A century later, Pluto was 60° away from Eris, forming a sextile (Aug 1855 – Apr 1859). Again, through wikipedia, « It was a very turbulent decade, as wars such as the Crimean War, shifted and shook European politics, as well as the expansion of colonisation towards the Far East, which also sparked conflicts like the Second Opium War. In the meantime, the United States saw its peak on mass migration to the American West, that particularly made the nation experience an economic boom, as well as a rapidly increasing population. ». Also relevant during this timeframe is the publication of « On the origin of species » by Charles Darwin in 1859 and the meeting of Chief Seattle with U.S. president likely in 1855 and the controversial letter that resulted mentioning how the connection with nature has been lost. Nature is now view as obeying the rule of « survival of the fittest », colonisation was at its peak. In a nutshell, the Eris – Pluto seed planted a century ago has grown. Relevant aspects to Pluto and Eris during this timeframe include Pluto conjunct the North Node (new field of experiences pertaining to power plays) as well as the mean black moon opposing Eris, accentuating perhaps the worldwide impression that « god is dead » and that what’s only left is « survival of the fittest » (Figure 3, left).

Roughly 50 years later, Eris is overcoming Pluto by a square aspect  (Sep1907 – May1911; Figure 3). Mass production of the internal combustion engine has started and the militarisation of Europe reaches its peak. Again in wikipedia, « The conservative lifestyles during the first half of the decade, as well as the legacy of military alliances, were forever changed by the assassination, on June 28, 1914, of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, the heir presumptive to the Austro-Hungarian throne. The murder triggered a chain of events in which, within 33 days, World War I (WWI) broke out in Europe on August 1, 1914. ». We easily can witness the ingredient of Pluto (murder, transformation), Eris (consumption of natural resources with the car industry, discord, strife and competition between nation, amplification of an assassination event into a global carnage), and the square aspect: tension and rigidities suddenly released, trench warfare. Noteworthily, the Spanish flu outbreak started in 1914. Interestingly, Eris and Pluto square seems to have contributed more to the build-up of WWI (fear of being over-powered leading to militarisation) rather than the actual trigger of events in June 1914 that may have something to do with Ixion conjunct South Node as well as Pluto reaching summer solstice.

Now that we have linked the cornerstones of the cycle with historical events, combined with the fact that astrological research now provides us with a clear delineation of both Eris and Pluto, we can start to encompass the scope of what is happening. It is evident, both from the symbolism of Eris and Pluto as well as the historical events they are linked to, that humanity has a harsh lesson to learn. That of the consequences of seizing control over nature and transforming the natural order. A lesson of humility.

At the beginning of the cycle, humanity empowered by science, and within the context of competition went all out gun blazing. Those of us not believing in progress were wiped out or submitted. This lead us to a stalemate on the verge of total destruction (the cold war), empowered with the atomic bomb and divided, with natural resources running very scarce. We are now challenged to transform to avoid unprecedented ecological crisis. As astrology suggests, the second half of a cycle is an outward to inward process. So perhaps, we should now seek to transform ourselves, and especially our fears and inner conflicts… Realise that we are one with nature, one with humanity, and that we need to empower people who promote peace, harmony with nature as well as embracing our collective oneness.

Let’s have a look at the chart of the beginning of the synodic cycle between Eris and Pluto (figure 1) to learn more. We notice in 1756 that their conjunction squared the conjunction of Uranus and Sedna, thus suggesting that during this cycle, scientific innovations that benefit mankind (Uranus – Sedna) may be challenged by our will to possess and to control nature, as well as to outlast our neighbour. Eris and Pluto conjunction also trined Orcus and Varuna, perhaps denoting a propensity to alienate and distort (Orcus) intellectual and moral order (Varuna), this naturally fuelling chaos and power urges. Typical examples are statements such as: « if we don’t take it, they will », or « human are on top of the food chain and natural rulers of the planet », or the notion of race, « scientifically » proven at the beginning of 20th century, that justified holocaust and eugenics (still applied to the animal and plant kingdom as of today, by the way).

But perhaps the most telling aspect of the Pluto – Eris conjunction is the quindecile aspect with the mean black moon. The quindecile aspect denotes « the point where we may become separated from reality », and the mean black moon to me indicates the eviction from god’s garden, the loss of our divine inheritance as well as our karmic past experiences. Thus the lesson of the cycle may be read: what happens when we forget about oneness and karma, while taking over nature and other human beings using scientific innovation that are supposed to serve mankind and justifying it with our alienated minds. What happens ? Well, we will find out in 2115 when the cycle ends. Let’s hope we don’t create for ourselves too harsh a lesson.