BACCHUS
Bacchus is asteroid 2,063 (the 2,063rd asteroid to
be discovered, on April 24, 1977). It is approxi-
mately 1.2 kilometers in diameter and has an
orbital period of 1.1 years. Bacchus was named
after the god of wine, the Roman equivalent of
the Greek Dionysus. According to Martha Lang-
Wescott, Bacchus is related to addictive syn-
drome, particularly to the denial, substitution,
and management of uncomfortable emotions.
This asteroid’s key word is “denial.” According to
J. Lee Lehman, “Bacchus represents the way that
a person seeks ecstasy through direct experience
or passion.” Jacob Schwartz gives the astrological
significance of this asteroid as “Ecstasy to encour-
age sensual excess and fertility; addictive person-
alities and behaviors and attempts to manage
feelings through substitutions.”
Bacchus is also one of the names given
to the hypothetical planet that some astrologers
assert is orbiting beyond Pluto.
Sources:
Lehman, J. Lee. The Ultimate Asteroid Book. West
Chester, PA: Whitford, 1988.
Lang-Wescott, Martha. Asteroids-Mechanics: Ephe-
merides II.Rev. ed. Conway, MA: Treehouse
Mountain, 1990.
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A seventeenth-century engraving of a drunken Bacchus
supported by two fauns. Reproduced by permission of
Fortean Picture Library.