Asteroid 90482, Orcus, a trans-Neptunian object, was discovered on February 17, 2004 by Chad Trujillo, Michael Brown and David Rabinowitz at Palomar Observatory near Pauma Valley, California. 2004 DW has a period of 248 years, 4 days.
Orcus was named for the Roman god of death, whom the Greeks called Thanatos and who is sometimes identified with Pluto.
Astrologically, Orcus seems to indicate the following: popularity, populism, private effort, the grass roots (according to Jonathan Dunn); bringing death (according to Chryss Alexander); also, audacity, boldness, "seizing the day," questioning or challenging, dissent, predatory, ravaging, corruption, a fallen state, heavy or strong retaliation, having something to say, giving up or giving in.
Bill Clinton has Orcus in the ninth house, conjunct Uranus (liberalism, awakening), sextile Deucalion (hard, tough, flooded with negativity, to attempt to save, rescue or crush) and Sedna (the environment, non-inclusivity, actions prompted by psychological scarring), square Cruithne (branded), trine Jupiter (religion, prosperity, the law), and opposite Elatus (eloquent expression or statements, dodging a bullet).
Donald Trump has Orcus in the tenth house, conjunct the North Node, sextile Heracles (to contend with) and Deucalion, and opposite the Moon (the public), Lilith and the South Node.
Former Philippine president Corazon Aquino, who became known as The Lady In Yellow because of her signature yellow suits, has Orcus in the fifth house, sextile Chariklo (glamorization, need to keep perspective), square Bienor (generosity, acting to nurture, condemnation), trine Ixion (creating karma) and quincunx the Ascendant (personal interests or appearance).
Tom DeLay, a ruthless right-wing Texas political leader, has Orcus conjunct Uranus, sextile Deucalion (hard, mean, trying to crush), square Mercury (ideas, speech, writing) and Damocles (pushing the envelope, transgressive), and quincunx Chariklo.
Dennis Tito (born August 8, 1940 in New York), the first private citizen to go into space as a paying tourist (which the American government let him do, aboard a Russian spacecraft, with reservations), has Orcus conjunct Rhadamanthus (acting under supervision), semisextile Huya (something missing), sextile the South Node (past influences), square Heracles (a mighty feat) and Lilith (reluctant acceptance), and trine North Node (transcending past influences, making connections).
Church of Satan founder Anton Szandor LaVey had Orcus undecimal the Sun (to shine, to lead), square Bienor (to condemn, being condemned), trine Ixion (lust for life, creating karma), and sesquiquadrate Elatus (eloquent and/or misleading expression) and Hidalgo (to promote, to defend, to assert, dark subcultures).
Former California governor Gray Davis, who was knocked off his seat by Arnold Schwarzenegger in an opportunistic Republican-organized recall drive, has Orcus quintile North Node and quincunx Venus (values).
Former vice president and 2000 Democratic presidential nominee Al Gore, an advocate for the environment who was robbed of the presidency through partisan decisions made by Republican friends of his in positions to control the outcome of the election, has Orcus conjunct Uranus (liberalism, upsets), semisextile Ceres (to nurture), sextile Sedna (the environment) and the Midheaven (career, reputation, authority), and square Damocles (politics, experience of groupthink, crisis).
1972 Democratic presidential nominee George McGovern, who saw his best chance to win the presidency collapse that year, has Orcus sextile Uranus, Pluto (self-damage) and Heracles (to contend) and quincunx Mars (the military) and Jupiter (philosophy).
Simeon Saxe-Coburg-Gotha (born June 16, 1937 in Sofia, Bulgaria), formerly King Simeon II of Bulgaria and now the country's elected prime minister, has Orcus conjunct Pelion (having to earn one's keep), semisextile Thereus (working with others) and sextile Cruithne (heritage, race, country, a mark).
Rachel Carson, who weathered intense criticism and scurrilous personal attacks bringing to the public's attention the negative impact of pesticides on the environment, has Orcus conjunct Talos (criticism, defense), sextile Mercury, Pallas (defense of civilized values, politics), Phaethon (a phenomenon, under control), and Okyrhoe (acting according to one's own vision), and square Lilith (having to face up to something).
Fitness guru Jack LaLanne (born September 26, 1914 in San Francisco) has Orcus conjunct Rhadamanthus (to control) and Dioretsa (something that sticks), trine Juno (to reclaim one's power) and Quaoar (having to do what one has to do), and opposite Mercury (ideas, writing, speaking, inventive).
Martin Luther King, Jr. had Orcus in the first house, semisextile Phaethon and Okyrhoe, sextile the Moon (the public) and Ceres, square Pallas, quincunx Hidalgo (to assert, to defend, to promote) and opposite Juno (human rights).
Elisabeth Kubler-Ross, who was instrumental in introducing the concept of death with dignity to Western medicine, had Orcus in the second house of values, semisextile Lilith, Heracles and Chariklo, square Damocles and Pallas (conceptualization, politics), trine Ixion and opposite Saturn (work, career, to reap).
Romeo Dallaire, a Canadian general who tried in vain to get the world to act proactively to stop the Rwandan genocide of 1994, has Orcus conjunct the North Node, sextile Heracles and opposite the South Node.
Killers:
Florida serial killer Aileen Wuornos, who was subjected to chronic, severe abuse and neglect as a child and as an adult before going on her rampage, had Orcus semisquare Hylonome (unable to get over something), square Cruithne (branded), trine Neptune (uncontrollable emotion), and opposite Mars (violence).
Herman Mudgett aka H.H. Holmes (born May 16, 1860 in Gilmanton, New Hampshire), a Chicago killer who turned a house he owned into an execution chamber, had Orcus undecimal the Sun (celebrity) and Asbolus (awful things), trine Cyllarus (having motive, method and opportunity) and quincunx Nessus (predatory).
Earle Leonard Nelson (born May 12, 1897 in San Francisco), another famed turn-of-the-20th-century serial killer, had Orcus trine Hidalgo (attempts to dominate).
Crown Prince Dipendra of Nepal (born June 27, 1971 in Kathmandu), who massacred his parents and numerous other members of his family in the royal palace after being told he couldn't marry the woman he wanted and then turned the gun on himself, had Orcus square Bienor (condemnation) and quincunx Mars (firearms), Hidalgo and Cyllarus (because one can, or can't).
Famed Old West gunfighter John Wesley Hardin (born May 26, 1853, in Bonham, Texas), who ended his days shot in the back in an El Paso bar by a corrupt marshal while playing dice with a local store owner, had Orcus semisextile Chiron (self-wounding), square Neptune and Cyllarus, trine Lilith (marginalization, criminality), sesquiquadrate Chariklo (glamorization), quincunx Mercury, and quindecile Nessus.
Depression-era outlaw Clyde Barrow had Orcus conjunct Saturn (the rules, consequences), Sedna (lashing out, a disease), Pandora (making a splash, causing a stir, having an impact) and Phaethon (out of control, a phenomenon), sextile Pelion (life is tough) and Huya (something missing), square Deucalion (hard, mean, attempting to crush), and trine Vesta (dedication).
His partner Bonnie Parker, who wrote verse about their hard, desperate lives, had Orcus semisquare Mercury (writing, the media), sextile Huya, Chaos and Pelion, and trine Thereus (a hunter, a predator, hunted).
The glyph for Orcus is mine and is based upon the asteroid's provisional designation, 2004 DW.