To Cherish — Ceres Part One

Saturday September 14th 2013
Mother Rose and her baby. Mary Cassatt (Ceres conjunct MC in Scorpio)
who became famous for her intensely emotional pictures of the mother-child bond
Wikimedia Commons.

To caress the soft downy scalp of a baby, her head small enough to cradle in the palm of your hand, her hands like starflowers…when her fingers curl around yours, her eyelids flutter closed, her face fills with bliss… motherhood can be heaven…

Motherhood belongs to the Moon in traditional astrology. But the dwarf planet Ceres – discovered in the 19th century, promoted to equal status with Pluto by astronomers in 2006 – is profoundly connected to nurturing, parenting, fertility: the cycle of birth, growth, death and rebirth.

I’ll write about the most obvious application of this first, that is real human babies, and then see what emerges from that.

First birth. From experience, transits and progressions of Ceres are excellent for timing conception and birth. I have found this true repeatedly in the charts of clients. A couple of personal examples: both my children were conceived under transits from Ceres to my natal chart, my partner’s natal Ceres exactly conjuncts my daughter’s Ascendant – within one minute (so she made him a parent), and my natal Ceres had progressed to 0° Taurus when I started a family. Aries is a barren sign, Taurus one of the most fruitful.

Next growth. To understand how Ceres works in the natal chart, I have been trying to understand how she works for me as a mother.  Most of the literature I read about her could just as easily be applied to the Moon, so we need to unpick those two energies.

Mary Cassatt again.
Wikimedia Commons

I have Ceres in Aries – my only fiery placement aside from Leo Rising, so I can feel her energy as quite different from my normally wet and windy self. Do I take care of my children in an Aries way? That would be directly, physically, passionately, instinctively.

In fact,  when it comes to how I respond to my children on a daily basis, I can feel my Gemini Moon at work – talking, spinning webs of stories and ideas, watching endless episodes of Charmed, reading aloud, taking them to explore strange cities, eat in cafes and generally flan around.  None of that is Aries stuff. This is all about minds and words and people.

So how does the Ceres in Aries manifest?

I mother by the seat of my pants. It’s pure intuition. I found looking after babies easy, because I trusted my gut instinct. Babies are, of course, an Aries thing too, as the baby of the zodiac.

And I ended up completely ignoring all the Moon in Gemini stuff I’d done to prepare – like reading every baby book in the library, taking classes and asking everyone I knew about their experience, since I had absolutely none. I knew nothing about babies before I had my own. Yet almost from the moment my child was born, I turned into feral Mama, and ignored the cacophony of advice, learning directly from the babies themselves. My children taught me how to be a mother. This is an Aries thing, acting like a pioneer even when the thing you are doing has been done a million times before. Aries have to do everything for themselves. No matter how much you tell an Aries Sun to learn from your profound experience, they just can’t. They need to do it first hand. Mothering for me has been like re-inventing the wheel.

Ceres in Aries also seems to show how I love my children — with a hot, immediate, focused ferocity, and, despite the Gemini Moon, pretty non-verbally underneath the gossamer of stories and I love yous. (Thank goodness their dad has Ceres in Cancer, and they actually get fed regularly.)

I don’t find Aries stuff personally nourishing, though, and this is contrary to what I read about Ceres. Aries is what I give, not what I need.

So to unpick this a bit. Maybe Ceres is about what and how we cherish. Cherish means “to hold dear.” That’s all. The Moon, at least in my case, describes the childhood we create for our children, the atmosphere, the womb. Ceres describes the core emotion. So the Moon is the whole garden.

I have a good friend with the Moon in Capricorn and Sun in Aquarius. Her kids are being brought up exactly like her husband was, and you might expect there to be a certain coolness in her attitude to her children with those Saturnine placements. But I know her, and actually she has a kind of instinctive misty-eyed passion for her kids with is completely alien to both those signs. It was not until I noticed her Ceres in hot Sagittarius conjunct Neptune and Lilith, that her secret lava-flow of emotion in this one particular area made sense.

