Welcome to my second chart examination. This one is a tad self serving, as it's all about my Daddy :), but I learned some very interesting stuff from this particular transit, so I thought I would share.
Many of you will be wondering what the hell Ceres is. Between Mars and Jupiter, there is an asteroid belt. Ceres is the largest of these asteroids. One of the benefits, if you can call it that, of the discovery of the new Dwarf Planet Eris, and the downgrading of Pluto to the Dwarf Planet category, is that Ceres got upgraded as it and Pluto are about the same size.
A large number of asteroids in the belt are named after Goddesses, and Ceres is the Roman version of Demeter, whose daughter Persephone was stolen by Hades. Ceres then prevented crops from growing and maintained winter until her daughter was returned to her.
Ceres is all about nurturing - from how you were nurtured as a child through to how you look after yourself as an adult.
My father has been very ill this year, and while medical astrology isn't my forte, I couldn't spot anything obvious in his chart to indicate the issue behind this very significant illness. I know astrology well enough to know it had to be somewhere. After he had an almost miraculous turn around last week, it seemed as though something had shifted, so I examined his chart again, and on a whim, included Ceres. Bingo.
Dad has never been one to look after his body. With a Taurus rising, he has always been active, and going at things like a bull at a gate. He would work long hours without eating, and until a year or two ago, never drank anything that wasn't tea or coffee. I remember as a child there was always a pot of "bull tea" (ie tea that was freezing cold and had been sitting around for hours) that he would have as his beverage of choice. His illness only became so extreme because he refused to go to the doctor when he should have.
Uranus first visited Dad's natal Ceres toward the end of February this year, which is when he first fell ill. My astrology teacher describes Uranus as the planet that cracks issues open to let the light in. The major issue for Dad has been rediscovering how to listen to his body and to look after himself appropriately. Uranus is also squaring his Natal Sun and Saturn, showing that this has been a massive change in both how he views himself and how he has had to change this. He has actually had to take a back seat and allow himself to be looked after, after so many years of looking after others. He has had to become responsible for actually doing what he needs to do, instead of doing what he feels he needs to do for others. It has been a major shake up to his world, and probably isn't over just yet. Uranus won't finish it's retrograde cycle until early December, so there's still a little way to go, but he is getting there.
I actually expressed to my uncle (Dad's younger brother) a couple of weeks ago that I was glad my father had experienced this hiatus, as he was having to learn to slow down. I've always thought he would work himself into an early grave if he kept going at his previous breakneck pace.
Thanks for reading, and look after yourself - Ceres will demand it!
