On February 22, the dwarf planet Ceres will leave Pisces and enter into Aries until May 9. Ceres had been in Pisces a significant portion of 2020, due to her retrograde, but now she is moving into Aries and her focus (and ours) will shift dramatically around the things that nourish our souls.
While in Pisces, Ceres focuses on illness, loss, grief, and the cycle of death and rebirth. In the last year we have all experienced dealing with these themes. During this period, you may have had to make significant sacrifices to continue to survive, or your survival may have been challenged by unforeseen circumstances. Ceres has been sitting at the last degree of Pisces (29˚) over the course of time that the winter storm Uri and the Polar Vortex ripped across the U.S.; many have suffered as this ‘critical’ degree was activated strongly by this dwarf planet.
Ceres (Demeter in Greek mythology) is the goddess of agriculture and the harvest; she also represents how we give and receive nurturing. The most well-known myth about this goddess is when Pluto (her brother) kidnapped her daughter (with her other brother Jupiter) Persephone and spirited her away to the Underworld. Ceres’ grief was so terrible that she refused to allow the plants to grow, causing great famine. Jupiter had to intervene with Pluto, and he agreed to return Persephone to her mother, but she had eaten food from the Underworld, so she had to return to Hades four months of the year (Winter). During that time, things are dormant; nothing grows until Persephone returns to her mother in Spring and stays with her until the end of the harvest season.
So now that you have a better picture of Ceres as the deeply devoted nurturer… how do you find her in your chart? The symbol/glyph for this goddess is a scythe, but also looks a bit like a ‘?’ sitting on a ‘+’ in your chart. Some astrological programs automatically add Ceres, Juno, Pallas Athena, and Vesta (the last four goddesses are classified as asteroids). Ceres was officially upgraded to a dwarf planet in 2006, along with Pluto, Eris, Makemake, and Haumea. Where she sits in your chart affects how you nurture others and how you need to be nurtured in return.
{Tip: If you go to Foxy Astrology (right under my blog posts on the homepage) you will see a link to create your birth chart. Once you enter your information and draft your chart, you can look under ‘settings’, select ‘planets/asteroids’, and check the box next to ‘Ceres’.
Now Ceres is leaving the soft, sensitive, mutability of Pisces for Aries, and the focus of our nurturing will shift. The first degree of Aries (0˚) is very important. Not only is this a critical degree, but it is the beginning of the zodiac and known as the Aries Point. Aries rules the 1st house of the self; with Ceres moving into Aries, the focus will shift to fiery, passionate, and actionable energy. It is time to call back your energy and pursue the things that nurture and nourish your soul.