“The Greek Poetess Sappho represents the principle of romantic and artistic sensitivity. While dwelling on the island of Lesbos in the 6th century BC, Sappho presided over a young woman’s academy of fine arts where she composed love poetry and lyrical verse. Sappho’s love poetry evokes intimate, personal feelings of yearning, desolation, jealousy and rapture. Astrologically, Sappho serves as an intermediary in the octave progression that links venus and neptune. Sappho refines the venus vibration and sensitizes individuals to the emotions associated with their sexuality.

Stressful placements of Sappho point to potential difficulties in understanding or expressing love and sexuality as the individual learns to balance intimacy needs with other sides to the nature”

This asteroid was named after one of the greatest ever poets – Sappho. Sappho was a genius, a poet and gay, though she had a daughter, Cleis, for whom she wrote a poem…”I have a fair daughter….her form is that of a golden flower…”

Most of her work was burned by rabid Christians & so only bits of it survive. There were Papal edicts instructing peeps to destroy her work – because she was gay? Because she began and managed schools to educate women? Because heaps of her poems were in frank praise of Aphrodite? The Greeks considered her on a par with Homer and she surely influenced Ovid? Anyway, in a chart, I think she signifies poetry, wit, sheer feminine genius and the will to eloquently assert your right to do as you sensually please.

My friend Kim Falconer thinks asteroid Sappho shows up as tactile, indulgent, luscious, heady & yet extraordinarily smart – Asteroid 80 is a totally fun asteroid to research AND if your Sappho is on the love interest’s Venus or Moon you SO mess with his/her mind. Just by showing up. If you don’t know much about Sappho, do go to some of these links…I like to think that book burnings do NOT work! Oh and yes, she was born on the isle of Lesbos, some time around 600 BC.