Asteroids Are The Spice Your Horoscope Needs

When it comes to astrology and understanding asteroids, it’s best to consider them as the salad dressing that’s added to the already delicious meal. It’s an extra spice that adds flavor and greater self-awareness to an already complex, delicious, and pungent dish. 

Asteroids are ancient space rubble that have become celestial bodies of significance in the astrology world. They aren’t big enough to be considered a planet like Earth, since their total mass is less than the moon. But, they do have an impact on our lives. 

Although there are many asteroids floating around the solar system, these are the main ones that affect our lives the most. They’re also the biggest. Ceres and Chiron, who are the largest in size and mass have changed classification according to NASA, but we can still feel the cosmic vibe it omits from outer space.

Dubbed after the gods and goddesses of Ancient Rome and Greece, the attributes of the asteroids personify the mythical beings that share their namesake. The qualities of these mythical beings are prescribed to the asteroid and the energy affects us earthlings.   

Named after Pallas Athena, this asteroid represents warfare, independence, and wisdom. Born from the her father’s head or brain (her dad was Jupiter in Zeus in Greek mythology and later Roman mythology), Pallas shows us how to use the logical side of our minds and strategize based on the intelligence that we have at hand and intuitively know. Pallas (AKA Minerva, her Roman counterpart) also represents the tough, heady decisions we must make in romantic matters — when we think practically with our brain and not our hearts or loins. Rather than getting angry or temperamental at a lover, Pallas concocts a plan to exact revenge when least expected. She uses her military experience to seek justice in matters.  

An ancient Roman goddess and faithful wife of Jupiter, who eventually got tired of his casual liaisons and affairs, Juno represents the ideal wife and mother. Although she was tired of the adultery in her partnership, she remained a doting wife and parent at all times (it’s no wonder people call her Juno Lucina, which translates as “Juno Who Brings to Light”). When Jupiter gave birth to Minerva from his head, Juno became vindictive because he stole her right to bear children. Juno points to our limits and roles in relationships. Although she stays with Jupiter and becomes bitter with time, Juno is always by his side and loyal to him.

The vestige goddess Vesta is known to be the protector of bakers as well as “home hearty and fire.” Vesta’s humble, warm, and sweet outlook on life will make anyone feel at home when in her presence. She’s a compassionate and tender being who in her innocence gives unconditionally. Never married, she doesn’t care for relationship gossip or drama. Vesta’s dedication to remaining a virgin is due to her spiritual belief system — it even transcends the desire one has to enter a life of virtue. We look to her for the ways to sacrifice for the greater good and what we care for on a pure level. 

In Greek mythology, Hygeia is the goddess of physical health. Over time, she became charged with duties of mental health matters as well. Her symbol of a single snake that surrounds a chalice is similar to the image found on ambulances and is linked to the World Health Organization (WHO). Along with Hygeia, her father, Asclepius, and sister, Panacea, are connected to the original belief in the Hippocratic Oath. Hygeia (whose name became the word “hygiene” that means cleanliness) represents the basic ways that we preserve our bodies and space everyday — whether it be through washing our hands, clothes, or methods we take to ensure that illness doesn’t spread. Hygeia knows and embodies the belief that “cleanliness is next to godliness.”

The classification of asteroids to dwarf planets to centaurs have changed throughout time. Although Chiron is now considered a centaur due to its size and texture (a centaur is a minor planet and comet), it still radiates the same energy that it provided as an asteroid. The same applies to Ceres, who’s upgraded from asteroid to ex-centaur to dwarf planet due to its mass.

According to NASA, Ceres is the largest asteroid and is now considered to be a dwarf planet. In Roman mythology, Ceres (the Greek counterpart is Demeter) is the reason we have seasons, as she is the loving mother of Prosperina (AKA Persephone in Greek mythology). Hades (also known as Pluto, the ruler of the underworld) kidnapped Persephone and left Ceres wanting answers to her whereabouts. When Jupiter refused to help Ceres locate Persephone, the goddess of agriculture stopped the harvest and seasons in protest, leaving him with no choice but to assist in locating her daughter. A deal was made that Persephone would spend the spring and summer on earth with Ceres and the fall and winter in the underworld with Hades. Therefore, she represents fertility, the changing seasons, motherly love, and agriculture — as well as the depths we will go to for our children and those we care for.

Known as “the wounded healer who ironically couldn’t heal himself,” Chiron the centaur depicts the deepest traumas and struggles that we face in our lives on an individual level and how we use it as a form of support to those in similar circumstances. Since Chiron was half god and half mortal, he couldn’t die but could suffer pain. When a poisoned arrow pierced his foot, it didn’t kill him; however, it began a lifelong journey of aches that eventually led him to help those in similar situations mend their wounds — even if he couldn’t do the same for himself. The relatively recent controversy (in 1977) surrounding Chiron is that it’s too big to be classified as an asteroid. According to NASA, it’s considered to be a centaur now.