1036 Ganymed

[sagittarella]

Hi everyone....

I'm new to asteroids other than Chiron, but as I've recently learned how much stock many astrologers are putting into Eros and some of the other larger ones, I decided to go looking at it in astronomy pages.

Well, I discovered there are about 300 major near-earth asteroids, another 1500 or so others, but only 2 of them are over 10 km diameter, Eros being one.

Then there's Ganymed # 1036. It's classified as a minor planet, same as Pluto, it's about 32km in diameter, and it's the largest known near-earth object. It orbits at its closest point to earth just past our moon, and at its fartest point about two thirds of the way between Mars and Jupiter. So both Eros and Ganymed are Mars-crossers but Ganymed is bigger and heavier. It's year is about 4.3 of our years.

When Eros was first discovered it was immediately named, thus prompting astrologers to automatically assume it had something to do with love and start studying it in astrology and synastry. I'm not saying the research is incorrect here.... I'm just commenting on the obvious.

I can't find anything online on Ganymed or any reference books about him. Do you suppose Ganymed could be just as powerful if not more powerful than Eros, to do with love or some other area of our lives equally important to love, and he's just been overlooked all this time because he doesn't have a romantic name?

[ariesmoon]

Hi Sagittarella

you need to use "Ganymede" and then you'll find loads, in Greek mythology (Ganymede is described in one piece I found as a beautiful young boy who is a lover of Zeus). And also in Shakespeare's "As You Like It" - he drew on the myth and used the name to disguise his heroine, Rosalind, as a beautiful boy. Rosalind uses the disguise to woo the man she loves, Orlando. You do have to suspend your disbelief - or believe in the magic of theatre, however you want to look at it (I prefer the latter!)

I've found a few pieces online in Greek mythology sites about Ganymede - Kim may be interested to comment on this one too!

[Aphrodite]

It might be interesting to study Ganymed (Ganymede) in the charts of homosexuals. Considering that the mythology involves an adult (the god, Zeus) abducting a child for sexual purposes there also might be a connection in the charts of child abusers or molested children. I don't know. Never thought about it before.

There are so many objects in space that we must use discriminators to determine what is important and what is not. Size is a discriminator (Yes, size does matter!). Nevertheless, I exclude Ganymed in my own chart because it does not form any major aspects. So it isn't a player in my life.

My bf has Ganymed opposing his Sun and square Saturn. His oldest son (now adult) is homosexual. Despite his best efforts he has never figured out how to relate to his son. He tries to be supportive, but the relationship is difficult in ways that have nothing to do with sexual orientation. Now that he is grown, his son has gone his own way and avoids contact with his family.

In this young man's chart Ganymed is in exact square to Jupiter. It also sextiles Uranus, trines Chiron and the NNode within 3 degrees. His mother is a Catholic school teacher and he was entirely educated within the Catholic school system. His mother is also a man hater. She never remarried or even dated after divorcing his father. Ironically, despite a miserable marriage, she resisted divorce for many years because of her religious upbringing. At one point she even ran away and hid the children for over a year, but still refused divorce!

This young man has a Cancer Sun and Leo Moon. His mother has an Aries Sun and Virgo Moon. His dad has a Pisces Sun and Gemini Moon. Overall, the synastry aspects between the boy and his mother are harsh. The synastry aspects with his dad are actually very good. I have high hopes that he and his dad can make amends someday. Life is too short!

[sagittarella]

Thanks for the quick responses!

I think there's some confusion here though..... Ganymede with an E is Jupiter's largest satellite and was named for Zeus' lover.

Ganymed with no E is a little asteroid-upgraded-to-minor-planet that follows a similar path to Eros, although with a wider elliptic, and is bigger than Eros. It was named for Zeus' lover also, but needed to be spelled differently. It's # 1036.

Here's a link to a page with its orbit illustrated....
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1036_Ganymed

Sorry for the confusion. But I'm really curious about this one. There are many asteroids that come close to the earth (I even found one that crosses the orbits of Mercury Venus Mars AND Earth) but this one, being bigger than Eros (hence a larger gravitational pull and heavier influence on us) fascinates me. Mine is exactly conjunct my Saturn.

