One of the most intriguing objects in the main asteroid belt, Psyche is a giant metal rich asteroid, about three times farther away from the Sun than is Earth. Psyche has an irregular, potato-like shape. If it were sliced in half horizontally at the equator – picture a squished oval – it would measure 173 miles across at its widest point and 144 miles long. Its surface area is 64,000 square miles. (NASA). Because it was the 16th asteroid to be discovered, it is sometimes referred to as 16 Psyche.
Up until recently, the scientific consensus was that the asteroid Psyche consisted mostly of metal. The more recent data indicates that the asteroid is possibly a mix of metal and silicate, the same material found in glass and sand. The best analysis indicates that Psyche is likely made of a mixture of rock and metal, with metal composing 30% to 60% of its volume. The asteroid’s composition has been determined by radar observations and by the measurements of the asteroid’s thermal inertia.
Psyche was discovered by Italian astronomer Annibale de Gasparis on March 17, 1852. He named the asteroid for Psyche, the Greek goddess of the soul who was born mortal and married Eros (Roman Cupid), the god of Love.
Readings
- ASTEROID GODDESSES pp 188-189
Depth Psychology
Considered by James Hillman to be a key archetype for Soul work, Psyche teaches us that her tasks for Aphrodite showing us this is not a heroine’s journey of triumph but a soul-making journey of endurance, patience, and psychological depth.
- Sorting Seeds (discernment)
- Gathering Golden Wool (measured courage)
- Drawing Water from Dangerous Heights (containment of emotion)
- Descending to the Underworld (death-consciousness)
The butterfly imagery that later becomes associated with Psyche isn’t about transformation as sprouting wings. It’s about metamorphosis through suffering.
PODCAST: “Women and Mythology: Psyche and Eros” NOTES
Surrender is powerful.
The beginning of Descent. An unknown journey that we have to do to emerge as something else as we gainof our own identity.
A maturing of Soul.
We avoid really knowing the truth about ourselves and the other.
In Psyche they meet in the dark and then she wants to know the TRUTH about him. A lot of us avoid Knowing the full truth of the other. And we miss out on intimacy. Quest for truth can be suffering if it lacks the intimacy.
Psych leaves the maiden for the mother at the top of the mountain.
She is taking agency of her life.
Psyche as a source of inner guidance! As we read stories, am I in this story? What character am I? Can we see the other characters in our life too.
Step into the pattern of the story that has been around for 1000s of years.
A Modern Myth
Psyche fell in love with someone who only showed up in the dark – intimate, intoxicating, unconfirmed. When she finally turned on the light, Love was real… and instantly gone. What followed wasn’t heartbreak therapy; it was initiation. She was given tasks no one applauds: sorting what had been hopelessly mixed, approaching danger without getting trapped, holding emotion without spilling it, and finally descending into the underworld without trying to fix it. No hacks. No transcendence. By the time Love returned, Psyche had changed. She didn’t get her wings by believing harder or healing faster. She got them by staying with the work long enough for soul to take shape. (A co-creation with ChatPGT – see image below)
Psyche in the Signs
Psyche in Aries
Soul is forged through courage, not certainty.
I learn who I am by daring to begin without guarantees.
Psyche in Taurus
Soul grows through patience, repetition, and staying power.
I become myself by tending what endures.
Psyche in Gemini
Soul awakens through questions that won’t settle.
I learn by holding opposites in the same breath.
Psyche in Cancer
Soul remembers before it understands.
I carry my wounds the way tides carry the moon.
Psyche in Leo
Soul is shaped when the light survives humiliation.
I learn to shine without being worshipped.
Psyche in Virgo
Soul refines itself through humble, faithful work.
I sort the mess not to fix it—but to know it.
Psyche in Libra
Soul matures through relationship and rupture.
I learn who I am by staying present in the in-between.
Psyche in Scorpio
Soul deepens through descent, loss, and secrecy.
I am changed by what I dare to face without control.
Psyche in Sagittarius
Soul widens through meaning earned, not assumed.
I learn which truths survive the journey.
Psyche in Capricorn
Soul gains weight through responsibility and time.
I become myself by carrying what matters.
Psyche in Aquarius
Soul awakens through estrangement and insight.
I learn by standing slightly outside the circle.
Psyche in Pisces
Soul dissolves and reforms through surrender.
I am shaped by what I cannot contain.
Psyche in the Houses
- Psyche in the 1st House
- My very presence is shaped by the work of becoming conscious.
- Psyche in the 2nd House
- My soul is formed through what I value enough to tend over time.
- Psyche in the 3rd House
- My soul learns by questioning what I thought I already knew.
- Psyche in the 4th House
- My soul carries unfinished stories from the depths of belonging.
- Psyche in the 5th House
- My creativity is initiated through risk, exposure, and play.
- Psyche in the 6th House
- My soul is shaped through repetition, service, and the work no one sees.
- Psyche in the 7th House
- My soul awakens through relationship, rupture, and repair.
- Psyche in the 8th House
- My soul deepens through descent, loss, and shared vulnerability.
- Psyche in the 9th House
- My soul searches for meaning that can survive experience.
- Psyche in the 10th House
- My soul is tested where I am seen and held accountable.
- Psyche in the 11th House
- My soul matures through belonging that challenges my differences.
- Psyche in the 12th House
- My soul is shaped in silence, surrender, and unseen devotion.
Art
The Power of Story 