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The Iris Asteroids Report
Rainbow Messenger of the Gods and Goddesses
by Roderick Kidston

for

Julia Roberts
December 8, 1967
2:56:43 AM
Atlanta, Georgia

The Iris Asteroids Report
Rainbow Messenger of the Gods and Goddesses

Report and Text Copyright 2007 Roderick Kidston
The contents of this report are protected by copyright law.
By purchasing this report you agree to comply with this copyright.

INTRODUCTION

Ever since the beginning of the 19th Century, astronomers have been aware of the existence of asteroids, but astrologers have only been using them as part of the horoscope since 1973. And even so, only a small number of astrologers actually use the asteroids when reading charts for people. This is in large part because the asteroids (or dwarf planets, as some are recently re-defined astronomically) are not well understood, except for the first four to be discovered: Ceres, Pallas, Juno and Vesta. But now, the Iris Report aims to change all that! Here you will find interpretations for twelve major dwarf planets and asteroids, and their impact in the natal chart. They add balance, detail and depth of meaning to astrological interpretation.

Most of the dwarf planets and asteroids found in the Iris Report are named for classical goddesses rather than gods, and this is partly in order to balance the excess of masculine energy that a purely planetary astrology reveals. Most of you will know that the ten 'planetary' factors used in standard astrological interpretation are the Sun, Moon, Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune and Pluto. Many astrologers also include the planetoid Chiron to this list of ten, making eleven. But if the Sun and Moon are considered primal masculine and feminine energies respectively, then out of the remaining nine god symbols listed, there is only one goddess, Venus. This hardly represents the yin-yang balance of either physical Nature or what is taught about the spiritual realms.

(The issue of the 'demotion' of Pluto to dwarf planet status does not have any real impact on the philosophical issues being discussed here, or the current 'promotion' of Ceres from asteroid to dwarf planet status, and the possible elevations of Pallas, Vesta and Hygiea. The power of the divine archetypes standing behind astrological symbols is more significant than what is or is not defined astronomically as a planet, dwarf planet or asteroid.)

The other reason for choosing certain asteroids or dwarf planets over others is that several of the early heavenly bodies discovered show a resonance with the way that the culture was evolving at the time, which in turn reflects the ongoing evolution of consciousness in the material realm of the Earth. The dwarf planet and asteroids Ceres, Pallas, Juno, Vesta, Astraea, Iris and Hygiea are all especially relevant in this regard.

The other asteroids selected for the Iris report are Diana and Apollo (additional lunar and solar symbols that show the primal life energies working in a larger social context); Proserpina; and symbols of the two great gods not represented by planets in the solar system: Bacchus and Hephaistos. These all together complete a kind of balanced listing of archetypal energies which astrologers can use to make sense of a horoscope.

One of the ways of deciding which asteroids are useful is found by considering the concept of the energy dyad. The Sun-Moon dyad of archetypal masculine and feminine energy is very well known to astrologers, as is the desire and love dyad symbolized by Venus and Mars. But other possibilities are proposed in the table below:

Yang symbol                           Yin symbol
-----------                           ----------
SUN: archetypal masculine/yang        MOON: archetypal feminine/yin
    life energy, spirit                   life energy, soul
MERCURY: masculine/yang intelligence, IRIS: feminine/yin intelligence,
   " left brain", data collecting,        "right brain", intuitive
    and analytical mind                   and synthesizing mind
MARS: masculine desire, dynamic       VENUS: feminine desire, receptive
    activity, outward acting pleasure     activity, inward drawn pleasure
JUPITER: Sky Father, male             CERES: Earth Mother, female
    protector and nurturer,               nurturer and protector,
    promoter of ethics/abundance          promoter of ethics/abundance
SATURN: masculine energy of           VESTA: feminine energy of
    tradition, structure, and             tradition, structure, and
    material good order                   material good order
CHIRON: masculine energy of healing-  HYGIEA: feminine energy of healing-
    transformation and purification       transformation and purification
URANUS: masculine change agent        PALLAS: feminine change agent
    and consciousness raiser              and consciousness raiser
NEPTUNE: masculine passivity and      PROSERPINA: feminine passivity and
    sublime/altered states                sublime/altered states
PLUTO: masculine energy of primal     JUNO: feminine energy of primal
    power and transformation              power and transformation
HEPHAISTOS: masculine principle of    ASTRAEA: feminine principle of
    work, order, integration and          work, order, integration and
    disintegration                        disintegration
APOLLO: additional solar symbol,      DIANA: additional lunar symbol,
    creative maturity                     emotional maturity
BACCHUS: masculine symbol             BLACK MOON LILITH: feminine symbol
    of dark primal passions,              of dark primal passions,
    escapism and individualism,           escapism and individualism,
    and inspirational power               and inspirational power

With this table you find a balanced grouping of archetypal divine energies which have significant astrological influence. The Iris Report gives you the opportunity, for the first time, to add twelve asteroids to the major factors usually considered in the chart - the Sun and Moon, the planets, Chiron and Lilith - and thereby get a much more complete picture of how the astral energies were constellated at the time of birth for the chart you are reading, whether it is your own or someone else's.

Of course, the balance suggested by these dyads, or pairings, does not mean that the yin and yang symbols are identical - Venus and Mars are hardly the same, after all! But there is a sense in which the two planets or asteroids involved represent divine archetypes whose energies complement each other, and work something like the positive and negative charges of an electrical current. One end of the archetypal 'pole' is outgoing and active, or 'masculine'. The other end of the archetypal pole is incoming and receptive, or 'feminine'.

In each of the twelve mini-chapters that follow, a particular asteroid (or dwarf planet, depending on the new astronomical definitions!) is given the focus of attention and related to all the other major elements of the horoscope, including those two important angles the Ascendant and Midheaven, and also the Nodes of the Moon. They are listed not in any order of importance, but according to the order in which they were discovered, from Ceres first to Hephaistos last.

So - let Iris, the rainbow messenger of the goddesses, add her many colors to your chart and complete the work of Mercury, the messenger of the gods.

Chapter 1: Ceres

Ceres, lady of loving-kindness

Ceres symbolizes the fertility and abundance of the corn goddess, an aspect of the great Earth Mother. Ceres was the Roman deity; Demeter the earlier Greek goddess of grain and fertility in the classical tradition. With the new astronomical definitions of the various bodies in the solar system, Ceres the former asteroid is now considered to be a 'dwarf planet'. In astrology, the divine archetype Ceres bestows the blessing of loving-kindness. She distils her energy gently in the horoscope, and does not make a fuss.

Ceres helps you to see the world through kindly eyes, and to enjoy what is natural and simple and good. With her help, you grow in compassion for others, and gain in empathic understanding. She promotes generosity of spirit, and helps you to help other living beings: people, animals, and the natural world. Her position shows something about how you find ways to look after other people, and seek to bring out the best in them. Ceres nurtures and educates, in the best sense of those words. And on a larger worldly scale, she promotes the good of ordinary people, helps humankind to build democracy, and fosters respect and care for the environment as a whole. Her darker side tends to smother love and games involving manipulation or rejection. However, her more noble urge prompts everyone towards leading a good life, which facilitates the correction or elimination of such unattractive qualities.

