The Significance of Asteroids in Astrology:
Venus is THE GODDESS in astrology but there are also other less well known Goddesses in the form of Asteroids. Four of the main asteroid Goddesses are Ceres, Pallas Athena, Juno, and Vesta. Understanding the themes that each Goddess holds enriches our understanding of that function and expression in our lives, especially as women in a changing world.
The Genealogy of the Asteroid Goddesses as part of the Olympian Family:
Chaos birthed Gaea (Mother Earth). Gaea married and divorced Eros (Sky God) and then married another Sky God – Uranus. Gaea and Uranus created 12 Titans, one of which was Saturn (Chronus) who killed his father Uranus. Saturn and his sister Rhea created Hestia, Demeter, Hades (Pluto), Poseidon (Neptune) and Zeus (Jupiter). Saturn then swallowed all of his siblings except for Zeus. Zeus then went on to have the following children to a number of wives : To Hera – Ares (Mars), to Leto – Artemis, to Matis – Pallas Athena, to Demeter – Persephone and to Maia – Hermes (Mercury).
The discovery of the Asteroid’s in the 1800’s is said to have brought the fullness of the feminine archetypes back onto the planet. which until that time had been carried by the Moon and Venus. The Roman names of the Asteroid Goddesses are Ceres, Pallas Athene, Vesta and Juno and in Greek are known as Demeter, Athena, Hestia and Hera. They represent in order the archetypes of mother, daughter, sister, wife. Ceres and Juno said to be the vulnerable Goddesses and Pallas Athene and Vesta the Independent Goddesses.
The following descriptions are by Astrologer Patricia Teixeira. See: https://astrologyanswers.com/author/patricia-teixeira/
Vesta – Goddess of the Sacred Flame
The Roman Goddess Vesta is the keeper of the sacred flame. The Vestal Virgins took care of her temple in Rome and were responsible for keeping her flame always burning. Fire was sacred in ancient times, it was an ancient symbol for sexuality and fertility, the divine spark of life, so these ladies had a very important job. The girls were chosen in their childhood and would take a vow of chastity and celibacy for 30 years and those that would break their vow would be buried alive. After the 30 year service, they were allowed to leave and marry, but many used to choose to continue their service.
Astrologically, Vesta relates with Virgo and Scorpio, she symbolises the ability to concentrate on a specific goal, the dedication and devotion to something and/or someone. The house she is in tends to show where you can be very dedicated even willing to make self-sacrifices for the greater good and where you can maintain your focus. She also shows where you need to keep your inner flame burning and what you need to take care of. Vesta symbolizes sacred sexuality, kundalini energy, spiritual commitment, dedication, purity, diligence, self-discipline, focused passion and is service oriented.
Pallas – The Warrior Goddess
From the sacred fire we go to the Warrior Queen, Pallas Athena. Pallas Athena was skillful in battle and highly intelligent, with remarkable reasoning and logic. As the Goddess of wisdom, she was seen as a strategist and a tactician, and preferred to resolve disputes through wisdom. She was able to make her decisions with logic, detachment and impartiality. She helped many heroes in their endeavours including Odysseus in his trip from Troy.
Astrologically, asteroid Pallas shows where we have the ability to be objective, to use our intellectual skills and creative understanding. She shows the ability to recognize patterns and to understand complex communications, she understands and picks up the unspoken and subliminal messages. On another hand, Pallas symbolizes many modern women: the beautiful, intelligent, independent and career-oriented woman born in a world dominated by men, as such, she brings the strength of feminine wisdom to the house and sign she is placed in.
Ceres – The Mother Goddess
Ceres is our next asteroid, and has control over natural resources and cycles. Ceres was the daughter of Saturn and Rhea and the Goddess of agriculture and harvest. She was extremely close with and protective of her daughter Persephone and rejected all Persephone’s suitors, obviously this was a recipe for disaster… Pluto, God of the Underworld, was determined to marry Persephone even if Ceres didn’t allow it.
One day, while Persephone was picking flowers, Pluto opened the earth under her feet and kidnapped her. Ceres noticed her daughter was missing, and in her grief, she stopped taking care of herself and her duties, so crops started dying and mankind suffered from starvation. Persephone was not doing very well either, as she missed her mother, so Pluto allowed her to visit Ceres, but before she went, he offered her several pomegranate seeds.
Without knowing pomegranate seeds denote sexual consummation, Persephone ate them, validating and confirming her marriage to Pluto. When Persephone visited her mother, Ceres rejoiced but quickly angered after finding out Persephone ate the seeds and would have to return to Pluto. In the end, Persephone was allowed to visit her mother during certain months, at this time the earth was fertile, crops grew and prosperity abounded and spring was born. When it was time for Persephone to go back to Pluto in the Underworld, Ceres would mourn and grieve, ignoring her tending for the earth, and the fall season would take place.
With all that said, astrologically, Ceres symbolizes parental nurturing. She tells us about one’s experiences with their maternal figure, she can show love for gardening and food, she is about being able to share what we most treasure. On the downside, she represents loss, mourning, grief, obsessive and overly protective behaviors, separations and difficult mothers in law!
Juno – Goddess of Marriage
Juno is the Goddess of the Sacred Marriage and Juno more than Venus shows us about the significant other in a relationship. June is also known as the Goddess Hera, wife of Zeus. Juno was worshipped in Rome and the month of June was named in her honour. Zeus had many affairs and sired many children from those affairs, but Hera always stayed at his side faithfully. She has been sometimes portrayed as vengeful, possessive, manipulative and jealous.
Juno represents the capacity for committed relationships using the feminine energies to express creativity, sensitivity, equality and faithfulness. She relates to equality and balance in relationships, the need for commitment, passion, intimacy and joy. She represents sexuality within a committed relationship. Juno corresponds to a relationship where both partners support each other’s personal growth. Juno’s location in the chart gives clues about the life partner and shows what you need daily to stay in a relationship. The distorted energy would relate to fears of betrayal and abandonment is relationships as well as the oppression of women.
Each of these asteroid goddesses represents an aspect of the feminine, an aspect of inner relationship to the anima, that is meaningful to both men and women. When strong by house placement, sign or aspect in the chart, greater understanding of relationship needs, women’s needs and men’s, can be revealed.