← Encyclopedia of Astrology · lesson 53/235
Pallas
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Pallas, asteroid number 2, was discovered by Heinrich Olbers at Bremen on 28 March 1802, only a year after Ceres. Its orbit is steeply tilted compared with most asteroids. It is named after Pallas Athena, the Greek goddess of wisdom, crafts and strategy, the Roman Minerva. In a chart it is read as how a person thinks things through, solves problems and sees the shape behind the details.
The myth
Athena was born fully grown and armed from the head of Zeus, the king of the gods. She was a warrior, but a thinking one, who won by planning rather than by force; she was also the patron of weaving, pottery and the other crafts, and the protector of Athens and its courts. Astrologers take from her a mind that works through pattern and design, a sense of fairness, and an intelligence that is creative as well as clever.
In a chart
Pallas's sign is often read as the style of a person's problem-solving and creative intelligence; its house, as the area where they plan, design and see patterns most readily. Pallas in Gemini tends to describe a quick, connecting mind that thinks aloud; in Capricorn, long-range strategy and careful structure. Pallas in the 10th house can point to a working life built on judgement and planning; in the 5th, to creative crafts and design. Contacts with Mercury are often read as sharpening the theme.
Asteroid astrology is a modern addition, from the 1970s onwards. Traditional astrology does not use Pallas, and most astrologers give it less weight than the planets — a detail that colours a chart rather than leads it.