Minute by Minute

 

Figure 1

Figure 1 shows the external monitor connected to my laptop with a real time display of the planetary positions via Astrolog. As I work at my computer, the screen is constantly updated with the latest planetary positions. Minute by minute the Ascendant is changing and one can't help wondering about the charts of those born under these configurations. The chart shown has the Moon in Taurus conjunct Uranus and the North Node right near the Descendant. The Moon and Uranus are squared by Saturn at the Midheaven and opposed by Venus, Sun and Mercury in Scorpio on the Descendant. Quite a configuration.

The chart is configured for Jakarta and given the size of its population there's doubtless someone being born within a few minutes of the configuration shown. From the perspective of mundane affairs, it can be seen that Jupiter is still moving backwards through Pisces but not for much longer. On November 24th, it will station and then move forward again and back into Aries, reaching that sign very close to the solstice on December 21st. Jupiter will roar through Aries and reach Taurus on May 17th 2023 and not return to Aries till its next cycle. So the first five months of 2023 should see some rapid expansion of food supply problems. As Jupiter enters Aries it will be opposite the granary body of Ceres which gives some idea of what might be in store for humanity.

The chart drawn up for the moment of the Sun's entry into Capricorn, the Solstice, is quite revealing. It shows a very sharp T-square formed by the Jupiter-Ceres opposition and the Sun at right angles to both. All three bodies are in the first degrees of their cardinal signs, quite a powerful configuration and one that promises action. See Figure 2.

Figure 2

We'll see how things pan out in 2023. It should get off to an interesting start.

2022: What Does The Year Ahead Hold?

I want to approach this question in terms of the chart I drew up for 8:10am in London on January 13th 2020. I feel this is the seed chart from which all the events of the past two years have sprung. See Figure 1.

Figure 1

This is a remarkable chart featuring as it does the conjunction of Sun, Ceres, Pluto, Saturn and Mercury. The interplay between Saturn and Pluto is key here because the former represents the force holding together existing structures and the latter is the force that is transforming their very foundations. When we look to the year ahead, we need to look at the current and upcoming angular relationship between these two planets. Yes, Pluto is a planet!

Figure 2

Figure 2 shows the transit picture as of today, December 30th 2021. At the moment it can be seen that Saturn is relatively inactive, not aspecting any natal planets significantly. However, there is a very active T-square involving transiting Ceres/North Node at the apex in square to natal Venus and natal Moon. Transiting Jupiter is passing over natal Venus which serves to amplify the energy of the T-square. With Ceres involved, it would seem that food shortages caused by supply chain disruptions will dominate the early part of the year.

By June 3rd 2022 however, transiting Saturn moving rapidly through Aquarius will station in 25°15' in rough semisextile to the natal stellium in Capricorn and closely opposite the natal Moon in 26°24' of Leo. I'm not emphasising house positions here because I arbitrarily chose sunrise on January 13th as the time of the chart. Transiting Ceres will have reached the natal North Node by this time. There's an interesting line up of Mars in 7° Aries, Venus in 7° Taurus and Ceres in 7° Cancer. This is just transient of course but it synchronised with the Saturn station. The suffering of the public (represented by the Moon) will reach its apex around this time and maybe subside a little as Saturn retrogrades. 

Saturn will retrograde to 18°35' Aquarius by October 22nd 2022 before moving on into Pisces in 2023. That's looking too far ahead. To my mind, the start of June should bring some interesting developments.

Backwards and Forwards

Figure 1

Today is May 12th 2020. On May 14th, Jupiter will become retrograde. Saturn became retrograde on May 11th and Pluto on April 25th. All three will continue their retrograde motion until:

• Jupiter turns direct on September 12th 2020
• Saturn turns direct on September 29th 2020
• Pluto turns direct on October 4th 2020

See Figure 1 for details:

The conjunction of January 12th 2020 involved Mercury, Sun, Ceres, Saturn and Pluto with Jupiter not involved (see my post: In the Time of Corona) at that time but entering upon the scene a little later. My speculation is that the retrograde motion of Jupiter, Saturn and Pluto in the area of the original conjunction point will mark a loosening of the medical martial law that has been imposed on the population of the planet. The powers-that-ought-not-to-be will analyse the success of their plandemic and prepare for a second wave that will be unleashed in early October of 2020 (as all three planets turn direct).

