Asteroid Atropos 273 is a main belt Asteroid discovered in Vienna on March 8 1888. She is the third dark aspect of the three fates so fits into Dark Moon astrology. Atropos is the cutter of the cord of life and her Roman equivalent is Morta, Italian for death. So very final then! According to Demetra George “Her position in the birth chart shows how and where we bring our fate to it’s inevitable conclusion and how we cut the life thread when we experience endings, loss, closure and death.”[1]
Astronomical data: Atropos has diameter of just 29km and it has an orbital period of approximately 3.8 years. The meaning of the word is “the inevitable”, and what is impossible to put aside. It’s namesakes include the poison Atropo Belladonna or “Deadly Nightshade” and an ominous looking yellow and black moth called Acherontia Atropos or “Deaths Head Hawkmoth” There is even a skull motif on its thorax. It was regarded as an evil omen.
This moth is a thief and opportunist, it steals nectar from the honeybee. So Atropos is a scavenger, like the raven, and associated with both death and magic. Scavengers are looked down upon, but they are essential as natures recyclers and rubbish collectors. Maybe Atropos in the chart burns off once any for all any left over festering karma.
Asteroid Atropos Astrology Chart
How appropriate then the standout aspect in the discovery chart is Saturn the grim reaper square cutting Mars (Atropos’s evil sheers). The two malefic’s are in a very tight square of just 03’! They are also both retrograde which again suggests the wheel of karma and the cycle of life. Atropos’ chart see’s both the Sun and the Moon attached to Dark Goddesses. We have the Sun conjunct Eris. My “Queen of Chaotic fate.” This shows the terror of Atropos. Death can be so random and unfair.
Moon is square both Lilith and Ceres too. To me Lilith conjunct Ceres is the potion (or poison)-making witch. Moon square Ceres: “ can turn very easily destroy life instead of saving it, they can love so hard and hug so tightly that they end up squeezing the life out of their loved ones.” There is a parasitic, vampiric element to Atropos. With Moon square Lilith “They may break under the pressure of this aspect and succumb to the temptation of Lilith’s forbidden fruit in the shape of sex addiction or drugs. If they manage to come through then these subjects are a fantastic example of the Phoenix rising from the flames.”
The last sentence is important, because we need to remember that after death comes new life. If your belief system allows you to re-cycle, then you will not be so fearful of Atropos and will see each ending as a new beginning.
As for Atropos herself, she is at 5º Virgo 31’ which puts her in a weird aspect pattern that has her square the God of Hell (Pluto), trine the Witch (Ceres/Lilith), and quincunx the Moon. To me it actually does look like scissors!, but the Hubers call this pattern “The Runner”:
“Reflex mechanisms were learnt back in childhood that could develop into addictions to certain actions and activities. This figure just needs to be nudged at one corner and it springs to life….This one is always getting into conflicts ( the squares V trines) Prehaps one is projecting something into the world (Trines) that does not suit it. Many people react to this by taking refuge in their work (Workoholics), or depending on the planets, sport or sex”[3]
Here the refuge looks more like sex and drugs with Lilith/Ceres/Pluto. Lilith/Ceres are on Sheratan in the randy ram, this star is makes it subjects “Daredevils and bold, danger is indicated when acting impulsively and in a foolhardy way.” I have seen the dark side of Ceres connected to opiates. Like Atropos, opiates can suck the life out of you and also dehydrate. Mars square Saturn at it’s very worst is petrified, so becomes a zombie. If the refuge is sex addiction, it will be one of those parasitic relationships that drain you of your money or energy, or both. In worst cases someone literally could be the death of you.
Asteroid Atropos in Davison Charts
HARD ASPECTS
Whitney Houston/Bobby Brown Atropos conjunct Pluto/Uranus in the 8th house trine Mars. Sex addiction?
Amy Winehouse/Blake Atropos square Moon. Bad habits.
Edward VIII/Wallis Simpson Atropos conjunct Venus square Uranus. Love killed any chance of Edward becoming King, but they lived to a ripe old age together in exile (Uranus).
The Beckhams Atropos square Venus/Mars. Death to gender!
Prince Charles/Diana Atropos quincunx Sun. Ended because of royals.
Mackenzie Phillips/John Atropos quincunx Ceres. Ended because of family ties.