Ceres in Libra:

Peace and harmony are important words in your vocabulary, and conflict at the very least unbalances you, and at worst can almost hurt. This is not to say you can't fight if you must, but it is always a last resort, and leaves you feeling slightly dirty. You don't like diplomacy to fail. Dialogue and compromise are other watchwords for you, and at your best your negotiation skills are second to none. You can dither around of course, weighing all sides of an idea or argument several times, but you eventually find a conclusion. Your ability to play with ideas, and to mediate between people and their positions, is the great gift you offer others in support of their growth. Just beware you don't lose yourself by being sometimes too helpful and obliging.

Ceres in 3rd house:

The Ceres instinct to support, teach and mentor finds a very easy expression in the house of communication. Your strong practical intelligence finds numerous outlets in the world, but you are likely to be happiest when exchanging ideas with people. Whether passing on the latest gossip, or fostering a work or life skill, you take pleasure in seeing ideas going round and taking on multiple forms. You have strong networking abilities and can be very good at bringing people together, pointing out common ground to those in dispute. Negotiation and conflict resolution are amongst your strengths, but you can have a low boredom threshold and need to stay engaged, seeing things through to their conclusion.

Ceres Sextile Sun,  Orb: 1 deg. 01 min.

Your capacity to support and help as many people as possible is a source of strength and personal enrichment. You find it easy to juggle a variety of commitments and tasks, and convey to others an aura of health and vigor. Working with the simple and natural, or to enhance the common good, draws out the best in you and offers rewards on all levels.

Ceres Sextile Asc.,  Orb: 1 deg. 30 min.

Your ability to endow all you do with Ceres qualities of loving care and practical support gives you deep satisfaction and is a source of strength in your dealings with the world. People come readily to you for advice and comfort, and you seldom turn anyone away, but will need to guard against exploitation and exhaustion if you give too much.

Ceres Square Vesta,  Orb: 0 deg. 26 min.

From time to time you encounter significant challenges presented by clashes of duty. Which comes first, work or family? Can you have it all, and is it worth having anyway? What do you value most and why? As you un-knot these questions you will slay your doubts and get a clear focus, in turn allowing you to provide real support to others.

Ceres Opposition Proserpina,  Orb: 2 deg. 04 min.

The nature of the mother-child bond is a touchstone of your life whether easy or challenging for you. The challenging energies build around the need to establish a strong personal identity and independent life, which you may find difficult and painful. It is important not to repeat negative behaviors when dealing with others in turn, though.

Ceres Sesquiquadrate Hephaistos, Orb: 0 deg. 35 min.

Your passionate intensity is very exciting to some people, but will set off alarm bells in others, because it is all too easy for you to convey mixed messages without even trying. Try to distance yourself a little so you can see things from other perspectives. That way you can avoid either unnecessary conflicts, or attracting the clingingly co-dependent.

Chapter 2: Pallas

Pallas, lady of consciousness-raising

Pallas was a title of the great Greek goddess Athena, warrior, strategist and wisdom seeker. Her Roman counterpart was Minerva. The asteroid (perhaps eventually to be classified as dwarf planet) Pallas brings gifts of understanding, insight and skillfulness, and helps you to take things to a higher level than you might have thought possible. The energies of Pallas often seem to appear suddenly in the horoscope, and she can present in a surprising, even shocking, way. These upheavals are necessary sometimes in order to shake you out of your complacency and get you moving.

Pallas helps you to see much more clearly, and although this can involve pain, it is for the best in the long run. Illusions are stripped away and you comprehend at a deep level the lessons brought by this asteroid. You grow in intellectual dexterity and sometimes manual dexterity as well, and learn how to approach issues more strategically. Just as Pallas improves the linkages in your brain, so she also helps you to create better linkages in the world at large. Pallas can prompt you to respond very coldly, too, so you need to be careful of her chilly intellectualism and its snare of retreat into airy, abstract absolutes. But Pallas also promotes equality and cooperation, and helps you to help others in clear-sighted and astute ways. She assists you to act more fairly towards people, and to fight for fairness in turn. Pallas is a true raiser of the level of consciousness, and ultimately she helps you to think and act in much better, more skilful ways than you might ever have imagined possible.

Pallas in Virgo:

The Virgo drive for efficiency and wholeness provides a fertile soil for the strong mental processes of Pallas to seed. You can be an 'operator', in both the best and worst senses of that word, depending on the clarity and integrity of your intentions and actions. Negatively, you can manipulate your way into and out of anything; positively, you have the capacity to work your way systematically through the most complex challenges, the kind that defeat less disciplined and thoughtful folk. Your mind is a sensitive and powerful instrument that enables you to see both the wood and the trees, depending on your focus. This enables you to become a very effective change agent, because your innovations are grounded in practical realities, and an awareness of others.

Pallas in 2nd house:

Your values and approach to gathering resources can be a bit different when Pallas is part of the picture. New ideas and technologies can be grist to your mill, and a source of income as well as intellectual delight. You tend either to be indifferent to worldly success or a touch obsessed with proving your worth, especially your originality and cleverness. Above all you value the mind and its immense potential, and at your best you are a true wisdom seeker whose lofty idealism can take you far, literally and metaphorically. More prosaically, you can be a dab hand with computers and gizmos of various kinds, or turn your skill with handicrafts into a business instead of, or as well as, a hobby.

Pallas Conjunct Uranus,  Orb: 4 deg. 22 min.

Wow - here's a thing: Pallas and Uranus blending yin and yang consciousness raising energies. You are one smart cookie, and if you don't push for change yourself, your life will push change on you. You mustn't, and can't, stand still, especially in your mind. The wheels keep whirring and take you new places, often where no one's ever gone before.

Pallas Conjunct Pluto,  Orb: 1 deg. 45 min.

You are attuned to powerful rhythms of change in the world and can approach life with a very high (or is that deep?) seriousness. Conflict and its resolution are important recurring themes, and you are often caught in battles over ideas or ideals, or both. Learn to lighten up and compromise: there are other sides to questions than your own!

Pallas Sextile Neptune,  Orb: 0 deg. 21 min.

Your visionary, mystical tendencies are blended with a clear-sighted intelligence, which is a formidable combination for creative achievement. You are more likely to be seen as a charismatic figure than an odd-ball, which means you do need to watch out you don't believe your own publicity. But your gift of insight is your service to the world.

Pallas Trine Hygiea,  Orb: 3 deg. 51 min.

You have the ability to draw strength and achieve success from your willingness to flow with the processes of change and learn the lessons of life quickly and with good grace. There is a cool calm quality to your approach which can be very healing for others to be around, and you make a reassuring guide for the perplexed conservatives of the world.

Pallas Opposition Chiron,  Orb: 0 deg. 47 min.

You may truly have the best idea since sliced bread, but you need to be mindful of your audience or you mightn't sell it to anyone. There is something different about you, that could strike others as a bit odd, rather than endearingly eccentric. So - use your smarts to stand back, analyze, and maximize your capacity for brilliant communication.

Pallas Sesquiquadrate MC, Orb: 1 deg. 10 min.