Here’s another example. I have friend with a lovely Taurus Moon. She is a great cook and looks like a cuddly, soft bundle of mumsiness. But when it comes to her own (very cute) offspring, she’s kind of detached, cool, analytical, not at all touchy-feely – yes, she has Ceres in Aquarius.

Mary Cassatt again.

One of my clients was worried about her son – and with good cause. She has Moon in Capricorn, and again she’s bringing her son up just as she had been. Unfortunately, both of them have Chiron exactly on the IC, and this upbringing hurts. She understood her son best when he was a toddler, and in fact has always had unerring instinct when it comes to his physical needs – food, hugs, rest. But the Capricorn Moon over-rode the Ceres in Taurus in this case – he was sent to boarding school – and things haven’t turned out too well — yet. My client needs to get back to the Ceres in Taurus energy, which requires patience and paying attention. Since her son has Ceres-Moon in Taurus, I’m quite hopeful.

I have another friend who has not had children. She would have been a wonderful mother and her friends and family  know that, so she is a godmother and fairy aunt many times over. She has Ceres in Pisces in the third house.

Many of us are not going to have children, parenting is only part of our identities, and our Ceres is still going to be doing something. How would these ideas apply in a baby-free context.  I looked at the chart of a childless client of mine who is a dedicated artist – Ceres conjunct Venus in Libra – and she does indeed cherish beauty.

The question I ask here really is this: does Ceres tell you what or how you cherish?

Ceres works in charts, both natal and mundane, in several other important ways too, and we have yet to discuss Ceres as one of the guardians of the underworld and her relationship with Pluto.

That is for the next post.

Meanwhile, Michael Wolfstar at Neptune Café has a good page on Ceres.

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  1. Hi, I’m still young so I’m not thinking of having children. But I know that how I fed myself, was not right, let’s say i was a bit worry of the food I ate. So one of my worrys now is which food will I give to my babies?? How to keep them healthy and eating the right things?.
    After read your article, I thing that’s how my Moon and Virgo and Ceres in Cancer manifest, I will want them to eat perfectly and take care of their body (Virgo) by eating right and healthy without feeling hungry or sad? (ceres in cancer)? Well those are my thoughs.
    My mom has moon in libra and ceres in aries.
    Well she’s a bit cold (capricorn sun and aquarius rising) but she’s always worry about me having all the things I want, she bought me stuff and always wants me to be pretty and look good and I noticed her passion with that jaja.

    • I know right?!
      Yeah, she doesn’t cherish me but I appreciate her advices and more than a mother, she’s like my best friend, another girl I can talk to without feeling judge. I dare to say that I’m her mother and she’s my daughter. maybe in a past life =)

    • Christina says:

      It is all pretty food oriented isn’t it? Cancer and Virgo are two of the big food signs. In fact, that could work together quite well, as long as you don’t worry too much – Moon in Virgo. I would guess that Ceres in Cancer might find looking after children comes very naturally.
      And what a contrast to your mother. I think the Libra-Aries combo could be competitive.

  2. P says:

    Hm… Ceres in the first house, in Scorpio. Not conjunct the Asc. The aspects are an *exact* inconjunct/quincunx (who comes up with these terms?!) to Mercury. Also a close sextile (off by almost 2 degrees) to the Moon, and a distant, seperating aspect to the North Node.

    I do cherish and highly value sincerity, no BS, the quality of intensity. I also do feel like I’d be a pretty smothering mother (interestingly, I feel the same way about how my mum acts towards me!), not to mention a worrying, critical mother (Moon in Virgo).

    The interesting thing is that Mercury doesn’t play well with either mother planet: slightly seperating square (off by 1 degree) between Moon and Mercury, and exact inconjunct with Ceres. Lots of worry as a mother, I suppose. Which I do anyway, with the Moon being in Virgo 😀

  3. Isy Aweigh says:

    This comment has been removed by the author.

