Eris: The Apple of Discord

 

For thousands of years, astrologers have relied mainly on the alignment of the seven wandering stars that we call planets to predict worldly events. This has been the case ever since the times of the Babylonians and the Ancient Egyptians, until 1781 when an abrupt event revolutionized astrology and expanded our understanding of the universe: it was the discovery of Uranus by astronomer William Herschel. Henceforth, other trans-Saturnian planets have been discovered including Neptune in the mid nineteenth century, followed by Pluto in 1930.

  These three Trans-Saturnian planets have gradually made their way into the astrological system, and astrologers have worked hard to assign adequate significations to each one of them based on the mythology associated with them as well as the worldly events that coincide with their celestial alignments. However, in 2005 another object beyond Pluto in the Kuiper Belt was discovered, and although it was slightly more massive, it was given the status of a dwarf planet by the International Astronomical Union (IAU) and the object was named Eris. A year later, Pluto joined the team of dwarf planets, when the scientists concluded that Pluto does not meet one requirement to be classified as a planet which consists of it not having cleared its orbit, and because of its eccentric trajectory around the Sun.

Similar dwarf planets have also been discovered in the Kuiper Belt, like Makemake and Haumea, and until this day astrologers still consider Pluto a planet, yet ignore these other planetoids that would have been considered planets had not astronomers revised the criteria of planetary status.

So what de we know about Eris so far?

  Initially, Eris was thought to be the 10th planet in our solar system, but then astronomers decided to add another criterion that a celestial object must meet to be qualified as a planet, which eventually led to the demotion of Pluto in 2006. Along with the latter, Eris orbits within the area known as the Kuiper Belt where many Trans-Neptunian icy objects are found, including other dwarf planets like Makemake and Haumea. Eris takes roughly 558 years to orbit the Sun which is twice the time Pluto takes (248 years). Eris was discovered in January 5th, 2005 by a palomar Observatory-based team led by Mike Brown. It was named after the Greek goddess of strife and discord.

Eris in Mythology

  It is important to learn about the mythology associated with the planets as this will be our first step to understand the symbolism of the archetype. While a lot of the meaning we ascribe to a planet is derived from the events that coincide with their positions in the heavens, the mythology and the symbolism can allow us to have an additional layer as to how their energies can unfold in our lives. In western astrology, all the planets are given names of the Greco-Roman gods and goddesses, and Eris is no exception, she is referred to by the poet Hesiod as the daughter of Nyx (night) and she is the representation of strife, chaos and discord. 

  In Homer's Illiad, we can learn about the epic war of Troy that was caused by the trojan prince Paris who abducted Helen, the beautiful queen of Sparta, but the real cause behind all this drama is Eris, or Discordia as the romans referred to her. In the story, we learn that Achilles' parents Peleus and Thetis were celebrating their wedding in the presence of the Olympian gods and goddesses, however, Eris was not invited. Feeling rejected, Eris decided to go to the wedding and throw a golden apple to the banquet table. The apple was supposed to go out to the "Calliste" or the fairest one. This brought about a conflict between the three goddesses Hera, Athena and Aphrodite who each claimed to be the fairest one. No one of the gods dared to interfere in the conflict, not even Zeus, until the three goddesses agreed to ask Paris, the trojan prince, who is known for his fine tastes, to be the judge. The three goddesses attempted to bribe him with all manner of blessings: Hera offered him power and reign over asia, Athena offered him wisdom equal to her own, while Aphrodite who was most seductive, promised him Helen, the most beautiful woman among mortals, though she was still married to the king of Sparta. With her seductive powers, Aphrodite assisted Paris in the abduction of the queen which eventually led to the trojan war. It all goes back to the golden apple thrown by Eris or Discordia, hence the expression Apple of Discord.

 Fear, and Strife, sister of Ares, slayer of men:

 small when first roused, but soon her head is high

 in heaven and her feet are fixed on the earth.

 She moved over the battle-throng hurling hatred

 in all directions, intensifying the agony of men. 

