asteroidsample

The asteroids are small planet-like bodies that orbit the Sun in a belt that lies mostly between Mars and Jupiter. They first dawned on human consciousness in the early 1800s. The first four asteroids to be sighted were given the names of four of the great goddesses of classical antiquity: Ceres (discovered in 1801), Pallas Athene (discovered in 1802), Juno (discovered in 1804) and Vesta (discovered in 1807).

Many more asteroids were soon discovered, so that by the end of the 19th century, over a thousand were known. The first asteroid ephemeris (a table listing planetary positions) was made available to astrologers in 1973 by Eleanor Bach, and it covered only the original four. Today astrologers have computer software that tracks the placements of over five thousand.

Astrologers have often observed the tendency for the sighting and naming of new bodies in the solar system to come at the same time in history as the activation of new centers of consciousness in the collective human psyche. Overall, the rapid discovery of so many new celestial bodies in such a short time mirrors the modern acceleration of human brain potential, and the recent exponential growth of information that has yielded so many thousands of new facts.

As to uncovering a more particular meaning for the asteroids, the names that become attached to newly discovered bodies always seem to be significant. Though many asteroids were given the names of gods, people, places, concepts and things, over three-quarters of the first thousand to be discovered were named after goddesses from various mythological traditions.

The naming of so many asteroids after female deities paralleled an awakening of a feminine-defined principle in women, men and society. Around 1973, when the first astrological asteroid ephemeris was published and astrologers began extensive consideration of asteroids, the women's movement emerged, and new aspects of feminine expression began to awaken in human consciousness. Women became imbued with the seed possibilities of feminine creativity and intelligence that expanded and transcended the traditional roles of wife and mother. This period also marked the rediscovery of women's ancient history, the growth of women's culture in creative and professional areas, and the rebirth of the Goddess in women's spirituality. The lives of men and that of society in general have also been affected by the activation and growing influence of a right-brain, feminine-polarity, holistic way of perceiving the world.

In the symbolic language of astrology, the goddess asteroids provided new archetypes that specifically addressed the current psychological and social issues that arose from this activation of the feminine principle. Only two of the usual planets, the Moon and Venus, represent feminine archetypes, and these are of the mother and the wife. Until the asteroids, astrology had to fit all other women's experiences into masculine- defined archetypes. What was needed was a set of symbols by which to describe the other avenues of feminine expression that exist today. During the years since 1972 when astrologers have observed the significance of asteroids in birth charts, they have uncovered a wealth of information that adds insight and understanding above and beyond that gained from the usual ten planets.

Clearly, it is impossible to include all the thousands of asteroids in a birth chart and then make sense of them. To select asteroids to look at, some astrologers note only the asteroids that are very closely conjunct important points in the chart such as the Sun, Moon, Ascendant, Midheaven or a particular planet that is being considered. Alternatively, they look for asteroid names that suggest people, places or themes in a person's life, and then see where these asteroids fall in the chart. Using these approaches, astrologers such as Zipporah Dobyns, Jacob Schwartz, J. Lee Lehman, Nona Gwyn Press and Batya Stark, Demetra George, have come up with an amazing number of startling (and often amusing) synchronicities. Playing the asteroid name game is great fun, and it gives yet another comforting manifestation of the interconnectedness of all things.

They also complete the female pantheon of goddesses, rounding out the system of symbols begun in the usual ten planets. Of the six great goddesses of Olympus, only Aphrodite (Venus) and Artemis (the Moon) are represented in the conventional astrological symbol system. The other four great goddesses of Graeco-Roman mythology, Demeter (Ceres), Athene (Pallas), Hera (Juno) and Hestia (Vesta), were missing from astrology until they were re-invoked by their discovery in the early 1800s.

The glyph or written symbol for Ceres takes the form of a scythe. Besides signifying the goddess of agriculture, this tool for harvesting suggests both the roundness of a breast and the themes of separation and death that run through the legend of Ceres. As the mother, she brings us into life, and, like the Christian Mary who grieves over her crucified Son, she also lets us go into death, thus starting another cycle. For this reason she is associated with the IC of the horoscope, the very bottom of the day cycle, where, in the system of astrological houses, life begins and ends.

Known to the Greeks as Demeter, Ceres was the goddess of agriculture who worked unceasingly to bring food and nourishment to the people of the earth. One of the great classical myths tells of her daughter Persephone's ravishment and abduction by Pluto, lord of the underworld. Grieving, Ceres wandered over the earth in search of her missing child. In her grief, depression and anger, she caused a famine, withholding production of all food until her daughter was returned.

Persephone meanwhile had eaten pomegranate seeds, a symbol of sexual awareness, thus giving Pluto a claim over her so that she could not be returned permanently to her mother. A compromise was reached whereby Persephone would spend part of each year in the underworld with Pluto caring for the souls of the dead, but each spring would be reunited with her mother in the upper world as she initiated the dead into the rites of rebirth. For over two thousand years, this drama was celebrated regularly in ancient Greece as the initiation rites of the Eleusinian mysteries.

The story of Ceres and Persephone speaks to the complex mother-child relationship, emphasizing the interplay of closeness and separation, of nurturing and eventual letting-go as the child becomes an adult able to function on her or his own. Once the letting-go is accomplished, the child is free to reestablish the bond in a different key by becoming a friend to the parent and by producing grandchildren.

The Ceres myth also contains the themes of major physical or emotional loss, separation, abandonment, rejection, and estrangement that occur between parents and children, and later in life with other loved ones. One example of this is the anguish we face in cases of divorce or adoption when we need to share our children with their other parent. Ceres symbolizes attachment to whatever we have given birth to or created, and also the agony of losing it. If her myth is one of loss, however, it is also one of return, of death but also rebirth. Reminding us that loss makes way for new birth, Ceres can teach us the lesson of letting go.

A central part of Ceres bonding is the giving of food as an expression of love. In our early experiences as children, this food and love may be freely given. In other instances, however, it is conditionally awarded, withheld as a form of punishment, pushed upon us, or simply neglected. Then the self-love and self-worth of the child are undermined and underdeveloped, causing a host of psychological problems.

