The new edition of Planet Waves is on its way to subscribers. This week, I offer my magnum opus on Vesta, in honor of tomorrow’s Venus-Vesta conjunction in Scorpio. I look at Vesta as an interior space that we can access for pleasure and healing. I’m one of the few astrologers who delineates Vesta as an archetype of deep sexuality — the kind we think we’re going to read about in New Agey books about tantric sex. Those books are fun, but they rarely get to the level of that inner flame of devotion that Vesta generously grants when we offer her the least bit of our attention.
In this issue there is also an excellent little article about tonight’s Full Moon in Aries, as well as some amazing Mars aspects to the Chiron/Neptune conjunction and the Jupiter/Uranus conjunction. This is an interesting arrangement — Mars makes four aspects at once, creating a pretty wild set of energy alignments.
Each edition includes my weekly horoscope interpretations for all 12 signs. And this week includes a free bonus audio, one hour in length. This is called Community and Compersion, which is the recording of a one-hour keynote presentation I gave at a recent conference.
If you would like to have a free trial subscription to Planet Waves, sign-up information is in blue, immediately below. And to buy this week’s issue on its own, click here.
I can truely relate to the profile on vesta. My vesta is exactly conjunct my progressed sun and this has been quite a year for serving the roman soldiers. Before I read the article I was even thinking that about myself at work, which made me wonder why, like where the heck did that come from? My soldiers are mostly Gemini men who suffered a harm in 2008 and are now getting the career boost they need. Has to be chiron and jupiter dancing at Pisces.
eric,
your work here on Vesta has helped put many of my personal attitudes and assumptions about mySelf and mySexuality and the way I express mySexuality into a framework – which is now making it all useful.
Vest for me is 28 degrees Aries; 3 degrees from my MC at 1 degree Taurus.
My sons Vesta at 28 degrees Aquarius and 2 degrees from his DC is aspecting Jupiter, SUn, Mars, Mercury, Pluto – you name it, as it were. So some interesting stuff to ponder for my very Scorpio boy.
My lover has no major placement – but his Vesta (3 degrees Taurus) is in exact opposition to Juno and Ceres which seems something to ponder as well.
Really excellent food here. I won’t bore with details. Many many thank yous.
Linda
In the Venus rx of 2002, my Mother was dying. I flew home twice to Ireland to be with her. As you can imagine it was a profoundly upsetting and pain-filled time, but something amazing happened between us; a monumental event, which I can only now appreciate more fully in the light of this current rx, and how she and I were affected by it.
My mother had suffered the loss of her mother when she was only just two years and 10 months, to tuberculosis. She never got the chance to ever fully grieve that huge loss, and her wounded-ness made her a very difficult person to be around. She was a lost and deeply hurting soul; never comfortable in her skin and she turned to religion to help her make sense her pain, which sadly it never did on a deep healing level.
However, when she became bed ridden with the final stage of cancer, she did some serious soul searching in the months of Oct/Nov of 2002, all which lead to us having a death bed exchange that was of such a simple and honest love. There was also a deep, deep regret for what might have been. I had been sensing throughout the month of October (she died at the end of November) that we were drawing closer to each other for the first time ever, so I was able to say to her that even though she was a most difficult person to be around on an intimate level, child to parent, that I had come to understand her story and that I absolutely wanted to forgive her what she had never been able to make sense of, due to complete lack of support and an understanding community.
That moment set me free to be who I have become today. She simply showed me that life at its core is about love, and even as she acknowledged that she wished she had loved earlier in her life, I took her cue and set as my goal, to learn the art of loving. Love of self and then of others. My Mum and I were separated by thirty years (which is just the blink of an eye) so I became determined to learn how to let the love and the light come in to my life.
So, I want to say thank you Venus Rx……….you can and you do help up cast of our chains of fear, if we learn to let you to work your magic.
Thank you also to all the Wavers of this wonderful community who share their stories of life and love. I feel part of a very caring and loving group of people who help me make sense of this thing called living. Every day I feel affirmed at the core of me and I see my journey reflected in each and everyone of you.