Ryan O’Neal/Fawcett Atropos square Pluto/Nodes
Sonny/Cher Atropos conjunct Moon
SOFT ASPECTS
Elizabeth Barratt/ Robert Browning Atropos/Lilith sextile Ceres in a Yod to North Node. In this case good death! Elizabeth was practically imprisoned by her illness her domineering father. Her relationship with Robert put her on course to her North Node. Sex (Atropos/Lilith) meant death to father tie.
Sid Vicious/Nancy Spungen Atropos/Moon/Lilith in a grand trine, maintained the status-quo of a toxic relationship. The only way out was death.
Prince William/Kate Middleton Atropos trine Moon
Adolf Hitler/Eva Braun Atropos sextile Uranus. Sudden ending
John Lennon/Yoko Ono Atropos sextile Mars. Sudden ending.
Paul Newman/Woodward Atropos sextile Sun.
The Clintons Atropos trine Sun.
Brad Pitt/ Angelina Jolie Atropos trine Saturn
I was surprised how much Atropos cropped up in what I considered decent soulmate relationships, it tended to be in soft aspect though. There is obviously a karmic theme. Maybe the partners become each other’s drug and refuge, or they help each other out of toxic behaviour. Depending on the planets involved, one partner could feed off the life-force of the other and be too much of a drain. Synastry connections to the Davison will help determine which partner is the vampiric Atropos. If the connection is made conscious however, the “Life force” partner could actually heal and transform the “vampire” with love. The couple must be very aware and evolved though, in order for this aspect not to descend into co-dependency. Another possibility of course is Atropos will show how the couple finally part.
Find Asteroid Atropos in Your Chart
1. Create your chart HERE.
2. Choose “Extended Chart Selection”.
3. In “additional asteroids or hypothetical planets”, add 273.
Mine is 27 deg. in Aries house 12. Doesn’t look like it aspects anything major in my chart, so in this case I’ll just say no news is good news! But yeah the last relationship really did seems to suck the life and money out of me. I really think we must of had some Atropos synastry going on. I was with a real loser, who constantly pressured me to waste my money on him. If I didn’t he would go into a bipolar rage.I’m kind of stubborn, but would eventually cave in cause I lived with him and was far away from everyone I once knew. He also got mad if I put any effort into my looks.(even painting my nails while watching the super bowl with him) Plus we really didn’t have a mirror when I lived with him. When I would visit my sister, she would tell me that I started looking like a homeless person ever since I got with him.
But when I finally called it quits, I definitely raised from the ashes. Been enjoying being single. Got a real job. Vainer than ever with my looks! Now to just find a better boyfriend…but it’s hard cause I have a whole new set of expectations and standards. And my money is almost back to where it was before I met him.
Okay just looked into it. Yikes his Atropos is trine to my IC and S. Node,the going downhill,and breaking me down!but also sextile to MC and N. node,staying with him promised me a shitty future of cleaning for minimum wage while he provides with food stamps (that came out of my paycheck! So really it’s me!) But I feel like I had to go though what I went through with him to grow up. I met him when I was fresh out of high school, with out a care in the world about bettering my life. He showed me what life is like when you don’t grow up and better it. Also his Atropos trines my Eris. But yes our relationship was destructive.
Thanks for the feedback there Stawr. Glad you got out of that relationship! Wow…I can’t believe some men. Better to be vain and love yourself I reckon. Interesting that all your aspects with him with the soft aspects. I think the trine can be very insidious. It’s a Jupiter type of aspect, so if things are bad it just inflates the badness. It’s no wonder some of the ancient astrologers said grand trines were “Evil”. Trine Eris?! Ouch.
Its always good to hear a happy ending Phoenix
Mmmm..
Looked her up.. 27 pisces, third house.. Inbetween my mercury and sun. Trining my moon at 26 canser and squaring my mars at 26 Sagittarius. I guess it would be squaring my uranus at 22 sag as well if it is conjunct my mercury at 22 piscis..? How tight orbs would you use on her?
Anyhow, would say I can be a tense, nervous, wreak a lot of the time and tend to be quite comfortable to try to level my moody moon with drugs a lot. But then I was thinking about the placement in piscis in the 3rd, trine the moon in the 8th. If she also has to do with magick I guess it would be a good placement for manifesting your visions through magick…
I try to do moon magick as often i can, each full and new moon. The universe seems to reply fast, to the extent that if I now forget to do a ritual for the full/new moon, I tend to eliminate or invoke something in to my life unintentionally.
