THE DUALITY IN EVIL… ERIS DISCORDIA

“ You have built for yourselves psychic suits of armor, and clad in them, your vision is restricted, your movements are clumsy and painful, your skin is bruised, and your spirit is broiled in the sun.

I am chaos. I am the substance from which your artists and scientists build rhythms.

I am the spirit with which your children and clowns laugh in happy anarchy.

I am chaos.

I am alive, and I tell you that you are free! “

– Eris Discordia

 

I start my article by quoting a passage from Discordia, the sacred book of groups that (still) worship the goddess Eris today. The goddess Eris in Greek mythology appears as Discordia in Roman mythology. Let’s take a comprehensive look at Eris, a dwarf planet that is not very well known in astrology and this mythological character whose name we are afraid to even mention:

The existence of Eris was officially confirmed by Mike Brown on January 5, 2005, at 11:20 am (1), following the first photographs of it taken on 21.10.2003. The arrival of Eris assertively manifested itself with the Indian Ocean earthquake that took place about 10 days before the day it was found and coincided with the death of more than 230,000 people. Hurricane Katrina, which hit America in the same year, resulted in 1836 deaths and millions of dollars of damage. Following the discovery of this dwarf planet, it was proved that the amount of dark matter in space is 22% (dark matter) and the dark energy is 74%. This has aroused great excitement in the scientific world. Planets quickly put their influence into people’s lives in the years following their finding. For example, following the discovery of the planet Pluto, it was proved that the atomic nucleus was divided and nuclear power was found. After the discovery of the planet Neptune, the discovery of anaesthesia was made.

It is a great example for us to understand the astrological influences of the planet, as Eris immediately de-planetised Pluto and split scientists in two!

 

Examining Eris with numbers and astronomical data:

• Eris was considered a planet when it was first found, and it divided the scientific world into two, causing the dwarf planet Pluto to be removed from planetary status. Afterwards, Eris was left at the rank of dwarf planets such as Pluto, Haumea, Make Make and Ceres.
• Eris’ orbit around the Sun is 559.07 years. This period is about twice the orbital period of Pluto (248 years).
• Having an ecliptic of 44%, it strongly experiences its planetary effects.
• With a radius of 1163 km, it is (slightly) smaller than Pluto and has a rocky surface similar to Pluto’s.
• Eris is located in the Kuiper Belt constellation and its axis has been observed to be more elliptical than other planets.
• Eris has one moon and it is named after Dysnomia, the daughter of the Eris character in mythology. Dysnomia means chaos, lawlessness, disorder, anarchy, corruption.

To understand why Eris is known to be so sinister, we must first understand her mythology.

Eris; the goddess of discord, revenge, fight, greed, division, mischief…

Eris, one of the children of Nyx (night) and Erebus (n: Ourobous – dark) brothers born from chaos, stepped into mythological history as the sister of Ares (Mars). (2)

Nyx’s other children are also the chilling Moros (the god of doom), Kerberos (protector of the underworld of Hades), Thanatos (death), her twin Hypnos (god of sleep), the Moiras (destiny goddesses Klotho, Lakhesis and Airopos); They are the Hesperids (daughters of the West), Nemesis (goddess of vengeance), Geras (god of old age), and Oneiori (god of nightmares).

Eris’ children are also archetypes with striking duties and are listed as follows:

Lethe (remember), Dysnomia (disorder – also a satellite of the dwarf planet Eris), Ponos (fear, painful experience, pathesis, toil), Limos (hunger/famine) (3), Algos (pain, physical pain), Hysmine (quarrel, quarrel), Makhe (war, battle – also the wife of Hector in Troy; defeated and raped in battle), Phonos (murder), Androtaxia (massacre, massacre), Ate (blindness), Horkos (oath)).

“But abhorred Eris (Strife) bare painful Ponos (Toil), and Lethe (Forgetfulness), and Limos (Starvation), and the Algea (Pains), full of weeping, the Hysminai (Hysminae, Fightings) and the Makhai (Machae, Battles), the Phonoi (Murders) and the Androktasiai (Androctasiae, Man-slaughters), the Neikea (Neicea, Quarrels), the Pseudo-Logoi (Lies), the Amphilogiai (Disputes), and Dysnomia (Lawlessness) and Ate (Ruin), who share one another’s natures, and Horkos (Horcus, Oath) who does more damage than any other to earthly men, when anyone, of his knowledge, swears to a false oath.”

Hesiod, Theogony 226 ff (trans. Evelyn-White) (Greek epic C8th or C7th B.C.)

