MIDPOINT
A midpoint, as the name implies, is a point halfway between two other points. For
example, the midpoint between a planet located at 1° Cancer and a planet located at
29° Cancer would be 15° Cancer. Certain schools of contemporary astrology regard
midpoints as significant, sensitive points in an astrological chart.
A midpoint between two planets is said to indicate where their combined
energies is strongest, and transits to midpoints are particularly important. A third
planet located near or in close aspect with a midpoint is particularly significant. In
hard aspects such as a square, for instance, a third planet located near the midpoint
provides the key to resolving the conflict indicated by the square.
Employed by early schools of astrology, midpoints fell into disuse until revived
by Alfred Witte, the founder of Uranian astrology. Witte in turn influenced Reinhold
Ebertin, the founder of cosmobiology, who further developed the use of midpoints.
Sources:
Brau, Jean-Louis, Helen Weaver, and Allan Edmands. Larousse Encyclopedia of Astrology.New
York: New American Library, 1980.
Hand, Robert. Horoscope Symbols.Rockport, MA: Para Research, 1981.
MINERVA
Minerva, asteroid 93 (the 93rd asteroid to be discovered, on August 24, 1867), is
approximately 168 kilometers in diameter and has an orbital period of 4.6 years. Min-
erva was the Roman goddess of wisdom, the Roman equivalent of the Greek Athena.
Minerva was also the patroness of arts and crafts. According to Martha Lang-Wescott,
Minerva represents the principle of analyzing demands in order to alter behavior to
please others and get their approval. This asteroid’s key word is “calculations.”
According to J. Lee Lehman, the asteroids Pallas, Athene, and Minerva all represent
the application of skill. In contrast with one another, however, “Pallas people are con-
cerned with being right, Athene people are more interested in being competent, and
Minerva people with being accomplished.” Jacob Schwartz gives this asteroid’s astro-
logical significance as “broad perceptual skills and public relations strategies, ideas for
pleasing others.”
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, 1988.
Schwartz, Jacob. Asteroid Name Encyclopedia.St. Paul, MN: Llewellyn Publications, 1995.
MITHRAISM ANDASTROLOGY
Mithraism was an enigmatic Hellenistic mystery religion that drew heavily on astrolo-
gy and astrological symbolism. It was Christianity’s last great competitor during the
THEASTROLOGYBOOK [455]
Mithraism and Astrology