A Follow Up Study of

Dwarf Planet Makemake

2022

 

 

 

Alison Chester-Lambert M.A.

 

 

 

 

 

In 2008 I set about writing a series of articles which turned into a book called `Starry Messengers` or `The Future in the Stars`, depending which publication you buy. I was motivated by the indifference of the British astrological community for what I considered were epoch-changing planetary discoveries around the outskirts of the Solar System.

 

My fascination was not dimmed when they were called dwarf planets and given strange names, nor when a famous astrologer declared them to be of `little value to modern astrology`. So I shouldn't have been surprised when I saw the amazing prominence of them in my birth chart. But I was.

 

Almost as soon as the ink dried on the manuscript, these new energies revealed themselves with transpersonal events that sometimes defied belief. And so I kept a journal from 2009 as the five opposition hits of Uranus to Makemake (pronounced meke-meke) played out. After all, Pluto was discovered just as Uranus was lining up for the opening square between them in the early 1930's, so maybe The Awakener would do its' stuff again and provide some clues as to the meaning of this dwarf planet.

 

 

Background on Makemake

 

This planet was discovered on Easter Sunday, as was the south east Pacific island called Easter Island (other names Rapa Nui and Isla de Pascua). The discovering astronomer, Mike Brown, wanted to change the tradition of always naming planets after Greek or Roman deities. So Mike searched on-line for a suitable indigenous deity from that part of the world. His wife was pregnant at the time and he was filled with awareness of human procreation, so he wanted a fecund, procreative force. What he read of Makemake made him certain he had the right name.

 

The I.A.U. even agreed to Mike's request that Makemake, Haumea and all other objects in that area of the Kuiper Belt be given mythological names associated with Creation, thus giving astrologers a kick start in understanding the ground-breaking Dwarf Planets.

 

Easter Island became known for discredited theories that the Islanders caused their own demise by destroying all resources on their small island and chopping down the last tree. It is true that population numbers rose and fell repeatedly, but there were good reasons including the Little Ice Age of the late 15th century, enormous earthquakes/tsunamis and the European-led holocaust between 1862 and 1886.

 

 

Dates of the Uranus MakeMake Opposition Hits

 

11th April 2009 at 24 degrees of Pisces/Virgo

7th September 2009

6th March 2010

29th October 2010

24th January 2011 at 28 degrees of Pisces/Virgo.

 

And what did those years tell me? A few things were interesting. Let's lay the main observations out as bullet points, and then go into the detail.

 

The Year 2009

The first flu pandemic for 41 years broke out in Mexico and pigs were blamed.

 

The Year of 2010

In May the European Jet Stream stationed in a highly unusual position, forcing an ash cloud from an Icelandic volcano to cover Europe and ground all aircraft. From the Earth's point of view, this is of course, protective. This and other wild global weather was blamed on the La Niña ocean atmosphere phenomenon which involves a change of the sea temperature in the South East Pacific. The 2010 event was the strongest ever recorded. The Pope visited the UK and apologised for the sexual abuse of children in the Catholic Churches care. We get the following quotes from the Pope - "Deep sorrow and shame" "Shame and humiliation" "Innocent victims of unspeakable crime" "Sex abuse scandal has seriously undermined the moral credibility of the church" (This was with the Sun conjunct Makemake at 26 degrees of Virgo, opposite a Jupiter Uranus conjunction at 28 degrees Pisces. Ha ha!)

 

The Year of 2011

Extreme worldwide weather continues, courtesy of the La Niña effect from the South East Pacific ocean. Somali piracy was at its height with 237 incidents costing 8 billion dollars in insurance payouts. 

 

 

We can now examine these topics in further depth. Note that these are updates to my previous work which can be freely accessed on this website.

