iVillage

What is presented here is most appropriately part of what we could call Shamanic Astrology: initiation and tales of the soul’s journey through time. My approach is not meant to be dogmatic, but like all astrological techniques, this is but one of many to better understand our life and life’s journey. Please accept it in that tone.

We will now look briefly at the planets that exist beyond the realm of Saturn or time. These external planets are beyond the physical or material (on outer or the far side), just as the inner planets are beyond the physical on the inside or within Saturn’s orbit.

These outer planets are Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto, and the three together have been called the following: Out-of Body Planets, Transcendental Planets, Metaphysical Planets, After-Death Planets, Planets of the Unconscious, Spiritual Planets, Impersonal Planets, Psychic Planets, and other names. Why these names? What are these outer planets all about?

We could push the limits of language and say that the outer planets are not about anything, not about any “thing,” for they are by definition beyond the physical. Yet they have a very important message for us and, although this book is primarily about the traditional planets, I will briefly try to present here an overview of the outer planets and how they might be used in counseling.

One reason to include them here is that these outer planets represent in yet another way the same life initiations or rites of passage that we have looked at elsewhere in this book, initiations as seen in the planets or chakras within the sphere of Saturn. These outer planets are the eternal witness and awareness of all that is – the revelation. In other words, these trans-Saturnian planets serve to reveal and emphasize the nature of the inner planets. This will require some explanation.