Asteroid Lucifer

1930 Asteroid Lucifer was discovered by E. Roemer at Flagstaff (USNO) on the 29th October 1964.

Lucifer’s Tale
Once you start reading into the mythology, you soon find that there is a whole hoo-ha on who exactly Lucifer was. Notably, the name (or rather the Hebrew equivalent) only appears once in the Hebrew Bible and in translation the King James version followed suit.

“How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! How art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations!” Isaiah 14:12 King James

This one reference seems to a spawned a thousand interpretations, misinterpretations and cloaked histories than shroud Lucifer himself in as much mystery as his name invokes. Suffice is to say however, in modern times, his name has become synonymous with the Christian concept of ‘The Devil’.

Chiefly, it was the ancient Jewish Book of Enoch that took the story of fallen angels and ran with it. Within it, you will find much of the history of angels as we know now. However the book of Enoch itself is hotly disputed in Jewish circles and none of the histories, Jewish, Greek or otherwise, readily offer an explanation for Lucifer’s appearance or connection to ‘Satan’.

What we do know is that Lucifer meant shining one, light bringer, light bearer or morning star. The name Lucifer has fallen out of favour in modern Bibles and now only shows up in Isaiah’s chapter as ‘the morning star, son of the dawn’.

The morning star however is a reference to Venus. Perhaps the concept of the ‘fall’ links to how Venus shifts from being a morning to evening star. She ‘falls’ from light into darkness, reflecting the story of Innana’s journey into the underworld. It’s interesting that in a time when it was mostly men who were notable figures in science, Lucifer was discovered by a woman.

The conjunctions of Venus to the Sun during her orbit creates a magical pentagram pattern. Perhaps it is no coincidence that an inverted pentagram has become the Devil’s symbol. The worship of the Great Goddess and respect for the divine feminine fell along with Lucifer. Women became the weaker sex – what with their propensity for succumbing to slippery snakes and all that! The pentagram is a vibrant symbol representing life, wisdom and essential creativity. Live is evil backwards.

Lucifer was created by God and was supreme amongst the angels in both beauty and intellect. It is suggested that Lucifer was a Cherubim although angelic hierarchy would suggested that he was a Seraphim. Either way, he was given a place in the throne room of God himself. But Lucifer got too big for his boots and decided that as he was close to God, understood God and was mighty fine in all ways, he should pretty much BE God and have all the praise and glory that went along with that position. Lucifer started a war in heaven, convincing a third of the angels to join him and back up his bid for Godhood. Unsurprisingly, God wasn’t keen on sharing the throne with his upperty angel so he sent the archangel Michael and the faithful followers into battle. Lucifer lost and was thrown out on his ear into the abyss (hell).

But Lucifer wasn’t done. He succeeded in tempting Eve to taste of the apple from the tree of knowledge thereby finding a doorway onto the Earth plane and into the hearts of humankind. It is said that he is behind every bad deed, drawing humans away from the light of God with his honey tongue of promises.

In other tales, Lucifer’s problems started when God created humans and then asked his glorious angels to bow down to them. Lucifer however couldn’t believe that God was more proud of his new creation than he was of his angels. There’s a sense that Lucifer’s pride is hurt because God loves his two-legged walking talking monkeys a lot more than him. If you’ve ever seen the movie ‘The Prophecy’, Christopher Walken as the Angel Gabriel turned Satan supporter, captures this sour celestial vibe perfectly.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=06YE_KsedfQ

There is much more that could be said of the story of Lucifer but having covered the main points above, it’s clear that he is a complex character. There seems to be two main themes running through the dialogue – Lucifer’s fall through pride and Lucifer as light bringer.

The Discovery Chart

Unfortunately, I have been unable to locate a discovery time for this asteroid. Therefore I am only looking at the aspects in the chart rather than the houses. I chose 1am as a random time.

