Asteroid Vesta is called the “Keeper of the Flame” and is associated with the sign Virgo and the 6th house. The “flame” here is the spiritual flame. Vesta is the guardian of the sacred fire: devotion to the spiritual; High Priestess energy. In pre-Hellenic times, Vesta was associated with unmarried temple priestesses, and anyone who’s read Kenneth Ray Stubbs’ book Women of the Light (or any others with similar ideas) knows that temple priestesses used sexual energy to instruct, initiate, or heal their disciples (most temple priestesses of the time were also skilled herbalists and considered the first doctors and medical counsultants). Sexual energy here is not “just” (or only) sex, but the creative energy implicit to all human beings. It is pro-creative, life-affirming energy that may be used to make babies, but is also used to make art, great food, beautiful music, stirring oratory, stunning performances, captivating fashion, etc.
Anyway, back to Vesta…By Roman times, the sacred fire of the temple priestesses had been toned down to vestal Virgin energy, where sexuality is foresaken for spiritual commitment. The celebrated and honored full sexuality of the temple priestesses was toned down, made safer, and men became the purveyors of health, medicine, and healing. As such, asteroid Vesta represents the split between spirituality and sexuality, and offers us the sign posts to heal this split if we harness the power of Vesta in the signs and houses.
Vesta represents our capacity to bring wholeness to ourselves, to integrate and focus our sexual energy. Vesta’s placement by sign and by house shows us the energy we came into this lifetime with, and how we can better understand ourselves as temple priestess/vestal virgin*. Vesta can help us heal the split that many experience between sexuality and spirituality.
Vesta represents our sacred flame, how we express our devotion to and longing towards the spirit. Connected to fire, she is also connected to passion, joy, to what animates us, to what renews us. She is the spirit of fire and the fire within spirit. She teaches us how to renew ourselves, how healing the split within can transform us, so she also has connections to the sign Scorpio and transformative potential. Thus, connecting to Vesta in your own chart corresponds with therapists, counselors, and healers, those who help to make sense of disparate elements and heal them. Alternative healing is Vesta’s domain, just as it was once the domain of the temple priestesses.
Vesta asks us to reconnect to passion, and to deepen the connection to spirit. Vesta shows where and how we can renew and revive this sacred flame. Vesta represents the search for deeper meaning, and thus corresponds to psychics, healers, the occult, and mind technologies like positive thinking, NLP, and visualization. Vesta corresponds to Wicca and Earth Magic, because Vesta feels the power inherent in all living creatures and relates to and responds to this energy.
The symbol of Vesta is the eternal flame, and even the glyph for Vesta shows this. Vesta lights the way as we commit to inner work, integration, and discovering the power within. Astrologically, Vesta relates to work, devotion, spiritual practices, solitude (Hermit card), sacrifice, and sexual problems based on fear of intimacy. She shows you how to bring light to dark places and integrate your shadow. Unskillfully, Vesta can manifest as repression, sexual alienation, inhibition, and overwork when the natural outlets for Vesta are not expressed. Fervent devotion and workaholism: two sides of the same coin?
Successfully expression of Vesta creates a magical energy where we focus our sexual power into creativity, joy, and live a committed life to whatever is sacred for us. Vesta does not require the sexual act, rather the power and focus of this energy towards committing ourselves and focusing on healing both mentally and physically.
Vesta in Aires
Bravery, courage, and impetuosity are characteristics of this Vesta. Vesta in Aires shows others the wisdom of self-care and is a powerful energy for self-healing. Requires independence, and may have difficulty with long-term relationships. Indicates a degree of self-involvement. The Warrior Priestess.
Vesta in Taurus
This Vesta seeks the comfort of home and hearth. A security-loving Vesta, she may not be quick to move, but once settled, she is very stable and dependable. Creates tangible beauty, often in the charts of those who work with their hands. The Earth Mother.
Vesta in Gemini
Knowledge brings power, and only through knowledge of self can Vesta understand and integrate her sexuality. Motivates and manifests by communication, networking, and coordination. Sometimes Vesta in Gemini needs to slow down to reconnect. Intellect can trump feeling with this placement. The Teacher Priestess/Athena.
Vesta in Cancer
Nurtures and cares for those who need it. A natural caregiver who needs to be loved and cared for, or who may withdraw if not acknowledged. Vesta in Cancer has a strong maternal instinct, but needs to learn how to care for self. The Universal Mother.
Vesta in Leo
Vesta in Leo is proud, regal, full of creativity and joy. At best when fully expressed and original, your need for self-expression is higher than other placements. Capable of flowing with great love and enthusiasm. Can become demanding or egotistical if unappreciated. Can be prideful and needs to learn that there is a power greater than herself. The Courtesan/Geisha.
Vesta in Virgo
A strong connection to all living things. Learns from her woundedness and the woundedness of others. A strong healer. Exacting standards may make her rigid, but devotion to service is strong. Can become sexually repressed if unable to meet exactingly high standards. The Nurse/Nun.
Vesta in Libra
The energy of Vesta in Libra seeks to find balance between self and others. Interaction and cooperation bring out her best. A lover of equality, and naturally diplomatic, but may need to be more truthful with self. Needs to learn to do as much for self as she does for others. Desire to please may cause her to be inauthentic and wear herself out. The Stateswoman/The Queen.
Vesta in Scorpio
Passion for transformation and transmutation. Driven to reach the heart of the matter and let go of anything inauthentic. Teaches how to completely merge with others, but balance and moderation may be needed. Seeks depth and intensity in relationships. Learning how to trust and give up control may be key lessons. Persephone.
Vesta in Sagittarius
Constantly seeks truth. Will be driven by the feeling that there is always more to know and experience. Truth-loving, adventurous, and driven by a need for expansion. Beware being so devoted to your higher vision that you become fanatical and alienate others. The Goddess of the Hunt/Artemis.
Vesta in Capricorn
Adheres to the laws of the Universe. Serious, hard-working, aligned with what is real and solid, material. May be a harsh judge, but will not skimp on exacting truths. Rules must be obeyed to create order. Works best in structured and disciplined environments. Justice.
Vesta in Aquarius
Goddess of Change/Chaos. Everything is always changing, so we must adapt. Nothing is permanent. Devoted to a better existence for all on a humanitarian level. Freedom loving and not possessive, may be aloof and find emotional intimacy cloying or overbearing. Oya.
Vesta in Pisces
At one with all living things. Especially suited to healing and helping those in states of confusion or confinement. Sexuality may be devoted to service rather than to any given individual. Magical healing ability, to the point she may not even know HOW she does what she does. Integration of mind, body, and spirit is the challenge of this Vesta. The High Priestess/Intuitive Healer.
*Priestess/Virgin energy here is archetypal energy and has nothing to do with gender.
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Hey Yoga Girrrrrl…
This video has been burning up the yoga blogosphere for several days now. Is this a feel-good, “yogis are beautiful” statement, or a satire on what yoga in the West has become, with its high-priced Lululemon wardrobes (eternally popular despite an EEK!, murder, that occured at a Washington DC-based Lululemon outlet) and tony “spiritual” jewelry?
Whatever your opinion, the writer of the lyrics seems to know a thing or two about yoga. Certainly the lyrics reveal at least a degree of familiarity with yogic concepts. Pretty funny stuff either way. What’s your opinion of this video?
You can follow Fog & Smog, the makers of the video, on Facebook.
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