I. The Centaurs: Asteroids located outside the Kuiper Belt, orbiting between Saturn and Pluto
Chiron: Chiron is known as the wounded healer. This asteroid of very powerful symbolism
orbits between Saturn and Uranus, therefore is referred to as "the rainbow bridge", connecting
the outer limits of earthly reality with cosmic intelligence and law. Where Chiron is in a horoscope chart
can refer to a personal issue that is an on-going source of frustration and pain.
One is repeatedly forced by circumstances to try and gain mastery over a
function of life over which one has no easy knowledge, control or
final resolution, except by death. A Chiron affliction can also refer to problems with health,
relationship or sexuality. Sometimes the Chiron placement expresses as a sense of entitlement or
victemization; someone else should handle the issue or one is rendered powerless to proceed. Sometimes
Chiron's pain can be mastered by doing for others what one cannot do for themselves.
Nessus: Nessus represents primitive, unrestrained energy which can destroy without thinking and
thus is destroyed by the same energy it seeks to dominate. This asteroid is also implicated in ancestral
sin or the violation of one family member by another. "Family" can also refer to corporate or community groups.
Issues of scapgoating, illegitimacy, incest, rape, unwanted pregnancy and conflict over
wills or inheritances can be involved. Often the problems implicating Nessus are generational
in span and duration.
Pholus: Prominence in the chart can indicate tendencies to short-term or wishful thinking, along
with difficulty establishing and keeping boundaries. Maintaining a stance of willful innocence, blindness
or idealism, a person with an afflicted Pholus tends to believe that when they behave
inappropriately in a situation they will be protected by God and/or respected by other people.
Disaster can result from impulsive thinking and narrow perception. One does not see their behavior
as improper, but rather as upholding an idealistic concept which is sanctioned by God.
One might be motivated by an ongoing dedication to embodying spiritual principals
within the material world, even to the extent of martyrdom. When positively expressed,
the asteroid can be symbolic of visionary skills and the reception of true
archetypal images eminating from sacred cosmic intent.
Chariklo: In Greek myth, Chariklo was the wife of Chiron. She offers relief from the dictates of
patriarchy, through the safeguarding of sacred sexuality. Chariklo can represent balanced, active
feminine expression, however she also serves in protection of social boundaries including those that are
transgender or sexual in nature. The polarization of woman into virgin or whore that characterizes many cultures,
can be left behind for mature, self-fulfilled, maternal yet sexually active womanhood. As expressed by
astrologer Philip Sedgwick, Chariklo is all about learning to maintain two important personal boundaries;
one that would promote quality relations with other people and another that protects personal,
sacred space, namely the enclosure of your own spirituality and individuality.
Asbolus: Astobolus was a prophet and seer for the Centaurs; he had an overly stern sense of justice
that led to his death in the battle with Heracles. He is seen as representing management, achievement,
leadership and materialism; it would seem he can see into the future especially as concerns loss, injustice
or destruction but his words are not always heeded. Astrologer Johathan Dunn notes that Asbolus is prominent
in the charts of people who are serious and even bitter.
Bienor: Bienor was a centaur killed during a fight at the wedding of Pirithous, King of the Lapiths.
Mark Andrew Holmes lists the following descriptives for this asteroid: exuberance, expansion, empowerment, liberalism,
generousity, love of others, compassion, cooperation or alternatively, condemning, hateful, judgmental,
doomed effort, being attacked or becoming trapped.
Elatus:The Centaur Elatus was killed in the same battle with Hercules that was the doom of Chiron,
Pholus and Asbolus. He was killed by a poisoned arrow that passed through his arm to hit Chiron on the
knee. He used to pull up whole fir trees to use as weapons. Holmes' keywords for Elatus include: expressions,
expressiveness, eloquence, to mislead, to deceive (including oneself); also possibly maneuvering away from
attack.
Hylonome: Hylonome was a beautiful female Centaur who committed suicide after her partner Cyllarus was
killed in battle with the Lapithae. Naive, compassionate and sensative to criticism, she would seem
to have issues with self-esteem, emotionality and wanting to be popular with everyone. She could signify
someone who has difficulty standing alone or dealing with grief and loss; also one who tends to
indentify themselves and base their emotional stability out of relationships with others. Otherwise,
there is an interest in fashion and good hygiene. According to Philip Sedgwick her job is to bring an
end to grief through whatever means will bring resolution.