Although you know your ideals have integrity and you believe in the value of change, you may not always be able to convince others of these things without some sort of fight. Family conflicts may get in the way, too, and you need to use all your clear headedness and powers of persuasion to maintain balance and calm, and simply to play fair to all.

Chapter 3: Juno

Juno, lady of personal power

Juno symbolizes the primal power of the original Great Mother Goddess, whom the Greeks called Hera. The goddess Hera's supreme position was lost when the sky and warrior gods of patriarchal tribes supplanted the deities of the old agricultural proto-civilization. Hera became the wife of Zeus and patroness of marriage, a much narrower remit of power. Her Roman counterpart was Juno, wife of Jupiter. Although most astrologers read the asteroid Juno primarily as a symbol of relationships and the passions and power struggles entangled in them, there is a much deeper significance to this asteroid in your chart.

Juno is above all about personal power, where you find it, and how you use or misuse it, or fail to use it at all. People often struggle to express their Juno energy, perhaps because the world still struggles collectively with what feminine energy really means. It is not simply about sugar and spice and all things nice. Juno is often not very 'nice' at all, and challenges you to wake up to what you want and find a skilful way of shaping your life path. Juno shines a light on inequalities and demands fairness, or - if she feels thwarted - retreats into angry sulking and defeat. Her most blunted and distorted energies manifest as arrogance and self-entitlement, or in envy and spite; but at her best she bestows a kind of truly royal authority, grounded in maturity and deep understanding.

Juno demands you take responsibility, first of all for yourself. She also teaches you lessons about your values and helps you to transform anything primitive, selfish or self-defeating into a mature and empowering way of being in the world. Juno's great gift is precisely this: empowerment. As a corollary, she can help you make money or gain material successes along the way. And she can give you great style and a powerful presence, too!

Juno in Libra:

Issues of power and equality in relationships tend to get you more than a little hot and bothered. For someone who talks peace and harmony, you can become remarkably ornery when your passions are engaged. When you are able to preserve calm and charm, you are very effective in building linkages between people, negotiating or arbitrating. You certainly like to talk, and keeping the ideas circulating also matters to you. You feel empowered when you sense you are modeling fairness and justice and building harmony wherever you go. But you are also sensitive to slights and your own balance is easily upset. Remember always to do as you would be done by, and all will be well. Keep a clear focus, too, as prevarication never gets anyone anywhere in the long run.

Juno in 3rd house:

You find power in the resources of your mind, which are truly formidable once you have realized what you can do with them. At first this may present something of a challenge, and either school or family influences, or both, may have been problematic in making room for your full self expression. But you can't remain stuck in the past unless you want to stagnate there, and your whole-of-life education is ultimately up to you. It is important to find smart, interesting people you can exchange ideas with, and maybe to live in a neighborhood with a happening vibe. The more you think and learn and experience, the deeper and richer your ideas become, and you can make a truly valuable contribution.

Juno Conjunct Venus,  Orb: 2 deg. 57 min.

You can attain a sense of empowerment through your ability to promote harmony and draw out the beautiful, but this can also lapse into self-indulgence, especially where money and luxury are concerned. Cultivate the higher rather than the lower nature. This will bring you the best results, both spiritually and materially. Way to go!

Juno Opposition N. Node,  Orb: 2 deg. 39 min.

You can find a line of least resistance in pursuing personal goals and can forget other people in the process. Learning how to let go of small egoistic drives will greatly enhance the ease of your path through life, and help you create relationships that are not damaged by competing agendas. Playing the game honorably is your royal road to freedom.

Juno Opposition N. Node,  Orb: 2 deg. 39 min.

You can get very caught up in the power games people play with each other, either because your self esteem is too little developed, or over developed into pride. Don't beat up on yourself, or anyone else for that matter. Play clean and fair and be clear about your worldly aims, because you have a strong ability to lead, and to get to the top in the end.

Juno Square Hygiea,  Orb: 0 deg. 27 min.

The blazing intensity within you is a source of purifying energy and power, but it can be too much at times, and end up seething unconsciously or get suppressed. Yet there is a healing power here which you can channel into your work, and call on to become the best you can be, contributing somehow to greater wholeness for you and your environment.

Chapter 4: Vesta

Vesta, lady of focused service.

The asteroid Vesta constellates a very pure energy of dedication to a higher purpose. In worldly terms this often steps down to more ordinary, everyday realities: the willingness to work hard, the willingness to put personal preferences aside to deal with issues at hand or to assist others in need, and above all the ability to focus intently on something in order to get it done.

It is worth remembering that the Roman goddess Vesta was lady of the hearth, and the Latin word for hearth is 'focus'. Where you put your focus you are, in some sense, kindling a fire in a hearth and tending it, just like the Vestal Virgins looked after the sacred hearth whose fire symbolized the life of the whole collective. Vesta helps you to maintain your focus for as long as it takes to fulfill your obligations or to get the work done. With her help, you become less egoistic and more willing to put others ahead of yourself. But she also teaches you how to do this appropriately - turning into a doormat is hardly going to work well in the long run, either. You can become rather obsessed, too, where Vesta goes, and become righteous about issues with a moral dimension. You need to go a bit easily and honor difference whilst maintaining your own standards. Leading by example is better than grandstanding, and Vesta teaches you to work away quietly, without fuss, and achieve the sense of deep satisfaction that comes from recognizing and doing the right thing. You don't have to advertise this - virtue is its own reward!

Vesta in Capricorn:

Vesta has a pretty easy time in Capricorn: she likes structure, and her work ethic flourishes in this part of the zodiac. Your capacity to plan sensibly and focus intently on whatever needs to be done, has the potential to take you a long way in the world, and although you mightn't shout it from the rooftops, you are a pretty ambitious critter, aren't you?! The main problem you are likely to encounter is the shocking discovery that a goodly percentage of the world's population is not as organized, energetic and purposeful as you are, and doesn't have your capacity for self sacrifice or devotion to duty. Getting upset or angry about this achieves nothing, and only hurts you in the long run. Relax, chill out, and be willing to accept, or allow for, difference. Life gets easier then!

Vesta in 5th house:

There are several ways for you to express this energy, and perhaps the most risky is to take life too seriously and neglect to have fun. You may have been squashed a bit in childhood and feel uncertain about how to let loose your wild, creative side, or you may simply have internalized an austere work ethic to an excessive degree. In any case, the best thing is to heed the advice of Mary Poppins, take a spoonful of sugar, and turn your job(s) into a game. The other possibility is that you could play the full-on hedonist out of rebellion. But you're not a rebel through and through: you just want to be seen, or heard. Once you focus your creative gifts there is nothing you can't achieve with them!

Vesta Square Proserpina,  Orb: 1 deg. 38 min.

This is a contradictory energy, and you will probably find it difficult at first to manage drives that are very concrete and realistic on one side (Vesta) and very otherworldly on the other (Proserpina). If you swing to extremes you could become either too severely practical or too confused and fey. Take things quietly and develop good judgment!

Vesta Sesquiquadrate Hephaistos, Orb: 0 deg. 09 min.

You are a quietly intense person with tremendous dedication to anything or anyone that matters to you, but may need to beware of overdoing the service thing. Although you feel deeply, you also tend to repress your emotions, out of fear or guilt, and can take life much too seriously. Watch out for workaholic tendencies! And don't hide from life in work!

