Our Inner Mother Ceres: to love or not be loved
The dwarf planet Ceres (1) is the biggest object in the asteroid belt of our solar system and got its name from the roman goddess Ceres, also known as Demeter in Greek mythology. Ceres rules fertility and agriculture, she is concerned about the matters of human beings, as she was the one teaching humans to cultivate the earth, so they were able to settle down and thus she plays a big role in the making of civilization. Because of Ceres strong tie to humans and by being respinsible for the harvest, she is also known as the goddess of human law and order, with an empathize on marriage and fertility. She is the daughter and one of the six children of Saturn and Ops and she was part of those five that have been eaten by her father Saturn. Ceres is a more mature goddess and represents an authoroity figure, this is why she’s usually drawn as older compared to other godesses, as Ceres is also a patreon for girls in the transitioning stage to womanhood. Looking at the ethymological background of Ceres, the name can be traced back to the nearest Latin analogue crescere, which can be translated to grow, to arise and to to come to be.
Understanding the Archetype Ceres: where does she come from?
Buckle up for a small mythological lesson, before we get into the astrological part! Ceres archetype is the one of the Mother. She is also known as the provider and protector which is closely tied to her role as a mother as well. Ceres archetype, and the two sides how Ceres can play out in astrology, can be easily explained by the myth of the abduction of her daughter Proserpina (Persephone). Proserpina was always well watched and protected by Ceres, though Pluto (who fell in love with her) was able to abduct her one day, when Ceres wasn't watching over her and left her daughter with her nymphs. Naturally, Ceres was enraged and searched for her daughter, meanwhile she neglected her own task of caring for the fertility of earth, and so winter rose over the land and people suffered from it. According to one version of the myth, it is said that Proserpina was abducted on the island Sicily, so Ceres put a curse on the islands and she blighted its soil (and in one version she even turns the nympths to harpies for not being able to fight off Pluto). Ceres rage was so strong, and her destruction so devastating, that the other gods had to interfere, and as Ceres beloved daughter was found, it settled that Ceres was allowed to see her daughter only six months a year, because technically, Proserpina was bound to stay with Pluto in the underworld. And even though they met at the middle, Ceres was still struck by grief whenever her daughter was absent and with her husband in the underworld, so fall and winter ruled earth and the country became fruitless, unless her daughter was with her. Only then, spring and summer arised and cultivating the land was possible again. Now, why the myth of Pluto and Proserpina? The myth of the abduction of Ceres daughter shows the two sides of Ceres best: the loving, caring and repsonsible mother that gets eaten alive by her wrath and grief when the very being that her love resolved around and motivated her love was taken from her. And this marks the foundation for Ceres and her astrological meaning.
Ceres in Astrology
In Astrology Ceres is about the way we love and care for the self and others: it shows us how we nurture and likewise want to be nurtured. Ceres is your inner mother and is about the way we give and want to receive love, thus Ceres is an asteroid that can reflect a very vulnerable point in our life, as it can be the reflection of the love that was taught and shown to us from our mother figure/home life. Ceres has no astrological ruler, but people argue about it being Virgo/Cancer. It is important to say that Ceres is about the literal way we nurture, care and protect others, this is not a conceptual and abstract way of love, it is about the mother role (nurturer) we ourselves are taking in and identify with. As Ceres is an authorative figure, as well as fierce mother figure, she likes to guide and take the lead when she's in her domaine. Ceres is thus about the actual need, you might even call it task, we have to fulfill in order to feel loved and give love. The roman goddess' profession was to take care of the survival of the humans, when she took care, she was rewarded with the love, worship and loyalty of the people (even though she is a godly being, she still need the humans to exist). Yet, her focal point was still her daughter Proserpina, who couldn't stay with her mother forever though, even though Ceres would've wished otherwise. Thus - and now we come to the destructive side of Ceres - we can also see Ceres as a clingy and obsessive mother, the caretaker that has nothing else than to focus their love in an unhealthy amount only on one being, because without it, they feels empty. It gets to the point where one identifies with the role of the caretaker too much and can possibly try to keep their 'child' dependent on them, which is why in some gruesome cases Ceres has also the possibility to point to emotional manipulation/abuse. Here Ceres can become destructive and irrational and she won't know when to part with