Asteroid 3276, Porta Coeli, was discovered on September 15, 1982 by Anton Mrkos at Klet Observatory near Cesky Budovice (Budweis), Czech Republic. It has a period of 5 years, 186 days.
Porta Coeli was named for a 12th-century convent and church in Tisnov, in the Moravia region of the Czech Republic. Porta coeli is Latin for "gate of heaven." Or, if you prefer, "heaven's gate."
Astrologically, Porta Coeli seems to indicate to find happiness, opportunity or enlightenment; to evangelize; to come into one's own.
Arnold Schwarzenegger has Porta Coeli in the fifth house of entertainment, conjunct Jupiter (prosperity) and Chariklo (glamor), semisquare the Moon (the public, wife), trine Mercury (ideas, speech, the media, business), Damocles (drastic change, politics, on the edge), and the Ascendant (personal interests, personal appearance, physical body), and biquintile Uranus (revolt, rejection).
Mel Martinez (born October 23, 1946, in Sagua La Grande, Villa Clara, Cuba) has Porta Coeli conjunct Chiron (the key, the door-opener), semisquare the South Node (separations), sextile Lilith (to push away), sesquiquadrate the North Node (connections), and opposite Varuna (grown big) and Hylonome (the cry of the people).
John Gillespie Magee, Jr. (born June 9, 1922, in Shanghai), an American World War II military pilot who died young (but not before writing the famous poem "High Flight"), had Porta Coeli conjunct Chariklo, square Chaos, trine Pallas (conceptualization) and Hidalgo (to assert, to promote, conquest), and quincunx Don Quixote (to roam, to travel).
Neil Armstrong has Porta Coeli conjunct Elatus (eloquent expression), square Ceres (nurturing), tredecile Pallas and sesquiquadrate Mars (daring, energy, the military).
Sally Ride (born May 26, 1955, in Los Angeles), the first American woman in space, has Porta Coeli conjunct Pluto (unforgettable, transformation), semisextile the Sun (to shine), sextile Neptune (vision) and Ixion (lust for life), trine Heracles (to contend with, a mighty accomplishment), sesquiquadrate Chiron (the key, the door-opener), and quincunx Damocles (drastic change, crisis, danger).
St. Bernadette of Lourdes had Porta Coeli biquintile Ceres and quincunx Phaethon (a phenomenon).
Pope John Paul II has Porta Coeli in the third house, conjunct Vesta (dedication, focus) and Lilith (to push aside), trine Saturn (work, discipline), sesquiquadrate Mercury, Ceres and Chariklo, biquintile the Sun (to shine, to lead) and Neptune (spirituality, sacrifice), and quincunx the Moon (the public).
Tiffany Accardi (born July 16, 1979) of DeBary, Florida, killed herself, one of her friends, and two more people in another car in a three-car accident in Titusville, Florida in September 1995 shortly after getting her driver's license at age 16. Driving recklessly while returning home from a surfing contest in Cocoa Beach, Florida, she lost control of her car and veered into another vehicle, then smashed into another. Her parents then organized a successful drive for a law mandating graduated driving licenses for teenage drivers in the state of Florida. Tiffany Accardi had Porta Coeli semisextile Hidalgo (to push forward) and Lilith (not really liking something anyway), nonile Jupiter (the law), sextile Sun and Hylonome (grief, pathos), tredecile Juno (civil rights and privileges) and sesquiquadrate Vesta.
Las Cruces, New Mexico college student Steven Judd (born November 18, 1983, in El Paso) drank heavily to celebrate his twenty-first birthday (at which time he could finally drink legally)...and ended up drinking himself right into kingdom come. (Source: the El Paso Times.) Steven Judd had Porta Coeli conjunct Nessus (unpleasant, gluttonous) and Hylonome, semisquare Vesta (dedication), quintile Chiron (a stumbling block), sesquiquadrate Neptune (alcohol, excessive behavior) and opposite Talos (criticism).
Gail Sheehy (born November 27, 1937 in Mamaroneck, New York) has written extensively on life's various passages. She has Porta Coeli sextile Sun and North Node (connections made, transcending past influences), trine Ixion (creating karma), Asbolus (something to say, advice to give) and South Node (past influences), biquintile Chiron (lessons taught or learned), and parallel Jupiter (philosophy, publishing).
The glyph for Porta Coeli, inspired by the tale of Jacob's Ladder in the Bible, is mine.