Asteroid Basics

This post was originally published on Astrology News Service

Alex Miller

Why use asteroids?  To paraphrase George Mallory, the British mountaineer who was queried about his desire to climb Everest:  “Because they’re there.”  Astrology’s guiding principle of “As Above, So Below” establishes the correlation between celestial patterns and events here on terra firma.  And if that works for planets, and it seems to, then it logically should work for asteroids and other minor bodies of the solar system.  And it does.

There are currently some 29,000 named asteroids (and counting), of an estimated 1.9 million orbiting the Sun, and each has a potential application to a biography or circumstance.  This may seem overwhelming, but it’s easier to integrate if we break it down into more readily digestible chunks.  Asteroids come in two basic types:  MNAs, or Mythic-Named Asteroids, which are named for deities or mythic figures, just as the planets are; and PNAs, or Personal-Named Asteroids, which are named for individuals, character traits, everyday items, or geographic locales. 

MNAs come with a built-in backstory based on the specifics of the myth in question, and the imagery or archetypal energies it evokes.  These help to flesh out planetary energies, providing additional context for how these may manifest in a life.  Someone with a strong Venus, for example, named for the Roman goddess of love, may feel very drawn toward intimacy and relationships.  But if asteroid Aphrodite is also prominent, named for Venus’ Greek precursor, who was notably more flirtatious or fickle, there may be more of a focus on brief, casual encounters or affairs, putting notches on the headboard rather than establishing long-term relationship permanency.  Both approaches are Venusian in their emphasis on relating and intimacy, but one prioritizes the needs of the moment over the long-haul commitment.  While the Roman pantheon has dominated the planetary nomenclature, modern astronomers have broadened the potential astrological scope by including lesser-known figures from Greek myth in their asteroid nominations, as well as a smattering of deities from global cultures as diverse as Hindu, Egyptian, Innuit and Meso-American sources.

PNAs, on the other hand, are where asteroids become especially granular, pinpointing specific people, places and things.  There are asteroids named for common first names, such as Alex, Johnny, Mary, and Anna (as well as a host of uncommon ones!); surnames such as Smith, Jones, Miller or Davis; cities such as London, Paris, Manhattan or Jerusalem; countries such as Russia, China, Kenya and Taiwan; continents like Africa, Asia, Australia and Europa; rivers, lakes, mountains and other geographic features, like Seine, Baikal, Kilimanjaro and Sahara; everyday objects, like Beer, Petunia, Kitty or Parks; even qualities, such as Truth and Lie, and characteristics, like Swift, Silly, Champion and Hardy.  If planetary energies can tell us what general themes will be highlighted at any given time, asteroids tell us who or what might emerge as widely recognized avatars of these energies as they play out in everyday events.  They put the flesh on the bones of planetary patterns, bringing them down to real life.

Let’s use a quick example for illustration.  In early January 2023, the US House of Representatives was embroiled in a deadlock over whom should be chosen Speaker for the incoming 118^th Congress.  For the first time in a hundred years, the members of the House failed to elect a Speaker on the first ballot, and in the final analysis, it took contender Kevin McCarthy an unprecedented 15 ballots to reach his goal, in a protracted floor fight within his own Party, extending a week. 

So what was going on “upstairs” to mirror this endless, repetitive struggle in Washington DC?  That would be a conjunction of two pertinent asteroids, an MNA named Sisyphus, and a PNA named McCarthy.  Sisyphus is named for a denizen of Hades who was doomed to forever roll a rock uphill, only to have it roll downhill again, thus necessitating an endless repletion of this pointless action.  Astrologically, it functions as an indicator of frustration, boredom, an inability to achieve a goal or make progress.  And McCarthy, of course, matches the would-be Speaker’s name.  So we have a combined celestial image of repetitive struggle (Sisyphus) involving an individual named McCarthy, at just the time when Kevin McCarthy was enduring failed vote after failed vote, and seemingly getting nowhere.  The only difference is that, unlike Sisyphus, Kevin McCarthy wasn’t doomed to an eternal repetition of his failure (though it may have felt like that at the time).

In just that way, asteroids can describe or define what’s going on, with whom, where in the world, and to what effect.  They may even point to hair or eye color, national origin, the make or model of an automobile, or the general mood of the situation.  They form the warp and woof of reality, the very fabric of our lives, as they combine with the eternal tapestry of existence.  As such, they’re an important, one might say, indispensable, part of the astrologer’s arsenal.

Our goal here is to show that reflection of above and below as events unfold on Earth, and although correlation doesn’t prove causation, asteroid analysis suggests it comes darn close!

Alex Miller is a professional writer and astrologer, author of The Black Hole Book, detailing deep space points in astrological interpretation, and the forthcoming Heaven on Earth, a comprehensive study of asteroids, both mythic and personal. Alex is a frequent contributor to “The Mountain Astrologer”, “Daykeeper Journal”, and NCGR’s Journals and “Enews Commentary”; his work has also appeared in “Aspects” magazine, “Dell Horoscope”, “Planetwaves”, “Neptune Café” and “Sasstrology.” He is a past president of Philadelphia Astrological Society, and former board member for the Philadelphia Chapter of NCGR.  His two decades of chronicling asteroid effects in human affairs can be found at his website, www.alexasteroidastrology.com.