This is Vesta's symbol, the eternal flame held within by a woman's sacred womb center, her belly!
Vesta's symbol is a vessel of fire, it can look like three Vs, one on top of the other - so when you see this symbol on your astrology chart wheel, it is the symbol for Vesta, the FLAME AT THE CENTER OF YOURSELF! - isn't this wonderful knowledge sistars? We ARE connected to the universe through our sacred feminine nature!
She is a Primordial Goddess of FIRE, an Asteroid Goddesses, or you may know her by what the Greeks called her, Hestia.
In Roman times, Vesta was the goddess of the hearth, the home, and domestic life. In Greece, she was originally known as Hestia, firstborn of the titans, Kronos (Saturn), and Rhea (Mother of the Gods and Goddess's).
You'll remember Kronos as the God who swallowed his children for fear that one would dethrone him. Vesta, Hestia, was the oldest and was swallowed first.
She was one of only three virgin goddesses. Poseidon and Apollo wanted to marry her but she made an oath to Zeus, her brother, that she would remain 'a woman forever pure'.
Indeed, she was a gal who belonged to 'no-man'. In this way, she stayed out of all those dramas with the other Gods and Goddesses. She did this for a reason, so she could stay focused on what mattered to her alone.
Let's look at that ugly part of her myth when her father swallowed her:
Vesta was swallowed by her father, Kronos, Saturn, who in those times represented the beginnings of patriarchal dominance.
Saturn was the Patriarch of old, Father Time. Here he is with 'Baby New Year' who is reluctant to take on the heavy responsibilities of Saturn for the new year. Saturn conquered the world as a cruel, penurious, bringer of heavy duties and death in days gone by.
In recent past times, a woman's sacred center was not acknowledged. Her true and individual self had been swallowed by the dominance of masculine thinking. Only the role of mother and wife were allowed to her.
This is looking toward the 'center' of our Milky Way Galaxy.
But Vesta as a primordial Goddess existed in the cosmic and human psyche in her own right before she was taken out by the dominant male principle that was conquering the world at that time.
Vesta did not choose to marry. She stayed a virgin, a woman-unto-herself. Although myths say she was the most beautiful of the original Goddesses, in truth she was a 'faceless' goddess. She did not entertain drama and as such was considered to be a 'tranquil' goddess who kept the household together by virtue of her ability to stay calm and centered even in the midst of the turmoils around her.
WISE GAL SHE WAS!
The Latin word for `hearth' isfocus. The fire that burned at home was, in early times, the center of activity for the household. The difficulty of making or transporting fire made the constantly burning hearth a vital element in the home as well as in-state buildings. Vesta, therefore, was a goddess revered in every stratum ofRomansociety as she was thought to literally "keep the home fires burning" whether one lived in a modest dwelling or a grand palace.
Temple of Vesta in Rome by Jacob Strutt 1790-1840s
IN THE SHRINE OF VESTA IN THEROMAN FORUMA FIRE PERPETUALLY BURNED AND WAS TENDED TO BY THE VESTAL VIRGINS.
The Greeks portrayed VESTA as the center of the world, the omphalos or navel of the earth. In the communities of our earliest cities, the temple was her sacred home.
The beautiful shapes of form and structure that are reflected in temples dedicated to Vesta remind us of a Vesta who was a solid structure of law and order in the community. In Rome, her vestal virgins were consecrated to Vesta and vowed to chastity. They shared the charge of maintaining the sacred fire burning on the goddess's altar. Her temples held the personal documents of births, deaths, historical records, deeds, and wills safely in their inviolable center. She was responsible for the safekeeping of all contracts and legal documents. In this way, the Vestals, or virgins, safeguarded the peace and orderliness of the community.
Veiled Vesta by Raffael Monti 1818 - 1881
The Vestal Virgins kept the sacred fire burning in her temple and tended to her hearth in gratitude for her charity and care of the people. These priestesses were disbanded in 394 CE by the Christian emperor Theodosius I who also prohibited the worship of Vesta along with the other gods of the pagans and closed the schools and temples. After almost one thousand years of observance in Rome, the sacred fire of Vesta was extinguished and the new Christian faith instituted their own rituals.
