Alan Jones - The Enigmatist

Bye Bye Pluto?

Posted on August 29th, 2006.

PLUTO - just a lump of rock in space !!!

 

 

So Pluto isn’t a planet and neither are the some of the other would-be planetary contenders… Pluto’s moon Charon; the asteroid Ceres and the unimaginatively named “object 2003 UB313” (sometimes known as Xena). Of course it also means that many more planetary pretenders, over-size asteroids and so forth also can’t join the ‘official’ solar system planet club…. well compared to the Earth (picture left) it ain’t that big…. (yes I know that compared to Jupiter the Earth is just as tiny) …. but for tiny Pluto it seems like size is everything

Some Astronomers are rubbing their hands with glee at this and using the decision as yet another round of ammunition to hurl at Astrologers…

This prompts two immediate responses from me… one as an individual interested in Astrology and another as a Rational Mystic…

Let’s tackle the Astrological comment first…

As mentioned in an earlier blog Astrologers base much of their work on the study of patterns – and we do need to make a distinction between ‘natal’ and ‘predictive’ astrology here. The fact that observed patterns have been linked to observed events and, in terms of Natal Astrology, personality types and archetypes means that it doesn’t really matter about semantics (whether Pluto is a planet or not)… but about how Astrologers make sense of an individuals ‘cosmic map’. Astrologers have postulated ‘trans-plutonian planets’ (i.e. planetary bodies beyond the orbit of Pluto) for many years and Chiron, a rather small asteroid, has been studied by Astrologers who suggest that its placement in a birth-chart does have particular meanings.

Another quick thought – the planets beyond the orbit of Saturn take quite a long time to travel round the Sun. That means they will stay in a particular sign for some time… indeed many Astrologer’s propose that the effects of planets like Neptune and Pluto are ‘generational’ – i.e. the reflect aspects and attitudes of an entire generation.

Remember Astrology at its core is about observation and pattern matching… and at its most esoteric is about how the everything in the universe is effected and affected by everything else…

OK… so what about the Rational Mystic comment…

As mentioned elsewhere, any discussion between Astronomers and Astrologers will be fraught with difficulties – mostly because there will be conflicting belief systems at work.

Some Astronomers may well want to call themselves the voice of reason… the scientific sceptic… Ummm… perhaps pseudo-sceptic would be a better term. Scepticism in it’s purest form is about asking challenging and searching questions whilst being OPEN to attempting to understand the answers you are being given. Many scientists who call themselves sceptics are simply playing a power-game and using words, opinions and BELIEFS to gainsay or ridicule what the mystics are saying…

AND SOME Astrologers of course are doing the very same thing – attacking the sceptics with the same kind of closed, often defensive, language which seeks to rubbish the (possibly) well meaning questions of the open minded scientists that are out there – yes there are a few…

The problem is one of language and the way each tries to share the meaning and implications of their thoughts and perceptions.

Mystics are generally very good at using scientific terms and ideas as they do tend to make sweeping statements about complex issues such as ‘energy’ and ‘quantum realities’….

Scientists are usually a little rigid however when it comes to getting a handle on ideas about “consciousness”; “personal reality experience”….

Often they will talk together about the same thing but not understand or perhaps step back from their own soap-box to really thing about what each means by the words they choose to use…

BUT…. There is hope… a new forum for discussion… the forum provided by Rational Mysticism….

Alan

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