Ceres was the daughter of Saturn and Rhea and sister to Jupiter, Neptune, Pluto and the other asteroid Goddesses, Vesta and Juno. The Greeks knew her as Demeter which comes from da mater or “earth mother.”
The Story of Ceres
As the story goes, Ceres and her cherished daughter Persephone were inseparable. They basked in each other’s company as they wandered the Earth together. During this happy time, the world knew no shortages, famine, winter or barren land. This was a time of perennial bounty.
Then one day, the lascivious Pluto noticed Persephone. What a beautiful young maiden she had grown into! Ripe for his plucking, he thought. And in a rare moment when mother and daughter weren’t together, pluck her he did! Pluto, Lord of the Underworld, opened up the Earth, ravished Persephone, and took her into his dark domain to be his queen.
Grief stricken and inconsolable, Ceres roamed everywhere in search of her beloved Persephone. Long story short, when she found out what had happened, she stopped the fertile land from bearing forth crops. If she were to suffer so deeply, so would everyone else!
As the people began to starve, they prayed to Zeus to put an end to the famine. Bargains were struck and in the end, Persephone was to spend half the year as Queen of the Underworld and the other half, reunited with her loving mother Ceres. It is Persephone’s comings and goings that give us the seasons and harvest time. When with her mother, Ceres sends forth her blessings. When Persephone returns to the Underworld to reign with her husband, the land turns cold and dry.
Ceres in the natal chart
In our charts, Ceres points to our nurturing style: how we dispense it and how we need to be nourished. It’s where we get the word cereal. Ceres also speaks to self worth, issues of rejection, our relationship to food, and loss. When there is a strong Ceres signature, the native relates to the story of Ceres and Persephone. For instance, losing a child, estrangement, eating disorders or custody battles are some of the ways a challenging aspect to Ceres can manifest.
Ceres through the signs
Demetra George has written masterfully on Ceres. These bulleted descriptions for Ceres through the signs are taken from her book Asteroid Goddesses: The Mythology, Psychology, and Astrology of the Re-emerging Feminine.
- Ceres in Aries identifies nurturance with autonomy and being granted independence.
- Ceres in Taurus receives nurturance through physical substance, a sense of stability, and being touched and held.
- Ceres in Gemini receives nurturance through being education, talked to and listened to.
- Ceres in Cancer receives nurturance through bonding with the mother, feeling loved and being fed.
- Ceres in Leo identifies nurturance with self-expression and feeling confident in their abilities.
- Ceres in Virgo identifies nurturance with perfection, service and self-discipline.
- Ceres in Libra identifies nurturance with cooperation.
- Ceres in Scorpio identifies nurturance with intense and deep emotional bonding.
- Ceres in Sagittarius identifies nurturance with the freedom to explore and expand their horizons.
- Ceres in Capricorn identifies nurturance with achievement and being responsible for themselves.
- Ceres in Aquarius identifies nurturance with individuality and self-determination.
- Ceres in Pisces identifies nurturance with compassion and feelings of connection to a transcendent reality.
Finding Ceres in your chart
If you don’t know where Ceres is located in your chart, you can find it by following these instructions.
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- Go to astro.com
- Click on Horoscopes, located to the left of the top banner
- Click on Extended Chart Selection
- Enter your birth data
- Next, find the section “Additional Objects” (bottomish/left)
- Select Ceres
When you update your chart, you’ll now see the glyph for Ceres.