TNO Watch- Cruithne

05-24-04 2 (31) by David Clow

Allright, to start off with, I absolutely love this asteroid. She's nuts, in the best kind of way. And I can't think of a better guide for us right now.

The Astronomy- 3753 Cruithne is a Q-type, Aten asteroid in orbit around the Sun in 1:1 orbital resonance with Earth, making it a co-orbital object. It is an asteroid that, relative to Earth, orbits in a bean-shaped orbit that ultimately effectively describes a horseshoe, and that can transition into a quasi-satellite orbit. It has been incorrectly called "Earth's second moon". Cruithne does not orbit Earth and at times it is on the other side of the Sun^. Its orbit takes it inside the orbit of Mercury and outside the orbit of Mars. Cruithne orbits the Sun in about 1 year but it takes 770 years for the series to complete a horseshoe-shaped movement around the Earth.

The Myth(?)- The Cruthin were a people of early Ireland, who occupied parts of the present day Counties of Antrim, Laois, Galway, Londonderry and Down in the early medieval period.
The Cruthin comprised a number of túatha, including the Dál nAraidi in southern Antrim and the Uí Echach Cobo in western Down. Early sources preserve a distinction between the Cruthin and the Ulaid, who gave their name to the province of Ulster, although the Dál nAraide claimed in their genealogies to be na fir Ulaid, "the true Ulaid". The Loígis, who gave their name to County Laois in Leinster, and the Sogain of Connacht are also claimed as Cruthin in early Irish genealogies.
By the late 8th century, the Dál nAraidi had secured their over-kingship of the Cruthin and their name replaced that of the Cruthin. Early Irish writers used the name Cruthin to refer to both the north-eastern Irish group and to the Picts of Scotland. Likewise, the Scottish Gaelic word for a Pict is Cruithen or Cruithneach, and for Pictland is Cruithentúath. It has thus been suggested that the Cruthin and Picts were the same people or were in some way linked. Professor T. F. O'Rahilly proposed that the Qritani/Pritani were the first Celts to inhabit Great Britain and Ireland and describes them as "the earliest inhabitants of these islands to whom a name can be assigned". It has also been suggested that Cruthin was a name used to refer to all the Britons who were not conquered by the Romans – those who lived outside Roman Britain, north of Hadrian's Wall. Other scholars disagree, pointing out that although Cruthin was used to translate Picti into Irish, Picti was never used to translate Cruthin into Latin. Professor Dáibhí Ó Cróinín believes that the "notion that the Cruthin were 'Irish Picts' and were closely connected with the Picts of Scotland is quite mistaken" while Professor Kenneth H. Jackson has said that the Cruthin "were not Picts, had no connection with the Picts, linguistic or otherwise, and are never called Picti by Irish writers". The Cruthin cannot be distinguished from their neighbors by archaeology. The records show that the Cruthin bore Irish names, spoke Irish and followed the Irish derbfine system of inheritance rather than the matrilineal system sometimes attributed to the Picts. It is suggested that Cruthin was not what the people called themselves, but was what their neighbors called them.

Why She Matters- Okay, so... Even though the grand high source of wisdom that is Wikipedia seems to shatter the connection to the Picts and the matriarchal influence, almost all sources on the astrology of this really fascinating asteroid seem to work on that assumption. Yes, I know this opens up the door to the criticisms (sometimes extremely valid) of the field as a whole, but one of the great secrets of Astrology (and Religion. Oh, Quantum Physics too. Well, at least our understanding of them) is that the more you believe something, and the more you expect it to be or act a certain way, the more it does; right up until the moment it doesn't. Belief is power. And that is an interesting point to make on this particular one, as from a heliocentric perspective, it has a very boring orbit, with medium eccentricity, but when veiwed from our perspective on Earth, the picture changes significantly, becoming a crazy, potato-shaped orbit, and coming close enough to be considered a "second moon". So I would posit that this one deals with perception and perspective, specifically the view from the outside, not particularly one that is from the self. I have also found that this asteroid has quite a lot to do with matters of where one feels truly at home, somewhere where one can find a community that understands the native. Mark Andrew Holmes expounds, saying that Cruithne indicates sense of connectedness to ethnic, regional or racial roots or to the land or earth; ethnic or racial pride; environmentalism; clinging to core identity; stigma.. Australian astrologer Heather Cameron links it to putting effort into being alluring; acting too good for someone. Others link it to brands, tattoos or piercing. There may also be something to do with a connection to Druidry, natural energies and mysticism of that type.

To find out where she shows up in your chart, go to astro.com, put in your birth details and in the extended options, all the way at the bottom, there will be a menu of additional objects.  Under that is a blank space where you can enter the number 3753, for Cruithne.  Once you have it entered, generate the chart!  Where does Cruithne affect your life? Post it below in the comments!