Focus On: (76) Freia

Basics

Class: CP-type asteroid
Location: Outer main belt, Cybele group
Orbit length (approx): 6.30 years
Discovered: 21st October 1862 (time unknown), from Copenhagen, Denmark, by Heinrich d’Arrest
Notes: Very large asteroid. The sidereal orbital period of this asteroid is commensurable with that of Jupiter.
Events at time of discovery:

  • October 8 – American Civil War: Battle of Perryville.
  • October 13 – Birth of Mary Kingsley, English explorer
  • October 19 – Birth of Auguste Lumière, French inventor
  • October 26 – Birth of Hilma af Klint, Swedish abstract painter


Naming information

Name origin: Norse goddess, member of the Vanir
Mythology: Freyja is associated with love, sex, beauty, fertility, gold, seiðr (magic/divination), war, and death. She is the owner of the necklace Brísingamen, rides a chariot pulled by two cats, is accompanied by the boar Hildisvíni, and possesses a cloak of falcon feathers. Her name means “(the) Lady” in Old Norse.

Heimdall returns Brísingamen to Freyja (1846), oil painting by Nils Blommér. Freyja is seated on a throne facing Heimdall, who is standing before her in a helmet and cloak, carrying a sword and horn, with one foot on the dais. He is handing her the necklace Brísingamen, and she has one hand out to receive it; the other is touching her bare neck. Two of her attendants stand watching behind her.
Heimdall returns Brísingamen to Freyja (1846), oil painting by Nils Blommér.

Astrological data

Discovery degree: 25+ Aries (97% approx probability)
Discovery Sabian: A Man Possessed of More Gifts than He Can Hold
Discovery nodal signature: ScorpioTaurus
Estimated orbital resonances: Earth 3:19, Ceres 8:11, Jupiter 15:8, Saturn 14:3, Chiron 8:1
Discovery chart details: Noon. Freia was quincunx Juno. Stellium in Libra. Vesta semi-sextile North Node. Mercury opposite Pluto and semi-square Juno; Venus sextile Nessus. Saturn opposite Sedna and trine Pholus. Chiron semi-sextile and Nessus sesquiquadrate Neptune; Chiron semi-square Vesta; Pallas sesquiquadrate Sedna.


Summary and references

Interpretations given so far include “where we can harness our unique powers as both lover and fighter in our own lives”, choosing one’s battles, wisdom[1], evaluation, receptivity, openness to finding a partner[2]; rewards of loyalty or favour, magic, sexuality, romance[3].

References:
1) RM Farrar: Archetypal Omens of Witchhood in the Natal Astrology Chart
2) Amable: (76) Freia
3) TAKE Astrology: Asteroids in Astrology


Noon discovery chart for (76) Freia: 21st October 1862, Copenhagen, Denmark.
Noon discovery chart for (76) Freia: 21st October 1862, Copenhagen, Denmark.
Scroll to Top