The Iliad, Homer.

The Astrological Signification of Eris

What we learn from this story is that Eris represents the catalyst for chaos and conflict. Being the sister of Ares, Eris does not shy away from conflict, instead she takes pleasure in causing it, although in a more subtle and insidious way. After all she was the reason why Pluto was demoted. Eris has been in the sign of Aries (with her brother) for about a century! which means that its placement on a personal level will not be significant, or at least the exerted energy is so subtle that we are unable to readily detect its influence on us. However we can observe its effects on a large scale, and the events that coincide with its alignments, particularly the aspects Eris forms with other planets.

Katrina Hurricane (2005)

In an attempt to understand the influence of the planet of strife on a mundane level, I personally made some research on the events surrounding the discovery of this distant object. As already mentioned above, Eris was discovered in 2005 and during the same year the most intense hurricane caused significant damage in Katrina. It caused an estimated $161 billion in damage along the U.S. Gulf Coast. It destroyed or damaged more than 850,000 homes. Between 300,000 to 350,000 vehicles were also destroyed, as well as 2,400 ships and vessels including 1800 deaths!. In short it was a total chaos! Just like the war of troy that left many piled up dead bodies in the battlefield, The Katrina hurricane event was as significant in intensity.

Al Aimmah bridge Stampede (2005)

Another major event that took place in 2005 is the Stampede in Al Aimmah in Baghdad when  950 people lost their lives as they were crossing a bridge. This tragic incident was interestingly caused by a rumour that a suicide bomber was lurking in the midst of the large crowd, which then caused them to panic and run for safety, only to drag themselves to their demise. I think that this is the best way to illustrate how Eris's energy manifests in the world: A rumour being the apple of discord caused panic and chaos among people and sent them to their graves!

Coronavirus (2019)

Astrologers have been preparing for the Covid's outbreak before it was announced to the world. Saturn, Jupiter and Pluto were expected to conspire against the world in Capricorn by the end of 2019 and the beginning of 2020. Of course, it was not in the hands of most astrologers to predict what was the nature of the ominous phenomenon prior to the outbreak, however they still had an idea about how sinister the energy was.  However, what most of them did not pay attention to and did not take into account, in addition to the conjunction, is the square that was simultaneously forming from Eris in the sign of her brother Aries. This pandemic that ravaged the world was said to have originated from bats! This tiny animal carried a virus that caused the death of millions of people around the globe!  It caused chaos, panic and worry. People did not know what to believe, whom to believe! Was it a conspiracy? is the government plotting to reduce the population? was Bill Gates behind the creation of this virus? Should we trust the doctors? Such is the mischievous way of Discordia!

Invite Eris to the Party 

As astrologers, maybe we should not follow the example of the Olympian gods, and instead invite Eris to the party to prevent her wrath and incorporate her energy to channel it in a positive way. Instead of seeing her as a catalyst for disaster, we can find a transformative and liberating force that can help us unlock our latent potential that still lie dormant within us. One may notice the similar energies that Eris shares with both Pluto and Uranus, which both represent radical change and transformation. Uranus is revolutionary and liberating, while Pluto is transformative and purifying. Eris produces both results but in ways that aren't obvious to us. If Pluto corresponds to the hindu god of destruction Shiva, then Eris is the warrior goddess Kali. Eris also reveals our true nature that we prefer to keep hidden below the surface. If we have long been causing harm to earth and carelessly overpopulating, and polluting the atmosphere and the environment, Eris will not hesitate to show us the consequences of our actions through natural phenomena that we call "disasters" when it is only a call for help by mother nature, and a warning by Eris to redeem ourselves.

Some Eris Keywords

Conflicts, revenge, justice, retribution, rumours, tribulations, catastrophes, Maha Kali, death, destruction, cruelty, transformation, power, chaos, panic, war, envy, greed, resentment, misunderstandings, disagreements, female warrior, rebellion, freedom, revolution, anarchy, Feminism, the disenfrenchised, the shunned.