 

 

Somali Piracy

 

The origins of this lie in illegal foreign fishing and waste dumping in the waters off Somalia, which left local fishermen without fish stocks and foul beaches. They banded together to reclaim their coast and found that piracy with an eye to ransoms paid off. They would take the crew hostage and negotiate with Lebanese brokers for the return of the crew, cargo and ship.

 

The Somalis were skilled mariners and difficult to evade. This gung-ho, daring, seafaring spirit was evident in the remaining evidence of Makemake and the history of the Islanders. Briefly, I believe this spirit pushes us to explore beyond our Solar System in the future - our population will spill over into Space sci-fi style.

 

 

El Niño and La Niña

 

And now to the phenomenon of the El Niño (warming) and La Niña (cooling) phases of the Pacific climate pattern. (Posh name - the El Niño Southern Oscillation, or “ENSO” for short.) A recent research article reports that Rapa Nui or Easter Island was most sensitive to the La Niña which caused drought on the island, reducing food production. However, at the same time the cool waters from the oceans depths brought up rich nutrients and improved the supply of fish stocks.

 

`La Niña usually has a positive impact on the fishing industry of western South America. Upwelling brings cold, nutrient-rich waters to the surface. Nutrients include plankton eaten by fish and crustaceans. Higher-level predators, including high-value fish species such as sea bass, prey on the crustaceans`.

 

The shifting climate and changing food sources from land to sea and back again, meant that the islanders had to keep on their toes. No point in planting sweet potatoes when you were only going to eat tuna all year. So perhaps this is where Makemake stepped in. Was the `Great Spirit of the Sea` the perceived deity behind the La Niña sea changes which brought the abundant fish stocks? Almost certainly.

 

 

In 2016 I spent 10 days touring the whole island. All the images of Makemake were carved right next to the sea on high cliffs. It appeared that an abundant ocean and Makemake were related. But the god could also bring an abundance of sea birds the following year (courtesy of more fish for them to eat) and more rainfall to grow crops when the ocean warmed again.

 

The Islanders' consumption was guided by the system of mana and taboo which the `priests` of Makemake orchestrated. Mana was a gift or abundance to be enjoyed, taboo meant it was off-limits and not to be touched. Makemake decided when they could eat turtle eggs and when they could not.

 

 

Over Population and De-population

 

"All our environmental problems become easier to solve with fewer people, and harder - and ultimately impossible - to solve with ever more people." – Sir David Attenborough.

 

Ecology and evolution scientists Prof. Stenseth and M. Lima studied the growth and decline of the Islanders and reported that `the people on Rapa Nui were well aware of their ongoing changes in climate and ecology and the need to adapt.`

 

"My view is that the islanders were not only aware of the changes, but they were also able to change the way they lived on the island." says Lima. L

ima and Stenseth are keen to emphasise the global importance of their recent research. "The population on Rapa Nui lived on a small and remote island with limited resources, and we ourselves are living on a small and remote planet with limited resources. One of the lessons from this study is the importance of interactions between climate change, human population size and changes in the ecosystem. These three factors affected the population on Rapa Nui, and they are also important on a global scale… Everybody talks about climate change and the resulting problems, but very few people are talking about the rising global population and the problems it causes."

 

An incredibly important statement and actually, in astrology, Makemake does represent the issue of `population`; it is a key word for the Dwarf planet. So population increases, population decreases and population migration all come under its patronage. I suspect there are many who think the Earth is over populated and perhaps the family planning advice of the monotheistic religions has been instrumental in this crisis. I don't believe any woman would plan to have a third child through unprotected sex when her first two were starving.

 

 

Re-Population Requires Sexual Activity

 

The Islanders loved a phallus. It is evident from museums around the world that the Polynesians in general would enjoy carving a human figure with a phallus as big as his torso. But on Easter Island they took that to heart. As time passed, the original image of Makemake became a mask with upside down male genitals for eyes and a nose. Even the Mo'ai stone statues themselves were modelled on the male phallus. The early Islanders interpreted Makemake as a sexually bawdy and lascivious deity, whose sexual innuendo provided amusement. Maybe this serves as a distraction when your population has all but been wiped out of existence, but it might also be a useful reminder to procreate and replace the lost population.