others and let them become adults. We see it in the myth first hand: she neglects her task to care for the earth on her search for her daughter, she punishes the innocent on her way (the nymphs and people of Sicily) and even when finding a solution to satisfy all (Pluto, Presorpina and Ceres) she will grieve and make the lands fruitless for half a year, whenever her daughter is absent. Her reaction seems logical and reasonable on one hand (because a mother is bound to her child after all) and irrational on the other hand, because her love blinds her objective view and clouds her decision making completely. Ceres can show a lot about our boundaries (or lack of); the asteroid can show where we lacked the fulfillment of love and nurturing and thus can reveal a lot of our past and upbringing when thoroughly reflected. And on that note, it's also important to notice that Ceres can help us understand of how to love and care for ourselves: Ceres can help us realizing love and working on self love effectively because it shows the areas we might need it the most. Since Ceres is the goddess of agriculture, the asteroid Ceres shows our relationship with food as well. Next to the sign and house position Ceres takes in our chart, possible aspects of Ceres should be considered as well, especially if she is strong in your chart. I have mentioned that in one of my previous posts before, but Ceres can give a deeper insight of how you were cared for and loved by your mother figure. Not only by your Ceres placement alone (by reflecting it that is), but by calculating the synastry of you and your mother figure. Ceres in this particular synastry can show what your mother figures focal point was, what did she care about a lot, where did she show love and what exactly did she nourish? And on the contrary, it also shows the negative sides of your mother figures love and what she has been obsessively 'taking care of'', where she made you (possibly) dependend on her or where love was lacking.
Ceres in signs and houses
Disclaimer: Please, don't copy my work. This post is pretty long, so continue to read under the cut!
Aries: Ceres here is fierce, bold and impulsive. The person can have an 'aggressive' way of nurturing and showing love, in the sense that it is done by gut feeling and acting according to it. This person can challenge those who threaten those they care for and their challenging nature can inspire others to fiercely care for themselves too, just as much as they do. Aries Ceres is by nature less likely to smothers, because they want people to realize themselves, therefore Aries Ceres is best cared for when they are given room for self-realization and the opportunity to act and decide freely, though they do expect the same willingness to fight for those they love and energize them from others. Nurtures by bringing empowerement to others and wants to feel that too. Chances are the mother was very vocal and direct whenever the child was in need the mother was focused on making them 'ready' for the harsh world outside, so it was fine for her that their child took in a few wounds on the go. The child could have felt alone and uncared for as a result. 1st house: Ceres role is part of the self and the native might not realize it. The person identifies with the role of the mother/caretaker, they can thus attract a good amount of people that need exactly that, for better or worse, due to the fact that this is a part of their identity, they can have a hard time detaching from their 'children' and thus become very attached to the ones they 'mother'.
Taurus: Here Ceres can become very focused and thorough on the people she cares about and nurtures. She'll take her time getting to know the people she nurtures and is very body focused, meaning she can be the one giving comforting touches or paying close attention to your body actually needs. Ceres here can act as the 'beautifier' and wants to make the other person feel comfortable and relaxed, Ceres wants to sooth others by slowing down the world around them and helping them focus on their desires and prioritizing them. Ceres here goes out of the way to provide the things in need for the other, and here they want the same kind of devotion back from the other part as well. Taurus here especially wants to stabilize the self worth of the other, the mother could have focused a lot on physical abundance and physical comfort to show the child that they are cared for and loved, though chances are that the mother failed to realize the deep emotional needs and desires the child had. Chances are also the mother was very stubborn and obsessive with the way they cared for their child, because they always integrated their own values as well. Taurus Ceres wants the same amount of devotion and someone who focuses on them and makes them feel good and worthy. 2nd house: Here Ceres mixes with the physical ressources and the value system of a person. Ceres not only uses own material ressources to care for and nourish others, but also the value system integrates Ceres, so 'mothering' others can become deeply tied to their self esteem as well. If they succeed they feel good, if not, their foundation might suffer and they question themself. This is something they need to watch out for.
