The Twilight of Pluto is the title of the latest book by occult author John Michael Greer. Astrology and the Rise and Fall of Planetary Influences is the subtitle. I bought it recently and just read it.

Greer has written a number of books, three of which I own. The other two are The Picatrix, which he co-authored, and a book on the chronological history of Western occultism.

I’ll start off by saying I’ve always admired him as a writer. His knowledge of occult traditions is extensive and he’s very articulate. However, I was dubious about this book because, to my knowledge, he is not an astrologer.

That being said, he makes some interesting points throughout. While not the first to explain the cultural relevance of modern planetary discoveries and changes in the human psyche, he illuminates how each discovery was preceded by a roughly 30 year period that would introduce important planetary themes.

Pluto was discovered in 1930. Sigmund Freud pioneered a form of research known as psychotherapy in 1900, which is deeply Plutonic. Albert Einstein published his first scientific paper in 1901 and would later develop atomic theory, which Greer suggests was also very Plutonic.

He makes similar assertions about the discoveries of Uranus and Neptune, as well as asteroids like Ceres. Again, this is not new research, but Greer’s unique point is that Pluto’s rise and fall in prominence has everything to do with its demotion as planet to a dwarf planet.

Some of Greer’s theories have merit, but some clearly do not and are based entirely on personal opinion. Specifically, his analysis of modern art as “ugly” and the result of a “Plutonic” rejection of fine art. Coming from a worldview where order and symmetry are your lifeblood, I can understand how abstract painting might send you into a tailspin; however, I am not going to pin this on Pluto.

Greer also claims that the space programs of first world countries are on the decline, which isn’t exactly true. Maybe he meant government-funded programs, but independent billionaires haven’t lost their financial will to explore. SpaceX and the plans to colonize Mars may be on the back burner for the time being, but hardly a sign that space travel is on the decline. He does say that Pluto’s peak ends in 2036, so perhaps by then this will be true.

Greer is very into The Tree of Life hermetic diagram of the planets, which was appropriated from Kabbalah and various other traditions. The obsession with the order of planets in rank and significance is extremely important to Western occultism, but also in traditional astrology. Hellenistic Astrology, beginning around 300 BCE, was further developed by the Greek philosophy of Stoicism. Stoicism later influenced Christianity. Both play significant roles in western occultism.

While Hellenistic Astrology would not have developed into a rigorous discipline without the ancient knowledge from Egypt and Babylon, the appropriation of this knowledge sought a kind of detachment; a strong delineation between feelings and fate. Stoicism decreed that pleasure or pain has no merit in human consciousness because the cosmos feels nothing.

Greer critiques psychological astrology as a side-effect of the Plutonic era.  He thinks that mundane astrology has been suffering as a result of too much emphasis on people trying to understand themselves on a personal level. Again, this is Stoicism taking a front seat. There are traditional Hellenistic techniques I find extremely useful, but when it comes to interpreting the natal chart in any meaningful way, I find it too superficial.

To deny feelings as valuable, or to consider our struggles as humans as rooted only in our physical bodies is to deny the Cosmos of its own consciousness. To feel is not only a human capability. There is nothing to “rise above” as is often suggested to those who are suffering. As Above, So Below implies that there is no heaven; no underworld. Only energy.

The concept of Ascension is something I want to explore. In his final chapter, “The Cosmos Reborn”, Greer writes:

 From ancient times the path of human existence has been understood by mystics and mages as a descent into matter, followed by an ascent back into spirit. Individual souls, those collective souls we call cultures, and that great oversoul that is humanity as a whole, descend into material embodiment to learn the lessons that only the world of matter can teach, and having mastered those lessons, reascend to their original home, transformed and empowered by the experiences they have encountered on their journey. That narrative of human origin and destiny can be found explicitly in the Corpus Hermeticum, the collection of Greek mystical writings from Egypt that has been central to the West occult tradition for many centuries. It can be found in countless other texts, ancient as well as modern, and it is also expressed in symbolic form in all those myths in which a divine or human protagonist descends in to the underworld to accomplish some task and then ascends once more into the light of day.

First off: the idea of “ascension” attaches a kind of righteous morality; as if our time here on Earth is to seek perfection, despite our slovenly lessons. Then, as spiritual beings, we return to Source to become light. To Fall and to Rise is essentially a patriarchal concept, also known as Death and Rebirth. This is what we know in the West as Christian ideology, but it has been a common theme in many religious texts.

This belief in a “descent” into matter perpetuates the conceit that an ideal order exists in the Cosmos and that earthly existence is merely trial. This kind of moral rigidity is how western materialism became so obsessed with the world of matter that it ceased to understand what mysticism actually means.

Arguably, this ideology is simply a bi-product of imperialism. Imperialism informed Christianity, one could argue, rather than the other way around. Even ancient Egyptian mysticism was corrupted by hegemony and the dictates of Kings.

Certainly occultists have an understanding of magic, but magic and mysticism aren’t the same thing. Maybe I should clarify and write Magick. There are real connections to be made between humans and the spirit world, but occultists believe this requires secret access. Mysticism is something else. Mysticism acknowledges the illusion of separation. There is nothing to gain in the material world because matter and spirit are one and the same.

Astrology also became a discipline because of imperialism. For what purpose would you need to know when you might get married, get a promotion or come into a family inheritance if you were not living in an imperialist state?

The Plutonic era that began in 1900 and is currently in it’s twilight, as Greer suggests, was not the only period in history where humans were divided and at war. Even if the Plutonic era did invent nuclear warfare, humans weren’t exactly peaceful before 1900.

Greer makes no mention of how planets like Uranus, Neptune and Pluto differ greatly through their transits through the zodiac. While the zodiac is only the flourishing touch on the study of astrology, the transits themselves are hugely significant.

He also mentions the discovery of Eris in 2005, another dwarf planet in the Kuiper Belt about the size of Pluto, but does not elaborate on its significance in the Western psyche, or even what the name suggests. Many astrologers have explored Eris. It’s long current transit through Aries, which began long before it was discovered, has had a major impact on the Western imagination.

The book is still a worthwhile read and in many ways helpful in critiquing modern cultural history in America and Europe. I just think the viewpoint is very limiting and patriarchal, which has been my longstanding gripe about Western occultism.