Astraea in your Human Design

Astraea was a Greek Goddess of Justice, Innocence, Purity and Precision. Known as the last immortal, she stayed on Earth during the Iron Age until she could no longer bear the density and wickedness. As she ascended to heaven, Astraea promised to return when humanity was ready for her, as ambassador of a new utopian Golden Age.

Astraea represents a spirit of renewal, particularly of culture, brought about through an uplifting of human morals and values.

Discovery of asteroid Astraea

When German amateur astronomer Hencke discovered Astraea in 1847, the four goddess asteroids – Ceres, Pallas, Juno and Vesta – were designated as planets. Astraea’s discovery brought the knowledge that there were lots more asteroids in the Main Asteroid Belt, and the four planets were demoted to asteroids.

In this way she is similar to Eris, in opening a doorway to a new world, and leading to a demotion of Pluto to dwarf planet.

Read: Beyond Pluto

What was this new world Astraea opened us to? The asteroids are fragments of culture, held within our DNA. They are the place where we create culture through the way our own personal stories intersect with our cultural beliefs.

In your Design, Astraea can indicate a tendency to stay too long, a difficulty in letting go of things that are no longer good for you, relationships, jobs, homes.

Astraea is a catalyst for a new sensitivity and for what that sensitivity can bring forth, but do we have to stay in difficult circumstances? Or can we just withdraw and wait for a better time?

Let’s explore the circumstances of her discovery.

When she ascended to heaven Astraea became the constellation Virgo, which is at least partly about being of service.

If Astraea stays too long, she does so out of a need to be of service, to bring her purity and longing for a renewal to the circumstances. Her discovery opened the doorway to a new world – the asteroids – and there is at least partly a possibility that her overstaying is a deliberate (if not necessarily conscious) attempt to facilitate that transformation.

In her discovery chart, Astraea was in Gate 16 line 1 – a place where we use our enthusiasm to set great things in motion, stirring the ever rising energies.

In line 1 we have the foundation of the gate, where we use our enthusiasm in the service of others rather than ourselves. Our enthusiasm can get the better of us, we can be impulsive and rash. It’s interesting that in the adjoining Gate 48 we find Epimetheus, who was impulsive and always getting into trouble for acting first and thinking later. His name means afterthought in Greek, to regret our actions after the fact.

Think twice before you turn an influence or idea into an action. Things are not always what they seem at first sight. Impulsive action can cause a lot of trouble

Lise Heyboer on 16 line 1

Sitting directly opposite Astraea is Hekate in Gate 9.1. The wise counsellor who advises those at the crossroads of life has this to say:

When you hesitate at the right course of action, first come back to your starting point. Restore your sense of your own nature, how you are rooted in the world. The right course of action for you is your own path.

Hilary Barrett I Ching

Astraea brings extraordinary sensitivity, as if the world is too much, too harsh, overwhelming in it’s demands and stimulus. When we feel this way it’s probably a sign to take stock, to anchor back into our own needs, to reconsider who we believe we are serving by staying in difficult conditions too long.

The position she is activating in your Design shows where you have a role to play as an ambassador of a renewal of culture through a rebirth in a higher frequency of morality and values. But we can lose the benefit of this sensitivity if we put it to wrong use though an impulsive and overly enthusiastic desire to be of service.

You can find all the asteroids and other minor planets in your Human Design at taraka.io