← Encyclopedia of Astrology · lesson 58/235
Eros
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Eros, asteroid number 433, was discovered on 13 August 1898 by Gustav Witt at Berlin, and independently the same night by Auguste Charlois at Nice. It was the first asteroid found to come inside the orbit of Mars, and at times it passes closer to the Earth than almost any other body of its size. It is named after the Greek god of love, the Roman Cupid. In a chart it is read as desire and passion: what a person craves, what excites them, and the creative fire that attraction can light.
The myth
In Hesiod's account Eros is one of the first powers in the universe, the force that draws things together so that new life can come into being. In later stories he became the young son of Aphrodite, whose arrows made gods and mortals fall helplessly in love — and who was himself caught, falling for the mortal Psyche. Astrologers draw from him attraction, longing and the vitality that desire brings, in love and in creative work alike.
In a chart
Eros's sign is often read as the style of a person's desire; its house, as where passion is most easily stirred. Eros in Scorpio tends to describe intense, all-or-nothing desire; in Gemini, attraction kindled by wit, talk and curiosity. Eros in the 5th house can point to passion that flows into romance and creative play; in the 10th, a passion for one's work or calling. Contacts with Venus and Mars are often read as strengthening the theme.
Asteroid astrology is a modern addition, from the 1970s onwards. Traditional astrology does not use Eros, and most astrologers give it less weight than the planets — a detail that colours a chart rather than leads it.