Ixion: Ixion, king of the Lapithae, was also father to most of the Centaurs and pretty much
abused his power in many ways. Eventually he was punished by being tied to a wheel with snakes which
turned eternally suspened in the space of Tartarus, realm of the dead. Holmes' keywords for Ixion include:
busy-ness, workaholism, lust to acquire or possess, materialism and its consequences, lack of appreciation
or gratitude, to take things for granted,...no regrets, being harmed by something of one's own creation,
...creating trouble or change, passing problems down through generations. Ixion makes major aspects in the
charts of those prone to self-sabotague through arrogance or impulsive action.
Okyrhoe: The female Centaur Okyrhoe was the daughter of Centaurs Chiron and Chariklo. She could fortell
the future; she was changed into a horse for revealing the plans of the gods to mankind. Holmes' keywords include:
Being criticized or attacked and being able to withstand attacks or unpopularity. Also an ability to
stand up for one's beliefs or principles.
Pelion:Pelion was named for Mount Pelion, a mountain in Greece where all the Centaurs abide. According
to Philip Sedgwick and Timothy Joko-Veltman, Pelion signifies the process of balancing emotions and ego as a function of professional
status. On the positive side one can support coworkers with special skills; negatively one can be demanding,
immature, paranoid or cynical; engage in status displays and regurgitate past triumphs as a reason for current prestige. Also
included is waking up to the true reality and the way things really are.
Thereus: Thereus was a Centaur hunter who hunted very big game and brought them home alive to his cave.
According to Holmes, Thereus stands for the ability to maintain healthy boundaries between personal and professional
activities. One may tend to identify with career, relationships or material acquisition, besides appreciating
beautiful things and people. Another side of Thereus relates to the wilderness, the hunt, nature, wild
animals and concern for the environment.
II. The Asteroid Goddesses: These are large Kuiper Belt asteroids or planetoids which embody
feminine archetypal energy principles.
Ceres: Ceres symbolizes the nurturing principle as in crops, harvest, food and the ecosystem
in a mundane chart. She also embodies the dark and sexual aspects of the Great Mother, as in
service to the dead and the blood mysteries of menarche and menopause. When afflicted, the
place of Ceres in a horoscope can describe a dysfunction around the giving and receiving of
sustenance, as in over-eating, anorexia or bulimic behaviors.
Vesta: Vesta represents an independent, self-fulfilling and self-determining principle. She also
has to do with the setting and maintaining of healthy boundaries. Vesta can bestow discipline and
the ability to focus with concentration towards productive ends. If afflicted in a birth chart,
sexual dysfunction and/or an unwillingness to participate in intimacy is a common expression.
Juno: Juno was the wife of Jupiter in Roman mythology. This asteroid symbolizes the ability, or
inability to enter into a committed, loyal relationship. When Juno is thwarted in love, she can
respond with jealousy, conditional love and vengeful tactics. One with a strongly placed Juno in the
natal chart may also be chronic liar; they will distort the truth even when there is no practical use
for doing so.
Athena Pallas: Athena sprung full-grown from her father Zeus's forehead. In the mundane sense, she
represents the principal of chaste intellect, unpolluted by the lower elements of human contact
and in full possession of the powers of wisdom and knowledge. But Athena also had the head of
the Medusa on her shield, indicating an esoteric connection to the ancient world of instinctual
knowledge and wisdom that is rooted in the earth. An afflicted Athena could symbolize someone
who is split in mind and body, living in their head and worshipful of rationality and logic.
Neurologists have recently found that logic and reasoning faculties do not function accurately
without the inclusion of emotion, instinct and feeling.
III. The Love Asteroids: Located in the Kuiper Belt between Mars and Jupiter, these describe
the Love nature in a horoscope chart.
Eros: The location of Eros in a natal chart can describe how the individual
accesses and experiences love with another. Eros is certainly love, touch and affection,
but it also symbolizes physical love. It can add charisma, the ability to charm and attract
anyone. An afflicted Eros can denote promiscuity, or a penchant for unrequited or sadistic love.
In Greek myth, Eros was in love with Psyche (soul); the two are united in eternity only after much
trial and tribulation on the part of Psyche; early on she loses her love due to curiousity and carelessness.
Psyche: Through my own studies, asteroid Psyche has come to represent the place of the soul as
it is attempting to integrate with earthly life. The aspects it makes to other planets can signify how
our ideals, rose-colored glasses, illusions and impulsive desires can led us into deeply challanging
life experiences in the name of not only love but of fulfillment of self. Consider the possibility
that spirit and soul are not finished, perfect creations. A large proportion of their most refined
morphology surely must include transmutation by exposure and immersion in the earthly plane. Psyche's
position delinates the pain we must all go through in trying to interweave our dreams
and creative visions into real life, including the relations we have with others. To the extent that one
draws difficult experiences in love is the degree to which one is rejecting not only certain parts of self,
but refusing to acknowledge the limits, shape and karmic intent of the union that would bring fulfillment,
healing and joy.
