If you are more of a watcher than a reader, you can find me talking about Hylonome here ^_^

The asteroid Hylonome (asteroid number 10370) has been on my mind a whole bunch recently. Maybe it’s because some of the things that she represents have been a part of my life in different ways as of late (throughout most of 2022)….which is probably why she’s been on my mind and in my sights recently. So much grief and bullshit that has needed to be released.

Her mythology is rather sparse – there isn’t a whole bunch on her, but her story is impactful none the less. Hylonome was a centaur who was the partner of Cyllarus. It is said in Metamorphoses that “many centaurs would be his mate, but one gained his heart; this was Hylonome.” It seems like this is made a big deal of in the mythology – that he chose her. I’m not saying that she didn’t choose him, too (she probably did), but it does seem to be mentioned specifically that he could’ve had anyone, and he chose her. It is also mentioned that she would do things to beautify herself for him such as “combing her glossy hair and twined her curls in turn with rosemary…” and “took care to look her best.” It is also mentioned that “she alone by love and love’s sweet words and winning ways held Cyllarus.”
-Now….I want to interject here for just a second. Maybe I’m not reading the “correct” version of the mythology, but it seems that she was very busy trying to be some kind of perfect version of herself for Cyllarus, but I don’t read ANYTHING about him trying to be perfect for her. This is interesting to me because it is stated in the same material that “their love was equal.” Maybe it was, maybe it wasn’t, but it doesn’t seem like the effort put in to please one another was very equal. This also brings up the question of if she ever asked for him to do this perfecting of himself for her, or if he even asked her to do any of this perfecting in the first place, either.
–There have always been pressures put on people to “look” a certain way, and while this isn’t at all unique to females, I do think that historically there has been more of an emphasis placed on the way that women look and “keep” themselves. I will spare everyone from going on further down that tangent, lol. Essentially, what may have been expected of (or conditioned in) Hylonome may not have been expected of (or conditioned in) Cyllarus, and Hylonome may have been fine with that. I still think this piece fits into how she can be read, which is why I bring it up.

Hylonome and Cyllarus went to the Lapithae’s Palace for the wedding of King of the Lapiths, Pirithous, and Hippodamia (and just for reference, the Lapiths and the Centaurs are kind of thought of “brothers” or brother species). At this wedding, the centaur Eurytion got fucking wasted and tried to fuck the bride, and started a massive battle known as “The Centaurmachy.” A bunch of fucking centaurs died in the middle of this battle, and Cyllarus was one of them. He was hit below the neck but above the chest with either a spear or javelin, and it wasn’t mentioned who stabbed him (so it seems like he wasn’t hit on purpose – more like he was just hit by virtue of being in the fray). As he laid hit by this weapon, it is mentioned that Hylonome held him close and tried to soothe him. It also makes it seem like she was the one who pulled the weapon from him (it could’ve been Cyllarus himself, who knows), but once the weapon was pulled from his body, he started to bleed out and then he departed the Earth. Filled with grief, Hylonome decided to kill herself with the same weapon that killed Cyllarus. This is where her mythology ends.

Hylonome appears to have themes of grief and loss running through her, and this how I would read her in a chart. This is the kind of grief and loss that is so profound that one doesn’t know what to do with themselves because of it. There is also what feels like a co-dependency thing that stands out with her story – because Cyllarus died, she decided that she didn’t want to go on living anymore. Every time I read the mythology, and I get to the part where she is about to “fall on the javelin,” I’m thinking in my head “GIRL DON’T YOU FUCKING DO THAT.” An astrologer friend of mine who I won’t name but who’s opinion I value very much mentioned that he didn’t read Hylonome as co-dependent, but more like after Cyllarus died she “wasn’t going to play anymore” – an intentional choice. The more I think about this, the more I think the co-dependency notion AND the intentional choice can play a role with how Hylonome functions in a chart (or in transit)…it just depends on if she is functioning  a higher or lower vibration within a person (and I also think it’s just as possible that she can function like a little of both – it doesn’t have to be solely one or the other).

Since Hylonome deals so much with grief in general, I have definitely started reading her along side the asteroid Grieve (asteroid number 4451). It may not be necessary to do this, but I do think with her story (and what she is known for) having so much to do with grief it’s an interesting thing to see if the asteroid Grieve and Hylonome make an aspect in the natal chart (and if they do, I would definitely take notice). An easy aspect between the two could show an easier time shedding grief, while a more challenging aspect could show a more challenging time shedding grief. You could also look at the asteroid Cyllarus (asteroid number 52975) along with her and see what kind of aspects they make together (or even the aspects in a synastry and/or a composite chart).

Because of her mythology, it is mentioned places that Hylonome can be a big deal in the chart of someone who commits suicide/at the time that someone commits suicide (Hylonome via natal or transit). I kind of put this to the test myself – there have been a couple of suicides over the past couple of years in my extended family/friends, and low and behold! Asteroid Hylonome was extremely prominent in BOTH charts when they chose to depart the Earth (transit Hylonome was conjunct an “important” natal planet, specifically). I won’t post the charts for privacy reasons.

As a breakdown, I kind of think of these as the ways to read Hylonome in a natal chart (or via transit, synastry, etc.):

Hylonome at a Higher Vibration:
-Equality in love and partnerships
-Doing things for your partner because you actually want to do them (not because you feel like you have to do them because society tells you to do them or because your partner tells you to do them)
-Choosing Oneself (and not caring as much about being chosen by anyone else)
-Shedding Grief & Walking Away (or deciding that you just aren’t going to play anymore). There are all times that we’ve been through where we have had to shed the grief of something and just fucking walk away.
**Side note – I’m not advocating for anyone to shed grief the way that Hylonome shed her grief.

Hylonome at a Lower Vibration:
-Lack of equality in love and partnerships (and accepting this)
-Co-Dependency
-Doing things for your partner and not being “met halfway” (or doing things for your partner because you feel like you have to do them/because they are expected of you)
-Excessive Grief
-Feeling like one needs to be the “chosen” one by someone else