their children may then struggle against the parental attachment. This, in turn, can
bring up the Ceres theme of loss of the child.
On a transpersonal level, Ceres as the “mother of the world” moves us to care
about the homeless and hungry, and also about the destruction of the earth’s resources.
She urges us to take compassionate action to provide for fundamental human needs,
and to care for the body of the earth that supports and sustains us.
Ceres not only gave birth to the living, but in her aspect as Persephone she
received the souls of the dead back into her womb to prepare them for rebirth. Thus
Ceres can also express as a vocation for either midwifery or hospice work, facilitating
the transition from death to life and back again on either the physical or the psycho-
logical level.
Ceres embodies the great truth of transformation that from death comes new
life. This comes not just from the Persephone part of her story, but also from the
nature of food, which always requires the taking of plant or animal life in order to sus-
tain our own lives.
Ceres also teaches the wisdom that over-attachment and possessiveness can
eventually bring loss, whereas sharing and letting go lead ultimately to reunion.
—Demetra GeorgeSources:
Dobyns, Zipporah. Expanding Astrology’s Universe.San Diego: Astro Computing Services, 1983.
Donath, Emma Belle. Asteroids in the Birth Chart.Tempe, AZ: American Federation of
Astrologers, 1979.
George, Demetra, with Douglas Bloch. Asteroid Goddesses: The Mythology, Psychology and Astrol-
ogy of the Reemerging Feminine.2d ed. rev. and enl. San Diego: Astro Computing Services,
1990.
———. Astrology for Yourself: A Workbook for Personal Transformation.Berkeley, CA: Wingbow
Press, 1987.
Lehman, J. Lee. The Ultimate Asteroid Book.West Chester, PA: Whitford Press, 1988.
CHAKRAS ANDASTROLOGY
The chakras are the seven main energy centers located from the base of the spine to
the crown of the head. First described by the Hindu yogis thousands of years ago, the
chakra model for understanding human consciousness has survived the test of time
and cultural changes. Chakra is the Sanskrit word for “wheel,” and each of these seven
chakras is said to be a spinning wheel, creating a vortex of subtle life energy. The uni-
versal life energy is received by the chakras, transformed, and then distributed to the
various levels of human activity associated with each chakra.
The chakras fall into two main categories: personal or lower chakras (1–3) and
universal or upper chakras (4–7). There are many yogic practices and meditations for
balancing the lower chakras and then raising one’s consciousness to the refined energy
of the upper, universal chakras.
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Chakras and Astrology