Get Your Goddess On! Ceres in Astrology
Get Your Goddess On! Ceres in Astrology
When it comes to the new feminine vibe that’s transforming our astrological sky– Ceres leads the way. It shows us where our true power lies and our ability to compromise and rule the world!
Once upon a time it was a big old masculine-dominated sky in the astrological heavens. Aside from the Moon and Venus, the planets formed an old boys club with a definite ‘No women allowed’ sign on the door. Hello modern astrology and we now have a Pussy Riot of asteroids and dwarf planets bringing us a much-needed connection to the feminine and adding balance and a new depth of understanding to our birthcharts. As well as a new dimension to our horoscope predictions.
As this astrological feminist movement has gained momentum, the major player has been Ceres. Ceres was originally an asteroid. All asteroids are assigned numbers. Ceres was No. 1 and still is except she was promoted to dwarf planet status back in 2006 – coincidentally at the same time Pluto was demoted from a planet to dwarf planet status. Astronomers and astrologers alike have recognised the importance of Ceres – especially the latter when it comes to our charts.
To understand the influence of any planet or asteroid, all we need do is look at the myth behind the name. Ceres, who was the goddess of the harvest, was mother to Proserpina who was abducted by Pluto and taken down into the underworld. Consumed by grief and rage at her loss, Ceres caused the crops to wither and die in the fields.
Finally, Jupiter interceded and it was agreed that Ceres should have her daughter back for half the year. So, Ceres is associated not just with crops, farming and harvest, but with power issues, control, possession, loss, depression and mother/mother-in-law issues – she was Pluto’s mother-in-law after all!
Where Ceres is in our chart can show us where we feel powerless. Yet it also points to where our power lies dormant below the surface ready to be reawakened like spring. Depression is often linked to a situation we feel we are powerless to change. Often this can be triggered by an event outside our control. Just like Pluto rising up out of the underworld to snatch Proserpina, events take something away from us. This is the classic Pluto/Ceres power struggle which in the case of depression, is played out deep in our psyche.
Ceres shows us how and where we are prepared to compromise to get what we want. And how powerful we feel when it comes to getting it. While Ceres is associated with nurturing she can turn into the devouring mother when she does not get what she wants, laying waste to all around her. A controlling mother ‘smother love’ or mother who uses emotional blackmail, are examples of this kind of negative Ceres energy. If you have issues with your own mother or a mother-in-law, look to where Ceres is in your chart and theirs. And ask yourself where the compromise can be worked out? This may not involve you giving away your power but just in an adjustment so the other woman feels she has the power. This is the secret of Ceres. You may not have to give you power away at all and your power lies in knowing this and how to do it!
The degree Ceres is at will also point to important events in your life – possibly involving others who are cast in the roles of Proserpina and Pluto. Remember, Ceres rules the world for half the year but what the myth tells us is that everything is a cycle. What goes up, must come down. Harvest follows planting of seeds and then there follows a rest before a rebirth again. We may feel something has been ‘snatched’ or taken from us. Because Ceres is so tightly linked to promotion and demotion, one way a Ceres cycle can manifest is for us to be passed over for promotion at work. We can feel ignored or overlooked by those ‘in power’. On a personal level this can even manifest in rejection by a partner who chooses someone else over us – especially a younger one. We have been ‘demoted’. Cue vengeful Ceres who takes all in an acrimonious divorce.
In the Tarot Ceres is linked to the card of The Empress and this is where her and for that matter our, true power lies. She sits on her throne in an abundant landscape – queen of all she surveys. When outside events occur that drag us down into the ‘underworld’ all that has happened is we have lost temporary contact with this aspect of Ceres. Yes, we may have to reach some kind of compromise and often this is within ourselves, to get back on that throne again. But what Ceres tells us is everything is cyclical and ‘this too shall pass’. Ceres is the part of us which is more powerful than we think. Again, where Ceres is in your chart will show you where you can ‘rule the world’ and in what way. It will point to incredible highs and sometimes lows too. But it is where your real power is to be found.
There is a season and a reason to all events in our lives. Ceres is our link to understanding the how and the why of cycles that may appear to have none. It is also our link to how powerful we actually are. To fully understand how Ceres will play out in your life, you also need to look at where Proserpina is in your chart too. She has a major role to play especially when it comes to power and compromise. Victim and little girl? Anything but. Ceres is just one aspect of the powerful new feminine that’s awakening us all. Get a different map to the stars by getting your goddess on – the sky’s the limit!
