August 24, 2006

On the day Pluto was demoted to dwarf planet, the words of the I.A.U. felt final.

As tears flowed down the cheeks of astronomers, Wikipedia pages got frantically updated and high school teachers ran to their solar system models to get rid of the ninth rock from the sun.

Pluto, on its part,  didn’t seem particularly bothered.

It woke up, drank a cup of coffee with a tiny splash of milk, took its nine moons to the park and conversed politely with its neighbor Neptune. It kept orbiting and turning like eating and breathing, as to spell out how little of a damn it gave about those little human taxonomies.

This card is about status and power.

When it shows up in a reading, you should investigate the system you’re in and make an effort to understand its power dynamics. In order to achieve what you want, you’ll have to navigate a spider web of power structures and status roles that might not necessarily align with your views, talents or morals.

Whether you’re after career recognition or social mobility, once you have figured out the kind of ball game you’re playing, you’ll have the information you need to either play hard or stop playing altogether.

If your workplace rewards social politics more than productivity, you can either resign or start using that social currency to climb the company ladder. Instead of imposing yourself on the system, you need to figure out how to make the system work for you. Sticking to your own set of rules, no matter how virtuous, is not going to benefit you in a setup where those very rules have little value.

On the flip side of the same coin, try not to confuse the game with the prize. Status is a tool and not a goal: use it to achieve what makes you happy but don’t mistake it for happiness itself. Losing sight of the bigger picture can be a slippery slope towards abusing your power, wasting it or letting it define who you are.