You may not remember the day or the month it happened, but you remember the almost eerie sensation that enveloped you as disparate planets, degrees and house division concepts gave way to an overall, singular clarity. It was then that you realized any further studies would only complement what you had just realized for the very first time. It had to be a defining moment.

This moment, of course, had to do with the realization of astrology’s basic tenet of synchronicity — the thought that within our individual, micro lives there exists some macro drama above offering a symbolic framework as a type of celestial guide for events here on earth.

But aside from the many individual realizations of planetary consciousness, the issue of the collective accepting a planet into consciousness is a different matter. When a new planet is discovered it is a momentous occasion in astrology as well as astronomy. As astronomers study the physical dimensions of a new planet – its structure, atmosphere and relationship to other planets – astrologers study and observe the events taking place around the world at this time to determine its place on a more humanistic level.

What does appear to be evident is that there is no constant factor in terms of the time needed to absorb messages or to feel at ease with particular planetary energies.

As a primary example, consider Chiron, for all intents and purposes in astrology a ‘planet’ that was only discovered November 1 1977. For the last 22 years Chiron has received an inordinate amount of attention from astrologers and quickly gained widespread acceptance -- relative to other finds that have been known to exist for even longer durations.

Certainly, there are many astrologers who reject its importance (Rob Hand among them) but for the most part there is a genuine willingness to incorporate the themes of Chiron into natal and transit charts. Chironian themes of emotional healing, the connective value of the more esoteric arts like music, poetry and painting and its theme of the wise teacher ready to offer practical and spiritual counsel have resonated easily within the collective.

Certainly, holistic healing practices were beginning to flourish during Chiron’s discovery in the 1970s and the ensuing two decades were ripe for the kind and type of emotional healing the new discovery represented.

Contrast this acceptance with the four ‘major’ asteroids which were all discovered between 1801 and 1807, not too long after the discovery of Uranus in 1781. Uranus, of course, went on to great things in astrological circles while the asteroids – Ceres, Pallas, Juno and Vesta continue to languish in relative obscurity. Obviously, it is paramount that we investigate why that may be from a consciousness standpoint.

It should be said up front that it certainly has nothing to do with the smaller physical dimensions of the asteroids. This plays no part whatsoever in astrological delineation, otherwise Mercury and Pluto would not have the status they have been assigned.

Uranus represented a profound shift in social awareness near the end of the 18th century. Political revolutions in France and the United States and the industrial revolution in England were representative of its future symbolism as an iconoclast. In other words, the Uranian archetype became so much a product of its day -- as all important outer planetary discoveries were and are -- that it was more easily assimilated and accepted into astrological thought.

When there are few debates as to the symbolic framework of a planet years after its discovery, then its acceptance within group consciousness is essentially complete. That completeness has never existed with the asteroids even to this day, especially when compared side by side with the planets, moon’s nodes and even the ‘younger’ Chiron. The asteroids had no such clarity and still suffer from this no matter how many books attempt to carve out an important role for them – i.e., as the ‘four facets of femininity.’ (Although it is not my intent to ‘pick’ on the asteroids, these represent an excellent contrastive example for this topic.)

Additionally, the asteroids’ discovery time period does not reflect distinctiveness, given that they were discovered so soon after Uranus. Even astrologers do not attempt to assign specific events that occurred during this time period because Uranian energy seems to ‘work’ for the latter half of the 18th century and the beginning of the 19th.

And, the problem with the asteroids from a consciousness viewpoint is the frequent overlapping of traits associated with other planets. As an example, any description of Ceres-like qualities in a horoscope delineation (nurturing, care-giving) sounds too much like lunar energy no matter how many minute differences are used to break it down. Pallas sounds a whole lot like Uranus with its focus on intuition, genius, and original thought. Contrast this with Chiron and you have themes that were well laid out relatively early after its discovery and have generally ‘stuck.’ The ‘wounded healer’ notion has been successfully explained and expounded within the usual mythological framework and it has shown to work well in a humanistic practice. And, more importantly, it seems to overlap very little with the domain of the other planets.