Yeah, thank you so much (and my Mother Maureen’s beams of love are shining down too!)
“So each time [Venus] Retrogradation occurs, we are connected back to the same period exactly 8, 16, 24, 32 and 40 years ago. The unfinished business from those times may gather and return to consciousness, as we are helped to let go, forgive and move on.”
Hmmm…8 years ago I was 42 and had my surprise son. Sixteen years ago I was 34 and pregnant with my third daughter. Twenty-four years ago I was 26 and was traveling by myself for the first time as well as meeting my current husband and falling in love with him. Thirty-two years ago I was traveling in the middle east and lost my virginity in a youth hostel to a young, 17 year-old Palestinian in the city of Jerusalem. Forty years ago I was 10 years old….I think that was the year my Mom tried to commit suicide late at night.
That’s a LOT to think about when I look at all of them.
“So each time [Venus] Retrogradation occurs, we are connected back to the same period exactly 8, 16, 24, 32 and 40 years ago. The unfinished business from those times may gather and return to consciousness, as we are helped to let go, forgive and move on.”
hhmmm…
16 years ago i was experiencing my first real heartbreak, which resulted in an important part of my sexuality hiding out for a long chunk of time.
8 years ago it hadn’t come out of hiding yet, but did poke its head out the following spring…
Very interesting subject & I have lots of questions & exploring to do!
My N Vesta is 1o ♈☊, departing from the World Point 00o♈, & T ♀Venus & Vesta 9o♏ ☌N ☊ 8o ♏…………….
August 5, T ♅ &♃ were 00o & 3o ♈, ♇ 3o ♑……………………..My prog. Venus is 3o ♋, & Chiron 6o ♋………….
I began a rather sensual painting of water……………time to finish it!
About your Horoscope for Virgo:
Thank you for the clay suggestion. I took it and it was more comforting and effective than you will ever know…. (I see the secret of it too! 😉 )
Virgo Sun/ VestaMoonMars stellium in Scorpio on the edge of insanity….
xoLisa
:::the light goes on:::: Oh Eric. This article has turned the light on for me! I have been wondering why, as I approach my Chiron Return and lose a lot of weight, that I have been feeling a huge juxtaposition between my current almost crone self (I still have a young child so not crone yet but going through “the change”) and that young, prowling, thin, twenty-something girl I used to be that loved sex for the sake of sex itself. Even as two of my teen girls reach 18, (yesterday) I have been feeling positively attractive for the first time in almost 25 years. It is not just the weight loss (though I am sure that does play into it) but the feeling of being connected to that younger self. I am dealing with some mixed feelings; I don’t want my beautiful daughters to feel I am trying to compete with them because I am not. My mom competed with me when I was younger and thinner; I was finally feeling beautiful for the first time back then and she was in competition for my boyfriends; many of them wanted to have sex with my Mom and would openly tell me that. Growing up fat and then having guys tell me (once I was thin) that they preferred my mother almost destroyed my already low self worth.
Now I am at the threshold of being thinner, feeling sexy again, feeling almost young again and I am almost afraid of these feelings because they are happening just as my daughters are blossoming. Once again, I am not comfortable with my beautiful self, that sexual self that knows I am attractive but back then I was afraid of it and unsure of it. Now I have the confidence I lacked and I know why those guys wanted my mother; she had the confidence that was so attractive. My daughters have far more confidence than I did at their age but I still worry; I would not damage them for anything.
See how the youth and older females are mixing up within me right at this time when venus is Rx in Scorpio and Vesta is coming up on her?
I am trying to find a balance between what I seem to be feeling (that “blossoming of the thin person I was finally coming out of this fat cocoon) and my daughters sense of self.
Wish us luck as we go through thbis journey together. I have three precious daughters (and one precious son). They mean more to me than I can ever express.
Thank you so much for shedding some light on how I have been feeling and what I am dealing with.
Amanda:
We have a name for all the women who participate in the Medea Project, which I hope we can all adopt.
The name is “She-roes”
fe —
i haven’t had a chance to read all the comments here, but i just read your first one about the HIV-women’s story experience. wow — thank you for sharing that.
very powerful proof of what we can do just by sharing who we are.