[Aphrodite]

Hello again Sagittarella,

Yes, the exact conjuntion with Saturn would explain your interest in this asteroid. Examine the other aspects that Saturn makes in your chart and research the mythology to see how Ganymed works in your life. Please share with us your findings. We are all truly interested in what you find out!

I think I'm on track here with my research so far. I knew about Jupiter's moon, Ganymede. I'm also pretty clear about the asteroid 1036 Ganymed. You won't find much in mythology about Ganymed, but search on Ganymede and you will find lots. It all applies to the asteroid, even with the different spelling. You might also research Plato's Law and the constellation Aquarius.

To quote Kepler's Asteroid Signatures by Jacob Schwartz, "1036 Ganymed was named for beautiful youth carried to Olympus to bear cups for the gods. Astrological interpretation as beautiful and attractive to both genders, the mortal becoming divine by surrendering to the divine."

This is a good place to start, but there is a lot more to it than that. I will stand by my original thought about child molestation. However, it might also have relevance in the charts of people who fight against such things. It all depends on the aspects. Each story will be unique.

A lot of text in devoted to Ganymede and homosexuality. This makes sense when you consider the mores and values reflected in ancient history. Homosexuality has always been controversial, but women and children... well, what about it? They're property. What's the problem?

Although we have a long way to go with human rights, modern society recognizes that women and children are not property. They have rights that must be protected. The notion that a grown man could kidnap a child from his father, use the child for sex and then pay off the father for HIS hardship in the loss of his son without penalty conflicts with the mores and values of modern society.

Here's another real life example...

My best friend's husband recently spent 18 months in jail awaiting trial for child molestation. Although his closest friends (including me) do not believe he is guilty he was still convicted of a lesser misdeamor level offense. He has 3 years of probation. This was the result of a mistrial. He took the offer of the court rather than sit in jail for another year waiting for a new trial.

After barely a month of freedom he was back in jail for violating probation. He was using the Internet to look for a job. He spent another 45 days in jail before his public defender attorney got around to pulling the records for his hearing. Apparently the police were called to the house because the mother of the alleged victim claimed he was looking out his window (yes, he was inside his own house) at her child. When the police came they found the Internet open on the computer, slapped handcuffs on him in front of his 11 year old daughter and hauled him off to jail. Believe it or not, they left the little girl crying and in the care of her older sister. Her sister is barely 16 years old.

Here are the aspects of Ganymed in his chart:

Ganymed 29 LEO 52 Tri Venus 26 ARI 54 2°57' A
Ganymed 29 LEO 52 Conj Asc 00 VIR 00 0°08' S
Ganymed 29 LEO 52 Opp Pallas 29 AQU 26 0°26' A

Venus is in his 9th house and Pallas conjunct the descendant which set the foundation for his legal difficulties. Clearly Ganymed is relevant in his chart.

Thank you Sagittarella for bringing up this topic. I hadn't even considered this asteroid before today. It sure has been an education! I'm sure there are many more tales to be told in regards to Ganymed in astrology. Can't wait to hear them! ;D

Cheers,

Aphrodite

[ariesmoon]

Oops! Sorry hadn't realised there were 2 with similar names! Fascinating thread and posts. Am now keen to look into this further.

[ariesmoon]

In my chart it's 28 Virgo so squaring transiting Pluto, and conjunct draconic Saturn (and South Node). I'd never looked into it before.

I checked in the chart of a friend who is gay - a beautiful man in every sense, gentle and humane, happy with a long-term partner, still very boyish in his looks. I fell in love with him on sight nine years ago - total rose-tinted glasses experience - we're now great friends. In his chart Ganymed is in his 12th a degree away from his Libra ascendant - he has immense charm with the Venus in Pisces! And he has absolutely no idea of his effect on people, women especially. He seems constantly surprised by it.

I can't say I can link it through natal chart aspects to falling in love - although I did notice when I progressed our charts to that time, our progressed asteroid Ganymeds had met (he's a few months older than me, and his was ahead of mine at birth, and retrograde).