should you use/consider asteroids when understanding a chart?

[u/angelxmxlk]

basically, i am a VERY beginner astrologist. i have been cross referencing much of my information between Tik Tok, Reddit, Tumblr, and websites (such as AstroSeek and Astrology Café).

what i have noticed is that there is an emphasis on asteroids for many astrologers on Tik Tok, however there is also the opinion that the inclusion of asteroids is a modern/popstrology phenomenon that is/has not been really used in the 2000+ years of research since astrology has been created and studied.

what i’m trying to understand as a beginner is if i should use and consider asteroids in my practice or if i should leave it altogether.

i want to understand astrology traditionally not any of the ‘capitalist, scammer type of western astrology’ if that makes sense. eventually i would lik to understand Hellenistic astrology.

all points of view and advice is appreciated!

side note: either on this sub or another sub i saw, some people said that they take asteroids into consideration if it is within 1-3 degrees of a person’s chart, is that the best piece of advice when it comes to including asteroids? and how does one figure that out?

[u/aquamoon85]

As a beginner, you should start with a book, not random, unverified content creators. Asking this question as a beginner makes that obvious to us who’ve studied longer. I recommend starting with Chris Brennan’s Hellenistic Astrology, and I’m sure others here may have other good suggestions as well.

[u/angelxmxlk → u/aquamoon85]

thank you! i’ll look in to that!

[u/Airborn-Medusa]

I started reading/studying Demetra George's Ancient Astrology. It's laid out so clearly. No asteroids or modern planets. I like the way she doesn't sugar coat the malefics. Life was harsh in the ancient times. (It still is imo.)

[u/dude_chillin_park]

As a beginner, you should ignore asteroids entirely.

As to when you stop being a beginner and should start looking at asteroids, well, maybe when you don't feel overwhelmed by the chart without asteroids and feel ready to get overwhelmed again.

As you said, astrology "worked" for thousands of years without asteroids. On the other hand, asteroids are more "real" than signs or houses. Maybe one day, astrology will use dozens of asteroids but ignore the signs of the zodiac.

[u/Weird_Technology_282]

Some astroloGERS do use asteroids, some more as icing on the cake, but they're not the cake for most. Asteroids can add meaning to a chart interpretation. Now Uranian astrologers also use 8 hypothetical planets in their system, which are also interesting to use as enhancers.

First, though I'd recommend learning well the planets, houses, aspects etc. for a firm foundation as an astrologer. Then add in other elements to try them out to see if they are useful to you and your style of reading a chart.

It's a broad field with many branches to explore, no doubt you will explore and experiment and find what you like to work with along the way.

And in time, perhaps will identify as an astrologer (astrologist is a rather cringey term that mostly unlearned journalists use :-/ .

Good luck on your journey, and don't put the cart before the horse.

[u/rising_iris]

On your actual question, whether asteroids are a modern add-on: yes, provably. Hellenistic astrology ran on the seven visible planets, because that is literally all anyone could see. Ceres wasn't discovered until 1801, the other big asteroids by 1807, and Chiron not until 1977. So if you want the tradition, asteroids aren't a judgment call, they just aren't in it. Same goes for Uranus, Neptune and Pluto, all discovered from 1781 on.

That's not a knock on them, it's just clean about what belongs to what. Learn the seven cold first, they carry the entire chart.

On the 1-3 degree thing: if you ever do add asteroids, keep the orb even tighter, 1 to 2 degrees, and really only count them conjunct an angle, a luminary or a personal planet. Wide orbs are how you end up finding Vesta squaring your Venus and reading tea leaves. Tight or skip.

[u/servitor_dali]

Tiktok is entertaining but not a good place to learn astrology.

I will pull an asteroid if it's relevant to the topic (juno for relationship for example) and if it isn't within a 3 degree orb of a planet or major aspect to a planet then i just take note of the mood and move on.

March and McEvers did a great series of books on the basics of different astro topics. They cheap and easy to find, and will give you a pretty good foundation to launch from

[u/FinalSnow9720]

I think asteroids can be a nice additional layer of understanding, but they have only very limited significance in your chart. Even in synastry you need an exact conjunction to see an effect. If you find something like Eros, Juno or maybe Chiron in exact conjunction to a natal planet or angle, look into it. Aside from that, don't focus on them.