Ceres

It is Ceres's traditional sign, drawn as a sickle. Giuseppe Piazzi discovered Ceres in 1801, when astronomers treated it as the long-sought planet between Mars and Jupiter. The sickle links the body's name to Ceres, the Roman goddess of agriculture.

Ceres joined a small set of new planetary-style signs: Pallas, Juno, and Vesta received their own after discovery. As more asteroids were found, individual signs became cumbersome; numbered notation had displaced most of them by 1852, though the first four signs stayed recognizable.

Why does astrology use ⚳?

In an astrology chart, ⚳ marks Ceres. Astrologers revived the first four asteroid signs in the 1970s. The glyph identifies the object; its interpretation depends on its chart placement and the astrological system.

When ⚳ appears beside ⚴, ⚵, and ⚶ in a chart or list, the four marks identify Ceres, Pallas, Juno, and Vesta as separate bodies. Sent alone, ⚳ reads as specialist shorthand; surrounding words tell you whether the conversation is about astronomy history or astrology.

Why do old Ceres drawings vary?

Older printed charts can draw the sickle differently. Metal type and custom lettering led to simplified or redrawn outlines. Since ⚳ is a text character, fonts can shape its outline differently too; a changed outline does not make it a different sign.