All these archetypes make up Eris. Eris quickly enters through the crack of hesitation, indecision, insecurity that may occur in these titles, impresses the person and enlarges the event to reach larger masses with a wicked tone. And this is the Eris effect.

Unfortunately, Eris’s mythology is mostly limited to the character that caused the Trojan War. Later in the article, we will try to get more information by looking at the natal chart of Eris. Although the Trojan war is historically accepted by some circles as never taking place, it is still accepted by many historians. Even though this topic is very deep and has different narratives according to different sources, we will briefly go over the part about Eris by talking about it and go to Troy by quoting the story from Donna Rosenberg’s World Mythology…

…“Hekabe, the wife of King Priam (Priamos), had a nightmare when she was about to give birth. Instead of babies, snakes give birth to an entwined torch in her dream. When the king tells his dream to the oracles, they say that the baby must be killed, that it will lead to the destruction of Troy. When the baby is born, Hekabe and Priam give the baby they named Paris, to their two faithful servants and order him to be killed. The servants cannot kill Paris, they leave him to die on the mountain, thinking that he will die of hunger or torn into pieces by wild animals, but a shepherd husband and wife find Paris. They raise him as their son. Years later, when this shepherd boy’s bull is chosen by the servants of King Priam to be the prize for the festive competitions held on the anniversary of his death in Paris, the young man participates in the games and wins all the competitions. Cassandra, daughter of Priam, to whom Apollo had given the ability to prophesy, explains that this young man was actually their son, whom they thought was dead. Thus, his parents take Paris back to their home.

While Paris is still a shepherd, the event that will eventually lead to the destruction of Troy takes place. Zeus, the lord of Olympus, holds a wedding to celebrate the marriage of the sea goddess Thetis and the great mortal hero Peleus. He invites all gods and goddesses except Eris, the goddess of war and discord, because the wedding is not a place for discussion. Furious, Eris (secretly) comes to the wedding. When she is not allowed to attend, she throws a golden apple into the hall and says it is a gift for the most beautiful goddess (a.n. she stole the apple from the garden of Creation by deceiving the Hesperites). All the goddesses want to have the golden apple, but in the end, all but Hera, Athena and Aphrodite give up their desire. The three goddesses ask Zeus to decide which is the most beautiful, but Zeus does not want to choose between his wife and other two godesses. Thereupon, he orders his messenger, Hermes, to take the golden apple and the three goddesses to Mount Ida, and make the choice to Paris, who herds his sheep there. All three goddesses think that if they give a special gift to Paris, she will choose him. Hera says, “Paris, if you give me the apple, I will give you extraordinary wealth and make you ruler of all mortals.” Athena says, “If you give me the apple, Paris, I will make you the bravest and wisest of mortals, invincible in battle and skilled in all arts.” And finally, Aphrodite says, “If you give me the apple, Paris, I will give you Helena, the daughter of King Tyndareos, the most beautiful woman in the world.” It doesn’t matter to Aphrodite that Helena is already married to the Spartan king Menelaus, and she doesn’t tell Paris about this. Paris likes Aphrodite’s gift best, gives the apple to her, and from that moment on, Hera and Athena hate all Trojans. Then Paris goes to Sparta, being the guest of Menelaus and Helena for nine days. When Menelaos goes on a journey, Paris persuades Helena to go with him to Troy. Helena leaves her nine-year-old daughter at home, takes all her belongings, and sets sail with Paris that night…”

As most of us know, then the apocalypse breaks out and the Trojan wars, which are emphasized enough to change the direction of the world in all historical sources, begin. In the simplest case, we can connect our subject to astrology by linking the high rate of deaths in the year Eris was found with the mass deaths in the Trojan war.

However, before that, I would like to break the extremely negative point of view about Eris so far, because I believe that Eris has a powerful mythology that can be the source of duality. In this sense, among the few sources, Hesiod’s point of view on Eris has been handled differently from the classical interpretations.

The poet Hesiod describes Eris as follows:

“…

“There isn’t only a single child called Strife, but there are two
on the earth. Whoever recognizes the first, praises her;
But the other is much-to-blame. They have distinct characters.
The first marshals terrible war and conflict, the wicked witch,
No mortal loves her, I think, but forced by the plans of the gods
They honor the burdensome Strife.
Dusky night bore the other one first
And Kronos’ high-throned son who lives on high
Set her in the roots of the earth and made her much better for men.
She readies even those who are lazy to go to work.
For, whenever a man who shirks hard work sees
Another man who is wealthy, he hurries to plow and plant
And order his house well. Neighbour envies his neighbour
As he becomes comfortable. This is the good Strife for men.
Now, a potter strives with a potter and a carpenter with carpenter—
Even a beggar rivals a beggar, and a singer another singer.”

