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Psyche
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Psyche, asteroid number 16, was discovered by Annibale de Gasparis at Naples on 17 March 1852. It is one of the larger asteroids and unusual in seeming to be rich in metal, which has made it the target of a space mission. It is named after Psyche, the mortal woman of Roman legend whose name is the Greek word for "soul". In a chart it is read as deep sensitivity: where a person feels most exposed, most moved, and most capable of a meeting of souls.
The myth
Psyche was so beautiful that Venus grew jealous and sent her son Cupid — Eros — to make her fall for some wretched creature. Instead he fell in love with her himself and visited her only in darkness, forbidding her to look at him. When she lit a lamp to see him, he fled. To win him back she had to complete a series of impossible tasks set by Venus, reaching even into the underworld, until at last she was made immortal and joined to him. Astrologers draw from her vulnerability, trust and the soul's long road through loss towards union.
In a chart
Psyche's sign is often read as the way a person feels deeply; its house, as where they are most sensitive and most open. Psyche in Pisces tends to describe a porous, empathic nature that picks up on others' feelings; in Capricorn, a sensitivity carefully guarded behind competence. Psyche in the 7th house can bring the theme into close partnership; in the 8th, into intimacy and trust. Contacts with Eros are often read as linking soul and desire.
Asteroid astrology is a modern addition, from the 1970s onwards. Traditional astrology does not use Psyche, and most astrologers give it less weight than the planets — a detail that colours a chart rather than leads it.