Chapter 5: Astraea

Astraea, lady of right judgment and integration

Astraea was a classical goddess of justice, whose symbol was the balanced scales. She presided over the moral sense of rightness and good order, and the poetic tradition relates that she was the last of the divinities to leave the world at the end of the Golden Age. Astraea was then translated into the heavens as the constellation Virgo. These elements of myth give you clues to the meaning of the asteroid Astraea in the horoscope. She is concerned with the integration and organization of things, bringing sometimes disparate elements together and finding the common links that join them up in the web of life. She helps you to focus on detail and understand the meaning of the fine print. She helps you to work both hard and well, and helps you to become more ordered and tidy in at least some aspects of your life.

Astraea can also help you to become quite high minded, whilst integrating into this spacious vision an ability to zero in and see all the small things that go together to make up the greater whole. She can stir up a compulsive quality, too, and stimulate an obsessive streak. This can cause a kind of splitting, which is another aspect of Astraea energy: the goddess who brings things together can also tear them apart. She does all this, ultimately, in the service of wholeness, and reveals those things it is time to clean up and get rid of, so that everything else can evolve into a more perfect form. Wherever Astraea goes, you are urged to get organized and get your act together - and become the best you can be!

Astraea in Capricorn:

You find it easy to concentrate your mind on the world's social and organizational hierarchies and structures, and this helps you get ahead in material ways. Actually, you find it easy to concentrate, full stop. You are fascinated by how things work, on many levels, and take a keen interest in how life is lived in the world of form. Sometimes this is simply because you are so ambitious and you want a piece of the pie, but you can also be a very practical kind of idealist and even challenge the established order if you think it needs an overhaul. You're very good at finding where the cracks are and filling them, and bringing things together to create the new improved model. Just watch out that you don't become too serious or dogmatic. Remember to cut loose and play occasionally!

Astraea in 5th house:

For all that Astraea tends to wear an unassuming demeanor, there's a little exhibitionist streak inside you, or at least, a small voice crying out for an audience: you need to be seen and heard and understood. Sometimes you just want a platform so you can strut your stuff, but you'll do best when you have something creative to offer, and then you can really have an impact. Even when you're operating quietly, there's something about you people tend to notice, sooner or later. You can have that most intangible of qualities, presence. But you can take your time getting to the stage of showing this. Perfectionism is your biggest pitfall, and can stifle self-expression. Go a bit easy on yourself!

Astraea Trine Jupiter,  Orb: 0 deg. 24 min.

You gain satisfaction and inner growth from your gift for combining the small with the large, the little details with the big picture. Since you can usually keep egotistical tendencies in check, this talent helps you to achieve to a high degree. You have a flair for bringing things together, and for promoting wholeness on many levels.

Astraea Trine MC,  Orb: 3 deg. 14 min.

You find strength and success from hewing a life path that is dedicated to achieving integration on as many levels as possible. Service with a capital 'S' is the name of the game: not servility, but recognizing that in doing your best for everyone, you do the best for yourself, too. This allows you to grow into a practical change agent in the world.

Astraea Trine True Lilith,  Orb: 1 deg. 32 min.

Although you have the ability to help others in practical ways, you'll only do it if you trust their motives and feel that you're respected and well received. You're a no-nonsense person who deals with the world on your terms, but usually have the ability to hide this sternness behind a polite facade! You are good at tidying emotional messes.

Astraea Sextile Apollo,  Orb: 0 deg. 00 min.

Astraea and Apollo are both perfectionists who like balance and harmony, so put them together harmoniously and you've got huge creative potential. For all your perfectionism, you can usually get your inner critic onside, which means you believe in your potential and knuckle down to work patiently. Focused effort and brio take you a long way.

Astraea Square Saturn,  Orb: 0 deg. 32 min.

Sure, you can turn perfectionism to an art form, and have a colossal capacity for hard work and focused action. But it's easy for you to overdo this busy-ness and also to develop a martyr streak, even though the world won't end without you. Let others take some of the load, without watching them like a hawk. Live and let live!

Chapter 6: Iris

Iris, lady of the intuitive mind and illumination

In Greek myth, there were two divine messengers: Hermes (equivalent to the Roman god Mercury), and Iris. Some traditions suggest that Iris was the messenger of the goddess Hera (whose Roman equivalent was Juno), whilst Mercury served Jupiter. However you play with the myths, there was a feminine energy associated with communication as well as a masculine one. And modern neuroscience tells us there are masculine and feminine aspects to the brain, too.

Few astrologers have learned yet how to honor the great goddess whose archetype stands behind the 'feminine' brain and style of communication. That is why this asteroid report is named in honor of Iris! The symbol of Iris was the rainbow, and the Iris energies of the horoscope seem to encompass all the colors of the spectrum, all kinds of light: ultimately, the light of pure consciousness.

Mercury shows how you think and communicate in a more systems oriented, data gathering and sorting way. His energy is yang and outward directed. Iris, however, has yin energy and is receptive. She shows how you receive ideas, how you listen, how you intuit and empathize, and how you deal holistically with all the information thrown at you by living in the world.

Iris helps you to understand things at a deep level, and to grow in wisdom. She adds color and depth to the Mercury energies of the chart, and shows another avenue of expression. She helps you to meditate. At her very best, Iris helps you to find true illumination. There is a vastness and sublime beauty to Iris energy. Wherever she sits in your horoscope can be magical, as she helps your consciousness to expand and evolve.

Iris in Scorpio:

Regardless of where your Mercury is and how he influences your outer world way of communicating, your inner world is alive with intense thoughts and feelings and its colors are many interesting shades of chiaroscuro (light and dark). As a teenager you probably did the brooding thing quite well, and can still turn it on as an adult when it suits you, or find it turns on whether it suits you or not. To some extent you may feel, or think (and for you thinking and feeling can be almost the same thing) you are responding to forces beyond your control. The subtle realms of desire, the senses, oh, how well you know these places. You can gain much insight into the deeper layers of the psyche, but this often involves pain, and may make you defensive. Learn how to live with the gamut of experience and transform it: that is your gift to yourself, and ultimately to the world.

Iris in 4th house:

Although it can get a bit lost under layers of disguise, your deepest drive is to find the inner light. This may start with trying to make home a place of calm and reflection, especially if that is how it was in childhood, and even more so if you feel you have to make up later for early deprivation. You almost certainly understand your family very well, possibly better than they understand you. The parental bond can be particularly strong, and one or both of your parents has probably had a powerful influence on the development of your mind and your approach to learning and communication. But above all, you want inner growth, and live out the Confucian edict, 'Cultivate your person.'

Iris Opposition MC,  Orb: 4 deg. 54 min.

You are quite sure you can deploy your communication skills to achieve worldly success. This assessment is perfectly correct if you are willing to pause and reflect on your environment and the maelstrom of clashing agendas. Don't get caught in crossfire, or add to it. Use your savvy to pour oil on troubled waters and keep people sweet.

Iris Square Asc.,  Orb: 1 deg. 35 min.

