Past Articles

AR 38
Uranus In
Pisces
2003-2011

AR 37
Twelfth Planet, Plutinos or
Planet X

AR 36
Eclipses – Promise or Peril?

AR35
Solar Fire

AR34
The Lunar Mansions of Vedic Astrology

AR 33
Children of the Gods

AR 32
Wheels Within Wheels

AR 31
Horoscopes of Destiny

AR 30
Zodicac of Dendera

AR 29
A Star Is Born

AR 28
Age of Aquarius

AR 27
Persia's Royal Stars of Ancients

AR 23
The Lore of a Shaman

Twelfth Planet,
Plutinos, or Planet X?
by Julie Gillentine

"Your theory of a donut-shaped universe intrigues me, Homer."
— Stephen Hawking, guest-voicing on the "The Simpsons"

From the relative proximity of the Moon to the vast distance of the heart of our galaxy Astronomy is making CNN headline news. Recent reports include: confirmation of a Black Hole at the center of our own galaxy, discovery of a large Kuiper Belt Objects (KBO), location of a Jupiter-sized planet in a binary star system, and sighting of a Near Earth Object (NEO) at first dubbed Earth's second Moon. Our paradigm of the solar system and galaxy is being altered. Some of these discoveries may challenge traditional astrology.

In October 2002 Astronomers announced confirmation of a colossal black hole at the center of our galaxy based on observations of the star closest to the heart of the Milky Way. Rainer Schoedel, at the Max Planck Institute for Astrophysics in Garching, Germany said, "We can now confidently say that a black hole does indeed exist at the center of our galaxy."

Closer to home, in a story reminiscent of Star Trek, The Motion Picture, a surprising object was discovered on September 3, 2002. Thought at first to be an asteroid, astronomers realized the object was orbiting Earth, not the Sun. The NEO (Near Earth Object), christened J002E3, has yet to be clearly identified. Experts at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) believe it could be the third-stage booster of the Saturn V rocket which propelled Apollo 12 astronauts to the Moon in November 1969.

Our Sun is in the minority as a solitary star. The majority of Milky Way stars have companions. On October 6, 2002 CNN announced discovery of the first-ever planet in orbit around one star in the binary star system Gamma Cephei. The implications are that many more planetary systems may exist within our galaxy than previously believed.

Planet X or the Twelfth Planet?

Atlantis Rising readers will be acquainted with the work of Sumerian scholar Zecharia Sitchin and his groundbreaking work. Sitchin decoded Sumerian creation myths and demonstrated that advanced astronomical knowledge was contained there. Images on cylinder seals depict what seem to be twelve planets in our solar system. He believes the myth is a form of cosmogeneis, explaining creation of the asteroid belt (a collision between the invading "Twelfth Planet" and another planet), and formation of Earth's moon due to a catastrophic collision caused by the twelfth planet in ancient times. Called Nibiru this planet supposedly has a long elliptical orbit of 3,600 years.

At present nine known objects orbit between Jupiter and Neptune, including Chiron and Pholus. These objects have been designated as Centaurs. Their orbits are unstable, and these objects are believed to be refugees from the Kuiper Belt. If Chiron is ever "perturbed" by the gravity of the larger planets it will become a truly spectacular comet as it races toward the Sun. It is my belief that such an event in the distant past may be the source of the information decoded by Sitchin from Sumerian cylinder seals since the long, elliptical orbit described is more likely to belong to a long-period comet.

The term "Planet X" has a different history than Nibiru, Zecharia Sitchin's Twelfth Planet. Astronomers have searched for planets beyond those already known since 1841. Pluto itself was an illusive Planet X for a time. Certain websites have muddied these waters, claiming that an imaginary Planet X is Nibiru, and casting Sitchin's important work in a bad light with unsubstantiated apocalyptic predictions of a rogue planet striking the Earth.

Quaoar, a new world beyond Pluto

Shifting back to the outer reaches of the solar system, in a region beyond the orbit of Neptune, a new object has recently been identified. Half the size of Pluto, and one-tenth the diameter of Earth, this new "world," has been named Quaoar (kwah-o-wahr), after a native American creator god. Quaoar orbits the Sun every 288 years in a region of the solar system called the Kuiper Belt. Quaoar is also not Planet X.

Kuiper Belt and Oort Cloud

Beyond Neptune is the Kuiper Belt (pronounced like viper), named for the astronomer who predicted its existence. The Kuiper Belt is a disk-shaped ring which contains short-period comets, asteroids and tens of thousands of other objects, including Pluto and newly-discovered Quaoar. Some astronomers have dubbed these objects "Plutinos." Many objects found in the Kuiper Belt orbit the Sun in a 3:2 ratio to Neptune, including Pluto; meaning it takes one and one-half times longer to circle the Sun.

The Oort cloud, named for astronomer Jan Oort, is an immense, spherical cloud of rocky and icy debris which surrounds our solar system beyond the Kuiper Belt. This cloud is leftover material from the formation of the solar system and is now believed to be the source of long-period comets. Comets are "dirty snowballs," rocky, icy objects which produce spectacular tails of dust and gas if they approach the Sun.

