Pluto: A Neo-Vedic View

The following is written by Dennis M. Harness, Ph.D.- clearly, one of the more progressive, and open-minded Vedic astrologers.

"The discovery of Pluto in 1930 by astronomer Percival Lowell reflected the beginning of a new era of powerful dictators such as Hitler and Stalin and the exploration of nuclear energy leading to the development of the atomic bomb. Pluto themes of transformative as well as destructive power would pervade the events of the 1930’s and the decades to come. At the time of this writing, the bombing of the World Trade Center and the Pentagon occurred reflecting the challenging Pluto/Saturn opposition of 2001/2002. In mythology Pluto, the god of the underworld was also called Hades which means “invisible” or “to make invisible”. The origins of Vedic astrology credited to the great sage Maharishi Parasara occurred at least several thousand years before Pluto and the other outer planets were “visible” to astronomers.1 Therefore, in traditional Jyotish or Vedic astrology, the outer planets (Uranus, Neptune and Pluto) are not utilized. Instead of focusing on the outer planets, a traditional jyotishi emphasizes the chaya grahas or shadow planets: Rahu, the north node of the Moon and Ketu, south node of the Moon. According to the ancient jyotish texts, Rahu is said to act like Saturn and Ketu is similar in nature to Mars. In my own astrological practice, I have observed the additional effects of Rahu to reflect the Uranus energy of sudden change while Ketu is somewhat similar to mystical Neptune. Pluto seems to be a combination of both of the lunar nodes representing powerful transformation and death/rebirth themes."
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Powerful Italian Earthquake

From BBC News:
"A desperate search for survivors is on in the mountain city of L'Aquila in central Italy after a quake killed at least 91 people and injured 1,500.

Rescuers are picking through rubble in the walled medieval city and nearby towns and villages, some of which are said to have been virtually destroyed.

Tents are being put up in tennis courts and on football pitches to house some of the 30,000-40,000 homeless. Italy's PM Silvio Berlusconi promised a "record number of rescuers". Read more

And from the NY Times New Blog:
"As the Italian town of L’Aquila searches for survivors in the rubble of a deadly earthquake, a seismologist says that his warning that the quake was coming was dismissed by the authorities." Read More

A fellow astrologer noted that the Ascendant of this earthquake, is closely opposing the degree of the 7/22/09 total solar eclipse(29 Cancer 27). We know that eclipses often cast a shadow before they occur- but in this case, we seem to have a related incident taking place over 3 months prior to the actual eclipse.

The constellation of Aquila- the eagle, was rising in L'Aquila, Italy when the earthquake struck there.

From Mundane Chart Gallery

Total Solar Eclipse of July 22, 2009
Eclipse data

Transiting Uranus on the 4th house cusp of Italy's 1861 national chart, seems to confirm the efficacy of this horoscope.

From Mundane Chart Gallery