You have a strong drive to project the Iris qualities of receptivity and awareness into your personal style, but sometimes this can be too full-on for full effectiveness. Use your ability to detach and watch to make careful assessments before you leap in. With a little tact and planning you can make fantastic connections, and contribute socially.

Iris SemiSquare Uranus, Orb: 0 deg. 37 min.

You probably feel a bit out of step with people, as though your mind is not quite 'in time' in either a rhythmic or temporal sense. New ideas keep flooding in, making you way ahead of your peer group. You need to find other equally future-oriented folk to hang out with so you can all be kinda crazy together. You don't belong with drones and clones!

Chapter 7: Hygiea

Hygiea, lady of purification and healing

Hygiea is named for the classical goddess of health and well-being, whose name also yields the English word hygiene. This brings a sense of cleansing and purification to the symbolism for the asteroid Hygiea, as well as meanings associated with health issues, sickness, cure, and the moral and physical wholeness that are implicit in ideas of good health or good order. Wherever Hygiea goes in the horoscope, she has a way of cleaning up things, bringing them into a very pure, even ideal, state of being.

Hygiea intensifies any other planetary energy with which she links, and assists it to express in a cleaner, stronger, truer form. Sometimes this poses real challenges and problems, making circumstances appear worse before they get better. Then Hygiea seems to act like the force behind a fever, which can rise to dangerous heights before it breaks, and the healing occurs. It's all about getting the poison out first, so that wholeness can be restored, or aided to form. The poison is more often metaphorical than literal, of course. Hygiea always helps you to scrub up, or purge. She's a catalyst for action as well as a force for intensifying and purifying other energies. However testing a time you have whilst she's busy, you're always left in much better shape when she has finished with you!

Hygiea in Capricorn:

You like the idea of order, and are very good at keeping things clean and tidy on many levels. Although you could be as house-proud as a manic Virgo, your real interest is probably in how to keep the social order nicely ordered. This could make you something of a revolutionary in your fashion, if you think your patch of turf needs a good re-organizing. Because you understand the rules of society so well, you know exactly when and how to break them, either to do a minor fix without causing intolerable disruption, or to cause just as much havoc as you judge necessary. You'll tilt at the windmills of authority if it suits you, but don't like to be challenged yourself. But if you never bend the knee, your own knees could give you trouble. Or other bone or skin diseases.

Hygiea in 6th house:

The urge to be useful is strong in you, which seldom makes you servile but may make you feel a little superior at times. Sure, you can be the healer's healer and the worker's worker, but you don't want to overdo the helpfulness thing to the point where your pride in achievement founders on the rocks of exhaustion. This can all too easily tip you into illness of some kind. Be gentle with yourself, and temper your pride in your practical capacity with a little humility in recognizing where, when and how to draw the line. You can't be all things to all people or you'll learn the bitter lesson of pleasing nobody if you try to please everybody. Please yourself first! Work on your own integration!

Hygiea Trine Uranus,  Orb: 0 deg. 31 min.

You love the whole business of 'being an individual', and put quite a lot of effort into cultivating your own uniqueness, at least sporadically. Your energies can fluctuate, but when working at full power you have a steady kind of zaniness born from being acutely aware of what's happening around you, and a willingness to take on - everything!

Hygiea Trine Hephaistos,  Orb: 3 deg. 34 min.

You've talent to burn, and a strong practical streak with it (part of it?), but you just have to get over the little mountain of under-confidence. If you don't want to climb it, blast a hole through it. If anyone can do it, you can. Use your smarts to find the right way. Your potential for mastery of some kind is great, especially as a healer or craftsperson.

Hygiea Sextile Diana,  Orb: 2 deg. 19 min.

It is very easy for you to go your own way and let the devil take whoever may be hanging about. You like traveling solo, and doing your own thing; it just feels right, and brings out your best. But you do need to make allowances for the needs and wishes of others, at least occasionally. This teaches you a deeper emotional maturity, and kindness.

Hygiea Square Venus,  Orb: 2 deg. 31 min.

Your intense drive to enjoy life to the full can make for some very good times, but if you get carried away with only having fun and getting the best of everything, you risk living wastefully. One way or another you learn that money doesn't buy happiness. You need the pleasure of inner peace instead. Cultivate good taste and the art of choosing well.

Hygiea Square N. Node,  Orb: 3 deg. 06 min.

Learning to serve your highest good is a big challenge, and not just for you, it's a universal test. But this Hygiea-Lunar Node link does make it all a bit more intensely personal than usual. Resistance only brings pain, so it's best to look dispassionately at what you most need to be doing, and do it with grace and acceptance.

Hygiea SemiSquare Sun, Orb: 1 deg. 58 min.

You may experience tensions as you go about healing the promptings of your heart, but this process is necessary for your self expression and well-being. It is important for you to find and express joy, without surrendering to negatives such as self-absorption. Look after your physical heart as well as your feeling nature. Don't push to exhaustion.

Chapter 8: Proserpina

Proserpina, lady of transitions, other-worldly realms, and sacrifice

The asteroid Proserpina is named in honor of the goddess of the dead, consort of Pluto, she who was known as Persephone to the Greeks. As a goddess archetype, Proserpina constellates an energy that is often hard to fathom at first, because in the poetic myths Proserpina/Persephone seems to have little personality of her own. As the innocent maiden, abducted by Pluto/Hades into the underworld, she was scarcely distinguishable from her fertility goddess mother Ceres/Demeter. As Pluto's wife and queen of the underworld, though, she receives the souls of the dead and as such, is also a guide to other realms and levels of being, and the deepest places of the psyche. The asteroid Proserpina seems to manifest as an energy of innocence and ignorance that learns a very great deal by (often hard) experience. She shows where you tend to take the line of least resistance, to be passive or helpless, and teaches you the consequences of such unaware or unassertive responses. She points to what you learn through the various transitions of life, which may or may not be painful, but which always entail a letting go of what has ceased to be viable, and carry therefore some sense of sacrifice. She shows you altered states of being, can help you to open up to all the stimuli of life, assists you to adapt and change in response to your environment, and even helps you to cultivate psychic perception.

Proserpina is a tricky energy to deal with, though, because she is so hard to know in essence. You need to be still, and quietly open, to access Proserpina and work with her successfully. Ignore her altogether and you may find yourself plunging into situations you never expected or wanted; honor her and she will help you to find a way through the dark, a guide for your soul who aids your inner journey and ultimately, as a result, your path to individuation in the outer world.

Proserpina in Aries:

Deep spiritual longings fire your way of being in the world, but early in life you may not quite know what these yearnings are, or what to do with them even if you can name them. So you may come across as a bit lost at first, but with a certain zest and courage that keep you from harm - people sense you aren't really someone to mess with, no matter how gentle or obliging you seem. To protect your soft places, of course, you might over-compensate and come across as feistier than you are (or genuinely feel). There is a bit of the actor in you, and you can play a part if it serves your purposes. You just have to be clear what your purposes are - and if you don't know, sooner or later some sort of identity crisis will force you to wise up and define your direction. Then you're away!