  4. Isy Aweigh says:

    My Ceres is at just under 5 deg Taurus, about 1 deg above my Asc; she has progressed about 19 degrees, so she’s all Taurus now. But I find, on reading Wolfstar’s page, that both Aries and Taurus placements describe how I care for others equally well. My Moon is in Aries; it occurs to me that, first, I make sure their physical needs are met, and then I help clear away whatever stands between them and their freedom. Mind you, it’s hard to be free when you’re homeless or starving, so there’s a certain logic to it 😉

    I just noticed that progressed Ceres is conjuncting my NN; I’ve been working on getting the message across that I’ve managed to control 80-90% of the pain of this dreadful disease by nutrition alone.

    Moreover, progression puts the Chiron/Saturn conjunction, which has defined what should have been my most productive years, in the progressed 10th house. Meanwhile, Mercury has progressed to conjunct my natal Jupiter in Gemini – and land on my progressed ASC. I’ve certainly been pushing my info about CRPS (et alia) out into the world in writing; making it my profession, as it were; and when I walk into a doctor’s office with a stack of printout, it does make a heck of a first impression…

    Excuse me while my head explodes.

    Lilith is conjunct my progressed MC. I’m not at all sure what to make of that. It’s a disease that disrupts the body’s regulatory systems at a primitive level — my only clever thought on the subject.

    • Isy Aweigh says:

      Good point. I remember learning that that was what the London Zoo fed their sick birds. The minds of others made the connection to cannibalism; I just thought, “well, egg is their first food; makes sense to me” and it worked, and that *really* was all I cared about. So I think you’re right 🙂

    • Christina says:

      Yes, Ceres is most definitely associated with nutrition. I’m going to tackle this in the post after next. I want to do some chart comparisons for this.

      One of my strongest memories of you as a child is of how you were with wounded animals. You cared for them in a perfectly practical way – totally unsqueamish. In particular, I remember you feeding that gull hard-boiled egg. Was that a ramble? But it does seem to fit.

      I will look at that Lilith.

  5. Anonymous says:

    Hi Christina,

    Never had children of my own, which was really difficult for me to accept – have Chiron and Ceres conjunct in my 5th house – my mother had the same conjunction but in Aries in her 8th house.

    I certainly feel I am her child and she became my child when in old age she suffered from dementia. I loved caring for her as if she was my child.

    mimi

    • Christina says:

      It describes rather a beautiful daughter-mother relationship, I think. I wonder if there’s some kind of ancestral healing going on.

    • Anonymous says:

      my mum :
      – her Ceres/Chiron conj. is at 4 and 6 degrees Aries, my Sun is at 7 15 Aries.
      – Ceres/Chiron conj. square her Mars/Pluto/Sun conj. and
      a nice Moon/North Node/IC conj. in Sagittarius in triangle to her Ceres/Chiron conj.

      Me:
      – a sextile from Ceres/Chiron conj. in Sagittarius to Venus/Jupiter conj. (in Aquarius 7th house) and
      – Ceres/Chiron conj. opp. Osiris in Gemini in 11th house.

      I guess the most important placing in my chart would be my 12th house Moon in Cancer. My mum was a Cancer with her Jupiter conj. my Moon.
      My ascendant is at 9.40 Leo, she had Neptune/Mercury conj. 9 degrees Leo.

      But the most fascinating for me was to see that when she died transit Sun was exactly sitting on my progressed Sun at 9 degrees Gemini and transit Chiron was exactly conjucting transit Osiris in my 8th house.

      How about that ?

      mimi

    • Christina says:

      That’s really interesting. I wonder how your mother’s Ceres-Chiron conjunction differed from/was the same as your own. Theoretically, yours would be the better placement for having children despite the conjunction.