And with the theme of death… There are so many things in my chart that already make me having an easy time with death and rebirth.. For goddess sake, I got nothing fixed except for my south/north nodes in scorpio/taurus and pluto in scorpio.. For me every new moon is a death and rebirth!
I just recently got interested in the work of Martha Lang-Wescott that involves the use of midpoints,planetary pictures with asteroids.
She used them in solar,lunar return charts.
She also used precession corrected tropical solar,lunar return charts too.
I decided to see if my grandfather had significant midpoint,planetary pictures involving asteroids, Atropos and Gunnie for the sidereal solar return period when he ended his life with a gun. I was definitely looking for Atropos/Gunnie midpoint being aspected in the solar return involving a personal point (Sun,Moon,Asc,MC) or a personal point midpoint (a midpoint that involves Sun,Moon,Asc,MC).
I found the following
Sun/Saturn conjunct Atropos/Gunnie – ’11
according to Combination of Stellar Influences (COSI) by Reinhold Ebertin
Principle for Sun/Saturn is inhibition,hereditary affliction, karma, separation
Using some of Martha Lang-Wescott’s methods of using midpoint pictures with asteroids,using 1 degree orb for all midpoint pictures of conjunction,opposition,square,semisquare,and sesquiquadrate (45 degree series of aspects), I looked at the Solar Return of when my grandfather committed suicide and when I first got into Astrology. It was my grandfather’s death that led to chain of events which led me to get into Astrology. In a nutshell, my grandfather’s death got me into Astrology. Therefore, it would make sense to see that my solar return reflected not just my grandfather’s death and my getting into Astrology but also reflected the connection between those things. My maternal grandfather was the one that I loved the most after my mother. He was the one that I felt the closest to. Of course, his death would have a profound impact on my life.
It’s all about Symmetry in Uranian Astrology which is actually now referred to as Symmetrical Astrology.
That is why they use the same orb for all aspects and midpoint pictures.
They use (=) to write out planetary pictures.
for example:
Jupiter square Moon/Saturn midpoint, semisquare Neptune/Pluto midpoint written out as
Jupiter = Moon/Saturn = Neptune/Pluto
the asteroids that I looked at are:
14593 Everett – the first name of my grandfather
273 Atropos – death
961 Gunnie – gun
30 Urania – Astrology
8958 Stargazer – Astrology
24626 Astrowizard – Astrology
Pluto conjunct Sun/Everett – ’09
Pluto conjunct Uranus/Urania – ’07
Pluto square Moon/Gunnie – ’39
Pluto square Mars/Atropos – ’26
Pluto semisquare Sun/Stargazer
Pluto = Sun/Everett = Uranus/Urania = Moon/Gunnie = Mars/Atropos = Sun/Stargazer
Moon conjunct Mars/Gunnie – ’50
Moon conjunct Pluto/Urania – ’41
Moon square Saturn/Stargazer – ’11
Moon sesquiquadrate Saturn/Everett – ’55
Moon sesquiquadrate Pluto/Atropos – ’14
Moon = Mars/Gunnie = Pluto/Urania = Saturn/Stargazer = Saturn/Everett = Pluto/Atropos
Mercury conjunct Jupiter/Urania – ’25
Mercury sesquiquadrate Jupiter/Atropos – ’53
Mercury semisquare Uranus/Astrowizard – ’44
Mercury sesquiquadrate Asc/Gunnie – ’22
Mercury = Jupiter/Urania = Jupiter/Atropos = Uranus/Astrowizard = Asc/Gunnie
Venus square Mercury/Gunnie – ’08
Venus semisquare Neptune/Urania – ’22
Venus square Neptune/Atropos – ’49
Venus sesquiquadrate Urania/Gunnie – ’59
Venus oppose Atropos/Gunnie – ’31
Venus = Mercury/Gunnie = Neptune/Urania = Neptune/Atropos = Urania/Gunnie = Atropos/Gunnie
Mars square Mercury/Gunnie – ’57
Mars sesquiquadrate Jupiter/Gunnie – ’19
Mars semisquare Saturn/Astrowizard – ’18
Mars semisquare Neptune/Urania – ’28
Mars square Neptune/Atropos – ’00
Mars = Mercury/Gunnie = Jupiter/Gunnie = Saturn/Astrowizard = Neptune/Urania = Neptune/Atropos
Jupiter square Venus/Stargazer – ’32
Jupiter semisquare Venus/Everett – ’12
Jupiter square Mars/Stargazer – ’08
Jupiter semisquare Mars/Everett – ’36
