There’s not a lot about comets in traditional astrological texts. This is likely because they are so unpredictable and infrequent; they don’t follow the same easily recognizable patterns that the planets do.
However, there is a bit information about comets in traditional astrological texts, so we do have some information with which to interpret them. Before I get into that however, let’s review the astronomical basics of comets – astronomy and astrology are two sides of the same coin, so it’s always important to make sure you have a solid astronomical understanding before playing with astrological interpretations.
Astronomical Facts about Comets
Comets are balls of ice, rock, dust and frozen gases. Short-period comets (those with an orbital period under 200 years) originate from the Kuiper Belt, which is the band of asteroids and other bodies, like the dwarf planets Pluto, Eris and Haumea, located past Neptune. Halley’s Comet (last seen in 1986) is a short-period comet.
Long-period comets are those with very eccentric orbits and an orbital period over 200 years, sometimes up to thousands or even millions of years. They are thought to come from the Oort Cloud, which is a spherical cloud of icy bodies that extends from outside the Kuiper Belt, halfway to the nearest star (Proxima Centauri).
When a comet passes close to the Sun, it begins to warm up and release gases, which produces a long tail of gas and dust that we see in the sky. The appearance of a comet is called an apparition, which is a fun fact that also speaks to how we might consider them astrologically.
A comet is brightest when it is at perihelion, which is its closest approach to the Sun. This is often when many comets are destroyed – the proximity to the Sun causes it to break apart. If a comet survives perihelion, the Sun’s gravity slingshots it back to the Kuiper Belt or beyond. This is also when comets have their longest tails, due to the heat of the Sun melting their frozen gases.
There’s usually at least one comet per year that’s visible to the naked eye, but most are very faint. Every few years we get a Great Comet. These are comets that become very bright and are noticed by casual observers, not just people in the astronomical community.
We currently have a Great Comet passing by Earth right now: Comet A3 (Tsuchinshan-ATLAS). This comet is visible to the naked eye and is expected to be visible throughout the rest of October 2024 and possibly into November. In the northern hemisphere, look west just after sunset and you can see it low on the horizon. I haven’t been able to see it yet because the sky has been too cloudy, but I’m still hoping to get a glimpse of it before it’s gone.
The Meaning of Comets in Astrology
The following is a summary of the meaning of comets in astrology. My main source for this information is Astrology of the World I: The Ptolemaic Inheritance by Benjamin Dykes.
In the ancient world, comets were thought to be a general omen or portent of something significant. They were thought to show great changes affecting politics (often due to the death of a political leader), as well as economic changes.
The sign in which a comet appears indicates the lands and beings affected. So, a country with a strong emphasis on that particular sign (like its rising sign and/or Sun sign) would be impacted by a comet appearing in that same sign. Comets that move through multiple signs would have longer-lasting effects on bigger areas.
NOTE: for the purpose of interpreting a comet astrologically, you only consider when it is visible to the naked eye – not when it is visible through a telescope or binoculars.
The direction in which the comet’s tail points corresponds to a terrestrial direction where something significant will happen.
Eastern comets (rising before the Sun) show that the effects happen sooner. Western comets (setting after the Sun) show effects that happen later.
The length of time for these effects is vague, but one suggestion is that each zodiacal sign of the comet’s travel is equal to a year. So, if a comet travels through three signs, its effects will last for three years.
If the comet appears in any Ascendant of a city or nation, it will affect that nation as a whole. Likewise, it will affect its honour or reputation if it appears in the Midheaven of the chart. It will also affect nations whose mundane ingress charts have that sign on the Ascendant.
The colour of the comet indicates the type of effects it might have, based on that colour’s association with a particular planet. For example, a red comet is associated with Mars and will have Martial effects like war or conflict. A green or black comet will have Saturnian effects like death and disease. Again, I think we can only consider a comet’s colour as it appears to the naked eye, not how it looks through a telescope.
Here’s a list of colour associations and comets from Ptolemy, though I have also included some of my own associations based on other texts in the tradition:
- Red – Mars
- Green – Saturn, Venus
- Black – Saturn
- White – Jupiter, Moon
- Yellow/Gold – Venus, Sun
- Blue – Mercury, Jupiter, Saturn (for the latter, very dark blue)
- Multicolour – Mercury
Let’s apply all of this to the current comet that is visible right now, Comet A3 (Tsuchinshan-ATLAS). This comet first became visible to the naked eye in early October 2024, when it was in the sign of Libra.
Now, technically it was in the constellation of Virgo. However, there’s a difference between the constellations and the signs of the tropical zodiac. Most of the constellation of Virgo is in the tropical sign of Libra. Be really careful about this, because most news reports about comets are written from an astronomical perspective – so they will talk about constellations, not zodiac signs.
It’s usually fairly easy to deduce which sign a comet is in when it becomes visible to the naked eye, because this is almost always when it’s at perihelion (closest to the Sun). So, whichever sign the Sun is in at the time the comet reaches perihelion is usually the sign in which the comet is first visible.
Comet A3 (Tsuchinshan-ATLAS) appeared in the sign of Libra and will probably remain visible into the sign of Scorpio. That would suggest that this comet will have effects lasting for a coupe of years. It also indicates places with a strong emphasis on Libra and Scorpio. According to Ptolemy’s chorography, that includes areas around modern-day Egypt, Afghanistan, Iran, North Africa, Yemen, Saudi Arabia and Morocco.
I’ve done a very brief search into other nation charts with a Libra or Scorpio rising and found the following with a Libra rising chart: Portugal, Georgia (the country, not the US state), South Sudan and Israel. It’s also worth noting that the US Sibly chart has a Midheaven in Libra.
Based on this alone, you could interpret that Comet A3 will have a strong impact on Israel as well as on the United States’ reputation. Which is not exactly a surprising interpretation in any way, given current events – and especially with the current eclipse cycle and its relation to Israel.
Determining the colour of a comet is actually a bit tricky, because photographs are usually heavily edited. I’ve seen pictures of Comet A3 that show it as a golden yellow colour, but other reports describe it as whitish-grey. I’m not sure if the yellow-gold colour is just due to photo filters or other editing.
So, I’m hesitant to apply a planetary association based on colour. If it’s whitish-grey that suggests a lunar association, so perhaps a link to Moon-ruled topics and things – women, children, travel, nourishment. It might also have some solar qualities (kings, leadership) if it does have a golden hue.
Comet A3 (Tsuchinshan-ATLAS) is a Western comet as it sets after the Sun, suggesting its effects will appear later – they aren’t immediately apparent.
To summarize, this comet appeared in Libra so it’s associated with Libra places (including both the US and Israel) as well as Libra things like the balance of power and equality, writ large. It’s hard to say much more than this since we don’t know the end of the comet’s cycle – which sign it disappears in and what colour it might transform into.
Suffice to say though, that comets in general are a portent of things to come and this one will likely be the harbinger of all the craziness that’s coming in 2025 and beyond.