In her grief, Ceres became immobilized. Thus another Ceres problem manifests as being plunged into depths of depression or despair, making us incapable of daily functioning, work, and all other forms of productivity. To the extent that depression is associated with incomplete mourning, working through the stages of grief (shock, anger, bargaining, depression, and ultimately acceptance) can help to promote healing in times of loss.

The zodiacal sign of Ceres shows the particular quality of nurturing that you experienced as a child. This sets the stage for how you presently nurture the child within yourself, and ultimately determines how you nurture others. The sign position of Ceres can alert you to possible problems with nurturing, and can direct you to the kinds of experience that you need to feel unconditionally loved and accepted.

If these needs were not met in an optimal manner, you may have felt that limitations were placed on the love you received. Nurturing may have been conditionally given, being based on how you performed or what you accomplished. Hence, you may have reacted (and may still be reacting) to this conditional love by feeling that you are undeserving of unconditional acceptance and unlovable unless you achieve. You may have compensated in later life by using outer achievements to impress others and gain their recognition.

As an adult, you still desire to have a need for structure and security met by whomever you turn to for nurturing - whether it be a parent, partner or other loved one. You can nurture yourself and the child within you by not only giving yourself orderly surroundings, but also by learning to love yourself despite your imperfections. Then you can feel nurtured by your tangible accomplishments, but still base your self- love on who you are and not what you do. When you nurture children or other loved ones, you do this most naturally by teaching them to be responsible for themselves, and by giving them practical tools that they can use to succeed in the outer world. Insofar as you can learn to love yourself, you will be able to give them all the love they need.

Besides the Fourth House, which shows your earliest upbringing, the house that Ceres falls into shows where or in what department of life you may most directly feel the need for mothering and nurturing. The house that Ceres is in also suggests the areas in which you are likely to feel your profoundest losses. In addition, it can give a key as to what kinds of experiences will either foster feelings of self-love, or feelings of self-criticism and rejection.

It's possible that at least some of your earlier nurturing was done by a sister, brother or neighbor, or that you took on the role of parenting your siblings. In both earlier and later life, it is important for you to feel emotionally connected to your friends, siblings and associates. You may accomplish this through creating networks that link all of you together. You may also participate in organizational activities that bring people together in your neighborhood or community.

You may have felt an especially keen sense of loss when leaving your brothers and sisters, changing schools, moving away from your neighborhood or otherwise leaving familiar faces and surroundings. When faced with such separations, it helps to remember that in the myth of Ceres, loss is part of a cycle of loss and then return. Sometimes, the same person or place is later returned to you; but if this doesn't happen, once you have gracefully let go, something comparable takes its place. In this way your life is renewed and refreshed.

The aspects that Ceres makes with other planets and asteroids show how her nurturing energies interact with the concerns of the other gods and goddesses in your chart. If her aspects reinforce the themes suggested by her sign and house, these themes are bound to be obvious in your life. If the aspects in some way contradict the themes of the sign and house, they may give rise to interesting tensions that take some creativity and practice to resolve. If an asteroid makes an aspect with the Sun or Moon, her importance for you is greatly magnified.

When it works optimally, this aspect shows that your primary caregivers provided a stable, orderly and structured environment for you. They strove to impart the virtues of discipline and self-responsibility, so that as an adult you are responsible, loyal and dedicated to members of your own family. Your nurturing relationships will then be characterized by respect, depth and enduring bonds.

On the other hand, since Saturn rules the concept of limits and scarcity, you may have experienced a lack of love and validation from your primary caregivers. Excessive punishment, rigidity or harsh discipline may have been administered. In your home setting you may have felt restricted and confined. Your caregivers may have been absent, or cold, or have demanded certain behaviors or expected you to live up to high standards in exchange for their approval. The result is that you may still feel that in order to be loved you have to perform.

Whatever the details, you did not feel unconditionally loved. Because you didn't get what you needed, it may be difficult for you to offer and express emotional support to your own loved ones. To break the pattern of feeling deprived and resentful, you may have to let go of blaming your parents and learn to give yourself the love you that were previously denied.

Another scenario is that you may have had to take on the responsibility of parenting your siblings, or even your parents in some cases, if they were physically or emotionally debilitated. In your current role as provider, also, you may feel overly obligated and constrained by the responsibilities of caring for your children or elderly parents. Although taking responsibility can be a source of satisfaction and self- development and a way to express love, it should not be allowed to fill up your whole field of view. You may have to discipline your self to take time off to give yourself the nurture and pleasure that you need.

Your primary caregivers may have been spiritual, artistic, psychic or involved in healing pursuits, and this may reflect in your own style of caregiving later in life. Alternatively, one or both of your parents may have had emotional problems, played the role of martyr, been involved in substance abuse, or had difficulty in coping with the material world. To the extent that you took on the pain of your parents, you may be struggling with the same issues yourself.

You may have been raised in an environment where the chaos of the family system made it difficult to distinguish between fantasy and reality. You may have idealized one or both parents and may therefore have unrealistic expectations of the type of nurturing that you can receive from others. When your needs are not met, you may feel disillusioned and let down. Your resulting emotional neediness may predispose you to seek nurturing by playing the victim. Or, unable to bear your emotional pain and isolation, you may seek refuge in some form of escapism such as drugs, alcohol or overeating.

To resolve such Ceres-Neptune challenges, you ultimately need to find your nourishment through Spirit, through experiencing the oneness that connects all beings. You can fulfill your innate longing for wholeness by ministering to the wounds of others, but you must guard against indiscriminately trying to rescue people in the hopes of fixing or rehabilitating them. Truly to help others, you must first find nourishment for yourself by contacting the Spirit within.

