Vesta Astrology

This is a reprint of Eric’s article that appeared in Planet Waves (March 23, 2007).

VESTA is fast approaching the Great Attractor in Sagittarius, which will push this energy into prominence as she reaches the 200th anniversary of her modern discovery. Vesta is an asteroid, the brightest asteroid, and the Great Attractor is an intergalactic point so massive that it’s pulling a million or more galaxies toward it at an extremely brisk pace. The GA is both a magnifier, spreading the effects of things far beyond where we can see them; and a polarizer, which tends to divide opinions, feelings, push us into taking sides and generally raise awareness of dualism. It has shades of extreme Sagittarius and supersized Gemini.

Spirit of Vesta. Picture by Eric Francis.
Spirit of Vesta. Picture by Eric Francis.

Since I began writing about Vesta in the Scorpio chapter of the Spiral Door, I’ve been having a series of close encounters with Vestal energy. The most unusual one has involved the clients I’ve worked with in New York City and upstate. Astonishingly, nearly every single one has had a prominent Vesta placement in their chart, and many have had themes of this asteroid come up in their lives.

Vesta is a goddess represented by a burning pot of oil, a chevron with flame. But she is not the goddess of fire; rather, she is Goddess expressing herself as fire. Vesta is not a character in mythology — her servants are. Rather, she is an elemental force that must be tended, within and without, and tending that flame becomes one of the closest things to an organic religion in existence.

The Vestal Virgins of ancient Rome were the keepers of the sacred hearth of the temple, as well as the public hearths of the cities of the empire. They served from about the age of seven (or at least before puberty), for about 30 years, during which they were supposedly sworn to celibacy. Notably, this is a term of service of about one Saturn cycle. Vesta’s primary energy is devotion. As with all astrological factors, this can be for good or ill; it can serve the greater good or not. She has, however, strong leanings toward service, and a true steadfast quality. She is the one willing to work around the clock for years. Generally, any difficult or long-term task will benefit from Vesta.

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