    • Anonymous says:

      sorry, – forgot to mention – I have Ceres conjunct Chiron in Sag. in 5th house.

      mimi

  6. Jamma says:

    I have read that Ceres is sometimes associated with addiction. My natal Ceres is conjunct my Sun-Moon midpoint, all in Pisces 2nd house, and the focus of a yod from Neptune and Pluto – some fun, eh what? With those aspects one might think “alcoholic” but my fix is anything made from flour (“I never met a cake I didn’t like”). You could leave a case of Guinness at my house and find it untouched 10 years later, but do not trust me with your Mint Milanos. Bread, “once bitten,” creates a craving that can’t be satisfied. The only way for me to have peace is to avoid grains altogether.

    • Jamma says:

      Thanks so much for the links!

    • Isy Aweigh says:

      Well, here’s a relevant titbit, so to speak…

      In people who have a particular genetic tweak, when gluten and gluten-like proteins get into the gut, they aren’t completely broken down, and they leave fragments called “peptides” which plug neatly into our opioid receptors — just like a narcotic.

      With this kind of “narcotic”, though, you get the side-effects (goofiness, gas), but not necessarily the benefits (eliminating pain.) You do get the withdrawal symptoms, which can last for weeks. Gluten is very persistent in the body, taking ~9 months to clear altogether, but having that sparklingly clear mind and all that natural energy and upbeat-ness was really worth it for me. Also, I hurt a whole lot less, my periods got better, and my immune system has never been that weak again.

      So, when Jamma speaks of a bread addiction, she’s not kidding. It’s a food-based source of an actual narcotic compound, made from flour by the muddled gut.

      Here’s a fairly human-friendly link, discussing it in the context of neuro issues like ADD and Aspberger’s: http://www.celiac.com/articles/21635/1/Gluten-Celiac-Disease-and-the-Brain/Page1.html

      And here’s a stultifyingly scientific one which identifies the exact types of peptides involved, those from the “gliadin fraction”: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/6099562

      T

    • Sabrina says:

      My first thought was something I read years ago by Richard Idemon. We already know how addiction seeks nurturing. He simply put it in astrological terms.

      If I remember correctly (It’s been 10 years) he mentions few planets but specifically, he connected addiction to the Moon and that many addictions, have an oral connection: smoking, eating, drinking…being some of the most common. So need of nurturing and emotional nutrition make a case for Ceres here. I agree with neptune and pluto as well.

    • Christina says:

      Also very interesting. Neptune-Pluto-Ceres sounds like a recipe for grain addiction to me. I’m going to be looking at Ceres and food in another post. I have found that Vesta has a lot to do with cooking, but that is not quite the same thing.

  7. Anonymous says:

    Ceres in h1 in Pisces, conj Chiron. Part of a grand cross with the Sun & outer planets and also trines Neptune. I think Ceres is expressed most strongly in her grief phase in my chart. Under stress I’ve tended to lay waste to particularly my body’s potential for fertility and abundance. I stop eating if really troubled. I don’t tolerate grains very well. Yes she’s quite broadly focussed as Michael Wolfstar says.

  8. Anonymous says:

    Beautiful Post. I love Mary Cassat paintings, is hard to imagine she didn’t have children of her own.

    Yesterday was a difficult day for me as a Mom. I had to seat with 5 women from my child’s school. Director, Teacher, Counselor and so on. Trying to find a way for my child to have a better experience of his new environment, to have a more harmonious relationship with it. Is not the first time I have to face this kind of meeting. But this time, for a brief moment, tears were running quietly. Thank God I felt understood and supported. They seemed genuinely willing to make it work.
    I cast the chart for yesterdays meeting and well, my natal moon falls in the transiting T square with the transiting moon approaching Pluto and Mercury in libra clossing it. Lilith would make it a grand cross though. Not sure what to think about that.

    Ceres was the most elevated planet, trining the moon/pluto and sextiling Saturn in scorpio. Opp neptune in the IC. (My husband intended to be in the meeting as well but he really couldn’t) so it was Mom seating with teachers and directors.