Pallas, the second asteroid to be discovered, was named for the goddess who, instead of being born from the womb, sprang from the head of her father and in her later actions exemplified strengths that are often thought of as masculine. Befittingly, this second asteroid to be discovered represents a second developmental stage in people's lives, when they look to their fathers to provide them with the firmness and independence to leave the home and go forth into the world. This is the time of life when one acquires skills and a sense of competence, and starts to formulate oneself as an independent person. In societies where female children were expected to marry at the earliest possible age, this stage was largely neglected in a woman's development, but it is a stage as important for women as it is for men. For either sex, only when this stage is successfully mastered is one truly ready to embark on the next stage, wherein one becomes a partner in a relationship of equals.

The astrological glyph for Pallas pictures the spear that is carried by the goddess in many depictions. The spear points upward and outward toward the world at large. Like the suit of swords in the Tarot, the spear suggests the intellect, which probes and severs, seeking knowledge and separating one idea from another to achieve clarity. The glyph also suggests a head upon a body; signifying the goddess's origin, her associations with the intellect, and the movement from the womb center to the head, or from the bottom, or IC, of the horoscope wheel to the top, or Midheaven.

As patroness of Athens, she presided over military strategies during wartime and over justice in peacetime. She also fostered useful arts, including spinning and weaving, pottery, healing and other areas in which human skill and ingenuity improve the quality of life for all. Another art that she fostered was horse-taming (an interesting association in light of the "horse-crazy" stage that many girls go through in early adolescence).

Pallas Athene is mythologically related to an ancient lineage of goddesses from the Near East, North Africa and Crete who were associated with the serpent as a symbol of wisdom and healing. She affirmed this connection by placing the head of her dark sister, Medusa, the serpent-haired queen of wisdom, in the center of her breastplate. In the yogic tradition, kundalini energy is depicted as a serpent that is coiled at the base of the spine ready to rise through the spinal canal and emerge from the top of the head as cosmic illumination. This has similarities to the wisdom of Pallas Athene, who emerged from the head of Jupiter.

Pallas Athene's association with both the serpent and the taming of horses suggests that her basic theme has to do with reason civilizing the forces of nature for the benefit of humankind. As a woman, she represents the force of nature that brings new life into being, the raw energy that underlies aliveness. As her father's daughter, she executes his will, using that force for the good of society. Administering justice, she is able to discern the truth amid tumultuous emotions. Healing illness, she diverts the life force back into the proper channels. As a weaver and potter, she uses cleverness and dexterity to turn raw materials into useful objects.

In our culture still, women who are smart, powerful, strong, and accomplished are like Pallas in that they may not be considered "real women." They are often pressured to make a choice between career and creative self-expression on the one hand, and relationship and family on the other. We see Pallas Athene all over again in the high-school girl who is applauded for her victory on the debate team, but who is not asked to the prom.

To heal ourselves, we must remember that even though the Greek myths had Athene denying her female origins, they still made her not a god but a goddess, one whose unique strength has its roots in the feminine powers of nature. Her story enlarges the possibilities for women, telling women everywhere that they, too, are free, if they wish, to channel their womanly life-creating Venus energy not only through their procreative powers but also through their intellects. This is the Pallas way of enriching and enhancing life. Pallas Athene, that productive and powerful goddess, shows that women do not have to be men to be effective in the world. As women, they are able to impart a special kind of life- promoting energy to intellectual and professional pursuits.

As Zeus's favorite daughter, the archetypal "daddy's girl," Pallas Athene points to another issue, our relationships to our own fathers. In our birth charts she reveals the ways in which we emulate them, seek their approval, want to interact in their world, and give them power over our lives. A strong, well-placed Pallas in a woman's chart usually shows a girl who was cultivated by her father and who has learned valuable life skills from him.

To sum up, Pallas represents the part of you that wants to channel creative energy to give birth to mental and artistic progeny, children of the mind. She represents your capacity for creative wisdom and clear thinking, and speaks to your desire to strive for excellence and accomplishment in your chosen field of expression. The model of the strong, courageous, ingenious, artistically creative and intelligent woman, Pallas shows how you use your intelligence to seek truth; how you achieve in practical, mental or artistic fields; and how you work to attain worldly power.

Insofar as Pallas is the military strategist and the administerer of justice, her placement in the horoscope shows how you apply your intelligence to warding off attack and preserving balance and integrity in your body, mind and social interactions. This is not only a matter of self-defense, it is also a fundamental principle of healing. The placement of Pallas in your chart shows the healing modalities that are likely to work best for you, either when applied to yourself, or by you to others.

The zodiacal sign in which Pallas was placed at your birth shows the style of perception through which your creative mind operates, and also your style of applying your creative intelligence and ingenuity to the affairs of life. It can therefore have a lot to do with your career and hobbies. It also shows the special kind of wisdom and skill that you offer to the world. In a sense, the placement of Pallas shows how you carry out the will of the Deity (or the light within you), and make it materialize here on Earth.

You may find yourself working with religion, philosophy, or other unifying systems of thought that encompass and bring together diverse areas of life. Studying a variety of philosophies, you may then use your creative insights to bring them together in a new way. Finding yourself defending your belief systems, philosophies or religious/spiritual values, you may also become a spiritual warrior or holy crusader. (For example, the philosopher Bertrand Russell, who staunchly defended freedom of thought, was born with Pallas in Sagittarius.) In the political sphere, you would tend to be interested in the judicial branch of government, most likely in an area where you could employ your interest in legal philosophy and the law as a force that unifies society.

As a healer, you would aim to create wholeness by unifying the disparities in people's natures. You might do this as a teacher, encouraging people to become conscious of and develop their own life philosophies or belief systems. As a healer of the body, you would be holistic in a broad sense, uniting various healing modalities, and very likely integrating New-Age with more standard approaches. Sagittarius's connection to religion might possibly indicate the shaman or guru, one who heals through spiritual knowledge.

The house in which Pallas is found shows what departments of life are most likely to provide the outlet for your creative intelligence and ingenuity. Taken along with the Tenth and Sixth houses, which are the traditional significators of your calling and your daily work, the house that Pallas occupies can be an indicator of your career. Along with the Fifth house, the house in which Pallas is found can also indicate your hobbies.