But no one institution can have claim over this Goddess of old. Her fire still burns in YOU. It is a sacred fire of life, of a woman's body unto itself.
“A strong woman is one who feels deeply and loves fiercely. Her tears flow as abundantly as her laughter. A strong woman is both soft and powerful, she is both practical and spiritual. A strong woman in her essence is a gift to the world.”
VESTA IS A CENTERING ENERGY
We are reminded in our women's circles that the sacred fire at our center altar is a sacred fire of Vesta. We are women unto ourselves and yet together we share in the sacred circle and honor her ways of order, peace, and commitment to our work.
Ancient temples were often built in a circle with the Vestal fire at the center.
We usually know VESTA as the "Women unto herself".
The sighting of the asteroid, Vesta, in the 19th century corresponds toan activation of a new center of consciousness for women.
Vesta is one of four primary asteroid goddesses along with Ceres, Pallas Athena, and Juno. Together, they have led the procession of the reawakened feminine! (goHERE to read a bit about each of these four and what they mean in your chart!)
THE TWELVE WAYS VESTA MAY MANIFEST IN YOUR ASTROLOGY CHART
VESTA shows us 12 styles, the 12 SIGNS OF THE ZODIAC, or ways that we face our issues of focus and commitment. She tells us what we must exclude from our lives in order to achieve our purpose.
It's time to get your astrology chart out and see in what sign and house Vesta is located in your natal, birth, chart.
Vesta in theHOUSESshows the area of our lives that we are dedicated to, but also the areas where we may experience repression or limitation. She is a passionate primordial Goddess of old. She is the only goddess with NO FACE - she is the FLAME of life itself!
VESTA in ARIES or in your 1st House In order to be in your center, you will need to find your own identity. Single-mindedness and perseverance will be your tools. Leave personal feelings of weakness or of "I can't do it." behind. Take small steps to express your truest self.
With Vesta here, your identity could be your expertise in martial arts, your art itself, how you dress and your appearance, or simply, how you feel about who you are.
If you are having trouble experiencing yourself as an individual either through expectations of others, co-dependency, or perhaps being born a twin or triplet, then Vesta in the First House will at times feel that her fire is out.
Vesta wants very much to be IN her body in a sensual and instinctive way when she is in Aries or your first house. You can have a high degree of motivation and can work from your own ideas. You have a strong need to not be possessed or dominated by another.
You have strong independence and at times you need to be aware of the space you leave for the participation of others.
You may be an athlete or find your center of focus in your body through yoga or a physical discipline that can help keep you grounded.
Learning how to maintain your personal space will be important at times when you feel out of your center.
VESTA in TAURUS or your 2nd House- dedicate yourself to generating resources to support yourself and your loved ones. You may experience some pressure as you learn the skill of manifesting. A Vesta without resources that she creates herself will not feel centered.
TAURUS symbol
Vesta in Taurus can best achieve her work goals by becoming firmly grounded in a stable space. This will allow you to perform your duties and achieve the results you are looking for.
"Place", or a sense that "This is my space and I will not be interrupted here." is important for you, without it, you may feel blocked in pursuing your endeavors. Like your Vesta in Aries friends, you too need to learn how to maintain your personal sense of space. (see drawing above)
You are learning the skill of manifesting money, comfort, sensuality, beauty, and grounding in one's home or dwelling. When money and comfort are lacking it will be important to focus and dedicate yourself to providing these needs either for yourself or your loved ones.
If you have lost your home to fire or flood, to lack of finances or personal resources you will be in special need of Vesta to achieve grounding in your physical environment.
Vesta in Taurus or the 2nd house may overwork and at those times you may feel your FIRE IS OUT!
Find your grounding by anchoring yourself in a stable, safe, and comfortable space. Then your performance can be persistent and you can be 'steady as a rock.' You also have artistic talents and interests which can help center you.
