Asteroids in astrology
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Asteroids are used in astrology in a similar way the planets are used. Asteroids are planetoids that orbit the Sun between Mars and Jupiter, and are not to be confused with Centaurs or Trans-Neptunian Objects. The asteroids are relatively new to astrology, having only been discovered in the 1840s. However, some of them (especially the largest of them), are believed by some astrologers to influence human affairs. Still though, they're often ignored within mainstream systems of astrology, especially in more traditional astrology systems like Vedic astrology or Hellenistic astrology. Their use has become significant to a few Western astrologers yet still only a minority of astrologers use the asteroids in chart interpretation.
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[edit] The Big Four
These are the four biggest asteroids in the Solar System & were counted as planets between 1801-1845, when the smaller asteroids began to be discovered.
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Ceres
Ceres was the first asteroid discovered & is the largest asteroid of all, taking up about 1/3 of the entire mass of the asteroid belt. In astrology, to get an understanding of the nature of a planet the astrologers analyze the name given to it. In mythology Ceres was the Roman equivalent of the Greek goddess Demeter. She was the goddess of agriculture & when her daughter Persephone was kidnapped by Pluto in an attempt to force her to marry him, Demeter became so distraught looking for her daughter that she neglected the Earth which became cold & most plants died. This was the first autumn & winter season, which came back every year even after Persephone had been saved by Hermes because she had eaten a pomegranate that made her Pluto's wife forever, & he demanded she return to him once a year. This things, plus the fact that Ceres is the roundest asteroid (it resembles the Moon) signify that in astrology the placement of Ceres in a birth chart is said to show what the native needs to feel loved & nurtured.
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Vesta
This asteroid is second largest in size, fourth to be discovered & the last asteroid to be counted as a planet. In mythology Vesta the virgin goddess, the Roman version of Hestia, though she was of higher importance to the Romans, was regarded as one of the most important goddesses of all, though ironically she never was depicted in any visual art (in Greece, some vases with her image however have been found), or at least none of it has ever been found. She was the goddess of hearth, when a baby was born she was the goddess they would ask to bless it & protect the home. In every city & home in Rome there was a sacred fire made to Vesta that was protected & not allowed to go out. Astrologers use Vesta to determine what it is that that you are devoted to. Vesta, having been a protective virgin goddess also is an influencer of the sign Virgo, this is accepted by a large majority of the astrological community, but many prefer to instead of calling the influence an outright rulership an "affinity." It also seems to bear influence over Scorpio.
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Pallas Athene
Often simply known as "Pallas," this is the second asteroid discovered & third in size. There are many Pallases in mythology. Some sources say Pallas was Triton's daughter & Athena's playmate who was killed & Athena mourned her by changing her name to Pallas Athena & making a wooden statue of her, which Zeus dropped to the Land of Troy where a temple was built in its honor. Others say that Pallas was an old god who combined with Athena. In these respects, Pallas can be interpreted as an indicator of effort. Other astrologers interpret it as a indicator of wisdom, intelligence, healing (perhaps through effort) as the titan named Pallas was a god of these things.
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Juno
This asteroid was the 3rd to be discovered & is 4th in size ranking. In mythology Juno is the Roman equivalent of the Greek Hera. Hera was a very important goddess in both Greek & Roman culture. She was a wife of Zeus & hailed as the Queen of Gods & Zeus' main concubine (at least the myths imply that this was what she thought herself). She was the goddess of marriages, unions, & was also associated with finance & found cows and peacocks to be sacred. She was also very jealous & aggressive, especially when Zeus was involved with another woman; she would often kill the children Zeus & the other women or goddesses would create together, including attempts to kill Hercules & Dionysus -- or the woman herself. For these reasons, Juno is used in astrology as an indicator of what a native requires to feel satisfied in love or romance, or what is one needs in order to feel their marriage is successful & satisfying. Because of Juno's association with relationships, money, cows & jealousy, it also appears to have an influence of the sign Taurus.