Pallas Athene in the Third indicates that your creative intelligence may well be expressed through some form of communication, be it writing, speaking, teaching, advertising, reporting the news or otherwise transmitting information. Along with other media for the spoken or written word, telephones, computer networking, and the Internet are likely to have a special fascination for you. In your development, an older brother or sister may have assumed a "fatherly" role in your life, teaching you about the world of work and ideas and helping you find a career.

You probably have a greater than average thirst for knowledge, learning and the collecting of facts. On a philosophical or scientific level, you may use your creative intelligence to explore the nature of the mind and how it works. Since the Third House rules earlier education, you may also be attracted to educational philosophies, such as those of Maria Montessori or Rudolf Steiner, that promote the creative expression and independent thinking of the child.

Your life in some way has to do with transforming sexual and creative energy into mental, artistic or practical accomplishment. Central to your being is an urge to benefit society by means of your ingenuity and wisdom. Pallas aspecting the Sun points to strength of character, intelligence, and courage as you strive for excellence and accomplishment in your chosen field of expression. You probably communicate clearly and efficiently, and are known for your original ideas, brilliant mind, pioneering vision or strategic planning.

With Pallas a central theme in your chart, you may identify yourself as a person who has a vast reservoir of mentally creative energy. Over the course of your life, however, your obvious intelligence may have created personal difficulties as you were rejected or not seen as a sexual partner. This may have been especially painful when you were an adolescent, a time when boys and especially girls who are brainy are often perceived as not being datable. In adulthood, one usually finds more tolerance for intelligence, such that it may even become a means of attracting others. However, earlier social wounds may cause you to harden your armor against these hurts, so that you come to devalue feelings in favor of the rational intellect. This can be a classic Pallas blind spot, preventing intake of the valuable information that feelings provide.

This aspect also sometimes indicates difficulties relating to one's father. If you are a woman, you may have been "daddy's little girl," continually seeking his approval and validation. This can lead to being disappointed in men who do not live up to your idealized image of your father. Or you could identify totally with your father, rejecting the feminine in yourself and championing men's values over those of women. In a man's chart, this aspect could also lead to conflicts or power struggles with strong women.

When it works well, this combination can show a fusion of intellect and emotion, producing a clear perception of the world of feelings. With a harmonious Pallas- Moon aspect, your intelligence and creativity are augmented by feminine powers and abilities that are strongly experienced and clearly expressed. You may possess a highly intuitive and fertile mind as well as overall psychic ability. This could suit you for work, such as psychotherapy, in which your keen pattern perception can help to heal the emotional problems of others.

Like Pallas Athene, women with this aspect can model to others an image of a woman who is strong, successful, intelligent and creative. If you are a man, you may attract Pallas women who are strong, creative, and independent. Such was the case with Chopin, who had Pallas in Aries opposing the Moon (his own feminine nature) in Libra. Delicate in health, this composer of exquisite piano music became involved with the iconoclastic and mannish woman writer George Sand.

When the energies of Pallas and the Moon do not combine harmoniously, you may experience an ongoing conflict between your mind and your feelings. As a child, you may have viewed your mother as weak, powerless and ineffectual, and have preferred to identify with your father. You may have had conflicts with, or were not attuned to, your sisters or other women. This may have led to an alienation from your own feminine qualities of softness, sensitivity and vulnerability. Out of a strong fear of being dependent in any way, you may put on a false front of independence. As an adult, you may call upon logical, analytical and cold behavior as a means to gain worldly power and success.

Saturn in combination with Pallas Athene can give you a high degree of self- discipline and systematic thinking to manifest your creative ideas. You have the potential for great mental concentration and focus, which can make you extremely productive and enable you realize your plans. Especially in business activities, you can make wise decisions resulting in recognition and rewards.

You may, however, need to face the issue of whether to measure your success as defined by the traditional order or by your own values. Your parents may have had unrealistic expectations for success which you could not live up to; or societal definitions of success may not equate with your own. To remain true to Pallas and do her creative work, you may have to listen to your own inner promptings.

Another difficulty you may have with this combination is a conflict between pragmatism and your need for artistic expression. You may have been told by your parents or teachers, "It's okay to write (or paint, sculpt, etc.), but don't try to make a living from it." Comments like this can lead you to doubt your creative talent, devalue its worth, or not even try for fear of failing. You may thus experience a sense of frustration or delay about externalizing your creative projects. To fully express your creativity, you will need to challenge and release whatever negative beliefs are blocking your creative process.

When connected with Saturn, Pallas, the archetypal daughter, can also signify a range of father-daughter complexes. You may have strongly identified with a stern father (or other parent who embodied austere masculine values) who may have had a strong control over you. You may have seen the feminine as being weak and ineffectual and not worthy of emulation. Internally, you may devalue and reject your own feminine qualities, thus cutting off a valuable, life-giving energy.

Such a combination often shows a strong interest in metaphysical, spiritual and occult study. Spiritual practices that involve concentrated focus on visual imagery may appeal to you. You may have telepathic abilities and the capacity for psychic healing, perhaps using color or music. You may have pronounced artistic creativity in areas such as poetry, music, visual art, photography or cinema.

Some difficulties that you may encounter with this combination include having periods of mental confusion. In extreme cases, people may be unable to distinguish between the real and unreal and may have delusions or hallucinations. Due to the impressionability symbolized by Neptune, you may attract negative psychic influences which create fear and disorientation. The resolution of these problems lies in expressing your mental creativity and sensitivity in a tangible and well-grounded manner.

You may be attracted to psychedelic or mind-expanding substances as a way of entering altered states of reality. In ancient cultures, psychedelic drugs and alcohol were used in sacred rites in order to commune with the gods. In modern times, this sacred function of drugs has been largely forgotten so that the use of these substances usually leads not to spiritual illumination but to addiction and despair. Richard Alpert, born with Pallas conjunct Neptune square the Moon, provides an interesting example of this facet of Pallas-Neptune. Originally a professor who was a leading force in the psychedelic revolution of the 1960s, he eventually became Ram Dass, a spiritual leader who advocated meditation and other traditional Eastern religious practices as a way to reach Deity.