The orbital period of Ceres, closely associated with harvests and food, is about 4.6 years and so the squares and opposition to the conjunction point in 22° of Capricorn may mark periods of food crises. Ceres almost returns to its original position when it turns stationary retrograde in 21°27' of Capricorn on May 14th 2024 (almost exactly four years from now). 

The synodic period of Saturn and Pluto is between 33 and 37 years and of course Saturn will be casting different aspects to the Saturn-Pluto conjunction point throughout its 29 year cycle of the zodiac. The full impact of what is happening now may only be fully realised about 15 years in the future when Saturn reaches the opposition to the conjunction point. 

Anyway, getting back to October 4th 2020, we note that on that day:

• Pluto is in 22°29' of Capricorn and thus almost exactly where it was on January 12th 2020
• Saturn is in 25°22' of Capricorn
• Jupiter is in 18°09' of Capricorn

The midpoint of Jupiter-Pluto is thus around 21°45' of Capricorn and so very close to Pluto's position. It makes for an impressive sight when compared to the original positions (see Figure 2):

Figure 2

Saturn is very close to the Basel Descendant and for this reasons the restrictions may be more draconian than those applied in the first wave. 

Who knows what may happen? 

Certainly possible are forced vaccinations and removal of persons from their home environment if they are suspected of being infected. 

The tyranny of our psychopathic rulers knows no limits.

Saturn and Pluto Synodic Cycle

The length of the Saturn - Pluto synodic cycle varies depending on the position of Pluto in its orbit. When it is closer to the Sun, its orbital speed increases and Saturn takes longer to overtake it. Pluto was moving its faster at perihelion in 1990, when it dipped inside the orbit of Neptune. The current synodic cycle which will end in January of 2020 is of about 38 years duration.

FIGURE 1: double click for a closer view. Image address can be found at:
https://www.lunarplanner.com/Saturn-Opp-Uranus/Sa-Pl-History-Images/Saturn-Pluto-synods.gif

A closer look at FIGURE 1 will show how close Saturn and Pluto are during this coming conjunction because their latitudes are almost the same (+0°02' and -0°40' respectively). Compare their proximity to that of their previous conjunction and the difference is quite marked. The author of the chart is using a heliocentric, sidereal zodiac so that's why the zodiacal signs are out of alignment. The reason for my interest in the relationship between these planets is that some sort of economic reset is anticipated in the next year or so and the forthcoming conjunction may be an indicator of its timing. Saturn rules structure, organisation and systems while Pluto oversees transformation.

As near as I can determine, the conjunction will occur at 5:13pm in Basel on January 12th 2020. Why Basel? Well, that's where the Bank of International Settlements (BIS) is located and seeing that it's regarded as the Bank of Banks, then Basel is a reasonable location. It's one hour ahead of Greenwich. The chart is an interesting one and it can be seen immediately that a confluence of synodic cycles is involved because Saturn and Pluto are joined by Mercury, the Sun and Ceres to form a tight and impressive stellium in Capricorn.

The stellium falls almost exactly on the seventh house cusp. The day is a Sunday and one can imagine a special meeting of the financial elite taking place that afternoon and a decision being reached around 5pm about what news to break to the world the next morning. On the previous Thursday, transiting Uranus turned stationary direct in 2°39' of Taurus. The Moon, ruler of the chart and representative of the general public, is in the regal sign of Leo and, fittingly, on the cusp of the second house. A very close quincunx between Uranus and Neptune in the eighth house indicates predictably that the banksters will be guilty of deception and intrigue. Figure 2 shows the chart.

FIGURE 2: chart for the coming conjunction of Saturn and Pluto.

So it seems to me that January 12th 2020 might be a day when big decisions are made concerning the global economy, a new digital currency perhaps for all the nations of the world. Whatever is decided of course, it will be good for the banksters and not so good for the rest of us. The larger implications of the changes may not become apparent or may not be fully implemented until the time when Saturn reaches the square to Pluto. Saturn's subsequent opposition to Pluto should reveal the full extent and consequences of the earlier initiatives.