  9. I have Ceres in Aries too. You mention it being a barren sign. I never, ever wanted children at all. With a stellium in Pisces, causing me to often feel not of this world and overwhelmed by it, I felt it was all I could do to take care of myself. And I wanted independence. I’ve never understood how parents manage it.

    My cats are my children – fiercely independent creatures. One of them was called Persefone. I did not name her that. She came to me with her name already given to her. I almost lost her to death once, but she resurrected and lived several more years before finally passing on. She and I had a very special bond.

    One of the ways I nurture myself and others is cooking. I cook quickly, without spending much time on it, and usually without recipes. Aries reinventing the wheel again. I use lots of spice and hot sauce.

    I have Moon in Aquarius.

    • Thank you, sweetie. I love the image of Arthur and Persefone in the afterlife.

    • Isy Aweigh says:

      I can honestly say that Laura is an outstanding cook, speaking as a sometime housemate and occasional guest and knowing the inordinate pleasure of sharing her table.

      And I remember Persefone very fondly. She was special, a real fur-person. 🙂 (I imagine Arthur is catching gophers in his tuxedo and white bloomers, bringing them to her with his awkward adoration, and she’s licking and cuddling them back to life with her usual sweet aplomb.)

  10. Anonymous says:

    Really interesting comments…
    I’ve just attended a paediatric feeding workshop and have been looking at the parent/child emotional interaction as essential to feeding. I liked the comments from the presenters that the baby had just as much power as the parent – if the child didn’t want to feed, it wouldn’t, it really is a partnership. I too, have Ceres in Aries – in the 10th, it’s conjunct the MH, Chiron and Saturn. I don’t have any children, but work with young families and their babies.
    I absolutely adore the pastels. I haven’t seen these before, they’re beautiful.

    • Isy Aweigh says:

      It’s wonderful to see that laid out so clearly. In the health professions, we’re pretty good at reflexively dehumanizing people, especially young ones, and forgetting that inner life is a necessary part of physical life 🙂

      If you don’t mind my saying so, feeding as a partnership is worth mulling in many directions…

  11. Anonymous says:

    Beautiful portrayal of nursing! Pure heavan! I have ceres conjunct sun and neptune in 7th. I have one child, and pets which I also consider children. Feel like I’m always nurturing someone (friends,dogs, humanity at large,etc) since I also do massage therapy!

    • Jamma says:

      One of my cats loves to be held like a baby … he puts his “arms” aound my neck and tries to nurse on my ear (no matter how many times I’ve tried to “wean” him). His desperate need is almost heart-breaking. After a few seconds of this ritual, I can feel him relax. Then I set him down and he happily runs off to eat his crunchies.

    • Christina says:

      Aha – yes I include pets in the Ceres world.

  12. Anonymous says:

    Christina, thanks so much for your Ceres in Aires description… which I have in the 5th house. I can relate to how you described the Aires factor in nurturing. I had always felt confused about how I felt I cared for my children with the Aires placement.I thought my nurturing was do to my care giving sun sign. You have given me a to the point explanation and now I understand the connection. I too have Gemini Moon ( Pisces Sun) but I used my Moon in the mix … constantly engaged in conversation or dialogue with my 4 children– sharing information about art, music, family, food, history and the world around. My opinions were not always welcomed once they matured but I shared none the less. l – which once I divorced and they went off to College caused some painful drama and I wondered if having Ceres conj Eris had any thing to do with some of the hardship. May be you can do a Post of the Eris effect in the future. I enjoy all your writing. You are very insightful and present such interesting subjects. Wonderful Post.. this hit home.

    • Christina says:

      Oh Anon, you are my astro-twin (Pisces Sun, Gemini Moon, Ceres in Aries). I haven’t done much work on Eris yet. But the conjunction must mean something…. Eris has a very slow cycle… hmmm

  13. Anonymous says:

    that’s soooo sweet, kitty must have been weaned too early

  14. Anonymous says:

    those are my thoughts too, Somehow I’ve always felt as a sort of mother to my mother. I truly believe it was my task to guide her to the moment when she died. Life can be strange.

    mimi

  15. LB says:

    My 2nd house Ceres is in Libra and is part of my chart’s Mystic Rectangle involving my 8th house Eris-True Lilith, IC-Antares and MC-Aldebaran. It also trines my Aquarius Moon (5th) and forms an exact quintile with my 4th house Saturn (ruler of my 5th).