When the androgynous tendencies signified by Pallas combine with Neptune's tendency toward confusion, one can have doubts about one's sexual orientation, or sexual life-energies may take a disembodied form. Often sexual energy may be sublimated into artistic expression or spiritual service. A case in point is Saint Francesca Cabrini, who was born with was born with Pallas conjunct Neptune in Pisces.

You may have the capacity to work with regenerative healing techniques, both in the physical and mental body. Thus, you may be attracted to healing modalities, such as psychotherapy, surgery, and cellular regeneration, that go to the root of the problem. Because Pluto is the god of death, you may be attracted to working with the dying through hospice work or bereaved people through grief counseling. Techniques such as kundalini yoga, which transform the energy currents in the body, may also appeal to you.

As an artist, you stimulate your audience to plumb the depths of their emotions. Because Pluto is the god of the underworld, your political activism may take the form of undercover work or investigative reporting. You may have a fascination with the occult. You may also be involved in protecting innocent people from Plutonian excesses such as child sexual abuse or domestic violence.

Some difficulties that you may encounter with this combination of energies include having deep unconscious blocks in the expression of your creative potential. You may use your mental powers to try to control other people and circumstances for your own benefit or personal gain. Powerful mental obsessions and fixations may dominate your thinking. These may arise from unconscious, forgotten childhood memories or surface from unresolved issues in past lives. Becoming conscious of and releasing these old traumas can promote healing and mental relief.

This Pallas-Juno aspect makes it quite possible that you will contribute greatly to your partner's creative self- expression or work in the world. It is also likely that your own creative endeavors will be expressed through some kind of long-term partnership, most probably marriage. Such was the case with Princess Diana, who had Pallas conjunct Juno in Pisces. Through her marriage to Prince Charles, she attained a position where she found her own remarkable Piscean talent for charitable work. In the same way that Juno was First Lady of the Olympic pantheon, Diana was Queen of Hearts to the British people and ultimately to the world.

It is also possible that your inquiries or enterprises have to do with relationships or with the institution of marriage. On a fundamental psychological level this was true of Carl G. Jung, the founder of Analytic Psychology, who had Pallas conjunct Juno in Leo. In his quest to find how human beings can achieve a sense of wholeness, he wrote about the inner marriage of male and female elements within the self.

When Pallas and Juno are in a stressful relationship, there can be a conflict between relationship needs and the need for individual enterprise and creativity. When the conflict is internalized, you may find yourself torn between marriage and career. When the conflict is externalized, you may find one partner placing limits on the other's accomplishments. Your challenge, then, is to acknowledge the value of the other in the creative process and to find a way to incorporate his or her contributions while being true to yourself.

If a stressful Pallas-Juno relationship surfaces as difficulty in forming and being happy in long-term partnerships, it would be well to look at your earlier relationship to your father. Examining the way in which this earlier tie was troubled and then making peace with the father figure within you is a way you may resolve your relationship problems in adult life.

The glyph for Juno suggests a scepter, befitting the queen of the gods, and a flower, befitting her femininity. In general form, the glyph for Juno resembles that for Venus; but instead of the circle denoting Venus's mirror, there are outward- pointing rays, indicating that the seductive femininity of Venus is about to turn outward, bearing fruit in marriage and children.

In classical mythology, Juno, known to the Greeks as Hera, was wedded to Jupiter (Greek Zeus), supreme king of heaven and earth. As such, she became his queen and the Goddess of Marriage. In the myths of an earlier time, however, long before her meeting with Jupiter Juno was one of the primary great goddesses in her own right. As the only one who was his equal, Juno was chosen by Jupiter to initiate with him the rites of legal, monogamous, patriarchally defined marriage. As his queen, she became but a figurehead and was repeatedly deceived, betrayed, and humiliated by her husband's many infidelities. In the myths Juno was portrayed as a jealous, manipulative, vindictive, revengeful, and malcontent wife who, after tempestuous fights, would periodically leave her husband. However, she always returned to try to work things out one more time.

In the human psyche, Juno represents that aspect of each person's nature which feels the urge to unite with another person to build a future together in a committed relationship. This partnership is sustained over time through a formal and binding commitment, whether it be a worldly or a spiritual bond. Juno speaks to our desire to connect with a mate who is our true equal on all levels - psychologically, emotionally, mentally and spiritually.

When we do not receive intimacy, depth, equality, honesty, respect and fulfillment in our unions, Juno speaks to our emotions of disappointment, despair, anger and rage, which can overwhelm us. This is especially true when we have given up a great deal, such as a career, family, home, or religion, to enter the relationship. The Juno in us makes us confront the issues of submission and domination, fidelity and infidelity, trust and deception, forgiveness and revenge. In her realm we find ourselves in power struggles for equality as we attempt to balance and integrate ourselves with another person and learn to transform selfish desires into cooperative union.

In today's world, Juno is also a symbol for the plight of battered and powerless wives and minorities; for the psychological complexes of love-addiction and codependency; for the rise in divorce rates as people are driven to release unmeaningful relationships; and for the re-definition of traditional relationships in the face of feminism and of gay and lesbian coupling.

To sum up, Juno is the archetype of the wife and partner who maintains her marital commitment to her husband in the face of conflict and struggle. In the birth chart she, along with other chart factors such as the Seventh House, represents your capacity for meaningful committed relationships, your attitude toward such relationships, and the type of relationship experiences that you need in order to feel fulfilled. She represents both what you need and what you attract, and she also signifies the ways in which you act out your disappointment over broken unions. These relationships are usually romantic in nature, but may sometimes assume other forms such as business, professional or creative partnerships.

If you are in a relationship, you may want also to determine the element of your partner's Juno. In general, fire signs are most compatible with air signs, while earth and water seem to form a harmonious pair. However, if you and your partner's Juno's are placed in challenging elements (for example, fire and water), the relationship is still workable. It simply means that you will have to make more of an effort to understand each other's needs.