VESTA IN GEMINI or in your 3rd House- you are dedicated to your mind or to communications that bring personal understanding, or you may be the one disseminating the information to others. Pressure comes to bear if you experience limitations in communications. FOCUS on clarifying your ideas.
Networking and coordinating your skills so that they are best utilized will be important. Meaningful conversations can help center you. Telling stories or teaching others may center you! You get focused using your ability through words and giving out information.
Watch to see if you are using words to keep others at a distance. Your mind could be your professional asset but it must not dominate your emotional experience.
Since this is the house of siblings or cousins, and neighbors or those in your immediate surroundings, some attention to them could aid you in your personal focus.
I have seen some women who have no siblings with Vesta in Gemini or the 3rd house. Having a special friend who seems as though she were a 'sister' may help you to center. Perhaps your sisters become the women in your women's circle.
VESTA IN CANCER OR your 4th House- your home and family could be the source of added responsibility possibly even curtailing your freedom. And yet you are dedicated to home and family. You will need to focus on efficiency, the approach you give to your obligations.
The fourth house is also the house of the SOUL and if you are doing inner work, you may need to look at issues of childhood obligation, of your relationships with mother, father, and family.
Messages from the Soul come from your domestic focus. Your home could feel particularly centering for you as long as you are not SO focused that it becomes a heavy mantle around your neck that keeps you isolated.
You may have trouble activating your commitment if you are not feeling needed. There is emotional sensitivity here and you could become alienated if you perceive that others are being too harsh. They may or may not be, but your response could be to withdraw. Excessive emotional neediness can create insecurity and paranoia. This can drain your relationships and deny you the very tenderness you are seeking in order to stay centered.
Your heart is so sweet and sympathetic towards others that you tap into a reservoir of deep feminine spirituality and healing nurturance when you nurture others in a healthy way. You are emotionally sensitive and need the feeling of safety and love or softness in order to work at your best. When you feel loved and cherished your work will heal others and you will feel a wonderful center within. Others may feel this center around you as well!
photo compliments of Diane Jaffee
VESTA IN LEO or your 5th House- your personal creative expressions, children, artistic forms or alienation from these elements of your life require you to put the focus on them in order to renew your life force and spontaneity.
You will need JOY and a feeling of vitality in your life to find your center, to stay balanced and connected to your inner source.
You are committed to LOVE and being LOVED, to play, to act out a bit even! You need attention with this Vesta! This Goddess wants to be noticed when she is in LEO........what makes you feel truly ALIVE!? When you find that, you find your VESTAL source.
A balanced Vesta has pride in her work; a quality of bright sunshine may exude from you or from your work. Your personal creative self-expression can center you.
HEART-BASED meditations are good for you. Spread your love around by staying centered yourself.
KISS someone whenever possible! Remember it's Vesta, she may have been a virgin goddess, but she still LOVES, HUGS, and KISSES, when she's in LEO....that, is, if you give her a chance!
Consciously feel the comfort of your center while you are creating! You will need to allow your self the space and time to tend to the inner flame of your artistic life, that creative part of you who can bring vitality into your heart and soul! You are an original, loved by others as much as for who you truly are as for what FUN you are to be around.
Your personal creations could be your children, your paintings, your poetry, art, science, or building project - remember, it's what makes YOU FEEL ALIVE that is your creative centering! Stay centered by making your everyday life more fun!
Romance and sex can also center you, but if you rely on them for continual centering it is likely that you could become disappointed or feel that 'no one loves me.'
VESTA IN VIRGO or your 6th House- Your work, your health, and your routines drive you to become more efficient. Become more aware of self-healing if you are sick. Sometimes you will be in need of positive thinking in order to recenter yourself.
You might feel the drive for perfection. As long as you don't overdo, this could mean you will do some things very well. Let your work, your service to others, or your focus on a new diet or exercise program center you.
A Vesta in Virgo could cook up a storm of healthy food and stay centered at the same time!
You can also find your center by using your hands for creative work, like knitting, sewing, or any art or craft may be a welcome reprieve from all the giving you have been doing. A feeling of orderliness returns as you knit away!