    While I absolutely value beauty in an asthetic sense, as I’ve gotten older I find there’s a greater beauty in the universal values of love, justice and truth expressed in practical ways. As the former office and benefits manager for a small, non-profit school that served kids with IEPs (special-education), an important part of my job was making sure staff and kids stayed safe. Then I took on responsibilities for both parents, first my father and later, my dying mother when she was diagnosed with dementia. My resources (including financial ones) were put to use making sure she was well cared for; no detail was too small – I even kept track of what she ate and when she used the bathroom. Though I often fell short, I wanted her to have some quality of life, and more importantly, to feel unconditionally loved and valued at a time when she was so absolutely vulnerable.

    Now I’m an alternative healer who not only works with energy, but also tries to validate and encourage those I come into contact with. And I’m always involved in advocating in some *small* way for something – peace, universal healthcare, social justice, non-GMOs . . . Right now it’s encouraging people I know to only purchase slave-free chocolate (cocoa) produced ethically, without using African children as slave-labor. Halloween is next month, so it’s a good time to talk about it. It kind of fits with Libra in the 2nd, doesn’t it?:)

    I’m very naturally tuned into people who seem to need something extra, just never in an unhealthy, enabling kind of way.

    • LB says:

      I agree, Christina. To care, to cherish and also to *commit* all seem very Ceres-related. In the mythology, Ceres’ loving commitment to her daughter was unconditional, though it also involved the creation and acceptance of certain natural cycles and limits. Maybe Ceres’ lesson involves teaching us how (and where) to accept endings, set healthy limits, and make necessary sacrifices in order to sustain and protect. Also how to let go. It’s how we grow – food, people, awareness, even love.:)

    • Christina says:

      Yes, that’s a very well expressed Ceres. Either you are particularly tuned into her, or she aspects a lot of your planets. On a really straightforward trad astro level, you have earned a living through expressing Ceres – is she the planet of caring? Caring is the same etymology as cherish, of course, and I can’t help thinking it sounds a bit like Ceres too.

      Both you and mimi have brought up caring for parents as well as for children, and I think that’s an important part of this energy. Also Ceres is not like Chiron, who’s more of a doctor. She is more like a nurse, someone who gives continuous love and attention, whereas Chiron is more of a catalyst.

      Thanks for sharing this.

  16. Veda.Moon says:

    This is a great write up! (Per usual). I love how you included the Cassatts. I just love your combination of astrology and art history.

    I am dealing with a serious case of baby fever so this article was extra fun. I never noticed I have Ceres conjunct Uranus in Sag the 12th house. Ceres is also inconjunct my Saturn and Sun. Frustration due to having baby fever and not being in the right place in my life financially to have them? That kind of stings :/ I need to mull on this…

  17. Faith says:

    Hi Christina… Thanks for this informative post. I’m interested in your thoughts on how powerfully the Ceres return would influence a woman’s fertility. Many thanks….

    • Christina says:

      Dear Faith, I have not tested this assumption against many charts, but here’s what I think in theory. On the whole, I’d expect a boost for sure in fertility but it does depend on the condition of Ceres in the natal chart. In other words — is she were squared by Saturn, say, one might expect issues around infertility anyway and these might be revisited on the return.

