Ceres in astrology is so stunning right from the start because the horoscope for the discovery of Ceres has this minor planet exactly on the fixed star Algol in Medusa’s head! And that really is exact at 0 degrees 00’! Ceres was discovered in Sicily, she was named as such because of her close mythological and cult connections to this Mediterranean island. Enna in Sicily was said to be where Persephone was abducted.
The Algol connection with Ceres is very strange because Medusa’s head motif is also found on the Sicilian flag. They have mixed Ceres symbolism with Medusa by entwining the snakes with sprigs of wheat. Later we will see the snake symbolism again with the stars involved in this chart. The whole thing is pretty uncanny.
Ceres was discovered as early as 1801, the 1st day of a new century at 8pm [1]. For 500 years it was actually classified as the 8th planet. Ceres was discovered by a Sicilian monk astronomer, Giuseppe Piazzi. He wrote in his notes that Ceres was sitting on the shoulder of the bull (Taurus). Perseus the constellation that contains Algol lies behind the Bull in the heavens. Ceres is credited as having possible rulership of Virgo due to its brightest star Spica being the chaff of wheat in the hand of the Virgin. However I’ve always thought Ceres also has an affinity with Taurus and the 2nd house too.
Ceres Astrology Chart
Back to the chart. Sensible earthy Saturn is rising. Everyone knows Ceres as the earth mother. So straight off here we have the themes of mothering, nurturing, child custody and parental responsibility absolutely highlighted by that tight square from Ceres in the chart to Saturn. We have a striking Yod to Pluto containing the Moon, making this a Hades Moon:
“The Hades Moon, and the devouring mother, is reflected too in life-threatening childhood events: difficult birth, traumatic separations, alienation and rejection….
There is indeed a treasure at the heart of the Hades Moon. It offers the gift of empowerment and regeneration, the strength to face fearlessly whatever must be.” [2]
This mirrors everything I have been finding about Ceres so far. I have always felt there was such a heavy Plutonic influence, but I thought that just came from the Persephone myth. However it is more than that, Pluto is right here in her birthchart, smacking us in the face full force with that Yod. The other planet of seperation and death of course is Saturn, which as we have seen weighs heavy on the ascendant. Even that is opposed poor Venus, the affection is expressed with difficulty, it’s far more tough love and discipline here, like a matron. Practical magic. Ceres in her Virgo guise rules nurses and midwives so this is fitting.
Saturn is on fixed star Alfard in the water snake. With Saturn: “Strong passions but cool, cautious and slow to anger, secret and sorrowful love affairs of short duration, domestic disharmony, danger of death by poison”. [3]. The condition of Saturn is important since is is rising, I haven’t looked at the AC star because we cannot be 100% about the time of this chart, but around 8pm will most certainly have Saturn within range of the AC. I think this star is important because it shows the dark side of Ceres addiction problems particularly with toxic relationships and opiates. Saturn with Alphard according to Ebertin: “… poisoned hatred in women, gas poisoning, danger to life by wrong use of drugs and over indulgence of good living, smoke inhalation and danger of suffocation….. A ‘poisoning’ is also possible in a relationship between man and woman in marriage.” [4]
Mercury is on Ras Alhague in Ophiuchus, yet more dark influences. Ceres not a barrel of laughs so far. “Unpopular attitude and criticism through religion, philosophy or science; difficulties in marriage and quarrels fostered by others, trouble through opposite sex, not very good for gain.” [5] Ophuichius is the snake charmer and for me it is the Lilith constellation. Our Lilith will always have trouble submitting in relationships. Lilith in this chart is on brave Betelgeuse, making her even more of a fighter and a spiritual warrior here. Ceres as Florence Nightingale, Joan of Arc, healer and midwife. If she channels her energy this way, as a saviour, I think it dilutes the tendency to smother and possess her children or creations. Ceres is very concentrated, like Marmite, you can spread it very thin.
But it’s not all bad news! The bass of the Yod is a free-spirited Moon sextile Uranus. Ceres has a wonderful, wicked sense of humour with the Moon conjunct Jupiter and will be rather kooky in the 12th. But this Neptunian house will also give her the famous mothers intuition. The trouble with the 12th is it can be a bit hit and miss. Uranus in the 2nd is really on the money though, with flashes of pure genius and prolific creativity which we have seen in some of the gifted Ceres subjects.