At this point it would be prudent to mention the very interesting phenomenon of the naming of new planets, a task generally left to astronomers. The selection of a name for a planet that generally fits the astrological understanding of it down the road is one of those synchronous moments that represents one of the most profound aspects of astrology. But while the naming of a planet can play a key role in the clarity of planetary consciousness, a mythological name alone does not in itself represent the sum total of acceptance. Pluto was called ‘Pluto-Lowell’ (discovered by the Lowell Observatory) initially, but with time it changed to the shorter Pluto as it is known today. The four asteroids have mythological names but, as has been stated earlier, fails the test of well-documented and distinct events which occurred near their discovery times.

The other two notable historical examples in a look at planetary consciousness are Neptune and Pluto. Neptune was discovered in 1846, a time when spiritualism in the broadest sense was envisioned more clearly. The use of anesthetics in medicine began, as did hypnosis. Only 10 years later, Sigmund Freud was born who would one day usher in the new science of psychoanalysis. These themes grew ever stronger after the planet’s discovery half way through the 19th century. Although a difficult planetary energy to work with and reconcile in everyday life, Neptune nonetheless went on to be understood clearly within the collective as the decades passed and astrologers did their observational note keeping. Again, Neptunian energy was assimilated because it resonated easily and distinctively within the collective — like Uranus and like Chiron has already.

Pluto is perhaps the most interesting example, because it was some time before we gave the planet astrological prominence – a slower growth of acceptance than even Chiron, I would postulate, and yet for reasons entirely different than the four major asteroids. Pluto was discovered in 1930 and thus has been around for nearly 70 years. But it is only in the last 15 years that astrologers have written about Pluto with any particular clarity and any true sense of ‘realization.’ No wonder. The great stock market crash happened just 90 days after Pluto was discovered which set off a huge depression around the globe. Criminal mobs began their start-up in the ensuing years and industrial unions formed in violent struggles against large corporations. As the world prepared for a Second World War, nuclear fission was realized for the first time.

As astrology struggled to be a discipline that was more positive and humanistic in this century, one can see why astrologers were reluctant to believe that the observable events during this time period were (or could be) reflective of the planet. It was difficult to believe that what was observed at this time -- events seemingly so destructive and negative in a discipline that argues planetary energy as neutral -- might indeed represent some form of truth.

Later, astrologers would help others to realize that yes, in life individuals and the collective have to face pain, suffering and total loss in order to effect true transformation.

Whether it be the physical loss of a loved one, a complete loss of identity or the prospect of unimaginable pain before any type of metamorphosis, Pluto was different and more extreme compared to the other planets. Where Mars promised violence, Pluto promised death. Where Uranus promised a revolution, Pluto promised regeneration.

Where Neptune promised a glorious illusion, Pluto assured us the kind of inglorious reality that could never, ever be avoided.

So astrologers began understanding the rather difficult Plutonian message eventually as people incorporated the planetary energy within their lives. After this was realized from a consciousness standpoint, Pluto’s path most certainly did not overlap with other planets, not even with Scorpio’s co-ruler, Mars. Again, Pluto was able to carve a true distinctiveness out of its role, like Neptune and Uranus had many years before.

The discovery of an outer planet or asteroid, in itself, can not be the determinant in whether it has an important role to play in astrological thought. Astrologers must observe and record distinct events (where are the four asteroids here?) from all over while ‘taking the pulse’ of nations and their people.

While mythological names play a role, they must never be used as a complete backdrop for any kind of emerging understanding. This would be too easy.

The clarity of planetary consciousness does not demand a specific time frame in which messages should be absorbed (Pluto’s reluctant acceptance, Chiron’s accelerated acceptance), but it does demand an emerging sense of solidarity within the astrological community, backed up by gathered data from individual clients, political and social structures and the apparent direction of various societies around the globe.

Alexander Pope (1688-1744) once asked in An Essay On Man: "Observe how system into system runs, what other planets circle other suns?"

The answer, we now know, is probably very many. As future planets are discovered in orbit -- perhaps still around our own sun -- astrologers must be diligent and honest about their placement within an astrological framework in the forthcoming decades.

It is a balancing act in which we have favoured a Jupiterian eagerness against the wise counsel of Saturnine caution as the 21st century unfolds.