Jupiter square MC/Urania – ’07
Jupiter semisquare MC/Atropos – ’34
Jupiter sesquiquadrate Astrowizard/Gunnie – ’51
Jupiter = Venus/Stargazer = Venus/Everett = Mars/Stargazer = Mars/Everett = MC/Urania = MC/Atropos = Astrowizard/Gunnie
Saturn sesquiquadrate Neptune/Stargazer – ’16
Saturn square Neptune/Everett – ’28
Saturn sesquiquadrate Pluto/Astrowizard – ’23
Saturn oppose Everett/Gunnie – ’52
Saturn = Neptune/Stargazer = Neptune/Everett = Pluto/Astrowizard = Everett/Gunnie
Node conjunct Sun/Gunnie – ’43
Node square Saturn/Urania – ’52
Node sesquiquadrate Uranus/Gunnie – ’17
Node semisquare Asc/Stargazer – ’02
Node oppose Asc/Everett – ’56
Node = Sun/Gunnie = Saturn/Urania = Uranus/Gunnie = Asc/Stargazer = Asc/Everett
Asc oppose Neptune/Stargazer – ’45
Asc sesquiquadrate Neptune/Everett – ’01
Asc oppose Pluto/Astrowizard – ’52
Asc = Neptune/Stargazer = Neptune/Everett = Pluto/Astrowizard
MC sesquiquadrate Mercury/Gunnie – ’42
MC oppose Gunnie/Urania – ’09
MC sesquiquadrate Atropos/Gunnie – ’19
MC = Mercury/Gunnie = Gunnie/Urania = Atropos/Gunnie
very true with my Atropos conjunct Ceres
but I wonder how do you interpret Atropos conjunct Psyche and trine Pluto
Did a Davison chart for my new partner and I.
It has Atropos square Mercury in Gemini, 8th house.
My best interpretation for this is :
His first language is German, also fluent in French and English.
I only know English – this causes problems for us socially when he is around German speaking friends (most know English also but they often slip back into their native tongue)
Unsure how 8th house can fit into this interpretation, any interpretations offered are greatly appreciated!
hello marinia i checked in my chart and it was smack dab at 22 aries on my MC that atropos sits, in my 10th house, and Uranus is at 5 degrees Virgo in my natal chart, so i am just totally perplexed… Does this mean sucess only comes at the end… bummer
Atropos retro in Gemini, on Rigel. This just happens to be between my Vertex and NN, all conjunct within 9 degrees. Judging by that, I’m more or less destined to die, probably at a very special moment, in a particular manner. To make things more interesting, there’s a 10 minute square to retro Pluto in Virgo, a 1,5 degree square to retro Uranus in Virgo and a loose square to Mars in Virgo. Would this indicate a good chance of violent death? Yes, there have been incidents and attempts, but as long as I handle them in proper Orionesque manner, death stays at bay. However, the riches, honors and happiness associated with Rigel are most definitely dead.
If you add to the picture tight squares to Chiron and Vesta in Pisces, plus oppositions to Venus/PF/Mercury/SN/Antivertex in Sagittarius, you get a tight set of Grand Crosses full of love, death, accidents, intellect, violence, pain, healing, service, fortune, misfortune and Karma, all in a jumble. With all the squares to the Karmic axes, staying in good terms with Saturn might just make the difference between life and death, right? OK, being a Capricorn with Saturn on the angles sort of takes care of that, though it also means life is not much fun.
Anything positive to say about my Atropos placement? Yes, I’m sure Atropos just loves the sextile to Eris. Also, with the retro aspects and the heavy Karma involved, I might be expected to be able to stop death, if God be willing. Yeah, been there, done that. I’ve talked some people out of committing suicide, which may be the Gemini 8th in action. I’ve also been the immovable obstacle in the path of murderers, as the Mars/Pluto/Uranus in the 10th would indicate. Most of the would be victims have been women, as indicated by Venus smack on the Antivertex. Chiron in Pisces as part of this configuration might be expected to bring people to me with their woes, as indeed is the case. As long as I’m useful to God and do not break under the weight of all these crosses, Atropos in the 8th will probably leave me be. If I start slacking, there’s probably some bizarre death under peculiar circumstances scripted for me.