Proserpina in 9th house:

There is a journeying quality to Proserpina energy and when this is playing out in the domain of long journeys you can certainly travel far and wide, and have extraordinary adventures as you go. Such travels may well be prompted by your quest to learn and know as much as possible. Since most of us learn more by suffering than by pleasure, you're likely to face your share of challenges, but you have an unsinkable quality that keeps you going. Hope is never far, and you know how valuable troubles are as stories. There is a good deal of the storyteller in you, but you may also get your best material from surmounting some crisis of belief that ultimately takes you to your ideal goal.

Proserpina Trine Sun,  Orb: 3 deg. 05 min.

You find it easy to play many parts in the tragic-comedy of life, and could try on several roles before you find the right fit. You'll find a certain strength in being so adaptable, but must watch out for tendencies to drifting or complacency. Your predilection for the good life can power up achievement, but also make you want whatever is easy.

Proserpina Trine Asc.,  Orb: 3 deg. 34 min.

You tend to present to the world as a very adaptable and obliging person, and mostly that's how you want it, as you like to be helpful, and you like to be liked. Just don't overdo the useful Santa's elf thing - you are so good at it, it comes naturally - because otherwise people could take advantage of your amiable nature. Be kind, but firm!

Proserpina Sesquiquadrate Mercury, Orb: 0 deg. 31 min.

Your mind is subtle and deep, but you also have the potential to get carried away by fantasies and end up believing any passing whim is some kind of divine revelation. It is hard to cultivate dispassion and detachment but a necessary survival skill: stand back and think carefully before you plunge anywhere. Look out for con artists and their rhetoric.

Proserpina SemiSquare Hephaistos, Orb: 1 deg. 29 min.

Your passions probably have a way of throwing you into turmoil now and then (okay, maybe most of the time) but you do rather like peak experiences, don't you? Vanilla doesn't quite do. Accept responsibility and if you really want it quiet, scale things back a bit. An ordinary life requires effort and talent as well. How are you using your gifts?

Chapter 9: Diana

Diana, lady of emotional maturity

Diana was the classical goddess associated with the moon, a virginal hunter who was expert with the bow and arrow. She preferred to keep aloof from the company of most of the other gods and goddesses, living in wild mountain fastnesses with her retinue of maidens.

Diana took an interest in the affairs of ordinary mortals primarily when women were giving birth, and she cared for the young of all creatures. But she could be fierce, even lethal, if her rights were impinged upon, or if she were slighted. Her arrows never missed their target.

The asteroid Diana has not been used a lot by astrologers, which is a pity as she seems to show a different quality of emotional response from that traditionally associated with the Moon. Where Diana goes in your chart you are not inclined to the sort of overt, even child-like sensitivity and vulnerability that the Moon tends to indicate, but to a more restrained, independent and even sometimes avoidant response to the stimuli of life. Diana energy is more austere, but she does not show a lack of sensitivity as such. Indeed, she can be almost hypersensitive in her way, which is to acknowledge feelings and immediately put boundaries in place to contain and protect them, so that Diana can sometimes seem cold or hard where in fact she is simply looking after herself. Of course, she can help you to be tough if circumstances demand it! She can also point to intense fear responses, which in turn stimulate the 'fight or flight' reflex, which in turn makes you either combative or prone to head for the hills. Ultimately the position of Diana in your chart tells you a lot about how you develop emotional maturity, although she can also say something about the distortions and setbacks of this process, too. She shows where you are able to rely on yourself rather than depending on others, and also points to ways in which you will help other people - as long as it suits you!

Diana is not needy, except for space and for the opportunity, quietly, to nurture the inner needs of the soul. She helps you to figure out what you want, but without all the emotional baggage associated with Lunar attachment. Detached, disinterested and dispassionate, Diana energy helps you to engage with life on your own terms, as a fully fledged adult. With Diana, you put away childish things and come into a richer fullness of being.

Diana in Aries:

There is something very swift about the way you process your emotional responses. Even if your Moon is in a gentle sign, you have a tough streak that enables you to cut a path through the world on your own terms, and you can be a cool negotiator either in a crisis, or when looking after Number One. Though you can be quick to anger, you as quickly move on; but heaven help those who have aroused your ire. They could be wondering what happened long after you've darted off, chasing another goal (or quarry). There is something of the hunter in you, but you can lose interest in your pursuits more rapidly than always serves your good. Apply some discipline and consistency instead, and you can do great things. Your goals matter more than perhaps you let on. Stay focused!

Diana in 8th house:

The whole interpersonal sphere is a playground for learning, and although it is a truism to say that relationships are our greatest teachers, this old saw is especially true of you. It's the business of sharing that can get tricky, and issues around vulnerability, or even a kind of dark charisma that can turn relationships into something quite odd and obsessive. You learn sooner or later the consequences of poor choices, which may mean you'll prefer to fly solo. But there is actually a potential for you to do it all better in a pair (or in a group, as the case may be), but this is likely to work out best when you're older and wiser. You need to deal effectively with power, a skill which comes with age and experience.

Diana Conjunct Saturn,  Orb: 4 deg. 58 min.

You have a spine of stainless steel (possibly even titanium) which keeps you upright and functional through even the harshest of life's challenges. And you do tend to thrive on tough challenges. Just don't become so austere that you forget what ordinary human qualities are. Use your understanding of suffering to help others, don't scorn them.

Diana Trine Mercury,  Orb: 3 deg. 15 min.

Cultivating strength of mind is something that gives you strength, period. You find it easy to think clearly and dispassionately about things, and are great to have around in a crisis. You learn easily, and not just in the bookish sense: any kind of information is noted, and you don't usually repeat mistakes. Just don't get too entangled in your high standards!

Diana Sextile Hephaistos,  Orb: 1 deg. 15 min.

You need to go your own way and do your own thing, and will buck like a shy horse at any attempts to limit your freedom or to trespass on your sensitive inner being. But you also need recognition for your talents and great capacity for work, and will flourish best with a practical outlet for all that creative energy. You have a lot to give.

Diana Opposition Uranus,  Orb: 1 deg. 49 min.

Perhaps you sometimes feel as though you're on the outside looking in, or you just don't get what's happening - or don't want to get what's happening, because you understand it only too well. You tend to feel out of step with this energy interchange, and look at the world in a wry, even wacky, way. Accept difference: 'live and let live' is a good motto.

Diana Sesquiquadrate Asc., Orb: 0 deg. 50 min.

You take on responsibility so readily that some people may even get suspicious and accuse you of meddling. That's if they aren't too intimidated by your formidable manner. You possibly take life a little too seriously for ordinary happiness, but you probably have your own ideas about that. You have your own ideas on everything, and that's that!

Chapter 10: Apollo

Apollo, lord of creative maturity

In classical mythology, Apollo was the god of the sun, whose patronage extended over harmony, the arts and healing. He was not the literal, physical sun, however, and the asteroid named in honor of this god has a slightly different quality from the Sun energy with which traditional astrology is familiar - just as the energy of Diana is rather markedly different from that of the Moon.

