Ceres
“I Nurture”
Will to Unify ~ Ray 2
Relates to Cancer, Virgo, Taurus-Scorpio
“My potential for unconditional love and acceptance”
Key Concepts:
[Note from the Amanuensis: Because the Asteroid Goddesses are more complex in their meaning and how to interpret them in the natal chart, I decided to put a PDF file of the analysis I did called “Concerning the Asteroids” as a link to the image of asteroids accompanying the beginning of this section on the major Asteroids. I highly recommend reading it for a broader understanding of the function of the Asteroids in our natal charts.]
Ceres is the matrix [context] within which the other Asteroids operate and determines how we experience our transformational process [through some form or area of nurturing]; Ceres provides the foundation and describes the ways in which we face the issues of self-worth and self-esteem [indicating what types of experiences will foster feelings of self-love and self-acceptance or self-rejection and self-criticism]. Nurturing as equivalent to empowerment – providing the optimal conditions for growth, conditions which foster a thriving life force within us.
Ceres indicates our relationship to our parents and children; defines our attachments, dependencies, losses and separation issues; how we handle rejection, grief, sharing, work and productivity; the pathology of repeated loss stems from grasping and over-attachment, both unskillful uses of Ceres’ energies.
Ceres Themes:
Cancer: giving/receiving nurturing; family relationships; providing/caring for others; self-acceptance/self-worth;
Taurus-Scorpio: attachment/letting go; loss/return; capacity for grief and sorrow; rejection, abandonment, separation, principle of sharing, death and renewal Cycles; Virgo: productivity, growth, self-reliance, work. In Tarot, she is associated with Pentacles and the Empress.
Ceres Rulerships:
Procreation: procreative sex, childbirth, miscarriage, abortion, menarche, menopause, death, dying, children, all “parenting” relationships; Nourishment: nurturing and helping vocations, nursing, social service, nutrition, food-related services and illnesses, agriculture, cultivation, harvest; Productivity: labor, work, ecology, domestication, animals, adaptation, survival, Cycles.
Ceres By Element:
Air:
Water:
Fire:
Earth:
What Nurtures Me (and How I Nurture):
Relating and communicating
Compassion and understanding
Praise and encouragement
Stability and structure
Symbology:
The Glyph for Ceres is the sickle, representing harvest; it also resembles the staff of a shepherd … in both cases, the theme is care and nurturing. The top part of the Glyph is an open-ended, waxing moon surmounting the cross of matter … in this case, it seems to suggest the vulnerability and will of our emotional selves when confronted by worldly “necessities.”
Analysis by Theos:
Theos assigns Ray 2 to Ceres and suggests that we spend “quality time” exploring our natal placement of Ceres, paying particular attention to the Elemental themes of what nurtures you ~ and how you (attempt to) nurture others.
When we understand our nurturing “needs,” we are in a better position to meet those needs, consciously and with care and attention to those details that create a feeling sense of completion … another way of describing the feeling sense of having been fully nurtured and therefore satisfied ~ able to release the old experience (the past) and ready to move on to new experiences (innocence).
Without completion, those inner selves (usually our inner, unevolved “children”) cannot move on, they are forever “stuck” in the cycle of efforting to feel completed, nurtured and therefore capable … this is where the themes of self-worth and self-esteem come into the picture. If you examine where it is that you feel capable, you will find self-worth and self-esteem. The reverse is also true. If you understand the value of these themes, you will recognize that your natal placement of Ceres has a lot to say about the satisfaction level of your life and how you respond ~ or react ~ to those levels.
She influences grief, work problems, eating disorders, custody issues and kidnaping. She may influence low self esteem, fear of abundance, feelings of abandonment or unworthiness, over-attachment, possessiveness, parent-child complexes and barrenness.
Physiology:
Ceres is associated with fertility, the breasts, the uterus and stomach.