Artist's concept of the Dawn spacecraft orbiting Ceres. Credit: McREL

While preparing this week’s forecast, I noted that the Sun sextiles Ceres on Sunday. I will admit to you that I have no idea what this means.

Many astrologers use the asteroids named for goddesses — Ceres, Vesta, Juno, and Pallas — in their consultation work with clients. For me, the jury is still out. I have never been satisfied with the explanations of their function, either in birth charts or transit readings. Since 2006, when the International Astronomical Union declared Ceres a “dwarf planet,” the same status they gave Pluto, I’ve been in quiet observation mode.

I’ve made a case for Ceres as the modern ruler of Virgo. The mythology fits. But a planet’s function in astrology also is based on its physical characteristics. For example, Jupiter is the largest planet in our solar system, and it appears that he may protect the inner planets to some degree. In astrology, Jupiter rules the “big picture” and represents expansion. His presence in certain areas of the chart by transit can indicate where we’re being protected.

NASA’s Dawn Mission, which was launched in September 2007, is scheduled to fly by Vesta in 2010 and 2011, and it will reach Ceres in 2015. Researchers hope to understand more about how the solar system was formed by exploring these protoplanets. I’m excited by this news and believe that the information beamed back from the Dawn spacecraft will change our concept of how astrologers can use the asteroid goddesses to interpret personal charts and the charts for world events. With the Dawn Mission, awareness of these bodies will permeate the collective mind, and as that happens, our understanding of their function in astrology will continue to evolve.

Pat