Sun on Vega in the Lyre supports this talent , “Vega is said to pave the way to riches and fame. However, if other influences play a part, this wealth may be lost again.” [6] and the trine to Mars give a pushy stage-mother I would think. Mars on the MC looks just about right for Ceres. Bossy, mouthy and apt to put her foot in it. Embarrassing in public yes. The Venus square Neptune will have romantic notions of what love should be. Yes you shall marry a handsome prince my child. Oh God, please no, not THAT one, not him on the bike. I didn’t mean Prince of Darkness…. where did she go?…PersephonAAYE!!?
Find Ceres in Your Chart
1. Create your chart HERE.
2. Choose “Extended Chart Selection”.
3. Select Ceres in the “Additional objects” box.
You can learn more about aspect from Ceres to the Sun and Moon in Ceres Aspects.
References
1. Giuseppe Piazzi and the Discovery Of Ceres - pdf “Lacking an invitation, Piazzi was totally unaware of the society’s plans when at about 8:00 p.m. on January 1, 1801, while working on his star catalog, he detected what he termed a tiny star in the “shoulder” of Taurus (Piazzi, 1801).”
2. Hades Moon, Judy Hall.
3 & 6. Fixed Stars and Constellations in Astrology, Vivian E. Robson, 1923. p.193
4 & 5. Fixed Stars and Their Interpretation, Elsbeth Ebertin, 1928, p.50. p.75-76.
Wow and WOW!
This is really amazing Marina! I spent some time in meditation last night, and I wanted to start meditation on Ceres, and I found some real ‘mixed energies’ there and at one point I did not want to commit to the meditation. I chose to stay with the discomfort so i could learn something about Ceres because I feel I do need to understand her. Your discoveries on Ceres help me begin to understand why this particular ‘mother’ has always been so discomforting to me.
Thank you for your work on this Marina!
Much Love
Kjerstin
According to the work of Anthony Perrat, plasma scientist and mythologist, Medusa was born of a particular phase in the tumultuous arrival of Venus in our solar system. The then comet’s “hair” resembling snakes. So as the snakes were substituted with wheat, presumably reflecting another phase or just the aftermath when the comet had settled down and earth recovered, she took on a more benign face. But her underlying character was Medusa.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Clq-GiqvL9o – this clip from a longer documentary explains it well – Entitled Mother Goddess and the Dragon, it states, “One of the Great Mysteries of antiquity is the dual character of the mother goddess as radiant star and dragon of chaos”
I may have posted it before – but its really explains the origin for the dual aspect of Ceres/Medusa.
Oooh! I will watch all that tonight. Love these type of documentaries. You do find some great links. Might have to add those to my Dark Goddess You tube channel. I must’ve missed this if you did post it before.
Frustratingly tantalising, I want to see the whole documentary now!. So interesting about the dual goddess aspect and the long snakey hair of the comet, reminds me of the swirly curly fireworks. So many interesting connections here.
The rest of it is on there but it’s in lots of sections and each one has it’s own title. Annoying! But well worth the watch. I am at home with my inner dragon now! It’s the duality of my nature as decreed!
Yes I found the thunderbolts channel. I remember I did watch “symbols of an Alien sky” from a link you left before which was fascinating, especially Saturn. That rang true for me. I watched the Mars one last night. Was going to watch the rest but feel asleep! Overworked…zzz
great link uberqueen,
I liked this quote from the video.
“One of the great mysteries of antiquity is the dual character of the mother goddess as radiant star and dragon of chaos’
I am still thinking a lot about this article – will go back and read again in a bit.
=)
Kjerstin
Hi Kjerstin,
Yes, that really struck a chord with me too. I am really fascinated with the foundation of these myths. They have actual physical foundations which makes them even more potent as it brings them to life. I think the essence is that heavenly bodies brought us, on the quantum level, information which manifests in us as archetypes.
The work on Mars and Saturn by the same people is amazing. It’s well worth watching the whole documentary that clip was taken from.
ooh I love that place where physics and archetypes/mysteries meet!
Marina, this is stunning! I know the tropical zodiac isn’t so relevant to the way you work, but that Leo AC makes me think of another archetypal image of mother/vegetation goddesses flanked by lions
Whatever system we use it all comes together and makes sense in the end. I don’t poo poo the signs so much anymore. I’m over it! lol. Actually when the time is not accurate to the minute a blanket system like the zodiac signs is quite useful. Leo AC is such a drama queen which goes very nicely as a background wash to the chart. Taurus MC makes sense too and if I put my old Tropical hat on, she’ll be fatally attracted to (Pluto in the 7th) eccentric, free-spirited parters(DC Aquarius) who will test her need to dominate and possess. I see Ceres can equally represent Persephone as Kore, before Pluto had his wicked way with her!
