While traditional astrology has focused on planets, the discovery of asteroids has changed the game. Asteroids are smaller than planets, which makes their pull weaker, but they add so much complexity and flavor to a chart. The study of asteroids is also cutting edge, because they are constantly being discovered, and it is the job of astrologers to discover their meaning.
We must be careful with orbs, however, since asteroids are small…a one degree orb is plenty, but we should pay careful attention to chart patterns and shapes. When using asteroids, I especially look for Grand Trines and Grand Crosses, which highlight traits in a person that are outwardly visible and exceptional.
There are thousands of asteroids, and it’s awfully hard to choose the best starting place when describing them.
The asterois are named after all sorts of things, including nearly every ancient hero or gods, discoveries and places. There are also a good many named after people. I don’t know how it’s so accurate, but name asteroids often have quite an impact.
Asteroids are my passion. There are so many, and more are discovered so often. These asteroids are just some of my favorites-I’d encourage you to explore like crazy.
I’d love to work with you to find pertinent asteroids in your life, and you can also explore yourself, by generating a chart here and requesting specific asteroids.
Because asteroids are smaller than planets, they don’t individually hold as much weight as the larger bodies. But, when they are involved in chart patterns or aspect important points, they can color a chart brilliantly. We use an orb of 1 degree with asteroids, which means that for us to consider the aspects they make, the degrees must be very tight, almost exact.
Asteroids are discovered quite often. A good quality list is located here.
Apophis
Apophis (99942) is a near earth asteroid. Interestingly, when it was discovered in 2004 there was a brief scare when scientists calculated a 2.9% risk that the asteroid would hit earth in 2029. That risk has passed now, so we can breath a sigh of relief, but we should know that Apophis is known as the destroyer asteroid.
It tends to be prominent in the charts of people who cause considerable harm, but also in the charts of people who destruct things for a living. I’ve also found it to be part of the group of asteroids that is always activated in Indigo children and adults, and I think it’s because this group is meant to destroy the old systems.
Ronald Reagan had this asteroid conjunct his sun, making it very prominent in his life. Regardless of your political slant, we can all admit that Reagan destroyed things-Liberals will say that he destroyed the American Middle Class, and allowed all of our money to go upwards. Republicans will point out that he destroyed the Berlin wall. Regardless, there was destruction that we can clearly see.
If your Apophis is very prominent, don’t be scared. Destruction is often needed for reconstruction, so think on ways to use your tendencies positively.
Ceres
Ceres is a dwarf planet, and is the largest item in the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter. It’s number is 1. It was originally considered a planet, along with Pluto, when it was discovered in 1801.
Ceres is all about nurturing. It can represent the early nurturing we received, but also the way we nurture others. It has a very mother-like quality to it.
Hard aspects (squares and oppositions) to Ceres can make a person feel like they are unloved and uncared for, but positive aspects (conjunctions, trines, sextiles) make for very warm people who go out of their way to help, guide, and feed the spirits of the other people.
Chiron
Chiron is minor planet #2060, discovered in 1977, with a chaotic orbit.
It is perhaps the most important planetary body dealing with both wounds and healing. Your Chiron placement tells you about your wounds that continue to come up in your life. These are wounds that are difficult to heal, but if you can heal them, Chiron becomes about healing abilities. Most great healers in the world have prominent Chiron placements.
When a person is hurting, the first thing I look at is their Chiron, and any aspects that involve it. Aspects that involve your Chiron are likely to help you heal your wounds.
DNA
DNA (55555) was discovered in 2001 and, as implied by the name, it deals with our genetic makeup-what makes up uniquely us.
It becomes very interesting when we add DNA to family charts. People who are hesitant to believe in astrology would benefit from seeing how a person’s DNA asteroid nearly always aspects family members’ charts.
I use DNA much like a South Node-it tells me about what a person is at their base, without outside interference.
Eris
Eris represents a warrior goddess energy. People with a strong Eris placement will fight to fix things they think are broken.
Her energy is dark, but powerful. She is the Greek Goddess of Discord, sister of Dysnomia (lawlessness) and Algos (pain and sorrows). Eris started the Trojan War: angry she wasn’t invited to a wedding, she threw an apple marked “to the fairest” and the vain goddesses caused chaos which led to war.
This asteroid is elevated in the charts of Indigo Spirits-it contributes to the overwhelming urge to burn the old so the new can be rebuilt. It teams up with elevated Quaoars and Ixions to form a righteously indignatious warrior who will right the world.
