← Encyclopedia of Astrology · lesson 59/235
Amor
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Amor, asteroid number 1221, was discovered by Eugène Delporte at Uccle, in Belgium, on 12 March 1932. It is a small body whose orbit swings in close to the Earth's without crossing it, and it has given its name to a whole family of such near-Earth asteroids — Eros among them. Amor is the Latin word for love and a Roman name for the god Eros, or Cupid. Where Eros is read as desire, astrologers usually read Amor as its gentler face: tenderness, compassion and affection given without conditions.
The myth
Amor is the same god as Eros, seen through Roman eyes: the winged boy whose arrows no one escapes, as Ovid shows when one of them sets Apollo burning for Daphne. In Apuleius's tale he is the hidden lover of Psyche, who learns through loss and patience to love her openly. Astrologers draw from this side of him love as care and kindness rather than conquest — a warmth that wishes the other well.
In a chart
Amor's sign is often read as the way a person shows tenderness; its house, as where they give affection most freely. Amor in Cancer tends to describe a protective, comforting warmth; in Aquarius, kindness that reaches out to friends, groups and strangers. Amor in the 11th house can point to love expressed through friendship; in the 4th, through home and family. Contacts with Venus are often read as softening and strengthening the theme.
Asteroid astrology is a modern addition, from the 1970s onwards. Traditional astrology does not use Amor, and most astrologers give it less weight than the planets — a detail that colours a chart rather than leads it.