The myths of Eris are fascinating and sometimes confusing (after all, she is a Goddess of confusion)!. For instance, Hesiod speaks of two senses of Eris where 1) Strife is "mastered" (by a man, no doubt) and deemed praiseworthy, and 2) the strife that cannot be tamed and must be feared by all men. The Discordians must be reveling with the new planet's name since Eris is typically the most revered energy for discordian magick and belief. But, it must be clearly stated at the outset that this energy CANNOT BE PINNED DOWN--not by a believer, an astrologer, a scientist, man or woman. That is her essential role: to bear no archetypal essence. Post-structuralism (1960's -2000's) has been theorizing this for years and sure enough, now that most can understand post-structuralist approaches, the anti-archetype of Eris reveals herself in our deep skies. Many argue that archetypal thinking is reductive, essentialist, naive and lazy. I agree, for the most part, and this is why I always try to pursue astrology with a deconstructive approach. Mars is not simply War. . .there are many many facets that can attributed to Mars/Aries energies so why pin it down to one "original type" of energy?--passion, another facet of Mars, can be creative, destructive, neutral etc. We cannot pin down a term to just only ONE meaning. . .all the meanings and possible traces of meanings collide and deconstruct each other like a Hodge Podge melting pot of mish mash. "Words, words, what's in a word"?--nothing, or, every other word. . .Archetypal thinking is a hangover from monotheism. It is now the age where the MANY will again, supercede the ONE (since one can never be thought without the MANY--first [irony intended]!!!). Okay, so this minor diatribe is to show (perhaps?) one facet of Eris' emergence in this century: the end of archetypes, or at least the confusion and disordering of them...
The most famous mythical event of Eris, the Discordians call the "Original Snub": Zeus and Themis were putting on a wedding for Peleus and Thetis (that was enforced) and Eris was not invited. . . To exact her revenge she used her genuis and subtlty that, in turn, brought WAR to humankind. She decorated a golden apple and inscribed the word "Kallisti" on it and rolled it into the banquet hall on Olympus. Kallisti means "to the prettiest" or "for the fairest one." (Can you sense the inspiration/appropriation for Sleeping Beauty fairy tale?). This inscription caused fervor in Aphrodite, Hera and Athena as each argued that the apple is for them and this caused a great schism among the Gods that, in turn, caused the most famous war in antiquity, the Trojan War, where Gods and Goddesses were snubbing each other and playing out their strife through mortals. Thus, Eris, indirectly brought war to the Gods and the humans. Only a Goddess of discord could throw the entire order of gods and mortals into disarray and she did it through such a small, albeit genius, act. This story can be another hint about what Eris will do with us this century. The Discordians maintain, almost like a mantra, that: the more order is imposed, the more chaos will ensue.
But it is not all about fear and destruction: while meditating on Eris after reading the Principia Discordia (a great read--read it if you get a chance) and The Book of Eris (also quite the text), Eris revealed herself as a black cloak of swirling gas and dust--and simply pointed out, rhetorically: "Can you not understand the peace in chaos?" (I'll leave that to you to ponder...)
Structures breakdown, old orders turn to chaos, small things become HUGE--these are some of Eris' un-workings and un-doings for the 21st Century. Some ancient texts report that Eris is Ares' sister. This would make her Zeus' daughter as well...hmmm..whatever her scattered status may be, you can bet that it has changed by the time you've even thought it!
Okay, let's get more into the astrology: Eris was offiically discovered on January 5, 2005 from photos taken October 21st, 2001. These dates are crucial: One of Libra's facets is justice and/or balance. The balancing agent was spotted in Libra (Oct 21st). Capricorn is linked with order, structure, duty and discipline (among many other things) and I must highlight the irony of the discovery of the anti-archetype of choas at the height of the ordered, steady time of Capricorn. These energies are part of Eris' birth into our century: Libra seeded with Capricorn, announced the progeny in Leo (July 29, 2005) and named the child in Virgo (September 13, 2006). The naming of the planet was itself sowed with disorder, as well as whether it could be considered a planet at all. It was called Xena for a time (Lucy Lawless [another irony with the official moon dysnomia] is an Aries--hence the Aries' sister link in our time).
How will she affect you and your chart? Being the one of the most transpersonal energies we know of to date, it is difficult to think of Eris in personal terms and, because she is such a slow mover pretty much all of us born in the last 60 years have her in the same sign: ARIES!!! I was born in 1974 and Eris was placed at 13 degrees Aries (conjunct my Part of Fortune!) and it cusps the 5th and 6th houses. Today, Eris is 26 degrees Aries in the sky (which is trine the Galactic Center at 26 Sagittarius---a galaxy of chaos embraced!!). The only real way to get a personal fix on her personal affection/affliction in your chart is to plot it according to aspects with other bodies as well as what particular house she falls in. But, this energy cannot be owned nor truly harnessed by any one soul in particular--but she will still speak to you if she finds you ready to hear. Depending on these aspects and house placements, she represents areas where representation itself undoes its meanings. She is discord in all of its possibilities (good, bad, neither, global, personal, national, celestial, galactic). Thus, her place in your chart can be interpreted in every which way--but it does represent a hot spot of chaotic power in your life-path. Again, I suggest you watch for the aspects in the natal chart and the current transits for personal affections.
The Virgo side of her birth is interesting and I think that it illuminates that very small things can go awry in very big ways. I also think that her presence will be made clear via Virgo and the clarity I speak of is clearly UNCLEAR! Other facets of Erisian energies are IRONY and HUMOUR. She can be very funny--but not necessarily fun. Will this be an Ironic century? We cannot know for sure what Eris has in store for us, but it will be different and likely destructive in many respects.
Eris also has an element of victory associated with her--she succeeds at causing discord. I argue that today, the true victory for astrology is that we now, after all this time, have a female warrior deity who is mightier than most of the male energies--this is a triumph for humankind as the patriarchal order has been imposed for far too long! Can Eris overpower Mars? Her jurisdiction is far wider and vaster than Mars, so for that reason, she is perhaps the mightiest celestial warrior we have to date. Plus, she could simply dissolve Mars' ego by making him think there could possibly be someone better than he!
Her tactics are subtle, but lasting. Her reign of destruction is refined and beautiful, depending on how look at it. Even Pluto seeks destructive advice from Eris. . . maybe we can think of it this way: If Pluto is God of the underworld, then Eris is underneath the underworld letting Pluto think he reigns there, but only because she lets him. But she can even un-do the underworld, since it partakes of structure. She knows no bounds because she un-bounds. I hope this offers some light on Eris in astrology. She brings hope, if you ask me, as some of these structures (human/mental/cultural) are long overdo for some chaos and disorder.
As order grows, so chaos will impose. . .
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