Martha Lang-Wescott, Demeter represents nurturance, which can manifest as nurtu-
rance of others or of self. This asteroid’s keywords are “mother and child.” J. Lee
Lehman believes Demeter has an influence similar to that of the asteroid Ceres but is
less practical and more spiritual than her Roman parallel. Demeter, in other words,
represents more of a spiritual nurturance. Also, to take an example proffered by
Lehman, Ceres represents vocational work, whereas Demeter represents more avoca-
tional work.
Sources:
Lang-Wescott, Martha. Asteroids-Mechanics: Ephemerides II.Conway, MA: Treehouse Moun-
tain, 1990.
———. Mechanics of the Future: Asteroids.Rev. ed. Conway, MA: Treehouse Mountain, 1991.
Lehman, J. Lee. The Ultimate Asteroid Book.West Chester, PA: Whitford Press, 1988.
Schwartz, Jacob. Asteroid Name Encyclopedia.St. Paul, MN: Llewellyn Publications, 1995.
DEPRESSION
In traditional astrology, depression is an alternate term for fall.
DESCENDANT
The descendant is the cusp (beginning) of the seventh house. In a natal chart, it cor-
responds to the western horizon at the moment of birth and is thus the point where,
over the course of a 24-hour period, planets “descend” out of the sky. As one of the
four angles—the others are the ascendant (first-house cusp), the midheaven/medium
coeli (tenth-house cusp), and the nadir/imum coeli (fourth-house cusp)—the descen-
dant is one of the more powerful locations for a planet. Thus, a planet in a close con-
junction with the descendant is traditionally regarded as having a strong influence
over the entire chart, although such influences are more marked in the case of planets
conjunct the ascendant and the midheaven.
Sources:
Bach, Eleanor. Astrology from A to Z: An Illustrated Source Book.New York: Philosophical
Library, 1990.
Fleming-Mitchell, Leslie. Running Press Glossary of Astrology Terms.Philadelphia: Running
Press, 1977.
DETRIMENT
The term detriment is part of a traditional way of classifying certain sign placements
of planets. A planet is said to be in its dignity when it is in the sign it rules (e.g., Mars
in Aries, the Sun in Leo, etc.). There are also certain placements said to be especially
favorable for a planet that are traditionally termed exaltations (to continue with the
foregoing example, Mars in Capricorn, the Sun in Aries). When a planet is placed in
the sign opposite its exaltation, it is said to be in its fall (Mars in Cancer, the Sun in
Libra). A planet is said to be in its detriment when placed in the sign opposite the sign
that it rules (Mars in Libra, the Sun in Aquarius). For example, because Venus rules
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Detriment