Astrologists argue that they have never asserted that the known planets and stars account for every last detail of human life. "We assume there are going to be other planets," said Deb McBride, an astrologer in Brooklyn.
Leigh Oswald, an astrologer in London, said unknown forces may determine when scientists discover new planets. "A planet is discovered when it's appropriate for humanity to understand it," she said. "In other words, when we are ready for it."
Throughout history, when faced with the addition of a new planet, many astrologers have duly figured out how to use it in their calculations. Pluto, the most recently discovered planet, is so tightly woven into astrological charts, to lose it would be unthinkable, Oswald said. "It's been observed to have a huge influence on people's lives."
Because Pluto is an outer planet, it operates on a level that affects humanity as a whole as well as individuals, astrologers say. (The farther out a planet is, theoretically, the more global its effects.) Named for the Greek god of the underworld, Pluto brings about unexpected changes. "It's usually dark," McBride said. "It's usually a huge upheaval in someone's life." That upheaval -- in a person's health, family or career -- is generally followed by a rebuilding, a resurrection, she said.
Pluto is in Sagittarius right now, which to astrologers means it is exerting an influence on larger social forces like religions, ideologies and cultural traditions. "When you put Pluto in a sign like Sagittarius, you start getting religious wars, differences in cultures," McBride said.
Astrologers are especially eager to learn 2003 UB313's permanent name, because in their business, a celestial object's name is essential to its interpretation. "Naming is important, particularly when a name has a mythological charge to it," said Barry Perlman, a San Francisco astrologer. "You're connecting it to a lineage of cultural traditions."
Even though a planet's name is chosen by mere mortals, astrologers do not consider the choice a matter of chance. Rather, they see it arising from an alignment of unseen forces that affect the collective human unconscious. They find it no accident that Pluto, for example, was discovered in 1930, in the era of the rise of Nazism and the development of the atomic bomb.
Michael Brown has been informally calling the possible new planet Xena, after the title character from the cult television series Xena: Warrior Princess. (He has given equally playful nicknames to other planetary bodies he has discovered, including Santa, Easter Bunny and Flying Dutchman.)
The official name of 2003 UB313 has yet to be determined, however. First, the International Astronomical Union, which has the last word in naming celestial objects, has to decide if it is a planet, something that is unlikely to happen before next year, Brown said. He would not reveal the name his team has nominated, but allowed that it is neither Xena nor the name of any Greek or Roman god.
With or without a new planet, some astrologers say they already have plenty to study, because they believe that celestial bodies, from the moon to the billions of stars, can be incorporated into readings.
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