Today is Thursday, December 15, 2011. The Sun is approaching a conjunction with the Galactic Core in late Sagittarius. Meanwhile the Moon is working its way through the last third of Leo and enters Virgo at 10:58 pm EST. Just before it changes signs, however, it makes a quick series of oppositions to planets in late Aquarius. The most notable is a near-simultaneous pair of oppositions to Vesta and Neptune, which are nearly conjunct.
It’s like our lunar receptor picks up the signal specifically to give us a little preview of the conjunction on a wavelength we can sense more palpably. As you may know, aspects involving Neptune can sometimes fly under the radar, get lost in the depths, or come through to consciousness via more indirect routes (such as through dreams or making art).
Vesta makes its exact conjunction to Neptune on Friday and, because the planet of illusion and denial is involved, one possible assumption is that we may expend our creative energies in a non-productive manner. But the annual conjunction of the Sun with the Galactic Center is placing a different spin on this aspect.
Paul O. Hewit writes of the GC, “It is a stunning source of energy, motivation and aspiration. … and probably the source of most of the energy in any chart.” It has a profound, transpersonal effect upon us that astrologers are still trying to quantify. As Eric has written, “The feeling is like a cosmic storm from which there is no easy shelter. We just need to let the energy surge through us and around us, and be as open, expanded and conductive as possible.” Neptune is just the planet to assist us in opening and expanding into these powerful energies, if we use it creatively.
Vesta symbolizes the inner fires of creativity within us, and how we tend those fires. Her placement in the natal chart describes those things you instinctively honor. In other words, she represents your true passion in life and all that you will do to keep that passion alive. If we fail to tend these fires, we run the risk of living an inauthentic life.