Although work is still in progress on understanding the influence of Apollo - as with all the asteroids! - he seems to take the creative, personality-making energy traditionally associated with the Sun and then place and develop it in a wider social context. If the Sun is about 'Me' and my life force in pure potential, then Apollo shows 'Me' how to become more fully and completely and socially myself - or rather yourself, as the case may be, since this report is about you, the reader! For this reason Apollo is described here as the lord of creative maturity. He has a sway over the process of full individuation that allows your innate gifts to shine their light into the world. Apollo shows another aspect of your talents and potentials, but he also shows possible areas of downfall, if more primitive egoistic urges get in the way of the maturation process.

It is all too easy to become proud wherever Apollo goes in the chart, and to become excessively perfectionist and demanding. But all these distortions are unfortunate ways of misusing his wonderful capacities for creation. At his best, Apollo gives clear sightedness, and this includes clarity of insight into who you really are and what you are best able to do in order to make the best of yourself in the world at large. Don't allow vanity or lazy self-entitlement to trip you up. Be honest about where you are and what you want, and do the best you can to be the best you can. That's what Apollo's drive for (true) excellence is all about!

The asteroid Apollo also has a rather strange orbit and appears to spend much longer in some signs of the zodiac than others. Appropriately enough, he is much more often and longest in Leo, the traditional sign of the Sun. If you have Apollo in the signs from Sagittarius through to Taurus, this is a relatively more rare placement.

Apollo in Scorpio:

An intense spot, or even core, in your being makes you highly attractive to many people, a little scary perhaps to others. You're more vulnerable than you look, but since the best defense is attack, heaven help anyone who rubs you the wrong way and threatens your sense of safety. You are very aware of your passions, which run deep, and regardless of whatever surface calm you maintain, there's a volcanic potential whenever you're truly aroused - by love, anger, fear, any strong emotion. Life's experiences have a way of taking you to the heart of human darkness, and you understand the passions of others as profoundly as your own. One way or another you are probably focused on the whole Freudian sex and death thing, and need to deal with deep processes of transformation.

Apollo in 3rd house:

Sure, humans are social animals, but your drive to communicate and connect is a little stronger than the average. Or maybe a lot stronger somehow or other you have a message to share, or several messages, and you could even make a terrific entertainer if other factors stimulate the drive to get up on a platform, or a stage. Word play can be a source of great joy, but there's also a serious side here. You have a scholarly instinct, a deep need to understand the mind. And as you mature, you'll probably discover an even deeper need to understand the heart. At your best you can bring both forms of understanding together, and model a fine example of head and heart connection.

Apollo Conjunct Venus,  Orb: 4 deg. 15 min.

The pairing of Apollo-Venus stimulates a strong love of beauty and a desire to realize it in as many areas of life as possible. You will have high standards of everything, and everyone, including potential partners. Don't allow the drive for the best to narrow into bedazzlement by the superficial. Beauty of the soul is more important in the end!

Apollo Trine Moon,  Orb: 3 deg. 06 min.

Your emotional responses are quick, and you find strength and pleasure in being able to bring something quintessential about how you feel into the way you position and express yourself in the world. When this is well directed, you can achieve a good deal. Use your openness to keep alert to the environment and to the way people respond to you.

Apollo Sextile Jupiter,  Orb: 0 deg. 24 min.

Your pride is usually one of your strengths, since you tend, mostly, to understand how to moderate its public presentation. Noble sentiments move you, and you have a passion for ethics and a generous approach to life. When you are being expansive and open, people enjoy your company and seek you out. Your optimism is a tonic during hard times!

Apollo Square Mars,  Orb: 0 deg. 15 min.

Sure, you want to fight for the right, and can reveal a splendid capacity when you've a cause to champion. But you can be 'led astray by righteousness' if you assume your way is the only way. Your high energy level needs constructive outlets, especially anything physical which fosters grace, like gymnastics or dancing. Sweat out the anger instead!

Apollo Opposition MC,  Orb: 3 deg. 14 min.

You certainly have a drive to make it in the world, but conflict between your own ambitions or family duties or partnership issues can get in the way. So can unresolved ego issues, which may bedevil other conflicts, too. Do some self analysis and be willing to put in the hard yards to achieve something. Heaven helps those who do the work!

Apollo Opposition True Lilith,  Orb: 1 deg. 31 min.

The contradictions between Apollo and Lilith energies can pull you in too many directions at once. Basically, you need to honor your darker, wilder side and seek to integrate it into your creativity, whilst not rejecting all order and discipline in a drive for untrammeled freedom. 'Nothing in excess,' as it said at Apollo's temple in Delphi.

Apollo Square Bacchus,  Orb: 0 deg. 20 min.

Tensely dynamic links between Apollo and Bacchus can lead to a kind of paralysis if you cannot find a middle path between order and light, and disorder and darkness. But once you stop fighting the contradictions, you can employ a paradoxical mix of detachment and passion to find the inspired equipoise which empowers creative resolutions.

Chapter 11: Bacchus

Bacchus, lord of altered states and divine inspiration

In Roman mythology, Bacchus was the god of the vine and wine, equivalent to the Greek Dionysos. The cult of Dionysos was ancient and mysterious. He was a strange and subtle god, other-worldly, now kind, now cruel, connected with altered states (including those induced by drugs, from alcohol to hallucinogens), the deity presiding over peak experiences from ecstasy to agony. He was close to nature, wild and free, and his worship had many anarchic as well as transcendental elements. Eventually his archetype and worship became so important to the Greek collective psyche that he was elevated to the Council of Twelve, the great gods and goddesses who presided over the government of Mount Olympus. Unlike other (male) gods, Dionysos was surrounded by women, and mortal women were his most significant votaries. There is an inter-sex, almost androgynous or transgender quality to this divine archetype.

The asteroid Bacchus constellates all these contradictions and mysteries in the horoscope. A good deal of the Bacchus/Dionysos archetype is also apparent in the planet Neptune, and where this asteroid differs and adds value to the chart is in the way it focuses the area of life where you are most open to inspiration and where you are most eager for pleasure and escape from the everyday. Neptune has a collective energy, but Bacchus is more directly personal. Bacchus tells you a lot about where and how you play, what excites you and inspires you to do better, to go further, and to push things not only to the limit but even past it. The consequences, if any, you will deal with later, if you must. Where Bacchus goes you have a little taste of freedom, a little glimpse of heaven or - if you play foolishly or choose badly - you get a harrowing vision of hell. You need to be careful with Bacchus energy. When he is good he is very, very good; and when he is bad he is horrid. Or to quote another old proverb: 'Take what you want, the Good Lord says - and pay for it.'

The asteroid Bacchus has an eccentric orbit and spends more time in some signs of the zodiac than others. His longest sojourn is in Sagittarius; if you have Bacchus in the signs from Pisces through Aries to Virgo, this is a less common placement.

Bacchus in Aquarius:

Mystic mirror on the wall, who is the wisest of them all? The answer will be, 'You,' if you have any say in the matter. When you are at your most exalted you can scale the heights, even access the highest planes of consciousness; or at least, this can become your highest aspiration. The sublime, the unusual, the off-key: any and all of these can inspire you, and elicit your gifts of attention and understanding. Your embrace of the best is as wide as any true definition of what is best (it covers a lot of ground), and your mind is spacious enough for most ideas and ideals to find happy lodging. You can waste all this, of course, procrastinate, fantasize, bum around. Mystic and spiritual longings do have their perils, nearly all bearing the label marked 'ego'. Keep yours in check and fly!

