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Asteroids in the Zodiac

Posted: Sat Mar 05, 2022 7:09 am
by James Strom
For most of history there were only seven planets in the zodiac. Five of them appear twice; on the solar side for day rulerships and on the lunar for night.

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With the discovery of Uranus and Neptune this redundancy was reduced somewhat.

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Soon even more planets would be found but a couple of centuries later there still is a lack of certainty of where they belong.
Asteroids, ever since their discovery, have presented such a puzzle for astrologers. The first one, Ceres, was found by Giuseppe Piazzi on the very first day of the nineteenth century. It was later assumed that it was the 'missing planet' that was expected to be in the orbit as predicted by the Titus-Bode Law. Bode wrote to Piazzi:

"You have discovered it in Taurus and it was re-observed in Virgo, Ceres of the old times. These two constellations are the symbol of agriculture, this occurance is quite unique."

So from the very beginning Ceres was associated with Virgo. But what of the others? Perhaps there is a formula that can be used to determine which sign of the zodiac an asteroid is at home in.

Almost all the asteroids have an orbital period of less than half that of Jupiter. The drop-off after that is steep and with good reason. Most any asteroid that crosses the 2:1 resonance with Jupiter will be thrown into an unstable orbit. This can be used as an outer boundary.
Another boundary could be between the orbits of Ceres and Pallas, the second asteroid to be discovered. Both are right near the 18:7 resonance line; Ceres within and Pallas just outside. This can lead to a simple formula for the domiciles of the asteroids:

Resonance Distance Period Day/ Night Rulership

5:18 2.214 AU 3.295 a Leo/ Cancer
1:3 2.500 AU 3.954 a Virgo/ Gemini
7:18 2.771 AU 4.613 a Libra/ Taurus
4:9 3.029 AU 5.272 a Scorpio/ Aries

For instance Vesta's orbital period is 3.63 years so it would be at home in Leo (day) or Cancer (night).

We can thus put just about any asteroid into one of four classes; the Vesta, Ceres, Pallas or Hygiea groups. These four by themselves constitute over half the mass of the entire asteroid belt.

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Vesta co-rules Leo with the Sun during the day and Cancer with the Moon at night. Vesta can be thought of as a higher octave of the luminaries, having more influence over matters dealing with friends and family than one's own person.
The Vesta group also includes the asteroids Artemis, Iris, Hebe, and Fortuna.

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Ceres shares rulership with Mercury of Virgo and Gemini. As Ceres moves through zodiac much more slowly than Mercury it would affect many of the same things but on a longer time scale. Other asteroids in the Ceres class include Astraea, Egeria, Irene, Juno, and Hera.

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Pallas co-rules Libra alongside Venus in the daytime and Taurus at night. Unlike Venus, Pallas' orbit often takes it much higher or lower than the ecliptic and so many aspects have quite a different meaning than is usually supposed. Related asteroids include Thisbe, Herculina, Psyche, and Aphrodite.

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Hygiea and Mars both reside in Scorpio and Aries. Hygiea is more about companionship and the company you keep than the more individualistic Mars. Fellow asteroids include Interamnia, Europa, and Euphrosyne.

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Always bear in mind the farther a planet is from the Sun the more it is inclined to the social rather than the psychological. The asteroids are somewhere in-between personal and societal, often influencing our interactions with smaller and more close knit groups of people.

Re: Asteroids in the Zodiac

Posted: Sun Mar 06, 2022 5:52 am
by James Strom
The addition of asteroids gives a balanced sex ratio to the gods. Here is a list of the Olympian gods paired with their spouses (or lovers) according to the lectisternium of the Twelve Great gods in 217 BC by the Augustan historian Livy.

Jupiter–Juno
Neptune–Minerva
Mars–Venus
Phoebus–Diana
Vulcan–Vesta
Mercury–Ceres

Without the asteroids we have this:

Jupiter (Zeus) = _____?_____
Neptune (Poseion) = _____?_____
Mars (Ares) = Venus (Aphrodite)
Sol (Apollo) = Luna (Artemis)
Vulcan (Hephaestus) =_____?_____
Mercury (Hermes) = _____?_____

But after the first four asteroids discovered are added:

Jupiter (Zeus) = Juno (Hera)
Neptune (Poseion) = Pallas (Athena)
Mars (Ares) = Venus (Aphrodite)
Sol (Apollo) = Luna (Artemis)
Vulcan (Hephaestus) = Vesta (Hestia)
Mercury (Hermes) = Ceres (Demeter)

A perfect set.

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Also, notice that Vesta is matched up with Vulcan. Due to its proximity to the Sun, if Vulcan were to co-rule signs, it would be Leo for the day and Cancer for the night, putting it in the same homes as Vesta. And Ceres is paired with Mercury, both of which co-rule Virgo and Gemini.

Re: Asteroids in the Zodiac

Posted: Mon Oct 24, 2022 6:19 pm
by Noel Eastwood
James, thank you for this, there simply is not enough material on the asteroid goddesses. I use them in my readings these days and the balance certainly makes a difference. All the best to you and keep up the good work.

Re: Asteroids in the Zodiac

Posted: Tue Oct 25, 2022 6:23 am
by James Strom
Thank you so much for the reply. I thought no one was interested. I've got a lot more, such as the metals associated with them and so on.

Re: Asteroids in the Zodiac

Posted: Tue Oct 25, 2022 7:11 am
by Noel Eastwood
James, we have a busy forum with a diverse population of cultures and expectations of astrology. We do our best to meet these expectations. But there are some of us who just love doing research in this fascinating field of science and post various articles of interest. So please contribute your knowledge and research whenever you have time.

Re: Asteroids in the Zodiac

Posted: Tue Mar 21, 2023 7:01 am
by James Strom
Just in time for the new moon and equinox Ceres retrogrades into Virgo on the 21st of March, only a few hours after its opposition with the sun. There she'll be all spring* until the start of summer* around the 22nd of June.

Juno also hangs out in Virgo for quite some time beginning October 18th. She won't leave until August 10th, 2024.

Pallas comes home to Libra on September 12th, staying there until November 18th.

On September 13th, 2023 Vesta will be in Cancer and will be there until she retrogrades back into Gemini on December 20th. She re-enters Cancer the following year on March 31st and continues on until June 19th, 2024 when Vesta walks through the door into her second home in Leo. There she resides until August 24th.

* or autumn and winter for those upside-down people south of the equator.

Re: Asteroids in the Zodiac

Posted: Wed Mar 22, 2023 7:22 am
by Noel Eastwood
Thanks James, I'd like to see astrologers using these asteroids in their readings more often, I find that they add another layer to our understanding of the native and of ourselves.