 Works and Days, 11-26

 Eris not only pushes people to work, but also encourages them to compete among themselves, to earn more by envying each other.

According to the Hesiodic narrative, there are two types of Eris. Good Eris and bad Eris.

Evil Eris is described as having a hard heart and dragging humans and gods into conflict. This is the same as the “repulsive, hateful” Eris in Theogony, and the daughter of Nyx, who gave birth to all destructive forces. Both are behaving outside the Olympia rules. However, the existence of the good Eris is also related to the powers of Zeus, because just as Zeus is responsible for balancing between pride and humiliation, fame and disgrace, Eris’ effects must be balanced in this way. Later in the article, we will see that these comments of Hesiod are also supported by the map. Work and labour are read as one of Zeus’ gifts to people and it is believed that those who work to support themselves and their families, will gain importance in the eyes of the gods by being under the influence of good Eris. Just as Zeus is the bridge between success and failure in human beings, both Eris are responsible for completing each other in this sense.

According to some historians, after the Trojan War, the Trojans dispersed all over the world and laid the foundations of today’s world order. Based on all of this, I think it’s unfair to blame Eris so much. Of course, the goddess Eris, who was excluded, unloved, and tasked with keeping feelings such as fight/vileness/jealousy/fear (let’s remember her children) by her very existence, would not be loved. However, I think we should not underestimate the importance of the “Eris effect”, known today as the “butterfly effect”.

Of course, what Eris did in the Trojan story doesn’t sound good. Theft, discord, jealousy, and eventually a great war that will cause thousands of people to die and be displaced from their land! So, can we eat super sweet things or very very painful Mexican pepper all the time? That’s what the Eris effect has to do with it for me. According to the Pythagorean approach, the number of God is Monad, that is, one! Chaos is secrecy, wisdom. Duad is called ignorance because there is a sense of separation. However, ignorance, by its very nature, breeds wisdom, and its counterpart is two. Without the two, the symbolisms of the Triad, such as friendship, compassion, peace, justice, measure, virtue, cannot be reached. Similarly, in the Hermetic teaching of Egypt, the second of the 7 orders of man are “Ankh” and it means life force. That’s exactly why Eris is a psyche that does its job because it creates duality. On the apple she threw, is written “Kallisti”, that is, “To the most beautiful one”. If we consider that apple to be a symbol of the world we live in, aren’t we the ones who want to be the most beautiful?

 

To get to know Eris better, let’s go back to 2005, when it was discovered officially, and examine her map together:

 

When we examine Eris’s natal chart, we encounter a Capricorn character whose Sun is in Vega and conjoined with MC. People with Sun in MC are quite powerful. The fact that this settlement is in the heartless/capitalist Vega and faces Sirius shows that Eris is one of the strongest supporters of the powerful people behind the wars and destructions. 15 Degrees is the “duty” degree. In this sense, we can think that Eris handled her task with a Vega professionalism. In the 12th house, Uranus oscillating between genius and insanity is in conjunction with the Fomalhaut constant and in the forward position that works like a retro. It also shows us that there is an energy which comes to save the world with the spiritual character given by the ascendant in 11 degrees Aries. Uranus in the 12th house has a secret desire to disobey the law or rebel against order. This leads to unexpected changes. Because this appearance makes the inner world chaotic and incomprehensible, the individual may feel her personality split.

 

We see Lilith in conjunction with Saturn in Cancer. She warns us againist a deep sense of brutality and destruction and also has a serious effect on deaths from cancer caused by certain poisons and gases.

 

When we look at the symbolisms, as if Eris, who was born from night and darkness, is getting support from Jupiter in this incarnation! It almost appears before us as the “bad cop” of divine aid. Her Mars stepping towards Antares makes her shout out loud, “I will take your souls until you learn to become one. As a result of each system that works secretly, I will cause mass losses and great suffering,” and forces us towards transparency.

 

The conjunction of the Moon in Acrux with Ceres in Scorpio is an interesting indication. I think this conjunction in the 7th house represents the group that sees Eris as their god today. The worshipers of Eris, united under the name of “Discordianism”, argue in their holy books, somewhat “ironically”, that goodness cannot arise without Chaos. In this combination, Eris is a character who acts as a mother to those who love her but acts under the symbol of Scorpio. If we consider that the Moon shows the past life in the chart, we can see that the character of Eris was a prisoner of feelings of selfishness, jealousy, envy, anger and hatred / revenge in the previous life. In fact, we have a psyche with a great longing to be needed and to have mutual emotional exchange. Neptune square shows us that she has a great disappointment. Who wouldn’t be heartbroken to be excluded?