Bacchus in 6th house:

You find it very easy to channel inspiration into your work, to the extent that what for many people is drudgery, becomes for you a sandbox for play, and the touchstone for your finest achievements. An affinity for the natural world, or a sense of inter-connectedness with all sentient beings, can bring out a curious mixture of humility and nobility, because you don't exaggerate the special-ness of anyone or anything, but find the right measure of value everywhere. You are strongly idealistic, whether this wears a progressive or conservative face. And you can become a high achiever because of your capacity for inspired and inspiring organization, making all the right connections.

Bacchus Conjunct Mars,  Orb: 0 deg. 36 min.

You get rather high on the idea of action. No lolling about for you wasting time and valuable energy - but you do need a good channel for all that vigor, or you could stomp about alarming people. Getting physical is an obvious choice; so is hard manual labor. And before you laugh, ponder the value given to work in wisdom traditions worldwide.

Bacchus Sextile Mercury,  Orb: 1 deg. 32 min.

You take tremendous pleasure in the mind and its mysteries, and can achieve a great deal in the world when you learn to translate your visions into ordinary language and make an effort to participate in the everyday. It is tempting to remain up in the clouds, but you work out early on that it's more fun to bring imagination into daily life and talk.

Bacchus Sextile Saturn,  Orb: 0 deg. 12 min.

You find it fairly easy to sort out the difference between sublime inspiration and plain crazy delusion. There is a strength for you in bringing a visionary, imaginative impulse into ordinary works and the daily grind - indeed, it becomes less of a grind this way. You want work to be fun, but can make fun into work - so you profit from your pleasures!

Bacchus Trine Hephaistos,  Orb: 3 deg. 31 min.

The easy flow of inspiration and imagination into processes of hard work and craft, all informed by passion, can yield simply fabulous results. There's not much you cannot do if you decide to do it. You can be a bit tempted to play awhile with ideas, plan and dream, dallying about getting down to tin tacks. But once you start, you can finish brilliantly.

Bacchus Square MC,  Orb: 2 deg. 54 min.

You want to bring your inspirations down to earth, mainly so you can go a long way both personally and professionally. But if you're in the business of selling dreams, make sure they have a truly inspired quality and are not just narcissistic fantasies. It helps as well if they have a practical application. Don't let vanity get in the way of hard work, either!

Bacchus Square True Lilith,  Orb: 1 deg. 52 min.

Your drive for freedom can drive you almost wild at times. Seemingly titanic forces can surge up from somewhere within (or maybe without), and you've no need for acid when you can go on trips with these energies. You must be authentic, you must have respect, or you can turn in sudden anger. People do best to realize that you are a truly free spirit.

Chapter 12: Hephaistos

Hephaistos, lord of inner fire, talent, craft and work

The asteroid Hephaistos is named in honor of the ancient god of fire and the forge, the master craftsman and divine blacksmith. In the proto-civilizations of the early Bronze Age, those who worked with the wonders of fire and metal seemed to be magicians, and were thought to possess special powers. But the god Hephaistos had a sad, strange story. He stands for aspects of the masculine that are not only amongst the most worthy (he is a hard worker and consummate artisan) but also the most unfortunate, because Hephaistos was crippled and ugly, so the other gods and goddesses wanted little to do with him. But they could not ignore him, because he was too clever and too skilful, and he was one of the great gods who sat on the Council of Twelve governors. As we know in human life, too, those who are truly gifted always find a way to the top, and this is something the asteroid Hephaistos can point to in your horoscope. He also shows where you may feel very unworthy and self-doubting, and so make an extra effort. He reveals many of your deepest passions and dearest desires, but also shows some of your greatest sufferings, because other people do not necessarily understand you or want your company or input. He shows where and how you work, where and how you are perhaps most skilful. But above all, the divine blacksmith hammers your soul on his forge in order to make you better than you are already. This process of soul making, of what used to be called 'character building', can be hard and painful, but it is very necessary.

Hephaistos knocks you into shape. Once you understand what he is doing, it can actually be fun to cooperate, and turn the work into a game. Mary Poppins, arguably the first super-nanny, knew a thing or two about the secret purposes of the Hephaistos archetype. With his help, you can take the base metal of your nature and transform it into gold, or at least move from childhood to adulthood.

The asteroid Hephaistos also has an even more eccentric orbit than Apollo, and spends very little time in some signs of the zodiac. He is most often in Taurus, and the nearby signs of Aries, Gemini and Cancer. If your Hephaistos is in the signs from Leo to Pisces, this is a much rarer placement.

Hephaistos in Gemini:

Hephaistos spends quite a lot of time in Gemini, so you are linked to a broader collective process about learning truly effective communication. For you, soul making is bound up with learning how to give and receive ideas and information, without either holding back or demanding more than your share of the oxygen. You may find a challenge in speaking your mind, either saying too little through under-confidence or a failure to prepare, or banging on for too long and alienating people. At your best, you can be very bright, and if you really work on your ideas and the best way to communicate them, you can discover a real talent for speaking or writing. You could be a natural psychologist and work through deep issues (talking therapy!) or a gifted inventor with something new to offer the world. All you need is a platform - and a properly grounded self-belief - and away you go.

Hephaistos in 10th house:

The soul making process indicated by the sign your Hephaistos occupies is directed into your vocational path, which makes it a fairly serious business. You could be a proverbial late bloomer if lack of confidence has held you back, but once you learn to believe in yourself, you can reveal great talents to the world. You are serious about what you do, patient and careful. You aren't afraid of power, probably want it in your heart of hearts, and will challenge established authority if it doesn't live up to your expectations or - of course - if you want to wrest its power for yourself! You are a strong leader once you establish your own authority, either creatively, intellectually, physically or socially.

Hephaistos Trine Mars,  Orb: 2 deg. 56 min.

You find strength and pleasure through the exercise of your considerable physical vigor and through getting active and busy. You're a Trojan for work and little can stop you once you have started. If you apply your full skills set to whatever task is at hand, you'll finish splendidly. There can be a subtle earthiness, even sexiness, to your style.

Hephaistos Trine Uranus,  Orb: 3 deg. 03 min.

You find strength and pleasure through your ability to call on all your crazy, innovative creativity to act as an agent for change. You do need some sort of mission or ideal, or your intensity could set you up for trouble. But you tend to have the practical nous to find opportunities and the ability to present good arguments for your out-there agenda.

Hephaistos Opposition Mercury,  Orb: 2 deg. 00 min.

You are a very practical thinker, perhaps too practical some of the time. Your vivid imagination may only gain your respect if you can harness its visions to doing a job of work, but a little creative wildness could be good for the soul as well! Don't brood and fret too much about things, either. Negativity only increases the possibility of failure!

Hephaistos Square Jupiter,  Orb: 3 deg. 35 min.

Big dreams build in your rich inner life, but you may find challenges in translating them into practical works. Your gung-ho, think-big approach to everything can get just a tad too full-on, creating skepticism in others about your sincerity and/or capacity. Scale back and roll up your sleeves, do the work and show them! Living well is the best revenge.