The Autumn Equinox in Brisbane

According to Astrolog, the March equinox of 2018 in Brisbane falls at a little before 2:16am on the 21st March. By a little, I mean less than a minute. A time of 2:15am shows the Sun in 29˚59'59" of Pisces ♓while a time of 2:16am shows the Sun ☉ in 0˚01'01'' of Aries ♈. So I'll go with the latter time because input only seems to be accepted in whole minutes. This produces the following chart:

The Brisbane chart shows Moon ☽ closely conjunct the Nadir and the North Node ☊ of the Moon ☽ closely conjunct the Descendant. The Moon ☽ is closely trine Saturn ♄ (0˚03' and separating) and Saturn ♄ in turn is closely semi-square Jupiter  ♃ (0˚35' separation and closing). The Moon ☽ /Saturn ♄ trine is even more harmonious given that Saturn ♄ is in its native sign and the Moon ☽ is exalted in Taurus ♉. I'm not sure what the significance of the square with Ceres might be (the separation is about 4 degrees, necessarily vague become Astrolog seems to consistently misreport the position of the asteroid with an error of around half a degree (see this earlier post about Ceres). This equinox is significant in that the Sun is closely conjunct Chiron in 28˚24' of Pisces ♓. Given that the period of revolution of Chiron is 50.42 years, this will only occur about every 25 years. Mars ♂ is square and Uranus ♅ is semi-sextile this conjunction.

I'm not sure how significant the March equinox chart is for the rest of the year but, in terms of mundane astrology, the Sun ☉ represents leadership, embodied by Putin, Trump, Xi Jinping and others. One or more of our world leaders may be battling (Mars ♂ square Sun ☉/Chiron) for survival after personal weaknesses (Sun ☉ conjunct Chiron) are exposed in sudden and surprising ways (Uranus ♅ semi-sextile Sun ☉/Chiron). The Moon ☽ represents the masses and for them the issues are very much material with both Saturn ♄ and the Moon ☽ being in Earth signs. There will be a collective need for belt tightening as governments struggle to cope with fiscal instability. Let's see how it all plays out.

Lilith

On the subject of Lilith, viewed from an astrological perspective, it is easy to be confused. Consider the following description taken from https://darkstarastrology.com/three-liliths/: 

There are three Liliths in astrology that you can place in your chart. We have Black Moon Lilith, Asteroid Lilith and the lesser known Dark Moon Lilith. I used to see them together as the Triple Moon Goddess and thought it made sense to use them in that way. I then found out that Demetra George had come up with a similar concept about Lilith, so I thought we might be onto something. Comparing the three Liliths to the bible story she says:

“The Asteroid Lilith describes the first stage in the mythical journey where she is suppressed, humiliated and flees in a fiery rage to the desolate wilderness. The Dark Moon Lilith depicts the pain of her exile where she plots and executes revenge. The Black Moon Lilith shows how she transmutes her distorted image back into its natural healthy expression

Not to be outdone, this site includes a fourth, Osculating Lilith:

• Black Moon Lilith is also known as Mean Lilith. This Lilith uses the average orbit of the theoretical Black Moon. This is why she is called mean Lilith. Mean refers to the average, not her temperament. 

• Asteroid Lilith is the only Lilith that is an actual, verifiable physical body. 

• Osculating Lilith is also called True Lilith. Her orbit oscillates wildly this is why she is called true Lilith. This Lilith uses the real orbit of the Black Moon. Her orbit is the real orbit of the Black Moon rather than an average. This is another theoretical point. Some people, like Juan Antonio Revilla, believe that she is the most important Lilith and most accurately portrays Lilith’s uncontrollable nature. 

• Dark Moon Lilith is also called the Waltemath Black Moon, or Waldemath Black Moon. Some people have claimed to have seen this Moon, but those claims cannot be substantiated.

To find your Liliths, go to Astro.com, free horoscopes, extended chart selection and scroll to the bottom of the page. Copy and paste these numbers into the empty box on the bottom left side of the screen: 1181, H13, H21, H58
Press “Click here to show the chart.”

• Asteroid Lilith: 1181
• Osculating Lilith/ True Lilith: h13
• Black Moon Lilith/ Mean Lilith: h21
• Dark Moon Lilith/ Waldemath Black Moon: h58

The fixed star Algol (associated with Lilith) is at a fairly steady 26˚ Taurus. Algol is a star in the head of Medusa in the constellation Perseus.

I tried it and it works fine. However, an astrological chart is already cluttered enough. We have the luminaries (Sun and Moon) and the planets (Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune) as well as the recently demoted, dwarf planet Pluto. It's quite common to include Chiron, one of the Centaurs, and perhaps Ceres, the largest of the asteroids orbiting between Mars and Jupiter. These astronomical bodies are located within the circle of the zodiac and the circle of houses, all mutually interacting by casting various aspects to one another. To introduce one Lilith, let alone three or four, will complicate things even more, so there needs to be a good reason for doing this. Let's see if the inclusion of one, two, three or even four Liliths can really be justified.