Because Capricorn and its ruler, Saturn, represent the established order, partnership may mean traditional and legally sanctioned forms such as marriage. Even if you are not legally bound to a partner, your relationship is likely to last a long time. This is not just because you want material and emotional security, but because of the Capricornian need to perfect and complete whatever it brings into being.

If your need for constancy is not met, you may lose respect for your partner, demeaning him or her as ineffectual and incapable. Or, in an attempt to create security where there is none, you may find yourself becoming controlling or possessive. Because you want your major life relationships to last, you should probably be careful to select a long-term partner who can meet this need for stability. In the best of all worlds, this partner would also satisfy your needs for romance, inspiration, and excitement. It may not be possible to have these qualities all in one person, however. In such a case, it may be best for you to marry the stable one and look to your friends for excitement.

Alternatively, you may be the bulwark of stability in the relationship, giving a more flighty partner a much-needed anchor in reality. If stability is something your partner really wants but has difficulty getting without you, your relationship could be both enduring and satisfying. Your partner could be comforted by the steadiness and order that you bring into his or her life, and you may take joy and inspiration from your partner's liveliness.

Another possibility is an attraction to an older or more serious partner who takes on a parental role by offering protection and material support. Problems may arise if you experience your partner as controlling, or if you start to feel trapped in a dependent, child-like role. In such a case, you need to withdraw your parental projections and learn to take responsibility for yourself. In this way, you do what you were meant to do in this life, rather than having your partner do it for you.

No matter which partner embodies the Capricorn symbolism, your life together will tend to center around bringing your goals into concrete manifestation. Real-life issues such as money, work and the achievement of status will test your closeness and will provide the arena in which you play out your relationship. You may help each other climb the career or social ladder, and your place in the larger social order with others above and below you will somehow play a part in your relationship. Whatever aims and ideals you have will need to be tested in the practical world. As a couple, your aims may be high, but the Capricorn qualities should bring you the patience and endurance to achieve them.

Your most important relationships tend to focus on communicating information and ideas. Whether the partnership is for romance or business, intellectual and verbal communication form a principal way in which your relationship is played out. Phone calls, letters, faxes or e-mail may thus be an important part of your life together. You deepen your relationship by exchanging ideas, and, when there are problems, you are driven to talk them out. In this way, your partner may serve as a catalyst for your own self-understanding.

Your partner may be a neighbor, a schoolmate, a sibling or other relative, or such people may become an important part of your life together. You may have met in connection with writing, teaching, learning basic skills or networking with others. Or once you become partners, these activities may become central to your relationship. It's also possible that you may have met on a bus or commuter train, or perhaps even on the Internet - or as partners you may spend much time together in these places. You might also spend a lot of time together in the car or on short trips.

This aspect mixes Juno's concern for meaningful relationships on the one hand with lunar matters such as feelings, daily habit patterns, and your most basic sense of security and belonging. The fulfillment of your emotional needs is more than usually intertwined with having a meaningful long-term relationship. More than most people, you want a partnership in which you feel a secure sense of belonging. Creating a home and family may be an important way of meeting this need.

When Juno and the Moon are relating stressfully, your need for a long-term committed relationship may come into conflict with your need for nurturing and emotional security. There may be a tendency to project unmet childhood needs onto your partner, or to have your partner do this with you. Feelings of insecurity in either of you may bring out possessiveness, jealousy, dependency, or emotional manipulation. Either or both of you may feel emotionally needy, and a fear of being engulfed may lead a partner to withdraw as a strategy for emotional self-protection.

One Juno issue that is at odds with the Moon is that of equality in a relationship. With your strong Juno-Moon connection, there is a danger that dependency issues could compromise the equality needed in a truly adult partnership. To achieve the strong partnership that is so essential to your emotional well-being, you will need to face up to these dependency issues and move beyond them.

Besides yourself being lunar in your Juno-type relationships, you tend to seek long-term partners who have a lunar quality. These are strongly feeling types who may have the Moon or the sign Cancer or some other water sign prominent in their charts. You may experience such a partner as sympathetic, sensitive or nurturing, or in some way parental. This can feel sometimes smothering and sometimes comforting.

How well you actually get your communication needs met will depend on other factors in the chart. Especially when Juno and Mercury are relating stressfully, there may be communication difficulties. These may result in arguments, disputes, and misunderstandings. Alternatively, you may feel unheard by your partner or feel that your partner is withdrawn and uncommunicative. Or there may be a difference in intellectual interests or educational backgrounds, such that you need to go outside the relationship to share mental interests and activities with others.

Because of Jupiter's philosophical orientation, you may look to your primary relationships to broaden your horizons and find meaning in life. For you, a meeting of minds contributes to your sense of unification on emotional, sexual, and spiritual levels. In fact, you may choose to work with a partner for the advancement of a shared philosophical, educational, or religious belief system.

Because of Juno's loyalty to her marital commitment, she stayed in her marriage with Jupiter despite her difficulties. In similar fashion, you may be invested in keeping the relationship going, even if the relationship is not meeting your needs. Especially if children are involved or you have certain religious beliefs or societal values, you may be torn between your desire to honor your commitment and your need to leave a relationship that is not working.

Because Jupiter governs high ideals, you may also have brought a certain idealism into the relationship, an idealism that does not match the current reality you face. Because Jupiter rules expansion, the issues of your relationship may assume huge and seemingly overwhelming proportions, overshadowing other parts of your life. If this is the case, try to find ways to gain detachment or perspective on your situation.

There is an inherent conflict between Juno's need for committed relationship and Uranus's need for freedom. While Juno wants to be related at all costs, Uranus perceives traditional relationships as limiting and constricting, and refuses to participate for very long. With this aspect, fears of confinement and restriction can lead to erratic and unreliable commitments.

In order to have productive and happy relationships, you need to be aware of this quality in yourself. Instead of fretting because your relationship doesn't fit social norms, you need to structure your relationship so that it allows for a comfortable degree of freedom for you both. This could mean having separate living spaces, spending a certain amount of time apart, or having agreements about how you each relate to people outside of your partnership.

