Asteroids in Astrology

What are asteroids, and what do they offer to astrology?
 
Asteroids — which are sometimes called minor planets — are rocky, airless remnants left over from the early formation of our solar system about 4.6 billion years ago. So, while the discovery of the asteroids has taken place throughout the last 200 years or so, they are ancient celestial bodies in the scope of deep time.
The current known asteroid count is: 1,457,452. There are around 25,508 asteroids with names, with which we might work in astrology.
 
Most asteroids are in the main asteroid belt between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter, although there are other asteroid groups with more eccentric orbits.
The majority of asteroids cannot be seen without a telescope, which means that like Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto, they are basically not visible to the naked eye.
 
While much of astrology involves the interpretation of the visible light of planets and stars, I see the asteroids as one practice of engaging with the invisible—and often in people’s charts, asteroids name experiences or subtle nuances that are not necessarily explicitly revealed elsewhere in the chart. In other words, they bring nuance and complexity into how we understand and describe a life, sometimes bringing in details that simply are not or cannot be described by the planets.
 
The first four asteroids—often called the Goddess Asteroids—were discovered between 1801-1807, 20 years after the discovery of Uranus—the first of the outer planets to be discovered—and 40 years before the discovery of Neptune. So, in terms of the development of the astrological tradition, if you work with the outer planets, the asteroids entered our collective consciousness around the same time.
 
These first four asteroids were named after four great goddesses of antiquity: Ceres (1801), Pallas Athena (1802), Juno (1804), and Vesta (1807).
 
In addition to the four Goddess asteroids, I work with approximately 60 minor asteroids that are named after deities and other divine figures who are venerated in the surviving Orphic Hymns. The Orphic Hymns are a collection of 87 short religious poems or invocations to different Greek goddesses and gods, most likely composed sometime within the 1st to 4th centuries CE. There are around 60 asteroids with names that correspond to the figures venerated within the 87 Orphic Hymns.
 
Working with these asteroids—the four Goddess asteroids along with those named after figures and forces venerated in the Orphic Hymns—connects us to ancient myths, illuminating the ways that our own lives are woven into archetypal stories that have been part of making meaning for thousands of years. We can come to see ourselves in these stories, discovering a mythic context within which we might recognize more of who we are and who we can become.
 
By working with these asteroids, we can identify and describe particular themes, archetypes, or qualities instantiated within a person’s life—and with the asteroids named after figures and forces venerated within the Orphic Hymns, we can also engage with an ancient tradition of ritual practice or devotion through the hymns themselves in order to develop a more substantial relationship with such figures, forces, and their qualities.
 
While my astrological practice is primarily rooted in the Hellenistic tradition, sharing the asteroids that are prominently placed in clients’ charts—telling the myths associated with these figures and forces, participating in an ancient oral tradition, and finding how the themes and qualities of these stories are significant in describing a person’s life—is one of my favorite parts of doing natal astrology consultations.

If you would like to learn more about working with asteroids in astrology, a presentation I gave entitled "Asteroids in Astrology: Nuance, Subtlety, and Direction" is available for download here.

And a presentation that I gave entitled a presentation I gave entitled "Minor Asteroids in the Birth Chart and Ritual" is available for download here.