 

However, it was Makemake's fertility and fecundity which mattered most. As a creative force responsible for food production, Makemake could be compared to the phallus because it also generates and creates new life. The following was written by a scholar in an article on Island carved wooden tablets, printed in the Journal of the Polynesian Society in 1939. He says: “It was perhaps the emphasis on sexuality in these tablets that made the basis of the Easter Island belief in t

heir virtue as aids to conception.

 

There are other religious clues in the heiroglyph characters carved on the wooden tablets. The image of the great god Makemake is very often repeated; it can be a bird, mammal, fish or sometimes human. Makemake takes varieties of forms. He is the representative of power; he is seated on his throne, with symbols of royal authority in his hands; his head touches the heavens and he wields the lightning and thunder …. Makemake’s energy supported numerous different forms of emotions connected with procreation and fecundity. He was a stimulation to fertility, impregnated with the passion of procreation and the idea of reproduction, which was never out of the minds of the people.”

A more recent theory suggests that in old Rapanui language Makemake means “tumescent or swelling (of the phallus)”. To further understand the prowess and abundance that Makemake can endow, we need to take into account the easily expressed feelings of Mike Brown, the planet’s discoverer. His wife was pregnant at the time and his male pride in his fertility was apparent for all to see - he talked of his wife’s pregnancy frequently.

 

Whilst on this subject, the Royal College of Midwives, told Sky News that they had expected a baby boom nine months after the first national virus lock down in March 2020. "We know in maternity services, big events do seem to give a swing in birth numbers upwards. For example, when Princess Diana died we saw a rise in births nine months later. When we had the tsunami in Thailand (in December 2004), nine months later we saw a big rise. When there are big disasters, it does seem people take comfort in each other and we generally see a bit of a baby boom."

 

The phenomenon of fertile couples `taking comfort in each other` and procreating in a crisis is probably a Makemake issue. However, in 2020, with a world-wide virus emergency in full swing, the baby-in-making numbers defied this and were apparently well down on previous years. This could be the influence of Chiron, which, as we shall see later, opposed Makemake from 2019 to 2022.

 

 

Catholic Church Admits Sexual Abuse of Children.

 

If Makemake is a symbol of sexual appreciation, then it is also a symbol of the repression of sex. What a god gives, it can also take away. Two sides of the same coin. Briefly, the Catholic missionaries that arrived on Easter Island around 1866 repressed and forbade all sexual practices and celebration. The word for penis was replaced with the word for wickedness. They ordered the burning of all the carved wooden `rongorongo` tablets as evil sexual imagery, along with all the pagan idols. Sadly, belief in Makemake died alongside this atrocity.

 

Moving forward… Perhaps the suppression of sexual activity within the priesthood of the Catholic church led to the sexual abuse of children in their care. The normal sexual urge of a man became a very dark and evil shadow. What I cannot ignore is the coincidence of a Uranus opposition to Makemake and the Pope's public statements about the sexual abuse that was refuted for years. Especially when we consider Makemake's phallic imagery. So Makemake the dwarf planet may represent unabashed sexual freedom, (or its flip side, repressed sexual freedom).

 

This is in line with the procreative/creation theme, but there may be something else in play here… balance. Makemake could act as a force for controlling population numbers so there is neither too few nor too many.

 

 

Today's Makemake Energy and Gender/Sexuality Choices

 

Makemake was not particularly comfortable in Virgo because that Sign muted its blatant and bawdy sexual nature. After dithering a few degrees either side of the cusp of Libra from the 20th October 2013, it finally moved in fully on 15th July 2015. Libra's Cardinal and Masculine influence has loosened up Makemake's more overt sexuality and this has been most obvious with the Pluto in Scorpio generation who now feel free to trash the previously rigid boundaries of sex and sexual orientations.

