Sisyphus (1866) is named after the king condemned by the gods to push a boulder up a hill for eternity, only to watch it roll back down each time he nears the summit. In astrology, Sisyphus represents the domain of repetitive, seemingly futile effort — the cycles you cannot seem to break, the tasks that never feel finished, and the persistent struggle that defines certain areas of your life.
Where Sisyphus sits in your chart reveals the specific arena where you encounter this Sisyphean pattern — where effort produces temporary progress that always seems to reset. But Camus told us we must imagine Sisyphus happy, and the asteroid carries this paradox: the struggle itself, when embraced consciously, becomes the source of meaning rather than the source of despair.
The eternal return
Sisyphus's house and sign describe the particular flavour of your recurring challenge. In the 2nd house, it may be financial cycles of gain and loss; in the 7th, relational patterns that repeat with different partners. Aspects to Saturn intensify the weight of the boulder; aspects to Jupiter may inject enough hope to keep pushing despite the pattern.
The three-beat shadow
✦ Resignation: Giving up entirely, letting the boulder sit at the bottom and refusing to push, mistaking surrender for wisdom. ✦ Compulsive repetition: Pushing the same boulder in exactly the same way, never pausing to question whether a different approach exists. ✦ Bitter endurance: Persisting out of stubbornness and resentment rather than conscious choice, wearing your suffering as identity.
Sisyphus teaches that the relationship to the struggle matters more than the outcome. When you choose to push the boulder with presence and purpose — not because you must but because the act itself has meaning — the hill transforms from a punishment into a practice, and the repetition becomes a form of mastery.