It's possible (particularly if the Juno-Uranus aspect is an opposition or involves the Seventh House) that you project the Uranian qualities onto your partner. Having been brought up to believe in conventional ideas of marital fidelity, you may refuse to acknowledge your own urge for freedom. If you are suffering because you think you are the loyal one and it is your partner who is straying, it's time to own up to the fact that it is you who have the Juno-Uranus aspect. With this aspect, you chose this particular person to do what you could not do yourself - that is, ensure that your relationship would not be too narrow and stifling.

In the course of seeking forms of committed relationship that allow for individual freedom and expression, your creative experimentation may lead to chaos, instability and short-lived relationships. You may have idealistic aspirations about relating, and not be able to bring these aspirations into reality, giving rise to a tension between what you envision and what you are able to live out.

With a Juno-Uranus aspect, you may be attracted to unconventional types, or you may attract others who expect you to fill this role. You, or your partner, or both of you may experience the other as original, free-spirited, and open minded. If the Uranian energies are not working well, however, the partner may be seen instead as erratic, unreliable, or just plain weird.

Some people with this aspect feel that all their energy must go into work on themselves so that they have nothing left to give to a partner. Or if they are in a relationship, they may feel isolated or alienated from the partner. For others, the great relationship of their lives maybe with their own spirituality. They may relate primarily to a spiritual teacher or guru, or feel a calling to unite with the divine rather than with an earthly partner.

Sexual issues are likely to be important in Juno-Vesta partnerships. Like the pre-Classical temple priestesses, you may find yourself alternating between intense sexual activity and periods of celibacy. Your interactions with your significant other may bring up sexual fears and inhibitions from the past, which you may have to experience and work through before intimacy can be attained.

After one has been nurtured, gone out into the world, found one's life partner and borne children, the time comes to turn inward to reconnect with one's spirit. In women, the Matron becomes the Crone; in the culture of India, the householder sets out on his final spiritual journey as a monk-like wanderer; and in Jungian psychology, the active person of affairs embarks on an inward journey to find the Self.

Like Pallas Athene, Vesta was known as a virgin. If Pallas Athene was the pre-reproductive Maiden, Vesta could be thought of as the post-reproductive Crone. After their thirty-year term of office was up, the Vestal Virgins of Rome were allowed to marry, but they were then often beyond childbearing age. In pre-classical times, the cult of the goddess who later became Vesta included sex as a sacrament. Thus Vesta, insofar as she is sexual, represents a rarefied form of sex that transcends the procreative function and aims to achieve spiritual union rather than physical children.

Besides suggesting the letter V, which points downward and inward, the astrological glyph for Vesta represents a flame burning on either a hearth or an altar. This signifies Vesta's function as keeper of the hearth fire and the temple flame, but it also points to the cultivation of the pure spark of spirit within us. Fittingly, Vesta is the brightest object in the asteroid belt.

To the ancient Greeks, Vesta was known as Hestia, a name derived from the word for hearth, and it appears that she had to do with the domestication of fire for human use in the home and in sacrificial offerings. As the eldest of the Olympian gods, she was the most venerated, and was always given the first sacrifices and libations. There are few stories about her deeds, and the few depictions of her show her in repose, indicating an inward, contemplative nature. She refused the marriage offers of Apollo and Poseidon, and under Zeus's protection vowed to remain a virgin forever.

In Roman mythology, Hestia became Vesta, always veiled, but known as the most beautiful of the deities. In the home she was venerated as the protectress of the hearth and its flame. In public life, she was thought of as the protectress of the state, and her priestesses were the six Vestal Virgins of Rome. Dedicated to spiritual service, the Vestals were responsible for keeping the sacred flame burning which was thought to ensure the safety of Rome. They enjoyed great prestige, but if they let the flame go out, they were whipped, and if they violated their oath of chastity during their term of office, they were punished by a public whipping, and then buried alive.

When the old goddess religions gave way to those of the solar gods, sexuality became divorced from spirituality, such that a woman desiring to follow a spiritual path had to remain chaste. Earlier, however, a priestess, representing the Goddess, could enter into a state of spiritual transcendence through sexual union with an partner in a manner that did not call for marriage or commitment. In the later patriarchal culture, ecstatic illumination was experienced as the descent of the spirit of the god into oneself, and the now-chaste Greek priestesses became the brides of the god Apollo in the sense that the Christian nuns became the brides of Christ.

If we are a typical product of our culture's mores, we will most likely internalize this sexual energy. We may devote ourselves to following a spiritual, religious, or meditational path, even following in priestly or monastic footsteps. Or, in our lifelong therapeutic work, we may experience this union with the Self as the process of psychological integration. In one way or another, we turn inward to attain clarity, and in this way we energize ourselves. The vision that arises when we reach the whole and self-contained core of our being then enables us to follow a vocation in which we can be of service in the world.

Alternatively, we may hark back to the earlier cults of priestesses in the Ancient Near East, and periodically find ourselves in sexual encounters with those who pass briefly through our lives or to whom we are not married or committed. These couplings are often marked by a sense that something special, healing and sacred has occurred. To the extent that our society has no context in which to validate sexual unions that do not lead to becoming mated, we may be left with a sense of shame, guilt, and incompleteness. To free ourselves from this burden, we must understand the inherent nature of Vesta's virgins and how they unified sexuality and spirituality.

Vesta protects not only the inner flame of spirituality and sexual energy, but also other precious things that ensure the continuation of human life. As "keeper of the flame" she preserved the state and the institutions of society. She also guarded the home and hearth, including kitchens and the preparation and purity of food. Today she could be seen as a librarian, museum curator, or other sort of worker who preserves the sparks of human culture. She could also express herself in an occupation that deals with housing or food.

