,000 IAU members were involved in the decision. Should this campaign fail to achieve its purpose, I wouldn't be surprised that in another 76 years Pluto will regain its "planet" stature. Pluto is after all connected with reincarnation, hibernation and rebirth.

What I am worried about is the other side of the equation between our awareness of the heavenly bodies and our evolving "consciousness." The discovery of a new planet have always signaled a quantum leap in the history of humankind. Could the act of demoting Pluto a sign of suppression of a very powerful soul energy and a psychological regression?  If it is such – it also can mean the rise of shadow side of Pluto, which is terrorism, murder, assassination, gangster, violence, authoritarianism.