Cultivating our inner sacred flame.
We've finished up our discussions of the asteroid goddesses on the podcast! The four asteroid goddesses give us insight to deeper parts of ourselves. They expand upon the significations of the Moon and Venus, and allow us to connect with the feminine polarity of the human psyche in new and exciting ways. I hope learning about their significations has piqued your interest in them and that you begin to incorporate them into your astrological practice. Even if you don't use them all the time, they're great for looking at topics of the Moon and Venus with more depth. In this post we're going to explore Vesta, my favorite and arguably most obscure asteroid goddess. We'll do a brief recap from the podcast episode of what we can use Vesta for and then explore how we can ground ourselves using our Vesta placement in each of the 12 houses.
Using Vesta in Astrology
If you're new to Vesta, I suggest you listen to the podcast episode that explores this awesome asteroid goddess in her entirety. If you've already listened to the episode or you're familiar with Vesta, then this will be a quick recap of what she signifies in astrology and what we can use her placement for in our charts.
Vesta is the goddess of hearth and home. This isn't home in the sense of a physical building that we live in, but more so the home we carry in our hearts. She's the Fire in our soul. She's our spiritual connection to self and she shows us how we can harness our inner spirit for higher pursuits. Some important keywords for Vesta are: devotion, commitment, autonomy, focus, self-regeneration, oaths, and vows. This asteroid goddess takes her role in this world very seriously. She has an unrivaled single-pointed focus, and has the ability to commit to something without feeling like she's sacrificing part of herself. This is because the things she devotes herself to are part of her life calling. When we harness the power of our Vesta placement, it's not so we can be committed to doing the dishes or getting to work on time. Vesta reveals what we care enough about to give part of ourselves to without feeling like we've lost ourselves. The commitments Vesta governs are ones that take great sacrifice, but also enhance and hone us as humans.
One of my favorite astrological applications of Vesta is using her placement in our natal chart to see how we can harness, gather, and amplify our inner vitality. Autonomy and self-regeneration don't just *happen*. It takes work to remain autonomous in world that's continuously telling us to fall in line. This can be a tiring endeavor, so we need to find out how we can rejuvenate our vital life energy to remain committed to our purpose, oaths, and obligations of self. When I'm talking about our vital life energy, think of Qi (Chi) or Prana, the essence of the soul that pervades throughout our bodies. Vesta can help us focus our soul's energy and direct in a way that helps us discover our dharma and then take action accordingly to burn karma. Our Dharma is the set of morals we follow to contribute to the greatest common good and natural harmony of the world.
In all, Vesta is the luminous flame of our souls and the duty we're bound by in this material plane. In my Buddhist view of the world, we all have obligations in this incarnation. Vesta can be a key player to understanding what those obligations or oaths are, and also how we can steady our hearts, minds, and spirits so we can all keep tending our inner sacred flame.
Vesta Through the Houses
Below you'll find descriptions of how Vesta can manifest in each of the 12 places. The house placement of Vesta tells us information about our Dharma and how we can continually tend to our sacred flame. Remember to keep your natal sign of the house in mind as you read the interpretation, as well as any aspects Vesta is involved in. I'd love to hear your experience with your natal Vesta, so feel free to leave a comment with your insights at the end!