Here’s the reading list:
Campbell, J. (1988). The Hero With A Thousand Faces. London, Fontana Press.
Gimbutas, M. (1989). The language of the goddess : unearthing the hidden symbols ofwestern civilization. San Francisco, Harper & Row.
Klein, A. C. (1995). Meeting the Great Bliss Queen; Buddhists, feminists and the art of
self. Boston, Beacon Press.
Moon, B (2000) ‘Inanna. The Star Who Became Queen’ in Moon, Beverly and Benard,
Elizabeth (Eds) Goddesses who rule.New York, Oxford University Press.
Perera, S. B. (1981). Descent to the Goddess. Toronto, Inner CIty Books.
Powers, M. (1997). The Heroine in Western Literature. Jefferson, McFarland and Co.
Ragan, K. (1998). Fearless Girls, wise women and beloved sisters: heroines in folktalesfrom around the world. Sydney, Bantam Books.
Wehr, D. S. (1987). Jung and Feminism. Boston, Beacon Press.
Wolkstein, D. and Kramer, S., Inanna, Queen of Heaven and Earth; Her Stories and Hymns from Sumer, Harper and Row, New York, 1983.
Perera, S.B., Descent to the Goddess; A Way of Initiation for Women, Inner City Books,Toronto, Canada, 1981.
Hostetter, Clyde., Star Trek To Hawa-II, Diamond Press, San Luis Obispo, Ca. 1991
George, D., Mysteries of the Dark Moon; The Healing Power of the Dark Goddess, HarperSan Francisco, Harper Collins Publishers, New York, 1992.
From the Great Above to the Great Below – Inanna Queen of Heaven and Earth. By Diane Wolkstien and Samuel Kramer
Strike that!! First conjunction on my PLUTO. Oy. Nice bit of work, that.
In my understanding, the descent of Inanna happens not in the Rx phase, but toward superior or exterior conjunction. The Rx phase is more like a re-set of what major theme the entire cycle will be focusing on (in this case Scorpio). The Rx conjunctions happen as Venus passes closest to Earth. This establishes the seed moment for the Journey of the Heroine. Venus subsequently moves out away from the Earth, and then Returns.
Shamanic astrologer Daniel Giamario shared with me a very interesting book. Star Trek to Hawa-ii by Clyde Hostetter documents the authors attempts to discern the meaning of intricate markings on an ancient chalice. What he found was that the Myth of Inanna is intimately tied to the actual visible cycle of the Planet Venus. Specifically, the descent to the UnderWorld and the removal of her royal power objects as she passed thru the 7 gates correlates to the 7 conjunctions with the Moon which Venus makes as she descends from maximum elongation in the Eastern sky into invisibility as she approaches superior or exterior (direct) conjunction with Sun. She spends 60 days in the Underworld and then rises again in the Western sky. She then makes 7 more conjunctions with the waxing crescent Moon on her way to maximum elongation in the Western sky. These symbolize her re-claiming and re-birthing her royal regalia and the chakra associated with it.
Therefore, in my astrological practice I find it valuable to know not only the Sign/House/Aspects of a client’s Venus, but also the Theme, Phase and Gate/Chakra associated with their Venus.
The zodiacal position of the pre-natal interior or retrograde conjunction of Venus with the Sun establishes the “Theme” for the entire cycle. The Phase tells me where Venus stood within her cycle at the time of birth and thus what part of the Inanna myth applies personally to this person. I also remain aware of Venus’ progress within her journey (by progression) at the time of the reading. The Gate & Chakra give me even more particular information. Venus’ seven morning lunar conjunctions correlate with the seven gates that Inanna passes through in her Descent, and these in turn correlate to the 7 chakras! The first gate corresponds to the crown chakra (she gives up her crown) and the last to the root, or sacral chakra (she gives up her life).
Likewise, if you were born after the exterior conjunction of Venus (Return) to the Sun when Venus is in the evening sky, by counting the number of Moon/Venus conjunctions I can determine which gate Venus was passing through and what Chakra she was re-claiming at the time of your birth.