Juno
Juno represents wifely energy, and especially where love and money intersect. If you have aspects with a person’s Juno, that is indicative of a long lasting and committed relationship.
Kaali
Kaali was an Indian Goddess known as The Universal Mother. She represents our connection to our Kundalini energy, our whole self. Like Lilith, she could be vicious, but she was powerful and represents us at our most powerful.
Asteroid Lilith
Asteroid Lilith, like Black Moon Lilith, is about connection to our dark feminine power.
Nessus
If you’ve spent any time reading about Nessus, you will read that it is an asteroid of abusers. You will read that if you have this asteroids elevated in your chart, you will hurt people, and you won’t be able to stop yourself.
This is utter hogwash. Nessus is dark and powerful, but so are Pluto, Lilith, Uranus and Eris, plus a host of others. There is no asteroid that causes a person to be evil or bad. Every planet and every asteroid can be expressed in healthy or unhealthy manners, and even very strong Nessus placements do not always lead to abuse.
Nessus has many themes, but each holds power and each holds a good bit of dark.
The first theme I see is a “stop the buck” kind of attitude. Strong Nessus placements result in a person who will take no nonsense. These people will not let you abuse them or take advantage of them. They also may go too far in the other direction, making other people feel a bit taken advantage of. That is a danger one should be aware of. Social warriors of the world often have a strong Nessus-it helps them put an end to outdated practices or just things that are wrong, because it removes some of the desire to follow the rules around whatever they are working with. The desire to follow rules is pretty deeply ingrained in us, and Nessus releases some of that.
The second theme is deep, overwhelming, pervasive want. This happens when our natal Nessus makes contacts with other people-these are people who will tempt you to the edge of breaking. In fact, these are the people we often break for. With long term couples with aspects here, it allows for long lasting passion and want, which makes marriage much easier, most would agree. Be careful of people outside of your relationships that touch your Nessus, and be careful of people whose Nessus you touch, because they are more likely to want you too much, especially if you are already coupled.
A third theme seems to be a certain willingness to let go of normal rules about sex. The stronger the Nessus, the less traditional rules matter. This also plays into the want-you want so much you aren’t afraid of breaking the rules, which can be problematic, but can be controlled.
A fourth theme seems to be about the cessation of religion, or the power of religion in our lives-the stop the buck attitude comes into play here, and Nessus forces us to look at why we allow our religion to take away our pleasure. My Christian Psychic, the biggest spreader of the “Nessus is only abuse” story, says that the only thing that can save you from Nessus is Jesus, and she says that over and over, in many ways. This makes me laugh a little because Nessus is not interested in Jesus. Nessus is interested in the ways you were hurt by religion, and Nessus is interested in helping you put your energy elsewhere. This is particularly apparent in the charts of people who were raised very strictly in church, and even more so in the children of pastors. When Nessus expresses this way, it seems to be particularly adamant that we not raise our children in the same way we were raised. This picks back up on the “stopping the buck” attitude.
And to be fair, I’ll add the fifth theme of abuse, particularly sexual abuse. This is truly an extension of the second and third theme…pervasive want and a willingness to let go of sexual rules can lead to abuse if your want isn’t reciprocated, but how far a person is willing to take that is based on the expression of the Nessus, plus other planets as well.
All of these themes are heavy-contrary to societal norms, but they do not mean you will be abusive and I’d like to yell a little at the ladies who perpetrate this myth. If your Nessus is strong, you’ll need to walk a little more carefully through life, taking great care to not push things into the realm of abuse.
You will be more intense than other people, and that’s ok. YOU are the only person who can cause you to abuse another person, and every astrologer worth their salt knows that while the stars inform and influence, they do not force, and there is simply no placement of the stars that would require you to hurt another person. nessus2The mythological Nessus was obsessed by the desire to have Dejanira and he couldn’t control himself. He manipulated Dejanira when Hercules attacked him to put his bloody clothes on him so that he could love her forever. However, when she put his clothes on Hercules, it led to his death. But the myths that go along with asteroids are often bloody, and the themes don’t carry through so strongly-please know that you will not necessarily rape and pillage, but your desire will likely be something you have to work hard to keep in check.
Quaoar
Quaoar (pronounced kwah-whar) is a planetoid beyond Pluto’s orbit in the solar system. IQuaoar’s diameter is 800 miles while Pluto is 1400 miles and our own Moon is 2100 miles. It takes 288 years to orbit the sun.