      • Faith says:

        Hi Christina… That’s very interesting. The chart has Ceres unaspected in Sagittarius, 7th House. I think I will look into this further… Thanks for your thoughts…

  18. Meli says:

    Hi Christina,
    You article is very interesting. I have always wondered the role of Ceres in my 12th house.
    I have a moon in Aries on 9th house (2.32) in opposition to Saturn in Virgo on 3rd House (27) [My Sun, Mercury and Jupiter are also in Virgo but in 2nd house]. I have Ceres in Cancer on 12th House (7.44) along with Venus (19.12). My MC is at 22.12 Aries and my 10th house includes Taurus (Chiron and Pallas are there) and my 4th House is in Libra but includes Scorpio. The ruler of my MC, Mars, is in the 4th house 29.17 Libra. The ruler of my 4th house, Venus, is in my 12th and the ruler of my 12th house, Moon, is in my 9th house which has the cusp in Pisces. I have always found curious that the ruler of the 9th house is in my 5th house which has a cusp at 0º in Scorpio and I have Neptune there. The ruler of Scorpio in Libra is in my 3rd Virgo house squaring Venus on my 12th Cancer house.
    I am a passionate person when it comes to people and things. I like to take action, to discover things, to start things which I guess is my moon in Aries. I always have time to listen to people and I really care about them. People say that I am very respectful, warm, non-judgmental and protective so I guess it could relate to Venus or Ceres in Cancer in the 12th or maybe my rising sign in Leo; although I am very shy and reserve when it comes to express my emotions. I need time to trust people emotionally as I am very sensitive… If I have a strong connection with someone I can feel immediately was going on with them and I tend to have premonitory dreams and thoughts… People usually say that I have an amazing control of my emotions but this is probably due to my Saturn as I like structure and stability when it comes to my emotions. The opposite make me feel ill and nervous. People tend to come to me when they are going through difficult times but I usually do not feel supported or nurtured when I am going through complicated situations. I have been told me that I look so autonomous and self- reliant that probably this is the reason that people do not see that I also need to feel nurtured and cherished so could it be that Ceres in the 12th house feels forgotten?. I have always thought that this relates to my Venus but I wonder if Ceres plays a role here. My childhood has not been particularly harmonious as one could think with Libra in the 4th house probably Mars and Pluto close to my IC are guilty there. My mother has always encouraged me to do things, to be self-reliant and to do not show emotions (once again I guess is my moon-Saturn opposition). She can always done everything that she could to give me material stability even denying things for herself but I have always feel emotionally distant and not emotionally nurtured (Ceres and Venus on the 12th?). Although my mother is adored by children and she shows more emotional attention to her students than she has ever showed to me or my sister.
    People feel at easy talking to me and say that I am generous. They say that I have an incredible ability to see emotional patterns and to heal although most of the time I only listen, analyse, break down the situation to the root of the problem and then propose some solutions…As Pallas and Chiron are in Taurus and Venus and Ceres in Cancer I guess there is something there…although I do not do this professionally. For me it’s a very natural reaction. For a long time I thought that everybody could see and do this but some years ago someone told me that my ability to break down situations and make people feel at ease is not common. Well I do not see it as something to be proud as I never worked on it, it comes natural to me (I probably see it like this because I have lot of planets in Virgo). I feel bad when people suffer but I can’t go to hospitals and I need sometimes to put distance when I am overwhelmed by all the emotions that I pick up. Sometimes I feel isolated and invisible emotionally to people so I wonder again how Ceres works here. I have also been told that children feel hypnotised by me could it be due to Ceres on the 12th and Neptune on the 5th?
    I also wonder if the fact of having Ceres in the 12th and Neptune in the 5th would affect in terms of fertility. Could it be that it would be like a dream (Neptune) that would not be nurtured (Ceres 12th)?
    When it comes to relationships I have always felt taken for granted. It seems like I give much more than I receive. Could it be Ceres and Venus on the 12th? I have been hurt so deep that I wonder if it is worth to feel again… maybe that’s my Venus squaring Pluto and Ceres feeling alone on the 12th…
    On the professional side ( as Taurus is included on my 10th house) having Ceres and Venus on the 12th is like not feeling very cherished and nurtured ….maybe this related to the fact that transiting Saturn was recently on my 4th Libra house so it also has some effect on the 10th and 12th house…but I wonder how Ceres from the 12th can influence or related to my 10th house?
    Would love to hear your thoughts. Thanks.