Through Vesta, you integrate and regenerate on inner levels so that you can then focus and dedicate yourself to work in the outer world. In the human psyche, Vesta represents the process of spiritual focus that can lead to personal integration. In a broader sense, she signifies the ability to focus on and dedicate ourselves to a particular area of life. When our focus becomes too narrow, we can sometimes feel limited and hemmed in. When our capacity to focus is obstructed, we can feel scattered. This, too, may cause us to experience limitation in the area of life represented by Vesta's sign or house position.

Regardless of the house where your Vesta is placed, you might also like to look at other houses that have to do with Vesta themes. The Fourth and Twelfth houses show how you withdraw into yourself to do inner work. The Tenth House signifies your dedication and your calling. The Sixth House deals with service, the Twelfth House with where you experience limitation and blockages, and the Eighth House with inner transformation and your attitudes toward sex.

This is a paradoxical position for Vesta, the principle of self-containment and inward focusing. Though you rely on relationships to take you where Vesta wants to go, you may feel ambivalent about committing yourself to an ongoing relationship. This flight from commitment, or a disinclination to compromise and cooperate, could be the subject matter of your fights. It's also possible that you will project your own Vesta onto your partner, so that your partner's self- sufficiency and detachment is a problem for you. Whichever partner takes on the Vesta role, the theme of your relationship is likely to be the harmonizing of the impulse to connect with the impulse to go it alone.

To deal with these issues, you must go deep inside to locate your own true motivations and the higher truths that transcend these differences. You may decide to embark on spiritual growth together, with each respecting the other's right to solitude and personal time with the Divine. Or, if you pursue your spiritual paths separately, you can be greatly enriched by comparing notes on each other's experiences.

Vesta in the Seventh imparts a particular ability for long-term focus and concentration on one's relationship. Your marriage or other partnership may be the occasion for your doing prodigious amounts of inner work. When your focus becomes too single-minded, however, you may find yourself obsessing about your primary relationship to the exclusion of other people and activities.

Instead of having the closeness of a marriage, a person with Vesta in the Seventh may find business or consulting relationships more natural vehicles for spiritual growth. Alternatively, since the Seventh House also rules one-to-one confrontations, you might find that you grow spiritually and come to know your true nature through contests or combat, such as debating, games like chess, martial arts, boxing, or fencing. This would be more likely if you have Mars or Aries either involved with Vesta or the Seventh House, or simply very prominent in your chart.

A Vesta-Mercury aspect can indicate a highly developed mind that can powerfully focus and direct its thoughts. When you are in touch with your sense of mission, you have a strong drive to express your ideas or to dedicate yourself to the transmission of spiritual teachings. You have great powers of focus and concentration as they apply to the fields of research, learning and communication. You may be called to writing as a vocation, or you may use writing to communicate your spiritual ideals.

When the energies of Vesta and Mercury are not well-integrated, you may have poor concentration and be mentally scattered and unfocused. Even though it may be difficult at first, you will find that meditation will calm and still your mind. (You may also want to correct possible physical causes such as food allergies, reduce your level of stress, or cut down on distractions by simplifying your life to essentials). Also with Vesta-Mercury, your communication to others may come across as being either non committal or diffused and hard to understand. Alternatively, Vesta's extreme self- focus may cause your thinking to be overly narrow, obsessive or introspective.

This Vesta-Uranus combination in your chart suggests that your path to the divine may be through discovering your own originality and innovative nature. For you, personal integration comes from accepting the ways in which you are different from others and ahead of your time. These often-unexpected insights can lead you to discover your spiritual purpose and vocation in life. Having the courage to be true to who you are can enable you to be a catalyst for change and reform.

Your mind naturally focuses on innovative ideas. You may pursue scientific and technological studies that are on the cutting edge of the future. You may use new technology such as the Internet as way to gain and disseminate spiritual knowledge. Part of your spiritual path may be to dedicate yourself to new political, humanitarian, and revolutionary visions that challenge the status quo and question authority and tradition. This aspect can symbolize the spiritual leader (in the broadest sense of the word) who through his or her ministry challenges orthodox dogma, rules and conventions and calls for reform in religious and spiritual institutions.

This aspect also combines Uranus's urge for freedom with Vesta's concern with the non-marital and non-procreative aspects of sex. It suggests that you would advocate sexual liberation and might actually implement non-possessive behavior in sexual relationships. If you do this, you may find yourself judged by a society that does not have a context in which to place such liberated attitudes.

When the energies of Vesta and Uranus do not combine harmoniously, your sense of spiritual purpose may undergo erratic and unexpected changes, making it hard to commit yourself to a vision or ideal. Alternatively, an urge to rebel against authority may impede you from either staying focused on commitments or making them in the first place. Politically, this aspect can manifest as the rebel without a cause.

1. Being in aspect to the Sun, Moon or Ascendant. If there is a tie, you can consider the aspect with the smallest orb to be the strongest. In order of importance, the aspects are the conjunction, opposition, square, trine and sextile. The "minor" aspects such as the quincunx, semisextile, semisquare and sesquiquadrate are only considered if they are very close (say, within an orb of 2 degrees). 2. Being closely conjunct (within 5 to 7 degrees of) the Midheaven, Descendant or IC. If you have more than one asteroid conjunct one of these points, the one that has the smallest value in the "Orb" column is the strongest. If the orbs are approximately the same, aspects to the Midheaven are considered stronger than aspects to the Descendant or IC. Also, applying aspects are stronger than separating ones. 3. Having the closest aspect of any of the four asteroids. Run your eyes down the "Orb" column and find the smallest orb value. You might think of this as a sort of keynote aspect in your chart, especially if it is a major aspect such as the conjunction, opposition, square or trine. 4. Having the most aspects. This means that the asteroid is well-integrated into your chart and influences many functions in your life. If it is involved in a pattern of planets such as a cluster of conjunctions, a T- square, grand cross, or grand trine, this group of planets and asteroids will form a more or less self-contained complex that describes a recurring theme in your life. 5. Having an asteroid that is "elevated." Look at your chart wheel. Even if an asteroid or planet is not closely conjunct the Midheaven, if it is closer to the Midheaven than any other planet or asteroid, it gains some power because it tends to be more publicly observable than the other celestial bodies in your chart.