"A Good day for Goddesses!"

I really enjoyed the following thoughts on the significance of Sedna:

Sunday, March 14

SPECULATIONS ON THE SPIRITUAL SIGNIFICANCE OF SEDNA: My first impressions? Well, it's early, but if Sedna eventually becomes recognized as the 10th planet, then I bet this planet will eventually be crowned as a co-ruler of Pisces along with Neptune, the (male) god of the sea. It seems fitting that in this age of resurgent interest in the feminine and especially in the feminine face of the divine that a Female Goddess should finally join Neptune as a ruler of the sign of Divinity!
What's more, I fear that the name of Sedna seems to carry a dire, ominous message. We may indeed be justified in feeling some trepidation and concern, like astrologers in the day of Pluto's discovery.

One of the most striking things about the Sedna myth, it seems to me, is that the goddess is pissed... and by all accounts, she has good reason to be. I take a cue from a portion of Native American tradition that tells us that when shamans enter a trance-like state and they call upon the spirit of the goddess, they are given the gift of being able to breath underwater. The shamans report that in their visions, Sedna keeps a comb and that when they visit her they are expected to comb her hair from algae, for she can not hold the comb herself. This suggests to me the importance of not neglecting the ecological significance of the Sedna myth. Humankind may be awakening to a time where it's crucial that we learn how to care for the sea and honor its spirits, so we may continue to receive and renew the gifts of life. The discovery of Sedna in our age could very well portend the emergence of a growing awareness of the deepening connections between spirituality and ecology.

Traditionally, religions have spun theological justifications for humanity's domination and exploitation of the earth. In this age when traditional religions are aligned politically with the right and opposed to the environmental movement, it is commonplace to observe that there is a huge disconnect between spirituality and environmentalism. The discovery of Sedna may be taken as a dire warning: heed her lessons to respect the oceans, or we may face her formidable wrath. Sedna's an angry goddess who's not afraid to extract violent retribution against those who bear the burden of her wrath. We would do well to pay her our respect.

Now I haven't explored the Sedna mythology in depth yet, so I have to cross my fingers and wonder... could there be an Inuit justification for gay marriage in the picture somewhere in the Sedna backstory? ;-) Ya know, if marriage between a woman and a freaking raven is *&@!$ legal, then why the hell can't I marry a man? Permalink Comment (0)




THIS IS A GOOD DAY FOR GODDESSES: NASA is set to announce tomorrow the discovery of a new celestial body many think could be the 10th planet of the solar system, says a report in The Australian. The object (planet?) is nearly 2,000 kilometers in diameter, making it nearly as large as Pluto (which in the whole scheme of things is still relatively small). Its orbit, about 10 billion kilometers from Earth, makes it by far the most distant orbiting object detected (Pluto is about 7 billion kilometers away). The new discovery is called Sedna.

What's an astrologer's take? Modern astrology understands the discovery of new planets as an indication of an expansion in human consciousness. In other words, as a species, we are collectively becoming aware of new things all the time... and the discovery of a planet marks an expansion of our collective self-awareness. New planets are discovered, the theory goes, at exactly the point in time when humankind is ready to begin to understand the new spiritual lessons they have to teach.

Take a few examples from history. When Uranus--associated with the archetype of the Rebel--was discovered in 1781, there were social upheavals in America and France. When Neptune was discovered in 1846, there was a flourishing of Transcendentalism, spiritualism, and an awakening of interest in the West of Eastern philosophies. Pluto, linked archetypically to the Lord of the Underworld and the Ruler of Hades, was discovered in 1929, casting a shadow over the era of the Great Depression, the rise of fascism and Nazism in Europe, and the World Wars.

Astrologers currently don't name planets, astronomers do. Astronomers choose names out of mythology, and astrologers--trusting that there is a synchronicity between the chosen name and its archetypal or spiritual significance--begin to speculate about the possible astrological meaning.

Sedna is the Goddess of the Sea in the Inuit tradition. My first reaction is that it's fascinating that a name from Native American tradition has been selected for an object that may be a planet! It is remarkable that Native American spirituality has now joined the Babylonian, Greek and Roman cultures as a source for astrological wisdom. If Sedna eventually becomes recognized as a full-fledged planet, then this will certainly be a monumental "first."

According to a telling of the Sedna legend on this website, Sedna was a beautiful Inuit girl who lived with her father. Like Narcissus, she was self-obsessed. Finally her father convinced her to take a husband, and he arranged a marriage to a man who turned out to be a raven in disguise. The raven took her back to his home in colder regions. She was unhappy in the marriage, and she cried out for her father to rescue her. Sedna's father heard her cries on the wind and traversed to the Arctic regions to claim her, but upon their return journey the raven went in search of his missing wife. Here's what happened next, according to this telling:

Finally the raven swooped down near the kayak and flapped his wing upon the ocean. A vicious storm began to brew. The calm arctic ocean soon became a raging torrent tossing the tiny kayak to and fro. Sedna's father became very frightened. He grabbed Sedna and threw her over the side of the kayak into the ocean. "Here, he screamed, here is your precious wife, please do not hurt me, take her."

Sedna screamed and struggled as her body began go numb in the icy arctic waters. She swam to the kayak and reached up, her fingers grasping the side of the boat. Her father, terrified by the raging storm, thought only of himself as he grabbed the paddle and began to pound against Sedna's fingers. Sedna screamed for her father to stop but to no avail. Her frozen fingers cracked and fell into the ocean. Affected by her ghastly husbands powers, Sedna's fingers while sinking to the bottom, turned into seals. Sedna attempted again to swim and cling to her father's kayak. Again he grabbed the paddle and began beating at her hands. Again Sedna's hands, frozen by the arctic sea again cracked off. The stumps began to drift to the bottom of the sea, this time turned into the whales and other large mammals. Sedna could fight no more and began to sink herself.

Sedna, tormented and raging with anger for what had happened to her, did not perish. She became, and still is today, the goddess of the sea. Sedna's companions are the seals, and the whales that sit with her at the bottom on the ocean. Her anger and fury against man is what drums up the violent seas and storms. Hunters have a great respect for her. Legend has it that they must treat her with respect...
Various storytellers put their own spin on the Sedna myth. In this telling of the tale, there's not only a bird husband, but a dog husband as well, with whom Sedna is eventually reunited in a new home beneath the sea.

Welcome to the astrological pantheon, Sedna! Let the spiritual speculations begin. (*taken from the link below*)

Thoughts on Sedna

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