 

Non-conforming gender and sexual identities have proliferated under the umbrella term of LGBT+ with a list that includes many spectrums, including androgyny. A far cry from legislation in the UK in 1988 which banned the ‘promoting of homosexuality’ or ‘pretended family relationships’. Thankfully this act was repealed in 2003, and the UK's Prime Minister apologised for the legislation in 2009 as Uranus opposed Makemake. The Gender Recognition Act 2004, which came into effect as Makemake was discovered in 2005, gave trans people full legal recognition of their gender, allowing them to acquire a new birth certificate. Then came the Equality Act 2010 which `gave LGBT employees protections from discrimination, harassment and victimisation at work.` All this needs to be considered under the Makemake key words `sexual` and `freedom`.

 

Its final move into Libra in 2015 gave the Pluto in Scorpio generation a more sexually free environment which has burned all the boundaries of monotheistic, bi-polar sexuality. Some of it may not produce babies, but then maybe we have had too many babies. The so-called `Indigo Children` of the Pluto in Scorpio and Uranus Neptune conjunction had Makemake trine that conjunction from 1988 to the end of 1992. One of the features of the Indigoes is a self-sufficient, dismissive expression of freedom which is typically Makemake.

 

 

Pandemics, Virus and Rapamycin

 

The Covid 19 pandemic of 2020 has been accompanied so far by the Makemake/Chiron opposition in early Aries and Libra.

 

Chiron Makemake Opposition Hits

 

May 2019 at 04.12 degrees of Aries and Libra

September 2019 April 2020

October 2020 March 2021

December 2021 January 2022 at 08.48 degrees of Aries and Libra

 

This virus has caused resentment, anguish, bitterness and cries of unfairness. All standard Chiron stuff really. So putting that to one side, what does Makemake bring to the table? In 2009 I wrote that Makemake is closely linked to a de-population phase of Easter Island by the spread of infectious diseases that were brought to the Island by the Europeans. Even in Thor Heyerdahl’s visit in the 1950’s, the arrival of the yearly navy ship from Chile would initiate a round of influenza, normally resulting in some fatalities. And as mentioned earlier, in 2009 it was apparent once more that Makemake is resonant with the issue of pandemics.

 

Uranus opposed Makemake as swine flu broke out in Mexico and quickly caused a health crisis around the world which was declared to be

 a pandemic by the W.H.O.

 

Now here is the tricky bit. I noted in my original work that the Islanders seemed to live a very long time and had unusually robust health apart from the viruses they contracted from other parts of the world. This remarkable wellbeing attracted the attention of a team of scientists who conducted research and took samples from the island in 1964.

 

One scientist in particular wanted to know why the Islanders didn't get tetanus from walking around a horse strewn island in bare feet. (Really?) They discovered a compound in the soil which they named Rapamycin after the Rapa Nui. This compound has since been synthesised in laboratories and has been found to extend life in several species. It is an `elixir for life`. Amazing.

 

But Rapamycin is confusing. It appears that it depends on the dose as to whether it suppresses the immune system allowing viruses to flourish or, as can be seen in this research… `Rapamycin …protects aged mice against pneumonia. Rapamycin also inhibits viral replication. As a noteworthy example, rapamycin inhibits replication of the 1918 flu virus (the deadliest flu virus in history) by 100-fold, and also protects against lethal infection with influenza virus when administered during vaccination.` However, other researchers found negative effects when it was tested in one particular circumstance and mixed results in another.

 

So where does that leave us with the astrology?

 

Makemake may be a force for controlling population numbers so there is neither too few, nor too many. Thus the planet appears to have a `balancing` or mediating role in the field of de-population through viruses and then repopulation through sexual activity. But as usual, the gods can give or take away within their dominions. So, if Makemake can coincide with de-population through the spread of viruses, might the antidote to those viruses also resonate with Makemake? Stampede for Rapamycin….

