our own life story.
Psyche is one of the most important asteroids in your chart. Psyche’s asteroid number is 16, and she
was discovered on March 17, 1852, when the Sun was in Pisces. Pisces is the sign of unconscious
thoughts and dreams, and is ruled by Neptune, the planet of illusion, mist, and vapor. Pisces and
Neptune can give us great creativity and artistic ability, but also incline us to want to escape from
reality, into a pleasant dream world, where nothing is real, unless we want it to be.
Psyche is the Greek word for soul, and Psyche is the place in your chart that can detail for you
where you can find your entrance into your self. Psyche also represents psychology and is involved
with the discipline of the study of the mind. Psyche encompasses the soul, the mind, and the self.
The ancient Greek mythological saga of Psyche has formed the basis of numerous fairy tales and folk
stories, including that of Beauty and the Beast, and The Knight and the Loathly Damsel. The
elements of Psyche’s life are trust, love, passion, betrayal and jealousy. Beyond that, we can learn
from Psyche the uncovering of who we are, why we act as we do, and what love means to us.
Psyche’s story is filled with archetypes, as are all mythological tales; fathers who are cruel or
neglectful, or overindulgent, foolish and devoted; jealous women, as in mothers, stepmothers or
sisters, and of course the lover. The lover may be disguised, so the fair maiden cannot see his face
or guess his identity. He can be cruel, or he can be kind. He can be a demon or a god. His being and
persona changes in each story, and in each version of the story.
The end of the tale is always the same, since the ultimate end of the heroine’s story is her final
understanding of herself. It is the final acceptance of her totality of being, which includes her mind,
body, and spirit. Psyche’s story involves the ultimate acknowledgement that the soul can be granted
immortality through its’ ability to love.
As the myth relates to us, Psyche was a very beautiful girl who was the youngest of three sisters.
Psyche was so beautiful that she was treated as a statue or idol to be gazed at. The ancient Greeks
began to ignore the temple of Aphrodite, (the Greek counterpart of the Roman goddess Venus), and
started to worship Psyche instead of Aphrodite.
Aphrodite became jealous, and asked her son Eros to magically induce Psyche to fall in love with the
lowest and most horrible man on earth he could find. Instead Eros himself fell in love with Psyche
and had the Zephyr, the west wind, blow her up to a beautiful palace in the mountains. Once there
Eros appeared under a cloak of darkness, and told Psyche that she could never look at his face, but
that he would visit her nightly, as her husband. During the day Psyche had free rein to live in the
palace, and roam the beautiful grounds it was on.
After awhile Psyche missed her older sisters, and asked her mysterious nighttime lover/husband to let
them visit her. Eros finally agreed, and Psyche’s sisters saw how much material wealth she had. Her
sisters became jealous and convinced Psyche that she was really married to a snake, or some other
horrible monster. They urged her to look at the man/monster she slept with at night, for her own
safety.
Psyche waited until Eros was asleep, and then uncovered him. Once she did, his identity and his
beauty was discovered by Psyche, and he woke up and fled from her. She then realized she had been
with Eros, the god of love, all the time.
Psyche then went to Aphrodite to ask for a chance to be reunited with her soul mate. Jealous
Aphrodite, Eros’ mother, set out a series of arduous tasks for Psyche to fulfill before she would agree
to allow Eros to see Psyche again. Helped by some of the Olympian gods and goddesses who were
sympathetic to her plight, Psyche ultimately passed each test, one of which involved Psyche’s descent
into the depths of Hades, the underworld, to see Persephone, the queen of the dead. Psyche
ultimately won Eros back, married him, was granted immortality, and became a goddess in her own
right.
Psyche’s story is in essence every woman’s story. Psyche’s tale begins when she is in early
womanhood, and brings her to an uncharted place, where she is not sure of anyone or anything. She
is then forced to deal with the world, and surmount many difficult obstacles before she, the
embodiment of the soul and mind, is able to merge with her other half, her animus, or her male
lover. Once she achieves that goal, she achieves a true integration of her self, becomes a goddess,
and achieves immortality.
Astrologically, how does this apply to you? Psyches’ journey through the signs of the zodiac varies
widely each year, but she is in each sign for between 2 to 10 months. Psyche entered into Virgo on
October 5, 2006 and will be there until August 21, 2007. Psyche then moves into Libra for a three
month stay, and will be there until November 18, 2007, when she enters into Scorpio. Psyche will be
in the sign of the Scorpion for the rest of the year of 2007.
Psyche can tell us a lot about ourselves and our own journey, but it may take us some time and
thought before we become aware of what Psyche symbolically wants to say to us. Delving into our
innermost depths can take some time, and reflection.
Whether you’re a homebody or you’re out in the parks