Ceres, Climate Change, and the Bardo State
September 2014
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It is an astrological truism that, as our awareness of the solar system evolves through new astronomical discoveries, the constellation of archetypes and metaphors by which humans navigate the world also shifts. When new planets are discovered, astrologers generally remain on the lookout for some new paradigm emerging into our collective consciousness. Perhaps when a planet is promoted (or, as in the case of Pluto, demoted), there may be a similar shift in metaphorical significance worth noting. If so, it is likely that Ceres’ recent promotion from asteroid to dwarf planet in 2006 by the International Astronomical Union parallels an important sea change in our understanding of who we are and what we are doing here on Earth – a planet of limits and consequencesi. In this article, I would like to speculate about Ceres’ rising capacity to illuminate the current state of the anima mundi or soul of the world, given recent developments since her change in status.
Although Ceres has been known to astrologers since her discovery by Italian astronomer Giuseppe Piazzi in 1801, and in popular contemporary usage at least since the publication of Demetra George’s groundbreaking book Asteroid Goddesses in 1986ii, this body’s new bona fide membership in the planetary pantheon prompts a revisitation.
The next post in this series is Ceres and Climate Change.
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