Let's start with asteroid Lilith because it's the most straightforward to deal with. Here are some astronomical facts about the asteroid taken from Wikipedia:

1181 Lilith, provisional designation 1927 CQ, is a metallic asteroid from the middle region of the asteroid belt, approximately 23 kilometres in diameter. It was discovered on 11 February 1927, by Russian–French astronomer Benjamin Jekhowsky at Algiers Observatory in Algeria, Northern Africa, and named after French composer Lili Boulanger. The asteroid orbits the Sun in the middle main-belt at a distance of 2.1–3.2 AU once every 4 years and 4 months (1,587 days). Its orbit has an eccentricity of 0.20 and an inclination of 6° with respect to the ecliptic.

In terms of asteroid size, Lilith is rather puny. Ceres, the largest asteroid in the belt has a diameter of about 945 kilometres and can be spotted with a pair of binoculars. Other large asteroids include Pallas Athena, Juno and Vesta, all measuring in the hundreds of kilometres. It doesn't seem logical to assign too much importance to this little asteroid. I personally wouldn't include it in a chart analysis. The Dark Moon Lilith, also known as the Waltemath or Waldemath Black Moon, I would also dismiss because it's not really been proven to exist.

So that leaves us with the Black Moon Lilith (also known an Mean Lilith) and Osculating Lilith (also known as True Lilith). Let's try to differentiate between the two of these. A diagram will help:

The eccentricity of the Moon's orbit is highly exaggerated in the diagram above but it illustrates the idea behind the Black Moon. An ellipse has two foci: the Earth occupies one focus and other focus is empty. The line of sight from the centre of the Earth to this empty focus points to a position on the ecliptic and this should mark the position of the Black Moon Lilith. This empty focus is about 36,000 kilometres from Earth so it's not far away and, because of its proximity, there is a not inconsiderable difference between its geocentric and topocentric position in the zodiac.

What complicates the matter even more is that the Moon doesn't simply move around the Earth in a simple ellipse. What happens is that The Earth and the Moon both orbit around the centre of mass of the Earth and Moon. This is called the Earth-Moon Barycentre or EMB. It is about 4,671 km from the centre of the Earth or about 1,700 km below the Earth's surface. It is described further at the same site from where the diagram was taken:

The Moon travels along an elliptical path around the Earth. An ellipse has two focal points, and the other focal point, not occupied by the Earth has been called the Dark Moon, the Black Moon or Lilith. This is a slightly simplified definition, since, actually, the Moon and the Earth both move around their common centre of gravity, and the path of the Moon is not a neat ellipse, but a rather wobbly affair. One must distinguish between the mean orbit of the Moon, which is a slowly elongating ellipse, and the actual orbit, which vaccillates around the mean path, due to interference of various kinds. Just as there a "mean" and a "true" Lunar Node, so there is a "mean" and a "true" ellipse and a "mean" and a "true" Lilith. I write "true" in inverted commas, because the Moon's Node is only "true" about twice per month, when the Moon is actually on it, for the rest of the time, it is as "untrue" as the mean Node. In fact, when working with a point so close to the Earth, one should also take the great parallax into consideration, i.e. consider, from which point on the Earth one is actually looking at a point in the heavens. Astrology observes the planets geocentrically, as if from the Earth's centre, and not topocentrically, from the actual place of the observer.

This is getting complicated. Clearly the True Lilith is to be preferred over the Mean Lilith but is the inclusion of this difficult to calculate point in a chart really justified? I really don't think so. My feeling is that there's been a push to promote Lilith by one means or another because in the Hebrew tradition she is such a powerful figure (taken from Wikipedia):

Lilith is a figure in Jewish mythology, developed earliest in the Babylonian Talmud (3rd to 5th centuries). Lilith is often envisioned as a dangerous demon of the night, who is sexually wanton, and who steals babies in the darkness. The character is generally thought to derive in part from a historically far earlier class of female demons in ancient Mesopotamian religion, found in cuneiform texts of Sumer, the Akkadian Empire, Assyria, and Babylonia. 