When paradigms shift

From an astrological perspective, Quaoar, and other objects in the Kuiper Belt, have the most immediate potential to alter common astrological wisdom. Even before Quaoar's discovery Pluto's status as a planet was being called into question because of growing awareness of large objects within the Kuiper Belt, Pluto's neighborhood. Many astronomers already believe that Pluto is not actually a planet but just another KBO (Kuiper Belt Object). So how will astrologers adapt to the changing image of the smallest planet?

Before Herschel discovered Uranus in 1781, there was a convenient relationship between the known planets and their relationship with the twelve Zodiac signs. Astrologers speculated about other planets which would ultimately fill out rulership of the twelve signs. Planet Vulcan and the dark Moon Lilith were popular candidates.

Esoterically astrologers didn't miss a beat and defined the discovery of Uranus as an evolutionary step in humanity's unfoldment. When Neptune (1846), and Pluto (1930), in turn were "discovered" astrologers perceived that our collective consciousness as a human race had evolved to the point where we could recognize and respond to these higher planetary frequencies on a conscious level. Symbolically we were ready to move beyond the limiting rings of Saturn. Astrologers speak of the outer planets as "higher octaves" of Mercury, Venus and Mars respectively, acting to raise our thoughts, feelings and actions above the realm of ordinary pursuits.

Pluto

The planet Pluto was discovered in 1930 by Clyde Tombaugh, who continued the work of Percival Lowell. Pluto's rocky composition, tiny size and atmosphere contrast dramatically with the four gas giants at the outer limits of the solar system. Pluto's orbit is highly elliptical, taking 248 years to cycle around the Sun. During this time the orbit's eccentricity causes Pluto to venture inside the orbit of Neptune for a period of twenty years.

Pluto's moon, Charon, is nearly half its size and was named after the mythical boatman who ferried souls across the river Styx to Hades. Astronomers believe that the Pluto-Charon system resulted from a collision with another small planet in the ancient past. At present this is also the most accepted scenario for the Earth-Moon system which agrees with Sumerian myth.

The Mouse That Roared

Pluto's origins were considered a mystery for a long time because of its small size relative to the other planets. Pluto orbits in the Kuiper Belt among tens of thousands of smaller objects orbiting beyond Neptune.

Many astronomers now believe Pluto and Charon are merely the largest KBOs (Kuiper Belt Objects). Similarly, Triton, Neptune's largest moon, may have been a captured KBO. Quite a furor erupted in 1992 when a consideration of giving Pluto a dual status as small planet and KBO was discussed. Some astronomers believe more than a dozen objects larger than Pluto exist, and feel it's just a matter of time until a Pluto-sized object is detected in the Kuiper Belt. For the moment however, Pluto is a sentimental favorite and keeps its planetary status, albeit the smallest and coldest in our solar system family.

God of the Dead

Pluto was named for the mythical god of the dead, Hades in Greek. He was an Olympian who was given rulership of the Underworld, called the House of Hades. Hades name meant "the Invisible," and was not spoken aloud for fear of arousing his anger. Instead he was most commonly called Pluton, "the Rich," signifying the wealth of mines cultivated beneath the Earth. He was often depicted with a horn of plenty.

Since Pluto's discovery astrologers have witnessed the paradox first hand that Pluto's small size is no indication of its influence. His astrological significance is viewed as an agent of transformation through annihilation. He rules the deep and complex sign of Scorpio. Astrologically and archetypically Hades, the Invisible, and Pluton, the Rich, fit well with the deep, psychological issues which must be mined when the influence of Pluto presents itself.

Starship Earth -- Where no one has gone before

I believe we are at the brink of a shift with implications as profound as Galileo's gift in showing us that Earth was not the center of the Universe. These new discoveries have the potential to impact and expand how astrologers interpret symbolic and archetypal content of the solar system. Like the discoveries of Uranus, Neptune and Pluto heralded new awareness, technology and transformation, so too will further discoveries take us to the next level in our unfolding pattern

As new objects are discovered within the Kuiper Belt it is possible that we will experience an entirely different psychological mechanism. If Pluto is seen in a new light his symbolic significance may expand rather than diminish. Perhaps Pluto engages the collective energy of this second "hammered bracelet," like focusing sunlight through a magnifying glass, in an energetic manner we don't yet understand. Pluto's physical presence may come to be be seen as a gatekeeper, guarding access to the vast region of the outer solar system?

The Kuiper Belt itself may archetypically prove to be like the River Styx, and crossing the outer reaches of the solar system will lead us to the dark and icy realm of the Oort cloud, an underworld containing potential riches to be mined. What will it then mean if a comet is released from this region, flaring brilliantly in the sky? As we pass the outer limits of the solar system we begin to engage the galaxy itself; the largest unit most of us can conceive. Potential new interpretations can represent a evolution in our conscious, defining an expanded way of understanding and delving into the deeper levels of our consciousness.