Your center will be on your work. Virgo gives you the drive to be perfect and fuels concentration, commitment, and focus. You may have a tendency to drive yourself or others too hard at the workplace. On the positive side, you achieve so much because of your productive accomplishment and efficiency.
Vesta in LIBRA or your 7th House- Your relationships are the area to focus your dedication on. Attempts to compromise or cooperation may create conflicts. The Vesta fires of purification will help you seek a BALANCE of give and take. Obsessing on your relationships doesn't help, being present for your partner will, as long as you are also present for your SELF in the interchange.
Venus wants to relate to those she loves the most. But with VESTA in LIBRA, you will need to be aware of whether or not those you love are helping you to find your center from those who take you out of center through disagreements, acting out, or being overly needy. The Libra element here requires you to compromise, get into a sense of the give and take of relating to others.
Vesta in your 7th house can also bring blockages to finding the right partner. This is because Vesta is not at home in Libra. Remember, she is the woman unto herself. If she is not given enough freedom in her partnerships she will not feel centered and may even leave the relationship.
Choose wisely whom you spend your time with. Take a time out in your relationships if you feel stifled.
But at some point, you will yearn for a partner with who you feel genuinely centered. The company of another person is an essential element for you to allow in because that relationship can stoke your inner fires! Perhaps sharing something you are passionate about with someone else who feels the same as you, will be enough to regain your center.
VESTA in SCORPIO or your 8th House- You want in-depth interactions with others. You may be inclined to delve deeply into the inner realms, such as psychology, astrology, occult areas, or within your own inner psyche. Limitations or complications over shared resources like money, sexuality, taxes, or inheritances can put pressure on you to release personal desires and learn better ways of sharing your possessions and resources.
If you are a woman who is being denied her rightful share of property, money, alimony, child support, or other resources shared with another person, learn to speak up! Equal sharing is the idea, NOT one person who has more than the other and therefore has all the power, this is NOT Vesta's way in the 8th house.
You have an intense and penetrating manner. You want depth in your relationships and commitments. Dedication and concentration are natural energy for you in your work. When you make a commitment you stand by it.
Sex may be regarded as a peak experience for you. This can seem like a way for you to come close to the source and meaning of life.
You may tap into resources you didn't know you had by taking the time to find your center. Taking time to personally reflect on what you really own within your psyche will reveal to you your connection to and your understanding of the energies of Life, of Soul. As you sense more deeply into yourself you sense the lifestream of the universe.
This intense penetration into life's mysteries may make it necessary to do a cleansing, purification ritual, or experience a necessary transformation to rehaul your inner life.
You may even have dreams or visions that will shed the LIGHT onto your inner questions about your cosmic or spiritual origins! By going deeply into any topic of mystery, you can become centered.
A quality of true soulfulness may exude from you or from your work. Examine how your personal creative self-expression can reveal a quality of your innermost being, a quality that can center you.
You are not afraid to deal with issues of death or dying. If someone important dies, consider in what ways they represent Vesta in their own life and in yours. You may inherit Vesta's way of focusing and centering through what this person taught you.
If you really want to accomplish a goal your Vesta in Scorpio will be determined to do so. Vesta in Scorpio is intense, she doesn't give up, she is also demanding and wants to go beneath the surface value of any project, relationship, or healing modality. She seeks the flame itself! She can be PASSIONATE to a fault.......She might have to look out for overzealous or pushy attitudes. On the other hand, she may NEED some of these to accomplish and fulfill your commitments.
Vesta in Scorpio will benefit from looking at her shadow, what is in your unconscious mind, what inner resources do you have that you may not be aware of?
There is no better way than to read Sharon's book:Innocence to Wholeness. This book will assist you in bringing light into the shadowy recesses of the unconscious. It does so in a GENTLE way, one that you do not have to feel frightened of! Sharon has done a beautiful job painting the steps and feelings of a woman as she goes through this process.