 

 

 

Alison has a Master's Degree in cultural astrology and astronomy. BBC & Sky TV consider her an in-house astrologer. She has published several times including the Astrology Reading Cards which have sold over 20,000 copies worldwide. Now, one of the most consulted astrologers world-wide, with a client list of thousands, Alison is best known for her ability to translate astrology into simple terms, so it can be understood without jargon. www.midlandsschoolof astrology.co.uk (dwarf planet research) www.alisonchesterlambert.com (for contacts)

 

 

References:

 

1)  Zepeda-Lopez, H.M. et al. "Inside the Outbreak of the 2009 Influenza A (H1N1)v Virus in Mexico." PLoS ONE 5(10): e13256. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0013256 https://journals. (2010) Accessed 20/1/2021

2) Australian Bureau of Meteorology, http://www.bom.gov.au/climate/enso/feature/ENSO-feature.shtml Accessed 18/1/2021

3) Lima, M, et al. "Ecology of the collapse of Rapa Nui Society" Proc. R. Soc., The Royal Society Publishing Organisation, (24/6/2020) B.28720200662 http://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2020.0662. Accessed 18/1/2021

4) Caryl-Sue, "La Niña", National Geographic Resource Library, National Geographic Org. https://www.nationalgeographic.org/encyclopedia/la-nina/ Accessed 18/1/2021

5) Waters, Conny. "Rapa Nui’s Population: Growth And Decline – Lesson For Our Future?", 4/9/2020 https://www.ancientpages.com/2020/09/04/rapa-nuis-population-growth-and-decline-lesson-for-our-future/ Accessed 19/1/2021

6) Waters, Conny. Rapa Nui’s Population: Growth And Decline – Lesson For Our Future? (4/9/2020) https://www.ancientpages.com/2020/09/04/rapa-nuis-population-growth-and-decline-lesson-for-our-future/ Accessed 19/1/2021

7) Billimoria, N. "The Panis of the Rig Veda and Script of the Mohenjo Daro and Easter Island." Journal of the Polynesian Society. vol. 48, no. 2(190), 1939, pp. 92–103. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/20702754. Accessed 24 Jan. 2021.

8) Fischer, S. (2005) "The Island at the End of the World", London Reaktion Books Ltd p.50.

9) Mercer, D., "COVID-19: Talk of a UK Baby Boom Turns into Fears of a Baby Bust - Here's What the Data Reveals" (28/1/2021) Sky News. https://news.sky.com/story/covid-19-talk-of-a-uk-baby-boom-turns-into-fears-of-a-baby-bust-heres-what-the-data-reveals-12199154 Accessed 30/1/2021

10) Dryden, Steven, "A Short History of LGBTQ Rights in the UK". British Library website, https://www.bl.uk/lgbtq-histories/articles/a-short-history-of-lgbt-rights-in-the-uk Accessed 16/1/2021

11) Dryden, Steven, Ibid. Chester-Lambert, A. "The Future in the Stars", (2010, Findhorn Press, Scotland) p. 130. Or Chester-Lambert, A. "Starry Messengers" (2009, Midlands School of Astrology, England) p. 139.

12) Halford, Bethany, "Rapamycin's Secrets Unearthed", July 18th 2016, https://cen.acs.org/articles/94/i29/Rapamycins-Secrets-Unearthed.html Accessed 21/1/2021

13) Blagosklonny MV. "Rapamycin for longevity: opinion article", Aging (Albany NY). 2019;11(19):8048-8067. doi:10.18632/aging.102355 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6814615/ Accessed 23/1/2021

14) Alsuwaidi, A.R., George, J.A., Almarzooqi, S. et al. "Sirolimus Alters Lung Pathology and Viral Load Following Influenza A Virus Infection", Respir Res 18, 136 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12931-017-0618-6 Accessed 23/1/2021