Asteroids weren't really known or used in astrology since after the advent of the telescope in the 1600's. In fact, it wasn't until 1801 that the first and largest asteroid, Ceres, was discovered, and three more -Pallas, Juno, and Vesta, by 1807. These four were considered planets then, until more were discovered after 1838. Then in the 1850's, because there were too many of them, it was decided to reclassify them all as asteroids. By the end of the 1800's, several hundred asteroids were known or classified.

Astronomers define asteroids as small rocky bodies orbiting the Sun, the largest measuring hundreds of miles in diameter, and the smallest the size of grains or dust particles. Most orbit between Mars and Jupiter but some have highly irregular orbits that bring them close to the Earth. Astronomers believe asteroids are the remnants of the early formation of the solar system or possibly of an exploded planet.

Today, astronomers know of over 200 asteroids larger than 60 miles diameter, and some 2 million larger than 1 kilometer. Of the over half a million well-known and numbered asteroids at the Minor Planet Center in Cambridge, Massachussetts, only just under 22,000 have names. Names are important in astrology, so these are the ones we should study or use. For a list of all named asteroids used by Astrodienst click here.

What are asteroids, really? : The truth is nobody really knows, or if someone knows they're not telling us. Frankly, if astronomers can't even tell us the true nature of our Earth plane or planet, then why should we believe what they say about asteroids? Yes, they are there, but are they really rocky objects, or as far or as large or small as they say? Or are they only guessing, or even worse -hiding their true nature? If the Sun and Moon and stars are a lot closer to us and smaller, as the Flat Earthers say, then why not the asteroids? Whatever and wherever they are, they are points of light in the heavens with fixed periods or orbits, and like all moving lights in astrology, they have influence.

Named asteroids are particularly influential because they have been "knighted" or "bestowed" or recognized as having certain characteristics. The largest and most popular asteroids have been named after mythological characters or heroes, such as Ceres the grain godess, or Vesta the virgin godess of the heath, home, and family, etc. Smaller or less significant asteroids have been named after their discoverer or a celebrity or organization. As thousands of new asteroids are discovered or named yearly, there may be one named right after you! Look up the names of family and friends as well and note how your natal position often equates with the Sun of those individuals -really freaky!

Except for the largest and most popular asteroids(Ceres, Pallas, Juno, Vesta), the quality or level of influence each has is largely undetermined, but it's fun to look them up in your chart and see what happens. Besides, most of us get bored with only the major planets in our chart. Asteroids give us a chance to explore the more subtle and refined elements of our birth chart filling in where the main planets don't. All those demi-gods and godesses will finally have a voice in your chart, and with thousands and soon millions of asteroids to choose from, the adventure is endless and exciting!

I believe there is one heavenly object for every creature on Earth. As above so below, goes the saying. The largest objects, such as the Sun, Moon, and planets represent the greatest souls, oversouls, or collectives, while the smaller and more numerous objects such as the stars and asteroids may represent individual beings. There may be as many heavenly objects as there are people and animals on Earth! With so many objects, which ones to choose from? I would start with the largest(or brightest) and work my way down. This means Sun, Moon, main planets, main dwarfs, centaurs, and asteroids, brightest stars, and then the rest. Asteroids, by the way, means "star-like".

Asteroids become significant in your chart when they are conjunct to your Sun, Moon, planets, and angles. A three to four degree orb for the first four largest, preferably within sign, and a one to two degree orb for the rest is recommended. You can try the other aspects as well, but this can become exhaustive. This site has ephemerides for some of the largest or most popular asteroids. Go to the tables section or click here and here.

There are some popular astrology programs that can calculate all or more of the named asteroids for you, such as Kepler, Solar Fire, Sirius, and Pegasus, but if you're not willing to spend the money, there are a few good alternatives. One is Serennu which will calculate the most popular asteroids for free, but you will need to subscribe to get over 1000 of them. Perhaps even better is true-node.com, a free swiss ephemeris ephemeris service that will calculate almost any asteroid for you(enter the asteroid number if you can't find it by name).

Astro.com is an excellent(and free) service for including almost any asteroid in your birth chart, and if you want lists or categories of the asteroids, Wikipedia offers a variety of them. Just type in List of Minor Planets or click here.Then there is NASA's Horizons web interface at JPL, but you need to be a little more tech-savvy here. In the table settings you need to click off 2,4,and 31, and even then, the observer ecliptic result is in the 360 degree decimal format.

There are more and more sites now focusing on the asteroids in astrology and more available means of calculating them. Everything in the heavens has its place or purpose, no matter how small. So if you want to enrich and expand your astrological horizons, have fun with the asteroids!