It encompasses themes of transformation and creation.
Quaoar was the name given to the “creation force” by the Native American Tongva tribe from Southern California. Quaoar, “came down from heaven; and, after reducing chaos to order, laid out the world on the back of seven giants. He then created the lower animals, and then (or from them) humankind.”
Quaoar’s orbit is almost perfectly circular. This is part of the reason astrologers associate it with bringing order to chaos.
It’s important to note that the creation god of Tonga myth is creating with song and dance. This is important to the themes of Quaoar.
There is a distinct and growing correlation between the Indigo Children phenomenon and Quaoar. I have found that the asteroid is often conjunct or square the nodes of Indigo people.
There are definite sacred undertones with Quaoar. Quaoar has something to do with how we use our energy to create and how we deal with the pressure to step out of our natural rhythm and flow.
Pallas
Pallas is a favorite asteroid of mine-one of the first discovered, so it has a large body of research to go along with it. It’s large, so we feel its pull nearly as much as the planets. Pallas makes up 7% of the mass of the asteroid belt. It’s a little more than 300 miles across and we’ve been studying it since 1802.
Pallas is named after Pallas Athene, Greek goddess of wisdom, courage, inspiration, civilization, war, strategy, math, strength, strategy, the arts, crafts, and skill. Known as the asteroid of creative intelligence, Pallas draws on all of the themes that fell under the domain of the goddess. Pallas is also said to represent the wisdom of the female spirit
If a person has a strong Pallas, you can expect for them to have several traits. Most of these will be obvious in a person, but some people display certain aspects of Pallas more than others.
Most importantly, people with a strong Pallas are creative-they are filled with creative intelligence which is outwardly visible, and they are compelled to make, design, fabricate and produce.
Pallas is a warrior goddess-she has a lot of fight in her, and so do people who have her heavily aspected or in a prominent position. Pallas people won’t roll over when they could fight, and they are talented at the fighting as well.
Pattern recognition is also very high-most astrologers have a strong Pallas, which helps them find patterns in the planets and personalities. Math also usually comes easily to these natives.
Pallas folks also have a knack for strategic thinking. They can easily see many steps ahead and plan accordingly. Creative thinking is key here; the Pallas native finds solutions others wouldn’t, and they execute them flawlessly. Think Steve Jobs, Bill Gates or Steve Woziniak, all brilliant minds heavily influenced by Pallas. It’s a very particular kind of intelligence-it isn’t logical in the normal sense, but holistic and inventive.
They have an immoveable sense of justice.
There are many placements that make an asteroid “strong” in a person’s chart. The first would be closely conjunct (1 degree, 2 tops for conjunctions) with sun or ascendant. Both of these placements fully integrate Pallas energy. Conjunctions with any angles, Moon, North Node, South Node, and the planets are also very important. When Pallas is part of a Grand Trine or a Grand Cross, it gets more focus. John Denver’s Pallas was square his sun, and her themes are obvious in his life. Bernie Sanders has Pallas sextile Mercury, meaning he brings the Pallas traits most strongly to his communication. Amelia Earhart had Palls conjunct her ascendant and square her sun-she personifies many Pallas traits.
New and exciting research labels Pallas as “the ruler of the digital age and anything that is digital.” That’s because Pallas rules logical thinking. Computers and software rely only on logical thinking, giving Pallas dominion here. That elevates the importance of this asteroid even further, as so much of the world is digital.
Pallas is also intrinsically linked to the pineal gland. This gland is vitally important for all of us, producing melatonin, DMT, and pinoline. The pineal gland is our “third eye,” of great consequence to the Ancient Egyptians, who mummified it separately, and many great civilizations through time. It’s said that activating our pineal gland can connect us more to the spirit world, and Pallas is the asteroid that governs this connection. There are many ways to energize our third eye, and I’ve found that using various methods when Pallas is transiting my Neptune or my Pallas is extremely helpful.
Sedna
Sedna seems to tell a story about the ceasing of victimhood. You’ll find Sedna where you refuse to be a victim any longer.
Vesta
Vesta is about dedication and purity.
Name Asteroids
Of the many thousands of asteroids, many have regular names. Most people are able to find a personal name asteroid that represents them, both in their own chart, and in others. My personal asteroids is #558, Carmen, and it’s uncanny how this asteroid interacts with planets in the charts of my loved ones.
We will likely add to this page as time goes on, because this is a very small number of asteroids.