Basics
Class: TDG-type asteroid
Location: Inner main belt
Orbit length (approx): 3.41 years
Discovered: 29th May 1861 (time unknown), at Litchfield Observatory, Clinton, NY, by Christian Heinrich Friedrich Peters
Notes: Large, dark asteroid with mean radius approx 83.95km.
Events at time of discovery:
- May 29 – The Hong Kong General Chamber of Commerce is established.
- May 31 – The Perpetual Truce of Peace and Friendship is signed between Bahrain and the United Kingdom.
- June 2 – Birth of Helen Herron Taft, First Lady of the United States
Naming information
Name origin: Etruscan, Sabine and Faliscan goddess, later adopted into the Roman pantheon, linked with wildlife, fertility, abundance and health. Her festival was the ides of (13th) November, which took place during the Plebeian Games. She was particularly revered among commoners and freedmen, as the goddess who granted freedom and civil rights.
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| Part of the archaeological site at Lucus Feroniae, a sacred grove dedicated to Feronia, in modern day Lazio, Italy. Photo by Carole Raddato. |
Astrological data
Discovery degree: 26+ Virgo
Discovery Sabian: A Group of Aristocratic Ladies Meet Ceremonially at a Court’s Function
Discovery nodal signature: Libra–Taurus
Estimated orbital resonances: Venus 2:11, Earth 5:17, Mars 5:8, Ceres 19:14, Jupiter 7:2, Chiron 15:1
Discovery chart details: Noon chart with big stellium in Gemini and two minor grand trines: between Nessus, Asbolus and Sedna, and Neptune, Pholus and Asbolus. Venus quincunx and Ceres opposite North Node. Sun square Eris; Mercury sextile Juno; Venus sextile Vesta. Saturn opposite Chiron and sesquiquadrate Juno; Vesta sextile Uranus; Juno semi-square Chiron. Nessus opposite Pholus.
Summary and references
Holmes interprets Feronia as freedom from either social or historical bonds, human trafficking and the battle against it, or wooded areas[1]. We might add recognition (or remembrance) of one’s own autonomy or equality with the rest of humanity; human rights, social justice and/or the relationship between love and compassion.
References:
1) Mark Andrew Holmes: Feronia
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| Noon discovery chart for (72) Feronia: 29th May 1861, Clinton, NY. The asteroid is not depicted. |