PHILIA
Philia, asteroid 280 (the 280th asteroid to be discovered, on October 29, 1888), is
approximately 26 kilometers in diameter and has an orbital period of 5.0 years. Its
name is a personification of a Greek word for love. The Greeks distinguished Philia
love from Eros love, identifying Philia more with friendship than romance. When
prominent in an natal chart, this asteroid indicates a friendly personality. The sign
and house position indicates both how one interacts with friends as well as what the
friends are like.
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.
PHILOSOPHIA
Philosophia, asteroid 227 (the 227th asteroid to be discovered, on August 12, 1882),
is approximately 60 kilometers in diameter and has an orbital period of 5.6 years.
Philosophia is named after philosophy(literally, the “love of wisdom”). If other ele-
ments of a natal chart concur, this asteroid indicates wisdom or a “philosophical atti-
tude” with respect to the matters indicated by Philosophia’s sign and house position.
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.
PHLEGMATIC
Phlegmatic is the traditional name for the personality temperament indicated by an
excess of the element water.
PHOBOS ANDDEIMOS(MOONS OFMARS)
The planet Mars is circled by two small, irregularly shaped moons, Phobos and
Deimos. Phobos, with dimensions of 17 x 14 x 13 miles, orbits Mars every 7.7 hours in
a circular path that never carries it more than 3,720 miles away from its primary (the
celestial body around which a satellite orbits). Deimos, which is 10 x 7 x 6 miles,
orbits Mars every 30.3 hours, traveling approximately 12,470 miles above the surface.
These distances represent the inner and outer extremes for bodies orbiting a planet
the size of Mars (i.e., if Phobos were a little closer, it would crash into its primary; if
Deimos were a little more distant, it would escape the Martian field of gravity alto-
gether). As in most planetary moon systems, the orbital paths of the Martian moons
align with their parent body’s equator.
THEASTROLOGYBOOK [521]
Phobos and Deimos (Moons of Mars)