SEXUAL REPRESSION can occur in an 8th house or Vesta in Scorpio, possibly even a history of having been molested or of sexual abuse. If you have been a victim, this sign may bring up feelings of guilt, sin, and shame that cloud your ability to interact deeply with another. These blocks may have come through your childhood from abuse, your religious upbringing, or the shame of your parent(s). You have an opportunity with Vesta in Scorpio to bring or shed some light onto your deepest hidden feelings.
Vesta in Scorpio is a serious territory. You are a deep person. When you are with those who allow you to be this person, it brings you into your center.
VESTA in Sagittarius or your 9th house- You focus best when you are working on something you can believe in. You are motivated by an ideal or cause. But you must have consideration for the beliefs of others in order to not feel alienated or blocked.
Loyalty and honesty are important in order for you to feel real trust in relationships. You can sublimate your sexual drives into your causes and must learn to blend your ideals with the practical world to be effective. Mystics like Alice Bailey have their Vesta here.
You seek the truth and can convey your wisdom. Your extreme views will likely be challenged. Religious or ideological fanaticism creates limits that push you into a wider VISION. Use that fire to bring positive, ideal images to your center.
Avoid political or religious fanaticism as these can create blockages that prevent you from seeing that wider vision.
It's also possible that a long journey will center you because of the new perspective it brings. Traveling in mind or body helps you discover new meanings in life and can inspire you to think differently, expand your personal philosophy.
VESTA in Capricorn or your 10th house- Your career or your position in society or that one "thing" that you are trying to become a master at could be your centering. You'll need DISCIPLINE and plenty of it to attain your goals. Working hard at your potential talents brings results. If your Vesta is close to your midheaven or 10th house cusp - a spiritual destiny and finding your spirit center could help you focus and feel more in your center.
Do you have a crowning achievement? One that you can continue to enrich or develop? This could be a way for you to get your focus if Vesta is in your 10th house or in Capricorn. Keep your steadfast approach. When you feel discouraged or feel that something is blocking you from getting your focus back, look to this achievement and do something, maybe just take one step toward it will be enough to get you going once again.
You are dedicated to your career or position in society. If you are having trouble finding a vocation it may be that you are too critical or have too high of expectations for yourself.
You have the ability to work hard and be thorough. You are disciplined when you find what it is that makes you feel centered and gives you a sense of achievement.
VESTA in Aquarius or in your 11th house- you are learning the importance of others in your life through group interactions. Bringing social life and friendships into your life helps you to stay centered. Vesta can give you dedication to your group, community, or workplace.
Limitations or a feeling of being blocked in the group or in friendship interactions can give you a push to refocus your ideals and realign with the group. What hopes and aspirations will allow you to dedicate yourself to the common purpose of the group or a particular important friendship? Your group, organization, choir, club, or circle of friends can help you find and recenter yourself.
You have a need to define your hopes and aspirations so that you can dedicate yourself to an ideal. You will be at your center when you feel you are doing this.
Others may see you as the center of the group as you have a way of gathering together those of like mind and spirit.
VESTA in PISCES or your 12th house. Spiritual values are important to you. You may have a strong, even unconscious need for isolation or retreat. This helps you to get a focus on your deep faith or can help you to deepen in your faith.
You could feel blocked if you are feeling fear of public exposure to your spiritual beliefs. Even fears of sexuality can arise from this 12th house placement. Helen Blavatsky had Vesta in her mystical 12th house.
Balance fear with FAITH. Your yearning for the infinite can become more grounded as you acknowledge the physical world, what you need to function in it, and what its limitations truly are for you.
You may find it helpful to blend the poetic with the practical, dreams with reality.
Your work is energized by serving others. Pisces has a diffuse and scattered nature and can find it difficult to find a focus or maintain commitment. Try not to make others feel responsible for your suffering. At times when you find it hard to maintain your focus, honor your need to rest and replenish spiritually as well as physically. Take time out for SOLITUDE, meditation, prayer, or retreat whenever you fall out of your center.
photo compliments of Sandy H.