Hello Marina
Thrilling this Sicilian trail abd Ceres on the path of Algol; looking like purity and hideousness back to back
Very nice choice of illustration for the godesss Ceres (the Godess of Abundance by Bruegel)… I made a bunch of posts about her ‘type’ (forms & faces) and it tends to aproach the lines of a shield http://cosmicaravan.wordpress.com/2010/10/06/ceres-ecuyere/ (still in french but very visual).
I am very interested in the asteroid conjuncts in my chart..
You mention Ceres- Sun- but not Ceres – moon
I have Ceres conjunct moon Pisces exactly- H9
Also- Pandora is conj my ASC, Psyche conj Sun- H-1, Eros conj Jupiter- H10
Eris conj MC
Where might I find links to read about the nuance of these influences ???
Thanking you,
QuadCab
GG
Hi Galaxy,
I’d get Demetra Georges book on the Asteroid Goddesses. She’s the only one I know who has actually talked about them cookbook fashion, but that’s only the main 4 which includes Ceres. As for the others, no one has written about those so specifically. With asteroids you have to let them stimulate your own intuition because there are no hard and fast rules and there are so many. I will get onto writing Moon/Ceres eventually. Apart from that google it and see what you find. There’s quite a lot of Ceres info out there now.
Eris on the MC? This is your lifes calling :
http://darkstarastrology.com/eris/
Thanx much
GG
Just looked at Princess Stephanie of Monaco’s chart and noticed she has some extreme ceres aspects.
She has sun conjunct ceres (07″), and moon conjunct ceres (15″). This triple conjunction in h6 squares her MC (02″)! It also sits on her mother’s IC (point of endings). Princess Grace’s ceres/vertex/jupiter conjunction in h8 squares Stephanie’s Uranus/Pluto conjunction. Princess Grace was fated to suffer a traumatic mother/daughter separation.
Stephanie, as we’re all aware, has suffered from the grief and guilt of her mother’s death in 1982. She’s lived out the ceres themes of mother/daughter loss and traumatic separation her whole life.
Stephanie’s neptune in h4 conjuncts her mother’s sun (21″). Perhaps showing an inability to find inner peace since the death of her glamorous (neptune) mother.
These are just a few thoughts on a very interesting chart and life – what do you think??
That is pretty amazing!
Poor Stephanie – what signs are Sun and Moon in?
I have just done a chart for a man who was hideously sexually abused by his won grandfather. One of his siblings was murdered by the same grandfather during an abusive episode. The grandmother apparently colluded, she knew what was going on and covered it all up. The death was seen as accidental choking…
This man for whom I have done the chart also has Sun Ceres exact conj in Pisces opposite Pluto and Part of Fortune/Jupiter/ which are square Saturn at 2 degrees… a realy horrible karmic contract. Saturn is in the 7th house (if you subscribe to houses).
Yed Posterior and Dschubba on Saturn… oh dear. So there is a horrible manipulation and seduction into the underworld, death, a coverup, more sexual abuse…
Neptune and Chiron are now transiting his Sun and Ceres conj with the T square of Saturn and PLuto…
I hope this is a chance for healing but I think a breakdown first… Poor soul.
Jesus, the poor man. A t-square in the angular houses is never easy, let alone having ceres tied in to this!
I have ceres conjunct my taurus north node in h10 (38″), no terrible aspects or traumatic past experience so far so I should be ok! I do work in human rights which could be seen as an expression of my ceres working to resolve taboo areas (i.e. prostitution, trafficking etc.).
Your point about neptune and chiron potentially healing this man, could equally apply to Stephanie. Chiron passed over her sun/moon/ceres in 2007. Princess Stephanie became deeply involved in the fight against AIDs following the death of her father in 2005. Perhaps helping others who suffer from such a dark and taboo disease initiated her healing process??!
Sorry, I forgot to mention her sun moon ceres is in 12 aquarius square her 12 taurus MC.
Ah! Well there’s the humanitarian healing for Stephanie – and you too! In h10 its got to be a career issue? The interface with the outer world and perhaps you present a very solid almost earth mother face which must be invaluable in human tights work of that kind.
My chap is actually a healer too! With that amount of crap its sink or swim and in Pisces he’s a swimmer.
Looking at it from a wider perspective, I think people with this kind of challenge get a very stark choice to make. And with that level of suffering make excellent healers because they are unlikely to judge and have huge empathy. The not so good choice is victimhood and dissolution via drugs etc. My client is going to have some Uranus and PLuto challenges to come but I see that as an opportunity for transmutation of crisis into god sent chance to elevate kundalini.
The Chiron tr for Stephanie is definitely her descent into the underworld and retrieving the jewels there to dress her wounds and those of others.
