Asteroid 7320, Potter, was discovered on October 2, 1978 by Lyudmila V. Zhuravleva at the Crimean Astrophysical Observatory in Nauchnyj, Ukraine. It has a period of 5 years, 187 days.
It was named for Russian astronomer Kheino Potter (born 1929), of the Pulkovo Observatory near Saint Petersburg, who initiated the compilation of FOCAT, the reference catalog for the southern sky; helped establish an observatory in Azerbaijan; and is known for his work on the determination of astronomical constants and the problems of selenodesy (mapping the moon and determining its shape and size through observation and applied mathematics).
Most people in the Western world at this time, however, would more readily associate the name Potter with the teen wizard Harry Potter created by British author Joanna K. (J.K.) Rowling and portrayed in a series of films by Daniel Radcliffe.
Daniel Radcliffe as Harry Potter
Astrologically, Potter seems to indicate pertaining to children, adolescents or the precocious and/or inexperienced..
J.K. Rowling (born July 31, 1966, in Bristol, England) has Potter conjunct Damocles (drastic change), sextile Chaos (something groundbreaking), trine Ceres (to nurture) and Hylonome (popular appeal), sesquiquadrate Pandora (stirring things up, having an impact), and quindecile Asbolus (advice given but not necessarily taken, bad experiences). The Harry Potter books have gotten a lot of kids reading who don't normally read despite their length, adult diction and emphasis on text and plot over illustration and action, which got Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, the first book in the series, rejected by about three dozen publishers. Rowling, a former welfare mother, has been made very rich by the popularity of the books, but also found herself having to protect her family's privacy from fans, and also found herself demonized by fundamentalist Christians who call her books satanic influences upon the young.
Veteran young-adult author Judy Blume (born February 12, 1938 in Elizabeth, New Jersey) has Potter sextile Ceres and trine Neptune (imagination, scandal, idealism). Her books, which often deal with tough issues pertaining to adolescence, have, like the Harry Potter books, frequently been subjected to burning and banning attempts.
S(usan) E(loise) Hinton (born July 22, 1948, in Tulsa) is the author of classic young-adult novels about disadvantaged Oklahoma teens such as The Outsiders; Rumble Fish; That Was Then, This Is Now; and Tex, which also are frequently targeted by censors. Hinton has Potter conjunct Chariklo (glamorization), semisquare Neptune, sextile Pholus (need to show respect), trine Chaos, sesquiquadrate Mercury and Juno (the disadvantaged), quincunx Venus (adolescence), and contraparallel Ceres. She first started publishing as a teenager in the 1960s and was forced to publish under her initials so that her gender would not make her readers doubt her ability to portray accurately the teenage boys who are the dominant characters in the novels just listed.
Corazon Aquino, propelled into the Philippine presidency through a popular revolution, turned out to be a well-meaning, principled but politically inexperienced chief executive. She has Potter in the second house, conjunct the Sun (to shine, to lead, chief executive), sextile Hylonome and Varuna (grown big, judgment), and square Juno and the Midheaven (career, authority).
Jimmy Carter, who went through a somewhat similar experience, has Potter in the eleventh house of politics, sextile the Moon (the public) and Pluto (transformative).
Bill Clinton, who found himself having a lot to learn about foreign policy getting elected president from the governorship of Arkansas and made the welfare of children a centerpiece of his presidency, has Potter in the eleventh house also, but conjunct Pluto, sextile Venus (values), quintile Juno and sesquiquadrate Pallas (politics, defense of civilization).
Country singer LeAnn Rimes (born August 28, 1982 in Jackson, Mississippi), who got her first hit song, "Blue," when she was only 14 (but sounded more than twice that), has Potter sextile Jupiter (prosperity) and Elatus (eloquent expression) and trine Sun (to shine) and Chaos. Said to a precocious and commanding presence on the road, in the years following the release of "Blue," she was forced to grow up even faster, dealing with her parents' divorce and legal battles between her and her father.
John Walker Lindh (born February 9, 1981 in Washington), a young American man who was encouraged (rightly) by his parents to take an experimental approach to his spiritual path, and found himself in big trouble when he got the (erroneous) idea that his newly adopted Muslim religion meant he needed to fight for the Taliban, has Potter sextile Cruithne (branded), square the Sun, and trine Nessus (predatory, crossing boundaries), Heracles (foolish display of power), Talos (throwing stones) and Dioretsa (foolishness, veering off course, sticking).
The glyph for Potter, meant to suggest a broomstick-riding wizard or witch, is mine.