Your feminine Vesta may find that by exploring your spiritual nature from a feminine rather than a masculine belief system, you can connect to the deep Divine Feminine source within you in a fulfilling way.
Now might be a good time to make a cup of tea, take a little Vesta break, then resume with these closing thoughts about this amazing Goddess within you.........the following is important because we won't always be able to recognize Vesta's needs...........
BUT WHAT IF MY VESTA IS BLOCKED AND I DON'T FEEL CENTERED?
A vesta blockage can be removed.
Some of us may have a feeling of a broken VESTA.
When we havea broken Vestawe have a split within ourselves that fractures us! We are like a shattered vessel. This happens when we are BLOCKED from our natural VESTA needs.
But we CAN make it whole again!
For some of us, our inner Vesta may not have understood that she is a "WOMAN UNTO HERSELF" and she can and should say "NO" to social gatherings or events that do not support her desire to be alone, to experience solitude.
Focus on providing for yourself a personal space, a PLACE that protects, supports and grounds you.
Your FIRE IS NOT OUT, IT IS ALIVEand it is in YOU! Vesta is a great power within you waiting to be unblocked so she can warm the hearth fires of your BODY and SOUL. We need Her warmth!....to bring us the vital energy of FIRE, of SPIRIT, of dedication to SELF and to LIFE!
"TAKE TIME to tend to the needs of your SELF. Vesta CAN BRING YOU INTO THE UNEXPLORED TERRITORY OF YOUR SOUL. What is in the depths of your heart may require you to be QUIET AND LISTEN!"
"Beauty comes from a Quiet Place inside a Woman.
VESTA times are times when you find or MAKE time for good self-care, rest, and arededication to yourself and your most personal goal.
When VESTA is in Her positive, light-giving energy, she brings into you a natural devotion to your work or to your relationships. When you are thrown out of center by fatigue, dramatic or dangerous events, or overwork. (and oh, my dears, women nowadays are sooooo overworked!) then Vesta can bring fear of intimacy or denial of your needs. She can both show the area of life where you are dedicated, committed, and the area where you may feel thwarted by repressed energy. In areas where you feel blocked, she can bring limitations until you develop the awareness to consolidate your energy.
Vesta times can be a time to strengthen your bond with your BODY, your SPIRITUAL SELF, and a time to HEAL THE SPLIT OF SHAME OR GUILT.
The flame of the heart, the passion of the belly, the warmth that love generates are all found in this primordial source, Goddess Vesta.
Vesta is the virgin woman, a woman unto herself. An aspect of the Virgin is the beloved Mother Mary - she is our most recent Divine Feminine Goddess but unlike other Goddesses who are considered to be of divine origins, Mother Mary was born into a HUMAN EMBODIMENT. Her mother, Anne, gave birth to Mary through an immaculate conception.
It doesn't matter if you are Catholic or Jew, Protestant or Muslim, or none of them, MEDITATE on what truly has made her a figure of purity and hope for the world. She and her mother were 'women unto themselves. Whether or not you believe or can comprehend this story of the immaculate conception is not the point, what is important is thatthe Divine Feminine in human formbegan to emerge in our human consciousness 2000 years ago! All of this is worth considering.
The Chartes Cathedral in Paris tells the story of the 12 zodiac intelligences and how they manifest as the ONE in all of us!
one of Vesta's greatest gifts is time to:
Sometimes Vesta can be a lonely goddess. She may bring in too much austerity! If this is happening to you, you may have to make an extra special attempt at getting reconnected to your friends, your group, your family, or neighbors. Vesta's expression brings austerity if we remain too shy to share our SELVES with others.
Temple of Fire at Baku, Azerbaijan
How have you been feeling your connection to VESTA? What is it that you do that centers you or that you are dedicated to? Please send me your stories and comments, I would love to add them to my page,WHAT WOMEN ARE SAYING.
If you liked learning about Vesta, you might also consider the ways in which Hekate can enrich your life. Here is a link to this mysterious Goddess: HEKATE - GODDESS AT THE CROSSROADS.
Love to you and your very dear and brave hearts, ♥