In Jewish folklore, from the satirical book Alphabet of Sirach (c. 700–1000) onwards, Lilith appears as Adam's first wife, who was created at the same time (Rosh Hashanah) and from the same dirt as Adam – compare Genesis 1:27. (This contrasts with Eve, who was created from one of Adam's ribs: Genesis 2:22.) The legend developed extensively during the Middle Ages, in the tradition of Aggadah, the Zohar, and Jewish mysticism. For example, in the 13th-century writings of Isaac ben Jacob ha-Cohen, Lilith left Adam after she refused to become subservient to him and then would not return to the Garden of Eden after she had coupled with the archangel Samael.

With the exception of Venus, all of the planets are male: Mercury, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn and Neptune. Pluto is male as well of course. While the asteroid Ceres and the dwarf planet Eris are female, there is certainly a shortage of objects named after strong females in the traditional astrological chart. I've recently taken to including Ceres in my chart analysis but I won't personally include Lilith in any of her variants at the moment.

Topocentric versus Geocentric

I think that astrological programs like Astrolog report the celestial longitude and latitude of astronomical objects from a geocentric perspective whereas an astronomical program like Stellarium reports it from a topocentric perspective. How large are the differences between these two systems of measurement. I'll explore this by reference to my own natal chart.

For my natal Moon, Stellarium gives a topocentric longitude of 59°32'42.4" or 29°32'42.4" Taurus. Astrolog gives a geocentric figure of 29°26'22" Taurus. This is a difference of slightly more than six minutes of arc. This isn't much but it could constitute a difference of sign if applied to my natal Saturn in 0°00'47" Virgo. Fortunately, this is not the case. Stellarium reports a topocentric longitude of 0°00'41.9" for Saturn. This is a difference of only about 5 seconds of arc.

I'll list the differences comprehensively below with Astrolog listed first and Stellarium second (measurements are rounded to the nearest second):

Sun -->        12°47'13" versus 12°47'51"
Moon -->      29°26'22" versus 29°32'42"
Mercury -->  2°14'36" versus 2°15'11"
Venus -->     9°09'42" versus 9°10'17"
Mars -->       9°15'54" versus 9°16'27"
Jupiter -->   28°47'00" versus 28°47'15"
Saturn -->    0°00'47" versus 0°00'42"
Uranus -->  26°52'14" versus 26°52'29"
Neptune -->13°15'24" versus 13°15'12"
Pluto -->     14°16'26" versus 14°16'24"
Chiron -->    8°57'05" versus NOT FOUND
Ceres -->   11°34'23" versus 8°41'52"

The glaring difference in positions is apparent for Ceres. I've checked carefully and that discrepancy of almost three degrees is very real and very disconcerting. What's gone wrong? What program is in error and why? Given that Ceres is between Mars and Jupiter, the difference should be measured in seconds of arc. Let's check the differences between the two program's for Ceres today (14th February 2018): Astrolog gives 8°13'07" Leo whereas Stellarium gives 8°54'06" Leo, which is a smaller discrepancy than in my natal chart.

For the time being, leaving out Ceres, the differences between the two sets of measurements is slight but significantly greatest where the position of the Moon is concerned. For a lunar position that is greater than 29°50" or less than 0°10" of a sign, the geocentric position should be checked against the topocentric to determine whether a change of sign is involved. If so, I would say that the topocentric measurement that should be used and not the geocentric.

As for Ceres, it will be useful to check some other asteroids as well, namely Juno, Vesta and Pallas. In my natal chart, Pallas is located at 29°09'00" Gemini according to Astrolog, while Stellarium puts it as 29°38'17" (almost a half degree different and much larger than the discrepancy between the Moon's positions). Vesta is located at 23°42'21" Sagittarius using Astrolog but 21°42"00' using Stellarium (a difference of a full two degrees). Juno is located at 27°16'47" Taurus using Astrolog but at 28°23'11" using Stellarium (a difference of more than a degree). So for the asteroids at least, there are significant differences between the celestial longitudes as reported by the two programs. This is not due to a differences between topocentric and geocentric positions. These should be slight. The difference is due to a software bug.

