Hidalgo, asteroid 944 (the 944th asteroid to be discovered, on October 31, 1920) was named after the revolutionary priest who attempted to overthrow Spanish rule in Mexico. It is about 28½ kilometers in diameter and has an eccentric orbit that is the longest (14 years) of any asteroid. Hidalgo is one of the more recent asteroids to be investigated by astrologers. Preliminary material on Hidalgo can be found in Demetra George and Douglas Bloch’s Astrology for Yourself, and an ephemeris (table of celestial locations) for Hidalgo can be found in the second edition of George and Bloch’s Asteroid Goddesses. Unlike the planets, which are associated with a wide range of phenomena, the smaller asteroids are said to represent a single principle. Bloch and George (1987) give Hidalgo’s principle as “protecting and fighting for one’s beliefs”; their tentative key phrase for Hidalgo is “My capacity for self-assertion in defense of my principles.” Zipporah Dobyns associates Hidalgo with Saturn, finding that it often aspects that planet in the charts of women who reach positions of success and power. J. Lee Lehman finds that Hidalgo represents “an assertion of will over others.” This influence can be used in fighting for other people’s rights, but “Hidalgo expects to be in control, to be the general in all situations.” Lehman describes Hidalgo as a “macho” asteroid. Jacob Schwartz gives the astrological significance of this asteroid as “fighting for others’ rights; exchanges based on integrity or principles.”
a state in Mexico, on the central plateau. Area, 21,000 sq km. Population, 1, 156,000 (1970). The city of Pachuca is the administrative center of the state. Subsistence agriculture is widespread. The basic crops are corn, beans, and agave. Oil-bearing plants, fruits, and vegetables are cultivated on the irrigated lands around Tula. Gold and silver are mined in the area. Industries include machine building in Irolo, nonferrous metallurgy in Pachuca, and the food industry in Tulancingo.
the lower and middle knighthood in medieval Spain. The term “hidalgo” appeared at the end of the 12th century and became common in the 13th and 14th centuries as the designation for all members of the knightly estate. The hidalgos were an important military force in the reconquest of Spain from the Moors. The ruin and impoverishment of the hidalgos began in the 15th century. The hidalgos were active in the conquest of the newly opened American lands in the 16th century. The existence of large numbers of hidalgos, who although impoverished maintained the caste prejudices typical of the knighthood, was a characteristic feature of the social life of feudal Spain in the era of its decline (the late 16th and the 17th century).