Gemini: Here Ceres is explorative and offers her nurturing side and care through the words she gives and ideas she shares. She is focused on exploring someones mind thoroughly and learning the details about motivates and discourages others, she might just always know the right words to give and what others want to hear, and she challenges others to broaden their horizon for nurture and healing as well. This individuals words are impactfull. Having a talent for words and unraveling people by connecting and engaging with them, she expects the same openness back. She wants someone who talks/writes thoroughy with her and pays close attention to how her mind is build. Ceres in Gemini needs the verbal validatation reciprocated. Her mother might have had the same approach and payed attention to really connecting and opening up to their child, which might have made the child felt listened to, but on the contrary it could have been the opposite and it was overwhelmed by the intruisvness and felt not actually listened to. 3rd house: Here Ceres merges with the way we structure and observe the world mentally, Ceres is present in the topics and media we find interest in and Ceres influences the way we would like to be taught new things by others or teach others. This can also make someone very verbally about the way they express Ceres. these people can be the ones to speak up for those who might need it.
Cancer: This Ceres is guided by her emotional knowledge and intuition: they reflect on the way others appear and what energies they give off and thus assume what the other needs (which they find themselves mostly right with). What you need might look different each time, so they can provide physical, as well as emotional ressources, they will take care of others emotional needs by allowing them to retreat back into 'their shell' and allow others to comfortably relax and/or reflect on any emotional turmoil. This Ceres is all about emotional guidance as well, she wants to nurture by helping people understand themselves better, by recogniting their own emotional patterns and tendencies. As this Ceres easily falls into the 'mother figure', she can have a hard time accepting the care of others, but secretly finds herself craving it and want others to be just as sensitive and receptive towards her feelings and needs as well. If this Ceres can't help or nurture others, she might feel without purpose. Her mother might have been the same, emotionally guding the child and giving them what she believed they were in biggest need of, but chances are also that the mother wasn't always right but proceeded to insist of giving the child what was based on her intuition. 4th house: Here Ceres has always been present, since the 4th house is about our roots, this individual might have always been the Ceres in their family, and Ceres here becomes part of our emotional patterns. As they identify greatly with the role of the mother to begin with, it's important here not to cling to her 'children' too much and allow them to grow on their own too.
Leo: Here Ceres is loud and expressive, Ceres here wants to bring joy and a 'feel good' nature the ones in need and she acts according to her own subjective views of how this can be done the right way. Chances are with this Ceres, that they are proud when having achieved to make others feel better about themselves, this Ceres is fierce about succeeding in making others see their own light and recognizing their inner flame. They appreciate people for their individuality as they see this as one of the major points to focus on when needing care/being down. Ceres in Leo is an energy that is very much focused on joy and fun, though they are the ones to remind one of their own roots and where they came from, to remember and recognize their inner strength. That ebing said, Ceres here needs the attention, love and recognition back and this is not because they are egoistical, but more so that this works like a review for them, if they have succeeded in their approach or not. The mother figure could have focused on bringing the child joy, giving them words of affirmation and cultivating creativity and talents, but they could have been too subjective and opinionated about it as well, which made the child feel small. 5th house: Ceres becomes a part of the ego and is creatively, and most likely in bigger gestures, shown to others. Nurturing and caring for others are tied to forms of self expression, though this person needs to pay attention to not smother people by their subjectivity when it comes to what's right and wrong for others. This placement can also feel the strong need to care for and nurture children, this person may have a talent in caring for children and sensing their needs.
Virgo: Ceres in Virgo is all about the details and how to improve the well being of the other in the best, most efficient way. This Ceres will want to be 'of use' if you will, which can take on various forms. If there's somethng that can enhance the well being of her 'children', she will go out of her way to get it for those in need. Same with Ceres in Cancer, here comes a feeling of purpose to Ceres, because analyzing others, connecting the dots and finding out what can be done comes naturally to them, and other (for better or worse) can definitely realize it and profit from it. This Ceres focuses on a more real and down to earth approach, which doesn't mean she isn't sensitive, but being ciritcal and adding to the improvement of others is the way she just operates. This fine eye for detail is the sign of caring, and she wants others to show it back the same way. Show devotion, show that you really listen, really look closely to what they are wearing, remember their appointments and schedules: show that you are focused, because they are too. Chances are that their mother figure was equally critical and payed attention, that the child hasn't been lacking anything that might have made them feel unsafe, but the words of improvement could have been equally irritating and uncalled for, leaving the child hurt and overly criticized. 6th house: Here, Ceres can make the individual to a natural healer/humanitarian because they can see others well-being as their responsibility and thus naturally fall into the role of the guide/mentor for others. Though, on the contrary people can also avoid taking this responsibilty out of fear. As we talk about the 6th house, this can also hint to a possible job that requires caring for others/healing others.