Symbolically, the feminine principle is directly connected with essence, nature and earth (mother). The English words matter (self) and mother (mother) come from the same etymology and are both related to the word matrix, and matrix means womb. We know that femininity is through feelings and emotions; In this case, in this positioning of the Moon and Ceres, we can interpret Eris as ecological crises, people’s relationship with nature, and individuals’ need for emotional connection in the human psyche. Ignoring them will anger this feminine principle and cause it to react wildly…

“To prepare for the moment of death, one must learn to experience small deaths each day through the process of letting go. Letting go may seem scary at first, but it’s an inevitable part of the life/death/renewal cycle. In this transformative process, nothing new can be born without the old dying.” –  Asteroid Goddesses – Demetra George

The relationship between Jupiter and Venus seems to support Hesiod’s discourses. Fear, cruelty, toil, war, suffering, quarrel, that is, the symbolisms of the children who make up Eris, turn us on the Sagittarius – Libra – Venus – Sagittarius axis. In this sense, today all these emotions are “money” and “material”; We see that it is lived for the reasons of “power” and “wealth”.

Slow-moving planets such as Saturn, Pluto, and Jupiter are in stellium in Capricorn on the current day. Saturn and Pluto conjunct Capricorn every few centuries. This conjunction has brought great transformations to humanity for hundreds of years. However, none of them have ever squared Eris on the map of the moment. Currently, the stellium in Capricorn squares Eris, and in Eris’s chart it is right at the apex of her MC and her Sun. So, the divisive feminine energy is at work! It becomes easier to understand when you look at what we have been through. As the monetary systems collapse, human beings close themselves to their homes and the mother earth takes a deep breath. In the upcoming period, we will see that the wars unfortunately increase and the borders we know are further divided and tiny statelets appear. Perhaps very soon, we will witness a great dilemma between those who accept to use advanced technology and those who do not. Good Eris will do so by using bad Eris while reminding us of the importance of land and work. Jupiter and Pluto are currently in full conjunction with Chiron of Eris. According to the chart of the moment Chiron is in, his zodiac sign is now Scorpio. Pluto will bring healing to Eris’ wounds by causing great destruction and transformation.

Finally, let’s talk about the effects of Eris on natal charts. Eris creates a dilemma about the subject that each planet it joins in the charts is related to. Especially in the house she is in, it will definitely cause a big problem for the person. For example, an Eris in the 5th or 11th house will cause you to have an abortion, while an Eris in the 2nd house will indicate endless problems in money matters. While Eris in conjunction with the moon’s nodes will lead you to endless stalemates in your life, an Eris conjunct with Jupiter will always limit your fertility. Especially the opposites and squares of Eris are very troublesome and should be carefully examined on the map. Sun Eris conjunctions can directly divide the individual’s thoughts into two, so it can be very difficult for the person in his life. Eris rushes to the place she touches on the map. For those who rejoice that their Sun is exalted in Aries, Eris, who has been traveling in Aries since 1930, has other plans…

The only protection that can be developed against some celestial bodies is to have higher awareness. Drawing mantras or spells to karmic sky characters with strong vibrations such as Uranus, Pluto, Neptune or Eris; It’s no use repeating mantras and carrying gems. We can only “try to” eliminate the negative effects of such planets by developing understanding and acting accordingly, according to the issues and positions in our chart. Some planets or celestial bodies require more respect than others, and Eris is one of them.

In summary, Eris is a dark and feminine energy like Lilith in our charts, but if there is darkness, there is light, definitely. Life is a duality and Eris is one of the most important symbolisms of duality.

Laden – 06.04.2020

 

1. Astronomer Mike Brown stated that she noted down Eris’ time in a later interview, specifically because she predicted that astrologers would ask.
2. According to Hesiod, Limos is referred to as Logos/Logoi and is treated as being born from Eris, like lies (Pseudai), and fights (Neikea). Limos also means to suffer.

Work Cited:

Asteroid Goddesses – Demetra George & Douglas Bloch

The Power of Fixed Stars – Joseph E. Rigor 1979

Your Hidden Self – The 12th House of Astrology – Tracy Marks

The Principia Discordia

Donna-Rosenberg-World-Mythology P. 90-91

Sabahattin Eyubolğu & Azra Erhat – Hesiod Works and Resources p. 25-26 Turkish Historical Society Press 1977

Pandora and the Good Eris in Hesiod – Jonathan P. Zarecki

Infinite Kindness Chrion – Love Alis Yıldırım

Discovering Eris-The Symbolism and Significance of a New Planetary Archetype – Keiron Le Grice