No more Pluto: Scorpions beware!

So Pluto has been striped off its planet status. In the western astrology Pluto is the ruling planet of the zodiac sign Scorpio. So, scorpions beware! You have lost your ruling planet.

However, this downgrading has not changed much for followers of Indian Astrology. As per the Indian astrology, Pluto has been never been a planet. Even though the ancient Indian Vedic astrology has propounded the theme of Nava-graha, nava meaning nine and graha meaning planet, it has its own set of planets which is different from the solar system. The Indian astrology is Geocentric, not Heliocentric, i.e., Earth is at the centre of the system and everything moves around earth, not the sun. This means that even the Sun and Moon are part of the Nava Graha. The nine planets as per Vedic Astrology are the Sun, Moon, Mars, Mercury, Jupiter, Venus, Saturn, Rahu and Ketu. The first seven are celestial bodies and the last two are mathematical points on the zodiac. Besides these nine planets, Indian Astrology also has a defined set of 27 Nakshatras, i.e., stars.

Astrology is different from Astronomy. It is argued that astrology picks up where astronomy ends. Whether astrology is a science or superstition is still a matter of debate. But sometimes astrology helps. I have experienced it. I am not of the type who would blindly believe in everything or run to gurus, etc. But I had to accept some of the reasoning provided in my astrological analysis. It may be coincidence, but some advices had changed my life.

Before ending, have a looked at this picture I had picked up somewhere. It will make you feel dwarfed.

Follow up (Dtd 6th Nov, 2007)

Pluto is now just a number. This Dwarf Planet has been assigned the asteroid no. 134340 by the Minor Planet Center (MPC) on 7th Nov, 2006. This is a result of the International Astronomical Union's (IAU) decision to strip Pluto of its planet status.