Perhaps it is fate that Lucifer was discovered when the Sun was in Scorpio, a sign often maligned with darker elements. Sex, death and tax man (the Devil incarnate :-)) are all jurisdictions of this sign. Scorpio also rules those things we consider to be taboo. Yet another powerful attribute of Scorpio is ‘Truth’. Scorpio wants to know the truth and tell the truth, even if it hurts. Maybe this relates to Lucifer being unable to lie to God or to himself. He didn’t think God’s newest creation was the greatest ever and could not force himself to acquiesce. Whilst he loved God, he could not do what was asked of him. Instead he chose to tell the truth and uphold his own truth, despite the devastating consequences.

The Sun is technically unaspected which is symbolic for Lucifer’s dissociation from God.

Notice that the traditional malefics are in opposition to each other. Mars is in Leo, the sign associated with the ego. It’s as though here, the ego doesn’t want to confirm to the rules (Saturn) of society (Aquarius).

Mercury is conjunct Neptune and Neptune is opposite Jupiter. This could allude to the idea that Lucifer, in his guise as Satan deludes his victims, seducing them with great promises that dissolve into nothingness. Yet these placements can also indicate that the belief in the spiritual and our ultimate connection to each other is somehow opposed to the moral order of the time. Lucifer blurs the lines between ‘right’ and ‘wrong’ so that we question what we have been told. Part of Lucifer’s story is that he questions God. Likewise, we need to question the ‘Gods’ of our time, however difficult.

Mercury sextile Uranus and Pluto and trine Chiron suggests there’s an opportunity for great healing as well as a propensity to take the easy way out. This chart is Fixed in nature with no planets present in Cardinal signs. A lack of Cardinal representation may induce a need to prove oneself to others or an inability to be a self-starter. The Fixed nature of the chart however suggests that Lucifer is stubborn and given to a ‘my way or the highway attitude’. He doesn’t back down and he doesn’t give in, even when he’s in the wrong. But the fixed quality of the chart also gives incredible determination to defeat all obstacles.

The Discovery Degree Sabian
Lucifer was at 28ARI04 Retrograde when he was discovered. What is rather fascinating is that the Sabian Symbol for this degree is
“The Music of the Spheres”. Rudhyar’s keynote is Attunement to cosmic order.

Venus amongst other things is connected to the concept of harmony through it’s rulership of Libra. Lucifer then, can be said to show us how to ‘tune up’. Through his discordance, he allows us to see what is out of harmony with both ourselves and the universe.

Some people who have had angelic experiences have talked of hearing music that is like nothing on Earth. Everything in the universe has a vibration so in that context everything makes a subtle sound. When we are feeling in tune with everything, colours seem more brilliant, light more pure, sound more beautiful. Those who have reached enlightenment comment on the unity of all – an essential harmony in every aspect of life, a cosmic song.

Perhaps then, one of the functions of Lucifer is to highlight aspects to the self that are out of tune with everything else.

Lucifer in the Chart
Like any other body in the chart, Lucifer has both a dark and a light side. Lucifer in the astrology chart may indicate where you are tempted to go your own way regardless of the rules. He may suggest excessive pride or a chip on your shoulder. The position of Lucifer can show where your ego gets in the way, where pride comes before a fall and where you are wrong when you think you are right. Lucifer shows where you want to be seen in a better light. He may symbolise your own personal horror story.

Yet Lucifer essentially shows you the light through it’s absence. If you can squarely face the dark, then Lucifer will bring you the light. By facing the things you most fear, he illuminates the darkest places in your psyche. Perhaps the biggest gift of Lucifer, is that he shows you the ‘God’ within. The divine force is often described as light and that spark resides within you. Lucifer in essence, reminds us that we are all Gods.

Suggested Keywords and Phrases for Lucifer
Pride comes before a fall, terror, horror, fear and loathing, where things are discordant, self-serving, where you get in your own way, where you are tempted to take short cuts, where you don’t want to follow the rules, where you need forgiveness. The devil on your shoulder, better the devil you know, between the devil and the deep blue sea, where you have things back to front, where you want more than you have, where you may lie to yourself and others to hide your light or dark. The place where you discover your moral compass, challenging authority, questioning what’s right, discovering light through its absence, reconnecting to your own divinity.

How to Find Lucifer in Your Chart
To find Lucifer in your chart, go to Astro.com and enter 1930 into the asteroids which are found under the ‘extended charts’ option.