———. Tabulae Primi Mobilis cum ... Triginta clariss. natalium Thematibus.[Tables of the Primum
Mobile with thirty horoscopes of famous births.] 2d ed. Milano: Fran. Vigoni, 1675. (Origi-
nally published 1657.)
PLANETX
In anticipation of discovering a planet beyond the orbit of Neptune, astronomers
referred to the celestial body as Planet X. This planet, now called Pluto, was finally dis-
covered in 1930. A common astrological practice is to assign a newly discovered body a
tentative meaning that can be derived from associations with its name. (In the present
case, the mythology of Pluto, the ancient Roman god of the underworld, was explored
for initial clues about the planet’s astrological influence.) Astrologers then study the
influence of the body in charts in which it is prominent (i.e., charts in which it is in
very close conjunction with another planet or with an angle). After further study of
these charts, the preliminary meanings are revised so that they align with the empirical
effects of the new body. This astrological principle is based on the well-established
observation that the names astronomers give to newly discovered celestial bodies are
not coincidental—that by virtue of some kind of unapparent, synchronicity, nonastro-
logically inclined astronomers give astrologically significant names to things.
Astrologers have not generally considered, however, how alternative names—
or, especially, older, abandoned ones—might shed light on the meaning of a celestial
body. Pluto, for example, is associated with X rays, sex (which, in contemporary soci-
ety, is “X-rated”), and the unearthing of what is hidden (as in the “X marks the spot”
of treasure maps). These are all meanings of Pluto that could easily have been derived
from reflection on the significance of the “X” in the designation Planet X. “X” is also
the symbol for multiplication (the Pluto principle of sex “multiplies”). In Roman
numerals, “X” is the number 10. If the asteroid belt is considered to be the remains of a
planet, Pluto is the tenth-outermost planet in the solar system. It was also the tenth
celestial body to be included in the delineation of astrological charts (after the Sun,
the Moon, Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune). Additional-
ly, “X” is a common designation for Christ (as in Xmas), which links Pluto with the
redemptive drama central to Christianity: Christ’s death on the cross (another “X”),
followed by his resurrection (death and rebirth are both ruled by Pluto).
These are all commonly understood associations with the planet Pluto. There
are, however, other, less explored associations with “X” that can also be connected with
Pluto. “X” is, for example, the biological designation for the female chromosome that
everyone carries—females carry two (XX), males carry one (X plus the male chromo-
some Y). Pluto is thus linked with the primordial female nature. “X” is also used to cross
out errors (as in the expression, “to X out an error”), indicating a correcting principle
not commonly noted in delineations of Pluto. More associations are possible when
entries for cross, crossroads, etc., are explored in a good symbolism dictionary, as well as
when such X-words as expose and exorcise are examined in a standard dictionary.
Sources:
Littmann, Mark. Planets Beyond: Discovering the Outer Solar System.2d ed. New York: John
Wiley & Sons, 1990.
THEASTROLOGYBOOK [533]
Planet X