SAPIENTIA
Sapientia, asteroid 275 (the 275th asteroid to be discovered, on April 15, 1888), is
approximately 108 kilometers in diameter and has an orbital period of 4.6 years. Its
name is a personification of a Latin word for wisdom. If other elements of an natal
chart concur, Sapientia shows wisdom with respect to the matters indicated by its sign
and house position. When afflicted, it may suggest false wisdom. When prominent in
a chart (e.g., conjunct the Sun or the ascendant), it may show a wise person or an
individual who seeks wisdom.
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.
SAPPHO
Sappho, asteroid 80 (the 80th asteroid to be discovered, on May 2, 1864), was named
after a legendary Greek love poetess of the sixth century B.C.E. who lived on the island
of Lesbos (from which the term lesbian derives). Its orbital period is about 3^1 ⁄ 2 years,
and it is approximately 84 kilometers in diameter. Sappho is one of the more recent
asteroids to be investigated by astrologers. Preliminary material on Sappho can be
found in Demetra George and Douglas Bloch’s Astrology for Yourself,and an ephemeris
(table of celestial locations) for Sappho can be found in the second edition of their
Asteroid Goddesses.
Unlike the planets, which are associated with a wide range of phenomena, the
smaller asteroids are said to represent a single principle. George and Bloch give Sap-
pho’s principle as “romantic and artistic sensitivity.” Zipporah Dobyns has found it
prominent in the chart of people involved with poetry and the other arts, as well as in
the charts of people involved in nurturing others (the semilegendary Sappho was
devoted to nurturing young women). Contrary to the connotations of its name, Sap-
pho does not appear to be associated with homosexuality. J. Lee Lehman associates
Sappho with impersonal sexual drive, although the libido represented by this asteroid
may be channeled into other endeavors, particularly work. Jacob Schwartz gives the
astrological significance of this asteroid as “friendships, artistic expression of sex.”
Sources:
Dobyns, Zipporah. Expanding Astrology’s Universe.San Diego: Astro Computing Services, 1983.
George, Demetra, with Douglas Bloch. Asteroid Goddesses: The Mythology, Psychology and Astrol-
ogy of the Reemerging Feminine.2d ed. San Diego: 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.
Schwartz, Jacob. Asteroid Name Encyclopedia.St. Paul, MN: Llewellyn Publications, 1995.
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Sappho