I have alot more of this info specific to the Scorpio Venus cycle 2010-12 available on my website on the “special offers” page. This workshop is designed as an add on to my Free Podcast episodes 71, 72. This will add tremendous depth to your understanding and delineation of this crucial planet. Included is an 18 page report on Venus’ cycles for 2010-12 and how to use them for personal transformation. Also nearly 80 minutes of audio report. All for $25
This Venus/Vesta cycle definitely has personal implications for me: The first conjunction happened on my natal Mars; the second (today) with the Full Moon over my natal Moon; and the third (which is conjunction PLUTO) will happen conjunct my natal Sun along with Aquarius Sun and Mars transiting my natal Venus.
Hmmm…Better be taking notes.
Yes and — she has stuff specifically about the mythology of Inanna, from the early 2000s
xef
Here you go:
http://www.melaniereinhart.com/melanie/astrologyarticles/venus1.php
excerpt:
Melanie Reinhart has some good writing about Inanna and the Venus retrograde cycle. She has developed this theory pretty well — it’s good stuff…should be on her site, or easy to Google. If you find it please post it here.
Gary:
Funny you should mention Inanna because we have had a lively discussion on her, Ceres, Eve and Persephone in the thread a few below on Ceres written by Eric (look for the one with the farmer’s market zucchini pic).
Our company used the myth of Inanna to explore the realm of addiction, betrayal, survival in one of our shows back in 2001.
I would definitely be interested in the reading list. If you wouldn’t mind posting it here on the blog we can all share in it.
Fe, the journey you have seen in these women is completely archetypal. this is why it is so beautiful and profound to witness. one of the oldest stories known to humankind is that of Inanna -which btw has clear parallels in the visual or synodic cycle of Venus.
The descent story of the Sumerian goddess Inanna is a classic representation of the
hero/ine’s journey. Her story, marked down in cuneiform on clay tablets as writing
began, speaks of a descent to the Underworld where she met her dark sister Eriskegal. Inanna was killed and hung on a hook by her dark sister, but then she was revived and re-born.
It seems clear to me this is exactly what you are seeing in your work. women who have encountered the dark feminine and are seeking re-birth. It also seems that the ultimate re-frame of their experience is to understand that this encounter is not their fault, no one is to blame per se, the descent to the underworld is completely integral to the feminine experience.
in case you are curious, the classic literature on this is Sylvia Perera’s “Descent to the Goddess” but there is much incredibly rich and valuable literature out there on this subject for those who want to explore that path. i can send you a reading list if you like.
Be well and Namaste,
Gary
Hello,
Thank you for your comment.
I am not sure there is a direct line from the Vestals of Roman antiquity, but since I am talking about the asteroid (4) Vesta, I wanted to give their history. We don’t actually know much of what went on deep inside the order, as it was a secret order, and much of it is protected from the prying eyes of historians and of men in particular (i.e., his-torians). There is more here in the veiled history of Hestia, Her Greek precursor. More is kept in the (presumably lost) history of Ain Shams, or Heliopolis — which has recently been unearthed as an archeological site, by the way.
Mainly, what I am noting in this article is some of I’ve learned from working with clients specifically in the field of sexuality and sacred sexuality over many years. The patterns involved with the astrological factor Vesta are something I am describing from firsthand experience, and as an initiate into the art form/healing modality that you describe — rather than being something I read in a book. In other words, my own healing temple and practice are guarded by, and oriented on, Vesta, as a direct connection to Her, and with substantial guidance from Her.
It’s worth mentioning that while I was in Belgium, I did a study on the sex workers at a typical (but nice) massage brothel in my neighborhood. Most had no significant aspects to Vesta — but their Moon placements were all piled up with aspects. And, not so strangely, I was the one who introduced most of them to the concept of sacred sexuality.
In the astrological world, the connection between sacred sexuality and Vesta is suppressed, and you get exciting delineations like “sublimates sexual energy into work.” I am one of the few astrologers who writes about this connection, though I am often surprised by the resonance to this theme in my readership and clientele. Numerous times, I have mentioned the Vesta placement and heard some form of, “Yes, I always thought I was a temple priestess of some kind in a past life.”