What is happening with Ceres on a day to day basis according to Stellarium? As mentioned earlier, it is currently in 8°54'06" Leo, so I'll track its weekly progress:

21st February: Stellarium 7°32'20" Leo versus Astrolog 7°01'01" retrograde
28th February: Stellarium 6°26'41" Leo versus Astrolog 5°54'55" retrograde
7th March: Stellarium 5°40'08" Leo versus Astrolog 5°07'49" retrograde
15th March: Stellarium 5°12'42" Leo versus Astrolog 4°39'22" retrograde
19th March: Stellarium 5°08'57" Leo versus Astrolog 4°35'35" Leo stationary direct
22nd March: Stellarium 5°10'58" Leo versus Astrolog 4°37'18" direct
29th March: Stellarium 5°30'25" Leo versus Astrolog 4°56'06" direct

Stellarium and Astrolog both report Ceres turning stationary direct on the 19th March, it's only that there is a consistent difference of about half a degree between positions on any given date. I suspect that the Astrolog software is in error with the error increasing as one travels back in time. For the time, it is sufficient to add about 30 minutes to the position as reported by Astrolog. I'll try to find out more about the source of this problem.

Ceres

UPDATE: posted 13th August 2020 (astronomical and not astrological in content) with link

Dwarf planet Ceres is an ocean world with salty water under the surface, NASA mission finds

ORIGINAL ARTICLE:

Having just read a short article on the dwarf planet Ceres, I was motivated to locate its position in my own natal chart and investigate its astrological significance. It's pronounced SAIREEZ by the way, with the accent on the first syllable. I've mispronounced it for most of my life.

This was the article and here is an excerpt:

Dwarf planet Ceres is the largest object in the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter and the only dwarf planet located in the inner solar system. It was the first member of the asteroid belt to be discovered when Giuseppe Piazzi spotted it in 1801. And when Dawn arrived in 2015, Ceres became the first dwarf planet to receive a visit from a spacecraft. 

Called an asteroid for many years, Ceres is so much bigger and so different from its rocky neighbours that scientists classified it as a dwarf planet in 2006. Even though Ceres comprises 25 percent of the asteroid belt's total mass, tiny Pluto is still 14 times more massive. 

Ceres is named for the Roman goddess of corn and harvests. The word cereal comes from the same name. 

Ceres was found by an astronomer searching for a star. He thought he found a comet, but with the help of other astronomers decided it was a planet. As more objects were found between Mars and Jupiter, scientists decided Ceres should be called an asteroid—the largest in the region we now call the main asteroid belt. Then, in 2006, Ceres was reclassified as a dwarf planet—the closest one to Earth. 

The largest body in the asteroid belt, Ceres has amassed a number of references in science fiction stories of the 20th and 21st centuries. In the TV series The Expanse, Ceres is inhabited by humans, and in the PC Game Descent, one of the secret levels takes place on Ceres. 

In the video game Destiny, Ceres was colonised by an alien race called the Fallen at the end of humanity's Golden Age. Ceres was later destroyed by a civilisation of post-humans who inhabit the Asteroid Belt. 

In my own chart, Ceres is located in 11d34m of Leo and thus very close to my natal Pluto. Interestingly, transiting Ceres returned to its natal position on January 30th of this year (2018) and is today (8th February 2018) in 9d32m of Leo and thus trine my natal Mars-Venus. It is currently retrograde so, in its current cycle, it first reached its natal position on October 31st 2017 and will reach it again, moving forward, on May 5th 2018. Just prior to this, on May 1st, it will be conjunct the transiting North Node of the Moon in about 10d30m of Leo. So around this time, natal Ceres, transiting Ceres and the transiting North Node of the Moon are pretty much in the same location.

In my natal chart, Ceres in 11d34m of Leo forms a quintile aspect to my natal Moon (separation of 73d06m) and aspects Sun, Venus, Mars and Chiron (by trine), Uranus and Neptune by semisquare (separation of 44d42m), Neptune (by sextile) and of course Pluto (by conjunction). That's an impressive list of aspects. Ceres orbits the Sun every 4.6 years. As for its astrological significance, this site proved most illuminating and the content is worth displaying here in full, with the most salient parts in red:

Astronomical Description

Ceres is the largest of the main belt asteroids and was the first to be discovered on January 1, 1801 by Giuseppe Piazzi, who was making a star catalog at the Observatory of Palermo, which he founded. Shortly after Ceres' discovery, she disappeared behind the Sun, but was "rediscovered" on paper by Carl Friedrich Gauss, who devised a method for calculating an object's orbit from only three accurate positional measurements. She was subsequently relocated on January 1, 1802 by Heinrich Wilhelm Olbers in the position calculated by Gauss. Olbers later discovered the asteroids Pallas and Vesta.  Ceres is part of the main asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter and orbits the Sun every 4.6 years. Her diameter is 955 kilometres and she is just barely visible to the naked eye, but easily seen with binoculars. 

