Dziewanna in astrology

Dziewanna in astrology is a puzzle that puts many practitioners of new astrology on a side track. This is mainly due to using the myth of the newcomer too literally as a base for its interpretatation. Dziewanna (asteroid 471143), with provisional designation 2010 EK139, was discovered on March 13, 2010 by Andrzej Udalski, Scott Sheppard, Marcin Kubiak and Chad Trujillo at the Las Campañas Observatory in Chile. The discovery was made during the Polish OGLE project of Warsaw University. Based on its absolute magnitude and assumed albedo, it is very likely a dwarf planet with a calculated diameter of approximately 470 kilometers.  

 

 

Dziewanna in Mythology

The Minor Planet Center classifies Dziewanna as an SDO/Extended Centaur, while Marc Buie of Deep Ecliptic Survey suggests a 2:7-Neptune resonant, based on a 10 million year computer-simulation of Dziewanna’s orbit.

The object was named after Devana or Dziewanna, supposedly a Slavic goddess of the wilderness, forests and the hunt. However, mythologically Dziewanna is a controversial subject. The common theory describes her as the Slavic equivalent of the Roman goddess Diana, and Greek Artemis, mentioned by 15th century Polish historian Jan Długosz in Annales seu cronici incliti regni Poloniae (History of Poland).

Her name, though similar to Diana’s, is apparently derived from Slavic word that means ‘virgin’ or ‘maiden’ (dziewa, dziewica) or else from the Proto-Indo-European root dewas (“god, wonder”).

 

 

 

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Historical Sources and Scholarly Debate

Most contemporary scholars do not regard Annales seu cronici incliti regni Poloniae as a reliable source on Slavic mythology, and they question the very existence of such a deity within the Slavic pantheon.

Yet James George Frazer notes that an effigy is carried in from the woods “which goes by the name of Summer, May, or the Bride; in the Polish districts it is called Dziewanna, the goddess of spring.”

More extensive analysis is provided by Wilhelm Mannhardt—a major influence on Frazer—who remains skeptical about identifying Dziewanna as the equivalent of Diana or Artemis. He points to a likely confusion between ritual straw puppets representing fertility daemons or seasonal cycles and actual goddesses. This confusion must be understood within the context of Christian persecution of pagan beliefs, symbols, and rituals.

Within this historical framework, the introduction of Totensonntag in Podlachia (north-east Poland, bordering Russia) becomes relevant.

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Totensonntag and Ritual Transformation

Totensonntag (“Sunday of the Dead”), also known as Ewigkeitssonntag (Eternity Sunday) or Totenfest, is a Northern German and Dutch Protestant holiday commemorating the dead. It falls on the last Sunday before Advent (between November 20 and November 26) and marks the end of the liturgical year in the German Evangelical Church and the Protestant Church in the Netherlands.

Where observed—such as in Berlin—it effectively replaces All Souls’ Day (November 2).

A straw effigy of Marena (Mamurienda, Muriena) was traditionally carried to a pool or swamp and ritually drowned. The first Christian ruler of Poland, Mieszko I (c. 930–992), introduced an alternative “Death Day” on March 7 for the destruction of pagan images and statues. Dziewanna and Marzanna are referenced in a similar ritual context:

Quae quidam… idolorum confractio et immersio tune facta apud nonnulas Polonorum villas simulacra Dziewannae et Marzannae in longo ligno extollentibus et in paludes in Dominica Quadragesimae Laetare projicientibus et demergentibus repraesentatur (et) renovatur in hunc diem.

It is possible that Dziewanna and Marzanna represent two aspects of a single deity—a dual figure embodying both life and death. Comparable dualities exist in other Indo-European traditions, such as Persephone or Hel. However, due to limited source material, such conclusions remain speculative.

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Names, Etymology and Cultural Overlap

To further complicate the picture, another name for Devana is Ciza, derived from the Slavic root cic or cec, meaning “mother’s breast.” Under variations such as Dzydzilelya, Zizilia, or Didilia, she appears as a goddess of love, marriage, fertility, and infancy among the West Slavs.

This name is interpreted as “she who pampers babies” (cf. dziecilela), and in this function she is often compared to Roman deities such as Venus or Lucina. Devana has also been viewed as a manifestation of the great goddess Rodiva–Deva, particularly in her fertile, terrestrial aspect, comparable to the Germanic Nerthus.

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Dziewanna in Astrology

Dziewanna represents a particularly complex and difficult force in astrology. In its positive expression, it can yield profound insight into chthonic reality, witchcraft, male–female metaphysics, and the sexual charge embedded in nature—what Andalusian tradition calls duende.

However, a strong Dziewanna placement often correlates with melancholy. It is therefore essential to cultivate inner distance—captured in the “Why so serious?” attitude—and to maintain connection with the ātman as the core of identity. This is especially relevant given Dziewanna’s strongly Taurean nature (with the Sun in the discovery chart conjunct Sedna and the fixed star Zaurak), making it sensitive to conflict with rigid or reductionist worldviews.

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Core Themes and Psychological Patterns

The primary influence of Dziewanna centers around:

• Life and death dynamics (including emotional dimensions)
• Fate and fatalism
• Confrontation, judgment, and social pressure
• Repressed or wounded feminine identity
• Feelings of being cursed or isolated
• Conflict with rigid or context-blind individuals
• Extreme inner struggle and survival-driven creativity
• Dissatisfaction despite achievement
• Suicidal ideation or existential pressure
• Psychosomatic illness (including cancer-related symbolism)
• Destruction of long-built structures
• Agricultural cycles and chthonic forces
• Witchcraft (constructive or destructive)
• Seasonal inversion (spring/winter dynamics)
• Misuse of sexuality as emotional outlet
• Lack of recognition or understanding
• Isolation as chronic stress factor
• Hypersensitivity combined with erotic compensation
• Responsibility experienced as burden
• Awareness of power as isolating force
• Hidden (often sexual) psychological material

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Discovery Chart and Astrological Complexity

Due to its extreme discovery chart—featuring configurations such as Sun trine Typhon/Logos, Sun conjunct Sedna/Sethos opposite Echeclus, Damocles square Sun, and an intensified Venus (conjunct asteroid 1998 XB)—Dziewanna stands out as one of the most difficult astrological bodies to interpret.

Its energetic field often appears “cursed” or burdened, and the house it occupies in the natal chart frequently becomes a point of tension or pain.

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Dziewanna in Forensic Astrology

In Polish forensic astrology, Dziewanna may be associated with Verbascum thapsus L. (Dziewanna drobnokwiatowa), a yellow flowering plant linked to the goddess. It may also indicate chronic physical complaints related to the zodiacal degree it occupies, particularly in connection with the body part governed by that degree.

These manifestations often align with the emotional and psychological patterns described above.

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Orbital Period

The orbital period of Dziewanna is approximately 592 years and 8 months.

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You may also like our other articles on newcomers in astrology

• ORCUS
• APOPHIS
• TYPHON
• ALBION
• AMYCUS
• OKYRHOE
• NESSUS
• ASBOLUS
• OHNO
• ARAWN
• MORS-SOMNUS
• SEEBERG
• SUNDSVALL
• MAKEMAKE (Dutch)
• 1996 TR66(Dutch)
• CENTAURS IN ASTROLOGY
• 2020 HOROSCOPE
• 2021 HOROSCOPE

© Benjamin Adamah 2017

 

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More new astrology articles by Benjamin Adamah you can read here: https://vamzzz.com/blog/category/astrology/

You can calculate Dziewannas position in your own birth chart, and follow Dziewannas actual transits and aspects at serennu.com