Editor’s letter
Planet Nine, Bowie and Shakespeare
As I write, news of ‘Planet Nine’ has just broken. No one’s seen it yet but its likely
existence in our Solar System has been inferred from a gravitational influence on
six other objects in the Kuiper Belt. Planet Nine, thought to be gaseous, could be
ten times the mass of Earth and take up to 20,000 years to orbit the Sun. “Will this
change astrology?” I am asked on Twitter. Now, there’s a question. Astrology has
deftly accommodated relatively recent discoveries of Uranus, Neptune, Pluto and
many Kuiper planetoids, each tagged with a ‘myth’, corresponding attributes and an
ancient deity or two. Nine was discovered in the wake of the death of showbiz god
David Bowie – might this event (an admixture of music, celebrity, star-worship, imagemaking, glamour, global bereavement, courage/creativity in the face of mortality and
vast capitalist life-richness) be co-opted in the construction of Nine’s astrological
symbolism? Appropriately, Bowie’s last album is called Blackstar. Might Planet Nine
even be renamed ‘Bowie’? Probably not. Well, let’s await the first photo before we get
carried away. Whip out those telescopes!
“Science does not deal
with human values, but
a person comes to an
astrological consultant
asking for help.”
Dane Rudhyar,
Astrology and the
Modern Psyche
For this latest issue of Journal, Nine’s rumoured arrival in our heads is perfect timing.
Because one of our lead features is Sue Kientz’s essay on Pluto in the wake of the New
Horizons probe flyby of 2015. She addresses the question of whether the Dwarf Planet
requires astrological redefinition in the light of new scientific information – and of the
news events coinciding with these discoveries. Her approach reminds us of how astro
‘myths’ evolve – and how Planet Nine/Bowie may yet add to our art and craft. For many
modern astrologers, new celestials help to refine and deepen chart readings, though
there does remain the problem of the cluttered horoscope.
Death of another ‘god’ is also in our minds – that of Shakespeare. This year the world
celebrates the 400th anniversary of the Bard’s passing. Much already has been written
of the astrological content of his works, so it is a great honour to publish Priscilla
Costello’s groundbreaking essay on Shakespeare’s use of the archetypal language of
astrology in his plays – her analysis of Romeo and Juliet and its Gemini foundations is
original and certain to interest a great many, even beyond astrological shores.
I am also delighted to bring you Brian Clark’s fabulous meditation on astrology. He
asks: “When reflecting on astrological practice, has the technical, interpretive and
delineative ways of knowing the horoscope overrun the imaginative, intuitive and
participatory way?” In an age of advanced science, with its insistence on the ‘literal’, we
risk losing that connection to ourselves which is hinted at in dreams – the wellspring
of our spiritual work. Bathe in his words and share your thoughts with us, if you’re
minded to.
Cover: Cat Keane
My thanks also to the many talents who have made this issue possible. Among them is
the British philosopher Martin Cohen who, despite the immense dissuasive pressure of
science, ‘rationalism’ and his conservative world, has something positive to say about
astrology.
Wonders never cease.
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Victor Olliver
Editor
Mar/Apr 2016 The Astrological Journal