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Hygiea
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Hygiea, asteroid number 10, was discovered by Annibale de Gasparis at Naples on 12 April 1849. It is one of the largest bodies in the asteroid belt, though dark and faint. It is named after Hygieia, the Greek goddess of health, whose name gives us the word "hygiene". In a chart it is read as a person's relationship with their own wellbeing: the habits, balance and care they bring to keeping themselves whole.
The myth
Hygieia was a daughter of Asclepius, the god of medicine. Where her father and her sister Panacea were linked with curing illness, Hygieia stood for staying well in the first place — cleanliness, moderation and a healthy way of living. She was honoured in his temples beside him, and she is one of the divinities named at the opening of the Hippocratic Oath. Astrologers draw from her prevention rather than cure, and the idea that wellbeing is something tended day by day.
In a chart
Hygiea's sign is often read as the style of a person's self-care; its house, as the area of life where balance and wellbeing come into focus. Hygiea in Virgo tends to describe an orderly, attentive approach to routines; in Leo, feeling well through play, creativity and being seen. Hygiea in the 6th house can put daily habits and work routines at the heart of the theme; in the 12th, rest, solitude and quiet recovery. Some astrologers also read it as a tendency to worry, or to seek a purity that is hard to live up to.
It describes inclinations, never health itself: it is not a guide to any condition, and questions about health belong with a doctor. Asteroid astrology is a modern addition, from the 1970s onwards; traditional astrology does not use Hygiea, and most astrologers give it less weight than the planets — a detail that colours a chart rather than leads it.