Celestial Objects in Transcendental Astrology
(A Quick Glance at Planets, Asteroids, Centaurs, and Fixed Stars)

                                                                                                           
The Zodiac comprises the robe of the Sun’s celestial path. All the planets orbit roughly the same space, and they rarely leave the 47° wide and 360° long belt of the Zodiac. In special cases they may venture out of it - this phenomenon is called extreme declination in astrology. In such occasions their delineation needs to be altered accordingly in transcendental astrological readings. The Zodiac is the mirror of the Earth plane, life in 3-D reality, which is abandoned by the escaping planets as if they were taking a short trip to the Universe. Planets in extreme declination represent traits that exceed normal human faculties; however, these traits can be brought back to the Earth plane and utilized here. This is especially true in case of the personal planets.

Planets staying within 24,5° south or north declination can be considered normal because they only exceed the traditional edge of the Zodiac by 1° and because at the dawning of the new millennium that is where the brim of the extended Ecliptic can be found. However, if they go past those points, it becomes relevant to delineate them from a different perspective. The Moon in extreme declination creates a link between the personal subconscious and Universal consciousness. The Moon quite often wanders past the edge of the Zodiac; even a 26-27° southern or northern declination is not too rare. With Mercury in extreme declination, any necessary knowledge can be downloaded from the energetic-information fields called Egregore, or Akashic records, in a logical, rational, and useful way; Venus helps the incarnating soul with special money making talents or unique artistic sense; and Mars fills us with will and energy that provides a highly balanced force typical of eastern martial art techniques.

The seven visible planets of the Zodiac personify archetypes that live and act on the Earth plane. The gods and Goddesses of the Greek and Roman pantheon play the roles written in our birth charts, and we often just stare in awe. The visible planets are always linked to 3-D reality. The five personal planets (Sun, Moon, Mercury, Venus, and Mars) tell stories of our everyday life, whereas the two “destiny” planets describe phenomena by which our fate is being shaped: the necessary hardships and lessons (Saturn) as well as events that bring luck and plenty (Jupiter). The “transcendental” planets, which are invisible with the naked eye, leave the Earth plane and lift us into spheres that introduce the higher dimensions. All the rest of the wondering, moving celestial objects are also invisible and thus they, too, transcend the 3-D reality of the Earth plane and form bridges between either time or space. According to their positions, they have three basic types:

• The Asteroids orbiting between Mars and Jupiter form a link between the last personal planet and the first destiny planet.
• The Centaurs (also referred to as “dwarf planets,” Plutoids, TNOs and SDOs) orbit the Kuiper Belt, the outermost edge of the Solar System.
• The transcendental planets, Uranus and Neptune, are on the Ecliptic.

On this drawing, the grey ellipsis represents the Ecliptic whereas the red and blue ones show the orbital plane of two Centaurs. Asteroids and Centaurs, which often decline sharply from the plane of the Ecliptic, obliterate time boundaries as they bring events of the karmic past over to the present incarnation. They describe events, traits, phobias, and wounds acquired in past lives that become relevant in this life. We need to deal with them, otherwise we become helpless because all those negative memory traces may paralyze us and even make us seriously ill. At the same time, it is also true that if we are willing to work with them they can be converted to special abilities and talents, which may profoundly help us in life. Experiences of the karmic past - just like childhood events - stay stuck in the matrix of the etheric body and the long term memory. It does not matter how much time passes, one, ten, or a thousand years, but when they get triggered they will break to the surface with great force as a result of the panic reaction.

Asteroids and Centaurs in tight orb with the personal planets or angles indicate what sort of karmic experiences we accumulated in the past. They bridge over lives and demolish the time boundaries between individual incarnations. Everything we need to deal with and heal in this life that originates in the karmic past will be made obvious by their placements. In addition, Centaurs also create links between the visible and the invisible planets as they circle between their orbital planes. Centaurs sharply decline from the plane of the Ecliptic, which is how they manage to cross over and link the spaces occupied by the planets. Asteroids modify and extend the potential delineations of the personal planets and mostly refer to personal karma. The first five asteroids (Ceres, Pallas Athena, Juno, Vesta, Astraea) and the Liliths are especially relevant in feminine incarnations.