Mythological Background

Ceres was the Roman goddess who was originally known as Demeter to the ancient Greeks. She was the daughter of Saturn and Rhea and was swallowed by her father along with her sisters Vesta and Juno as well as her brothers, Jupiter, Neptune, and Pluto.  After being freed by Jupiter, these gods and goddesses became the ruling family of ancient Greece. Her gift to humanity was grain and as such was known as the goddess of agriculture and the harvest.  Thus, she was the one who provided nourishment for humanity and was worshipped as such.  She was also the mother of Persephone, a beautiful maiden, with whom she was exceptionally close.  Together, the pair watched over the Earth and allowed it to provide its abundance throughout the year.  This mother and daughter were so enamoured with each other, however, that all suitors were rejected, as the two didn't want to be separated. This, of course, did not go over too well with some of the gods who thought Persephone was pretty damn hot, particularly those nice ankles of hers.

One day Persephone was wandering in the Nysian fields and became fascinated by the hundred-bloomed narcissus.  She picked one of these lovely flowers and was enveloped in its seductive fragrance when the earth opened up beneath her. She was immediately seized by Pluto, god of the Underworld, who had been lusting after her for quite some time, wanting her to become his bride and queen. As soon as he descended below with his prize, the earth resumed its previous state, leaving no sign that anything unusual had occurred.

It didn't take long for Ceres to realise her daughter was missing. For many days she refused to eat, sleep or bathe, but instead wandered about with flaming torches, trying to find her daughter. She eventually encountered the crone goddess, Hecate, who told her to discuss the matter with the Sun god, Helios, who saw everything. Helios told her of the abduction, which had been executed with the approval of Zeus, with whom Pluto had conspired to take Persephone as his bride. Ceres was not only devastated but enraged at the betrayal and, disguised as a mere human, wandered the earth for a while to avoid associating with any of the gods of Mt. Olympus. She acted as a nanny for the son of King Celeus until she eventually revealed her identity and ordered a temple and altar be built for her.

Ceres retired to her temple, where her mourning for Persephone continued. As her grief turned to anger, she cursed the earth such that nothing would grow, neither crop nor fruit of any kind, imposing famine and starvation on mankind. The people prayed to Zeus for relief, who realised that if the humans all died there would be no one left to worship the gods. The gods attempted to reason with Ceres, but she refused to listen or show any mercy unless her daughter was returned to her. Eventually, Zeus relented and sent Hermes to the Underworld to demand Persephone's release. Persephone had likewise been in mourning and fasting, refusing all food and drink. Pluto agreed to let her return, but deviously offered Persephone several pomegranate seeds to quench her great thirst prior to her departure. Not knowing that the pomegranate was the symbol of sexual consummation, Persephone partook, which confirmed her marriage to Pluto. This is a good reason why young women should pay better attention in school, because sometimes it's what you don't know that bites the hardest.

When Persephone returned to the surface, she and her mother had a joyful reunion. However, when Ceres found out that her daughter had consumed the pomegranate seeds, she realised she'd been tricked, since Persephone was still married to Pluto. She reinstated her curse of the earth and the gods were basically back where they started. Eventually, Zeus proposed a compromise, that for each pomegranate seed she'd eaten that Persephone would spend a month in the Underworld as Pluto's bride. The remaining months could be spent on earth with her mother. Thus, each spring Persephone emerges from the Underworld to rejoin her mother. At this time, the earth once more comes alive with vegetation and the harvest is allowed. In the fall, however, when Persephone must return to the Underworld, Ceres once again commands the earth to be barren, until Persephone's return the following spring. Ceres, like so many goddesses, was one vindictive woman and it wasn't a good idea to mess with her.

Astrological Implications

Astrologically, one thing indicated by Ceres' placement in the horoscope will be which area is most important in regard to parental nurturing and the kind of lessons to be derived from the mother-child relationship. For example, if Ceres is in Aries, being allowed and encouraged to be independent will be important as well as being commended for their drive and energy. In Taurus, being comfortable and provided for in a material manner will prevail. Gemini would imply the need for mental stimulation; Cancer, the need for a significant amount of attention and nurturing; Leo, to be the centre of attention; Virgo, for perfection and being of service; Libra, strong relationships and fairness; Scorpio, sexual expression; Sagittarius, a strong belief system and worldly knowledge; Capricorn, ambition and status; Aquarius, friends and being part of a group; Pisces, transcendence and fantasy. It also can indicate the manner in which a person will nurture others in adulthood. 

