Eris Loves Rivals

Eris,  is someone to take notice of when we are facing a lot of strife in our life, Lady Gaga And Eris The Party Pooper and Eris Playing Out Another Note Of Discord. Eris, of the ‘O.M.G here comes trouble’ fame. More information on her background may help to understand her nature and needs a little more and offer us some more clues as to how best deal with her energies.

Apple of Discord

As a result of a poll in the New Scientist Eris could have been called Xenia, a nickname derived from the Greek word polixeni, meaning very hospitable to strangers, somewhat ironically. She was also nearly going to be called Persephone, a popular choice by all accounts. However, once she was classified as a dwarf-planet this choice clashed with an asteroid already given that name. Even at her inception Eris appears to already be creating some rivalry, disorder and disagreement so in keeping with her final namesake. 

Eris the trickster can play out on the world map

Eris appears to feature quite spectacularly at the moment due to her unremitting need to gate crash any gathering. Add this to this the fact that she is gaining momentum by oddly slowing down and increasing her power as she prepares to go retrograde in July 2012. Anyone with planets at or around 22 degrees of Aries, Libra, Cancer or Capricorn, Eris may be breathing down your neck. She sits in my birth chart in my 10th house, the zone of Profession and Status. Oh....

Should I forget about having any sort of profession or exterior life at all and just stay close to home in order to get away from Eris’s troublemaking and her rivalries? Looking back through the disruptions I have always experienced in the work arena could suggest that the answer is probably ‘yes’ but where will that get me? 

Before I rush back into the shelter of home to avoid Eris and occupy myself with the washing and baking some bread perhaps I should consider another reading of these signs and symbols in my chart. Strife is obviously a part of life, like it or not. We all have Eris positioned somewhere in our charts and also in our psyches. There is no point in consigning our 'unpleasantness' or  ‘nastiness’ to a dark cupboard, tucked away out of reach, banished to the nether regions of Narnia. Closing our eyes tight shut and pretending all is fine won't work either because Eris is a trickster and she will gatecrash the party anyway. In the Eris myth she stole her apple in the first place and changed it from one of the apples of immortality into a sour bitter fruit, the apple of discord. Lady Eris will always chuck in her poisoned apple anyway and with it will be throw in a lot of upset and general mayhem. That’s her offering and that’s what she brings to the party, sometimes for good reason.

Eris Is Your Opposite Number

In researching Eris’s behavior I have noticed that the zone or house opposite to the one Eris occupies in your birth chart is where her troubles can be the most obvious. It is where the apple of discord after being thrown actually lands. This area is often the 'fallout zone'. It is here where you may experience some stiff rivalry, somewhat underhand tactics and sometimes surprise intrusions. This place can also be the dumping ground for all the detritus of battle. Trouble and strife appears here when you ignore your own Eris and when you disown your inner troublemaker or pot-stirrer. If you down play this area of your birth chart, where Eris sits and waits and make out it is not as important as other areas of your life, then Lady Eris will watch as discord runs rife. Be aware not only of the house of Eris but in the exact opposite part of the chart where the apple has landed and where many things may be projected and left.

If you have Eris placed in the 7th house of partnerships and you dismiss or deny that you can at times be a trouble maker within your relationship or in business with partners, then the effects could be experienced in the 1st house of vitality, presentation and self. Lets say you get involved in an unfair partnership, or deny the other persons contributions or always get embroiled in love triangles and yet pretend nothing untoward is happening. It could be possible that your health could suffer due to the stress of keeping it all together or the image that you present to the world could be affected or your sense of independence could take a knock.

Spot the trouble, address the source and you could give yourself a helping hand. For instance,

-        - Trouble and mess at home? Is Eris in your 10th house? Then address and attend to your career, strive harder in this area and admit that you want admission into this sphere of life. Then see if that admission alone alleviates your home disruption.

-        - Trouble and mess with friends? Is Eris in your 5th  house? Then address and attend to your creativity or pleasures, strive harder here and admit that you want admission into a more creative area of life or just have more time for fun and leisure.  Does just being more fun alleviate the disruptions you experienced with friends or even alter your long term goals.

-        - Trouble and mess with your partner? Find out if  Eris in your 1st house? Then address and attend to your independence and personal space. Admit you want this expression of life to be in place and then see if that alleviates the disruptions within your partnerships.

One positive way to deal with Eris issues is to look at her position in your chart as a place where you have to try harder and make quite some effort. Strive to attain something you really want and drive towards that goal. Most importantly admit that you indeed have these very big goals and press on in this area because simple acknowledgement appeases most gods.

It is obviously not aspiration alone without perspiration in the realm of Eris and we will have to focus really hard on achieving positive results. Set our sights on something and try to get there irrespective of what anyone else is doing or has done or even despite the difficult hand we may have been dealt. This will serve to give us momentum to move forward and with this comes a lot more personal power. We can look at this type of challenge as an opportunity to get things right out into the open. Sometimes this can get a wee bit scary. We could be shown intolerance, or suspicion and envy under a variety of guises but if we choose not to react and engage we will probably feel better for it in the end. Because it is better to face it. Try to do what is necessary and you may just notice a gift horse has been staring right back at you. Facing your Eris full on and dealing with her bravely and honestly is exactly what she needs. Ultimately, Eris just wants to be included and attended to and moved out of the shadows. 

Amy Winehouse had Eris in her 11th house. It was therefore, the opposite house, the 5th, where she looked for the damage, the fall-out from the apple of discord was no doubt her romantic and recreational life. This 5th house 'mess we made' obviously fed her creativity but was only one side of the see-saw. By owning her 11th house needs to participate more profoundly and openly in friendships, sharing and caring and realising that she was not so alone in the big wide world, may have provided her with some alternative. While she struggled to be loved by the special 'one' her creativity translated to the whole world where she was loved by many. 

posted by pippa ponton & jphibbs