According to their orbital time and plane, Centaurs can be categorized into three types. The true Centaurs (celestial objects named by astronomers after the centaurs of Greek mythology) orbit between the planes of Jupiter and Pluto, and describe our karmic wounds. Those that orbit within a human life span (roughly 80 years) refer to personal karma, while the ones with longer orbits may denote collective karma. Plutinos are celestial objects in orbital resonance with Pluto. Besides Pluto, at present there are four of them that are already named (Huya, Ixion, Orcus, Rhadamanthus), and they all hint at esoteric knowledge or occult talents. TNOs (Transneptunian Objects) with longer orbits and SDOs (Scattered Disc Objects) refer to destiny choices made at the beginning of physical incarnation, or at the beginning of any incarnation cycle. They describe the most important life tasks as well as mechanisms of creation.

Among all three types, as well as among the asteroids, a number of binary systems have been found. These systems are usually named after mythological figures that are closely related. In transcendental astrology, binaries represent archetypes that are either complimentary to each other or denote polar opposites of the same concept: mother and daughter, husband and wife, younger and older brother. When a binary system is prominent in a natal chart it indicates alternative attitudes and potential choices, or the task to create a link between diametrically opposed concepts and unify them in a profound, usable way.
 
 It is space - in other words, dimensions - over which the two transcendental planets, Uranus and Neptune, create bridges. They are connected to the Earth plane since they orbit the Zodiac, but they lift us out of it because they are invisible and they refer to extraordinary experiences like flashes of enlightenment (Uranus), mediumistic dreams, premonitions, or artistic visions (Neptune). They can be interpreted as envoys of the Universe because they convey messages from higher spheres. When they are prominent in a natal chart they open up space and bring down experiences of higher dimensions to the Earth plane. Those messages generally take the form of dreams, gut feelings linked to sixth sense, or images received in meditations; however, creative inspiration and crystal clear ideas that are frequent during scientific or artistic work can also be categorized as such experiences. Music may be considered as one of the most often used language of the Universal mind - the other is mathematics, but while the former is intuitive and linked to the right side of the brain, the latter is rational and a left brain activity.

Fixed stars can create bridges between both space and time. They are radiant, beautiful celestial bodies that are visible with the naked eye; they are impossibly far away from us and yet they seem to take an important part in our lives. They appear to be fixed in the sky as they only move 1° every 72 years; however, according to their impact they are far from being equal. In karmic and transcendental readings, stars refer to potential incarnations outside of the Earth plane that are non 3-D and non-corporeal. Depending on their position in the sky, they can be categorized into four types. Circumpolar constellations around the North Pole Star, Polaris, never set and are visible during clear nights in every season. They open gates to parallel Universes, totally alien worlds from which very strange souls incarnate. The Constellations of the Zodiac provide the background of the planetary orbits and therefore their fixed stars are generally linked to the human sphere. High quality knowledge can be gained in those worlds, which are necessary or helpful in our Earthly existence.

A large mass of dense stars form the arms of the Milky Way, our own spiral galaxy. The Milky Way, whose one arm is visible in summer and the other in winter on clear Moonless nights, represents the path of the Gods. Stars of Milky Way constellations are linked to worlds of 5th, 6th or even higher dimensions and denote very special, “divine” qualities. Two stargates stand at the crossing of the Milky Way and the Zodiac, which are spiritual channels. The first one is in Cancer (near Gemini and above Orion), which serves as a gateway for the incarnating souls coming down to the Earth plane. The second one is in Capricorn (near Sagittarius and Serpentarius), which is the gateway that leads the souls back to the divine spheres. Constellations and stars inhabiting other - less prominent - portions of the celestial globe are visible to a various extent from the different regions on Earth, and their potential delineations are generally linked to local myths.

The table below sums up with the help of short key phrases how the different types of celestial bodies may be delineated in karmic and transcendental chart readings. Pluto, which had been considered the third invisible planet between 1930 and 2006, was first demoted to a dwarf planet status in August 2006, then it became a Plutino, then in June 2008 it was labeled as Plutoid. At present, astronomers use all three of the latter classifications for Pluto. In transcendental delineations it is considered as the Lord of the Underworld, thus a Plutino; on the other hand, it is also the leader of Centaurs as it was the very first celestial object discovered in the Kuiper Belt. During its orbit, it cuts into the orbital plane of Neptune, thus it does not occupy its space alone; it crosses over and creates bridges, just like the rest of the Centaurs.

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