HESPERUS
Hesperus is the name given to the planet Venus when it appears as the Evening Star.
HESTIA
Hestia, asteroid 46 (the 46th asteroid to be discovered, on August 16, 1857), is
approximately 164 kilometers in diameter and has an orbital period of 4 years. It was
named after the Greek virgin goddess of the hearth and symbol of the home (parallel
to the Roman Vesta). Hestia was the oldest and most sacred of the 12 Olympian
dieties. As with the asteroid Vesta, the natal location of Hestia by sign and house indi-
cates something about the native’s domestic inclinations. When prominent in a natal
chart (e.g., conjunct the Sun or the ascendant), it can indicate a homebody.
Sources:
Kowal, Charles T. Asteroids: Their Nature and Utilization.Chichester, West Sussex, UK: Ellis
Horwood Limited, 1988.
Room, Adrian. Dictionary of Astronomical Names.London: Routledge, 1988.
Schwartz, Jacob. Asteroid Name Encyclopedia.St. Paul, MN: Llewellyn Publications, 1995.
HIDALGO
Hidalgo, asteroid 944 (the 944th asteroid to be discovered, on October 31, 1920) was
named after the revolutionary priest who attempted to overthrow Spanish rule in
Mexico. It is about 28^1 ⁄ 2 kilometers in diameter and has an eccentric orbit that is the
longest (14 years) of any asteroid. Hidalgo is one of the more recent asteroids to be
investigated by astrologers. Preliminary material on Hidalgo can be found in Demetra
George and Douglas Bloch’s Astrology for Yourself,and an ephemeris (table of celestial
locations) for Hidalgo can be found in the second edition of George and Bloch’s Aster-
oid Goddesses.Unlike the planets, which are associated with a wide range of phenom-
ena, the smaller asteroids are said to represent a single principle. Bloch and George
(1987) give Hidalgo’s principle as “protecting and fighting for one’s beliefs”; their ten-
tative key phrase for Hidalgo is “My capacity for self-assertion in defense of my princi-
ples.” Zipporah Dobyns associates Hidalgo with Saturn, finding that it often aspects
that planet in the charts of women who reach positions of success and power. J. Lee
Lehman finds that Hidalgo represents “an assertion of will overothers.” This influence
can be used in fighting for other people’s rights, but “Hidalgo expectsto be in control,
to be the general in all situations.” Lehman describes Hidalgo as a “macho” asteroid.
Jacob Schwartz gives the astrological significance of this asteroid as “fighting for oth-
ers’ rights; exchanges based on integrity or principles.”
Sources:
Dobyns, Zipporah. Expanding Astrology’s Universe.San Diego: Astro Computing Services, 1983.
George, Demetra, with Douglas Bloch. Astrology for Yourself: A Workbook for Personal Transfor-
mation.Berkeley, CA: Wingbow Press, 1987.
———. Goddesses: The Mythology, Psychology and Astrology of the Reemerging Feminine.2d ed.
rev. San Diego: Astro Computing Services, 1990.
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Hidalgo