Dear Ellen,
The Sun, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn are 'male' symbols. So too are Uranus, Neptune and Pluto. Mercury is androgynous. Only the Moon and Venus are female. A new goddess, regardless of what she stands for, is to be welcomed. And, though Eris is clearly a disruptive influence, I am not sure she's a negative one.

Dear JG,
You could try not looking at your horoscope in advance and then, later, inviting her to decide whether what happened matched the astrological influence. But, really, it's never a good idea to convince your partner of anything. Why not just respectfully agree to differ?

Dear Leanne,
Actually, the Sun doesn't pass through the signs. It stays still while we move around it. The Sun's seemingly changing position tells us where we are in our journey round the cosmic racetrack. Other planets are on that track too. If they were populated by aliens with telescopes, their view of where we were would depend on where they were!

Dear Bob,
The answers, in order, are; Yes, soon. Yes, we're doing that now. And, therefore, strictly speaking, no. But prior to discovery, a planet's influence is like an intermittent laser beam. Once it has revealed itself, it acts more like a permanent spotlight

There were many gods in the legends of ancient times. A few had planets named after them. Most, though, had no cosmic counterpart. Gradually, over the last few hundred years, as more moons, asteroids and planets have been discovered, they have been named after the personalities in that pantheon. The latest heavenly body to reveal itself at the edge of our solar system is called Eris, after the traditional goddess of discord. Her arrival symbolises an end to the time when humans fell out without fully understanding why. Soon, we'll all become much more aware of the reasons why individuals and countries clash. This may yet help dramatically reduce global conflict.