By Zina's luck

 Astronomers have not yet decided whether the celestial object that was discovered about a month ago is indeed a planet, but the astrologers, who somehow did not foresee the discovery, are already talking about far-reaching effects.

1.8.2005
By: Stephanie Rosenblum

In the not too distant future the maps of the solar system may be redrawn and a planet will be added to them, or one of the planets will be deleted. When scientists announced last month the possibility that a tenth planet had been discovered, about 14 billion km from the Sun, they reignited a long debate on the question of what a real planet is. There is no consensus among scientists whether the newly discovered celestial object, which has been given the temporary name 2003 UB313, should be given the status of a planet, and if not, whether Pluto, the farthest from the Sun of all the planets, should lose the title.

Astronomers are hotly debating the issue, but they are not the only ones excited about it. The astrologers are also upset by the discovery: they wonder what it means for them. After all, they too are students of the solar system. "It's exciting," says Richard Brown, an astrologer from Toronto. "I immediately got hooked on the Internet, and I'm just jumping with enthusiasm."

Michael E. Brown, an astronomer and member of the team that discovered 2003 UB313, says that he was contacted by many astrologers who wanted to know when exactly he discovered the planet. Dr. Brown, a professor of planetary astronomy at the California Institute of Technology, says he posted the discovery time on his website for the benefit of astrologers, as he has always appreciated their enthusiasm for what is happening in the sky. "The astronomical world has endless fights," he says. "It's nice to see people enjoying new discoveries."

If 2003 UB313 is indeed the tenth planet, astrologers say it could have a far-reaching effect on people's lives, and therefore on astrologers' predictions. But it will probably take a few years before the meaning of the discovery becomes clear - when the debate between the astronomers ends and they can map the orbit of the star. And so the astrologers do not intend to act recklessly. They won't tear up the astrological maps, they won't rush to scribble a new star on them, and they certainly won't erase Pluto from them.

The second oldest profession in the world

On the contrary - the astrologers seem to have reached a tacit agreement that they should simply wait and see how things develop: wait until it becomes clear if there is a tenth planet, and then wait and check its influence on human life. For hundreds of years, astrologers have been looking for clues in the sky about how the position of the stars and planets affects the Earth. Their conclusions aroused the curiosity of Chaucer, Shakespeare and even Galileo. Astrology is still a thriving field, probably also thanks to many who say they don't believe in astrology, judging by the huge popularity of horoscopes in magazines, newspapers and on the Internet. Last year the most popular search term on AOL's website was "horoscope".

A Gallup telephone survey conducted in June revealed that 25% of Americans believe that the position of the stars and planets can affect their lives. "We like to think of ourselves as the second profession in the list of the oldest professions in the world," says Brown the astrologer.

But according to some critics, the possibility that a tenth planet has been discovered is further evidence that astrology is a hoax. If astrologers are able to detect the influence of the planets on people's lives accurately, shouldn't they have noticed the influence of a tenth planet long before the astronomers discovered it?

The astrologers say that they never claimed that the stars are responsible for every little detail in human life. "We assume there will be other planets," says Deb McBride, an astrologer from Brooklyn. Lee Oswald, a London-based astrologer, says unknown forces can determine when astronomers discover new planets. "A planet is discovered when humanity can understand it," she says. "In other words, when we are ready for it."

Throughout history, when faced with the discovery of another planet, many astrologers have figured out how to use it in their calculations. Pluto, the last planet to be discovered, is an integral part of the astrological maps. According to Oswald, it would be unthinkable to give him up: "They discovered that he has a huge impact on people's lives."

Because Pluto is the most distant planet, according to astrologers it operates on a level that affects all of humanity as well as individuals (theoretically, the more distant a planet is, the more global its influence). The star, named after the Greek god of the underworld, is responsible for unexpected changes. "He's usually dark," says McBride. "He is usually responsible for huge upheavals." According to her, after these upheavals - in the fields of health, family or career - a process of rehabilitation and renewal usually takes place.

Pluto and the rise of Nazism

Pluto is now in the constellation Sagittarius, and for astrologers this means that Pluto is exerting its influence on larger social forces such as religions, ideologies and cultural traditions. "When Pluto reaches a constellation like Sagittarius, religious wars break out and differences between cultures are revealed," says McBride.

Astrologers are especially eager to find out what the official name of 2003 UB313 is, because the name of a celestial body is essential to their understanding of it. "Naming a star is an important thing, especially when the name has a mythological charge," says Barry Perlman, an astrologer from San Francisco. "This is how he connects to the lineage of cultural traditions." Although the name of a planet is chosen by humans, astrologers do not see the choice as a matter of chance. In their eyes, it stems from an array of invisible forces that influence the collective subconscious of humanity. In their eyes, it is no coincidence that Pluto, for example, was discovered in 1930, during the rise of Nazism and the development of the atomic bomb.

Dr. Brown informally calls the new star Xena, after the character from the television series "Xena the Warrior Princess" (he gave equally amusing nicknames to other celestial bodies he discovered, including Santa, the Easter Bunny, and the Flying Dutchman).

The official name of 2003 UB313 has not yet been determined. The International Astronomical Society, which determines the names of the celestial bodies, must first decide whether it is a planet. It probably won't happen before 2006, says Dr. Brown. He is not ready to reveal the name chosen by his group of scientists, but revealed that it is not Zena or the name of a Greek or Roman god.

With or without a new planet, some astrologers say they already have a lot to learn, because they believe that all the heavenly bodies - from the moon to the billions of stars - can be integrated into astrological charts. "There is a whole treasure that we are not using," says John Cook, an astrologer from New York.

Like many astrologers, Cook takes great interest in the findings of astronomers, but he knows it is not mutual. "Every time people meet an astronomer they ask him what their luck is, and he hates it," smiles Cook. But Dr. Brown, a Gemini, doesn't care. "It makes me happy that they are thinking about the solar system," he says. "Even if I don't agree with you."

Courtesy of news and voila!