Amor: Asteroid Amor represents idealized love, a love not necessarily of this earth. Amor is not particularly
sexual in expression, but radiates warmth and a sense of "Agape" or a love that is given without
an expectation of receiving. The house where Amor is found is where the person expects to express
this kind of love. The pain of an afflicted Amor can involve disillusionment over this altruistic
love not being returned, or there may be something else one wants that will result in
the denial of love.
IV. The Oddities: The first four are of planetoid status, the last is sometimes referred to as the Second Moon
of earth.
Sedna: Sedna is a newly discovered planetoid, and the furthest out identified object that is still a member
of our solar system. Mythologically, Sedna is an Inuit Goddess of the deep seas. She represents creative
ability that is kept to oneself, talents that express only when forced or through pain. She can be willful,
immature and narcissistic in orientation. She represents the best abilities in oneself that are also the
most difficult to access, integrate and give conscious expression out in life.
Quaoar: Quaoar is the largest planetoid discovered to date. It was found in the constellation of Ophiuchus,
or the Serpent Bearer. Much esoteric value is given to this area of the sky, with the implication that
man must learn to weld the twin forces of creation and destruction in accord with natural law. Attunement
with Ophiuchus would bestow the ability to see through the transcience of material life; the battle between
apparent good and evil is understood to be a dance of cyclic, harmonious resonance. Quaoar in myth is the
great force of creation that sings and dances the archetypal images of physical life into manifestation.
Quaoar prominent in a chart or contacted through hard planetary aspect would bring about a necessary
cleansing of old demons, and initiation into a shamanistic participation in life.
Varuna:Varuna was the old Hindu God of the Waters and once ruled as king of all the gods. He is
guardian of the oceanic demons and generates the clouds and rain, therefore is a sustainer of life. Varuna
dispenses ultimate justice and keeps the cosmic order. As placed in a natal horoscope chart his energy can
be misused as dogmatism even as applied to science; also extreme conservatism in religeous movements
and messianic leaders who dispense divine Rules and Regs. He is a patron of fundamentalism and of
decrees that must be obeyed because they "come from God". Someone with a strong Varuna can have a charismatic
aura of unquestionable authority or righteousness. George W. Bush and Dick Cheney serve well as
western symbols for Varuna's brand of power.
Eris: Formerly known as 2003 UB313, Eris is the largest dwarf planet so far discovered and 27% larger than
Pluto. In Greek myth Eris was the the goddess of discord; she knew how to get a fight started without
necessarily involving herself. On the positive side Eris represents the warrior feminine spirit
resurected from patriarchial restraint. Where she is represents where one will boldly go where
none went before; she is patron of explorers and radical creators, impatient with status quo and tradition.
Negatively she can represent one who is immature, quarrelsome and self-absorbed. Sometimes one is unaware
of the destruction caused in the name of getting ones way; the preverbial "loose cannon" comes to mind.
Other times the individual can be quite skilled at shock tactics and exacting revenge without
blood on the hands.
Cruithne: This near-Earth asteroid has also been called the "second Moon" of earth; it maintains a
peculiar, kidney-bean shaped orbit near the earth, that gradually shifts in position around the earth
to complete an apparent circuit over a period of 385 years. The asteroid will never hit the earth, since its
orbit is highly inclined. Cruithne is thought to represent activation of special gifts for powerful
women shamans, and sacred sexuality.
(1)Chiron, by Barbara Hand Clow, Llewellyn Publications, St. Paul, MN, 1977.
(2)Chiron and the Healing Journey, An Astrological and Psychological Perspective, by Melanie Reinhart,
Penguin Books Ltd., New York, NY, 1989.
(3) "Chiron on my Mind", by Martin Lass, http://martinlass.com/chirmind.htm
(4)"New Wine in Old Bottles - The Centaurs and Grief", by Darrelyn Gunzburg, Mountain Astrologer Magazine,
Feb/Mar 2004.
(5)"Centaurfold: Chariklo Lends a Hand", by Phillip Sedgwick, Mountain Astrologer Magizine, Feb/Mar 2004.
(6)Asteroid Goddesses, by Demetra George and Douglas Bloch, Ibis Press, Inc., Berwick, Maine, 2003.
(7)"Eris, Sedna, Dwarf Planets, Centaurs and More," by Phillip Sedgwick, http://www.phillipsedgwick.com.
(8)"More Asteroids Listed in Solar Fire", by Mark Andrew Holmes, http://www.geocities/mahtezcatpoc/astrology.html.
(9)"The Mythology of Eros", by Kim Falconer, http://www.falconastrology.com/mythology_asteroid.htm
com.
