Apparently the farther an object is from the Sun, the earlier in our solar system’s formation it came into being. But KBO (Kuiper Belt Object) Chaos isn’t “all the way out there”—and the fact that it isn’t becomes our first hint that KBO Chaos doesn’t represent what we generally think “chaos” is when we use the term in a sentence.
If you hunt around, what you find is that the modern idea of chaos—something totally without order and seemingly disruptive by nature—didn’t arise until Roman times, when writer/philosopher Ovid chose to put his stamp on the whole idea. Before that, the Greek Chaos (or more exactly, Khaos) was less of a “void” or a mess than a gap filled with fertile potential from which everything and anything could come.
Which suggests that the Greek Chaos is rather full of itself—and if you don’t like that joke I won’t make any about the “bad guy” organization in the old Get Smart television series (probably because only half the audience is as old as I am!)
But wherever you go with this, the fact is that while we generally think of ourselves as being repelled by Chaos, the truth is that chaos holds a certain fascination for many (if not most) of us. Within that vast, undefined gap exists every potential which could ever be.
All which comes to be, comes out of Chaos, providing we are willing not to fall into C/chaos (the gap or the state of mind) but draw from C/chaos’ endless, unbounded potential in creating something new, something unknown, something possibly highly useful, delightful, intriguing or otherwise. That you may not be comfortable with doing this, that you may have a tendency to lose yourself in C/chaos—that isn’t about C/chaos itself: potential is neutral. So it must be about you—and thus where (and how) KBO Chaos is positioned in your natal chart and by aspect, sign, house placement and all the rest.
So to see how this works, we look at a few charts where these Chaos play out:
On the extreme negative side we have Jeffrey Dahmer. This is a chart I have profiled elsewhere, with the point here being that Dahmer had a Yod—astrology’s “finger of God” configuration with Chaos involved.
This in itself speaks to his conviction that he was “driven” to do things even though he knew they were wrong—the very human definition of evil. Moreover, with the “solution” to this very strange Yod which has sexual fantasy (a 1st house Neptune in Scorpio) in a stressful inconjunct with Mercury conjunct a disruptive Maser/Black Hole in the sexual 8th, and a second stressing conjunct to Mars (assertive action) conjunct Eris/Eros (discordant love) conjunct Chaos all in a “physicality-colored” 6th house of requirement… we see Dahmer’s need, and his ability to put his needs ahead of those of others. Neptune/Mercury contacts being a classic astrological signal of “the lie,” especially with the stress of the inconjunct and the Maser/Black Hole, we have a metaphysical black-and-white picture of the lies Dahmer told others and the things in his head he couldn’t escape, deny or avoid.
And with the “solution point” of the Yod being two black holes (the “alternative reality”) conjunct the blinding brilliance of a Quasar and the disruptive quality of a Maser all in early (physical) degrees of Libra? Libra being the sign of how others see us (and thus ultimately, our legacy), we see Dahmer’s bizarre “solution” to his personal/mental (6th house discordant) crisis: the literal drilling of holes into the heads of his victims in the deluded hope of creating someone who would be his and never leave him, serving Dahmer’s desperate need to salve an obvious agony we would associate with his Mars-Chaos-Eris/Eros.
With Mars in exact opposition to 8 Libra (the so-called “widow’s degree”) and Chaos right there, Dahmer was not himself the “widow(er).” Instead he created a never-ending grief not merely for the relatives of his victims, but for a society which would never again think such a thing could “never happen.” It did and it does and it will yet again.
A Chaos of a very different kind is pictured in John Lennon’s chart. Here we have Chaos in an emotional degree of Pisces, telling us that Lennon was not merely a man who wrestled with feeling his own feelings, but with the fact that the enormity of that experience—given what is again a Yod with the Sun at 16 Libra and Juno at 16 Leo—was something he would never fully express.
Conjunct Lachesis, symbol of having a limited period of time, Lennon like as not always felt his life as a limited span of opportunity though he probably never recognized just how limited it would be. With the twin signatures of conflicted inconjuncts to his Libra Sun and Leo Juno, we have a superb picture of Lennon’s ability to turn his internal insights and yearnings into something others would respond to. Juno often being a sign of leadership, he led us to our inner child—and beyond.
Maybe the most touching quality about Lennon’s chart (and the validation of his having attempted to do the metaphysical “right thing” with his life) is how Chaos/Lachesis faces the “solution” to the Yod: Chaldea (the old truth)/Panacea (peace) expressed with Virgo necessity. Give peace a chance, he told us. Had he been Jewish, he might have followed that with “you’ll see—it’ll be good for you!”
We heard it—and knew it—anyway. We just don’t live in a very Virgoan age.
The last chart I will offer (thought there are tons and tons more) is that of Lincoln. What we see in Abraham Lincoln’s chart is the challenge of a t-square which starts with the South Node (the easy thing) conjunct Achilles (strength) exactly conjunct Charybdis (the need to keep trying and trying) conjunct Sphinx—the dispassionate willingness to wait out whatever comes.
