April New Moon in Aries: Eris & Chiron

Yesterday’s new moon in Aries saw a powerful conjunction of the luminaries, alongside Chiron and Eris. This stellium spanning only 2 degrees in the last decan of Aries, sheds a soli-lunar light, that is both conscious and unconscious, on the wounded aspects of the primordial feminine, and possibly whispers at the return of the Dark Goddess unrobed from her patriarchal projections.

Eris is a Trans Neptunian Object, a dwarf planet that orbits the Sun at an average distance greater than Neptune. Located in the icy outer regions of our solar system, including the Kuiper belt, Eris is three times farther from the Sun than Pluto

Discovered on January 5th, 2005, Eris caused debate among the astronomical community as to whether she should be considered the 10^th planet as she was larger and denser than Pluto. What happened instead is that Eris was assigned the status of Dwarf planet, and Pluto was demoted to the same. This is perhaps why she got her name, from the off she was causing trouble.

Eight months after her discovery, her moon Dysnomia was discovered too. Dysnomia means lawlessness.

In mythology Eris is often depicted as a goddess with black wings, and a black starry robe or dress. One of the most famous stories from her mythology is the Judgement of Paris.

All the gods and goddesses of Olympus were invited to attend the wedding of Peleus and Thetis; all were warmly invited except for Eris who was not invited at all. Understandably disgruntled by the snub, Eris devised a plan of revenge. Inscribing the words “For the Fairest” on a golden apple, she threw it over the wall and into the garden where the wedding feast was being held. Of course, this caused great excitement among the guests particularly the goddesses Hera, Aphrodite and Athena, each of whom believed the apple had been intended for her and her alone. To settle the dispute, Zeus assigned the decision to Paris, a mortal man from the city of Troy. Each goddess promised wondrous gifts to the young handsome man, but as with many cases since and no doubt before, young men are easily seduced by the promise of a beautiful woman by his side. This was promised to him by the goddess of love herself, Aphrodite, who enticed Paris with the hand of Helen of Sparta (even though she was married to another). Helen was said to be the most beautiful woman in the world.

The proud and eager Paris took Helen home with him to Troy. The Greeks were not in the least bit happy about this and went to fetch her back, and in that moment a war was waged, the Trojan war. That apple caused a lot of trouble.

Eris became known as the goddess of discord, strife, rage, and vengefulness. She was born from the night herself, her mother Nyx (night) also depicted with wings, was described by Hesiod as “evil”

[She] holds in her arms Hypnos (Hypnus, Sleep) the brother of Thanatos (Thanatus, Death), even evil Nyx (Night), wrapped in a vaporous cloud. And there the children of dark Nyx (Night) have their dwellings, Hypnos (Sleep) and Thanatos (Death), awful gods. Glowing Helios (the Sun) never looks upon them with his beams, neither as he goes up into heaven nor as he comes down from heaven.

Eris in Astrology

In Western Tropical astrology Eris has been in the constellation of Aries from 1923 and will remain there until approximately 2048. That means that nearly everybody alive on the planet today has Eris in Aries. In Aries Eris is even more combative, a warring goddess who is intent on destruction and discord. In some versions of her myth, she is thought to be the sister of the god Ares, gleefully accompanying him on his warring adventures.

In astronomy however Eris is in the constellation of Cetus. This difference is down to the way astrologers and astronomers calculate the movement of the constellations.

But this too gives us deeper insight into the myth of Eris. Cetus is said to be a large terrible serpentine sea monster who causes destruction to coastlines, often sent by the god Poseidon. Both Perseus and Heracles slew the Cetus, Perseus by using the petrifying head of Medusa, and Heracles using pure brute force.

Curiously one of the feats of Heracles’ 12 labours was to steal the golden apples from the garden of Hesperides. The golden apples were a wedding gift from Gaia to Hera. It is uncertain how Eris came to be in possession of a golden apple, some say she stole it, others say the apples had a will of their own so strong that not even the most powerful goddess could command them.

In Greek cosmology and topography there are a cluster of things that are ascribed to the darkness and the terrible power of the dark goddesses. The West, where the Garden of Hesperides and the cave of Medusa sit is also the place of the sinking sun. Here, Helios the sky god disappears into the great primordial waters, the unconscious, the place where chaos reigns.

Medusa- Lilith- Eris- Nyx- Hecate- Ceto- Tiamat… all goddesses linked with the deep dark chaotic Western waters.

Ceto from whom the constellation Cetus gets its name is the Greek personification of the dangers of the ocean, sea monsters, and a whole manner of unseen and lurking terrors. The Cetus (which are plural and many), have long sharp fang-like teeth, a scaly serpentine tail and sharp mammal claws. They do however have a role other than evoking terrors of the deep, they are also agents of divine punishment, like Eris who punished the gods for not inviting her to the wedding.

This April, from our earthly perspective, Eris crosses the celestial equator from the southern hemisphere to the northern hemisphere. The last time this happened was 1460, and it has only happened 8 times in recorded history. Reflecting on what was happening at that time in history, what seemed most pertinent for me was the rise of the Witch trials in the late medieval and early modern period. From 1400- 1175 CE 100000 people were prosecuted, and many persecuted from practicing so-called Witchcraft. Most were women, most were over 40. Having recently been involved in a body of work on “The Alchemy of Menopause”, and as a woman myself currently navigating menopause, I find it interesting if not disturbing how the “older” woman has been viewed, feared, rejected, and punished in our patriarchal culture. It begs the question why.

If you are interested to know how I weave my reflections on Eris and the Dark Goddess, the celestial equatorial crossing of Eris, and the changing face of the feminine in culture, I include a PowerPoint presentation that I made yesterday on the day of the new moon.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NPp9x-lmKdk&t=462s