Yes poor soul indeed. Gosh, there’s that Dschubba again, it keeps coming up. Really not a nice star. This transiting Neptune with Chiron has been interesting to watch. 2 years ago when Jupiter was there it was like a totally different transit I think. Jupiter warming it up and giving it some “omph”. Neptune and Chiron on their own share sacrifice and yes much more about health issues and healing.
Both Jamie and I’s daughters (Aged 8 and 9) have this Neptune/Chiron going over their Moon/Uranus conjunction that they share within a degree! My daughter has Mars in there too AND in the first. (I know…)
When these two first met 3 xmas’s ago, it was explosive, Mars was transiting then too though. Punch ups, rivalry, jealousy, the works. This year they are inseparable. We can’t believe it’s been two weeks and still not one row between them. Before it was more like 4 times a day. Anyway Neptune is obviously doing something there for them. And we have 50% more peace
Thanks for pointing me to her and for adding the synastry to Princess Grace. Fab. Stephanie wasn’t in Solar Fires databank would you believe! I checked my Sun conjunct Ceres post and have added her, she is a really good example of what I wrote, I’m quite amazed actually. http://darkstarastrology.com/sun-conjunct-ceres-natal/
She even ran away with the circus and is known to be fiercely protective of her kids (So it said on astrodatabank.) I didnt know that much about her. Anyway her chart. Well the stellium is in Aquarius, but the star they are on is a little known one in the heart of capricorn the goat:
“Of the nature of Mars and Mercury. It gives disagreeableness, contemptibleness, instability, shamelessness, nagging and a troublesome and contentious nature. [Robson*, p141.]”
All rather harsh. But I guess some members of her royal family may well agree with it. I actually have this star on my Moon/MC and it was only brought to my attention (By Jamie) a couple of days ago…hmmmm “nagging” is he trying to tell me something?…But actually it was in relation to my mother and past lives though so it’s great sync this post has resurfaced.
I don’t know an awful lot about Stephanie either, I was just always aware of her growing up (reading Hello magazine weekly). I certainly didn’t know she ran off with the circus, mad!
I re-read your sun conjunct ceres post – eerily accurate re Stephanie! Her name popped up on some news website I was reading yesterday so I decided to look at her chart for interests sake and I was stunned (but not surprised given her past) to see the ceres aspects.
Regarding your points on synchronicity, transit ceres is currently smack bang on my 20 pisces mercury, and square my 17.44 sag uranus – perhaps the reason I accidentally stumbled upon her chart?!
Ceres is a big deal for me at the moment as its been squaring my AC, which was where the Lunar eclipse hit me. I know I have major pmt at the moment but I also had an irrational fear that Jamie along with mine and his older daughter had had a carcrash because they were late coming back from a gymnastics tournament. I did a chart for when I was getting tearful thinking how could I live without my daughter!!! I haven’t felt like that since the Madeleine McCann case was in the news, when she was 3. Anyway, I drew up the chart. My natal AC is 18 Gemini conjunct the Ac for that time which is pretty amazing. Sun square Ceres right now and moon trine Ceres too. Uranus on the Mc ( which scared me about accidents) and mars squaring the nodes too!
AC on Hoedus, the mother goat nursing two kid goats while seated in the lap of the speeding charioteer. (Car!) I do like the synchro of event charts sometimes. I used to do a bit of horary, but I prefer to read the charts intuitively now, the fixed stars are so rich with archetypes. Its like reading the tarot cards to me. Mars on Zosma (Victim or Saviour) in the house of short journeys. Interesting. I’m wondering if there were any accidents on the notorious Pacific Highway that night. But because of fate, my family were spared.
Had a look Whitney Heston and her daughter’s charts and they share some strong ceres aspects. First off, her daugher Krissi has sun conjunct ceres in Pisces in h10 (30″). This sits on Whitney’s ascendant at 8 Pisces and opposes her Pluto/Mercury conjunction 10 virgo. I often use asteroid karma when looking at synatry (it’s usually really prominent). Well, in this case Whitney’s karma is at 15 virgo opposite Krissi’s sun/ceres conjunction at 14 pisces!!!
So, similar to Princess Stephanie and Princess Grace, we have alot of mother/daughter themes re loss, pain, and grieving. Very sad for Krissi!
i have ceres conjunct algol in my natal chart. i had a disgusting mother. she always took sides with anyone else except me, no matter what the subject is; she’d even slander me at times, always preferred and magnified whatever my brother does, always looking down on me, never taking me seriously. she actually tried to shut me up in a clinic because my thoughts were different from hers and the family in general. she actually claimed that i was insane.