With the challenge of Lincoln’s t-square presented as his societal Aquarian Moon, Kalypso (love as a gift to others) and Eris (discord), this is the amalgamation which led him to say “yes, we will prosecute this Civil War.” The elitist part of this Aquarian complex is well expressed in Lincoln’s well documented, rather egotistical assertion that if the unity of his country was going to fail, it sure wasn’t going to do it on his watch! On the other side—the less personal side (like all 4th quadrant signs, Aquarius functions best in non-personal terms)….on that side this is also Lincoln’s willingness to see the wisdom in signing the Emancipation Proclamation, that document he has become best known for.
Which is not to say he went into the Civil War with freeing slaves as his aim. He didn’t. Lincoln was a great man but not a saintly man—what he did, he did because he felt it would work best for the nation, and if that meant freeing the slaves, by gum he’d do that too.
The Chaos part of Lincoln’s chart comes as the “result of meeting the challenge” posed in this t-square. Pictured as Bali/Chaos in Scorpio conjunct the North Node and Uranus, it was Lincoln’s fate to usher in an extraordinary time of national struggle. It is also his fate to forever represent a man willing to see the status quo and face the horrible cost which sometimes goes along with changing it.
Chaos/Bali here is “there must be a way to create an interactive and economically productive peace which not only works for everybody, but is participated in by everybody.” And thus it is really in Bali/Chaos and its accompanying Uranus (change) and North Node (the challenging necessity) which in being placed in Scorpio—a sign of everyone getting what they need as a person, with nobody getting to decide for anybody else—that’s where we see why Lincoln signing the Emancipation Proclamation was the karmic stroke of the cosmic pen. From that point on, slowly the Union began to gain ground and in time, win what is still one of the most bloody and costly wars of all time.
And one which in a sense, continues to be fought in the United States—and around the world.
With an orbital period of 309.1 years, Chaos theoretically would spend around 25 years in any given sign. Yet it’s highly elliptical orbit has it speeding through some signs and lingering in others. Currently in the early 2nd decanate of Gemini, Chaos is prompting us to see what we can learn—to recognize that there is a lot to learn. And in response to that, a lot of people are repelled—they’re scared of learning differently. Or better. With Ixion currently in opposition from Sagittarius, there is ingratitude on the part of those who would like to control the discussion and a lot of “I don’t care what anyone says—I’m going to do it as I’ve learned to do it and don’t even try to tell me that isn’t right or doesn’t work.”
(You may want to check out my article on Ixion…it’ll give you the grizzly details on how badly we humans tend to behave when Ixion is around. And don’t just think this is about “the other guy” either! We are all dealing with this and we are all struggling with feelings of entitlement at one level or another, depending on our natal Ixion placements.)
Chaos entered Gemini back in May 2001, which would have been when a lot of market forces began shifting, in time leading us to the economic collapse of 2008. And is it any coincidence that May 2001 is also the month that Ixion was discovered?
Someone near and dear to this astrologer’s heart once told me that “coincidence is God’s way of remaining anonymous.” And whether you believe in God outright or just the unfolding and unfurling of time space as Existence, “What Is” evidently is meant to be when it Is… or it wouldn’t be or become. That’s a basic tenet of metaphysics and why we say all things happen for a reason.
It may not be a good reason—Ixion is not the most pleasant of stories, or attributes. But the more we know and the more we are willing to know, the better off we are. At this moment in time Chaos stands between two lustrous fixed stars: Aldebaran (integrity versus the temptation to compromise) and Rigel, the “being under the foot of the educator” which promises great illumination if we will submit to being taught.
Will we as a people, as a race, as individuals put aside our Ixion tendencies to go for what feels good and works for us regardless of inevitable and incredibly painful consequences? Chaos/chaos doesn’t go away just because you ignore it; doing so is often exactly what makes things so terribly worse.
So will we confront our Ixion/Chaos issues/tendencies and in understanding and grappling with them learn more about ourselves? Will we ever reject our own desire to live for the moment and risk damaging not just our personal tomorrows, but the tomorrows of everybody else in a bet we (like Ixion) are eternally doomed to lose?
Life sure is never easy. But what’s our choice?
Boots Hart is an ISAR-certified astrologer of 30 years’ experience, with some 20 years as a magazine and online columnist.
Writer by habit and philosopher by bent (some say very bent…), Boots is a metaphysical science geek spiritualist—a person as inspired by the workings of time/space as touched by the often painful adventures of mankind. Through writings public and private, her aim is to use astrology as cipher, helping us understand. Can we learn how to live a happier life? What does that take? Why are the times as they are? These are the questions. And that answers can be gleaned from cosmic cycles and the reflections of those in our lives? That would seem to be part of our journey—the one path we all take and walk together.
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