Psyche (Asteroid 16) – The Soul’s Journey

Building Blocks/Celestial Bodies & Calculation Points/Asteroids/Psyche.md

AstrologyArithetic · building-blocks · celestial-bodies-calculation-points · asteroids

Psyche (Asteroid 16) – The Soul’s Journey

Interpretive Basis

Mythic Root:
Greek – Psyche is a mortal woman whose trials lead her to divine union with Eros, symbolizing the awakening soul.
Core Function:
Psyche signifies transformative love and the quest for inner wholeness.

Astrological Role:
In charts, Psyche describes psychological depth and the yearning for profound connection. It operates through trials that refine the heart and consciousness.

Orbital Signature

Type: Asteroid
Orbital Period: ~5 years
Inclination / Eccentricity: Low inclination (~3°)
Retrograde Motion: Yes
Discovery Year: 1852

Keywords / Powerwords

Soul, Transformation, Union, Trials, Depth Psychology, Love’s Quest

House and Aspect Relevance

Most active when in: 8th or 12th houses
Aspect Sensitivity: Significant when conjunct Venus, Neptune, or Pluto
Natal Function: Indicates the path of soulful growth and psychological insight
Transit Function: Brings inner tests that foster healing and deeper bonds

Use in Astrology Arith(m)etic

Psyche adds layers of soul-centric interpretation. Training data from this file supports AI in mapping how desire for union catalyzes spiritual evolution within the natal chart.

🔭 Astronomical Data (NASA/JPL)

Quantity	Value
Designation	16 Psyche (A852 FA)
Class	Main-belt, metal-rich M-type asteroid (NASA Psyche mission target)
Semi-major axis a	2.9257 AU
Perihelion q / aphelion Q	2.531 AU / 3.320 AU
Eccentricity e	0.1349
Inclination i	3.099°
Orbital period	1,827.9 days = 5.00 years
Mean time per sign (P/12)	≈ 0.42 years (actual sign transits vary strongly with eccentricity)
Diameter	222 km
Rotation period	4.196 h
Discovery	Discovered 1852-03-17 by De Gasparis, A. at Naples

Elements are osculating heliocentric values from the JPL Small-Body Database (epoch per SBDB, queried 2026-11-06). For very distant bodies (e.g., Sedna) the barycentric period differs noticeably from the osculating heliocentric one.

Check against this note’s Orbital Signature: stated ~5 years; JPL gives 5.00 years.

Sources (jpl data)

NASA/JPL Small-Body Database (SBDB) API, osculating heliocentric elements and discovery circumstances, queried 2026-11-06: https://ssd-api.jpl.nasa.gov/sbdb.api