The lack of nurturing or encouragement in these areas from one's mother will drive them to seek such elsewhere and if it's blatantly missing or contradicted, it can cause significant emotional trauma and potential identity crises as the person will know there is something missing in their life, but probably won't be able to identify exactly what. The basic tenets of self-esteem are related to early nurturing which, if absent, has repercussions that can take a lifetime to overcome, if ever. Remember that Ceres cuts both ways, as a parent and a child. We also tend to replicate that with which we grew up; patterns established in our childhood tend to reappear with our own offspring in one way or another. Parents also can project their own aspirations or fears onto their children, causing various frustrations for all concerned.

Thus, Ceres tells much about a person's experience and relationship with their mother, particularly if the charts are compared of both mother and child. Transits of Ceres will introduce events represented by the themes in the Ceres/Persephone myth or bring past issues to the surface for resolution. I have yet to see a client who is having "mother issues" who doesn't have something going on involving Ceres in their natal chart transits. Nearly everyone has "mother issues" of some description from their past, and these transits stimulate situations that force us to confront and resolve them.  

As the goddess of agriculture, Ceres can also indicate a "green thumb," love of gardening, or strong interest in food and its preparation. Likewise, if negatively aspected it can be indicative of eating disorders, particularly if food was used during childhood as a punishment by its withdrawal or as a reward. Thus, Ceres can lend astrological clues to a plethora of weight and body-image disorders. On a more positive side, a person's interest in food, from its growth to preparation, can be found in Ceres placement. For example, someone with Ceres in Sagittarius may be inclined to nurture those from other cultures or may have a propensity for preparing international cuisine. 

Ceres also relates to separations and the subsequent sense of loss. It defines grieving style and how a person will deal with their pain. It can also relate to secrets between mother and child; neither person ever entirely knows the other, regardless of how close they may think they are. No matter how much a child loves his or her mother, at some point the need to grow up and seek a mate is likely to arise. This does not mean that they love their mother any less, only the need to progress beyond the role of a child. On the other hand, those that never leave home or are inordinately attached to their mother can also be indicated.  Separations and estrangements from one's mother, no matter what the cause, are also to be found in one's natal chart as well as transits of Ceres throughout the signs, houses, and aspects to the other planets. The more attached we are to someone or something, the more likely we are to be faced with a separation at some point as the energy invested will energise its polarity as well. Frequently, it is only through letting go of something that we allow something new and invigorating to come into our lives.

Sharing of a loved one is another principle in the Ceres myth. In essence, the stereotypical "mother-in-law from hell" could easily be a woman who cannot share her child. Ceres - Pluto aspects often indicate those who will have to share their children with ex-spouses and often undergo ugly custody battles or family kidnapping experiences.  If these individuals don't learn to share, they'll inevitably have to face either the burdens of single parenthood or perhaps be denied access to their offspring entirely. On the other hand, Ceres can impart strong parenting and nurturing capability that allows an individual to assume the role of both parents comfortably.

On the darker side, such things as child abuse and abductions can likewise be reflected in Ceres' placement and hard transits. Of course the ultimate separation is death, as represented by the Underworld. Ceres is often active in death charts, particularly those who die suddenly or in accidents, situations analogous to being kidnapped by Pluto. Death is something that everyone has to deal with, sooner or later. Unlimited grief and mourning at a certain point become self-defeating and hinder your growth. This is another lesson Ceres is wont to convey. 

The richness imparted to a Natal Chart through Ceres is indeed worth consideration, particularly if a person is having difficulty with any issues reflected in the Ceres myth. A trained astrologer can interpret Ceres' placement in the Natal Chart and subsequent transits, yielding clues to the issues at hand. In some cases, for deep-seeded issues, the client will be referred to a trained psychologist to work through those things that go beyond his or her own capability to resolve alone. If Ceres is retrograde in a Natal Chart, as typical of retrograde planets, the energy will be internalised and not expressed as easily, which can complicate any other issues associated with natal aspects or transits.