If you would like me to check your Vesta placement and aspects I would be happy to do so confidentially, and share with you some of the story that tells from the perspective of your chart. You would of course be free to share that information with whomever you choose.
One thing I can tell you about how Vesta reveals her secrets is that it is often through sacred sexual practice involving celibacy in some form. Also, Vesta is the guardian over the “definition of space,” or the “use of space.” This relates to practice of sealing an inner sanctum, which makes any sacred sex or tantric ritual possible. Part of how I define that space is the presence of the mirror, the physical metaphor for self-awareness.
ef
As a Qadishtu (priestess of sacred sexuality and sacred prostitution) and devotee of ancient Rome, I’m a bit dubious about some of your conclusions regarding the *goddess* Vesta and any connection to Sacred sexuality, but I’m not familiar enough with the astrological aspects to put it all together. Must ponder and research this one personally a bit, methinks. If I come up with any specific questions I’ll ping you off-list. Thanks for the food for thought.
dreamastrologer:
I totally appreciate what you write about the journey of the heroine. This energy is powerful. Its becoming apparent in the work I’ve been doing with HIV positive women in telling their stories and the openness to which we’ve recently encountered with teenage girls.
It was last week at the annual Young Woman’s Conference sponsored by our state senator, where our theater company, The Medea Project, performed. We do our work based on the lives of women at risk from domestic abuse, incarceration, addiction and now HIV/AIDS. Its the women themselves who perform and tell their stories. This year this audience of 150 young girls–who on a daily basis cannot be pulled away from texting, sat rapt, open, and receptive to the stories.
The stories we told were about sex, disease, safe sex, and survival. The doctor who is our consultant is one of the foremost AIDS practitioners in San Francisco, who specializes in working with women of color who are positive. We had four women who have been living with the disease for over twenty years, and two new HIV-positive women.
It was the look on the girls faces after we performed, and the tears. We reached them. And then there came the questions. Real, piercing, scared, open, honest, afraid and inquisitive. The positive women and our doctor were engaged in a question and answer period that should have been 10 minutes, but lasted for 30. Everyone was engaged. The more questions they asked the more the other girls started asking in follow-up. A dam had burst.
One of the most important things our doctor said to these girls was: “Sex should be beautiful. It should not make you feel bad afterwards.” This statement stood like a benchmark for these young girls. Something sunk in. I think, in my heart of hearts, we participated in and witnessed a group intervention.
This experience transcended everything we’ve done as a company to date. I feel as though we made a passage through something–a group initiation, a honing in on purpose with clarity. One of our positive women who could barely talk when she first joined us two years ago came alive when she realized what she had done. She was at first a victim, but by telling her story and owning it, she helped change the lives of other, younger women. That she came alive when she realized what she had done that day, and joined in with us and the young girls, was a triple expansion of consciousness. For a moment, she, I, and all of us in the company realized we had a place and mission in the world.
Venus is conjunct Vesta, Goddess of the hearth and keeper of the altar flame. In pre-Hellenic times, Vesta (then Hestia) was also the guardian of the inner fires of sacred sexuality. This is the second of three conjunctions between Venus and Vesta; because of Venus’ retrograde, these two align exactly on August 5 (28º Virgo) and October 23, 2010 (9º Scorpio) and again on February 9, 2011 (6º Capricorn).
when there are 3 hits like this you can look at it like the journey of the heroine. the first, in direct motion, is the call to adventure and/or ordeal. You meet the archetype externally. The second, in retrograde motion, is the inmost cave or initiation. You internalize that which was previously met externally. The third, again in direct motion, is the return. the heroine return to the external world to share the boon or elixir of wholeness she has achieved through the internalization/initiation.
Personally, I had an experience in early August during my Grof breathwork of being held by Woman which was very powerful. I write it that way because I don’t believe i was held by A woman but by Woman, the Goddess herself. It is that attitude which defines sacred sexuality to me.