  19. I have ceres 27 degrees in the 6th conjunct Neptune 24 degrees and Venus 25 Libra conjunct moon in Scorpio 2 degrees.Saturn is 5degrees Scorpio all r intercepted.Venus textiles pluto in the 5th.I just found out my ceres placement eventually.The animal thing and nature thing rings true as I propagate and feed a lot of them

  20. Doug says:

    Just a thought : the Pittsburgh shooter has ceres conjunct pluto natally.nurturer and harvester of plutonic energy ? That’s the 1st thing that stood out when I looked at his geometry. Any comment on that ?

    • Christina says:

      That’s a very good interpretation. Odd that you should write this today though because I’ve just noticed that Vesta (the flame) was conjunct Pluto when the fires started in California.

      I think it would be worth looking at more shooters’ charts and checking aspects. I find that all the asteroids work more strongly through other planets or angles.

  21. Doug says:

    I have studied astrogy and researched it for many years.Other than chiron which I have at 23 degrees exact on my 10 house cusp.I have just began studying some of the other asteroids recently.I began with plugging them in to my chart starting with the conjunctions , then I looked at past relationships and did synestries with some of the other asteroids, also black lilith which I have at 9 degrees Scorpio 7th house cusp.Its supposed to be exalted there.I get it but Scorpio energy can be tough to deal with as with pluto .On the passionate ( good side )one of my former girlfriend’s had Venus conjunct Black lilith conjunct Pluto exact trine my mars in Capricorn ! Talk about passion ! As you know anything that touches pluto natally or in synestry exact becomes a personal influence , especially the conjunction.This also works with the nodes in a big way .Pluto transited my .node at 13 capricorn not long ago for a long period.When someone’s n.node conjuncts my pluto at 25 Leo in synestry.The conversation can get really steamy.If the individual is not spiritually evolved.Then the energy may manifest in its base form.Its important to know ones self and the different ocvtaves of the planetary energy and strive for the most refined one.Hence ; the Pittsburgh shooter was useing pluto at its lowest instinctive level , and appears to have been nurturing that with his ceres there ; probably his whole life. ” know thyself. ” That’s my astrological quest and I highly recommend it for others ! Have a good day !?

  22. Doug says:

    As I was researching a bit , I noticed Albert Einstein had ceres exact conjunct pluto natally at 24 Taurus.Oppenheimer had his mercury at 21 Taurus..Chiron was 3 degrees taurus at its discovery .Nov. 1st 1977. ( I think it was actually spotted a few days earlier ) Oppenheimers Sun. Is at 1 degree Taurus. Einstein’s chiron is at 5 degrees taurus conjunct Neptune 7 degrees taurus.Do u see any connection there ?

  23. Doug says:

    Metaphor : if more people looked upward they would see more eagles !

  24. Doug says:

    My previous comment was not meant to be a rub against einstein or oppenheimer , both were pacifists at least oppenheimer was after the war .Both struggled and suffered with their decisions.Oppenheimer avowed against the use of atomic weaponry the rest of his life.And was disgraced for it. ( maybe that’s where a wound comes in.) Anyway it was just meant to be thrown out there , because it seemed interesting.

  25. Doug says:

    Thank you Christina.I try to be dispassionate about what I observe ; as u know astrology is about possibilities and interpretation.A conjunction between ceres and say ; pluto can manifest in different ways.I’m just saying whatever energy touches pluto is going to be transformative in some way.Have a good day ! : ) ( I hope it activates a.positive force for the good of humanity and our wonderful planet .)

  26. Kvathairein says:

    Just noticed I have Ceres conjunct Venus in 7th house, Sagittarius. It’s in between a rather wide Venus saturn conjunction, but significantly closer to Venus, but Saturn probably still weighs its heavy ass on both a wee bit.