Natal Pallas: The Strategy of Love
Pallas is an asteroid that doesn’t get much press in the love/sex department. Named after Pallas Athene, the goddess of wisdom, she represents creative intelligence and strategy. She is analyzed in career readings, but she can also be important in relationship analysis. Read on to see if this strategist plays a role in your love life.
To understand Pallas, we need to look at her mythology. Athene was a virgin goddess with some gender-busting qualities. She was female, yet she wore armor and went into battle. She wasn’t born from a woman in the traditional sense, as she emerged, fully developed, from the forehead of her father (Zeus) — although he did swallow Pallas’ mother, who was pregnant with her at the time. Regardless, she is removed from the traditional definition of female.
In the natal chart, she represents strategic wisdom, which is different from Mercury’s information processing. Pallas enables you to see how A connects to B, C, and D, plus the larger implications of those connections. Think of a battle strategy, and you’ll get the idea. Pallas is the pattern finder, and you can use her energy to suss out intricate connections in various areas of your life (depending on her natal house and sign position). Due to her desexualized vibe, she also represents fertility, conception and birth that take place in the mind. In the book “Asteroid Goddesses” by Demetra George and Douglas Bloch, the energy of Pallas Athene is described as follows: “…sexual energy becomes polarized to release the mentally creative impulse.” This is true whether Pallas is located in a man or woman’s chart. But she gains special prominence in woman’s chart, because she embodies a female expressing masculine qualities.
She’s not prominent in everyone’s chart, and when she does grab attention, she’s usually all about career or cognitive issues. But if natal Pallas is located in your 7th House, 8th House, or she’s aspecting Venus, Mars or a planet in your 7th/8th Houses, she is connected to your love life. Pallas in the 7th House indicates that you have excellent intermediary skills (provided she’s not afflicted by hard aspects to other planets). You instinctively know the most effective strategies for one-on-one interactions. But because of her impersonal vibe, you may have difficulties with emotional partnership discussions. Sometimes, this house placement can indicate the obsessive search for patterns and meaning in all aspects of a relationship. This can be especially true if Pallas is in investigative Scorpio, detail-oriented Virgo, or aspecting Pluto/Mars. She can be empowered to the point where you chase after deeper meaning in every little thing your partner says. You become the intellectual warrior, fighting imaginary relationship battles. If she’s especially strong in the 7th or 8th Houses, the theory of relationships can replace actual intimate contact.
Pallas (in any house) in harmonious aspect to Venus suggests a flow between relating (Venus) and strategies for how you relate. Emotional and intellectual intelligence are finely balanced. There can also be a hint of androgyny (whether you’re male or female) and a comfort level with attraction between all genders. Pallas in hard aspect to Venus can create conflict between the theory and reality of your relationships. In a woman’s chart, this aspect can suggest tension between your desire for success versus your desire for love. For various reasons, you may feel that being in a partnership undercuts your ability to succeed in other areas of life. Harmonious aspects between Pallas and Mars indicate a sexual strategist; you’re able to express yourself intelligently, creatively and confidently when putting the moves on someone. Hard aspects to Mars can bring out Pallas’ militant side, resulting in misdirected sexual energy or overcompensation. When Pallas is challenged by Mars, there’s a direct conflict between ideas that transcend male/female roles, and male energy.
The takeaway with Pallas is that she is somewhat detached, but still has warrior qualities. When her energy is used correctly, she adds the perfect amount of relationship smarts and ambition to your love life. When she’s unbalanced or challenged in your chart, her strategies can drain the life out of your love life.