Makemake in Astrology
Keyword: Earth Issues
This is the second new planet, or dwarf planet, or "plutoid," to be officially named, after being referred to as "Easter bunny" for three years by its discoverer, Mike Brown. The official name refers to the creation god of Easter Island, or Rapa Nui. In size somewhat smaller than either Pluto or Eris, this planet follows a new 21st century tradition of naming discovered planets from the creation deities of indigenous peoples, rather than more classically from the Greco-Roman pantheon of gods and goddesses. The orbital period of Makemake is 306 years. Like Eris, Makemake was discovered near the farthest point of its highly elliptical orbit, and incidentally in an exact inconjunct or 150-degree aspect from Eris within 2 minutes of a degree of longitude.
As the creation god of the Rapa Nui, Makemake symbolizes a connection with environmental sagacity that is entirely appropriate for the troubled earth times, including environmental issues, surrounding its discovery. This is because when Europeans discovered what became known as Easter Island, the Rapa Nui occupied an island entirely denuded of its trees, either because they were cut down or lost to disease, and in their isolated island environment could no longer build canoes or fish and were living a subsistence existence. Of course this island culture is also famous for the multitude of incredibly large stone heads that were carved and erected there, having been transported to the shoreline. The myth involving their creation god Makemake includes a form of worship in which a Birdman was selected from tribal leaders each year. The claimants would select a representative from the best of the young warriors, who would compete by swimming to a neighboring islet, a dangerous journey that involved climbing a large cliff on their return wearing a headdress designed for the purpose of fetching the first bird egg of the season back to the spring festival at the top. Once his champion returned victorious, the selected Birdman for that year would become a powerful shamanic figure, and would meditate and have the big dreams to guide the people and bring his visions to the culture. Makemake is thus a male God, yet with a strong intuitive component.
Taking this segment of ritual practice as an indication of this new planetary energy, we could speculate that the archetype associated with Makemake involves delving down into the dark interior of the psyche in order to obtain a form of received wisdom to be merged with the warrior male outer-oriented energy of the ego. This wisdom can only be found in the inner world, a world that is also connected to Nature and natural process, to natural law, right action, right relationship, and to an internal moral compass, resulting in activism for furthering the culture's evolution. Where he is found in charts there can be found also Earth wisdom and the capacity for spiritual renewal.
The astrology of Makemake is related to love and care for the natural world and for defending Earth's environment. This archetype thus signals a profound connection to nature that is quite similar to the archetype of Haumea, his fellow traveler in the Kuiper Belt, with the same astronomical designation and also named from the pantheon of indigenous gods and goddesses. Indeed, these two are possessed of quite similar orbital periods, being only a little longer than their far better understood cousin, Pluto. They travel around the Zodiac in recent centuries with Haumea leading by a separation of 20 to 40 degrees. As the male God of the pair, and seemingly the more militant of the two, Makemake is associated with the wisdom of the natural world, and also with an activist stance for advancing important environmental and social issues that are highlighted in this 21st century.