Wow, jannevellamo, I couldn’t help commenting after reading what you have written. This article about Atropos deeply fascinated and troubled me because of what is in the charts of my children, their father, and me. Finally, I had to stop worrying as the worry was making me nuts. As I read your comment, I thought about my 8th house placements and the predictions and worst case scenarios that my chart suggests. As you wrote, though, you already have your answer. Your faith. Sounds as though you have a strong faith in a higher power – really, we can’t predict death or worry about when it will happen or how. And I am not sure it feels right to interpret Atropos as indicating our body’s death. Isn’t Marina saying Atropos is about transformation? Atropos in aspect and by house placement tells us about how we deal with endings. So yours is perfectly placed – you have transformed situations to neutralize the poison in play among other people through Gemini. I think it sounds like a wonderful gift. And because you are not relying on yourself alone but calling on a higher power, you are able to use the gift for a greater good.
We should heed any warnings but why invite worry by speculating? For example, my chart could indicate death by a head injury due to reckless behavior. I have been reckless a number of times and have felt a deep sense of a calm but firm warning from my soul or God or an angel, whatever, to slow down or stop what I am doing that is reckless. I think at times I have been protected from myself because the Fates had not arrived at the cutting place for me. I have joked that based on my genetics and chart, I am due to die of a sudden and massive stroke while gardening at a very ripe old age. I like that joke because the image is fine with me – I live to an old age, and I die while doing something I love and without lingering on as a burden to others.
I am not a professional so obviously feel free to ignore all I have said, but I just felt a strong sense as I read your comment that your Atropos is actually a protective placement for you.
Oh, I’m not a professional either, Dragonfly. Furthermore, I quite agree with your interpretation of my Atropos placement. Correctly used, such a placement in the 8th should not only grant protection against evil, but also a fatalistic and no-nonsensical attitude towards death. In the best case, death will come as an old friend, thanks to friendly Gemini. Not surprisingly, I also have Pluto for chart ruler and as the most aspected object. Not surprisingly, all my past life memories are old deaths. They were all very Plutonian. The first one occurred in a cave, ruled by Pluto. I was a boy, maybe 10 years old or so, killed by a bear, so my final resting place was in the bowels of a predator. Virgo rules bowels and my Pluto is in Virgo. Neat, isn’t it? The second death was an execution by Saracens. I was apparently a crusader, which may explain the SN and Antivertex in Sag. I fell in love with the obviously mega Piscean Saracen slave girl, who served me my last cup of sweet wine, just moments before my throat was slit. That might explain the Venus on the Antivertex. Mercury in Sag would have come in handy, had I had a throat to speak Arabic with. My Chiron in Pisces sits on the “Lady in foxfur” degree, as if waiting for an object in Pisces to conjunct, tightly squaring Venus.
The third death was a sloppy murder in the late fifties or sixties, by some thugs who took me for a “ride”. I may have been a cop. In both the execution and the murder, I died like a pro.
Sorry about the typo. I meant …”or early sixties”…
Went back and did the synastry from when I was randomly fired (via text) from a job. Aside from saturn and uranus squaring natal uranus, Atropos was exactly conjunct my 6th house cusp trine my MC. It was definitely time to get out of there!
Marina,thank you very much for the article.
What are the orbs that you use to take for this asteroid Atropos?
For example for the opposition in synastry his Atropos opposite her Mars-sapho conjunction ( 3 orbs) isn ‘t too big?
Does it mean that he will vampire her physical strength or is it sexual aspect? What about the conjunction of Mars (person A) with Atropos (person B)-person B vampires person A?
I have Atropos conjunct my Midheaven (1 degree orb).
Apparently my fate will come to its conclusion via work or my public life. I wonder what that will look like. Interesting times may be ahead!
~ Jacqueline (Jax)
something interesting – the day my grandmother died Atropos had returned to her exact point in my natal chart – I was 11 years old. My grandmother was the most significant person of my formative years and her death was so traumatic for me that that for a period of time I did not know how to go on without her. It also opened the door to new relationships with two people estranged from our family, including a brother I never knew I had until after my grandmother’s death. (Atropos is in my third house).
mine in 26° taurus conjunct chiron and fixed star algol. this year my progressed sun conjunct MC(0 degrees) meet this natal conjunction on the 6th of june! exactly on the day that i am getting my degree in IT after 11 years of study constant effort and much agony, since i never thought i could succeed!! AMAZING! plus this whole meeting forms a YOD figure with progreesed natals-Neptune in saggitarius and pluto+saturn in libra!