Asteroids are a fantastic way to connect with mythology, but one must be careful not to give them too much weight in a natal chart. Asteroids are great fun to play with however, and I do find them synchronistic at times. When using asteroids the orbs must be very tight, not more than 1º orb. I believe they are really only relevant astrologically if the asteroid is conjunct the Sun, Moon, chart ruler, rising or midheaven degree. If you find yourself strongly attracted to a mythical figure it is worth looking up the asteroid name and see if it features strongly in your chart. The asteroids and minor planets are loosely categorised into three sets:
• Main Belt Asteroids, the Greco-Romans between Mars and Jupiter like Juno and Vesta.
• Trans-Neptunians (TNO’s), not all technically asteroids and some large enough to be minor planets like Sedna and Orcus.
• Centaurs, all small TNO’s like Pholus and Nessus, except Chiron who orbits between Saturn and Uranus and is actually classified as a comet.
How To Find An Asteroid In Your Natal Chart
1. Create your free chart at astro.com HERE.
2. Choose “Extended Chart Selection”.
3. Select everything in the “Additional objects” box. This will show the major asteroids in your chart.
4. If you have a particular asteroid in mind that is not in that additional objects box, then under that you will find a box called “additional asteroids or hypothetical planets”. Find the number of the asteroid you want from this Asteroid name/number List and add it to the box.
5. Yet another option is to use Serennu to list over 1000 asteroids in your chart. Remember to use UT for your time of birth, select “sort by degrees of the zodiac“, add the coordinates of your birth place, then select “Include first 1,000 asteroids“.
The Wikipedia Asteroid Name Meanings Page lists all the known asteroids by number with links to the deity, person or place they were named after. It’s important to also consider the personality of the planetary body through its orbit, appearance and its discovery chart as well as the myth behind it. I would suggest browsing through Zane Stein for the TNO’s, Juan Antonio Revilla and Zsuzsanna Griga for Centaurs.
Planets & Asteroid Posts
