Planets in Astrology - Other Solar System Bodies

Other Solar System Bodies

See also: Asteroids in astrology and Centaurs in astrology

Some asteroids such as Pallas and Vesta, as well as dwarf planet Ceres, can easily be seen with binoculars (Vesta even with the naked eye), but these were not recognized as planetary, and perhaps not even noticed, until the early 19th century. In the early 19th century, Ceres, Juno, and the other two aforementioned asteroids were for a time regarded as planets. Although asteroids have been known to both astronomers and astrologers for more than 200 years, they are often ignored by astrologers. The tradition of some astrologers casting charts with minor planets originates with these asteroids. Since the discovery of Chiron in the 1970s, some astrologers have been casting the new "planet", although astronomers consider it a centaur (a kind of intermediate object between comet and asteroid).

In the 21st century, several new planet-sized bodies, including Sedna, Quaoar, Haumea, and Eris, have been discovered, but not yet incorporated into mainstream astrological predictions, although some more avant-garde groups have attempted to incorporate them.

Comets and novae have been observed and discussed for several thousand years. Comets in particular were portents of great interest to ancient people and given various astrological interpretations. Both phenomena are rarely visible to the naked-eye, and are ignored by most modern astrologers.

The near-earth asteroid Cruithne is thought to influence the zodiac and some personal horoscopes. Not to be confused with Chiron, Pluto's only moon Charon is treated like a "minor planet" or given the same status as a dwarf planet, the title given to Pluto when in 2006 the International Astronomical Union demoted its status from the farthest planet.