Pholus – The “Foolish” Centaur
PHOLOS (or Pholus) was one of the Peloponnesian kentauroi (centaurs) who dwelt in a cave on Mount Pholoe. He once had cause to entertain the hero Herakles who was passing by in search of the Erymanthian boar. But when Pholos opened his wine-skin to serve the hero, the other kentauroi were thrown into a frenzy by the aroma and attacked. Herakles managed to kill most of them with his arrows, with the few survivors fleeing to far off parts.
Pholos himself also died in the ruckuss, through a mishap–for when he was examining one of the poisonous arrows of Herakles, he accidentally dropped it on his foot. After his death the gods rewarded him for his kind hospitality by placing him amongst the stars as constellation Centaurus. His wine cup became the adjacent “Crater.”
Astrologically, Pholus / Pholos shows where we tend to do stupid or foolish things.. where we act without really thinking things through or realizing the consequences. He also indicates turning of fortunes , or as I sometimes think of his effect.. the “Plot Twist” .
“Prominence in the chart can indicate tendencies to short-term or wishful thinking, along with difficulty establishing and keeping boundaries. Maintaining a stance of willful innocence, blindness or idealism, a person with an afflicted Pholus tends to believe that when they behave inappropriately in a situation they will be protected by God and/or respected by other people. Disaster can result from impulsive thinking and narrow perception. One does not see their behavior as improper, but rather as upholding an idealistic concept which is sanctioned by God. One might be motivated by an ongoing dedication to embodying spiritual principals within the material world, even to the extent of martyrdom. When positively expressed, the asteroid can be symbolic of visionary skills and the reception of true archetypal images emanating from sacred cosmic intent.” http://www.mysticmarguerite.com/WebDocs/Texts/Asteroids.html
If Pholus had a catch phrase it would be “Y’all watch this!”
However, as all astrological “forces” have both good and ill faces to them, the UP side of Pholus is that , like other Centaurs , he teaches us through the trials and errors of our selves OR through the trials and errors of others.
Pholus can also rule “foggy thinking” as in the ‘drunken haze’.
Pholus’ energies can often be confused with Uranus energies for Uranus bring the unexpected .. But where Uranus is so often completely unplanned or unforeseen, Pholus incidents are completely “on us”.
The Orbital path of Pholus runs from outside the orbit of Neptune to just inside the orbit of Saturn , bringing it past Uranus along the way, so , just like the other Centaurs, he has a blend of these planets whose orbits he crosses: He teaches us like Saturn, Brings insight and accidents, like Uranus, and can blind us through both blind faith or through imbibing of drugs or drink OR bring about clarity an increase of spiritual faith , as Neptune does. He DOES indicate where we take chances or risks.
In that the astrological influences of Pholus is still under study, There is little written about the effects of Pholus through the signs and more importantly, the houses ( Pholus being a generational influence with a 98 (+/-) year orbit ) either natally or by transits, I am refraining from blogging about them as of this post. If you, dear readers, are of an astrological bent and wish to share your insights on Pholus the Fool, please share what you have found in my comments 🙂
-Blessed Be
Anthony B AKA mysticvirgo67
ABStar- ology 
‘In that the astrological influences of Pholus is still under study, There is little written about the effects of Pholus through the signs and more importantly, the houses ( Pholus being a generational influence with a 98 (+/-) year orbit ) either natally or by transits, I am refraining from blogging about them as of this post.’
Wise move – far to many astrology novices, leap to ascribe their persona issues on to minor ‘unexplored’ bodies, littering astrology with half baked theories of interpretation.
Dennis Elwell warned us eloquently of the pitfalls of repeating unresearched assertions as gospel, in his excellent interview on Chiron http://www.skyscript.co.uk/elwell.html
One of the more serious, questioning and intelligent astrologers.
Thank you soo much for a wonderful comment, Aqua. and yes you are correct. Pholus and hte other centaurs are generational, more individually important with house placement and planetary aspects
My pleasure, and yes as long as those planetary aspects are with the faster moving bodies, moon, mercury etc, otherwise the same issue applies.
As to houses – what a minefield that is – what with unreliable birth data, disagreement as to what/when constitutes actual birth, myriad house systems, many common ones that are illogical to say the least etc etc and not least the dodgy habit of conflating the meaning of signs and houses together…it does behove us to be cautious lest we assimilate characteristics through a kind of ‘placebo/nocebo’ effect for placements that arent even accurate or pertinent for us.