Demetra George and Asteroids in Astrology- Part 1

The material for this series is drawn from Episode 242 of The Astrology Podcast.

When discussing asteroids, one absolute name to mention is that of the American astrologer Demetra George. She was the pioneer who led the asteroid movement, and her personal journey with them is incredibly fascinating.

In 1973, at the age of 27, then-unknown Demetra George attended her very first astrology conference in San Francisco. Knowing no one, she found herself making small talk with a woman who turned out to be Eleanor Bach, the first person to publish an asteroid ephemeris.

Bach was immediately captivated by Demetra’s name, as Demetra and Ceres represent the same goddess, and Ceres was the first asteroid discovered. Upon looking further, Bach realized that Demetra had her natal Sun exactly opposing Ceres. Bach gifted a copy of the asteroid ephemeris to Demetra on the spot as a token of their meeting.

It was this very ephemeris that enabled Demetra to integrate asteroids into her subsequent research, allowing her to explore their meanings within the natal chart.

As mentioned in the A Brief Astrology History series, many astrologers initially scoffed at asteroids. Even today, browsing foreign astrology forums, you will find people mocking Demetra, claiming she only champions asteroids because of her name.

Demetra presents three arguments in her endorsement of asteroids.

First, the gradual discovery of asteroids in the early 19th century mirrored the awakening of the feminine principle and psychology in Western society. Humanity was waking up from an era of rigid rationalism, turning back toward emotional depth and a connection with nature.

The Seneca Falls Convention, the first women's rights convention in the United States, took place in 1848, while the first discovered asteroid, Ceres, was discovered in 1801. Ceres was named after the Roman goddess due to the Romanticism movement of the era. The subsequent discoveries, Pallas, Juno, and Vesta, were all named after goddesses as well.

This contrasts with the traditional celestial bodies, which were represented mostly by male deities, except for the Moon and Venus. Furthermore, the Moon and Venus were often confined to the narrow archetypal roles of "mother" and "lover."

In the traditional world of astrology, both practitioners and clientele were also predominantly male, which is unimaginable in a more feminine landscape today. So the emergence of asteroids may appear at the exact time to serve multifaceted expressions of femininity.